November Stuff

November 8, 2026

Halloween Stuff

Went to a concert as Princess Peach for Halloween. Art was Fire Mario, and his friend was Wario. (He'd planned on Waluigi but changed his mind because he already owned a yellow shirt.) Strangely, we saw another trio with the exact same combination of costumes at the concert. Alternate universe us.

As we walked towards the venue, someone yelled out of their car to watch out for banana peels. Another person at the concert made the same joke. I thought that was kind of weird. I get the Mario Kart reference, but banana peels aren't the first association I make with these characters.

It all came to fruition at the end of the night. We sat on a ledge at the street corner waiting for our Uber. A guy dressed up as a banana came up and gave Art a mini bottle of Fireball, then carried on down the street.

Thrift Stuff

I found this cross-stitch for three bucks at one of my favorite thrift stores. I bought it, obviously:

cross-stitch with vegetables that says 'Tossed Salad'

Football Stuff

I participate in a weekly pick 'em bet for NFL games. You just pick who you think will win each game, and whoever picks best wins. My picks are based on a super special formula where I select the team that I deem due for a win or the team I hate the least.

Teams I Hate the Least: Bengals, Steelers, Bills, Vikings, Texans

Teams That Disgust Me for Reasons Known Not Even to Me: Jaguars, Chargers, Giants, Jets, Commanders, Buccaneers

Everyone else is somewhere in the middle.

Anyway, all of this to say: I won week seven with only three incorrect picks. I think I'm a football genius. My Venmo cha-chinged with $85, and now I can rest on my laurels for the rest of the season.

Movie Stuff

You saw You Can See Everything, but did you see The History of Concrete? I enjoyed the filmmaker's approach to such a mundane subject, and overall I was really inspired by it. I, too, like to make elaborate projects about seemingly inconsequential things. Welcome to my website.

Photo Stuff

I'm still having fun with the Charmera, so here are some more photos.

Snail Mail Stuff

I've really enjoyed getting Floral Observer from Taxonomy Press in the mail this year. It's a risograph-printed quarterly newspaper featuring essays, recipes, games, nature stuff, and more. The fall 2026 edition features an article about the Feminist Bird Club here in the Twin Cities. Cool to learn about that.

the fall 2026 Floral Observer along with some other papers that came with it

When a new issue arrives, I like to save it to read on my lunch break at work. It's a nice little treat, and it's fun to have mail to look forward to. The 2027 subscriptions have opened, and you know I signed back up.

(I'm not affiliated with the project in any way, by the way. Just thought I'd throw it out there for anyone who also likes getting snail mail. It would be a good gift for a nature lover too!)

Stray Observations

I got an email from MoMA Design Store telling me to gift a $10,000 Eames chair this season. I fear they have vastly overestimated my generosity to my friends and family.
The $10,000 chair does have 20 reviews on the MoMA Design Store website, so I guess there are plenty of people out there with that kind of chair budget. But are they gifting them?
I don't doubt the Eames chair is comfortable. But I don't know if the Frasier Crane of it all is really my vibe. However, there is one MoMA Design Store item that I desperately want, and it's this pen lamp. Frasier could only dream of that level of sophistication.