Saturday Morning Coffee

It was a long week. Let’s put our feet up and chat over some coffee.

It was a long week but not much happened.

Ever have those weeks?

My glasses arrived and I can see better than I have in years. I’ve also driven at night and can tell a huge difference.

A new podcast just started releasing episodes. Called Core Curriculum, it’s covering Columbia University’s “Great Books List” at a slow pace. I’ve had the privilege of working on a few episodes for the first season, where we read and discuss Homer’s Iliad.

The brains behind the show, Michial Farmer, even had this to say:

I’ll give a small spoiler by saying that, in Episode 10, Jay offers what I think is the most insightful remark in the whole first series!

I did have an interesting encounter at my local Publix. I was doing my weekly grocery shopping so my list was long and the cashier asked about my binder, which features a very neat mantra from Missed in History.

So I told him about the podcast and we talked briefly about exhumations. He then mentioned hearing Caitlin Doughty on NPR talking about her new book, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?

We talked about our excitement for the book and I was able to share my joy of her other books Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and The Good Death.

I felt I needed to apologize to the next customer for taking up time, but they assured me they were enjoying the conversation too and asked for the name of the book and author again.

They both said it sounded like something they’d want to read, but from what they’d seen it was out of stock.

So I suggested they order from Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh so they’d support a local(ish) bookseller [we’re 2hrs away].

They both *wrote that down* and thanked me for taking the time to share my love of all these various subjects all in the space of a ten-minute encounter at the grocery checkout!

It was the most perfect conversation.

I’m picking up my own copy of Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? next week when I go up to Raleigh to see/hear Randall Munroe.

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I got a haircut but don’t have a picture.

I saw a baby snapping turtle:

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Finally, I tried the cauldron-aged pumpkin coffee from Death Wish coffee. I normally don’t go in for flavored coffees, but this one is tasty – notes of fall in all the right ways. I didn’t win a mug, but that’s okay.

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What have you been up to?