PicoBlog

Strange Times is a day-by-day rereading of the 1921 New York Times—a free, twice-monthly reminder that the past was stranger than we think. This newsletter includes Strange Pulp, an irregular journal of weird fiction. Subscribe now and get both! No thanksncG1vNJzZmirpKeur7PEraCmnaNjwLau0q2YnKNemLyuew%3D%3D

As a kid, you learn to be wary of strangers. “Stranger danger”, right? Not in the case of looking for feedback. Over the past few years, I’ve become accustomed to soliciting feedback from swaths of strangers on Reddit, Instagram, and Twitter. A stranger will often give an unfiltered, unbiased point of view that friends might hesitate to share or have too much context to give. Creating things that resonate with people I’ve never met is incredibly rewarding and quite a dopamine hit.

If you like the crisp edges of lasagne, the soaked croutons, the whipped cream that gets icy around the chocolate scoop - you’re in the right place. Hi folks—Strawberry cornbread this week. While I love my recipe, this note is really a cry for you to splurge on freshly-milled, heirloom cornmeal—make anything with it—and revel in its flavor. I’ve baked dozens of cornbreads over the past few weeks, testing recipes with conventional cornmeal and several fresh, locally-milled varieties.

I was thrilled to struggle against heavy iron once again as two months of injury and illness had stalled my first attempt at the Nonprophet Strength Program. Technically there is no program, but a manual that guides you in an attempt to inform your own programming. At any rate, I’m happy to present my results and thoughts on the curriculum. ncG1vNJzZmirkauuqLHZnqVnq6WXwLWtwqRlnKedZL1wv9OrnKefpJ16o8WMp6anqKKkvamx02anq6eXp66uedGeraKdpw%3D%3D

Welcome back to the Farting Sofa Faculty Lounge.  I had to take an extensive sabbatical from blogging, thanks to personal and professional obligations and the hassles that are involved in setting up my own business.  Happily, I'm now the proud owner of Freeman Davis Behavior Services, life has settled down a bit and I, like Strike fans worldwide, was happy to hear the news today the Strike Book 8 will be titled The Hallmarked Man.

Israel from the Inside was always meant not to focus on war or politics, but instead, fo focus on the issues, challenges, people, culture, music and more that make up the mosaic of Israeli life—a mosaic that often doesn’t make it into the English press. Hamas, of course, has diverted this plans a bit, but now that we are five months into the war and war is becoming the “new normal,” we’re can finally begin revsitting some of the issues on which we’d hoped to focus.

1995’s Stuart Saves His Family is an anomaly among films cranked out by SNL Studios in being fundamentally dramatic rather than comic.  The character of Stuart Smalley, supportive nurturer, public access host and member of several 12 step groups came from a deeply personal place for creator Al Franken.  Stuart was inspired by Al-Anon meetings that he attended with his wife, who was battling alcoholism, as well as his relationship with his writing partner Tom Davis, who chronicled his own struggles with heroin addiction and other substances in his 2009 memoir Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss.

Last year my friend gave me a strip-pieced polyester quilt top that they had been holding onto. The maker had paired the stretchier knits with a stiff cotton backing to stop them from warping and I was impressed by that attention to detail, which contradicted my internalized biases against polyester as, well, crap. I studied the quilt top, which I found quite beautiful, and remembered one that I had passed up years ago at the thrift.

I’m trying to get better at gratitude. It can be daunting, with the world’s horrors and vitriol at our fingertips all day, every day. But there is always light, even if it’s distant, even if it’s a sliver through the cracks. And with Thanksgiving upon us, I am determined to focus on that light. When I slow down for a moment, being grateful is easy. It’s in the big things—achieving career goals, like becoming a published author; spending time with family—and, more often, it’s in the little things—the basil plant that’s still blossoming after 3 months on the windowsill; discovering roasted hazelnut coffee.