Why Googling "Arachnid" Before Coffee Is A Terrible Idea, And Other Misadventures.

Darlings! Friends! Sweethearts! Don’t mind me, I’m still recovering from the encounter I had with a relatively large spider last night, who decided he so badly wanted to follow along as I read about recent psilocybin studies in Michael Pollan’s “How to Change Your Mind,” that the eight-legged creature dropped from the sky and plopped himself right next to my head. On my pillow. So please don’t mind me, I’m just resisting the urge to burn everything down with fire right now.

On Friday, I watched “The Death of Stalin,” which is ever so good and timely. And I recommend this Atlantic interview in which Julia Ioffe interviews Armando Iannucci on how he came to adapt the graphic novel, and why 65-year-old stories of a dying dictator’s authoritarian regime can serve as a funny/prescient story in 2018. My favorite response of Iannucci’s was in a reaction to a question about the arts in authoritarian societies: “I think that’s why politicians worry about the arts—they can’t predict what art does to people, and therefore they can’t control the effect it’s going to have. Always beware of politicians who can’t take a joke.” (emphasis added)

Last week, I read a really great dystopic science fiction book on how omnipresent embedded cameras and remote-controlled computer programs allowed for abusive ex-spouses to monitor and harass their targets, in a carefully calibrated combination of gaslighting and technological terror. J/K FRIENDS, it’s a New York Times article, and this shit is happening now.

Today, in “articles on Bloomberg about sexual “wellness” cults allegedly using coerced labor and encouraging follower credit card debt”: The Dark Side of the Orgasmic Meditation Company. Don’t worry, while the company’s mission is 100% absolutely do-not-google-them NSFW, this Bloomberg story somehow remains quite SFW / journalistically reminiscent of Bad Blood (which GO READ already, if you haven’t!)

And finally, Can we talk about alcoholism and Anthony Bourdain?

I love you call. Be kind to each other.