The Great Wake 9: The Institute Industry

International pariahs and international criminals, all the same to me.  The people wrong and fooled for years seem wrong and fooled again, gulping the stink bait like hungry catfish at the bottom of a muddy man-made west texas lake.  Dig for information, get out of your hotel room, ditch the heavy blue helmet in favor of a lightweight model, ask questions.  War corresponding is tough business, get in there like Hemingway, know things, discover things, ride in an ambulance, Fareweall To Arms, write things.  We only need the tip of the iceberg.

The institutes, organizations of thinking and scenario modelling, are drawing blanks.  They have no idea, although they keep thinking and fundraising.  Such a shady industry--the institute industry--lots of washed up minds, lots of alcohol and pills.  Low overhead, petty cash stashes, and zoom call happy hours.  Theories.

The makeup artists are the real deal, the best in the world.  Powders and rouges and eye liners. Mascaras and lipsticks, concealers and brow trimmers.  Dull out the face grease, dim the set lights, check all teeth.  Three, two, one--action.