Emchap's Shit from the Internet 08/21/19 🍠
Over the weekend, I volunteered with SELAH, a group that does some legitimately super solid direct services outreach work to homeless residents in a city that has pretty badly failed them. It was a great experience and I was happy I did it, but the most interesting part for me was seeing who showed up. (Aside from An Famous, which, #LA, but it was cool.)
One of the women who was running the event mentioned being on her Neighborhood Council, which is the lowest level of city government in LA. I mentioned that I'd always wanted know what they did, and it turned out that they were having a meeting last night, so off I went.
And like, it was cool! Partially because it was in a Masonic Lodge, but mostly because it turns out if you want to find people who care about the collapse of late capitalism but aren't so irony-poisoned as to be infuriating, small-scale city government isn't a bad place to start. There was a tense exchange with a city sanitation worker about how our nearest hazardous waste disposal spot is not transit-accessible, and then a cheerfull-er knowledge share from someone on the council about how you can now recycle batteries at our local post office (and then a discussion about how the post office wants to partner with them on programming, which is adorable?). As someone who has some batteries to recycle and no car, it was a legitimately useful piece of info to pass on!
After the trash talk, they moved on to a reminder that they were holding a renter's rights seminar, a recognition by the local councilmember of the work that SELAH has done in the community, and a discussion with a hotel owner about providing free transit passes to their employees. Though the meeting wasn't technically for my neighborhood (I'm just over the line in the next one), it concerned a whole bunch of businesses that I go to and places I'm very familiar with. It can be wildly difficult to figure out how to engage in government in a way that's not just angry, and though the meeting went on for several hours (and was still going when I left), it was honestly super refreshing. I felt optimistic about things in a way that is wildly difficult at this point in time. It was nice.
Shit to read
My sister just departed on a national tour for her theatrical employer. I found this very funny.
Therapy can be helpful but many therapists are bad at their jobs, is the main thing I took from this article. (In retrospect, I have at least one therapist I should have broken up with WAY sooner for giving advice that was both direct and bad.)
Fuck everyone involved in the Weight Watchers children's app. (I say as a former child who did Weight Watchers in imitation of my mother, which in retrospect, grim.)
This article made me feel old as the sand.
Super pumped for the new Sady Doyle.
I was looking at rockabilly petticoats yesterday and I feel called out.
This whole thing is wild from start to finish.
Shit to eat
Box grate some zucchini. (Or toss them in the grater attachment on the food processor.)
Dig out whatever freezer-burned container of zoodles you have, and add them in.
Toss some salt in there, and leave them to drain in a colander for at least ten minutes or for and hour if you forget and leave to eat dinner.
When you are ready to cook, stir them in with an egg and whatever seasoning takes your fancy. Got Mural of Flavor? Go wild!
Add some chopped-up scallions.
In a small bowl, stir up 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.
Add it to the zucchini goop.
Once everything is stirred up, head up your skillet.
Add oil once the skillet is hot and not a moment before. Samin Nosrat taught you this and you will remember it until you are senile.
Shape little fritter lumps.
Fry them 3 or 4 minutes on one side, 2 or 3 on the other.
When everything is fried, gather up three of them. Top them with sour cream and a crispy fried egg. Enjoy.
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
Shit to listen to
This Kesha song isn't subtle, but it is funny.
Shit to buy
This actively great Japanese bra, which comes in my size and several variations that look like Eevee evolutions.
I just ordered these mom jeans.