We've come a long way.

Yesterday morning I was watching one of my Italian TV channels. There are 3 to choose from.

I'm trying to teach myself Italian and when I have time I watch 30 minutes of Italian news before or during breakfast.

After the news the screen immediately went blank. When this happens, as it does now and then, a notice appears to tell me that the next programme, usually a sporting event, is not available outside of Italy.

But this time there was no such notice and I wondered if there was something wrong with my television.

After two or three minutes of staring at a blank screen, I checked some other channels. They were all transmitting normally.

And then I saw it. On the information bar which I could access on the functioning channels: the missing programme was about anti-semitism.

Something clicked.

And the euro-cent dropped.

Anti-semitism is a sensitive subject in some countries. Too sensitive to be broadcast, especially if it's a live transmission with a studio audience. I mean somebody could stand up and say the P word.

In Italy the programme was deemed to be suitable for viewing. And that's OK. After all, it's a topical subject, in these times of mass migration.

Here presumably it was deemed not suitable for viewing. Which is not OK.

The censor's cut?

1984?

We're beyond that.

Well beyond it.

We've come a long way.

Of course I may be wrong.

There's always that possibility.

Isn't there?

The Big Red Spot (and the Little Red Spot)

The Big Red Spot 

The massive storm on Jupiter

And the Little Red Spot
On the outstretched wing of the telescope,

Earth's heavenly watchman   Hubble, 
(close observer of the Big Red Spot)

Struck by a micro-
meteorite

No larger than a grain of sand 

A singular impact crater
    .

Two red spots in space. 

Thinking of Andy Warhol

Here's a piece of wood I recently used as a palette for mixing paint and afterwards for cleaning the brushes.

I habitually block-in with surplus  paint. It''s  a fun thing to do.

By the way, I've seen pictures, so-called masterpieces that look a bit like this being seriously offered for sale in art galleries here in Vienna for thousands of euros.

As Andy Warhol famously said: Art is what you can get away with. 

I'm convinced he was right.