On Radio 4 this morning, Quentin Letts asked, not unreasonably, What’s the Point of the Arts Council?

The reason Arts Council officials demand “challenging and contemporary” work is not that the new is necessarily better; it’s because the new gives them an edge. They can be its arbiters and make sure it follows approved creeds.

To hear a glittering cast opine, along with the notion of subsidised beer and what may be the first broadcast use of the term “tickboxery”, click here.

Masaru Tatsuki has spent nine years photographing Japan’s decorated trucks and the people who drive them. 

A book, Decotora: 1998-2007 Japanese Art Truck Scene, is available here.

Related: Smart Car Monster Truck. 

Stefan Nadelman’s Food Fight. A short history of modern warfare, fought with egg rolls, chicken nuggets, sushi and falafel.

An index of warring foodstuffs. Related: Warfare with nuts and ribbon.

For Battlestar Galactica enthusiasts, a slice of blasphemy.

Naturally, the image above contains clues as to the show’s final season. Is Baltar’s Six about to deliver the Cylon gospel? Who’s the new Number Six standing on the left, as if to denounce her counterpart? And who’s missing from the table, and why? Stay tuned.

Previously…

Pink-eyed fascination. (h/t, Mick Hartley.) // Earthquake van. // Christvertising. Do you have the best brand-prayer alignment? (h/t, Chastity Darling.) // The electromagnetic spectrum. (h/t, Infosthetics.) // BSG teaser. // “I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Dangerous computers. // On HAL’s programming conflict. A detailed breakdown. // The Dawn of Man and Discovery, rendered in Lego. Yes, the pod bay doors do open. // Things turn ugly between HAL and Dave. (h/t, Ace.) // The BigDog robot. Sounds like a fly, walks like a horse. // Dog and machine in perfect harmony. // Wooden elephants. // Wooden horses. // Knit your own squid. // Stefan Kanfer on misplaced pacifism. // Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism podcast. // Madsen Pirie on poverty. // Mary Jackson on a failed accountant’s jihad. // Iranian schoolbooks. Shaping young minds. // Remarkable crushing machines. // Luminescent gravel. // The luminescent pillow. (h/t, Ace.) // Prequels are evil. // Alarming intersections. // And, via The Thin Man, Janis would like some wheels.