“As people move up the income ladder, they escape material shortages and consume more. They have ‘things’—goods, houses, and, most importantly, education—to show for their higher earnings, but they do not have healthy finances. Having those ‘things’ is of course an improvement over not having them, but only for the very, very rich (or the very, very unusual) is there any real escape from the pressure-cooker of American household finances.” — Rebecca J. Rosen, “The Circles of American Financial Hell,” The Atlantic (May 5, 2016)
The Tenth Circle: IKEA
“In a rare and revealing interview with the Ulster Fry, the Devil has admitted that he has created a Tenth Circle of Hell – in the form of a Bank Holiday shopping trip to IKEA.
“The former Argos delivery driver told us that he’d been attempting some home improvements at his bachelor pad in the Ninth Circle district, when he stumbled upon the new form of torture. ‘I was doing up the bedroom when it occurred to me that I could do with some storage for my CD collection,’ he said, ‘so I thought I’d pop down to IKEA and pick something up. Say what you like about IKEA, but they do have an impressive range of storage solutions.’
“’When I got there, I ended up wandering around aimlessly for hours, and instead of just getting some CD shelving I soon found that I had a trolley full of shite I never wanted in the first place. That’s when it hit me – I could build an extension onto Hell where the truly evil could be condemned to an eternity looking for a non-existent item in IKEA on a Bank Holiday.’
“’As soon as I got home I put my evil minions to work, although it took ages as it came in a flat pack from Sweden and we lost the wee hexagonal yoke you need to put it together.’” [. . .] —The Ulster Fry, August 31, 2015.
Read the full post and check out more from The Ulster Fry on their website.
Go To Hell! The Game
“Whoever thought that telling someone to ‘Go to Hell!’ would be a compliment? Gather your friends and family together for a devilish dash through the fiery pits of Dante’s Inferno! Compete with your loved ones to be the first to make your way through all seven deadly sins and go to Hell. It includes one gameboard, one die, four game pieces and 20 Hell Cards! Just don’t get sent to Heaven unless you have the Get Out of Heaven Free card. It’s a race to the bottom that’s so much fun, it’s sinful!” —Archie McPhee, 2018.
You can buy Go To Hell! The Game on Archie McPhee’s website.
Contributed by Austin Wilkes, Florida State University, 2017
Luke Chueh’s Inferno (2009)
“The Inferno‘s artistic legacy is huge; Botticelli, Doré, Dali, Rauschenberg, and countless lesser known artists have created works inspired by the poem. It has inspired a movie (acted out by paper puppets) and even became a video game. Most artists seem to stay true to the poem, focusing on ‘the poets’ Dante, his guide Virgil, and Inferno‘s diverse cast of demons and damned. Rauschenberg approached Inferno by creating a painting for each of the 36 cantos. As for me, I’ve decided to remove Dante and Virgil, and instead create a painting for each ring of hell, with the exception of Rings Seven (a triptych – 3 paintings) and Eight (a deciptych – 10 paintings). I wanted to compose each painting in a way that illustrates what a ‘normal day in hell’ would be like. In order for me to accomplish this, I had to take some personal liberties with certain details within the Inferno, but I did my best to stay as true to the text as I could.
“Inferno was hosted by Gallery 1988, and opened on September 9th, 2009 (9/9/9). If you’re interested in any of these paintings, please contact Gallery 1988 for availability.” [. . .] —Luke Chueh on his work, August, 2009.
Pictured above is Chueh’s map of his Inferno.
You can check out the full series of artwork and more of Chueh’s work on his website.
Firefly and the Special Level of Hell
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