Guess I’ll head back in since my dogs seem to have separation anxiety these days and are just whining and howling in the house. Wish they were better socialized—I’d bring them out here with me.

Details lol

Death taxes and Salvy swinging at sliders off the plate!

Winning on a wild pitch checks out for these guys. Literally handed the win tonight. But I’ll take it. #HeyHeyHeyHey

Three sliders away is what I would do if I’m the O’s

Sitting on the front porch with a cold beverage in hand, watching the game on my phone. Not a bad way to spend the evening.

Lmao Michael fuckin Massey. Baseball is a funny game.

Why they were throwing anywhere NEAR the fuckin plate with first base open is beyond the pale. These guys are so fuckin terrible.

a man says " we 've done the impossible and that makes us mighty " in a dark room ALT: a man says " we 've done the impossible and that makes us mighty " in a dark room

Yay!

Score man on 2nd, no outs challenge: level impossible. #Royals

You can take the cat out of the bodega….

bad jim varney lookin kinda nice

if you see him in a serious role he’s.. kinda hot?

Fantastic list

So, logically, April decided to reach out to the Northampton Museum directly. Yesterday she shared their correspondence with me. The person who wrote her back was a woman named Rebecca, whose title is "Curator, Shoe Specialism, Northampton Museums and Art Gallery." If that is all I had seen of the letter I would've considered it a satisfying experience because that is an OUTSTANDING title. Rebecca, the Shoe Specialism Curator, told April that "The shoes are a woman’s leather peep toe sling back sandal and a man’s leather slip on shoe." She estimated that they're from the late 1950s or early 1960s. She then expanded on the practice of shoe concealment in general. Rebecca shot down the commonly assumed rationale of shoes being an item placed within walls to ward off evil spirits which, she informed us, are formally known as "apotropaic" items. She said that current thinking on the matter is that wall shoes are about good luck and hope. She went on, saying "they could also be in some cases mini time capsules, hidden rubbish or hidden for a lark by builders, or if a child’s shoe is found in a master bedroom a symbol of fertility, wishing the couple lots of children." So there is certainly some wiggle room here, but I'm liking the good luck explanation best. Rebecca concluded by saying, "In due course the information you have provided will be added to the concealed shoe database. Thank you for sending it in, it is much appreciated."

People often ask me why I am so fascinated with England. There are a lot of reasons, but a really big one is that every third town in England has a museum that is known for something profoundly random and uncommercial like "concealed shoes" research. That museum is not just some lark or side hustle by an enthusiast, but a proper, governmentally-funded public good, open from Tuesdays through Sundays from 10 to 5, which employ educated curators who are specifically dedicated to the esoterica in question and who take obvious pleasure in educating others about it. It's absolute Wes Anderson shit and I positively live for it.

In today's newsletter I wrote about my friend @aprilrichardson.com's introduction to horsehair plaster and the discovery of shoes hidden in walls. This led to the discovery of a strangely specific museum curator and, folks, I find the whole story delightful. www.cupofcoffeenews.com/cup-of-coffe...

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Shoulda hired Ludwig

I think Shane speaks for all of us right now. #Royals

LMAO our guys can’t even challenge correctly.

a close up of a man 's face with the words " don 't give me hope " ALT: a close up of a man 's face with the words " don 't give me hope "

Me to the Royals right now

Can we end on a triple play? That would be awesome. If you’re gonna lose, lose spectacularly

Do like they do in soccer and get relegated to AAA.

Screen shot of cancellation page for Royals.tv. Reason for cancellation is this is not a serious baseball team.

Yeah I’m not gonna continue to pay to be hurt.

2nd verse, same as the 1st.

FUCKING HILARIOUS. #FireQ

What an incredible cast!

The boys sure do love to swing at sliders out of the strike zone, don’t they?

Oh Shrieber is coming in after Lynch gets 4 in a row? Yeah fuck Q. More stupid shit.

Oh great now Thomas is in Right Field. I’m sure that will go well for us.

Royals gonna Royal. Jesus these guys aren’t just bad, they’re stupid.

Karma you little bitch. #Royals