LILEKS (James) :: The Bleat 2023 FRIDAY

Isn't that interesting?

No?

That's your post-war architectural dream, right there. The tower in the back is a concrete behemoth, part of a large arid complex. The towers on the right are from the late 60s, the U of M expansion on the West Bank - the punchcard school of architecture. In the foreground, a Gehry museum.

This is the setting into which they inserted these buildings:

I'm partial to the latter. I'm partial to the buildings that connect with the past and carry it forward.

Even the post-war buildings on the U of M mall hew to the style, with their own take on the columns. Ford Hall:

I took these a few weeks ago for a piece about the Mall architecture. It was not an emotional visit. Almost all emotions I have about the U and the time I spent there, and in Dinkytown, have cooled to room temp. It hasn't been mine for decades.

I even like the way Koltoff does the columns:

The columns don't touch the building, because it's the Seventies and we're so done with pretending they're structural. But that's okay.

The buildings on the Mall have scupture to exhort us to higher pursuits:

Geometry! Painting! Lamp-wick trimming! Agriculture!

Perhaps this will irritate the people who are irritated by people who admire some forms of the past. What else are you admiring, pal? SEGREGATION? DIFFICULT DIVORCES? INVADING THE SUDETENLAND?

A modern corner of the campus: raw concrete extruded through wood forms, and a piece of . . . sculpture.

We can have both, of course, but if you had a choice . . .

As I said, this was a few weeks ago. The sun today was weaker, and the wind dragged in cold air. The temp on Friday: 40 degrees below Monday. Rain came at dinnertime and it was cold and thick. Fall, demurred and delayed, arrived in a surly, brackish mood.

Any Detritus in the folder of Web Chum? Why yes. How I hate this stuff. It pollutes the web with lies and unreadable tripe.

No they didn't and no it isn't. The actual story:

Nothing like you imagined!

One of the "recent findings" is the Prague Astronomical Clock, which has been in plain view since 1410. Also:

This Roman Warrior’s Skull, Which Dates Back to 52 BC

The Gallic Wars were a series of battles led by Romans on behalf of Julius Caesar. The Romans secured an easy victory over the Celtic tribes due to their vast military superiority. More than 30,000 Romans died during the wars, which doesn't sound like such an astounding number after considering that over a million Celts died as well.

"On behalf of Julius Caesar." See? Your way of looking at history, totally changed.

This one . . .

Oh no what could it be I simply have to look

Okay. I've read it. Let me summarize:

“Adam” inherited the trailer, which was abandoned, but had a KEY that was placed in a conspicuous location, and also a SECRET NOTEBOOK with COORDINATES, which was a STORAGE LOCKER, which had a SECRET ROOM, which had evidence of bribery scheme in the local town. The SHERIFF stopped him on the way out of town!!! But let him go.

From the piece:

Adam’s father had been working as a secret, undercover agent. All the lies about working late that Adam heard throughout his childhood were false.

And he was really ALIVE too and the evidence was real and the officials went to JAIL thanks to ADAM finishing his DAD’S work. It concludes:

There was still a long road ahead, but Adam hoped that his father, wherever he was, would get the news of his son’s bravery and feel safe enough to come home. But, mostly, Adam felt a sense of peace that he had finally finished his father’s life’s work.

The end.

(Dislaimer: This story is a work of fiction created for entertainment. Characters and events are the products of the author’s imagination. The images shown are used for illustration only.)

But it's not the end! After the “Discaimer,” another note!!!! It’s not really the end! There are more MYSTERIOUS EMAILS and meetings and he meets his long-lost FATHER and learns he was THE REAL BAD GUY but he ESCAPES!

I wonder if I generated 1/10th of a cent of revenue by scrolling to the bottom of the page. If so, they were overpaid.

And now, our new Friday feature. Extracts from the Dream Diary . . . illustrated by Artificial Intelligence.

I had been selected for a space flight, and would be going along with a local TV anchor. The day before, we were supposed to do a broadcast, but it was a collection of old black-and-white TV shows; I would provide commentary that would link the plots to the exploits or personality characteristics of the TV anchor. I was performing this on a set made of bunk beds, and I was wearing pajamas.

I flubbed two transitions from the TV shows, and after the second one the director took the matter out of my hands and gave it to the TV anchor, who performed them flawlessly. I was chastened and somewhat humiliated.

Prompt: TV anchor in a newsroom in 1962. Lots of interesting results.