The Return of Strange Times

I am happy to announce that, after six weeks’ feverish work on a couple of massive creative projects, Strange Times will resume regular service next Tuesday—which is, coincidentally, Christmas. Thank you for your patience during the hiatus. I’ve just finished preparing “Strange Times 53,” and I promise it will be worth the wait.

You may notice the newsletter looks slightly different. I’ve switched over from TinyLetter to Substack, which means I will now be able to offer Strange Times as a two-tiered paid subscription service. For $5 per month, or $40 per year, you will get every issue of Strange Times, plus a monthly round-up of the best advertisements the 1921 New York Times has to offer. If you prefer not to pay, you’ll keep getting every other issue for free. If you’d like to upgrade, you can do so here.

I realize no one likes being asked to pay for something that used to be free, but after a year of producing Strange Times I could no longer justify the time it takes to produce unless I was getting a little money in return.

My hope is that those who read every week won’t mind paying for it, while those who read only occasionally will be happy with the twice-monthly free issues. In either case, I’m committed to making this newsletter as good as it can possibly can be, and I welcome any feedback you have.

As thanks, and to tide you over until Christmas, here’s a short item that didn’t quite make the cut from “Strange Times 53.” Thank you, as always, for your support.

I just don’t think this is how laws work.

ATLANTA, Ga., Feb. 21.—Thieves may steal liquor without fear of prosecution. That is what Judge John D. Humphries of the Fulton Superior Court ruled today at the trial of a city detective charged with stealing liquor from a self-confessed bootlegger.

The Judge ruled that liquor has no legal status and cannot be protected by the laws, consequently one cannot be arrested for stealing it. He said that the owner of liquor might prosecute the thieves as violators of the prohibition law, but not for stealing.