Baking and listening to music etc

Hi frens,

How are you, sons and daughters of the internet?

I was just wrapping up a drawing when I thought to myself: it’s time, Sam, you ought to write it. And, as usual, I answered: you’re damn right. So here I am.

I’m going to share a few events from my life and some opinions, in no particular order.

The first time I listened to Death Cab For Cutie’s new album, I Built You Tower, I was cleaning my cats' litter boxes. My rule is quite simple: if I don’t feel like skipping songs that often, it means I like it. But instead, I just felt… depressed. It made me want to give Ben Gibbard a hug. At the same time, I felt slightly disappointed.

Their last album wasn’t really my cup of tea either. It felt a bit half-done. There were a few bangers, sure, but I usually love their albums as a whole, not just a few songs. I would’ve let it slide if I Built You Tower didn’t give me a similar feeling. Even the EPs before Asphalt Meadows felt somewhat incomplete. The last album I truly loved from them was Kintsugi. That one was so good, “El Dorado,” “No Room In Frame,” “Everything’s A Ceiling,” “The Ghosts of Beverly Drive”… you get the point.

I remember listening to Asphalt Meadows alongside Deafheaven’s Infinite Granite and feeling a bit off. I expected something smoother from Death Cab and something heavier from Deafheaven. I didn’t really get that contrast. Still, Infinite Granite grew on me, it’s a great album, even if it can feel disconcerting at first. Death Cab, though, didn’t quite land for me at the time.

So I wanted to do something different. The other day, I gave I Built You A Tower another chance. This time, while baking brownies and pizza (both homemade, of course). And I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed it much more. It felt like a walk down memory lane, closer to their older sound. Still, the lyrics felt a bit repetitive, tiredness, abandonment, being ignored. Those themes have always been there in their songs, but this time they felt less balanced. Less wit, and a bit less eeriness. Just… sad and a bit flat. Even so, they’re still dear to me, and I’ll always look forward to what they do next.

A few songs I truly enjoyed were "I Envy the Birds,"  "How Heavenly State," "Trap Door" and the B side version of the title song. Which made me think, maybe it's not the fact the lyrics are bland. Maybe their sound no longer goes with their lyrics. I Built You A Tower was an example of it and made me realise how so much better that song was on that other version, it gave it that eeriness, that Death Cab sound with a fresh twist. That song was a bit difficult to get out of my head. 

Now, the baking 🤤 uff. That brownie was incredible, gooey, intensely chocolatey, just perfect. And the pizza was really chef's kiss, so I guess kiss kiss to myself. I’m genuinely proud of it. My last attempt was edible and good but not quite there yet, but this time it was a success. Overall, a very satisfying meal.

My husband's side is vegan bacon and mine is vegan sausage

I’ve also been baking Hawaiian bread, and it turned out surprisingly well, soft, spongy, with a subtle sweetness from the pineapple juice that I really enjoy. And I cannot stress enough the importance of a thermometer in this type of cases. Most of the time I willy nilly it, and I think most of us do it too, you get the hang of it and you may get away with it, but having that extra layer of security a thermometer gives, it's just heavenly. I started using when I made eggnog during winter and I've been using it ever since and now it's become one of my staples while baking. 

Hawaiin Bread 🍞 

And yes, since it’s still summer, I made chocolate ice cream. And I love it (the ice cream not so much the heat).

On another note, you might remember I built a Game Boy DMG with a Raspberry Pi (not a tower). And I’ve been playing on it a lot lately and whenever I can. I'm getting ready to fight Misty. I'm also listening to the Pokémon Yellow soundtrack while just roaming around the house. Also, because Pokémon has fully taken over my brain, my husband and I have been playing a Pokémon memory game together, it’s been a lot of fun. He's also been playing Pokémon, but on his phone and and a sort of enhanced version of my yellow one. It's called Pokémon Añil. 

My Squad

Finally, yes, I am working on a new blog entry. In the meantime, you can check out some of my favorites: the Problem of Evil, Gnosticism, Catholic Exorcism, Crows, The Birth Of Jesus  and many more.

But for now that's it.

See you later alligator 🐊

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