WP 12: Creekland

Shape-shifter for the river

Freak for the creek | Injection Room | Creamland | McGristle | Burrito Brigade | Casino Asshole | Southwestern bitch | Cookie ATM

Photo by Fr0ggy5 on Unsplash

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This week in phraseology

Hello there! It’s great to be back in the Wordpecker saddle (branch? hollow?) again, writing to you. I was on the road for a couple of weeks in Colorado for work and then New Mexico for a family vacation. Per our gamer kids’ request, we hit up some game shops in Albuquerque and we are now a Catan family. Here’s live footage of one of our games.

And here’s a crappy and terrible sunset view from my friend’s balcony:

so gross and ugly

The food is also repulsive: Hand-made tortillas of your dreams served with your red and green chile enchilada sauce? Why???

so terrible don’t go here

OK enough sarcasm. I gathered some phrases for you from my travels. Let’s get to it!

1. Freak for the creek

Spotted this phrase on a bumper sticker while driving through Denver. I thought maybe it was part of a local org, movement, or music venue. Sadly, I only found stickers in Etsy and Redbubble shops. This one for the Door County Land Trust kind of rules, or maybe I just really like Sandhill Cranes.

I do think more conservation orgs need to own this phrase. cc: Prairie Rivers Network. I briefly tried conjuring a similar rhyme for rivers (shiver/quiver for the river, mehhh), but none are as good as freak for the creek. Good thing I don’t work in marketing!¹

2. Injection Room

👎🏻 Here’s a trend to dislike 👎🏻: Shady-looking businesses centered around letting strangers with questionable credentials (gonna guess they’re not sexy nurses) inject elixirs with unproven benefits into your body. I’m re-watching Fringe and this setup has “horrifying opening scene” written all over it.

Here’s a crappy photo of a crappy AI logo for Injection Room, taken from the passenger seat as we drove past:

3. McGristle

A McDonald’s in New Mexico offered steak as a side with pancakes on the breakfast menu. I had never seen steak on a McDonald’s menu! My husband immediately dubbed it the McGristle. He should work in marketing, tbh².

4. Burrito Brigade

We didn’t make it up to Santa Fe on this trip, but I learned of this mutual aid org in a great and hopeful interview with Garrett Bucks in Culture Study called How to Declare Your Interdependence.

Here’s an excerpt, where Bucks talks about a cultural vibe shift he’s seeing where people are turning toward each other:

We’ve been through a wilderness — of cynicism, institutionalized cruelty, fascism, mass disempowerment. And since politics and culture is often a game of equal and opposite reactions, it shouldn’t be surprising that we’re swinging towards collective agency, hope, earnestness, and care.

But it’s one thing to want somebody else to deliver you hope — to sit at home and cheer on Mamdani, or the actions of neighbors in Minneapolis this past winter — but never do something yourself. And no wonder: it takes a lot of bravery to put an invitation out into the world. But what’s remarkable is that there isn’t just a vibe shift, but a collective action shift. And I think the impetus for that is hopeful, but it’s also rooted in an exhausted realism. We’ve tried everything else except our neighbors, so why the hell not?

In the interview, Bucks mentions The Burrito Brigade, a mutual aid group that distributes free burritos, drinks, and needed supplies to people who are unhoused or food insecure in Santa Fe. Boy, do I ever love a catchy name for an org! I should work in marketing³.

Established as an alternative to nonprofits and government aid, mutual aid groups pool resources for the benefit of communities. These groups can take many forms and offer many different types of aid to communities, from freedges like The Love Fridge Chicago to delivery services like the Burrito Brigade to funds for trans people to legally change their names.

Do some good today: here’s a link to buy some burritos for some Santa Fe neighbors. And here’s a map of mutual aid groups around the U.S. and Canada so you can find a local group to support, too.

5. Creamland

Laughed like Beavis and Butthead while driving behind this truck

I’ve argued for a while that ad and marketing agencies need to have at least one 12-year-old on retainer for product development purposes. This New Mexico dairy brand bears that out.

6. Casino Asshole

Our Airbnb was mere blocks away from Cocina Azúl, aka Blue Kitchen, which looked fantastic. Sadly, we never got to eat there because there was always a line out the door. When texting with the family about going there for dinner, my phone kept autocorrecting the restaurant name to Casino Asshole. Tim Apple, what is your deal???

Encounter any funny autocorrect mishaps lately? Share yours in the comments:

7. Southwestern bitch

I told my husband I couldn’t decide whether I’m a Midwestern bitch or a Southwestern bitch, and instead of saying “Why not both?” he said, “You’ve been a Southwestern bitch ever since I’ve known you! Bright blue walls! Terra cotta tile! That tin mirror thing you love!” and wow, it felt so good to be seen.

8. Cookie ATM

Our Airbnb was in a great little neighborhood with lots of eateries within walking distance. Golden Crown Panederia was one of them, and they had a cookie ATM by the front entrance!!!!

Cookies!!! Any time you want them!!!!

I love a crispy cookie, so New Mexican biscochitos—New Mexico’s official state cookie—are right up my alley. In fact, several went right into my stomach on this trip.

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That’s it for this week! Remember to keep making it weird, and stay furiously curious!

1. I totally work in marketing

2. He does not work in marketing

3. Whoops! I already work in marketing