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because of jessica wildfire, I found martin rowson

JESSICA WILDFIRE IS BECOMING one of my favorite journalists. She describes herself as an “unfluencer,” which I assume is a play on those odd creatures of social media known as “influencers.” She is also a top writer in government, health, politics, culture, and life on Medium. And because of her, if rather indirectly, I discovered the artwork of Martin Rowson.

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psychedelic mushrooms and the origins of santa claus

THE IMAGE OF SANTA CLAUS in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer that allows him to visit billions of households around the globe in a single night is usually taken for granted. It is so much a part of “traditional” western pop culture that Santa’s origins—especially the magical parts—are rarely considered by most people. [Continue reading]

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patrick chappatte and will eisner and graphic journalism

I DON’T FOLLOW EDITORIAL CARTOONING, although I certainly appreciate the fact that we may be living in its golden age. There are so many brilliant individuals who combine political and social insight with intelligence and with along with the ability to draw! While I have paid a certain amount of attention to avid Horsey, part of that is because he is so well known here in the Pacific Northwest. [Continue reading]

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we might wonder what benefits impeachment is likely to yield

WE MIGHT WONDER what benefits impeachment is likely to yield, ponders Andrew Bacevich in “The Real Cover-Up: Putting Donald Trump’s Impeachment in Context.” As to the benefits of impeachment, Bacevich believes that answering that question “requires examining four scenarios that describe the range of possibilities awaiting the nation.” [Continue reading]

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michael sowa is composed surreally cryptic

WHILE I WAS PLAYING with themes in search of a new look for Rather Rare Records over the past few weeks, I posted a page with a note of apology and explanation for all to see. To make the post eye-catching, I found this surreally cryptic painting by Michael Sowa and used it as the page’s featured image. [Continue reading]

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evgeny kiselev and the invisible landscape

PSYCHEDELIC ART is not easily defined. Wikipedia defines it as “any art inspired by psychedelic experiences known to follow the ingestion of psychoactive drugs such as LSD and psilocybin. The word ‘psychedelic’ means ‘mind manifesting.’ By that definition, all artistic efforts to depict the inner world of the psyche may be considered psychedelic.” [Continue reading]