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.
Ha. My only such pairing so far.
I sometimes let my fascination with fountain pen inks get the better of me, buying more than I (reasonably) could use.
I sometimes let my fascination with fountain pen inks get the better of me, buying more than I (reasonably) could use.
November 11, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Ha. My only such pairing so far.
I sometimes let my fascination with fountain pen inks get the better of me, buying more than I (reasonably) could use.
I sometimes let my fascination with fountain pen inks get the better of me, buying more than I (reasonably) could use.
Finished a manuscript. Put my usual thumbprint on the final page. Might’ve gotten carried away with the green ink.
November 11, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Finished a manuscript. Put my usual thumbprint on the final page. Might’ve gotten carried away with the green ink.
“can to do the same”
November 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
“can to do the same”
Muting is vital if I’m going to wrangle this app into something nearing usefulness.
November 11, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Muting is vital if I’m going to wrangle this app into something nearing usefulness.
Speaking of buttons, check this couple at this year’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans all bedecked with old buttons:
November 11, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Speaking of buttons, check this couple at this year’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans all bedecked with old buttons:
Dublin graffiti. “One honest conversation can change everything.“
Mind you, a dishonest conversation can to do the same.
Mind you, a dishonest conversation can to do the same.
November 11, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Dublin graffiti. “One honest conversation can change everything.“
Mind you, a dishonest conversation can to do the same.
Mind you, a dishonest conversation can to do the same.
Taqueria counter clerk: Where have YOU been?
Me: Mexico. 14 days.
Clerk: You eat any good food?
Me: I ate almost nothing BUT good food.
Clerk: Hell, yeah.
Me: Mexico. 14 days.
Clerk: You eat any good food?
Me: I ate almost nothing BUT good food.
Clerk: Hell, yeah.
November 11, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Taqueria counter clerk: Where have YOU been?
Me: Mexico. 14 days.
Clerk: You eat any good food?
Me: I ate almost nothing BUT good food.
Clerk: Hell, yeah.
Me: Mexico. 14 days.
Clerk: You eat any good food?
Me: I ate almost nothing BUT good food.
Clerk: Hell, yeah.
Smaller vendors can be smart choices for plenty of reasons—including price.
The Adobo Book (2004), a compilation of Filipino adobo recipes. $8 for a secondhand Thriftbooks copy; Amazon lists it new for over $90.
Bonus curator’s trick: a little Goo Gone will lift that spine sticker right off.
The Adobo Book (2004), a compilation of Filipino adobo recipes. $8 for a secondhand Thriftbooks copy; Amazon lists it new for over $90.
Bonus curator’s trick: a little Goo Gone will lift that spine sticker right off.
November 10, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Smaller vendors can be smart choices for plenty of reasons—including price.
The Adobo Book (2004), a compilation of Filipino adobo recipes. $8 for a secondhand Thriftbooks copy; Amazon lists it new for over $90.
Bonus curator’s trick: a little Goo Gone will lift that spine sticker right off.
The Adobo Book (2004), a compilation of Filipino adobo recipes. $8 for a secondhand Thriftbooks copy; Amazon lists it new for over $90.
Bonus curator’s trick: a little Goo Gone will lift that spine sticker right off.
I did not mind, at first, sharing space under the shelter of an oversized umbrella with the beach dog. But as he slept in the gravid, enervating heat of Zipolite, his flanks heaving with fitful dreams, he’d kick waves of sand my way. Eventually, we parted on cordial, if somewhat cool, terms.
November 10, 2025 at 3:46 PM
I did not mind, at first, sharing space under the shelter of an oversized umbrella with the beach dog. But as he slept in the gravid, enervating heat of Zipolite, his flanks heaving with fitful dreams, he’d kick waves of sand my way. Eventually, we parted on cordial, if somewhat cool, terms.
It was Ludwig van—9th symphony, 4th movement.
ALEX: Stop it...stop it, please! I beg of you! It's a sin! It's a sin! It's a sin, please!
Brodsky leans forward and turns down the sound.
DR. BRODSK: What's all this about sin?
~ A Clockwork Orange (1971 Stanley Kubrick script)
ALEX: Stop it...stop it, please! I beg of you! It's a sin! It's a sin! It's a sin, please!
Brodsky leans forward and turns down the sound.
DR. BRODSK: What's all this about sin?
~ A Clockwork Orange (1971 Stanley Kubrick script)
November 10, 2025 at 1:28 PM
It was Ludwig van—9th symphony, 4th movement.
ALEX: Stop it...stop it, please! I beg of you! It's a sin! It's a sin! It's a sin, please!
Brodsky leans forward and turns down the sound.
DR. BRODSK: What's all this about sin?
~ A Clockwork Orange (1971 Stanley Kubrick script)
ALEX: Stop it...stop it, please! I beg of you! It's a sin! It's a sin! It's a sin, please!
Brodsky leans forward and turns down the sound.
DR. BRODSK: What's all this about sin?
~ A Clockwork Orange (1971 Stanley Kubrick script)
A few months ago, some sneakerhead on IG mentioned Dawn Powerwash for cleaning scuffed shoe soles. Not my scene, but I filed the thought in my memory shack.
After 14 days of walking around dry, dusty Jalisco and Oaxaca, 40 seconds or so of spray & scrub did a bang-up job of cleaning my manky shoes.
After 14 days of walking around dry, dusty Jalisco and Oaxaca, 40 seconds or so of spray & scrub did a bang-up job of cleaning my manky shoes.
November 9, 2025 at 9:46 PM
A few months ago, some sneakerhead on IG mentioned Dawn Powerwash for cleaning scuffed shoe soles. Not my scene, but I filed the thought in my memory shack.
After 14 days of walking around dry, dusty Jalisco and Oaxaca, 40 seconds or so of spray & scrub did a bang-up job of cleaning my manky shoes.
After 14 days of walking around dry, dusty Jalisco and Oaxaca, 40 seconds or so of spray & scrub did a bang-up job of cleaning my manky shoes.
Good morning, San Diego.
November 9, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Good morning, San Diego.
This Scotter implies the existence of the Scottest and I am, for the moment, foxed as to who that may be. Capaldi? Tennant? Maybe Karen Gillan or Billy Connelly? Hmm. I’m putting down Robert Carlyle as a placeholder. That feels right and proper.
November 8, 2025 at 8:57 PM
This Scotter implies the existence of the Scottest and I am, for the moment, foxed as to who that may be. Capaldi? Tennant? Maybe Karen Gillan or Billy Connelly? Hmm. I’m putting down Robert Carlyle as a placeholder. That feels right and proper.
No idea what you’re talking about
November 7, 2025 at 11:30 PM
No idea what you’re talking about
I’m an elder, one of the gay ancestors, born when footprints were still fresh upon the face of the moon, a Gen X who doesn’t GAF about labels, yet can grunt an acknowledgment over the truthiness of some. But this did spring to mind:
November 7, 2025 at 9:18 PM
I’m an elder, one of the gay ancestors, born when footprints were still fresh upon the face of the moon, a Gen X who doesn’t GAF about labels, yet can grunt an acknowledgment over the truthiness of some. But this did spring to mind:
Update:…she roused the newborn Dawn from Ocean’s streams to bring the golden light to those on earth.
~ from Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey
~ from Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey
November 7, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Update:…she roused the newborn Dawn from Ocean’s streams to bring the golden light to those on earth.
~ from Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey
~ from Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey
Buzz off, baby. It’s my balcony now and I have other plans.
November 6, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Buzz off, baby. It’s my balcony now and I have other plans.
This condo has a pool.
This pool has a condor.
(I don’t actually know what sort of buzzard this is, but right on the coast of Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca and for the sake of reflection, I went with condor. Feel free to correct if you have relevant avian knowledge).
This pool has a condor.
(I don’t actually know what sort of buzzard this is, but right on the coast of Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca and for the sake of reflection, I went with condor. Feel free to correct if you have relevant avian knowledge).
November 6, 2025 at 10:17 PM
This condo has a pool.
This pool has a condor.
(I don’t actually know what sort of buzzard this is, but right on the coast of Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca and for the sake of reflection, I went with condor. Feel free to correct if you have relevant avian knowledge).
This pool has a condor.
(I don’t actually know what sort of buzzard this is, but right on the coast of Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca and for the sake of reflection, I went with condor. Feel free to correct if you have relevant avian knowledge).
Frolic? Me? In the surf? No, no, no. In all that sun? GTFO. I have other plans.
November 6, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Frolic? Me? In the surf? No, no, no. In all that sun? GTFO. I have other plans.
If there’s something strange
on Mustafar,
Who you gonna call?
on Mustafar,
Who you gonna call?
November 5, 2025 at 6:29 PM
If there’s something strange
on Mustafar,
Who you gonna call?
on Mustafar,
Who you gonna call?
“What the hell,” says my husband at the sight of a dead pufferfish on the beach, “is THAT?“
“That,” I elucidate, “is a dead pufferfish on the beach.”
“Don’t,” I advise, “touch.”
“That,” I elucidate, “is a dead pufferfish on the beach.”
“Don’t,” I advise, “touch.”
November 4, 2025 at 11:33 PM
“What the hell,” says my husband at the sight of a dead pufferfish on the beach, “is THAT?“
“That,” I elucidate, “is a dead pufferfish on the beach.”
“Don’t,” I advise, “touch.”
“That,” I elucidate, “is a dead pufferfish on the beach.”
“Don’t,” I advise, “touch.”
I have acquired a load of chiles we don’t often see even in San Diego, including Chilhuacle negros and pasilla Oaxaca. Wet food season is upon us. These will come in handy.
November 4, 2025 at 9:16 PM
I have acquired a load of chiles we don’t often see even in San Diego, including Chilhuacle negros and pasilla Oaxaca. Wet food season is upon us. These will come in handy.
Load ‘em high n watch ‘em fly
Same Oaxaca market as above.
Same Oaxaca market as above.
November 4, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Load ‘em high n watch ‘em fly
Same Oaxaca market as above.
Same Oaxaca market as above.
A tumble of tamales for your dining pleasure.
📍 El Mercado 20 de November
Oaxaca de Juárez
📍 El Mercado 20 de November
Oaxaca de Juárez
November 4, 2025 at 9:09 PM
A tumble of tamales for your dining pleasure.
📍 El Mercado 20 de November
Oaxaca de Juárez
📍 El Mercado 20 de November
Oaxaca de Juárez
Dia de Muertos
Outside Xochimilco cemetery
Oaxaca, Mexico
Outside Xochimilco cemetery
Oaxaca, Mexico
November 3, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Dia de Muertos
Outside Xochimilco cemetery
Oaxaca, Mexico
Outside Xochimilco cemetery
Oaxaca, Mexico