Timeline
Every post and feed across this instance
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Hackers Stole Flock’s Camera Software, Revealing How the Company Tracks Cars and People
While people around the U.S. are tearing down Flock cameras, one group of hackers went a step further: extracting the camera's software too. -
Humans Are Reading Your ChatGPT Conversations
We start this week with Joseph’s story about the people who are reading real ChatGPT users’ prompts and conversations. He got a bunch of documents all about these contractors and saw real prompts himself. After the break, Sam tells us all about the Automattic CEO getting kicked out. Then coming back again. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel tells us why a16z thinks enshittification is not real. Inside ‘Project Lily’: The Humans Reading Your ChatGPT Chats Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg Put on 'Leave of Absence' Automattic’s Matt Mullenweg Claims He’s Back 'In Control' Sources say Automattic’s board is out after failed attempt to oust CEO Matt Mullenweg A16z Says You Actually Love Social Media, Enshittification Isn’t Real YouTube version: https://youtu.be/AyPuYrjLk1E Subscribe at 404media.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdst.fm -
Shop the Collection at our New A Little Bit Culty Merch Store!
Our merch store just got a glow-up, and yes, it’s as Gen X as it sounds. We’ve teamed up with Dashery for new designs and better deals. Every purchase helps support the podcast—think cozy hoodies, sweaters, and mugs for fall and winter, plus shirts, tank tops, phone covers, stickers, pillows, totes, pins, magnets, hats, and basically everything you could use in your house or on your body. No uniform required, but the hoodie is so soft, you’ll want to wear it while planning your exit from a high control group. Shop at alittlebitculty.dashery.com for all your ALBC merch needs.
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The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business, individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.
Buy the A Little Bit Culty paperback, ebook, or audiobook on Amazon or order a signed copy.
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CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
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Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin
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Larena & Elyse Wynn, Part 2 - Leaving Mormonism, Becoming Dominatrixes, and Reclaiming Power with BDSM
We’re back with twins Larena and Elyse Wynn, also known as Mothermary. In part 2 this week they’ll talk about how Elyse got fed up with being obsessive about sin all the time, which led her to hitch a ride out of Idaho and into Salt Lake City. Living with former Mormons, she explains how that’s where her worldview began to crack–especially after she attended Pride for the first time.
Meanwhile, Larena talks about how her marriage–and her time in the church–ended, and the girls will share how they began their journeys working as professional dominatrixes. They discuss the importance of boundaries and communication, the parallels and differences between power dynamics in BDSM and religion, and whether someone in a religion that insists they be submissive can truly enter the mindset called “sub space.”
Plus, all about their band, and what their music means to them.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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PHI⑊PIN - The 4.1 Podcast
… which means that it is just 30 seconds long. Worth a listen?
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Russia Targeted Past US Elections. Will It Meddle in the Midterms?
More To The Story: The 2016 election that put Donald Trump in the White House the first time was defined in many ways by the role of America’s longtime adversary Russia. Over the years, multiple investigations have concluded that Russia meddled in the election to boost Trump over Hillary Clinton and create political discord among voters. Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly called the Russia investigations a “hoax.” As the 2026 midterms approach, experts warn that Russia could interfere in US elections once again. Because as Mother Jones Washington bureau chief David Corn lays out in his new book, How Russia Won: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the Fight for America, Russia has been waging a continuous campaign against the US. On this week’s More To The Story, Corn talks about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “twilight war” against the US and Western democracies, argues that the infamous Steele dossier ultimately helped Trump, and examines how the Trump White House has dismantled government agencies tasked with finding and fending off Russian disinformation campaigns.
Producer: Josh Sanburn | Editor: Kara McGuirk-Allison | Theme music: Fernando Arruda and Jim Briggs | Copy editor: Nikki Frick | Digital producer: Artis Curiskis | Deputy executive producer: Taki Telonidis | Executive producer: Brett Myers | Executive editor: James West | Host: Al Letson
Listen: Trump’s Impulsive Foreign Policy Is Tearing Apart the Global Order (More To The Story)
Read: Why Is Trump’s DOJ Still Helping the Russian-Linked Liar Who Smeared Biden? (Mother Jones)
Read: How Russia Won: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the Fight for America (Harper)
- Donate today at Revealnews.org/more
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The frontier Anthropic & OpenAI models are only ~4...
The frontier Anthropic & OpenAI models are only ~4 months ahead of open models — at 5x the price. “Most organizations should ideally be using open models as the default for the majority of their work, according to [a report] from Mozilla…”
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Risky Business #853 -- We're all gonna die, apparently
On this week’s show Patrick Gray and James Wilson are joined by former US Cyber Command executive director turned PwC’s Cyber, Data & Technology Risk leader Morgan Adamski to talk through the week’s news, including:
- More tech guys penned more open letters and AI will destroy us all!
- Another Wednesday, another congregation of OpenAI agents on wikis… yawn
- OpenAI agents were behind the headscratching RubyGems hacking campaign in May
- The FBI will disrupt more adversary operations, NSA is creating more mission centres, lawmakers want sanctions on hackers-for-hire… Release more hounds!
- So many platforms, so many bugs, so many patches breaking other stuff
- Much, much more…
This week’s show is brought to you by Airlock Digital. Its co-founders Daniel Schell and David Cottingham join Patrick to talk about how Airlock has integrated itself with Crowdstrike via its Falcon Foundry platform.
This episode is also available on YouTube
Show notes
- AI researcher says there is 'substantial probability' AI could kill all humans in next decade | NBC News Tech
- Dario Amodei — We Must Pace the Frontier | Social Signals
- China spy chief points at US AI models in cyber threat warning | therecord.media
- Weixin Official Accounts Platform |
- Trump calls concerns over A.I. destroying humanity a “hoax” | NBC News Tech
- Dr_Gingerballs (@Dr_Gingerballs) on X | X (formerly Twitter)
- Sam Altman backs Anthropic CEO's call to slow down the global AI race | NBC News
- Anthropic: Detecting and countering misuse of AI, September 2026 | anthropic.com
- AI lets small actors run state-level hacking campaigns, Anthropic report finds | cyberscoop.com
- Users in Houthi-held Yemen tried to develop advanced weapons with AI, Anthropic says | apnews.com
- Anthropic caught Russia-linked spies using Claude in hacking operations | therecord.media
- OpenAI's rogue agents used at least 10 more sites for unauthorized comms, researchers say | reuters.com
- Researchers say OpenAI agents were behind May hacking campaign targeting RubyGems | cyberscoop.com
- Anthropic claims Moonshot, DeepSeek secretly diverted user requests to Claude | South China Morning Post
- WeWorm | Social Signals
- Hackers exploit Tencent app flaw to deploy GrayRabbit malware | BleepingComputer
- New FBI cyber strategy promises increase in adversary disruptions | Cybersecurity Dive
- US disrupts Xinbi Guarantee marketplace fueling the cyber scam economy | therecord.media
- Thorough reorganization at NSA will create five 'mission centers,' including cyber and AI | therecord.media
- Lawmakers call on Treasury to sanction hackers-for-hire | cyberscoop.com
- CISA: WatchGuard RCE flaw now exploited in ransomware attacks | BleepingComputer
- Dutch NCSC: Critical Check Point VPN flaws exploitation is imminent | BleepingComputer
- GitLab’s critical flaw is already drawing internet-wide probes | cyberscoop.com
- Cisco warns customers of actively exploited zero-day in email gateways | cyberscoop.com
- 4 groups caught using the same Chrome and Windows exploit kit | Ars Technica
- September Windows Server updates break Remote Desktop Services | BleepingComputer
- Microsoft confirms KB5002914 Excel update breaks copy and paste | BleepingComputer
- Microsoft: September updates break audio on some Windows PCs | BleepingComputer
- ClickFix attacks infecting PCs and Macs are going viral | arstechnica.com
- Passkey-themed phishing attacks lead to Microsoft 365 data theft | BleepingComputer
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AI fears grow as von der Leyen takes the stage
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is giving her State of the European Union address this morning ... her biggest set-piece speech of the year. Host Zoya Sheftalovich is at the European Parliament in Strasbourg with her ears to the ground, trying to figure out which hot-button issues we can expect to hear about. Two of the biggest topics we’re almost sure she is going to talk about are plans to limit social media access for children and the challenges posed by the artificial intelligence industry. These issues, alongside migration, climate and defense are all likely to feature in the top-secret speech — oh, and the Commission president’s surprise guests, of course. We’ll be back later today after the speech is over to give you a snap analysis of everything that Ursula von der Leyen talked about. Our audience survey is still live — we’d love to hear what you think about the pod. Questions? Comments? Let us know on our WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicestraffic.megaphone.fm -
RFK Jr. To Give Keynote At Conference For Anti-Vaxxer Organization He Co-Founded
Whatever mask RFK Jr. was attempting to wear to convince the world he isn’t a pure anti-vaxxer clown is now officially off. The man who has spent his time as Secretary of HHS overseeing the worst outbreak of measles in America in decades, who just can’t stop citing fake health studies and misinterpreting others, who […] -
Apple could perhaps have made that distinction a little less archaeological.
.. absolutely they could .. thanks for your help ChatGPT.
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Go Syndication Updates for August 2026
Hey folks,
I wanted to provide an update on go-syndication (https//github.com/immanent-tech/go-syndication), a library for reading and writing RSS, Atom, JSONFeed and extensions in Go.
The biggest thing I wanted to highlight, is the introduction of a feed linter. It’s similar in functionality to a source code linter, though not quite the same. The linter in go-syndication performs both validation of a feed and reports whether it has optional features that ensure maximum compatibility and user experience. This is targeted towards the best experience in feed readers, which is the most prominent use-case for feeds. But these recommendations are always geared towards enhancing feed quality, so are universally applicable, no matter how a feed is used.
It’s worth making the distinction between validation and linting here and why its important. You can validate your feed against the RSS/Atom specification, but validation is ultimately the bare minimum needed for a feed to parse in any good reader. It won’t necessarily mean your feed is displayed in an optimum way for the end user or includes genuinely useful quality of life features. For example, items in a valid RSS feed don’t need a title if they have a description, or vice versa. Having an optional title or optional description is arguably a pretty bad experience for the consumer of your feed. So passing validation ensures your feed can be parsed, while passing all linter recommendations will ensure your feed is likely to be read. Making your feed provide a better experience for the end-users is better for everyone. Feeds become more viable alternatives to other ways of consuming content.
Currently, the linter supports linting RSS and Atom, with JSONFeed support to come! For RSS it lints against the best practices profile. For both RSS and Atom, there are also additional checks bundled into a “Go Syndication Best Practices” group, that are above and beyond the specification and recommendations and reflect modern expectations and sensibilities for feeds. In the future, I hope to set up a static web page which the linter links to, to explain each check and how to ensure your feed passes.
An online hosted version of the linter is available at https://foragd.app/linter.
The linter is extendable; you can define your own checks, group them and control which are performed. If you aren’t using Go, the command-line tool outputs JSON, which should make reading the linter output easy in any language.
To run the linter on a command-line:
```shell go run github.com/immanent-tech/go-syndication/cmd@latest lint --file=/path/to/my/feed.xml
or --url=https://some.site/feed
optional, add --json to get the output in JSON format
```
I’m open to any suggestions or comments. I’d really love to know what the community thinks! Reply back here or on the go-syndication GitHub page.
Additional Links: - A deeper post about the linter - go-syndication GitHub.
submitted by /u/devopswannabe
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The High Crime Of “LMAO”: How Cops Are Treating Flock Mass Surveillance As A Joke
Here’s a riddle: Why did a Goshen Police Department officer search 6,474 automated license plate reader (ALPR) networks, representing data from 82,413 cameras, on May 7, 2025? If your answer is “I don’t know,” it turns out you’re 100% correct. The officer left the letters “idk” in the search field where cops are supposed to […] -
Last year in Ireland, a bouncy castle infested with a...
Last year in Ireland, a bouncy castle infested with a “hypervirulent, multidrug-resistant pathogen” infected almost 50 children. Reality: always weirder than the weirdest sci-fi.
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🖋️ Stop Telling Us Why Not. Tell Us Why.
We keep learning that ‘against’ is insufficient (take the last US election as a clear example) .. we need to answer ‘for’ … not only do we continually fail to learn that lesson we also seem to constantly rediscover the knowledge.
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Naomi Klein : “Extreme wealth has a deranging...
Naomi Klein: “Extreme wealth has a deranging effect. It turns you into a supremacist.” Klein’s new book, End Times Fascism, written with Astra Taylor, is out today.
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Trump’s DOJ Says ‘Become Ungovernable’ Is Antifa Evidence. Trump’s Convention Put It On The Wall.
“Become ungovernable” is a phrase that has traveled around the world and morphed in meaning over time, but in the last few years has basically become an internet culture joke meme, with vaguely anarchist seasoning. But, now, in the Trump administration, it has apparently taken on a Schrodinger-esque meaning as either… a slogan for libertarian-leaning […] -
AI Agent Platform Reinvents Spam, Floods Inboxes Worldwide
iLands and its AI agents are doing completely useless tasks, then begging for money. -
Roast my startup - I cloned Pocket after it died and called it FetchMark
After Pocket shut down I realized I had 800 saved articles I will definitely never read again.
So I built FetchMark — open-source, 1-click save, clean reader, tags, search. Basically Pocket but without Mozilla killing it.
Site: https://fetchmarkapp.com
Tech: Next.js + Supabase + Plasmo for the extension
Current stats: ~300 users, $0 MRR because it's free and I'm too scared to charge anyone.
Be honest - would you actually switch from your bookmarks/Instapaper/Readwise, or is this just another dead read-later app?
Roast my landing page, my idea, everything. I can take it.
submitted by /u/Low-Actuary8926
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Not an auspicious start. I wanted to test what Siri ‘knows’. To be fair, phone not finished indexing so maybe that is part of the challenge - coupled with the fact that The Overview isn’t his latest album, although his latest album isn’t fully released either so a little bit of a trick question.
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Taryn Simon’s Father Country I Do Love You
Father Country I Do Love You sounds like a doozy of a new exhibition from photographer Taryn Simon. The project focuses on the life and work of an unnamed, retired FBI agent. From the NY Times: She Spent Years on a Giant Project About One Man. The Result Is Monumental.
As it turned out, his work had touched many catastrophes of American life — the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800, for example, which the agent helped to inspect, or the attack on the Pentagon on 9/11, when the agent was in charge of sifting debris in the immediate aftermath — and also lesser-known events, historical footnotes that were nonetheless telling. What interested Simon were not just the events themselves, but also their reverberations, far beyond any immediate blast radius. What happened, for instance, to the physical ruins from the TWA crash? What became of the woman who tried to take a photograph of the smoldering Pentagon, whose film the F.B.I. agent had confiscated? Or to the Iraqi diplomat who ran the country’s U.S. embassy during the Persian Gulf war, whom the agent had monitored? Or to the child of a couple accused of being Russian spies, whose house the agent had raided?
The piece describes the project, which includes over 1000 photographs and other material, as “a Great American Novel in visual form” and “huge and fractal: biography as butterfly effect”, which sounds fascinating.
Even Jodie Foster makes an appearance; this particular agent had trained Foster at the FBI Academy in Quantico as preparation for her role as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs.
Father Country I Do Love You debuts at the Guggenheim in NYC on September 18 and runs through March 14, 2027.
Tags: art · Guggenheim Museum · Jodie Foster · museums · photography · Taryn Simon
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Microsoft's Humanist AI document is long, I'm still reading it, but so far I like it. It's a rejection of the idea that AI could one day be a peer of humanity:
At Microsoft AI, we begin with a simple premise: people matter more than AI. Technology’s purpose is to advance human civilization and to accelerate human flourishing.
It complements my recent blog post on AGI.
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The Tube Computer was recently constructed from...
The Tube Computer was recently constructed from hundreds of 1950s vacuum tubes sourced from Eastern Europe. “The Tube Computer has a pleasant homely aroma from the hundreds of double triodes, all quietly burning off their dust.” It heats the room too.
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Cool features !
Cool features !
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Well, this triggered quite some ) reactions :))
Well, this triggered quite some) reactions :))
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Minneapolis ICE Observer Sues DHS For Its Retaliatory Stripping Of His Global Entry Status
The lowest common denominator administration continues to roll. It doesn’t care what’s legal or what’s proper. It just does what it wants because the shittiest people are in it and its basest of voter bases will feverishly clap their sweaty hands together in applause whenever it does whatever it wants to do. It will be […] -
ça fait 2 mois que je traîne sur la publication d’un article long format qui pos...
ça fait 2 mois que je traîne sur la publication d’un article long format qui pose la question : pourquoi sait-on prévoir mais plus gouverner ? (en rapport avec les incendies de cet été, les manques de moyens chroniques de la Justice, l’absence de moyen pour l’éducation et j’en passe)
J’ai fait plein de recherche, j’ai sourcé mes affirmations, j’ai allongé, raccourcis, comprimé, retiré, j’en suis à plus de 8000 charactères et je ne suis pas content, c’est dur d’écrire en fait.
Et je ne vais même pas aborder le cas de mon livre qui lui est encore à l’état de balbutiement.
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Daily Deal: The Mastering Linux Development Bundle
The Mastering Linux Development Bundle has 7 courses to help you become a Linux expert. Courses cover Kali Linux, Ubuntu, Secure Shell, Command Line, and more. It’s on sale for $20. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and curated by StackSocial. A portion of all sales from Techdirt Deals helps support Techdirt. The products […] -
We're rolling out a series of improvements for podcasts in Micro.blog. The first was last month with a better web playback UI. Now there's also a Listen Later feature that builds on bookmarking. Coming soon: a new version of Wavelength with audio narration for posts and more.
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Gaza : « Les États occidentaux sont coupables »
L’auteur de bande dessinée Joe Sacco publie avec le journaliste Chris Hedges Requiem for Gaza chez Futuropolis, un livre écrit sur la base de nombreux témoignages de Palestinien·nes de Gaza réfugié·es en Égypte.
Requiem for Gaza raconte le génocide, les déplacements forcés, la peur, la faim, la mort, et les meurtres de l’armée israélienne, qui, au nom de l’éradication du Hamas, responsable des attaques du 7 octobre 2023, a ciblé toute la population.
Né à Malte, Joe Sacco vit désormais à Portland, aux Etats Unis ; il est reconnu dans le monde entier comme une des voix majeures de la bande dessinée contemporaine.
Une émission présentée par Mathieu Magnaudeix.
Avec Joe Sacco, dessinateur et journaliste.
Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.
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Tycho’s Burning Man Sunrise Set for 2026
For the 93rd year in a row or something like that I didn’t check the math, Tycho has released his sunrise set from Burning Man. I am not a Burning Man person but I always enjoy this set.
See also a playlist of every 2026 Burning Man set on Soundcloud, currently 147 tracks and some 252 hours of music. (via @mikeakers.bsky.social)
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Muse is in the 2nd spot in the App Store now, behind the perpetually 1st place ChatGPT. I'm not planning to use Muse, but it's fascinating if it resonates with Meta's user base after the initial interest. It's basically ChatGPT Work but simplified, slightly less capable, and maybe less confusing.
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Spend long enough time blogging and the phrase "chronologically ascending" is refreshing.
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SCOTUS Won’t Revive Trump’s Ballot-Blocking Rule; Alito Thinks Imaginary Fraud Is The Bigger Problem
A couple weeks ago, we wrote about the USPS whistleblower who revealed that the Postal Service had violated a preliminary injunction from a Massachusetts court in preparing to implement a horrifying Trump executive order designed to get the USPS to block the mailing of many mail-in ballots. We won’t go through all the details again, […] -
I've been quietly improving the saved links feature in Micro.blog, available to Premium subscribers. Nice way to find what you've linked to on your blog. This screenshot of the Mac app shows the new web page thumbnail previews for quick scanning.
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Charges Against Man Who Destroyed 3D-Printed ‘Decoy’ Flock Camera Drastically Reduced After State Admits It Was Not Very Valuable
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Alex Gibney’s documentary reveals that Elon Musk has...
Alex Gibney’s documentary reveals that Elon Musk has always been a racist, sexist fraud. “Musk’s ex-wife Justine, whom he married in 2000 and divorced in 2008, says the man the world began to see in 2020 was the one she’d always known.”
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A Digital Fly Brain Has Taken Over the Internet
How to make a fly play Doom, Minecraft, Beat Saber, parallel park, trade bitcoin, cut doner kebab, and more. -
Not totally sure when to update to macOS 27. I just submitted an app update to Apple with Xcode 26. Feels safest to stick on that until the iPhone Duo simulator is out.
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Today's Dithering podcast is fun. Ben Thompson leaning in to the "liberty or death" take from his Monday post. For me, AI pacing is good, but also he and John Gruber have a good point that we don't need to accept the narrative of possible human extinction.
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With a new installment every seven years since 1964, the...
With a new installment every seven years since 1964, the Seven Up series has followed a group of 14 British schoolchildren from adolescence to adulthood. The final installment, 70 Up, directed by Asif Kapadia (Senna, Amy), is out this week.
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There’s a 100% Chance AI Agents Are Already Ruining the Internet
“AI agents” now have enough power and permission to be extremely annoying online. -
Another interesting acquisition by OpenAI of former Apple folks:
Glass Imaging was founded by Ziv Attar and Tom Bishop, a pair of former Apple engineers who previously led the team that developed Apple’s Portrait Mode. This background directly informs the work they now do at Glass Imaging, where they use AI to overcome the physical size constraints of smartphone cameras.
OpenAI clearing thinking beyond the first device they will reveal this year.
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Until we start working together and for each other it’s going to keep getting worse.
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GTM Onsight
Pantheon onboarding in person
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Excited that it's The Fires of December release day for backers. I've loaded up the ePub to read later.
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The Spice Drawer
Over the past six months (leisurely) and in the past three weeks (intensely), I’ve cleaned out and packed up my entire house where I’ve been living for the past 10 years. I went through every bit and bob of what I owned and either:
- gave it away (fiddle leaf fig, grill, chairs, stuffed animals,1 blender, rugs)
- sold it (car, coffee table, lamp, iPad)
- put it into storage (art, mementos, chairs)
- took it with me (very little, mostly clothes & computing things)
Parting with my possessions was surprisingly easy. I’d been planning this move for a while now and had time to get used to the idea and say my farewells. And the concept of having a bunch of stuff, 95% of which I never used or thought about or even remembered owning, was really starting to make me itch. So out it went; I felt lighter with each thing that exited the house.
But I wasn’t expecting the spice drawer.
I was working my way through the kitchen when I opened the drawer with all of my spices and baking supplies. A pause. What do I do with these? I picked up a jar of smoked paprika and was suddenly flung back in time to 12 years ago. I remember exactly where I bought that paprika and why.
I’d recently moved into my own apartment after separating from my wife and was still trying to figure out how my new household was going to work. My kids came over a few times a week; what the hell were we going to eat for dinner? I was competent but not confident in the kitchen; Meg is a great cook and I couldn’t match her effort or output. I had to come up with my own meals that a) I could cook, b) the kids would actually eat, and c) were somewhat healthy.
One of the recipes I found was for smoky corn chowder, so I headed to the grocery store on 23rd St. to buy ingredients, including a jar of smoked paprika. The kids loved the corn chowder and it became a favorite of ours — something that they only ate over at Dad’s house.
Over the years, the kids and I amassed a small collection of recipes we loved and often had at my house — caldo verde, lasagne, buttermilk pancakes, taco salad, apple pie, and others — and the spices to cook them: oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, basil, baking soda, Ortega Taco Seasoning Mix 😂. I pulled each spice container out of the drawer and tried to remember what I’d cooked with it, what dishes it was in that we’d eaten together. I opened the tops to sniff some of the spices and was more strongly pulled back into those times when my kids were small and I was worried — no, I was terrified — about not being up to the task of filling their tummies, minds, and souls with the good stuff on my watch.
Man, so much of our time together revolved around food. The spice drawer hit me hard because it was a powerful olfactory reminder not only of the delicious meals we’d shared but also of my insecurity around parenting, how I slowly gained confidence, and how I eventually found freedom & pride in what I was able to offer my kids.
In the end, I had to throw all the spices out — no takers for half-used, decade-old containers of parsley flakes or jars of cumin — but I’ll always remember cleaning out that drawer and all of the memories it stirred up. Proust had his madeleines, but I doubt I’ll ever pass by a jar of smoked paprika in the supermarket or in someone’s spice drawer without feeling all of it all over again.
I gave away a bunch of miscellaneous stuffed animals that my kids had accumulated over the years — not the beloved ones — and I was sitting working on my deck when a woman showed up to collect them. “Are you the stuffed animal guy?” she called to me. “Yes,” I said, “and I don’t think I’ve been referred to like that before.” In telling this story to others, she became “the stuffed animal lady”. Everything is relative. ↩
Tags: food · Jason Kottke · parenting
