#comments

One of the most well known bits of art trivia (according to the intensive research I just did in my imagination, my vivid imagination, mind you) is that Vincent sliced off his own ear and then wrapped it up and gave it to a prostitute. Turns out that might not be the case! Some art historians now think it was Gaugin who cut off his ear with a sword! (via) A sword?? I mean you gotta be pretty good with a sword to cut off someone’s ear while you’re drunk… or was he aiming for the head and missed? Wouldn’t he also have cut into the shoulder? I mean, he’s no samurai or anything, right? Or maybe he was…. Aaiight, art historians, explain how Gaugin was a samurai now.

This sounds a touch hoaxy to me, but who knows, stranger things have happened. It seems that in this economic crisis the Hubei province in China is taking a novel way to increase tax revenues – they’re ordering government officials to smoke more. Teachers, too, I guess cause maybe their hoping that that’ll get the kids smoking earlier and you know kids smoke like chimneys once you get’em started. The goal is to increase tax revenues from cigarette sales. Huh! Good thinking guys!

Alright, I lied. London was voted the crappiest city. But it was named Europe’s dirtiest city! (via) Also the most expensive city. Also the one with the worse cuisine. And the most tourist traps. And then, just to rub salt into those wounds, it was voted to have the worst dressed locals. I mean come on! That’s just mean. On the flipside, it has the best public parks and the best nightlife. On a different flipside, the cleanest city is Copenhagen, which I now want to go to given my recent obsession with the Asteroids Galaxy Tour. So you know.