😽 Greg's Newsletter Has An Announcement [No. 075]
Essential content, some personal news, and hey: food.
Welcome! I hope you're well in these "these trying times" times.
The newsletter has been all over the place lately. So why change that up?
First up: an essential album and an essential read, both of which were released/published since we last talked. Next up: a major, cute announcement. And then some thoughts on food because god damn, if there's one thing I've realized during lockdown: I think about food a lot. (I probably thought about food just as much before, but if you’re like me, you’ve been doing a lot of involuntary self-reflection lately. Not shit else to do. I absolutely did not set out to look deep inside my own soul during all of this. But once I was inside, I found tacos.)
Listen & Read
Essential listen: SAULT - Untitled (Black is)
SAULT is a somewhat secretive group of musicians that just dropped an album out of nowhere which simultaneously is of-this-moment while being driven by the deep, every day and historical experiences of Black people. It cuts across genres, it’s a full-on journey, and it's a journey that requires full attention, from start-to-back. My words don't do it justice, so I recommend sitting down for an hour with your headphones on. Album of the year front-runner, no question.
Essential read: You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument by Caroline Randall Williams
No set up for this one. Click through and read it if you haven't.
Personal News
And now, I have to share something.
I have a huge announcement...
... we have a newborn...
....
......
kitten
Rachel and I have talked about getting a pet for a long time. I'm a cat person (obviously) and she's a dog person, but I made her see the error in her ways (jk I made the case that she's more a cat person than she realizes).
All of a sudden, about 10 days ago, a friend texted that after a momma cat delivered some baby cats (also known as kittens) in their shed, it left one behind. So we took the plunge. We discussed maybe adopting rescue dogs and cats before, but usually those animals were at least several months old.
Who knew it would be so much work! (Well ok one search for "how to raise newborn kitten" revealed that.) It's now two weeks old. We're feeding it every 3 hours. Bonus: you have to stimulate their bottoms post-feeding to get them to excrete anything. It's great.
But it just opened its eyes fully yesterday (it’s normal to take that long, I learned). And it's starting to figure out how to play. And I mean.... look at it.
The vet guessed it was probably a female, but we won't know the sex for sure maybe for another week or two (that's also normal, I learned: not even the vet can tell). Cats! Actually, that’s what we’re calling it right now: Cat Brown.
I solemnly swear not to turn this into a kitten newsletter. But, like, I might. Or perhaps the start of my newsletter empire begins in earnest with a second newsletter, about cats. Call it The Cat Chatter Letter. Or Cat Daddy. Yeah, definitely Cat Daddy.
Eating Feelings
Here are 5 ways to eat food or drink alcohol that have been scientifically proven to actually not count against your daily caloric intake. Your body just doesn't absorb the calories, kind of like you're consuming air. But you still get to enjoy eating.
Eating something from the fridge or freezer, in front of the open fridge or freezer door
Drinking a beer in a pool on a scorching day
Eating a slice of pizza standing, hovering over the pizza box (either fresh, or from the night before)
Eating an ice cream cone while sitting on a bench
Sipping on an adult beverage in an insulated coffee mug while on a walk
And look, I don't make the rules, I’m just a big science buff.
If you like this newsletter, share it with a friend! I want to hit 1000 subscribers this year and every sign-up helps! If you get five of your friends to sign up, I’ll send you a newsletter IRL—a paper one! With a stamp and things!
<3 you all.
GB