#19 - Surrealist Pipe / Peeping Tom / Jōhatsu / 7 Liberal Arts
+ Bucket Lists Go in a Bucket
Hey folks 👋 I’ve recently been experimenting with Notes (Substack’s version of Tweets), sending a random interesting1 tidbit on a daily basis out into the digi-aether, relying on nothing but the favour of the algo-gods to reach some eyeballs connected to brains with a modicum of taste.
Hardly a reliable marketing strategy worthy of an aspiring solopreneur, but hey, I do this one for fun. 😄
So in this issue I’ve collected some of my recent Notes and if it’s a format that proves popular, I’ll combine it with the previous longer-form sections going forwards.
🎨 Art
Good Surrealism
“The Treachery of Images” (1929) is a surrealist painting by René Magritte. In it Magritte declares "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" ('This is not a pipe').
When asked about it he said:
The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture "This is a pipe", I'd have been lying!
🏰 Legend
Origin of the expression “Peeping Tom”
Lady Godiva (Godgifu in Old English), was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who died shortly after William’s conquest of England (1066).
Today she’s mainly remembered for the legend of her riding nude in the streets of Coventry, as protest of her husband’s (Leofric, the Earl of Mercia) harsh taxes.
Weary of her repeated requests, he said he’d grant it if she’d strip naked and ride on a horse through the streets. Godiva accepted and issued a proclamation that all persons should stay indoors and shut their windows. She rode through the town, clothed only in her long hair.
Only one person, a tailor name Thomas, disobeyed the proclamation and was struck blind or dead for his transgression.
Hence the name "Peeping Tom" from this most famous instance of voyeurism.
💭 A Quote to Remember
“Qui cum canibus concumbunt cum pulicibus surgent.”
Those who lie down with dogs,
rise up with fleas.
Notwithstanding what beautiful creatures (big) dogs are, it’s a worthy quote reminding us to be wary of the company we keep. 🐕
🏛 Culture
The companies helping people disappear
Jōhatsu (lit. "evaporation") refers to the people in Japan who purposely vanish from their established lives without a trace.
From inescapable debt to loveless marriages, the motivations vary but one thing is usually common - they turn to companies called “night movers” that assist them in disappearing…
A friend rightfully said that “Night Movers” would be a great title for a documentary on this. 🎬
📚 Literature
Nothing special, just the normal dopamine hit when a new book arrives, times three.
My top two Sci-Fi writers and the greatest economist alive.
My prized signed Satyricon coffee table book is also making an appearance. 🖤
🎶 Music
A seriously underrated Finnish band… And this song in particular – just listen for 20 seconds, you can’t not fall in love with that riff! 🎸😍
🖋 A Quote to Ponder
“People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies.”
– Blair Warren, 27 Words to Make the World Do Your Bidding
🎭 More Art
The 7 liberal arts
The “artes liberalis” are named as such because they’re "the knowledge worthy of a free person."
They’re composed of the Trivium – the three simpler subjects of Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic – and the Quadrivium – the four more advanced, numerological subjects of Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy.
😂 Comedy
Bucket lists belong in a bucket
Stole this one from the excellent Dan Piraro:
Your bucket list should not bring you closer to the bucket.
A lot of people use the term “bucket list” to describe things they want to do before they die. I recently came across an online list of some of the most common items on people’s bucket lists and found some of them to be curious choices if not flirtations with the Grim Bucket itself.
He goes on to list a couple of the common ones with his typical fantastic wit: 😆
Skydiving: This is a romantic name for an admittedly questionable activity; jumping out of a fully operational airplane while still in the air. It should be called “fate tempting,” or, at the very least, something more accurate like “dirtdiving” because the sky you’re falling from isn’t the most important element, it’s the planet rushing toward you at 120 mph. As hard as it is to believe, people pay money to put their entire lives and the emotional well-being of everyone who loves them at risk of abruptly ending a few minutes later…
To read the rest and more laughs see the original page here.
Dan’s partner on the long-running Bizarro comic strip is here on SS too:
Thanks for reading, and remember, always dance with the one that brung ya!
Prince 🦊
in my own not-so-humble opinion
Nice idea to collect your notes into a post! And thank you for the link!
I like the idea of repurposing recent notes. I’ve been doing something similar. Tweeting or “noting?” what’s on my mind and if it makes sense and I have more to say, I’ll expand on it with the weekly longer post.