2020 was the official-unofficial year of the newsletter - of most all writers, myself included of course, launching a Substack. So, what does that leave for 2021..?
Writing | In Progress
Calling all self-identified Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) for written submissions for a new zine to benefit San Francisco’s Chinatown Community Development Center, which is operating the Feed + Fuel Chinatown initiative to support Chinatown restaurants and SRO residents. Lunchbox Moments Zine seeks your nonfiction stories (up to 700 words) about a time when you were othered by someone because of your cultural foods. Kindly share the link.
In other exciting(!?) news, I received my first rejection letter for 2021, from the Bay Area-based literary mixtape Quiet Lightning. Rejection sucks, but recognizing many names on the line up for the event’s reading this coming Monday night, I at least know there were quality people who were selected.
In blogging news, I’ve written a bit about grief in my own but also societal solar system.
Kitchen Kernels
Conceptual citrus? The pronged fingers are the Buddha’s hand, a citron, and the middle is the rare distinctively sour and tart yuzu. I’d definitely seen the pithy, oft-destined-for-decoration Buddha’s hand before but was especially thrilled to find yuzu at the Sunday farmers market this week. As of this writing, the citron is getting candied and the yuzu zest and juice has been pounded into yuzu kosho.
Kitty Kernels
So, Nezu and Oren (alternatively, Mulder and Scully respectively) just overheard that 2020 was the year of the “mews”letter. But do the other “mews”letters send you sassy, unscripted photos of cats who actually write and improvise their own material? As in when they just return home from their shots and are appropriately moody. But, with soupy cat treats, all is forgiven, eventually.
How to Survive..
Running/Walking/Crawling
2021 Virtual Animal Run + Canicross (run with your dog!): Registration just opened for the 4th annual Animal Run, “a community of athletes creating a better, loving and more sustainable world through outdoor exercise, animal kindness and environmental awareness.” Distances range from 5K to 50 miles, there’s swag (like a sweet bag from Victory Sport Design for the 50 miles). Better yet, you don’t have to complete everything in one shot, and you have until Earth Day to complete your miles. This year’s beneficiary is Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary.
The Bay Race: Hey, another virtual run, except it’s 310 miles (makes the 50 miles mentioned above seem easier, right?) with completion by April 10th. I’ve finished about 20% so far. The cool thing here is it benefits Seneca, and your results are also projected onto a virtual online map of the SF Bay Trail. So, it’s like you’re actually going somewhere.
Reading
Understanding Anti-Intellectualism in the U.S.: I’ve been in the middle of this read for a bit because there’s a lot of insight here, especially as to our current political climate. I grew up in the era of The X-Files (even my cats’ alternative names reflect that). I get it, I’m a cautious skeptic, too. But hey, maybe instead of getting too sad about the world, you’re also into critical thinking and historical analysis on current events, too?
Editor's Note: Why a Recipe Is More Than a Recipe | Food and Wine: This article has been getting reshared by a lot of food media folks. It’s a start, but still a larger conversation needs to be had. I’ve worked on shoots like this before, so I understand the larger systemic issues in an editorial context. Food styling has always leaned towards an automatically minimalist aesthetic - it’s pretty food but honestly, it’s monotonous. Who decides the “pretty” foods, who makes the trends, and as I recently observed on Instagram, why are brown foods not commonly considered pretty? Hint: look in the mastheads.
Watching
illyanna Maisonet’s mukbangs with Mami: I’ve thoroughly been enjoying these videos for the if-you-know-you-know foods and South Sac history, but also the delightful banter between her and her Mami. Which is filling a hole in my heart right now since I can’t visit my own mom because, hey, even though California is kind of reopening I’m still staying put.