small h

(raises hand) I was at USQ today and tasted Cato Corner's Drunken Monk, which may be even more pungent that Hooligan. I elected to take home a milder cheese, 'cause the mister's tolerance for stink is essentially zero. I get my Hooligan fix when he's out of the house.

Homemade fettuccine with roasted oyster mushrooms and sage butter.

I knew that Pinhead has a Freaks connection, but that's it. And now I have the Fess Parker song stuck in my head, which is unpleasant.

I Wanna Be Sedated? I know, it's very obvious, but it's the first thing that popped into my head.

This hits hard. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/david-lynch-blue-velvet-mulholland-drive-1236110711/

Or! Or! She just likes being on her own.

The time for winter borscht is now.

A (low alcohol) screwdriver with fresh squeezed orange juice, because H found a bag of oranges.

I lived at the Carteret (next to the Chelsea Hotel) in the 90s, and every morning I went out to buy a NYT and an egg & cheese from the Malibu. It was a good reason to get out of bed (and the apartment).

Oh, look, an hourly report on all the hipsters eating at a hipster diner. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/dining/24-hour-diner.html Why not the Hollywood? Why not the Malibu? Why not the Orion? NOT ENOUGH HIPSTERS, THAT'S WHY!!!

Jealous.

The CUNY Professional Staff Congress has ratified its new contract, which means $$$ for me. Yay.

All things khaki. And I managed not to fail at hollandaise, like I usually do.

I have thoughts. Lemme know how it holds up for you over the course of the season.

What I will remember: reading his "Go Out" list during the pandemic (re-titled "Stay In" or maybe "Stay Home") for info about online musical performances to entertain me me while I was stuck in the house; chatting back and forth with him here late-ish at night, when we'd both had a few; reading his remembrances of his late wife, with whom he is now reunited, if you believe in that sort of thing. I'm very sorry I never had the opportunity to meet him, but I'm grateful I to have "known" him, sort of. May his memory be a blessing.

Janet Planet, playwright Annie Baker's (of whom I'd never heard) first film. It stars Julianne Nicholson - medium H is a fan, which is why we watched - and traces the low-key events of the summer of 1991, before her daughter starts sixth grade. This is one of those quiet, languid independent films in which a few mildly important things happen, but nothing much changes. It was pleasant enough, the performances are good, and it's shot well, but there's ultimately not enough there there.

I know it's customary to say good things about the dead. She's dead. Good.

I had a good parsley harvest this year (and indeed, the plants are still hanging in there). But of course this salad was made with bought parsley. I really should do more with herb-heavy salads.

Uncle Donny explains it all to you.

The facts are, there are no facts.

Fennel and monkfish risotto, parsley and carrot salad.

I don't know why these particular fires seemed so surreal to me. I think I never imagined fire ravaging such a populated place. Ridiculous, I know, flammable is flammable, but there it is.

One of my students asked for an extension on her assignments due to the fact that she's mid-evacuation, and I think that's a good excuse!

I'm gonna take credit. I started watching as soon as it became available.

Terrifying. My friend shot this from her guest room: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEiPXCUSeX7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==