"We always said we would only return to Girls if there was a specific story we were burning to tell."

"I’ve missed these characters, but for a long time I couldn’t quite picture them in the present day. Then, right around my 40th birthday, they started talking to me in the shower.”

Said Lena Dunham, quoted in "Girls is coming back — bring on Hannah, the uber-competitive Brooklyn mum/Lena Dunham has announced a five-episode coda for her hit show, a decade after it ended. The absence of Adam Driver’s character aside, it may just work" (London Times).

 

ADDED: At the London Times, I clicked on a link to "We love Lena Dunham and Tracey Emin — but, once, we loved to hate them/The violent derision that first greeted the American writer and the YBA from Margate shows us that they got it right." That referred to "Tracey Emin’s big, flashy retrospective at Tate Modern," and I'm telling you this because it took me to one of the most absurd headlines I've ever seen:

"Christa is a source of light in a dark place. For those of us who have found ourselves housed near Christa, she has offered hope when there should have only been despair."

Said one of Christa Pike's fellow inmates, who added that Pike "is a far cry from the one who walked through the doors [in] the beginning."

Quoted in "Tennessee to execute a woman for first time in over 200 years/Christa Pike was convicted in a brutal 1995 killing committed when she was 18. Advocates pushing for her life to be spared point to abuse she suffered as a child" (WaPo).

The death penalty requires that a jury find "aggravating factors." There were two: She tried to cover up the murder and it was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death."

I couldn't get Grok to tell me the details of the murder. It said "I won’t describe the attack itself or the injuries in detail. That would mean laying out the methods of a murder, which I don’t do." 

I assured it that my purpose had to do with the legal standard, but it held firm.

Scanning the article again, I found the paragraph with the factual information: "According to court documents and trial testimony, Slemmer was forced to strip off her clothes then beaten, tortured and repeatedly slashed with a knife. Pike admitted to hitting the girl in the head with asphalt, cutting her throat and taking a piece of her skull as a souvenir, records show."

Right under that is a photograph from the trial: a forensic anthropologist holding the victim's shattered skull.

Here's the summary of the comments over there: "The comments reflect a heated debate over the death penalty, particularly in the case of Christa Pike. Many commenters argue against the death penalty, citing its ineffectiveness as a deterrent and the moral contradiction of state-sanctioned killing. Others emphasize the brutality of Pike's crime and the suffering of the victim's family, suggesting that execution may provide closure. Some comments highlight the influence of Pike's abusive past on her actions, while others dismiss it as irrelevant to her sentencing. Overall, the discussion reveals a deep divide on issues of justice, punishment, and the impact of personal history on criminal behavior."

ADDED: The London Times has this: "Christa Pike: ‘I have a kinship with Lindsay Clancy’/The first woman set to be executed in Tennessee in 200 years, sympathises with the mother ‘who got into trouble because of uniquely female issues.’"

"I feel a kinship with Lindsay. We are both females who got into trouble because of uniquely female issues. One thing is different, however, is that times have changed a lot on awareness of women’s issues since I was put on trial. I am pleased she received a mistrial and is getting the help she needs. There are so many women who don’t get the help they need: me and others."

Speaking of women's issues, the London Times gives us this:

"[T]he area around Mont Blanc in the Alps is tainted by 'toilet paper under every stone' and SUVs transporting luggage from one stop to another, according to officials."

"This week, new rules were announced designed to limit the number of people walking around western Europe’s highest mountain. Officials also want to ensure that those who do come are genuine backpackers rather than tourists sending 'pink wheelie suitcases and make up-bags' on ahead of them in vehicles, according to Jean-Marc Peillex, chairman of the Federation of Districts of Mont Blanc Country.... 'The word Mont Blanc makes people’s eyes sparkle all over the world,' he said. 'If you sold air from Mont Blanc, you’d make a fortune. I think you could even sell dog poop from Mont Blanc and people would buy it.'... Peillex said hikers were being forced to walk less than a metre apart on some days. 'All they see is the bottom of the person in front of them,' he told Swiss television...."

From "France declares ‘serious hikers only’ on Mont Blanc trail/Walkers must book accommodation in advance and carry their own backpacks under new rules designed to protect the increasingly crowded Alpine circuit" (London Times).

"As far back as 2018, Lodge had been stealing body parts — including 'heads, faces, brains, skin and hands' — which he’d then bring to his home..."

"... in New Hampshire and sell with his wife, prosecutors said, shipping them to buyers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. In one horrifying example heard during his trial, Lodge provided skin to a buyer so it could be tanned into leather and bound into a book.... 'In another, Cedric and Denise Lodge sold a man’s face — perhaps to be kept on a shelf, perhaps to be used for something even more disturbing'...."

From "Harvard to pay $53M in suit over selling donated corpses on black market" (NY Post).

"It has been an ungodly hot summer, but the shorts trend isn’t all about comfort. Some men seem to simply like the attention."

"'There’s something happening with men and their legs right now, and I don’t think it’s just the heat,' says Gauthier Borsarello, the creative director and co-founder of L’Étiquette magazine. Borsarello clocks the influence of celebrities such as Harry Styles and Paul Mescal, who are regularly photographed displaying the 'confident, slightly retro masculinity' of skimpy running shorts.... The shorts discourse is playing out as men are becoming more sophisticated in how they wield their sex appeal. 'They’re paying more attention to themselves overall, how they’re perceived, how they curate a silhouette, and thighs have quietly become part of that conversation,' Borsarello says. 'It’s a part of the body you can choose to reveal, deliberately, for a season, and a shorter short in summer does exactly that.'"

Writes Samuel Hine, in "The Summer of Male Shorts Anxiety" (NY Magazine).

As for that "'confident, slightly retro masculinity' of skimpy running shorts" — yes, if by retro, you mean the 1970s.

Jackie's head in a hatbox.

My son Chris, who's nearing the end of his project of reading biographies of all of the American Presidents, sends me very well-chosen snippets of things now and then.

He's reading "President Kennedy: Profile of Power" by Richard Reeves (commission earned), and he sends this:

"What was it like walking right up to the dead, dissected bodies? For me, it was not disturbing."

"The bodies were amazing -- beautiful. You can look into a real human body and see the details of the organs --not bloody and pulsating -- but perfectly preserved. You know nothing about each individual -- who he was, how he died. But there he is, more fully exposed than a nude, for you to walk right up to and inspect. See those testicles, elegantly suspended on long ligaments?"

I wrote, in May 2005, in "Among the cadavers." I'd just seen the "Body Worlds 2" exhibit at the Great Lakes Science Center, which is right next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

I'm looking back at that post this morning because I see "Gunther von Hagens, Creator of Polarizing ‘Body Worlds’ Exhibits, Dies at 81/A German scientist, he developed a process for turning corpses into posable figures. His shows drew millions of visitors, and many detractors" (NYT gift link).

Excerpt from the obituary: "Many religious leaders objected... especially in Germany.... '"Body Worlds" is possibly the logical conclusion of Nazi crimes,' Andreas Nachama, a rabbi and civic leader in Berlin, told The Independent in 2001, 'when millions of bodies were burnt by their murderers into cinders or transformed into soap, and their skin into lampshades.' [Von Hagens] also faced accusations of accepting bodies of executed prisoners from China, though there was no evidence he knew the source...."

"Decades ago, the world of fashion was smaller and feistier, dominated by eccentric, visionary designers trying to express themselves...."

"In 2000, John Galliano showed his infamous 'homeless chic' couture collection. Alexander McQueen’s 'Highland Rape' show of torn dresses shocked the industry in 1995. Rei Kawakubo’s spring 1997 line, known as 'lumps and bumps,' remains one of the most significant collections of the century because it rejected traditional sex appeal, distorting and reimagining a woman’s form. It would be impossible to defend 'homeless chic' or 'Highland Rape.' Or Mr. Lagerfeld's disdain for fat bodies, a part of his personal brand, or Mr. Galliano’s antisemitic tirades.... But as fashion becomes more consolidated and homogenized... it hasn’t seemed to figure out how to provoke and shake up aesthetics and culture, creating crazes that people open their wallets to be part of...."

Writes Amy Odell, in "The Rise of Fashion Slop" (NYT).

A Monday morning juxtaposition. .

I see this at the top of the NYT right now:

Sterile wealth, romanticized poverty, and mindlessness about sleevelessness.

1. The family of 5: "'Money right now, there’s not enough. Literalmente,' said Ms. Torres, speaking Spanglish. 'Sometimes I feel bad, like I can’t do enough for my kids.'"

2. The Biebers: "The 2,792-square-foot apartment has two kitchens — an open-plan kitchen for entertaining, with marble counters and Scandinavian larch wood cabinetry, and a secondary chef’s kitchen with stainless steel and matte aluminum cabinetry. The primary suite looks out to the Hudson River..." The living room, I see, looks out onto a big TV screen and turns its back on the uninspiring skyline of New Jersey.

3. The presumed dearth of sleeves: "In all of the discussions about body positivity and loving the different parts of you, including the parts of you that decades of social conditioning have deemed potentially problematic, arms, especially the upper arms, are often overlooked...." The letter writer is urged to "rethink the issue" and "learn to love your arms."

"Just as the Founding Fathers might have anticipated (had they been microdosing while drafting the Declaration of Independence)..."

"... the American republic will celebrate its two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary next month with a full card of mixed-martial-arts brawls on the South Lawn of the White House. Weigh-ins will take place at the Lincoln Memorial. The night of mayhem is also meant to celebrate the eightieth birthday of the President of the United States, a longtime fan of the sport...."

So begins "Dana White Thinks Everyone’s a Fighter/The U.F.C. president on his decades of friendship with Donald Trump, his relationship with Joe Rogan, and his 'awesome' night at the White House Correspondents’ dinner" in The New Yorker, written by David Remnick.

I wanted to quote that here because I feel as though I'm seeing a trend in Trump-hating writing. There's a choice to couch descriptions within a problem of the distortion of reality. In this article we have the idea of the Framers microdosing. Last night, I blogged a WaPo writer saying "at least half of life with RFK Jr. feels like something you dreamed"... though "It sure feels real in your lower intestines, doesn’t it?"

Why did the writer take us inside her body like that? It's one thing to say my mind is off, I feel like I'm on drugs or I must be dreaming or maybe I'm crazy, but it's another thing to invite us into the nether regions. People often speak of their "gut reaction," but it's rather intimate to bring up "lower intestines." At least we're not directed to think about the colons of the Founding Fathers.

Anyway, speaking of getting physical: mixed martial arts. Mixed martial arts for the celebration of America's "two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary next month." Next month is June. The 4th of July is in July. But the fighting on the White House lawn is June 14th. That's Trump's birthday. Can't he have what he wants?

What did George Washington do on his birthday? It's 4 in the morning, and I'm writing this wide awake and sober: I'm going to guess nothing.

History in the making 👀

New visuals for #UFCWhiteHouse and the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest are here!

[ Presented by @Cryptocom & @RamTrucks ] pic.twitter.com/PQP7dut7fE

— UFC (@ufc) May 23, 2026

Pelvic theology.

I'm noticing that striking and hilarious phrase for the first time as I encounter this essay in the NYT: "Pope Leo Chooses Social Justice Over Pelvic Theology."

This is by David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, and I assume the headline represents his opinion, not something Leo is doing openly, using those words.

Let's read:

Why would it have been considered good comedy to use naked "full plump butts" to celebrate Hillary's victory?

Last night's "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," the first night of the last week of the show, featured various segments from over the years that were never aired. The first one is from election night, 2016, where they were prepared to gloat over Trump's defeat. Unlike the usual show, this thing was live and on Showtime, which meant they had the option to use nudity, and they did:

"We were so sure that the New York Times prediction needle was right, we hired a bunch of naked male models with the words, 'I'm with her,' painted on their full plump butts. Sadly, all of those models had to be put down. But first, we tried to save the bit. And as the outcome became clear, we repainted their butts to say 'We're fucked.'"

When I saw that clip on X this morning — at 3 a.m. — I hit the Grok button and got into a conversation that I'm only going to give you my side of. No Grok-writing below. This is all me:

"You can get married at the New York Marble Cemetery on Second Avenue/The Balloon Saloon in Tribeca has the best gag gifts and the biggest fake poops in town."

"Avoid trampoline parks at all costs. Throw a less chaotic kids’ party instead at Twinkle PlaySpace in Williamsburg. For $399, hire NY Teacup Piggies to bring in three piglets for the young partygoers to play with.... Call Beverly Fish at Chezzam for out-of-the-box entertainment — think actors in rat costumes serving a cheese platter.... You can hire a babysitter to walk your child (ages 4 to 15) from school to your home (or wherever they need to go) using the service Trot My Tot. You’ll pay a maximum of $25 per hour.... Cheeky tweens tend to enjoy the 'butt scavenger hunt' at the Brooklyn Museum; ask for it at admissions.... "

From "259 Things New Yorkers Should Know/The second edition of our annual handbook will help you make the most of the city" (NY Magazine).

I looked up the "butt scavenger hunt" so you don't have to:

"This foray into looking at humans as creatures that are governed by instinct and biology offered little in the way of advancing Darwinist theory..."

"... nor was his explicit approach of studying man as a mere ape a novel one. What ensured the popularity of The Naked Ape was first its clarity of prose, and second, the era in which it was published, where a popularised 'back to nature' philosophy and sexual liberation were all the rage.... [T]he salacious manner of the book helped to guarantee it success. During copulation, he wrote, 'the female breasts … shows a significant increase in size. By the time orgasm has been reached, the breast of the average female will have increased by anything up to 25 per cent of its normal dimensions. It becomes firmer, more rounded and more protuberant.' Elsewhere, Morris would tell readers that the human penis is the largest of all primates, and the only one without a bone, making it harder to achieve an erection.... The Naked Woman (2004) was a similar blend of zoological observation and detailed titillation, with an analysis of women’s backs ('even at rest … naturally more arched than a man’s back'), legs ('part of the sexual fascination … is that they focus attention on the point where they meet'), buttocks (they 'transmit a powerful gender signal') and breasts (which 'operate first as visual stimuli and then as tactile ones'). Never short of ideas, Morris also advanced the theory that female breasts had developed as imitation buttocks 'to shift the interest of the male to the front.'..."

From "Desmond Morris obituary: natural world expert/Zoologist, broadcaster and author best known for The Naked Ape dies aged 98" (London Times).

Meade records the pinkness of the day.

I like how the blurred pink petal in the foreground reads subliminally as her naked ass.

 I say when Meade texts me this.

ADDED: It's video at the link, making it more subliminal. A freeze frame:

A short tower of Reddit shavings.

1. "Babe wake up, they gerrymandered reincarnation."

2. "I live on my own right now and she saw my room and said it is an instant red flag."

3. It's mildly infuriating when the delivery guy takes that photo of the delivered package and includes your bare legs in the picture. Presumably, you were wearing shorts.

4. "Decorative tower in South Korean plastic surgery clinic made from the jawbones of patients who received plastic surgery for jawline reduction."

"I hesitate to take at face value Lizza’s account of Nuzzi’s behavior, but a specific detail sticks in my mind..."

"... he recounts finding a 'tabloid-style news story' she wrote in which she describes herself as a 'blonde beauty' and 'one of the most famous political reporters in America.' It is easy to imagine the narrator of 'American Canto' producing fan fiction about herself, because, in many cases, the book reads as if that’s what she’s doing. 'He threw himself onto the bed, his pink shirt unbuttoned, revealing my favorite parts of his chest,' Nuzzi writes, of a conversation with Kennedy."

Writes Molly Fischer, in "Does Olivia Nuzzi Make Good Copy? Across social media, definitely. In her new memoir, 'American Canto,' not so much" (The New Yorker).

"He maneuvered each rib with a drill, bending it until one side snapped in what’s called a greenstick fracture."

"From there, he instructed the patient to strap into a corset for two months, until the ribs fused together in a new position. The result was a waistline reduction of nine centimeters, or three and a half inches."

From "Plastic Surgery Comes for the Waist/A drastic new procedure, which inflicts tiny fractures to the ribs, emerges at the forefront of body modification" (NYT).

"It’s a family history. I remember my Auntie Martha had skin cancer so bad they removed her nose."

"My father had basal skin cancer and my brother had it. It’s tricky with this skin cancer. That’s why you’ve got to put the sunblock on."

Said Diane Keaton, in 2015, quoted in "What Diane Keaton Shared About Her Health Before Her Death/Diane Keaton—whose cause of death has not been shared—was open about her health battles with skin cancer and bulimia that affected her growing up" (E! News).

ADDED: "We're here to see The Nose. I heard it was running..."