Things that happened recently:

Hurricane Florence was downgraded to a Category 2 storm, but apparently category number is not a great indicator of a hurricane’s potential danger. Despite the warnings, 84-year-old retired sea captain Skippy Winner isn’t scared, and yes, our President is still an incompetent monster.

Author of “How To Murder Your Husband” might have done just that, but all men are trash so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If you’ve been in New York since March you’ve probably seen posters up for Norman the missing Chihuahua. He was lost by the “Uber of dog-walking” Wag, and he may or may not have been run over by a car but he’s definitely not the only dog Wag (or their competition, Rover) has lost or mishandled recently.

Things to do in New York this week:

The Feast of San Gennaro began Thursday in Little Italy on Mulberry Street between Canal and Houston, and lasts through next Sunday.

The (definitely haunted) Morris-Jumel mansion, built in northern Manhattan in 1765, is hosting a paranormal investigation on Saturday.

I already have plans for Tuesday night, but Madame Morbid’s Death Becomes Her lecture at Caveat about women serial killers looks fun.

Things I’ve discovered recently:

I’ve been on a good streak of books lately (all from the library) and you can see a few of my most recent book reviews here. I’m currently reading this book about the opiate crisis and while I read this book not too long ago, Dopesick is full of new and fascinating (and heartbreaking, and infuriating) information. Oh, and Purdue Pharma, makers of OxyContin just received a patent designed to treat opioid addiction.

Grab tissues before you read this from a daughter caring for her dying mother—and then go out and buy this book for yourself and every other future corpse you know.

I’ve never seen a more accurate description of the NYC subway than this one.

Well the temperature appears to be dropping to a more habitable level but I continue to feel personally victimized by this humidity. When I was in New Mexico, it was so dry that I had a massive nosebleed, but there has to be a happy medium between the two extremes. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is filming around my neighborhood today, including right next door to my apartment tonight. I fully intend to (respectfully) stalk the production and try to convince them to hire me to do anything because—despite that very bad title font—the entire show is my dreamworld (if you haven’t watched it, you should!). I have an appointment to get new glasses on Saturday which I’m excited about since I’m 33 going on 103. If you’re in the path of Florence, stay safe and have a great weekend!

Happy Friday!