I was deeply offended by the way Shelley treated me but told myself I’d wait a year before responding.

That was exactly one year ago.

“In the Nightwatch Kitchen” was just published in Barn Sour - a newspaper that celebrates mutual aid. Shelley is mentioned.

Part 2 of In the Nightwatch Kitchen (coming in the Fall edition of Barn Sour, issue #4) will concentrate on the positive side of my time at Nightwatch and will include a proposal to buy them a much-needed tilt skillet.

An open letter to the Operation Nightwatch Board of Directors will be sent in 2027.

—Alex

See also:

—Alex

Belgium defeated Senegal 3-2, continuing a long tradition of Europeans getting the better of Africans. The Belgian genocide in Congo comes to mind. Belgium’s French-speaking neighbor, France, continues their colonial domination of Senegal to this day. You could call it imperialism light, I guess. Less murder but lots of economic exploitation.

And yet all that bad blood is forgotten during the World Cup. Football/Soccer is truly the world’s game and is the only thing that every nation on Earth has in common. I’ll admit I’m an American football kind of person but it’s great to see football/soccer become so popular here as of late.

The Seattle Police Department wrote an imbecilic piece about the World Cup called OMG! OK, IT’S HAPPENING. EVERYBODY STAY CALM which reinforces every stereotype about Americans not understanding football/soccer. “Football vs Football - I’m as confused as you are. Let’s break it down.” I have despised the Seattle Police since winning my lawsuit against them for a false arrest in 1991. And I was lucky - their abuses are legion.

I encourage you to support DivestSPD - Seattle's grassroots police watchdog.

Viva Mexico! That game was incredible and it has filled me with joy to say that to groups of Mexican tourists today. Also … Mitch McConnell is at death’s door, the corporate centrist Obama/Biden/Harris/Cuomo Democrats are getting WIPED OUT by progressive/DSA candidates … Trump has congestive heart failure and lots of other diseases. A better fucking world is coming.

—Alex

See also:

DivestSPD

Day drunk gang cop found 'slumped' in his truck

Seattle police sergeant Jeffrey Page was found passed out at a red light in Monroe last fall, according to investigation documents DivestSPD obtained…

Read more

a month ago · 3 likes · DivestSPD

Sometimes humor is the best vehicle for building awareness about a serious issue.
—Alex

—Alex

See also:

For lunch have corned beef and cabbage. (Not shown: a rich broth, mustard, etc.)

For dinner: take-away from that new neighborhood Mexican place, El Rinconsito.

—Alex

Lam’s in the International District resembles a market you’d see in the Global South more than a sterile American place, especially in the Seafood section. Their much larger new space on MLK will probably look more like their store in Tukwila.

Since Viet-Wah closed my go-to neighborhood place for fresh herbs and vegetables has been Mekong Rainier, but they recently stopped selling fresh meat and shrimp. This multi-generational family business is an importer and distributor too so I’m not gonna feel bad when Lam’s becomes my new spot and they lose my business.

—Alex

I found this picture of her late dog Chichi recently while looking through some old files. I thought it was lost but no - Chichi now lives on forever in the digital ether.

—Alex

The first two ingredients in Good Crisp Company’s Outback BBQ potato crisps are dried potato flakes and palm oil.

These are inspired by Pringles, another processed potato snack product served in a tube that would not exist without marketing. Nobody asked for it and if they stopped advertising it it would go away.

Condiment of the year (of the horse)

Laoganma spicy chili crisp is the best version of chili crisp you can buy in a jar. It goes well on almost everything, especially ice cream.

Dried fermented black beans, an ingredient not always found in chili crisp, make this version into an incredible umami bomb.

—Alex

As usual, the game was boring, the commercials were offensive and the halftime show was spectacular. An added bonus: this year the halftime performance became a big fuck you to senile racist criminal pervert Donald Trump and his dumbass group of murderous losers.

I teach our children to not have regrets, but I must admit I am constantly regretting not going all-in on the domain name business. In the 90s I ended up making a small fortune by accident by selling top level .com domains, but if I had raised even ten thousand dollars in 1995 when I first started buying names for my own projects and just used the cash to pick off valuable domains at twelve bucks apiece … sigh.

—Alex

See also:
AI.com domain name sold for record-breaking $70 million

Well no more!

Recently the much-maligned US Foods restaurant supply store offered up 50 pound sacks of pristine russet earth apples for ten dollars, none of which ended up weighing less than a pound.

Also picked up a sack of onions for the same price. Obviously, our family will not be able to use all these before they start to turn, so the plan is to donate some to the food banks.

—Alex

See also:
Del Christensen and Sons
”Grown in the warm, sandy soil of the Columbia River Basin in Washington, these potatoes and onions develop under a long growing season with pure water from the Columbia River.”

Two articles from this issue are available online:

THE SEATTLE RESTAURANT WAGE AND TIP THEFT HALL OF FAME

FIRLAND SANATORIUM’S FINAL SOLUTION FOR SEATTLE’S WHITE PLAGUE

—Alex

—Alex

Barn Sour is a comics newspaper about mutual aid.

Underground comics. Indie publishing on newsprint. Mutual aid. A trifecta of things I have been interested in for half a century.

Had to look up the phrase Barn Sour and yeah that’s equine terminology for a horse that refuses to leave the barn because they’re too comfortable and cozy in there.

Barn Sour

—Alex

Spies Like Us

Gothamist reports that Wegman’s supermarkets in New York City are collecting and storing biometric data from their customers. “Eyes, voices and faces.”

Sherman’s March to Oblivion

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published their last print issue on December 31, 2025. Atlanta is now the only major city in the United States that does not have a daily printed newspaper.

Nemo Malus Felix

“Peace visits not the guilty mind.” A reminder that American military aggression since World War II is nothing new. If you are shocked by our recent shenanigans in Venezuela, read a history book.

A looser translation of “Nemo Malus Felix” would be “no rest for the wicked.” As in - in a better world, a whole bunch of people in the American corporate and government spheres would end up in jail.

—Alex

Budget for this was $42, or $1.68 per 28 ounce serving. Comfort food.

Beacon Hill Mutual Aid meets and distributes food every Saturday.

See also:
A South End Guide to Mutual Aid Groups in Seattle
-South Seattle Emerald

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Top some broccolini with a liberal sprinkling of furikake and broil it. Then add rice vinegar and sesame oil. Or, add the same toppings to some freshly sliced cucumbers. Delightful!

—Alex

Avoid the trap of cars, commuting and corporations

In December of 1990 I was on the highway driving back to Seattle from a temporary office job in a god-forsaken suburb. It was pitch black dark at 5 PM.

At that moment I realized that I was going to go out of my way to not waste even one more second of my life commuting in a gas-guzzling vehicle to a situation that was not accessible by public transportation or bike.

Mission accomplished. For example, I can count the number of times that I have been to the soulless corporate Seattle suburb of Bellevue on two hands. I spent ten years without a car. I survived by hustling for freelance work (thank you Apple Inc.! and your magical work-from-home devices) and gigging in restaurants while avoiding the temptation of selling out to evil entities who wanted potential wage slaves like me to toil in their cubicle prisons. Today I commute to work by bike and soon that job will become a mostly work from home situation.

As a person of privilege gifted with a mind able to see above the trap of the rat race, I was able to avoid wasting my days in a slog of fossil fuel consumption, constant driving and existential office drudgery. So many of us are not so lucky.

—Alex

See also:

Bartleby, The Scrivener
A STORY OF WALL-STREET.
by Herman Melville

Bedbugs and bad air quality. But also a stocked pantry down the hall and a hot meal every night from the soup kitchen downstairs.

Towards the end he was not allowed into the dining area because of some behavioral transgressions. His tray had to be given to him outside so he could take it back to his room.

I remember him complaining that none of the people that came to help him were “white girls.” Medical and social workers are trained to deal with the racism that patients with dementia (or who are just plain racist) might exhibit, but it doesn’t make their jobs any easier. The people in charge of taking care of him did the very best they could with limited resources. Given his bad habits and difficult personality it’s a miracle that he lived as long as he did.

I logged some quality time with Shadow. Helped him carry in his groceries a few times. Conversed with him while he smoked outside. Marlboros. Two packs a day.

The end years of his life were not great. He survived into old age though - a victory many of us will never be able to celebrate.

—Alex

Yesterday I hung up a couple of shirts outside the grocery store. It was cold out - as cold as Seattle gets.

—Alex