We Talk to Horses releases controversial new single, No Anaesthetic
and other news
Editors’ Corner
Welcome, dear reader, to the inaugural newsletter of the Institute for the Calibration of Reality.
Our mission is twofold: to share updates about the mysterious Montréal music group We Talk To Horses, and to provide edifying and rejuvenating reports about the Institute’s reality calibration projects. Spring springs eternal, but fall falls but once, and our newsletter is different. Enjoy!
Editors in chief
Porch Lagersthwaite
Saintarctica Ottorino
We Talk to Horses, Institute-sponsored musical group, releases controversial new single, No Anaesthetic
The Institute for the Calibration of Reality has never shied from controversy. We welcome the many sternly-worded letters we receive, from friend and foe alike, though we no longer have time to read them.
We are thus unperturbed by the burgeoning brouhaha surrounding No Anaesthetic, the new single by We Talk To Horses. Surgical professionals may soon, in their droves, take to social media to object to what they may see as a thinly veiled polemic against anaesthesia. We at the Institute interpret the song differently. The prefix an- means "without", so we understand the song to protest things without aesthetic qualities. But what things? Khaki trousers? John Cage? We are perplexed.
More perplexing still is the question: how does this music help us to talk to horses? Achieving this goal, which we can all agree is essential to humanity's longevity and happiness, is the only reason the Institute has supported We Talk To Horses. But when the only products of four months of support are an enigmatic piece of popular music, a few t-shirts and a poorly lit picture of a cat, the Institute is led to question its continuing involvement with the band. We will accept feedback from the general public before making a final determination.
Three Years On, Still Seeking Rival Think Tank
Cleopatra had Octavia, Ahab had his whale, Quixote his windmills. But three years after launching a worldwide search, the Institute has no one. We have yet to find our nemesis.
We are thus making a public appeal: if you know of a think tank, charitable organization, local chamber of commerce or public utility in need of an adversary, please contact us. Our rival would need to issue occasional press releases containing poorly-reasoned critiques (the only possible kind) of our work, and to otherwise besmirch our name. For our part, we would issue cogently reasoned condemnations of our rival, and would work tirelessly to diminish our rival's global standing. This opportunity will potentially only be available for a limited time, so act soon.
Stickers
The Institute for the Calibration of Reality houses a General Store for We Talk To Horses ‘merch.’ This month we are featuring stickers, designed and hand-printed by the band.
A set of four stickers is available for $8 CAD plus shipping. New paid subscribers to the newsletter will receive a set of two stickers as a thank you gift!
To purchase these, or for more stickers, t-shirts, and tote bags, visit the General Store.