Inputs
Slow Horses by Mick Herron: I am a sucker for any iteration of the grim and drizzly European spy novel. I also like when a character who you’d expect to be hypercompetent based on the tropes of the genre is actually somewhat inept. Makes me feel seen.
My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand: Normally I would not be writing about MNIB now when I still have most of its 976 pages still to go. But if I do finish it, I expect that by the end I will need a break from thinking about Barbra Streisand. And I feel like the 412 pages I’ve made deserve some kind of acknowledgement even if I don’t finish it. Moves along at a fair clip, but boy howdy.
So I called Tim Cook at Apple. And was told they’re going to fix it. And they did.
Outputs
I’ve been listening to Adam Sandler’s novelty holiday songs with my children (PSA: maybe turn off the Turkey song after the first verse or two). That made me think about my taping-songs-from-Z100 era. That made me think of how my taste has been formed over time, and and the consistent theme of feeling like there is something that I’m either supposed to like and don’t, or supposed to not like and do. This is not that kind of list- it’s not things that I wish I liked because they would make me feel smart, tough, or interesting (like organ meats, or Clarice Lispector). These are things I wish I liked because I think if I could muster even a tiny bit of interest in them, my life would be better.
Tennis: Seems like a fun world. I’d imagine that if you play long enough you meet some colorful types. There’s probably great catalogues. Could substitute any luxury-watch-adjacent sport.
Eggs: There they are, taking up the first thirty pages in every cookbook. Even before I got celiac disease, I knew my life would be vastly improved if I could think of a fried egg as an enjoyable or even palatable meal. I deeply love going out for breakfast so now the agony of egg hating is even more bitter.
The Bachelor: I am one of those people who can’t stop themselves from getting intense during small talk, although I’m more interrogational than confessional (to the point where an Israeli colleague of T’s who was seated next to me at a department function grumbled “Here comes Mossad” when he saw us at the same event the following year). All that to say, I wish I had a go-to topic I could talk about with as wide as possible a swath of the population. Could substitute Survivor or The Amazing Race. Not that any of these would have been suitable material for conversation with him or any other physicist I’ve encountered, but then, what is.
Horror movies: The appeal here, like a long-running network reality series, is the sheer volume. It also seems like the kind of topic where expressing genuine enthusiasm for it would endear you to a distinct personality type that is otherwise difficult to engage.
Condiment Corner
Trying to finish up a few stragglers so no condiments this week. In the spirit of gift giving, here are the best cookbooks for your friend who just found out she can’t eat gluten anymore.
Tartine All Day: A reliable lineup of things you can serve to your gluten-eating friends without apologizing. Long list of ingredients for some of the baked goods, but that kind of precision is needed for good results in gluten-free recipes in my experience.
River Cottage Gluten Free: Lots of British classics, great for a GBBO fan (shoutout to Matty, you glorious Ken doll).
Gluten-Free Flour Power: Some of the recipes are pretty involved, but there are a bunch of things that I haven’t seen in another GF cookbook and certainly wouldn’t be able to get without making myself.
The Gluten-Free Cookbook: This one is recipes from around the world that just happen to be gluten free. Good for someone who had an adventurous palate in their glutenous days, or is often cooking for a gluten-eating family.
Not eggs! 😭 I think my version of this is cottage cheese. Whole worlds would open up to me if I could learn to choke it down