March 30, 2002
Greetings Accumulators!
We have survived two Passover seders and are now immersed in doing this year's taxes. Hoorah.
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF NOT DISTURBING THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY SO DISTURBED
Police arrived to a arrest a man in Munich, Germany after a neighbor reported seeing him carrying a dead body into his apartment. Once the officers entered his flat, however, he showed them his collection. Of rubber sex dolls. He was immediately cleared of all charges, of course. It seems that the body in question was merely his latest acquisition. Police reported that the man seemed "surprised and disturbed" by their questions, according to Reuters, but perhaps that is because they arrived when he was apparently in the midst of testing out his new acquisition. When they said they were investigating a murder, he showed them his new siliicon sex doll. The police left quietly, and the file on the case was closed. No word on whether he cuddled the new member of his collection afterward, or just rolled over and went to sleep.
TRULY TASTELESS AND OFFENSIVE "ART" DEPARTMENT
Is it just me, or do some London art galleries not care what they display at all? A London art exhibit was vandalized last Saturday by a protestor to took exception to the show. The show contained several human corpses, which had been skinned. The man, Martin Wyness, poured paint on the floor, and threw a blanked over an exhibit featuring a baby in utero. The show, called "Body Worlds", includes 30 corpses, all skinned and displayed in various poses, and was put together by a German named Gunther von Hagens. Here's the kicker: most people who showed up to view the exhibit were horrified, not by its contents, but by what Mr. Wyness had done. "It's like a freak show in there", he said. The world has just gone crazy. One of the exhibits is called rider on a horse. Both the human and the horse have been skinned, and their skulls split in two. Von Hagens says the show aims to educate people about their bodies. To their credit, most critics had nothing good to say about the show. Waldemar Januszczak, art critic for London Times, said: "It's certainly not art, and its educational value is limited. It's just a mass of hype going around sucking up money." My apologies here if I've given von Hagen's show some free publicity. Mr Wyness, although I can't condone the destruction of "property" (no, it's not art!), thanks for speaking up.
GIVE 'EM THAT OLD TIME RELIGION
Prisoners at the Jackson County Jail in Medford, Oregon have found a novel use for the Bible. They rip out the pages and use them for rolling cigarettes, according to jail officials. But, that's not even the story. The story is about what they're smoking. Tobacco is contraband in the prison and, although deputies do find hidden tobacco, they also find sauerkraut, lettuce leaves, coffee grounds and orange peels, all of which are smuggled out of the cafeteria by prisoners, dried, and substituted for tobacco. "It's much more of a problem than drugs, although they still try that, too," said jail Sgt. Dan Penland. "They do everything they can to find something to smoke." The inmates even have a recipe for making alcohol out of rotting fruit that they squirrel away. The drink is said to be less common than cigarettes, though, because a fermenting batch of it emits a seriously foul odor. What a creative bunch! If they would put this talent and energy to work writing sitcoms, they could provide substantial aid to network television.
He Who Is The Light Of My Life has grown bored and weary of waiting for me to finish typing to you. So, he has accepted a lunch invitation from his brother, and off he has gone, leaving me with the place to myself. Which is no thrill, because it needs dusting, and the taxes are still waiting to be finished. Sigh. Back to work. It looks quite lovely outdoors, so if it is the same where you are, get out there and enjoy yourself. To all my subscribers of the Christian Persuasion, I hope your Easter is joyous and filled with hope for a peaceful world. Pray for us all. Have a great week, Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 2002 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #176
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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