Friday Bitch & Brag
July 4, 2025 - The Bigger, More Beautiful, No Paywall Edition
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Bitch: Last night Pops & I took the Metro to a Tigers vs. Nationals baseball game. At the Navy Yard Metro stop, there’s a fairly long escalator up to street level, and the one we got on stopped about 1/3 of the way up. Nothing like realizing your physical limitations while climbing up an escalator, tons of people behind you, wondering if your arthritic right knee is going to give out or your thighs are going to cramp up.
Brag: I discovered that it is possible to check Metro SmarTrip card balances AND add more money online! How did it take me this long to figure it out? Don’t answer that.
Bitch: Security at Nationals Park was like going through TSA lines at the airport. I had to hand over my bag and my phone and go through the damn detector three times because I walked through with my hat in my hand the second time.
Brag: The seats Pops got were excellent (thanks to a former colleague of his), the food surprisingly tasty (tacos, chips and guacamole from Taqueria Picoso’s stand), and the staff were super nice.
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Bitch: Who is writing the signs in the produce section of Trader Joe’s? Please tell me that “by the each” to describe pricing for fruits and veggies is an inside joke and not someone’s idea of proper grammar.
Brag: The cashier at Trader Joe’s this week was a rock star bagger, putting the chocolate bars in the insulated bag with the perishable items and all the produce in one bag. I hope she wasn’t the one who wrote the produce pricing signs.
This week on The Corinne Channel: a BONUS bitch & brag, the final season of an award-winning dramatic series, fun summer reads, and more!
Week Ending July 4, 2025
Bitch: I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel inclined to celebrate a holiday when our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are being dismantled. I already knew I’d need to find a job with health insurance benefits, but now it’s even more important because my health insurance thanks to ACA & Medicaid may well disappear.
Brag: I still have hope that we will get past all the chaos and tyranny. That we the people will come together and say no more oppression, no more oligarchs, no more settling for scraps. Let’s come together and fight the power, my friends!
Eating/Drinking
While shopping at Trader Joe’s, I had to decide between the root beer float ice cream bars or the tangerine cream ones. I went with the latter and it was a wise choice: a beautiful balance of vanilla ice cream and tangerine sorbet. 9/10
Reading
The Woman in the Castello by Kelsey James qualifies as a beach read: historical fiction with elements of romance, mystery, and suspense. Set in the 1960s, the story is about Silvia, a young Italian-American actress who gets the opportunity of a lifetime to star in a horror movie, but is the horror really all make-believe? Some very steamy love scenes and a bit campy at times, but good fun.
I said I was going to read more Beatriz Williams after finishing The Summer Wives, and now I am! The Beach at Summerly takes place in the same location as the other novel, but in a slightly earlier time period and focusing on a different family. I started it a couple nights ago and I already can tell I’ll be staying up late reading.
Other articles and Substack posts I read this past week:
The beginning of a series of articles on how American seniors can cover their ass as the dumpster fire rages on. Some great advice here. (Canada Resists)
Big birthday wishes to Molly Mogren Katt! (Hey Eleanor!)
I will definitely add several of these books to my to-read list, as my soul definitely needs soothing. (The Magic Hour)
I’ve been enjoying the “I Don’t Know Why” series of posts from Laura Lippman and this one on the disappearing dot is excellent. (Oldster Magazine)
ICYMI: last year’s declaration of my independence.
Declaration of My Independence, 2024 Edition
I am not here to write nice little essays and posts that don’t make waves. I’m here to write content that goes where the blood runs hot. I’m here to write what I need to write.
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Listening
Back in the 80s, I wasn’t a big fan of “The Way It Is” by Bruce Hornsby & The Range, but today I listened closely to the lyrics and they are really on point considering the state of the nation.
Watching
I spent three days binge watching the final season of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” I didn’t always like this series, as there were plot points and subplots I found unnecessary and/or distracting. Season 6 took into account more of June’s flaws, and while it didn’t resolve all the storylines, it did a very good job. Josh Charles was exceptionally chilling and disturbing as Commander Wharton, and there’s nothing like watching a big group of women smashing the patriarchy. Let’s go, girls!
What’s the latest from your channel? Let me know!