The news from Sicily.

1. "American Hiker Dies After Lightning Strike on Mount Etna in Italy/Rescuers found a 29-year-old man in serious condition on the volcano’s eastern slope on Sunday. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital in Catania" (NYT gift link)("On Monday, Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology reported that another volcanic vent had opened in the valley, with fresh lava flowing overnight.... During a volcanic eruption, tiny collisions among the rising particles of ash can create static electricity, which may in turn produce volcanic lightning").

2. "Thieves Steal 4 Renaissance Paintings From Italian Museum in Brazen Heist/The works, by Antonello da Messina, were taken as the Sicilian city of Messina held a religious celebration" (NYT gift link)("The celebration, the Procession of the Vara, is a religious ritual that takes places every Aug. 15. Some 100,000 people attended the celebration and the city’s law enforcement officials were focused on maintaining order there, city officials said....The theft is a blow to the city.... [F]or the past few years the city has focused on the 'Messina, City of Antonello' brand...).

3. The Procession of the Vara:

"Three stages keep the dancers moving and the listeners happy all day with a diverse mix of sounds including Latin soul by Orquesta SalSoul del Mad, roots rock veterans The Rousers, bluegrass..."

"... from Bigtooth, and of course fest favorites like VO5 and Steely Dane…and that’s only a small sample of the local bands; the fest also features tour stops by The Band Feel, Toronzo Cannon, Kelli Baker Band and others. Food and artisan vendors are also on offer, as well as kids' activities hosted by Canopy Center. Find the full schedule below and updates at atwoodfest.com...."

I'm quoting from the middle of the page at "CANCELED: AtwoodFest" (Isthmus).

At the top of the page: "Our community and our Marquette neighbors witnessed another horrific officer-involved shooting just blocks from our festival grounds, leaving us in deep pain and justified anger. In acknowledgment of what has happened far too often in our community and our country as a whole, this year's AtwoodFest, themed 'The Heartbeat of the Neighborhood,' is canceled...."

"You’ve been in the folk tradition... I wonder how your attitude toward those types of songwriting have differed under President Trump..."

"... versus, at the time, under George W. Bush, when you wrote 'When The President Talks to God,' one of your best-known songs."

The NYT interviewer asks Conor Oberst, in "How Conor Oberst Survived Teenage Rock Stardom" (gift link).

Oberst answers: "You know, it’s really hard for me to even articulate the Trump era. Maybe at some point I’ll be able to do it. It’s like, you can’t satirize what’s already a parody. It’s already a disgusting, gross cartoon.... I’m sure it permeates everything I write, but to write directly toward, I found it almost impossible.... I mean, I’ve thought about it and I’ve had plenty of people be like, where’s the new 'When the President Talks to God'? I don’t know. It’s such an avalanche of insanity."

What is the origin and history of the idea that something/someone is beyond parody because what they already are is the parody?

"And she said she spent her limited free time ironing undergarments, sewing fraying skirts and reinforcing loose jacket buttons."

I'm reading "Japan Is Startled by Prime Minister’s Grueling Sleep Schedule/Sanae Takaichi has said she gets just 'zero to three hours' of sleep a night, prompting a debate in the country over work-life balance" (NYT gift link).

The article begins: "Monday was Sea Day in Japan, a public holiday when many people escape the summer heat by swimming, surfing and lounging at the beach. But not Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi."

Work-life balance is important. Sleep is important. But here, I'm more interested in a Prime Minister talking about ironing undergarments and accomplishing tiny sewing repairs. What is this theater of humility? Also, that holiday: Sea Day. 

"Fireworks release tiny particles that can irritate lungs and trigger asthma attacks, along with gases like carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide..."

"... and sulfur dioxide and metals including aluminum, manganese and cadmium, according to the American Lung Association. Even Freedom 250, the Trump-backed group that helped organize the event, acknowledged on its website that 'air quality will decline' and visibility 'may become compromised.' It advised children and older people to avoid extended time outdoors and advised residents to keep windows closed and to use air filters. 'It’s probably going to be incredibly hot and adding a firework show is just going to compound the air quality that’s already destined to be poor,' said Panagis Galiatsatos, a pulmonary physician.... He encouraged people with respiratory conditions like asthma to stay indoors and watch the spectacle on TV. 'Sometimes we need to just be mindful of safety versus grandiosity'.... Dogs tremble. They drool. They try to hide by cramming themselves into spaces that are too small. They have accidents indoors and tear up clothes or furniture...."

From "Bombs Bursting in Air Means Hours of Smoke and Confused Dogs in D.C./Organizers want the July 4 fireworks in the nation’s capital to break the world record. But the fun will also come with air pollution and possibly headaches for pet owners and zoo keepers" (NYT).

"Visitors in red, white and blue darkened with sweat stood in lines for hours, sometimes screaming in frustration and other times collapsing from exhaustion."

"The Independence Day parade was canceled and the Great American State Fair delayed. Steel fences and closed roads made photos of iconic monuments hard to capture. Both white supremacists and liberal activists marched through the city, each demanding their country back...."

I'm reading "America’s 250th celebrations marked by severe weather, political division/Officials ordered thousands of people to evacuate the National Mall after a severe weather warning that delayed President Donald Trump’s speech." That's in The Washington Post (not the NYT, as I'd accidentally had written).

"Small protests popped up throughout the day. One group lugged a 700-foot banner that read 'We the People' down Pennsylvania Avenue, condemning the president. About 50 people with another group, 'Refuse Fascism,' marched toward the White House, demanding that Trump leave office.... [H]undreds of uniformed members of Patriot Front, a white-supremacist group, marched toward the U.S. Capitol. Their faces covered in white masks, the men beat drums and carried flags — some upside down, others Confederate — as they chanted, 'Reclaim America!' Many gripped combat shields as they passed the Capitol building...."

How did the extra-important 4th look from your vantage point? 

"It used to be that the holiday brought out dad jeans and cropped tops and everyone looked slightly embarrassing, but the atmosphere was good-hearted and welcoming."

Writes Robin Givhan in "I Used to Love the Fourth of July" (NYT). 

That's a gift link, so you don't have to guess about what went wrong with the 4th of July for Givhan. It's Trump. Right?

But this year, I can barely tolerate the sight of red, white and blue. When combined into a maximalist display of nationalist cheerleading, the colors make my heart ache. The flags on federal buildings are grand, but they hang alongside banners featuring President Trump’s scowling face.... It’s a wonder to see water dance in a fountain that had been dry for nearly 20 years. But that pleasure comes with the knowledge that the repairs were orchestrated by an administration that sees itself more as a regime than as the caretakers of a democracy....

Among the celebrities at the UFC Freedom 250 festivities: The Holy Uncle.

Vice President JD Vance hanging out with Pope Leo’s brother, the Holy Uncle, at the UFC Freedom 250 Fight Night at the White House.

This is the greatest timeline in human history. pic.twitter.com/W3xZPkNhtU

— Thomas Hern (@ThomasMHern) June 15, 2026

Those who like to call out Trump for his narcissism got a big disappointment last night as the supposed birthday party was not a birthday party at all.

The event was called UFC Freedom 250, and, true to that name, it turned out to be about the UFC and the United States of America.

3 days before his birthday, Trump had said — quoted at USA Today — "You don't have to wish me happy birthday because I'm not happy about that birthday that I'm having. That's a number that I never thought really too much about. It's not a number I like, but I'm here, nevertheless."

And at that huge event on the White House lawn on the evening of his birthday, last night, I don't think there was even a passing mention of his birthday.

All I am seeing is a spontaneous welling-up of the song "Happy Birthday" in the crowd:

If that was planned, it was planned to seem unplanned. It's entirely unconnected to anything happening in the Octagon.

Trump walked out of the White House with some fanfare, but he was side-by-side with Dana White, and that thwarted the hater's interpretation that Trump expected it to be all about him.

He took his seat ringside and mostly just sat there smiling. At the end, he entered the Octagon, but not to be celebrated. He was congratulating the fighters and giving them a photo-op to celebrate themselves.

Well, by all means, cater to their sensitive feelings.

"N.Y.U. Students Object to Speaker Who Calls Their Generation Coddled."

That's a NYT headline, and of course, I suspect it of being intended to provoke the kind of sarcasm I put up there in the post title.

The person the students "object to" is Jonathan Haidt, who's been selected as the speaker at their graduation. As the NYT puts it: "the choice reflects a dismissal of their values at a moment they should cherish." He's getting the platform of their graduation ceremony.

In his breakout book, “The Coddling of the American Mind,” he and his co-author, Greg Lukianoff, argued that schools cultivated a mentality of fragility, making personal safety paramount, while de-emphasizing problem-solving skills. Students, they concluded, were insulated from encountering uncomfortable situations and upsetting ideas, leaving them ill-prepared to handle difficulty as adults....

“Many students have reported feelings of disappointment, disgust, unenthusiasm, defeat, and embarrassment,” the letter went on, expressing regret that their celebratory moment had instead “become another instance of being misunderstood.”

The students' letter noted that a recent NYU graduating class got Taylor Swift as their speaker. Another got Sonia Sotomayor. Haidt is a professor at N.Y.U. Maybe the students wanted more of an exciting personality, but certainly not a scold! You can understand the disappointment, disgust, unenthusiasm, defeat, and embarrassment. You're asking your family to come to this big event for you, one where students 4 years ahead of you got Taylor Swift, and you have to tell them it's a business school professor who writes about how Americans are too fragile these days. Yeah, I see how "embarrassment" got on that list of feelings. 

Thrusting.

Giants were asked not to do the thrusting celebration anymore so instead they were as polite as possible https://t.co/lesg7G6iVl pic.twitter.com/NKjHORMPVo

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 13, 2026

"The artist Michaela Stark, who is known for binding her own flesh so that it spills over, confronting those who see it with their own idea of what is considered beautiful..."

"... and who also posed for a Met mannequin — put it... bluntly: 'It institutionalizes the idea that bodies are different.'"

From "The Met Makes a Statement With 9 New Mannequin Bodies/The latest Costume Institute exhibition expands its ideas of who, exactly, belongs in fashion. Will the gala follow suit?" (NYT)(gift link, so you can see the artist's bound flesh spilling over and the quite interesting mannequins in their fashions).

"Stark [said] that the images that come out of the gala matter, especially now. 'Who’s on that red carpet and what their bodies are like is a political statement,' she said. To really inspire change, she said, the party needs at least some 'fabulous fat women wearing fabulous gowns.' 'If it is watered down to an Ozempic-fueled event of skinny girls wearing paintings on the red carpet,' she said, 'that’s an active denial of what this exhibition is really about.'"

The idea of "wearing paintings" relates to the theme of the Met Gala this year, which is something about the way fashion has channeled fine art. We'll see how literally the gala-goers take it. I hope nobody uses the idea of walking about inside a picture frame. 

AND: The Gala is tonight, so watch for the picture frame idea. It's on my bingo card. So is a "Starry Night" star on each breast.

King Charles arrives at the White House.

I don't know why I find this so charming. I dreamed about King Charles last night. I felt sorry for that poor man somehow.

From Trump's speech: "For nearly two centuries before the revolution, this land was settled and forged by men and women who bore in their souls the blood and noble spirit of the British. Here on a wild and untamed continent, they set loose the ancient English love of liberty and Great Britain’s distinctive sense of glory, destiny, and pride. And that’s what it is: glory, destiny, and pride. The American patriots who pledged their lives to independence in 1776 were the heirs to this majestic inheritance. Their veins ran with Anglo-Saxon courage. Their hearts beat with an English faith in standing firm for what is right, good, and true.

"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:

Tim Dillon explains Melania's Epstein speech.

I like the detail in the interpretation of the line, "Donald and I were invited to the same parties as Epstein from time to time since overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach."

Dillon translates: "Here's what she's telling you: We are rich.... I'm wealthy and I'm attractive. Many of you aren't either one of those things.

"The best experiences I’ve had have been going to swingers’ parties held in the West End and stately homes in the countryside, but you don’t find out the venue until hours before..."

"... either through the WhatsApp group or posted on the event’s socials. It’s way better than a nightclub. You might live in the middle of nowhere and have big, bold or boring lives, but on this night you get to be with 150 people who are all up for it.... The next party I’m going to has... [a rule that] if your outfit isn’t good enough, you have to take it all off at the door. There are body painters inside who can make anyone look good — they even do vajazzling. I remember being at a party where a beautiful blonde girl got out of a taxi wrapped in a silver cloak. She passed through the entrance hall, shrugged off the cloak, and walked into the party completely naked. I also have a friend who has been going for years and always does the same joke — when he gets in, he strips to nothing but a codpiece and walks around going, 'This is so embarrassing — no one told me there was a dress code.'"

Says Anthony, 28, quoted in "Why Gen Z say yes, yes, yes to sex parties. They’re supposedly the prudish and sober generation — so why are twentysomethings flocking to polyamorous foam parties and BDSM dungeons in secret warehouses?T hree twentysomethings reveal all" in the London Times. 

"Mid-Lent is like punk rock — it was against the established order. We still do it because it’s really cool that our grandparents did it."

"Today, we don’t have to observe Lent, but they had to, and so Mid-Lent was a form of resistance."

Said Nicolas Harvey, 39, a high school history teacher, quoted in "Halfway Through Lent, a Small Quebec Island Celebrates With Masks and Jigs/Few islanders still observe Lent, but they cling to a tradition once seen as defying the all-powerful Roman Catholic Church" (NYT).

I'm out of gift links for the month or I would give you one. There are lots of nice photos of these islanders of the  St. Lawrence River.

Is it odd to carry on the traditional rebellion when you're no longer subject to the authority that inspired the rebellion? Or is it actually typical of our annual festivities? (I'm thinking of Halloween, Christmas, and the 4th of July.) 

"Think about the 250th. A lot's going to happen this summer on the Mall. But come the end of the year, what's still going to still be on the Mall? The bronze bison."

From "Smithsonian brings bison back to the National Mall with gigantic statues" (WaPo)(gift link, because this is all about the photographs).

"It is well known that at the coronation of kings and queens, even modern ones, a certain curious process of seasoning them for their functions is gone through."

"There is a saltcellar of state, so called, and there may be a castor of state. How they use the salt, precisely—who knows? Certain I am, however, that a king’s head is solemnly oiled at his coronation, even as a head of salad. Can it be, though, that they anoint it with a view of making its interior run well, as they anoint machinery? Much might be ruminated here, concerning the essential dignity of this regal process, because in common life we esteem but meanly and contemptibly a fellow who anoints his hair, and palpably smells of that anointing. In truth, a mature man who uses hair-oil, unless medicinally, that man has probably got a quoggy spot in him somewhere. As a general rule, he can’t amount to much in his totality."

Writes Herman Melville, in Chapter 25 of "Moby-Dick."

"One poor actress looked like a Diane Arbus character. She was on her phone looking at her pictures and shrieking at her publicist. I heard that she went home and cried herself to sleep. Nobody has heard from her since!"

Said one partygoer, quoted in "Vanity Fair’s Oscar Party Light-Mare Some stars are said to be fuming over the magazine’s red carpet photo fiasco. 'One actress looked like a Diane Arbus character!' snipes a VF insider. 'She went home and cried herself to sleep'" (Hollywood Reporter).

If I had to guess which picture that comment refers to, I'd say this photo of the actress Sarah Paulson.

Scroll here to see more of the Vanity Fair Oscar party photos. It's not just that the lighting brings out the worst, it's that the worst is there to be brought out.

More pics and complaints at "A-listers left fuming and in tears over ‘unforgiving’ Vanity Fair Oscar Party lighting" (NY Post). Monitor your thoughts as you scroll. It might be a miraculous cure for envy. That picture of Heidi Klum has the aura of an ordinary woman in a bleak dressing room realizing this dress is doing her no favors.

Here's the Diane Arbus photo "Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C., 1962." I thought of it when I saw this photo from the VF party.