Art appreciation

I can't explain modern art, but I know what I like.Sometimes we should just enjoy art and not worry about what it means. It’s alright to enjoy Jackson Pollock without worrying about whether you’re looking at a paint store explosion.That garbage can in the corner could be art or it could be a garbage can.With that in mind, I give you this:A legal timeline. (Screenshot via complaint)I kind of love it but I can’t explain why. I guess it appeals to my love of chaos and irrelevance.In case you’re wondering, the artist is a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals judge (or a non-credited underling). It’s in a ruling that quite adequately describes a sequence of events and then follows it with this completely unnecessary artwork.Is it for visual learners? I don’t know.But look closer. Underneath some of the listed events are straight vertical lines. Underneath others are stick-figure straight-backed chairs facing in opposite directions. And, to top it off, the amount of time represented by space passing between 11/13 and 12/18 is approximately the same as the amount of time between 12/18 and 8/4 the next year.Time flies when you’re seeking an injunction?My mind was blown. (Or maybe it’s already been blown.)The case, by the way, is about whether it’s OK to ingest psilocybin if that’s part of your religion.(Aside: I know some of you cynics out there are going to think taking psilocybin explains the artwork, but the lines would not have been that straight.)It seems the founder of a religion called Singularism got busted for using and possessing the drug. He claimed the First Amendment protected its use as part of his religion. A lower court agreed. The appeals court vacated the lower court’s injunction and remanded the case.For those of you seeking enlightenment, you may want to note one of the amici curiae in this case was something called Church of Direct Experience. It turns out that “Direct Experience is the source of all true knowing.” Apparently, we don’t need artificial intelligence to know stuff.You can unlock that direct experience “by the spiritual use of plants.”Vegetables are good for you.Florida man . Florida probably gets a bad rap for weirdness, but it’s so much fun reading the stories that come out of there.A Florida Court of Appeal ruling describes another interesting scene. It seems a woman in an apartment called 911 to report a Black man with dreads apparently trying to get into her apartment.The cops arrived to find a man nearby matching the caller’s description.“He was not running, breathing hard, or sweating, and he was not carrying any tools that would indicate he was attempting to commit a burglary. Oliver’s only unusual feature — that was not described in the 911 call — was two large snakes (a boa constrictor and a ball python) draped around his neck and shoulders.“Three or four law enforcement officers ‘circled’ [the man] and asked him what he was doing. [The man] explained that he was taking his snakes for a walk to the pond on the apartment complex grounds.”(Side note: I don’t know why the ruling calls the defendant Oliver and then switches to a different name. There’s no mention of an Oliver anywhere else. Is this an AI fantasy or a human error? It’s so hard to tell these days.)We learn in a footnote that the man normally walks his snakes and “does so to provide them with fresh air and socialization with humans so he can educate kids and others with how to deal with snakes.”Unfortunately, the cops were not educated. A tasing of both a human and a snake ensued.So much for socialization.Categories / Law, Op-Ed, ReligionSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads