(I)t was by Cicero's attainments that that he'd gained special witness to the liberals' adjustment to a brush with <i>actual</i> equality. - Jonathan Lethem

The invisible are always so resolutely invisible, until you see them.

The restaurant, Bongiorno's, was bad and didn't know it. Everything was presented with a passive-aggressive flourish, as though we probably weren't savvy enough to appreciate the oregano-heavy garlic bread, the individual bowls for olive pits, the starched napkins stuffed into our wineglasses, or the waiter's strained enunciation of a long list of specials.

I am exiting the wider world, to return to my homeland of bullying, psychosis, and bad taste. Forgive me. It is a medical matter.