It’s been an entertaining week here in the US, which seems like a callous thing to say and, frankly, I’ll cop to the charge. I have been entertained – not by the ongoing misery of Covid-19 and its steady rampage across the country I was born in, and certainly not by the everyday and cast-iron racism in most Western countries that’s only been emphasised and highlighted by recent events. No, I’ve been entertained by the other side of the news, namely the functioning of government. If you can’t be entertained by government, you simply aren’t paying attention, or else you’re some kind of anti-tax nut job who can’t acknowledge that your ability to be an anti-tax nut job is due to the existence of an effectively functioning civil government in the first place.
Fit
The gymnasia are closed, as are the sports centres and swimming pools. People are taking exercise in the parks: they are walking, running, cycling, skipping, lifting weights, boxing, dancing, stretching, and playing football and cricket. It is good to see children and adults – of all ages and sizes – trying to keep healthy, in body and mind, by working their muscles and their lungs. The spring and summer months, even in London, are conducive of outdoor activity most days.
Statues
Lots of dead white men are coming off their pedestals these days, and I can’t say I’m that exercised about it. The thing about statues is, they are almost never good art. There is good sculpture, of course, and very good full body sculpture – but statuary is almost by definition banal.
Kierkegaard Meets God
After a life spent dreading his inevitable death, Soren Kierkegaard — age 42 — finally succumbs. As he exhales his final breath, Soren feels released from his tormented life. At last! He can be with God, before God, as he believes is proper for every human being!
The Empty Plinth
Smashing objects precious to others has a long and illustrious history.