Okay, come on now. Sometimes these NYT Cooking recipes go just a tad overboard. My dad used to make the greatest oyster stew evah with canned oysters and canned chicken stock, with liberal applications of canned butter and garlic powder. And not forgetting oyster crackers, the one ingredient he considered absolutely essential.
(Click through image above to sneer at the NYT’s snootier version.)
I don’t always agree with Brooks but that just makes me want to hear what more he has to say. Worth fourteen minutes of your time. (h/t RobR)
Alaskans are always bragging about how Texas is only a third the size of big old us. Not in population. Click through above for an interactive version of the map. I mean, Rhode Island is a postage stamp by comparison (2.3% the size of Alaska) and they have way more people. (h/t 1440)
Paul Krugman interviews Nathan Tankus. Quote: “Marko Elez, a 25 year old who used to work at SpaceX. He’s/out of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service now, but he’s just been sent over to the Social Security Administration.” A horror story more frightening than anything ever imagined by Steven King. (Video with transcript, from Paul Krugman’s Substack)
“And when I realized that it wasn’t about the garbage, it’s about that we have discovered a way of repairing the planet, not based on guilt, not based on common sense, not based on fear, but based on joy, [I thought,] ‘Hell, we’ve got something terrific.’” Click through above to read about Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage. (h/t 1440)
Quote for today:
As of this morning, markets are down and inflation is set to rise dramatically all across your country. Your government has chosen to put American jobs at risk at the thousands of workplaces that succeed because of materials from Canada, or because of consumers in Canada, or both.
They’ve chosen to raise costs for American consumers on everyday essential items like groceries and gas, on major purchases like cars and homes and everything in between.–Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, 3/4/25.
Pretty much the only thing worth reading or watching this week. I would point out to my fellow writers and readers than we buy a lot of lumber from Canada. Paper is made from lumber and books are made of paper. Watch the price of books ascend into the stratosphere.
Outro…
Chatter Lagniappe Sunday Berlin Philharmonic david brooks Fix the News horror mymodernmet nathan tankus nicenews Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage Paul Krugman Pink Panther state size by population Stephen King William Morris