Cicada

I pick this pin whenever I feel like making mischief, as I did today. The Cicada is big enough and real enough to startle people who aren't paying full attention to me, prompting nervous laughter and lame 'jokes' like "there's a bug on your chest!" Very droll...

The mischief here is not that I startled them, though there's some satisfaction in that. It's that I stirred otherwise bright people to try covering their social lapse with humour they themselves find cringe-worthy. I think this naughtiness stems from deciding to re-read "The Complete Saki" which, despite its age, is still a seminal collection of satire, and is my favourite book. Saki beats even Oscar Wilde for my money.

Being the consummate professional that I pretend to be, I mostly confined myself to gentle sarcasm and irony today, because I suspect that's what Saki would do if he'd lived to work in a corporation. And there'll be no jolly japes at the airport: the TSA does not have a sense of humour. But I feel it's my duty as an Englishman to think the thoughts, even if I'm unable to do the deeds.

The Cicada is another Thomas Mann pin, this time from his "Insectarium" Collection, which was part of a touring exhibition. It's made of silver, bronze and laminated acrylic, but the tour de force is that the thorax glows in the dark. Yes, it glows in the dark! I love stuff that glows in the dark. Well done, Tom - well done indeed.