Odds are, this entry isn't for you. It's being written for a friend who asked where I shop for groceries. But you're welcome to read if you want.
I have a "FreshPass" membership for free grocery delivery from Safeway. For a while there, they were the only delivery option for my small city because all the grocery chains are in nearby cities. Eventually Walmart and InstaCart started offering delivery, but I stuck with Safeway because a lot of what I liked could be purchased from there.
I mean, sure their shoppers are told to shop for your produce like they're you're worst enemy... and they must also be told to not worry about selecting products with an expiry date that hits in three days... but most of the time it's all acceptable enough that the convenience outweighs the bad points.
At least it did until the cost of groceries continued to explode thanks to tariffs... and now the price of fuel thanks to some dumbass starting a war in Iran. When a small bag of salad was $1.49 and I couldn't eat it all before it was sludgy, I could mentally get past it. But now that it's $2.29? And that's one of the cheap items! Having to try and finish a $6.50 loaf of bread when it's already on its way to being stale? No thanks.
So I started shopping for produce and items with low expiration dates locally. They cost more, initially, but the savings over not having to throw out stuff three days after I get it makes it cheaper in the long run.
A month ago I was in The Big City to pick up some things at Costco. Just down the street is Fred Meyer, so I thought I'd stop. I always find interesting vegan and vegetarian finds there. It was during that trip I discovered Beyond Stack Burgers, one of my most favorite foods I've ever had.
It was also where I picked up some frozen Tucson Tamales...
But I hadn't actually cooked one of them until earlier this week.
And they're incredible. Incredible!
Which is why on Saturday I made a pick-up order at Fred Meyer to get more burgers and tamales since the tamales were on sale for $3 each! Along with other things I needed, which made for a staggering grocery bill. $200 for something that feels like it would have cost around $120 just two years ago!
And so... now to shop for groceries, I have to go to five different stores...
Sometimes I shop at Albertsons, which has my favorite layout of any store in the valley. But they own Safeway where my delivery comes from, so I don't have reason to go there unless I'm nearby. Which is rare.
And there you have it. How I shop for groceries.
When I got back from my weekend over the mountains, I was too tired to do much of anything. It was a long drive after a packed weekend, and there was nothing I wanted to do more than eat dinner and go to bed.
So I did that. But the next morning I remembered that I hadn't checked my mail since before I left, walked out to the mailbox and was greeted by a package. And when I opened it? There was this very cool mug featuring the spine of Depeche Mode cassette tapes from over the years...
I'm guessing that this is a birthday gift, but there was no note inside and the label didn't have a name I recognized.
So thank you, kind person... whomever you are! I love it! It makes me want to look up to see if there's a version for other 80's bands I love (like Pet Shop Boys!).
And for anybody not knowing much about Depeche Mode, I ran across this video a few weeks ago...
I have more favorite tracks from the band than I can count, but Mercy in You is probably at the top of my list. Mostly because of the live version, which cemented them as one of my favorite live acts on the planet...
Their earliest tracks hold up shockingly well. Which is probably why they are still belting them out at their shows. I think the song Everything Counts has been in the setlist of every concert I've ever been to...
The band occasionally gets heat from Conservative Christians over an early track called Blasphemous Rumours, which is actually a fascinating track that has a lot to say...
The song most people know them for is either Personal Jesus or People are People, with the latter being the song that got me hooked on the band once I heard it...
Their entire catalog remains some of my most-played and most-loved music.
And now that I'm appreciating it all over again, I'll be playing it on repeat for a while.
On New Year's Day I did something a little crazy. I ordered all the movies I own by their release date, then started watching them in order from oldest to newest.
It's quite an enjoyable way to be entertained. I started with the oldest movie in my collection, The Thin Man (1934), then moved on through The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), The Glenn Miller Story (1954), North by Northwest (1959), and a slew of James Bond movies (plus 2001: A Space Odyssey). From there the 70's came along, which included a slew of classics (like Star Wars, Grease, Foul Play, Death on the Nile, Superman: The Movie, Alien, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Airplane)...
...and then the 80's hit with The Empire Strikes Back and then Xanadu (1980)...
I am not a fan of musicals. But I loved A) Olivia Newton John, B) Electric Light Orchestra, and C) Greek mythology... so I saw it in the theater with friends when I was in high school. While not a great movie, it was an entertaining spectacle with phenomenal music.
And beautiful Olivia Newton John in that amazing dress she wore, of course.
Every night since I saw the film 46 years ago, I've said a little prayer to Zeus that these dresses come back into fashion. Because, damn...
No joke. The muses wouldn't be sexier if they were naked. Yeah, the wardrobe is very 80's... but I think that's why I'm so into it. It's retro-chic-sexy in a way that we never quite got back to. Even animated...
And of course I fell down a rabbit hole...
The movie actually plays better in 2026 than it did when it was released somehow.
For the life of me, I cannot wrap my head around the Bad Bunny hate that's ongoing.
I've been a fan of his music since I first heard Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana (YHLQMDLG), which was the album of 2020 during the pandemic. But I've been a fan of Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio since his appearance in Bullet Train where he was fantastic. They wrote his character a good backstory and gave him an awesome fight scene.
He appeared on Carpool Karaaoke which was fun. Just look at James Cordon having a blast here...
And he hosted SNL twice where he was charming and funny from beginning to end...
His Jeopardy sketch was so good...
But I think my favorite sketch of his was this one...
Or maybe this one...
But when it comes to the Superb Owl halftime show... what more could you fucking want? He's from Puerto Rico, which makes him all-American. He's a multi-platinum artist whose music is popular around the world. He's a phenomenally talented performer, in any language. And he has good videos for his songs...
I thought his halftime set was amazing. He put on a fantastic show. And it was nice to have something different. On top of all that, if anybody would take two minutes to Google it, he told a story which is special to him.
But he sings in Spanish, so everybody unloads, like this xenophobic racist piece of shit...
And, as usual, it's Jon Stewart who had the perfect perspective on it all...
The United States of America is a MELTING POT. We are a mix of cultures and faiths and backgrounds and beliefs and languages which make us stronger together. Bad Bunny's show was an opportunity to let loose and have fun with a guy giving it his all to entertain us. You didn't need to understand the lyrics, everybody could just enjoy the vibe. Join in and celebrate what was handed to us. But oh no. If it's not somebody singing about beer, pickup trucks, and shooting guns, it's "UnAmerican."
How fucking sad.
Could somebody refresh my memory... was there this kind of faux-outrage when the Macarena by Los Del Río was topping the music charts? This has to be the stupidest manufactured outrage I've ever seen. There's serious shit going on, but let's all be distracted by the music at a fucking football game. Okay.
Jesus.
Fortunately the voice of reason came from fucking Elmo, of all people... errr... Muppets...
Amen to that, little monster.
I don't know that I'm necessarily a "Swiftie," but I do like some of Taylor Swift's music. But where my appreciation really lives is her tour movies and her videos.
She really knows how to present her music in entertaining ways.
And here's me... in that moment half-way through the brand new video for Taylor's Opalite where I figured out exactly what's going on. And it's so good.
And if you watch to the very end, they tell you what's going on if you hadn't figured it out. In order to watch it, you have to see it on iTunes or Spotify. It will end up on YouTube this Sunday, but you can see a tiny piece of it on Taylor's YouTube video shorts right now UPDATE: And here you go...
It's pretty amazing how Tay-Tay's videos have become so brilliant after she started writing and directing them. And this one is no exception. Not necessarily for what's in it... but for the reason why what's in it is actually in it.
What blows my mind is how business-savvy she is about it all.
She's waited a very long time after releasing the first video from the album The Life of a Showgirl for the lead single Life of Ophelia. And it's because that video had such legs to it. There was no point putting out the second video until the first one started winding down. And I honestly don't know that it has, because people are still doing the "Ophelia Dance" on TikTok and the song is still on the charts. Though some people are coming up with their own dance...
But time marches on and she probably wants to get these videos out before her next album drops, which is likely just months away given how frequently she releases them. For heaven's sake, she made The Life of a Showgirl in the middle of her Eras Tour!
I used to pride myself on keeping up with current events around the world. But lately I just don't have the mental fortitude to see what new horrific shit is going on. It seems to get worse by the day, and the added anxiety would probably push me over the edge.
I slept horribly last night. Tossed and turned and didn't fall asleep until well after midnight. Jenny woke me up a little after 6:00am, and I ended up petting her until it was her breakfast time at 7:00am. After that I went back to bed so I could read some documentation for work and... somehow dropped off to sleep again, and didn't wake up until nearly 10:00am?? That's something that just doesn't happen to me. When I wake up, that's it. I'm awake for the duration. But not this morning...
Nearly eight hours sleep? That's very rare. Any more I feel lucky if I can get five or six!
Then I somehow ended up falling down a rabbit hole of shelter dog adoption videos. Like this one...
And this one...
And this one...
And then I listened to Martin Luther King Jr. speak, amazed as always how his words are more relevant than ever, then got back to work while listening to a podcast called Why this song? which talks to the artists behind popular songs. It started with Hold Me Now by the Thompson Twins, which is one of my favorite tracks of all time. Good stuff.
I'm going to be stockpiling my posts for a couple weeks because I've got a trip coming up but, no worries, I'm stockpiling bullets too... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...
• Shoresy! YES! The new season of Shoresy is dropping for Christmas! IT'S THE MIRACLE WE NEED RIGHT NOW! I've grown to love this show almost as much as Ted Lasso...
I seriously hope that they find a way to continue keeping this show alive.
• Boosted Again! Because I am totally fucked if I ever get COVID with my screwed up lungs, I got my tenth booster yesterday. It only seems prudent since I'm going to be traveling and hanging out with loads of people in crowded spaces. So... can somebody please remind me when I'm dying again? I was told I'd be dead within three to six months the first time I got vaccinated. Then I was told I was definitely going to die with each new booster I got. But... nothing. Even worse though, I am still not a lizard person or a 5G relay, as promised by all the conspiracy theorists.
• Rolled! There's epic. Then there's this...
Rick Astley is still making music, and released a new album two years ago. He's still got it.
• Justice? Every fucking day it seems as though Trump is pardoning another criminal who totally deserves to be serving time for their crimes. Why? And, more importantly, why isn't his base calling him on it? I thought this was supposed to be the "tough on crime" movement. But, alas, that's apparently not the case.
• More Krypto! I was going to pass on the James Gunn Superman movie art book because it's only 176 pages, and the Marvel books run 350+ pages... so I thought it would be lacking. But I love the film, Geeks of Doom gave it a great review, and it was on sale, so I bought it. A really gorgeous book, and I'm glad to have it...
Needs more Krypto though! Heck, it could have all been Krypto! Where's that book?
• Blame Game! This is a terrific video. Why can't we all just be happy for consensual adults finding each other and making each other happy? Why are we always looking for somebody to blame for absolutely everything? And why are our LGBTQ+ brothers, sisters, and others so often where the blame gets placed? I wouldn't trade my LGBTQ+ friends for anything. Any one of them means more to me than any fifty bigots who would try to tear them down. Any hundred. Any thousand.
Just let people play the hand they're dealt the best they can and find their bliss... just as we're all doing.
And now to pack my suitcase...
I saw the same lineup 34 years ago. Two bands that I love playing back-to-back.
And last night I relived it now in 2025, starting with Cheap Trick...
And then on to Ann & Nancy Wilson and Heart...
Even when belting out the hits while seated, Ann Wilson can still blow the doors off the stadium.
One of the biggest surprises of the night to me was when they did a mash-up which included Straight On and David Bowie's Let's Dance. This video isn't from the show I went to, but it's the same mix...
Great show. So happy I got to see them again.
On Facebook I learned that Morrissey had canceled the remainder of his US tour, including Salt Lake City and Seattle (on October 7th). It seems a perfect time to revisit my only time seeing him live, which was my third attempt (the first time I couldn't make it, the second time Morrissey canceled). But anyway...
As a massive fan of The Smiths, I had long wanted to see Morrissey in concert because it's the closest I was going to get to seeing the band play live. After the cancellation of the second concert I tried to see, I had given up because he always seemed to be canceling, and it's too expensive to book airfare, hotel, and tickets when he does.
But finally in 2014 I said "fuck it" and flew all the way across the country from Seattle, WA to St. Petersburg, FL and hoped for the best.
He actually showed up.
HOWEVER... After being disappointed in the crowd for not responding enthusiastically enough to his political rants, Morrissey declared the show "dead" and left the stage with only three songs left to go on his setlist. Ten days later Morrissey canceled all remaining dates in the tour due to illness (shocker). Apparently he caught a respiratory infection in Miami the day after the concert I attended.
The tour itself was wild. And although I'm disappointed I got shorted three songs (one of which is my very favorite: Everyday is Like Sunday)... I wouldn't trade the experience for the world, because now I have my own Morrissey story. And for that I'm grateful, because he's always been a bit of an ass, and he just gets worse as time goes on. I would never pay money to see the turd now.
Not that I could... he canceled Seattle, after all.
Instead of going outside in the cool Fall air to get things done in my yard, I'm inside on the couch because my tummy hurty. But I'm not entirely dying, just partly dying... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...
• A Hero in the Stands! I fell down a hockey rabbit hole while watching Shoresy for the hundredth time today. And came across this story that I hadn't heard before. And it's a good one...
The fact that she was wearing a Tanev jersey already made her a hero to me. I remain gutted that he was traded from Seattle.
• dO yoUr OwN ResUrCh! Lord. This. All this...
On a daily basis I wonder how the fuck we ended up in this anti-science bullshit era after science has given us so much.
• Twenty? BWAH HA HA HAAAA!
In all honesty, I hope Jared Leto is planning on a Thirty Seconds To Mars followup album to It's the End of the World but It's a Beautiful Day. I loved it, and still listen to Seasons almost every day. One of my favorite songs of all time.
• Wood! When your girlfriend, one of the most famous musicians on earth, writes a song about your dick... well, you're going to be asked questions. But when it's your brother doing the asking?
Oh, Trav. Don't ever change.
• Scallop Festival! The longer this goes on, the better it gets...
I wouldn't have thought that otters were potty trainable, which is good because I'd probably have looked into that. Now I have my mom's cats, so I guess it's too late.
• Academy? Yikes does the new Star Trek series look like crap. And not just because there's a Tilly cameo in it...
If not for the fact that Holly Hunter and Tig Notaro are in it, I'd be taking a huge pass. But they are, so I'm willing to give it a shot for a few episodes and see if it's worth my valuable time.
• NEWSFLASH: Spokane's notorious 'South Hill rapist' Kevin Coe released, now living in Auburn. — RELEASED? How the fuck did this happen? I remember very well when his reign of terror was happening. Very well. These were violent, horrific assaults above and beyond an already horrific assault. How is releasing him in any way justice? This is absurd. His health is "bad?" WHAT ABOUT HIS VICTIMS?!? Let him die in prison. He should have never, ever been able to breathe free ever again. "State officials" can fuck right the fuck off. What message is this sending to women who have survived assault? If the person who assaulted you has a health issue, they'll be released? Get fucked. Who are these "state officials?" Why are they officiating ANYTHING if this is what they think is best for our communities? Where is Patty Murray? Where is Maria Cantwell? Any statement at all? This is how you're "protecting women?" It doesn't fucking matter that he's physically unable to assault anybody again. What matters is that women know that the people convicted of preying on them WILL GO AWAY FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES AND THE PUNISHMENT FITS THE CRIME. But nope. Survivors have to live with his actions for the rest of their lives... but Kevin Coe doesn't. Sounds about right.
Now off to an early bedtime in the hopes I'm feeling better tomorrow.
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