I had a surprising free evening today after a very booked-feeling few weeks, and took advantage of it to go do one boring task (prescription pickup) and two fun ones (wandering around Anthropologie smelling everything, and going to happy hour alone). The sun was out for what feels like the first time this week and everyone seemed to be in a good mood, and it was a small lovely moment in the midst of Everything.

On the way home, I was blasting music in my airpods on shuffle, and a Dessa song came on right as we were crossing the bridge. I had a vivid flashback to listening to the same song on loop one of the years I lived in New York, feeling sorry for myself as my train went across the bridge on my way in to work, and feeling like the song was very Resonant about relationships that have long since ceased being a serious part of my life. I spent so much of my time in New York feeling vaguely cinematic (Cat Cohen calls it a Lady In A Movie Moment) and it was a weird throwback to remember that as I looked out at the Moda Center.

It’s hard to feel cinematic in Portland, particularly when (cw me being insufferable) it was preceded by stints in The Big Cities. I’m not living a Movie Life at this point. I retired up here to buy a Poäng chair and date an accountant and hang out in my condo that I bought. Fuck looking out at Manhattan and feeling profoundly miserable; I have Wellbutrin and a mortgage now.

But I do still know all the words to the song and it was, as the youths say, a mood. Shuffle popped up Graceland afterwards (I’m a cool dad) and it felt appropriate to the moment. It finished up as I got to the bubble tea place, and I wandered on home humming it.

Shit to read

An interesting piece about how someone got sucked into the pro-Depp end of propaganda and how she changed her mind that feels like it will continue to be relevant as we wind up getting slammed by more and weirder disinfo campaigns.
Whelp tiktok if you’re pregnant seems like a nightmare.
Holy shit get divorced.
Everyone go on vacation alone, it’s the best.
I grew up eating Pace picante sauce and am obsessed with this article about how they developed a no-heat jalapeño to mix with the normal ones for consistent product.
Speaking of disinfo we are about to be fucked when folks fail to realize that gen z is absolutely susceptible to Q Anon conspiracy shit just like the rest of us.

Shit to eat

Blitz together 240 g flour, and a little over a teaspoon of salt in a food processor.
Add a stick and a half of cubed butter. Blitz it in with the food processor, it’s fine, even if you overmix it it’s still good.
Add in a teaspoon of ACV and a little bit of water; blitz until it’s a dough.
Toss that ish in the fridge until dinner.
If you are smart, buy a can of roasted red peppers. If you are me, chop up, roast, and peel a pair of red bell peppers. You will burn your hands doing this. You always burn your hands doing this.
Toss with the spice mix of your choice; I went with sandwich sprinkle.
Cut the pie dough into quarters; flour your surface and roll each into eighth inch shapes. (You’ll shoot for circles; they’ll wind up… not.)
Cover each with a swab of hummus, and sprinkle with bits of goat cheese. As you get to the end of the goat cheese roll, this will start to feel vaguely pornographic.
Red peppers on top.
Fold each galette into its own little thing.
Egg brush and into the oven for 25 minutes, then rotate, then 10 minutes, then crack an egg onto each and another 10 minutes.
Enjoy with seasonal strawberries and feel very smug about your whole Deal.

(Adapted from the Bon Appetit tomato and gouda galette.)

Shit to listen to

It’s summer and that means I’ll be listening to Star Band de Dakar for the foreseeable. Perfect patio music.

Shit to buy

Obsessed with this bottle opener.

Emchap's Shit from the Internet

Emchap's Shit from the Internet 06/8/22 🍠