I miss hanging out! That was a great evening, even though your car got very broken into. I would love a post-COVID reunion, but full disclosure, I live in New Orleans these days. You or mkshould give me a jangle if you're ever in town, I know all the best dives. Or did, before they all shut down. Even the Hunk Oasis on Bourbon Street is still shut. Won't someone please spare a thought for all the poor misfortunate hunks who are out of work now?? Adopt a hunk today and you could be saving a life.

Haha, well I didn't die! But I'll accept 40oz of anything :P

Yeah, I don't have any regrets about my ten years in SF, but I don't have any regrets about moving either. It was time, and I know a lot of other people are feeling the same way. A lot of my friends had already been forced out or left on their own. When I moved there it was a city that people move to, but now it's a city that people escape from. I'll PM you so we can catch up properly next time we're both in the same city!

Hey, you're on the teevy! Congratulations, you looked great -- I hope the yoga helps you feel great too. I don't mind getting older, but I wish it didn't hurt as much as it does. My knees are fucked. Don't suppose you've got any o' them stem cells I keep hearing so much about? Just shoot 'em straight into my kneecaps.

I wish I could come party with you, but I moved away from San Francisco late last year. I was getting super depressed in that city, and the change of scene has been amazing. I finally have an apartment that's big enough to have a bed in it. A bed, I say!

I can't believe it was just for the lulz — they went to so much effort, with the whole page of hand-drawn letters, and these things were plastered all over the street. If it was just gibberish, they put a ton of work into it. I don't think I'd mind being had, though. If they went to that much effort, they earned their victory.

Damn, the mystery continues! If it was a scavenger hunt or something (and it's not a simple substitution) then I guess the chances aren't high that we might figure it out. Still, it would be amazing if we could find any new clues after all this time. Let me know if you find anything.

Welp, their website is down af right now, but I'll take that as a good sign! They're a soup company, damn it, not an ISP. If they put as much effort into their food as they don't into their site, I think I'm in for a delicious ride.

Thanks, you're awesome! I'm usually a wiz with these in English (provided it's a simple substitution cipher), but I don't have enough knowledge of Polish to know what the most common letter combinations are, and what words often follow others.

It absolutely is! If you have any Polish/code-breaking skills, I'd love to see what you can come up with. The Poles were the great unsung cryptanalysts of the Second World War — they can be great again!

TRY AND STOP ME.

Alas, I can't join you this evening! I'm doing a movie night with a friend, and I need to pick up bits for a Cat costume from Red Dwarf.

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

As for your neighbors, have you tried sending them sexually suggestive gingerbread men in the mail? I am hard-pressed to think of anything that would delight me more than receiving erotic cookies from an anonymous source.

Aw, sorry to hear you won't be joining us in SF, but I'm sure you'll be happier somewhere you don't flush half your money down the toilet on rent every month. Still, you are morally and contractually obliged to come out for a drink whenever you're in town. You signed in blood and broken glass — it can never be undone.

It is an amazing painting. And I've been to Greek funerals, running the gauntlet of dozens of Greek grannies all dressed in black and pinching your cheeks… The painting isn't far off the mark.

I'll be in Raleigh in July, and I know thenewgreen is nearby. I'd love to meet up if anyone else is in the vicinity or can have themselves loaded into a catapult and flung far enough to land safely in North Carolina.

It really is crappy. A PBR & J is a Pabst Blue Ribbon and a shot of Jameson. It's a drink you only ever order if you're already very drunk and intend to get drunker.

What do you want to do instead of PBR & Js? Chartreuse and pickle juice?

I was foolish enough to let mk and thenewgreen order drinks and we wound up with a round of PBR & Js. Thanks so much to these guys for the best night out — you couldn't ask for friendlier, livelier company.

We have to do this again. Just get a cab next time so your car doesn't get broken into. Did you get back all right?

Oh yeah, I know the one! It's a great little spot. Want to meet there at 7? I'll be wearing a green fedora.

North Beach is always a great area for dinner/drinks if you like Italian. Or we could grab some Chinese in Chinatown. I'm pretty easy, though, so if you have a hankering for Neptunian squid larvae or sheep's head stew just let me know.

Hell damn yes! Count me in. Whereabouts were you thinking?

Happy Tutankhamun Day! I had no idea it was November 26. About this time last year I read a fantastic book about the origin of mummy myths, and it laid the blame for the mythology surrounding Tutankhamun's tomb squarely at Lord Carnarvon's feet. It wasn't that he died soon after the tomb was opened (though he did). It was that he'd struck up an exclusive coverage deal with one newspaper. That meant all the rest of the world's media were desperate for material, so when Carnarvon kicked the bucket they all ran the curse story because they had nothing else to print.