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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 21h

My appreciation of ragtime begins once Jelly Roll Morton laid his hands on it and slipped mischief into the machinery.

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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 23h

Who else is going to give you Vladimir Wankoff and shoe gays before lunch? Nobody, that’s who. Just me. U whelk.

Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · Jul 19

The list is long of foods I would eat before necking whelk. “U whelk” or sometimes simply “Whelk” is phone idiolect my husband and I began years ago. It’s “you’re welcome” of course, but funny to us because could be read as an insult or malediction. “U whelk. U absolute, utter whelk. How COULD u?”

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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 23h

Ragtime is my bête noire. It’s not something anyone’s likely to hear just out and about these days (small mercies), but I had to learn it. That off-beat disconnect between right and left hand—that incessant finger-fall of piano notes where silence feels proper—rattles every last neuron in my brain.

Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

I’m trying. Shakin’ that bush, boss.

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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

It led to a discussion about shoegaze as a musical genre. It’s not one of my go-to genres these days, but I enjoyed a load of youthful makeout sessions when such tracks played out in the background. Since make each other playlists, I made one for him. Sort of a “Here’s more of that puzzle” playlist:

Shoe Gays

open.spotify.com

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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

I don’t mind being one of the older geezers at a bar. As luck would have it, I hit my grey scruff years just as the notion of “daddy” took root in popular culture. Perfect timing. I don’t believe, however, that granddaddy is going to become a hot thing. So I had better develop a personality, pronto.

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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

The sun has not yet risen here. It rained last night and all is wet. Perfect music for this chilly morning.

Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

Friend of ours, 20 years younger, was excited to introduce my husband to a fresh, new band that he thought would strike a chord: Cocteau Twins.

From the 1980s. But he had to discover that music on his own. Had the rec comes the other way, I’m not sure he would’ve liked it as much.

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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

The mingling is good. My older friends have been dying off as I myself shift into my autumn years, but for decades, I’ve kept a blend of friends from 20s to 70s. A churning blend of new slang, old knowledge, practical advice, of expertise and enthusiasm. New and new-to-me music is core to that.

5 Tips How to Grow a Ton of Lemongrass at Home

Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

I grew up with a house full of books, music nearly always playing, and parents born in the 1920s/1930s. I was steeped in old music. Sure, some is bad, even laughably so. One radio show was dedicated to old bad music (Bad Music Hour?). But all of it? Not by a long shot.

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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

Yes! Keep at it. Are you familiar with Mark Valencia? He’s an Australian army vet who took up gardening. Frequently cheesy presentation, but I enjoy his videos and we can grow in San Diego most of what he does in eastern Australia. Here he is on growing lemongrass: youtu.be/CB7khqDaIOI?...

YouTube video by Self Sufficient Me

youtu.be

Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

Ah, what a bummer. Still, though: now you’ve got that tree.

Essay | Can We Finally Give Johnny Cash His Due?

Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

Compared to my usual delightful cocktail of half Vladimir Wankoff brand drugstore vodka and half flat Diet Coke, this 15 year old pot-still Irish whiskey lacks complexity and depth.

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 1d

Compared to Dylan and Springsteen, country-music legend Johnny Cash can seem deeply uncool. It took time for me to appreciate his profound, plainspoken strength, writes Jon Fasman.

Compared to Dylan and Springsteen, the country-music legend can seem deeply uncool. It took time for me to appreciate his profound, plainspoken strength.

on.wsj.com

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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

Two pots. Although I’m considering planting them along the drive as a sort of thigh-high hedge. Just let it spread. It’s not quite as tenacious as mint, but lemongrass thrives here in the ground so I’ve been careful to keep it in pots. So far.

Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

Me, seeing them Portland frogs.

Timothy Spall in character as Ian Paisley in The Journey (2016). He is a passenger in an automobile with a most unlikely word — for Paisley, anyway — appearing as a subtitle:

[chuckle]

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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

We have one as well out by a stand of lemongrass. Cooking aside, it’s so nice simply to crush a makrut leaf and run it over my hands, front and back, while working outside. Also good: crush a leaf and toss it into the shaker when making an otherwise by-the-books Daiquiri.

a close up of a woman 's face with long blonde hair .

Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

I use coffee names because I’ve been hit on before by a few aggressive strangers at coffee shops. “Hey, Chuck” (or Dave or Pete or whatever) tells me he’s not some guy I’ve momentarily forgotten—this is just some cringe rando who caught an alias and thought it was an opening. Instead: instant intel.

ALT: a close up of a woman 's face with long blonde hair .

media.tenor.com

Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 1d

Not everyone appreciates this, but sausage positively radiates “the pasta is now” energy.

darktownboykisser

sensible part of brain: you made enough pasta that you could take it for lunch tomorrow. put it in a container.

overwhelming majority of brain:
shovel the pasta into your face. do it. put it in your face. the future is meaningless but the pasta is now.

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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 2d

Like so:

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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 2d

Work continues on the new hot tub. Smells like a cedar forest. When I stay out there, the smell fades to nothing, but every time I come out after being inside, the aroma lands like a sledgehammer blow. I love it. Next job: power washing and oiling the mangaris deck to bring out its deep, red hue.

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Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 5d

Oh, nice. Yeah, I was not eating quite so adventurously at their ages.

Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 5d

Much as I appreciate just-so cooking, at home I’m more concerned with things that taste good, and to a lesser extent, make a balanced meal. Even cocktail garnishes, unless they serve a function, usually get the boot here.

Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · Aug 19

Ralph Fiennes as the imperious, self-satisfied Chef Slowik while a brigade of cooks stand at attention in the background from the film The Menu. Text above the image reads:

Putting half an orange wheel on my brandy Old Fashioned

Matthew Rowley @mbrowley.bsky.social · 5d

Oh, I still fine-strain stocks. I don’t mind the cheats, but years of practicum have given me a good feel for when I can get away with them. I suppose I’m no longer quite so obsessed with learning everything I can and more focused on doing better what I already do. Buying from pros is part of that.