PicoBlog

It’s Hump Day folks and with Arctic winds whistling down the plains there ain’t much to be happy about. Especially with news we’re losing two 405 diningscape mainstays in the next few weeks. Penny Hill Deli, Bar & Char in Norman and Off the Hook in Oklahoma City both announced intentions to close existing stores but neither will vanish completely. In the case of Off the Hook, chef/owner Corey Harris is shutting down his store at the corner of Britton and Broadway on Feb.

It’s April 26, 2024, and you’re reading Off the Record. I’m Pranaya Rana and in this newsletter, we’ll stop, take a deep breath, and dive into one singular issue that defined the past week.  You can read Off the Record for free by visiting this link and subscribing to receive this newsletter in your inbox every Friday.ﾠAll posts are free but you can pledg… ncG1vNJzZmiqlZi8s7DNnqeapF6owqO%2F05qapGaTpLpwvI6onZ9lpJ2ybr7EnKarnF1mgHl51qGcq51dnsBursipoKc%3D

But wait!…Hold on….she rises again. Oh this is exciting! Can she sustain this new success? Do we even want her to? Or is it more fun to hope she fails? UGH it’s so hard! Never mind what she wants  - what do we want? I just finished reading Jessica Bennett’s excellent article in Elle on Sophia Amoruso, former CEO and leader of the Girlboss world movement - who hates that title.

Just continuing our Thursday tradition of me taking your questions — like, for example, this one: Q. I’ve been mulling over your stories for quite some time. "The Falls" and "The Puppy” both give the reader a close view of two separate characters. Is this intentional? A way to make a story more complex and interesting, or do you have just as many stories with a singular point of view?

Other Half Brewing plans to open an OH-branded taproom at the Pinnacle North Complex in Canandaigua, current home of Young Lion Brewing. Both breweries announced the sale of the taproom and production brewery at 24 Lakeshore Drive, back in November, stating they expected it to close by early January. Yet weeks later, the deal remains pending. At this point, the breweries are at the mercy of the state and federal regulators.

VANCOUVER – As I sit here, in the darkness of my bedroom, watching the witching hour draw close, I am haunted by a single question: how do you explain a single person, let alone a whole group? I thought, with enough hours spent listening to Yasi Salek it would be no problem. Clearly, I was mistaken. As the host of the popular Bandsplain podcast, Yasi weaves together different threads of music history, to form a new tapestry, complete with vocal fry and a killer theme song.

Note: A good part of this is summarized/paraphrased from Benedict Beckeld’s book, Oikophobia, which I recommend reading You’ve seen it happen again and again: Fallen statues. Burned flags. School name changes. Canceling dead people (highly rec listen to that one). The throughline? A hatred of one’s own culture and home. Or, as Benedict Beckeld puts it, Oikophobia. As opposed to xenophobia, or the hatred of others, Oikphobia describes the hatred of self.

You may have seen one of her appearances on Office Hours with Tim Heidecker or maybe you watched her brilliant short film Nicole, which follows Nicole, an irredeemable yet lovable maniac played by Edy, who’s on a desperate journey to Dunkin’ for a coolatta, or maybe you’re a true head and saw Gold People. Either way, fans of the good and strange comedy space can’t avoid Edy, which is for the best.

I know, I know these don’t get very many views and to carry on writing about Vagabond doesn’t seem to excite the readers quite like other topics might (don’t worry I’ve plans for a second post to-day). But the truth is I love writing about Musashi and Vagabondo, as the manga is definitely a stellar piece of art that will be remembered for generations in my view. And like all great pieces of literature it is worth remembering and should be analysed in great detail.