Just learned about the annual NC wildlife photo contest. 2025 winners here. I suspect @amerpie could be in the running with his great photography.
For dinner tonight, I made lablabi, a Tunisian harissa and chickpea soup, and it was delicious. I followed the recipe from Milk Street Magazine; see story here.
I had fun writing this blog post about a book I’m currently reading (The Notebook by Roland Allen) and how it connects to my grandfather, Frank the Beachcomber, and my own lifelong use of notebooks 📚
Watched this in 1985, four days in a row, at the movie theater on Third Street in DeKalb, Illinois: Back to the Future 🍿
Another beautiful and warm Sunday morning, with 40+ guys on the pitch for pick-up soccer games. Oliver joined me today. No goals from either of us but we had fun. Now home with coffee, watching the leaves rain down in the forest around our house.
Bottled the orange bitters. My buddy Andrew made a batch, too. We started the first step—orange peels, gentian root, and more in high-proof Boyd & Blair vodka—together here then followed the next steps in Brad Parsons’s Bitters book at our respective homes. Time to test this.
About to drive to Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw to see Ketch Secor (first saw Old Crow Medicine Show here in Carrboro in 2003). Also just purchased tickets to the Belair Lip Bombs in Raleigh next April.
Dave Winer about running Feedland on your own:
It’s not for poets, though I do know one who got it running.
Could be me. I have Feedland running on my webhost and you can see my News Product (the feeds I read, categorized across a bunch of tabs), here.
At Cat’s Cradle with my eldest daughter to hear Vincent Lima, who gives a brief retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice that threads through his new album.
A perfect morning for pick-up soccer, with the time change everyone seemed to show up. An hour into play, I surprised even myself when I took a pass and, even with a defender in the net, I squared up and perfectly fizzed the ball into the corner for a goal. That got me three double high fives.
A friend who hunts our land each deer season (bow and arrow, from up in an oak tree) has had a trail cam out there for the last couple of months. He came by the house today and showed me images he’s gotten. Said up to 7 coyote have been there at once. This image of coyote watching deer is cool.
Just registered again for the Uwharrie Mountain Run next February. I’ll do the 8 miles along with some work colleagues (hoping they got up early to snag a spot in this perennially popular but limited race).
I’m three episodes into Jad Abumrad’s latest podcast, Fela Kuti: Fear No Man and loving it. It’s got history, personality, music, meditation, and layers of meaning. So good.
Long-time subscriber to the New Yorker, and I’ve keep the auto-renew option turned off, which meant my subscription lapsed this month. I just went to renew and got the introductory rate for one year (then renewal goes to $195/year). I’ll take it. This magazine is golden.
Record store purchase today included Fleetwood Mac 1975 album. Now I’m sitting in theater waiting for new Springsteen biopic to start: Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere 🍿
Back now from a great outing in the beautifully warm NC autum day - first the No Kings protest in Hillsborough, then down the road to the Salt & Smoke & Sound festival at Blackwood Farm: democracy + free expression + assembly + sun + music + bbq + beer = gratitude for U.S.A.
The Peace Corps has very nice Brand Guidelines. Also, tips on writing a blog post.
Feeling tired and happy after mid-day pick-up soccer in Cary; an insightful session with my career coach about many of the brands I developed; looking up to see an American kestrel; Solsbury Hill from Peter Gabriel Plays Live record, on my headphones (my song for every Friday in the 5pm hour).
Erin and I needed a way to wind down last night, so we re-watched The Bear S2E7, Forks, one of my favorite episodes of this show. I’ve given Unreasonable Hospitality, the yellow book Richie is reading as he tidies his apartment, to a bunch of friends. 🍿
Finished reading The Poisoner’s Handbook just in time for the meeting of our science writers book club last night. Deborah Blum - the author of this fascinating book about the forensic medicine, the chemistry of poisons, the Jazz Age and Prohibition, and more - actually joined us. So cool.