Jen Watson

@jwatson.bsky.social

179 Followers 181 Following

I’m just here so I don’t get fined. Writer/barfly at Noe Valley Bar Project: https://www.instagram.com/nvbarproject

A screenshot of the iOS weather app showing that Palm Springs is 100 degrees at 8 a.m. and will be 111 in a couple hours
A bottle of Koia cacao bean smoothie, some nonsense I find perfectly pleasant when I want to cosplay healthy
A screenshot of Bluesky trending topics: 1. Gavin Newsom 2. Mitch McConnell 3. Immigration Court 4. Music Challenge 5. Platner Campaign
A dimly lit room with a window in the corner, wine racks, and a 1940s vintage record cabinet with some vintage glassware sitting on top
A dining room with a barely-distinguishable big grey cat hiding in the center of two dining chairs in a pretty good makeshift cave under the table
A sandwich menu showing an array of beautiful sandwiches that cost $9.50 (the $10.95 Italian combo is worth your extra dollar)
A fully intact, if weathered pier
A screenshot of the game 82-0 where I scored 74-8
A photo of a television showing a baseball game; behind home plate there’s an ad for “blue sky pest control”
A headline from the 1908-06-30 issue of the Oakland Tribune: DOESN'T BLAME MAN WHO STOLE HIS PRETTY WIFE Husband Says She Is Lovable Woman
An old photo of what is very clearly a bar, with a middle-aged Swiss man proudly standing behind it
"NEXT STOP - THE LAND OF GRASS SKIRTS AND POI--Bon voyage, fellahs. Waving aloha to a crowd of followers who were at the pier to see 'em off, the Seals started their ocean jaunt to Hawaii yesterday where they will condition themselves for the 1946 Coast League baseball race. Pictured on deck above (from left to right) are Ed Stutz, Elias Castro, Ted Jennings, Don White, Francis Russo, Cliff Melton, Ray Perry, Roy Nicely, Al Lien, Ferris Fain and Bill Werle. Today the gang was far out on the bounding main in fine fettle (we hope). They won't return here until late in March."
A paper copy of The Onion
a screenshot of StubHub of prices to a Wednesday day game between the giants, who won’t be playing baseball, and the padres who might consider it, showing prices that are so absolutely comical a person going alone would not consider them
A selfie of a woman wearing a dress covered in many many little oranges
The Jury Room on 4/17/1957, a bar on the ground floor of a cool old Victorian that has a sick neon sign on the front and very limited windows
WAGER: While on the subject of overall frustration, consider the case of Ed Sullivan, detective story writer and retired newspaperman. One recent evening, Sullivan was enjoying a midnight snack Thomas Bertram, who operates Philosopher's Inn, In the West Portal district, and Terry Stafford; who runs the Parkside Tavern; In discussing improvements he'd like to have at his spot, Bertram mentloned that he was about ready to bounce $150 for a new neon sign to attract more business. “That is very silly." said Sullivan. “I will bet you the one-fifty that l can bring in 100 new customers in one day-without any neon sign."
A hand holding a bunch of bright yellow daffodils in a mason jar
"This is a nice neighborhood. I'd hate to see it turn into a Haight," said 30 year old Con Crowley, a beefy Irish cop who drives the Mission Station paddywagon. “It used to be an awfully nice neighborhood," said Mrs. Clara Conley, an absolutely charming 83 year old history buff. "But it has changed a lot. The hippies are moving in." "I have nothing against hippies. They have their own life, but it's changed a lot." said Mrs. Ruth Adams. another longtime resident. "I don't feel safe at night any more.”
Liverwurst and cottage cheese on a bar top. “Scrap sandwich”, composed of whatever charcuterie bits are left over from the fancy plates they make, in the background.
Two people wearing sunglasses standing on the sidewalk at a parade
a fuzzy grey cat with little white feet who doesn’t like my jokes whatsoever laying on a blue chair
The cover of “San Francisco Original Handy Block Book: Mission and Horner’s Addition”
An extremely hot fuzzy grey cat clinging to the arm of a couch experiencing ennui
A happy hour menu showing snacks including tacos, mac and cheese, a mini wedge salad, fries, deviled eggs, calamari, steak skewers, kung pao prawns, prime rib dip, all under $10 per dish
A screenshot of “your AI slop bores me” where I asked a human to draw me a picture of a baseball player spooked by a kitty and they did their absolute human best in their sixty available seconds
A very bright floral jumpsuit with stars and shit on it
A picture of “A Paradise of Small Houses: the evolution, devolution, and potential rebirth of urban housing” by Max Podemski next to a gin and tonic
The front of a Waymo that tried to pass a fucking bus on a basically one way hill because we can’t teach a robot about right of way in a SOCIETY
A definitely not crisis-driven millennial series of books purchased at a local book store: Yes to the City A Paradise of Small Houses Adventures in Languageland Doing Nothing Radical Abundance
An interior shot of bookshelves inside a coffee shop, featuring kids books right at the front. There are tiny googly eyes on a support pole.
An iced latte and an iced hibiscus tea on a window table with “The Serviceberry” laying in the foreground
The front of a bookstore on the ground level of a cute Victorian. It says “bookshop” in the front windows.
An overhead shot of a hydrangea that will easily be three times this size by May
A screenshot of the iOS weather app with Kansas City’s weather (70 degrees) showing a Red Flag Warning
husband: PICKLE me: plz save notes for my fiftieth birthday husband: yus me: I can't be clear enough that I don't want a party, I just want a pickle fountain
A screenshot of a Reductress article titled “If Going Outside is So Great Then Why – Oh, Oh Okay Yeah This is Nice” with a photo of a skeptical and slightly irritated woman
An iOS home screen showing that the Giants are losing 5-0 to the Mariners in the first inning
A perfectly medium-rare piece of salmon on top of corn risotto
A bar patio that once held a lot of food that was made to do a lot of good, night lights on an empty space
An iOS notification at 3 a.m. alerting people to flash flooding that somehow will end three hours from now
A screenshot from Transit’s end of year report telling me I take the bus more than I take the train: “You brought some serious star power to *the bus*”
A 1976 recipe for Chelo Kabab: CHELO KABAB (STEAMED RICE AND BROILED MEAT) Chelo Kabab is the most favorite Iranian dish; good for any occasion. Cooking equipment needed: One large pot with lid; charcoal broiler. Cooking time: One hour. 2-3 lbs. lamb leg or shoulder Yogurt 1/4 onion, chopped or grated 2 cups rice 1/2 cup butter or margarine 1/2 tablespoon salt (for meat) 1/2 tablespoon salt (for rice) How to prepare: Cut the lamb meat into strips of 1-1/2 to 2 inches. Marinate the meat in yogurt with the grated onion (or with lemon and onion). Cover with waxed paper and refrigerate overnight. Rice preparation: Wash any good long grain rice and soak for an hour before cooking in warm water. To cook the rice: Rinse the rice and add cold water to one inch above the rice. Add the salt and boil 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse the rice in a strainer with warm water. Melt one half of the butter or margarine in the pot; put the rice in the pot one spoon at a time and pour the remaining butter on top of the rice. Cover the rice tightly with a cloth and lid on the top. (The cloth protects any additional moisture from going back into the rice). Cook the rice for 25-30 minutes on a low flame or medium heat. Rice cooked this way has a golden crust on the bottom and the rest is white and fluffy. To cook the kabab: After you have the rice covered, it is time to prepare your kabab. Season the meat with your favorite seasoning. Charcoal or regular broil the meat. Serve Kabab with your Chelo (rice). Iranians prefer extra butter, egg yolk and sumac added to their rice and kabab when they serve this dish. Serves 8 to 10. Manouchehr Pedram
A cookbook page, the bottom of which reads: We'll talk about wines for a moment. Some of the Napa Valley wines are excellent. More stable than inexpensive foreign wines whose quality will fluctuate and buying unknown brands is always dangerous. It is now possible to buy Beringers wine here in Kansas City; I highly recommend their Pinot Chardonnay. This is always excellent. A new wine in the market from Napa Valley-Sinoma Vineyards Summer Riesling. I will be happy to give you any additional instruction or accept your invitation to the next cocktail party.
A screenshot of my Gmail app in iOS showing that I have 50,030 unread emails despite being married to an inbox zero husband who somehow still loves me
An 1892 newspaper advertisement reading: "MEN: Dr. Liebig & Co., [German I don't know how to translate sorry I'm typing this manually from a screenshot] 400 Geary Str., San Francisco The Oldest and Most Reliable Specialists. THE REASON THOUSANDS CANNOT GET cured of Special, Private, Chronic Diseases, Weakness, Loss of Manhoow, Gleet [sp?], Varicocele and results of abuse or excesses which unfit men for marriage or life's duties, is owing to complications. Most successful treatment for diseases of men. Qualification and responsibility unequaled. Being known, testimonials or photographs never put in newspapers. Everything sacredly confidential. Dr. Liebig's Wonderful German Invigorator, the greatest remedy for above complaints. To prove its power trial bottles given free. je7 WeSuWy eow
A cat sitting on top of the dining table where she KNOWS SHE IS NOT ALLOWED, throwing me attitude despite the fact that she came from a dumpster and now lives in PARADISE
A completed New Yorker crossword puzzle that really expects people to know words like QUIDNUNC
Breda #1534 on her last day of work (Breda is a train)
Two pans of thinly sliced lemon potatoes, according to this recipe
A screenshot of flight times showing a delayed flight landing at 6:16p, when this baseball game was merely in I don’t care the fourth inning or something
An email reading: “Please do not leave food for the critters !!! If you want to feed the raccoons, please lure them into your car, take them home and feed them at your house. Do not feed them here. Thanks,”
An elderly man wearing an “every vote counts” shirt holding a protest sign reading “for the love of country, to preserve democracy - we stand up - we speak out! WE UNITE!!”
Two pork shoulders snuggling in a hot smoker, which sounds like a euphemism but isn’t
A jar of Lay’s French onion dip
Two giant chunks of smoked pork shoulder propped up against each other on a sheet pan on my railing
A screenshot of a text message reading “(pretenders voice) I got bees… in office”
A push notification from DoorDash reminding me that I had abandoned my Taco Bell order, something I definitely did not at all need to place: “Complete your Taco Bell order It looks like you left something behind. Tap here to continue ordering.”
A paragraph that reads “Yet this totally planned and privately built community was based on a racialized meaning of what a "good community" should and should not contain. In Kansas City, many J.C. Nichols Company advertisements began with the slogans such as "Escape!" and "Live Better for Less" to appeal to consumer desires for "fine community with every neighborhood convenience." Nichols also emphasized the importance of homogeneous neighborhoods as a superior atmosphere for social life and raising chil-dren. As he reported to a Time magazine journalist in 1947: "When you rear children in a good neighborhood, they will go out and fight communism" (quoted in Worley 1990, 154).”
A chafing dish containing smoked brisket and mac and cheese