Corruption

The Catholic church, 1400, was a seething mass of inbred filth. There were three Popes, anyone that protested was simply beheaded or burned at the stake. It was all about mediation between the individual and God. If you're Catholic or Anglican, it's a clear path: priests, bishops, cardinals, and a culminating dude, in a funny hat, that has the final say. These positions have always been for sale. Simony. Little better than a Lutheran hat-trick. Venice was Janus-faced, regimented but cosmopolitan, they had their pope, I lose track, Alexander VI, maybe, trying to turn the state religion into a family dynasty. Politics are always nasty. These guys were brutal: Urban VI, Gregory XI, Pius II, Innocent VIII, Julius II, Leo X. But it's the same language. Father forgive me, for I have sinned. I'm not a fan of religion. It's put us in dire straits. Sometimes the music is good, but the rest of it is bullshit. And this is what Licentious was saying, all those years ago, there is no god, when you die you die absolutely, those atoms that were previously you, become something else. A butterfly in South America, some dirt in the Sudan. Grotesque probably derives from being displayed underground, a grotto. I'm hoping Scott will does the driveway tomorrow, as that last rain made a mess of the ruts. It's seriously difficult to get to the top and the Jeep doesn't like it. I have to go in to the museum, we need to rearrange the Carter paintings, put some away, bring some others out. We'll do a map, in case I need to paint some areas before I re hang. M and C go to Louisiana on Sunday, to spend more than a week putting together an African Art show that will travel and end with us, so that we can take it back. Sara leaves Tuesday, to go back to Hilton Head until we open the Renaissance show in October. I'll have to be at the museum, because there won't be anybody else there when Pegi is at the Cirque, and she has a Halloween show coming up. Talk about job security. It's on my watch. It might rain tomorrow afternoon, so I'll need to go in midday, probably a beer at the pub (off hours) before establishing the new Carter arrangement, and setting up for D's opening, hoping that I can achieve the ridge after the opening. It'll give me time to take a sponge bath and wash my hair, in the morning, so that I don't stink at the reception. I'll probably be pouring wine, which is where I usually find myself, but I'd actually rather mingle and have a couple of drinks. I like a lot of these people, they're intelligent and spur my interest, though I'm only good for a couple of hours. I'd rather be alone and read than make small-talk, and I have a fairly narrow threshold. I'm careful, to not make offense, maybe not as careful as I should be; I tend to speak directly at an issue. I've given up several careers because I didn't want to be the boss; the evidence is that I'd be a good one, but I don't want that position; I work best by myself, and I like the way time is more fluid, when you're alone. I can stop, get out my foam pad, and look at a very small flower, with a magnifying glass, and maybe make a note. I don't make many notes anymore, now I choose to misremember. But I can stop, which I often do, and look at something closely. The Park Rangers corral me now, for a tutorial on miniature iris. I'm the guy, you know, who squares disparate piles.