The Acro-Cats have released their tour dates for this summer. So if you're into cheezy circus routines with cats, rats, and a chicken (Cluck Norris) that often go hilariously sideways (because cats), this may well be the event for you.

Roxanne and I were married on Saturday in a tiny ceremony in our backyard, with our immediate families and two formally dressed cats. The third cat slept through it.

The skies parted, the sun came out for a miraculous two-hour window and we were able to tie the knot beneath the now-mature chocolate vines of the arbor Roxanne erected five years ago. You might think we planned it this way.

Then the bride proceeded to her grilling station, as one does.

One of the things I really enjoyed in Mexico was a vegetarian pepper-free pozole.  Being someone who is capsicum-free, it left me with the sensation of mexican food but without the rosacea flare.

Herewith my experiment in creating something like it but with chicken.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
  
• 1 large can of tomatillos or 1-2lbs fresh ones
  
• 1 medium onion
  
• 1 bunch cilantro
  
• 1 tsp oregano
  
• 1 tsp cumin
  
• 1 tsp ground coriander
  
• black pepper and salt to taste
  
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
  
• 2 cans of hominy (if you need to avoid corn, roasting a bunch of small chunks of potato could be substituted for a hominy-adjacent effect)
  
• 2-3 chicken breasts or if you're vegetarian, either canned or freshly cooked dried blackbeans.
  
• limes
  
• cabbage (I used a bag of pre-shredded "cole slaw mix" because I am lazy AF)
  
• avocados
  
• radishes
  

Instructions:

If using chicken breasts -- poach them in your stock. Remove from stock, let cool to shred.

If using fresh tomatillos, oven roast them until they're mushy and bubbling with a bit of browning, if not, just open a can

In a pan, toast up your garlic, add your spices, drop these in a blender with the tomatillos, some of the stock and half the bunch of cilantro. Puree. This should turn a very bright green.

Drop the puree into the rest of the stock, add the thinly sliced onions, shredded chicken (if you're doing that) and hominy or potatoes. Simmer until the onion is translucent and the broth is a less bright green.

To serve,

1. Put a pile of cabbage in a bowl
   
2. Add beans if you choose them (you could add beans directly to the broth, I just wanted mine more flexibly available for other things so I kept them out)
   
3. Ladle soup over greens and beans
   
4. Garnish with avocado, more fresh cilantro, some thinly sliced radish and a bit of black pepper
   
5. Squeeze lime over the lot.
   

Obviously anyone who can eat capsicum and wants peppers can roast them with the tomatillos and puree some or all of them controlling for heat. This may not be "pozole" from the pt of view of a purist who insists on peppers and heck if you take hominy out, pozole is officially the hominy part -- but it's yummy and I'm currently eating the heck out of it.

I haven't. I've been going to work each day, going to physical therapy twice a week, brain therapy twice a month, karaoke kids weekly or more, wrapping up the home renovations, organizing brunch club, trying to get back into yoga now that I'm allowed, and all the other things.

 Today I was thinking about being the part of GenX raised on media singularly derisive of compassion and "hippie" values like tolerance and peace. How even given a steady drumbeat of how loser those peaceniks were, I remain shocked and disgusted by how cruel Republicans are.

This is Archer. He is a Bergamansco Shepherd. 

Yes, he is covered in dreadlocks, which protect his delicate skin. They swing like curtains when he runs and flop like cheerleader pompons when he frolics, which is often. If you get your fingers in between his dreads and give his skin skritchies, he will love you and love you. He is the sweetest boy. Or, one of them, anyway. It's really hard to get a picture of him because he runs around playing so much. 

I'm really struggling with an article I'm trying to write for work. 
Matthew presented me with some data he wanted me to use in an article about what podcasts do for your brain. The data has no citation or explanation of how it was gathered. The information simply said, "there's a famous study where people had to listen to the 'I Have a Dream' speech and the study found that when people listened to it, they were more engaged and remembered more details when they listened to audio only, rather than watching and listening to a video."
Again, nothing to back this up. Were the participants in an MRI machine? Did they self-report afterwards? Who did the study, and when? 
I've been beating myself up trying to find a reputable, consistent study that proves audio is more memorable than video. Turns out, it's not true. They're stored in different kinds of memory in different ways.  Citations available upon request. It took me over a week to get this info because I'm using Duck Duck Go. 

Last night, I was so frustrated that I made this video. It's about eight and a half seconds long. Watch this, then close your eyes, and ask yourself: 
What did I hear? (and, if the question applies, how many?)
​​​​​​​What did I see?  (and, if the question applies, how many?) 

Your answer will help me figure out this effing article and stop obsessing about this section of the article. 
​​​​​​​Further details as events warrant.

My dog is farting up a storm. 

Ever since i put on a pair of my mom's heels at 11 and loved them, i've always wanted to know what my deal was, mainly because i thought it would help me figure out how to express myself in a way that i felt was true to myself, whatever the hell that means.

It looks like it would take forty years for not just me to settle down as a person but also for society to change with a whole bunch of young people changing attitudes and language enough for things to fall into place.  In the meantime, i took some baby steps by starting in 2008 to wear kilts, a heteronormative-approved skirt for men.  I started buying nicer clothes in general as a result of, for the first time, caring about how i dressed and looked on a daily basis.

Two years and a half ago, i bought my first non-kilt skirt from eShakti, which a coworker had recommended primarily for the ability to customize the garment's measurements, as she has an unusually shaped body.  As i do, too, given my typically male proportions, and the fact that most of their skirts have pockets (which i had no interest in going without), that sealed the deal.  But i still didn't know where to wear it (although i did take it out to go see Florence + the Machine for my granddaughter's birthday with her stepmom [my stepdaughter], which was a perfect occasion as i saw other guys there wearing clothes with femenine festoons), so it mostly languished in my closet.

Last year, after i started at Zoox, i decided to rip off the bandaid on Halloween (how cliché) and wore the navy skirt with these, which i'd bought in Portland on a bit of a lark in 2019 and were also looking for an opportunity to shine in public.  After that, i ended up buying a couple more skirts, and also some mid-heeled boots, and it's really feeling like it's all coming together.

Following are the skirts, in order of purchase, plus my favorite pairs of knee-high boots.

So how am i labeling myself?  I'm a cis hetero dude with femme fashion tendencies; that's good enough.

In closing, here's Neko Case.

Heavy clouds came through and a rain storm slid right past us. Instead, we got this: 

Nature is wild. 

Taking the Odyssey (Thaddeus' ship which he named after an old book he found in the ruins of a library on Lullingstone) out of hyperdrive, Thaddeus navigates his ship toward a giant cloud covered planet. "This must be Ventura."

Finding a safe corridor between the clouds, the Odyssey twists and turns between dark clouds and lightning bolts until it finds its way to solid ground. The landing gear deploys and the ship lands with a soft bump. The crew breathes a collective sigh of relief as they emerge from the safety of the ship, stepping out onto the alien landscape of the storm-wracked planet.

The landscape stretches out before them, shrouded in swirling mists. Flashes of lightning dance across the sky and the faces of the crew. Dark clouds loom overhead, casting shadows that play across the rugged terrain. Despite the chaos of the storms, there is a certain stark majesty about it; jagged rock formations jut up from the ground, and valleys below them seem to be carved by relentless winds. The air feels charged with electricity, like lightning is crackling within the very molecules of air they breathe. And the booming thunder is almost melodious in its rhythmic certainty.

Amidst the scene, one of the crew members draws Thaddeus's attention to a distant light flickering in the darkness. Squinting against the swirling mist, Thaddeus can just make out the faint glow of a ship approaching through the storm. As it draws nearer, it becomes clear that something is indeed making its way towards the landing site.

Starlog of Paladin Roach as told by chadnorth:

Having unloaded a cargo of daggits to brokers on Diamond ‘Captain’ Roach now decides to use all of Precious’ fuel to accept a cargo of pilgrims to the planet Rapelje on the Outer Rim. The cargo consists of about 27 adolescent females robed in red with white hoods to be delivered to the Central Temple of Joris (the hierophant). As expected the trip is concluded with his normal precision (they made it). There was a parade planned for all of the newcomers as few travelers come out this far. Paladin is uninterested in the fanfare. He does not seek an audience with Rapeljeins nor does he provide a grateful donation; he thinks delivering the pilgrims with their virginity intact is more than sufficient especially after such a long trip.

Upon collecting payment he heads for the nearest hostel. While on Rapelje a lone figure dressed in black arrives at night and offers up a fair price for his next delivery.

Extremely bored while waiting for a landing clearance that may never arrive, Willy Minmax uses his time in Gondilly orbit to negotiate with the owner of the pointless scissors.  Willy manages to talk a gentleman named "Rip Higgs" down from "heavily discounted, free on board Gondilly" to "on consignment".  Why the seller would feel comfortable putting his goods onto a confessed "tramp steamer" is not disclosed, but Willy promises to do his best and return with the profits as soon as practicable.  Suspicion and regret fill his mind, despite the far greater justification for Mr. Higgs to own such feelings.