SUMMER FRIDAYS DEP'T.: In bloom
Indignity Vol. 5, No. 151
Previously, on INDIGNITY
THE WORST THING WE READ™
Tom Scocca
Cuomo presumably meant to work from the Roger Ailes playbook, attacking his opponent on his strongest point, like the George W. Bush campaign attacking John Kerry's war record. Mamdani spent the primary campaign relentlessly talking about affordability for all, including a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments, while Cuomo countered with vague warnings that New York was in a dire crisis, in which voters had an obligation to get behind the politician with the most name recognition. That latter pitch didn't seem to work on anyone but the richest and most dull-witted campaign donors, and also the New York Times editorial board—and, it became clear after the primary was over, the people directing the Times newsroom.
FOOD WEDNESDAY DEP'T.
Tom Scocca
And then there was the biltong, the air-dried meat, the pride of South Africa. We'd been eyeing the biltong on our trip—there was a biltong counter in the tidy little thatched-roofed airport we'd flown into on our way to the park—but we hadn't gotten around to eating any yet. Now here it was, for the complete safari experience.
COLUMN DEP’T.
JOE MACLEOD
Personally, I would want the candle to have a hint of lead from the leaden vessels the Ancient Romans used to help sweeten the taste of their wine, oof! More wine! Urp! The company that makes the Roman End Times candle makes other droll candles such as WAR OF 1812 and TITANIC, hiyo! If History has taught us anything, it is that History plus Time equals people making fun of your ass after you get killed in some horrible way, ka-ching! Even if you are a dinosaur, ouch, TAR PIT, too soon? Which candle smells like Death? Arrooo!!!
WEATHER REVIEWS
New York City, August 21, 2025
★★★ The rain was supposed to have cleared out overnight but the morning stayed wet. On the far side of lunchtime, the puddles were gone but the cloud cover remained. A brief glimmer of sun and shadow met the bus on its way through the Park, and another at Fifth Avenue. Cardigans were in the mix out on the street. A man up on a ladder with a power washer was turning a grayish red awning into a red one. A midafternoon wind blew on the East Side as the clouds went white and came apart for a while. Leaves above a sidewalk shed showed their pale sides as a breeze kept tossing the trees. The clouds closed over again and a chill settled over the bus stop. Warm tones and an occasional bright spot bloomed across the late sky, and then the clouds spread out again, washed with gold, on the way to sunset.
EASY LISTENING DEP'T.
HERE IS THE Indignity Morning Podcast archive!
TOM SCOCCA
VISUAL CONSCIOUSNESS DEP'T.
August flowers
More consciousness at Instagram.
ADVICE DEP'T.
HEY! DO YOU like advice columns? They don't happen unless you send in some letters! Surely you have something you want to justify to yourself, or to the world at large. Now is the perfect time to share it with everyone else through The Sophist, the columnist who is not here to correct you, but to tell you why you're right. Direct your questions to The Sophist, at indignity@indignity.net, and get the answers you want.
SANDWICH RECIPES DEP'T.
WE PRESENT INSTRUCTIONS in aid of the assembly of sandwiches selected from A Book of Dorcas Dishes: Family Recipes Contributed by the Dorcas Society of Hollis and Buxton, edited by Kate Douglas Wiggin, published in 1911 and available at archive.org for the delectation of all.
CELLAR SANDWICHES
- Tongue or ham minced.
- Equal parts of chicken and cold ham finely minced.
- Thin slices of cucumber dipped in French dressing.
- Sardines made to a paste with lemon juice.
- Minced hard-boiled eggs, 1 sardine to every 3, seasoned with lemon juice.
- Cold baked beans mashed to a paste and seasoned with mustard or chopped celery.
- Canned salmon mixed with hard-boiled eggs chopped fine.
- 5 heaping teaspoons powdered sugar, 2 of cocoa, and 2 of boiling water. Stir over the fire until smooth. Add a few drops of vanilla and cool.
- Orange marmalade.
- Cottage cheese and jam or marmalade.
- Cottage cheese, lettuce leaves, and French dressing.
- Peppergrass mixed with chopped hardboiled eggs.
—Nora A. Smith
If you decide to prepare and attempt to enjoy a sandwich inspired by this offering, be sure to send a picture to indignity@indignity.net .
SELF-SERVING SELF-PROMOTION DEP'T.
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