MIDSOMER MAYHEM / UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN ADVISORY

Subject: Elevated Mortality Risk in Rural English Jurisdiction Identified as “Midsomer”Classification: Public Safety Notice (Level Amber, Trending Blood Red) 

 PillartoPost.org Spoof--The United Nations Office for Civilian Protection has completed a longitudinal review of incidents occurring within the fictional but persistently hazardous jurisdiction depicted in Midsomer Murders. Findings indicate a statistically improbable concentration of homicides across a cluster of villages collectively referred to as “Midsomer.” 

 For modeling purposes, analysts estimate a standing population of approximately 25,000 residents across the various Midsomer villages at any given time. While this figure fluctuates seasonally—particularly during fêtes, regattas, and amateur dramatics—it provides a workable baseline for risk assessment. 

 Incident data suggest an average of 3 to 5 homicides per documented episode, with over 200 recorded TV episodes. This yields an estimated cumulative fatality count in the range of 700 to 1,000 individuals over the observed period. 

 When normalized against population, the implied annualized homicide rate exceeds that of recognized global conflict zones by several orders of magnitude. Put plainly: 

 If Midsomer were a sovereign state, it would be subject to immediate international intervention. 

 Probability modeling indicates that a resident remaining within the Midsomer jurisdiction for a continuous period of five years faces an estimated 10–15% chance of becoming a homicide victim, with risk factors increasing sharply under the following conditions: 

 • Participation in local choirs, theater groups, or historical societies 

 • Ownership of desirable real estate or disputed inheritance 

 * Attractive ingenue actress preferably with torn bodice when discovered in the Victor's bedroom.

* Engagement in extramarital affairs, blackmail, or mild eccentricity 

 • Proximity to visiting detectives from Causton CID Visitors are advised that mortality risk appears to spike during seemingly benign community events, including but not limited to garden parties, bell-ringing competitions, and wine tastings. 

 

Despite the presence of competent investigative personnel, including Chief Inspectors assigned to the region, incident frequency remains unabated. 

The persistence of motive clusters—jealousy, inheritance disputes, and long-buried secrets—suggests a systemic cultural vulnerability. 

 Advisory Recommendations: 

 • If actor is on camera when no murders have taken place in the episode we strongly advise leaving the scene.

* Avoid extended stays within Midsomer villages especially late in the episode.

 • Decline invitations to social gatherings after dusk or visits to roof or tower tops.

 • Refrain from uncovering local secrets, however trivial 

 • Be wary of free glasses of port.

* Maintain situational awareness around ornamental weapons, antique tools, and theatrical props 

 The United Nations will continue to monitor developments. At present, the region is not recommended for tourism, relocation, or amateur sleuthing. 

 Conclusion: Midsomer presents a uniquely paradoxical environment—outwardly pastoral, internally lethal. Until further notice, it should be regarded less as a countryside retreat and more as an active, if genteel, hazard zone. 

 Proceed accordingly. 

 Mind the Vicar!

###

TALLY OF GHASTLY DEATH CAUSES OVER 25 SEASONS.

AMERICANA / PURE ENERGY PINK SINGS BOBBY MCGEE

 

Not Miss Joplin, but someone just as special: Pink performing Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee” with an acoustic guitar back up at AOL Studios in 2003. The electricity between the performers was pure energy, sparking smiles and laughter in the middle of the song. 

YouTube Video Click Here: 

[or paste in your browser: https://www.google.com/search?q=Pink+bobby+mcgee&oq=Pink+bobby+mcgee&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTE0OTE5ajBqNKgCALACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:c8d0582e,vid:wwmUMvhy-lY,st:0 

FRIDAY FUNNIES / SOME TRUTHS ARE SELF EVIDENT

 

Illustration by F. Stop Fitzgerald, PillartoPost.org daily online magazine

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THE FOODIST / WHAT'S THIS? COSTCO IS TINKERING WITH ITS $1.50 HOT DOG DEAL

The hot dog combo is iconic for remaining at its $1.50 since its introduction in 1984, while other food prices have soared. 

 GUEST BLOG / By Alexis Weisend, The Seattle Times--The internet is blowing up over the first change to Costco’s $1.50 hot dog combo in 40 years. But don’t worry — the Issaquah, Washington-based big-box store isn’t budging on the price. 

 Shoppers who need respite from the chaos of the Costco checkout area can now opt for a 16.9-ounce bottle of Kirkland Signature water instead of a fountain soda to wash down their steaming, often slightly wet hot dog. 

You might be thinking, “Who cares?” Apparently, a lot of people. The seemingly minor change has generated major headlines. 

That’s not just due to excitement from Kirkland Signature water bottle lovers (if those even exist). The hot dog combo is iconic for remaining at its $1.50 since its introduction in 1984, while other food prices have soared. 

The meal has become a lot of fun. Shirts featuring the Costco hot dog combo with the phrase, “I got that dog in me,” have gone viral.  A quote about never changing the price of a Costco hot dog, supposedly said by Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal, frequently appears on social media posts. 

Former Costco CEO Walter Craig Jelinek told media outlets that he recalled Sinegal once telling him that if he raised the price of the hot dog combo, “I will punch you.” 

And last month, current Costco CEO Ron Vachris joined in on a viral trend of CEOs trying their company’s food, which was unintentionally kicked off by McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski’s taking a bite of his company’s new burger. 

“$1.50? For this hot dog?” Costco's Vachris said before inhaling his hot dog. “The hot dog price will not change as long as I’m around.” The video garnered over 800,000 likes on Instagram. So any news about the combo, even "watered" down, is a big deal to Costco fans. Costco did not immediately respond to a request for comment or reply if the change will appear on menus nationwide. 

DESIGN / HOW IN THE HECK DID ANYONE SURVIVE THE HINDENBURG CRASH?

Most, not all of the 97 passengers and crew died. Sixty-two survived. 

The survival of many people in the Hindenburg disaster seems unbelievable because the famous newsreel images show the airship consumed in flames. Yet most of the people aboard actually survived. 

Here's how: 

--First, the fire spread very quickly upward, not instantly through the passenger areas. The hydrogen gas that lifted the LZ 129 Hindenburg burned in the upper gas cells of the ship. The passenger decks were located lower in the hull, beneath the gas bags. That gave some people precious seconds to react. 

--Second, the airship was very close to the ground when it ignited. The Hindenburg had already begun its landing maneuver at Lakehurst Naval Air Station and was only about 200 feet above the field when the fire started. As the ship collapsed, many people simply jumped from windows or gangways once the structure dropped lower. Several survivors described jumping from heights of 15 to 30 feet, which can be survivable compared with the inferno behind them. 

--Third, the structure did not explode like a bomb. The hydrogen burned extremely fast, but it produced more of a flash fire than a massive blast wave. The aluminum frame of the zeppelin remained standing for several seconds as the burning fabric fell away. This allowed passengers and crew to escape through openings. 

--Fourth, there was immediate help on the ground. Navy personnel and ground crew were already assembled to receive the airship. They rushed in within seconds to pull survivors away from the wreckage. Most of the victims were people who were trapped in the rear of the ship, where the fire likely began. Crew members working near the tail had little chance to escape once the flames raced forward through the structure. 

One of the most haunting aspects of the disaster is how quickly it happened. The entire airship was destroyed in about 34 seconds, yet those seconds were just long enough for dozens of people to leap clear and survive. 

The iconic radio broadcast by Herbert Morrison, who cried “Oh, the humanity,” helped fix the disaster in the public imagination as total destruction. 

In reality, it was chaotic and horrific, but not quite the total loss that the footage suggests. Ironically, that survival rate is one reason investigators long debated the exact cause of the fire. The evidence was badly destroyed, leaving the precise ignition source a mystery even today.* 

*Many experts believe the airship struck the metal mooring tower causing a spark that led to the detonation of the hydrogen gas. 

HEALTH / COMMON MEDS THAT MAY LOWER YOUR DEMENTIA

Some vaccines, along with heart medications and other drugs, appear to have a protective benefit. 

GUEST BLOG / By Dana G. Smith, New York Times, Health Reporter--Getting your annual flu shot may come with a significant side benefit: helping to protect you from dementia. 

--Flu Vaccines

Numerous studies have found that older adults who were vaccinated against the flu had a lower risk of developing dementia in the years that followed than those who had not been vaccinated. In one study, the risk was as much as 40 percent lower. 

Research published earlier this month has bolstered that evidence, showing that older adults who were given a higher dose of the flu vaccine — commonly recommended for people 65 and over — had an even lower probability of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared with those who received the standard dose. 

Other common medications have also been found to decrease people’s risk of dementia. The challenge for scientists, though, is determining whether the drugs are directly benefiting the brain or whether there’s just a correlation between them. 

The flu vaccine is a good example of this. “People who tend to get vaccinated are the people who go to see a doctor, and then they follow the directions to take their blood pressure pills and cholesterol pills, which also reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s,” said Dr. Paul Schulz, a professor and neurologist at UTHealth Houston who led the new study. 

But because everybody in that study got an influenza vaccine, and the higher dose offered more protection, the findings suggest there is something about the vaccine itself, rather than people’s behavior, that lowered the risk, Dr. Schulz said. 

Here are a few more drugs that scientists are investigating for their potential to reduce dementia risk. 

--Shingles Vaccine

Excitement is especially high for the shingles vaccine, which has some of the strongest research behind it. Studies from around the world have found that people who received the vaccine had a lower risk of developing dementia, often by about 15 to 20 percent. Much of the research has been done on an older form of the vaccine, but at least one study indicated that a newer version more commonly prescribed in the United States, called Shingrix, could offer an even greater benefit. It (along with the flu vaccine) appears to be especially protective against dementia in women. 

Researchers say they’re relatively confident that the vaccine itself is providing protection because its initial rollout in a few countries created a sort of natural clinical trial. 

“I think at this stage, it’s a really compelling body of evidence of a cause and effect relationship,” said Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer, an epidemiologist at the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Stanford who conducted some of the research. 

Here’s more on our process. 

There are a couple of theories about how vaccines might reduce the risk of dementia. One is that by protecting people from getting an infection, a vaccine prevents the immune response and especially the inflammation that comes with it. (Inflammation is a known contributor to dementia.) This may be especially relevant for shingles, since the virus initially replicates in the nervous system and can cause inflammation in the brain. 

 It’s also possible that the vaccines themselves might alter the immune system in a way that directly affects, and protects, the brain. 

 --Cholesterol and Blood Pressure Medications 

Several studies have found that both statins and drugs that treat hypertension are associated with a roughly 10 to 15 percent reduced risk of dementia. 

Many researchers think these drugs protect people’s brains by helping to manage blood pressure and cholesterol, both of which are risk factors for dementia. However, as with vaccines, people who consistently take their prescribed medications may have other healthy behaviors that could also lower their risk. 

Most of the research is observational, but there have been a few clinical trials that have tried to more directly investigate the connection between these drugs and dementia. The results have been mixed. A 2025 trial from China found that people with high blood pressure who were given a medication for hypertension had lower rates of dementia four years later. But a 2009 trial that tested statins in people who had vascular disease or were at high risk for it did not find a benefit in preventing cognitive decline. 

There’s also an open question over whether people who don’t need the medications for heart health could take them for dementia prevention, said Geoffrey Joyce, a professor of pharmaceutical and health economics at the University of Southern California. There are two large trials currently investigating whether statins might be useful in this way. 

--Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

Since inflammation in the brain is a known contributor to Alzheimer’s, it’s conceivable that anti-inflammatory medications could provide protection by helping to reduce it in the brain as well as systemically. A recent large review paper listed anti-inflammatories as one of the classes of drugs that may reduce dementia risk. 

 David Llewellyn, a professor of clinical epidemiology and digital health at the University of Exeter Medical School in England who led the review, said he thought “the anti-inflammatory story” made sense scientifically. 

But studies looking at the connection, especially with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, have been mixed. Some have found a lower risk of dementia from ibuprofen use, while others showed no connection or even an increased risk. And a Cochrane review published in 2020 concluded there was “no evidence to support the use” of aspirin or other NSAIDs to prevent dementia. 

--Diabetes Drugs 

Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of dementia, and a few drugs for Type 2 diabetes, including metformin and a class of medication called sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, appear to modestly lower that risk, though some studies don’t show an effect. 

 The potential benefit is thought to largely stem from the medications’ ability to help control insulin and blood sugar levels, which affect brain cell health. There is also some evidence, mostly from animals, that the drugs help to reduce inflammation and may even lower levels of amyloid beta in the brain, a key protein involved in Alzheimer’s. 

 Clinical trials investigating whether these diabetes drugs can be beneficial in dementia are ongoing. A few observational studies have also found that people with diabetes who took the newer GLP-1 medications had a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s, even by as much as 45 percent, according to some reports. 

Based on that evidence, and research in mice showing the drugs can reverse cognitive impairment, two clinical trials recently tested whether a pill form of Ozempic could also help slow cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s. But the trials found no benefit, and excitement about the use of GLP-1s as an Alzheimer’s treatment has died down significantly. More research is needed to determine if they indeed lower the risk of dementia. 

*** 

Dana G. Smith is a Times reporter covering personal health, particularly aging and brain health.

AMERICANA / WHAT'S THE IN THE PRICE OF A GALLON OF GAS

As US gas prices climb, politicians are looking at ways to lower them. An economist breaks down what does − and doesn’t − move the number on the sign at the gas station. 

Guest Blog /By Robert I. Harris, Georgia Institute of Technology via The Conversation U.S.--The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects nationwide retail gasoline prices to average near US$4.30 a gallon for April 2026 – the highest monthly average of the year. The political response has been familiar. Georgia has suspended its state gas tax, other states are weighing their own tax holidays, and the White House has issued a temporary waiver of a law known as the Jones Act in hopes of moving more domestic fuel to East Coast ports. 

As an energy economist, I am often asked about what contributes to gas prices and what different policies can do to affect them. 

The price of a retail gallon of gas is the sum of four things: the cost of crude oil, refining, distribution and marketing, and taxes. 

 In nationwide figures from January 2026, crude oil accounted for about 51% of the pump price, refining roughly 20%, distribution and marketing about 11% and taxes about 18%. That mix shifts with conditions: When crude oil prices spike, that can drive more than 60% of the price; when the price drops, taxes and logistics are larger shares of the cost. 

Crude oil is the biggest ingredient 

Because the price of crude oil is the largest element, most of the price at the pump is derived from the global oil market. 

Usually, big swings in crude prices come mainly from shifts in global demand and expectations – not from supply disruptions, according to widely cited research in 2009 by the economist Lutz Kilian. 

But what is happening in early 2026 with the war in Iran is one of the exceptions: a classic supply shock. Severe disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on Middle East oil infrastructure have taken millions of barrels a day off the global market. 

Most drivers generally can’t quickly reduce how much they drive or how much gas they use when prices rise, so gasoline demand doesn’t change much in the short run. That means a jump in crude costs tends to result in people paying more rather than driving less. 

 

California gasoline and diesel prices

Refining, regulations and the California puzzle 

Refining turns crude into gasoline at industrial scale. The U.S. doesn’t have a single gasoline market, though. Roughly a quarter of U.S. gasoline is a cleaner-burning blend of petroleum-derived chemicals called “reformulated gasoline,” which is required in urban areas across 17 states and the District of Columbia to reduce smog. 

California uses an even stricter formulation that few out-of-state refineries make. California is also geographically isolated: No pipelines bring gasoline in from other U.S. refining regions. 

California’s gasoline prices have long run above the national average, explained in part by higher state taxes and stricter environmental rules. But since a refinery fire in Torrance, California, in 2015 reduced production capacity, the state’s prices have been about 20 to 30 cents a gallon higher than what those factors would indicate. 

Energy economist and University of California, Berkeley, professor Severin Borenstein has called this the “mystery gasoline surcharge” and attributes it to the fact that there isn’t as much competition between refineries or gas stations in California as in other states. California’s own Division of Petroleum Market Oversight says the surcharge cost the state’s drivers about $59 billion from 2015 to 2024. It’s not exactly clear who is getting that money, but it could be gas stations themselves or refineries, through complex contracts with gas stations. 

Getting the gas into your car 

The distribution and marketing category covers the costs of everything involved in getting the gasoline from the refinery gate to your tank. 

Gasoline moves by pipeline, ship, rail and truck to wholesale terminals, and then by local delivery truck to service stations. 

At the retailer’s end, the key factors are station rent and labor, the cost to buy gasoline in bulk to be able to sell it, credit card fees of as much as 6 to 10 cents a gallon at current prices, and franchise fees paid to the national brand, such as Sunoco or ExxonMobil, for permission to put their branding on the gas station. 

Most gas station operators net only a few cents per gallon on fuel itself – which is why many gas stations are really convenience stores with pumps out front. Borenstein and some of his collaborators have also documented that retail gas prices rise quickly when wholesale costs climb but fall slowly when wholesale costs drop. 

The question of gas tax holidays 

The federal government charges a tax on fuel, of 18.4 cents a gallon for gasoline and 24.3 cents a gallon for diesel. States charge their own taxes, ranging from 70.9 cents a gallon for gas in California to 8.95 cents in Alaska. 

When gas prices rise, many politicians start talking about temporarily suspending their state’s gas tax. That does reduce prices, but not as much as politicians – or consumers – might hope. 

Research on past gas tax holidays has found that consumers get about 79% of the reduction in gas taxes. That means oil companies and fuel retailers keep about one-fifth of the tax cut for themselves rather than passing that savings to the public. 

Gas tax holidays also reduce funding for what the taxes are designed to pay for, typically roads and bridges. That pushes road and bridge upkeep costs onto future drivers and general taxpayers. 

There is an additional problem, too: Taxes on gasoline are supposed to charge drivers for some of the costs their driving imposes on everyone else – carbon emissions, local air pollution, congestion and crashes. But Borenstein has found that U.S. fuel tax levels are already far below the true cost to society. Removing the tax on drivers effectively raises the costs for everyone else. 

The Jones Act: A small number that adds up 

The 1920 Jones Act is a federal law that requires cargo moving between U.S. ports to travel on vessels built and registered in the U.S., owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed primarily by U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Of the world’s 7,500 oil tankers, only 54 meet this requirement. Only 43 of these can transport refined fuels such as gasoline. 

So, despite significant refining capacity on the Gulf Coast, some U.S. gasoline is exported overseas even as the Northeast imports fuel, in part reflecting the relatively high cost of moving fuel between U.S. ports. 

Economists Ryan Kellogg and Rich Sweeney estimate that the law raises East Coast gasoline prices by about a penny and a half per gallon on average, costing drivers roughly $770 million a year. In light of the war’s effect on gas prices, the Trump administration has temporarily suspended the Jones Act requirements – an action more commonly taken when hurricanes knock out Gulf Coast refineries and pipeline networks. 

What moves the number 

The result of all these factors is that the price that drivers see at the pump mostly reflects the global price of crude, plus a stack of domestic costs, only some of which are inefficient. 

Tax holidays give a partial, short-lived rebate. Jones Act waivers trim pennies, though permanent repeal may cause more fundamental changes, such as reduced rail and truck transport of all goods, which could lower costs, emissions and infrastructure damage associated with cargo transportation. Harmonizing fuel blends across states and seasons may lower prices somewhat, but likely at the expense of increased emissions. 

Ultimately, the best protection against oil price shocks is a more efficient gas-burning vehicle, or one that doesn’t burn gasoline at all. 

In the meantime, the best I can offer as an economist is clarity about what that $4.30 actually buys. 

### 

Robert I. Harris is an Assistant Professor of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology 

MIND THE GAFFE / SEND THE DEPARTED OFF ON A CHARIOT OF PITHY PRAISE INSTEAD OF A USED EDSEL

“Good Lord, that obit’s a botch. Back you go—next Chiltern Railways into London. And this time, insist they mind the gaffe.”

Recently, this blog received word from a London magazine that a minor poet of the mother tongue had died (without ever being touched by a Nobel Prize--my words not his). 

 Sad enough on both counts. 

Sadder still was the send-off: a laborious obituary that read like a man trying to teach a toddler the whys and wherefores of Beowulf over lukewarm tea. 

The salutatorian, who freely admits he never met, much less spoke with J. H. Prynne [1936-2026], nonetheless pressed on, choreographing an elaborate and largely unreadable assault on literary modesty. One searches for a kinder phrase, but “pretentious babble” refuses to yield its ground. 

The trouble announced itself early. In the opening paragraph alone, he invoked Keats and Auden, then marched in, one by one, comparing our departed with every great poet ever to have drawn breath in England. I

t was less tribute than overcrowding. I had the odd sensation of staring at a 1974 Vauxhall stranded on the polished floor of a Mayfair Aston Martin showroom, its dents and faded paint suddenly reimagined as distinction simply because of its surroundings. One was meant to admire the dandelion because it happened to grow in Buckingham Palace’s garden. The poor Vauxhall achieved a kind of borrowed grandeur, though it would have been far happier on the road. 

If there is mercy in the hereafter, St. Peter might consider sending Prynne briefly back, if only to defend himself against such inflated ceremony. Reading the piece was akin to enduring the hours-long oratory that preceded Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, sound and fury that leaves one longing for the clean strike of a single ungilded sentence. 

Sage parents advise us not to speak ill of the dead. 

Fair enough. 

But for those of us still breathing, the author of dear Prynne's rambling obituary remains very much among the living, and answerable. Alas, one can only hope for better days, and better criticism, ahead. 

IN PRAISE OF A FEW J.H. PRYNNE PHRASES 

“The whole thing it is, the difficult matter.” — Kitchen Poems (1968) 

“What words say, it is the difficult matter.” — The White Stones (1969) 

“A glass of salt water is no comfort.” — The White Stones (1969) 

“We are drawn onward by what we cannot see.” — Brass (1971) 

“The mind will not become itself by force.” — Brass (1971) 

“Each thing is what it is and not another thing.” — Wound Response (1974) 

“Memory is the cause of it.” — The Oval Window (1983) 

“The air is thick with what we mean.” — Bands Around the Throat (1987) 

RETRO FILES / YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THE REACH OF THE U.S. MILITARY

On May 2, 2011, the United States publicly confirmed that Osama bin Laden had been killed in a covert raid carried out by U.S. Navy SEALs in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The announcement—delivered by Barack Obama—landed with unusual clarity. 

It was less a victory speech than a statement of reach: after a decade-long manhunt following the September 11 attacks, the United States had located and eliminated the world’s most wanted figure deep inside a sovereign nation. 

 The message, implicit but unmistakable, was that distance and concealment no longer guaranteed safety. Intelligence, persistence, and precision had closed the gap. For many observers, the moment marked not just the end of a manhunt, but a declaration about the evolving scope of modern military and intelligence operations. 

DEBUT NOVEL / TOUGH LOVE BY THOMAS SHESS NOW AVAILABLE PRINT AND EBOOK

For more info or to buy ThomasShess.com

RETRO FILES / SCENE FROM THE LEFT BANK OF PARIS CIRCA 1895:

Intersection of BoulevardArango and Boulevard de Port Royal (not so many cars and plenty of horse power). 

Boulevard Arago at Port-Royal, about 1895. The junction is already in its present form—broad carriageways, straight sightlines, and rows of evenly spaced trees. A tramcar crosses the tracks at the center of the frame, sharing the street with horse carts and foot traffic. Men in dark coats stand or move at an unhurried pace, some stepping into the roadway without concern. The buildings, recently completed, line the boulevard in a continuous wall of stone, their height and proportions consistent from corner to corner. There is a definite uniformity here, the kind seen in Washington, where design was settled in advance and carried through without much deviation. It stands in contrast to New York, which took more of Chicago’s course—practical, fast, and less concerned with keeping every façade in line. In this Paris scene, electric traction is in service, but horses still handle most of the haulage. There are no motorcars in view. The street was laid out for the future, and it shows—each element in place, doing its work as intended. 

DESIGN/ WHO THE HECK IS P.F. CHANG?

 

In an era when national restaurant brands often flatten into sameness, P.F. Chang's has sustained a visual identity that reads as deliberate rather than formulaic. The architecture and interiors carry a controlled theatricality, one that signals continuity across locations without slipping into repetition. It is a rare balance. You recognize the space immediately, yet it avoids the fatigue that typically accompanies scale. 

 Much of that coherence traces back to Tony Chi and his firm Tonychi Studio. From the beginning, Chi approached the project as a system of design principles rather than a fixed template. The result is a vocabulary that can be adapted to different footprints and cities while maintaining a consistent tone. Materials tend toward dark lacquer, stone, and warm wood. The palette is restrained, anchored in black with calibrated use of red. Lighting is handled with particular care, emphasizing depth and shadow over brightness. 

 

Architecturally, the brand relies on a few defining gestures. The entry sequence is formal, often marked by the now-signature guardian horse statues, which function as both threshold and emblem. Interiors favor height where possible, allowing dining rooms to open upward rather than compress inward. Sightlines are considered, with layered spaces that move from bar to dining room in a measured progression. The effect is not grand in the traditional sense, but it is composed, with a clear sense of arrival and containment. 

 The company itself dates to 1993, founded through the partnership of Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang. What began as a single restaurant in Scottsdale has grown into a global presence, with more than 300 locations across the United States and international markets. That scale makes the consistency of its architectural expression all the more notable. It is one thing to design a compelling flagship. It is another to translate that sensibility hundreds of times without diluting it. 

 As for the name, it continues to carry a certain ambiguity that works in the brand’s favor. “P.F.” refers to Fleming; “Chang” to Chiang. The pairing reads as a single figure, but in reality it represents a collaboration between operational discipline and culinary lineage, a dual authorship that is echoed in the built environment itself. 

 For a design team, the lesson is straightforward and difficult at once. Establish a language. Protect it. Allow it to evolve without losing its grammar. P.F. Chang’s demonstrates that even at scale, architecture can retain a point of view. 

TRAVEL TUESDAY / VANCOUVER WONDERFUL CITY FOR TACONE

GUEST BLOG / By Jennifer Silva Redmond, Author of Honeymoon at Sea.  The next in a series of liveaboard sailboat adventures. 

Who knew Vancouver in summer could be hot and humid? Not us—we'd always pictured Canada as cool, and our first visited Canadian city, Victoria, had been temperate. 

 But now it was the second week in July and our sailboat was tied up in a slip right in the middle of the city as the bright hot sun beat down. It was our first day at Fisherman’s Wharf Marina on False Creek, just south of Granville Island, and there was a lot to get done before it was time to play. 

In the early afternoon, Russel scrubbed the boat and I lugged a bag of recycling up to the marina office. On the way back I spotted Go Fish, a tiny outdoor place that served fish and chips. Their version of a fish taco, called a tacone, is served in a flour tortilla cone with tangy cole slaw on the side. I ordered us both a salmon tacone ($16 each, Canadian) and they were superior. 

The previous night, when we were still anchored in False Creek by Science World’s huge geodesic dome, Russel came back from checking out the marina by dinghy with a pound of fresh lingcod. He’d paid about $20 for it straight from the fishermen and it was some of the best fish I’ve ever eaten; sauteed in butter and garlic, the texture was reminiscent of monkfish (“poor man’s lobster”). 

 After our lunch I headed up to the laundry. What a relief to see that the laundry room wasn’t the tiny closet that so many marinas and yacht clubs have. I put everything into the washers and headed to the showers, then was able to recline on a comfy couch while our clothes got dry. 

 

Granville Island at False Bay

Back at the boat we got dressed in our night-out finery and headed along the waterfront path that led from the marina over to Granville Island, a place we’d been seeing on YouTube videos for months. In fact, it was about the only place we knew about in Vancouver, so we were happy to have found a slip for our boat so close by. 

The waterfront walking/biking path was crowded with people exercising their dogs and zooming by on bikes, we had to carefully look both ways in order to stop and check out a lovely pond covered with lily pads. Granville Island has a vibe that reminded me a bit of Key West and a bit of New Orleans’ French Quarter. 

We went straight to the huge covered Public Market and strolled around, checking out the produce, the bakeries, and the myriad small stalls with every type of food for sale. I got hungry again just smelling the different aromas—Chinese egg rolls, Mexican burritos, and a variety of savory hand pies. 

We noted the location of the renowned Lee’s Donuts and Siegel’s Bagels for future reference, then headed to the Granville Island Brewing Company. We weren’t too enamored by their light-weight IPA, but it was fun to sit and watch servers hustle around the bright space crowded with diners. The pizza smelled good—I was truly hungry by this point—but that sort of a meal wasn’t what we had in mind. We quizzed the bartender about fish restaurants, but he was no help, being from outside the city. Vancouver is extremely expensive so it isn’t surprising that someone making minimum wage can’t afford to live near Granville Island. 

Instead, we strolled back across the island along the main drag, looking into the stores and stopping briefly outside Tony’s Fish and Chips. It looked good but greasy seafood wasn’t quite right either. 

I’d spotted the Vancouver Fish Company on our way onto the island and now it was just what we were looking for: a casually elegant setting right on the water, but inside out of the sun. We were seated right away and ordered a Fat Tug IPA on draft for the Wildfire's captain and a festive elderberry mocktail for me. The menu was limited in a good way—I get thrown off by restaurants that offer a five page menu and specialize in nothing. I ordered a seafood linguini which turned out to be tasty and well seasoned, if a bit on the small side. Russel picked the winner this time, a delicious tuna poke bowl with edamame and rice in a tangy sauce, filling and satisfying but not overwhelming. 

 The next morning we went out for a walk after a light breakfast of fresh sesame bagels on the boat. We wandered out of the marina and dropped by the local boat chandlery, then checked out the closest grocery store, called No Frills, which was exactly that. I’d been informed by Alicia, the editor of Womancake Magazine, that we simply had to go to The Naam for a meal, and I consulted my paper map and figured we could make it on foot. It turned out to be a long walk, but worth it. The Naam is a small place, but furnished in a comfortably spare style that made me feel right at home. 

The Naam

Russel ordered the Dragon Bowl which was full of brown rice and tofu and other goodies as well as shredded beets and carrots all dressed in the amazing miso gravy Alicia had told me about. I opted for the Thai Noodles which were perfectly cooked and spiced just right. It was a massive plate for lunch, as the server had warned me, but by leaving aside half of the green peppers (there were a lot of green peppers) I managed to do it justice. 

To get back to the marina we headed over to the water and took a scenic path along a few parks, and continued past so many stunning homes, and along the sparkling inlet to Kitsilanto Pool, and then strolled down the beachfront walkway. 

The beach was set up for the big beach volleyball tournament, and a lot of tanned and fit young people were practicing on the sand courts. There was also a Chi Ball game happening, so we stopped to watch that. Chi Balls are like homemade woven Whiffle Balls and the game is sort of like Hacky Sack. 

The next day we headed out by bus to see downtown Vancouver. We caught a bus near Granville Island and rode it almost to Canada Place, then we got off and walked around, checking out the cruise ship terminal, reading the many historical plaques, and enjoying some prime people watching. Back on the bus, we went to Chinatown, where there was a street festival happening. 

We watched a puppet show, then enjoyed a perfect break in the peaceful Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and public park (above), then walked over to have dim sum at the Jade Dynasty restaurant. The pastry style buns with pork BBQ inside were the best of the three choices, but the steamed pork dumplings were tasty too. I wasn’t a fan of the steamed pumpkin in black bean sauce, since the black bean sauce was just broth with a couple of back beans floating in it. Russel treated himself to a rum and cola, and I had a small glass of Asian Ice Wine, which tasted like cold sherry to me. Refreshing, but not as exotic as I’d hoped. 

That gave us the strength to walk over to the Costco a few blocks away to pick up a couple of small things we couldn’t do without. Our next stop was Gastown, where we planned to be true tourists and see the Gastown Clock strike the hour, so we had to stop and have a drink to kill 40 minutes. 

We were lucky enough to find the perfect cocktail spot—the Pourhouse, a few doors south of the clock. The Pourhouse is the sort of modern, yet old-school watering hole that makes you relax the second you enter it. The bar stools were comfortable and the drinks—a Hurricane for me, and an Old Fashioned for the captain—were mixed and served with suitable panache by a stylish young woman. 

Our last tourist day in Vancouver was just as entertaining and charming but much easier—we were picked up by two local friends who took us touring out the highway to see some colorful portrait murals in a waterfront park whose name I missed, though I snapped a photo. We spent a restful afternoon in their East Vancouver backyard garden, eating seedless watermelon—did I mention it was hot?— sipping Prosecco, snacking on chips and hummus, and telling tales. 

Our eyes mostly stayed focused on a pair of juvenile bald eagles trying their wings from a neighboring tree. The adult eagles flew by with snacks a few times, and every bird in the neighborhood chimed in to comment. Vancouver turned out to be hot in every sense—exciting, diverse, cosmopolitan and yet so scenic. It was more walkable and friendly than we’d thought such a big city would be, and we can’t wait to go back. 

Top of page illustration: F. Stop Fitzgerald, staff illustrator, PillartoPost.org

MEDIA MONDAY / FBI SAID TO HAVE INVESTIGATED NY TIMES REPORTER AFTER HER ARTICLE ON PATEL'S GIRLFRIEND

 

    POSSIBLE GOV'T SNAFU: ALTERNATE REALITY.  Political cartoon by F. Stop Fitzgerald, PillartoPost.org online daily magazine

GUEST BLOG / BY Michael S. Schmidt, Reporter, The New York Times--The F.B.I. began investigating a New York Times reporter last month after she wrote about the bureau’s director, Kash Patel, using bureau personnel to provide his girlfriend with government security and transportation, according to a person briefed on the matter. 

Agents interviewed the girlfriend, queried databases for information on the reporter, Elizabeth Williamson, and recommended moving forward to determine whether Ms. Williamson broke federal stalking laws, the person said. 

Those actions prompted concerns among some Justice Department officials who saw the inquiry as retaliation for an article that Mr. Patel and his girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, did not like, and who determined there was no legal basis to proceed with the investigation, according to the person briefed on the matter. 

In response to questions from The Times this week, the F.B.I. said that “while investigators were concerned about how the aggressive reporting techniques crossed lines of stalking,” the F.B.I. is not pursuing a case. 

The scrutiny of Ms. Williamson is an example of the Trump administration examining whether to criminalize routine news gathering practices that are widely considered protected by the First Amendment. 

Journalists are more often caught up in criminal investigations as potential witnesses when the authorities are trying to determine who leaked them classified information. 

In preparing the article about Mr. Patel and Ms. Wilkins, Ms. Williamson followed normal procedures for a journalist working on a story, which typically involve reaching out to the subject and seeking a variety of perspectives. In this case, Ms. Williamson contacted numerous people who had worked with or knew Ms. Wilkins. 

Ms. Williamson had one phone call at the beginning of her reporting process with Ms. Wilkins — Ms. Wilkins insisted that it be off the record — and exchanged emails with her before publication of the article. At that early stage in her reporting, Ms. Williamson asked Ms. Wilkins to provide a list of people she might speak to for the article, but Ms. Wilkins did not respond. 

Ms. Williamson was never in Ms. Wilkins’s presence. 

Joseph Kahn, the executive editor of The Times, criticized the bureau for investigating a reporter for doing her job. 

“The F.B.I.’s attempt to criminalize routine reporting is a blatant violation of Elizabeth’s First Amendment rights and another attempt by this administration to prevent journalists from scrutinizing its actions,” Mr. Kahn said. “It’s alarming. It’s unconstitutional. And it’s wrong.” 

The Times article, published Feb. 28, described how Ms. Wilkins has a full-time protective detail of Special Weapons and Tactics team members drawn from F.B.I. field offices around the country to accompany her to engagements including singing appearances and a hair appointment. 

The disclosure intensified questions over Mr. Patel’s use of taxpayer-funded resources for personal use, not long after he drew headlines for celebrating in Milan with the U.S. men’s hockey team after its gold medal victory in the Olympics. 

In a statement provided for the Feb. 28 article, a spokesman for the F.B.I. said that active death threats against Ms. Wilkins warranted the level of protection she was receiving, but he did not question the accuracy of Ms. Williamson’s reporting. 

The inquiry into Ms. Williamson played out in the days and weeks following the publication of the article. 

On the day of the article’s publication, Ms. Wilkins received a threatening email from an anonymous sender. Ms. Wilkins forwarded the email the same day to the F.B.I., according to an affidavit later filed in a criminal prosecution of the alleged sender of the email, who was in Boston. According to the affidavit, the sender acknowledged emailing the threat after reading the article by Ms. Williamson. 

Several days later, the F.B.I. interviewed Ms. Wilkins, who told them how the reporting Ms. Williamson had done for the article had left her unnerved and feeling harassed, according to the person familiar with the matter. Ms. Wilkins had raised similar concerns with the F.B.I. as early as January, when Ms. Williamson first contacted her, the person said. 

A lawyer for Ms. Wilkins also wrote to editors of The Times before the article’s publication, saying that extensive reporting by Ms. Williamson “raises troubling questions about proportionality and journalistic purpose.” 

Following the interview with Ms. Wilkins, the F.B.I. combed through the bureau’s databases to determine whether the federal government had any information on Ms. Williamson to help make the argument that she deserved further scrutiny, according to the person familiar with the matter. 

The F.B.I. cited statutes dealing with stalking and with targeting someone with threats to their safety and reputation to justify investigating Ms. Williamson, the person said. 

After that initial stage of inquiry, F.B.I. agents recommended moving forward with a preliminary investigation, the person said. At that point, the F.B.I. appears to have run into obstacles at the Justice Department, where officials determined there was no legal basis to proceed, according to the person briefed on the matter. 

Neither The Times nor Ms. Williamson was informed of the steps taken by the F.B.I. to look into her and her reporting. Ms. Williamson declined to comment. 

Asked about the sequence of events, a spokesman for the F.B.I. said it was “false” that the bureau had ever investigated Ms. Williamson. He said the inquiries were spurred by the threat Ms. Wilkins had received after the publication of the Feb. 28 article. 

“Ms. Wilkins was interviewed by F.B.I. agents in relation to a death threat in Boston, which specifically referenced an article published by Williamson the previous day,” the spokesman said in an emailed reply. “During this questioning, the agents inquired about the related reporting. While investigators were concerned about how the aggressive reporting techniques crossed lines of stalking, no further action regarding Williamson or the reporting was ever pursued by the F.B.I.” The spokesman did not respond to questions about whether Mr. Patel was aware of the inquiry into Ms. Williamson or whether he condoned the use of government resources to examine routine news gathering activities by a reporter. 

In social media posts in January, before the article was published, and in April, as The Times continued to report on Mr. Patel’s use of government resources, Ms. Wilkins accused Ms. Williamson of stalking her, calling her out for conduct that is considered routine for reporting. 

A supervisory agent at the F.B.I.’s headquarters in Washington who oversees violent crime investigations was involved in the early stages of the inquiry into Ms. Williamson, according to the person familiar with the matter. 

The involvement of the bureau’s headquarters is notable. Dating back to the investigations of Hillary Clinton and her use of a private email server and Mr. Trump’s ties to Russia, Mr. Trump’s allies have contended that the involvement of F.B.I. officials in Washington, rather than employees from field offices, allows for political influence. 

Mr. Trump’s hostility toward journalists is a hallmark of his time in office, and Mr. Patel shares his adversarial stance. Before becoming F.B.I. director, Mr. Patel equated journalists to the “most powerful enemy that the United States has ever seen” in a 2024 speech. 

In January, the F.B.I. searched the Virginia home of Hannah Natanson, a Washington Post reporter, in connection with an investigation into a government contractor’s handling of classified material. It is exceptionally rare for the authorities to search reporters’ homes as part of such an investigation when they are not the focus of the investigation. 

In April, after news organizations reported details about the downing of a U.S. fighter jet in Iran, Mr. Trump promised to go after an unnamed outlet over its coverage. Early last year, the White House punished The Associated Press over its refusal to comply with an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico, curtailing its access to press events. 

Mr. Trump is suing The Times and three of its journalists for defamation, saying that a series of articles during the 2024 campaign were intended to damage his candidacy and undercut his reputation as a businessman. 

The Times sued the Pentagon in December, accusing the administration of infringing on the constitutional rights of journalists by imposing a set of restrictions on reporting about the military. A federal judge in March ruled that the limits violated the First Amendment and ordered that parts of the administration’s policy be tossed. The legal battle in that case continues. 

Erik Wemple and Charlie Savage contributed reporting. 

Michael S. Schmidt is an investigative reporter for The Times covering Washington. His work focuses on tracking and explaining high-profile federal investigations. 

SUNDAY REVIEW / THE LAST MODERNIST

Some art critics called Ken Howard's paintings "too easy on the eye."
In this day and age, what's wrong with that?

By the Staff of PillartoPost.org 

Ken Howard painted like a man who didn’t trust trends and didn’t need them. While much of the art world veered toward abstraction, he stayed stubbornly loyal to what he could see—light falling across a shoulder, a window catching late afternoon, the slow shimmer of Venice. He called himself “the last Impressionist,” not as a slogan, but as a working method. For more than seventy years, he chased light the way some painters chase ideas.   

He was born James Kenneth Howard in 1932, in Neasden, north-west London, the younger of two children. The talent showed up early and didn’t ask permission. He could draw and paint before he could write, which tells you something about how his mind worked—image first, language later. A teacher at Kilburn Grammar spotted it and pushed him forward, and by 1949 he was at Hornsey College of Art, already on a path that didn’t bend much for anyone.   

National service in the mid-1950s didn’t slow him down. If anything, it gave him subjects—portraits of officers’ wives, practical work, the kind that sharpens the hand. After that came the Royal College of Art, where he found himself out of step with the prevailing fashion. Abstract expressionism was the language of the room; Howard wasn’t interested. He kept his eyes outside, in the tradition of plein air painting, with Corot somewhere in the background and light doing most of the talking.   

He said it plainly: light was the point. Not metaphor, not theory—light. And London, for all its energy, began to feel wrong for that pursuit. So in 1958 he took a British Council scholarship to Florence. That move mattered. Italy, and Venice in particular, gave him what London couldn’t—a different kind of light, softer and more elusive, something you had to work for. He kept going back, year after year, until it became less a destination than a second home.   

Critics early on could be dismissive, the usual complaint—too pretty, too traditional, not enough edge. The public didn’t care. They saw something honest in the work, and they stayed with him. He had a run at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition that most painters would envy, and he knew it. At one point he quipped that he probably had more paintings on people’s walls than anyone else alive. It sounds like bravado, but there’s a quiet truth in it.   

By the 1960s and 1970s he wasn’t just succeeding—he was defining a lane. Eventually he became one of the steady hands of British painting, elected to the Royal Academy in 1991 and later serving as Professor of Perspective. An OBE followed, which says more about his consistency than any single canvas. He also led the New English Art Club and supported Turner’s House Trust, shaping younger painters whether they agreed with him or not.   

Howard spent most of his life working in London, always returning to it even as Italy pulled at him. He died in September 2022. What he left behind isn’t complicated: a long, disciplined conversation with light, carried out in paint, without apology and without drift.   

Ken Howard, left, painted what he could see and trusted that to be enough. While others chased abstraction, he stayed with light—on skin, on stone, on water—and let it do the work. He called himself “the last Impressionist,” not as a pose, but as a statement of method. For more than seventy years, he returned to the same question: how light behaves, and what it reveals.   

He was born James Kenneth Howard in 1932 in Neasden, north-west London, the younger of two children. The ability came early. He could draw and paint before he could write, which set the order of things for the rest of his life. A teacher at Kilburn Grammar School recognized it and nudged him forward. By 1949 he was at Hornsey College of Art, already moving with purpose.   

National service gave him steady work—portraits, close observation, repetition. Afterward, at the Royal College of Art, he found himself at odds with the prevailing taste. Abstract expressionism dominated; Howard stayed with direct observation. He worked in the tradition of plein air painting, with Corot somewhere behind him and his attention fixed on what was in front of him.   

“Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth—depicting a Royal Navy destroyer, 1982.

Light was his subject, plain and simple. London began to feel restrictive, so in 1958 he took a British Council scholarship to Florence. That shift mattered. Italy, and especially Venice, gave him a different register of light—softer, more fugitive, never quite holding still. He returned often, working there for long stretches, building the body of work for which he is best known.   

Some critics early on dismissed the paintings as too easy on the eye. The public saw something else and stayed with him. His success at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition became a fixture, and he once remarked, not entirely joking, that he probably had more pictures on people’s walls than any other living painter.   

“Venice (Santa Maria della Salute)” —Untitled plein-air study

By the 1960s and 1970s, he had secured his place. Over time he became a steady presence in British painting, elected to the Royal Academy in 1991 and later serving as Professor of Perspective. He was appointed OBE. He led the New English Art Club and supported Turner’s House Trust, influencing younger painters by example as much as instruction.   

Howard lived and worked mostly in London, with Italy always in the background. He died in September 2022. What remains is a long record of looking closely and painting what was there, without deviation. 

Master painter Ken Howard, Order of the British Empire recepient

Ken Howard's many nudes seldom disturb. If you approach them as paintings of light that happen to include a pretty nude, they’re excellent.

The Red Scarf, one of a series of studio nudes

Oil, "Florence" 2004