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15 May 2026

No. 9,759 (cartoon)

I finally found the answer.

What was the question?

That’s the problem; I’m still looking.

16 May 2026

Snarged

Here’s my favorite headline d’jour:

Man hit by L.A.-bound plane on Denver runway is ID’d. Questions on his motivation swirl.

Geez, that’s a tough one. Hmmm, what could have possibly motivated him to stand on an active runway? Maybe he was expecting the jet to pass a few meters over his head? Perhaps he was playing chicken, but the pilot didn’t swerve. Or it could be that he was trying to make an unusual self-portrait.

Of course not; he committed suicide and ended up as snarge.

A jet engine is basically a powerful blender; “snarge” is the mess left inside turbines after they’ve chopped, sliced, diced, and puréed any critter the jet inhales. (Semantic bonus: Military aviators coined the word by combining “snot” and “garbage.”)

17 May 2026

It’s Wonderful to Wonder

Dr. Salvatore Iaquinta gave a brilliant talk on the life and work of Maurits Cornelis Escher. He was passionate, insightful, and didn’t use a single six-bit word or any of the pretentious, high-falootin’ phrases that are the pride of inbred “art” world academics.

I couldn’t figure it out until I learned that he earned a real doctorate to become a surgeon. He spoke so clearly and informatively that I presume he never got a worthless art school diploma.

I remember three lines from the talk. The first was one of Escher’s quotes that set the tone for the presentation: “He who wonders discovers that this in itself is wonderful.”

At the end of his life after he’d been “discovered” by gallerists, he lamented that creating new work felt more like printing money than printing art.

A member of the audience asked Iaquinta if Escher used drugs. “No,” he replied, “drugs weren’t invented until the sixties.”

What Iaquinta never mentioned is that he and Federico Giudiceandrea own all of Escher’s copyrights as well as the M.C. Escher Company in The Netherlands. No wonder the talk was so captivating: it wasn’t a lecture, it was an infomercial!

18 May 2026

A Calculated Caregiving Risk

Amanda is having hip replacement surgery in a month, and Duane offered to stay with her for a few days while she recovers. He reported that she later expressed concerns that things might not go well since they had just met.

“She has a point,” I agreed.

“I’ve thought about that too,” he replied. “I suppose there’s a possibility that when I’m in bed unconscious and perhaps a little bit tipsy ...”

“A little bit?” I asked.

“Shut up, this is my story,” he continued. “Anyway, I suppose there’s always a chance that she might not take sexual advantage of me when I’m disoriented and defenseless, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

No one ever said that being a caregiver was easy.

19 May 2026

The Future of Truth

Steven Rosenbaum is a brilliant author. I’m thinking of his recent book, The Future of Truth. I haven’t read it; I haven’t even noticed any reviews. What I have seen are the news stories mentioning that the book contains lots of “misattributed or fake quotes” created by artificial intelligence [sic].

Yep, if that ain’t the future of truth, then my name is Otis Campbell.

Now here’s the brilliant part. When a New York Times reporter asked Rosenbaum about the untruthiness, the author alleged surprise and said that he would investigate himself. I gotta remember that!

The next time I’m accused of doing something really stooopid or worse, I’ll feign ignorance and announce that I’m launching an exhaustive probe of myself. If I’m ever called on that particular faux pas or blunder again, I’ll announce the only conclusion I will ever reach: after a comprehensive inquiry, I’ve determined that I’m innocent as usual.

20 May 2026

Longway Planetarium (Detail)

I like my most recent piece, Longway Planetarium (Detail), because it’s difficult to “read.” This is most improbable, but I can’t help wonder if I might have been trying to plagiarize Escher by making a photograph that doesn’t look right at first glance.

If you need help deciphering it, have a gander at the work I made exactly four years ago, Longway Planetarium and Contrail.

Coming next weak: more of the same.

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©2026 David Glenn Rinehart