5 Things Making Me Happy Today

A quickie post to prove I'm not slacking on Substack

Just in the middle of meeting some deadlines. And art grant proposals, ugh, such a slow process—feels like treading peanut butter more than water.

But I wanted to publish something this week to be accountable to you subscribers and to myself. [Voice to a dog] Who’s a big boy?! Yes you are! Yes you are…

So I’m counting on the ol’ tried-and-true list of “favourite things” to make up for a real essay, coming soon.

But the truth is, this stuff really does tickle me right now. Do you even care? Irrelevant. I just like to share. So here are five things giving me a buzz right now.

1. Mushroom Snacks! From Costco!

They don’t make you high, but these crunchy shiitake snacks are high in fibre and even higher in umami punch. I cannot stop eating these f*ckers. And being preservative-free, slow baked mushrooms, they contain a lot less shame than a bag of Cool Ranch. Note: the after-burps are just as savoury the second time ‘round. Cherish them.

2. Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood

I wore the digital grooves off of Katie Crutchfield’s last album, Saint Cloud, the critically-adored collection of songs about her new sobriety. Her just-released Tigers Blood (under the name Waxahatchee) continues that journey, channeling a bit of Lucinda Williams in twisty wordplay and painful truths. We scored tickets to her Vancouver show this summer, and yes, even at my age, I’ll be lining up to buy a concert t-shirt. Most likely XL.

3. Makeshift Bus Stop Seats

This is a common sight on Vancouver Island—especially on the smaller backroads that branch off the Malahat Highway and wind like doodles through the wooded countryside. Plastic patio chairs sit under bus stops in the middle of nowhere, and it always makes me smile.

A quaint backcountry solution for sitting, yes! But I have so many questions. Who puts them around the Island? Was it one local folk hero or does the job fall on the nearest neighbour? Does anyone actually sit in these filthy, rain-beaten things? Where do these buses even go? And most importantly, how rarely does the bus have to come that one needs to rest? These things keep me up at night.

4. The Curse

A wee bit late to the game, but The Curse is a show Stephanie and I, even weeks later, are still discussing, dissecting, and reeling from. Where was Nathan Fielder going to go after The Rehearsal? No one guessed it would be this wackadoo watch. Fielder isn’t just demented, turns out he’s one hell of a director. Oh, and Emma Stone’s face-acting…next level.

As a former director of HGTV shows, some of the “cheats” and forced emotion the characters pull on their fictional home-improvement show, Flipanthropy, hit way too cringey-close to home for me.

5. Recent Reads

These titles rocked me in different ways this year, but I must spotlight Raw Dog, by TV-writer, podcaster, and comedian Jaime Loftus. Part hilarious road trip, part history of the hot dog, Loftus defines the American landscape by the way each region dresses its frank. The whole thing is extremely funny and fascinating, with no shortage of diarrhea and horny distractions.

As as hot dog lover, this is one of those books I wish I had written. Curse you! Like the author, I relate to certain cities by their wieners and topping traditions—New York is mustard and onions off a sidewalk cart or a good Grey’s Papaya dog. Chicago means diced tomatoes, relish, sport peppers, and celery salt. Winnipeg is a chili dog in winter and Vancouver is a Canadians minor-league baseball game with a footlong Nathan’s beauty.

And yeah. I’m that asshole that gets mad when you befoul your dog with ketchup. Children 6-and-under are exempt. Not you.