Matthew Rowley
@mbrowley.bsky.social
Write | Lift | Travel | James Beard finalist | Past Southern Foodways Alliance board | Contributing editor, Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails | 🏡 San Diego | Typos no extra charge.
How does he find so many abandoned homes?!
February 7, 2026 at 10:43 PM
How does he find so many abandoned homes?!
Ima become a nap influencer. Monetizzzzze them horizontal moments.
February 7, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Ima become a nap influencer. Monetizzzzze them horizontal moments.
It is generational. When people started using proportional type onscreen, spacing became a design issue rather than a mechanical typewriter holdover rule: double spacing was visual clutter. It read wrong. I meant only that if people can overcome surplus spaces, they may come ‘round to loose letters.
February 7, 2026 at 5:58 PM
It is generational. When people started using proportional type onscreen, spacing became a design issue rather than a mechanical typewriter holdover rule: double spacing was visual clutter. It read wrong. I meant only that if people can overcome surplus spaces, they may come ‘round to loose letters.
My grandmother once chewed me out for making a lot of dust in her home. For years afterward, she told the story of my response: “I didn’t make it. It was already here.” I think, at six years old or so, I had earned her steely-eyed respect that day.
February 7, 2026 at 5:06 PM
My grandmother once chewed me out for making a lot of dust in her home. For years afterward, she told the story of my response: “I didn’t make it. It was already here.” I think, at six years old or so, I had earned her steely-eyed respect that day.
Well, it’s like this. There’s a whole lot I don’t know, but I know how to find stuff out. You could find out.
Or, as I often prefer to do with relatives and labor, stay clear. “How to do it? You got me. Wow, sounds crazy. Good luck with that. Gotta go; the brisket needs checking. Bye now.”
Or, as I often prefer to do with relatives and labor, stay clear. “How to do it? You got me. Wow, sounds crazy. Good luck with that. Gotta go; the brisket needs checking. Bye now.”
February 7, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Well, it’s like this. There’s a whole lot I don’t know, but I know how to find stuff out. You could find out.
Or, as I often prefer to do with relatives and labor, stay clear. “How to do it? You got me. Wow, sounds crazy. Good luck with that. Gotta go; the brisket needs checking. Bye now.”
Or, as I often prefer to do with relatives and labor, stay clear. “How to do it? You got me. Wow, sounds crazy. Good luck with that. Gotta go; the brisket needs checking. Bye now.”
Pretty much. Often, I find myself thinking that yeah, sure, the yard looks good now after all that work. But the situation that created it still exists…
February 7, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Pretty much. Often, I find myself thinking that yeah, sure, the yard looks good now after all that work. But the situation that created it still exists…
I assume that by raking up lots of subscribers, the people who make the videos generate ad revenue. They’ll often say things like “I can do this work because of your support.”
So…maybe she’s onto something?
So…maybe she’s onto something?
February 7, 2026 at 4:55 PM
I assume that by raking up lots of subscribers, the people who make the videos generate ad revenue. They’ll often say things like “I can do this work because of your support.”
So…maybe she’s onto something?
So…maybe she’s onto something?
British English is riddled with vestigial vowels. I wouldn’t sweat it. Good news is that many of our overseas friends and colleagues now use single spaces after periods rather than double spaces. Progress marches ever on.
February 7, 2026 at 4:53 PM
British English is riddled with vestigial vowels. I wouldn’t sweat it. Good news is that many of our overseas friends and colleagues now use single spaces after periods rather than double spaces. Progress marches ever on.
*parents long deceased
Doesn’t have to be dead parents. Maybe a spouse has left or someone has health issues. Maybe the owner abandoned the house (lotta that in US videos, weirdly) and the grass is chin-high. Point is, the yard has gone feral and unusable, and I enjoy watching it get revived.
Doesn’t have to be dead parents. Maybe a spouse has left or someone has health issues. Maybe the owner abandoned the house (lotta that in US videos, weirdly) and the grass is chin-high. Point is, the yard has gone feral and unusable, and I enjoy watching it get revived.
February 7, 2026 at 4:48 PM
*parents long deceased
Doesn’t have to be dead parents. Maybe a spouse has left or someone has health issues. Maybe the owner abandoned the house (lotta that in US videos, weirdly) and the grass is chin-high. Point is, the yard has gone feral and unusable, and I enjoy watching it get revived.
Doesn’t have to be dead parents. Maybe a spouse has left or someone has health issues. Maybe the owner abandoned the house (lotta that in US videos, weirdly) and the grass is chin-high. Point is, the yard has gone feral and unusable, and I enjoy watching it get revived.
No idea. But there is an odd, sometimes explicitly Christian through-line to many: small mowing companies often do the work for free. It’s akin to cooking creators dragging knives against crisp food—it’s just how it’s done. One even called his work “a blessing.” Yardwork mitzvahs, I suppose.
February 7, 2026 at 4:43 PM
No idea. But there is an odd, sometimes explicitly Christian through-line to many: small mowing companies often do the work for free. It’s akin to cooking creators dragging knives against crisp food—it’s just how it’s done. One even called his work “a blessing.” Yardwork mitzvahs, I suppose.
Dependable, cheap, easy to find even in small-town US grocery stores. My go-to for decades.
February 7, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Dependable, cheap, easy to find even in small-town US grocery stores. My go-to for decades.
My only aviso: add it off the heat or close to the surface.
Salt and MSG fall where you sprinkle them. This blend’s different. I+G is an extremely lightweight crystalline powder. Heat rising from the stove can send it drifting up and away—which I clocked only because of strong light over the stove
Salt and MSG fall where you sprinkle them. This blend’s different. I+G is an extremely lightweight crystalline powder. Heat rising from the stove can send it drifting up and away—which I clocked only because of strong light over the stove
February 7, 2026 at 3:21 PM
My only aviso: add it off the heat or close to the surface.
Salt and MSG fall where you sprinkle them. This blend’s different. I+G is an extremely lightweight crystalline powder. Heat rising from the stove can send it drifting up and away—which I clocked only because of strong light over the stove
Salt and MSG fall where you sprinkle them. This blend’s different. I+G is an extremely lightweight crystalline powder. Heat rising from the stove can send it drifting up and away—which I clocked only because of strong light over the stove
Here you go: specs for umami salt. I plucked them from a since-deleted Reddit post, so I don’t recall whose blend this was initially.
But I make a new 400 g batch every few months because we use it for braises, marinades, grilling, etc.
But I make a new 400 g batch every few months because we use it for braises, marinades, grilling, etc.
February 7, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Here you go: specs for umami salt. I plucked them from a since-deleted Reddit post, so I don’t recall whose blend this was initially.
But I make a new 400 g batch every few months because we use it for braises, marinades, grilling, etc.
But I make a new 400 g batch every few months because we use it for braises, marinades, grilling, etc.
MSG by the bag and jars of disodium inosinate and guanylate enhances are standard here.
I even blend them with sea salt to keep in an old gelato tub by the stove for a salt blend that’s outstanding for savory foods (not baking, though: no one I know if clamoring for I+G cornbread).
I even blend them with sea salt to keep in an old gelato tub by the stove for a salt blend that’s outstanding for savory foods (not baking, though: no one I know if clamoring for I+G cornbread).
February 7, 2026 at 2:34 PM
MSG by the bag and jars of disodium inosinate and guanylate enhances are standard here.
I even blend them with sea salt to keep in an old gelato tub by the stove for a salt blend that’s outstanding for savory foods (not baking, though: no one I know if clamoring for I+G cornbread).
I even blend them with sea salt to keep in an old gelato tub by the stove for a salt blend that’s outstanding for savory foods (not baking, though: no one I know if clamoring for I+G cornbread).
Here Comes Your Third Man
February 7, 2026 at 12:32 AM
Here Comes Your Third Man
That’s the power of beans, baby
February 6, 2026 at 9:08 PM
That’s the power of beans, baby
Oh, no. Not at all. I am well acquainted with people losing their ways because of how I speak (and sometimes write on social media). “What am I supposed to be paying attention to?“ is a legitimate question.
February 6, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Oh, no. Not at all. I am well acquainted with people losing their ways because of how I speak (and sometimes write on social media). “What am I supposed to be paying attention to?“ is a legitimate question.
Yeah, so about that.
“Rowley, you’re so quiet in person.”
Yup. My mind runs on so many tracks at once. It’s loud, cacophonous in this skull. I’ve learned it’s better not to subject people to that. Even my husband gets lost when relax. So I’m almost always riding the breaks.
“Rowley, you’re so quiet in person.”
Yup. My mind runs on so many tracks at once. It’s loud, cacophonous in this skull. I’ve learned it’s better not to subject people to that. Even my husband gets lost when relax. So I’m almost always riding the breaks.
February 6, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Yeah, so about that.
“Rowley, you’re so quiet in person.”
Yup. My mind runs on so many tracks at once. It’s loud, cacophonous in this skull. I’ve learned it’s better not to subject people to that. Even my husband gets lost when relax. So I’m almost always riding the breaks.
“Rowley, you’re so quiet in person.”
Yup. My mind runs on so many tracks at once. It’s loud, cacophonous in this skull. I’ve learned it’s better not to subject people to that. Even my husband gets lost when relax. So I’m almost always riding the breaks.
I want to see some high school theater kids doing this as monologue tryouts.
“Hello. I’m Amanda Huggenkiss and this is A Thanksgiving Prayer by William S. Burroughs.”
“Hello. I’m Amanda Huggenkiss and this is A Thanksgiving Prayer by William S. Burroughs.”
February 6, 2026 at 6:52 PM
I want to see some high school theater kids doing this as monologue tryouts.
“Hello. I’m Amanda Huggenkiss and this is A Thanksgiving Prayer by William S. Burroughs.”
“Hello. I’m Amanda Huggenkiss and this is A Thanksgiving Prayer by William S. Burroughs.”
That voice was all Bill, but it was his assistant James Grauerholz (who died last month) who worked to get people to listen to it, encouraging him to record, appear on albums (“Spare Ass Annie” still randomly plays in my mind), and record his own videos. This, for instance, is peak Voice Burroughs:
William S. Burroughs - A Thanksgiving Prayer
YouTube video by williamburroughsVEVO
youtu.be
February 6, 2026 at 6:38 PM
That voice was all Bill, but it was his assistant James Grauerholz (who died last month) who worked to get people to listen to it, encouraging him to record, appear on albums (“Spare Ass Annie” still randomly plays in my mind), and record his own videos. This, for instance, is peak Voice Burroughs:
I’m reminded of a recipe I once read that said something along the lines of “To make a vegan version of this recipe, substitute the pork sausages with something vegan.”
February 6, 2026 at 5:55 PM
I’m reminded of a recipe I once read that said something along the lines of “To make a vegan version of this recipe, substitute the pork sausages with something vegan.”
I found it a hard watch, to be honest. Same with Mart Crowley’s The Boys in the Band. Different times, different worlds. Their experiences were not mine. Almost alien, yet uncomfortably familiar. Your ayahuasca comment reminded me, though, that a few of WSB’s lesser works were knocking around here:
February 6, 2026 at 5:52 PM
I found it a hard watch, to be honest. Same with Mart Crowley’s The Boys in the Band. Different times, different worlds. Their experiences were not mine. Almost alien, yet uncomfortably familiar. Your ayahuasca comment reminded me, though, that a few of WSB’s lesser works were knocking around here:
That’s the history I had in mind. Later, I decided that I didn’t buy the William Tell story. It was possibly true, sure. Passable. That was the story he was locked into, though, and he was never going to change it.
February 6, 2026 at 1:59 PM
That’s the history I had in mind. Later, I decided that I didn’t buy the William Tell story. It was possibly true, sure. Passable. That was the story he was locked into, though, and he was never going to change it.