Several weekends ago, we ventured up to Cascade Pass in North Cascades National Park, where we encountered spectacular fall foliage and hoards of people. The highlight for me was anything but showy. High up on the Sahale Arm amid the rocks, lichens, and ground hugging vegetation, I saw three white-tailed ptarmigan. A member of the chicken clan, like their fellow Cascades’ relatives, sooty and dusky grouse, white-tailed ptarmigan are not your neighbor’s chicken.

Happy Thursday! This issue of the Animation Obsessive newsletter is about Charlie Brown’s All Stars (1966), the second animated Peanuts special. During most of the years he spent drawing Peanuts strips, Charles Schulz was also writing Peanuts cartoon specials for television. The first, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), is an annual tradition close to 60 years strong. Before his death in 2000, Schulz would oversee 38 more Peanuts shows. Initially, convincing the networks to take a full special based on Schulz’s work was hard.

Welcome to my freemium newsletter by me, King Williams. A documentary filmmaker, journalist, podcast host, and author based in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a newsletter covering the hidden connections of Atlanta to everything else. I recently collaborated with The Atlanta Voice, the oldest continually operating Black-owned newspaper in Atlanta, for a look at the plethora of Black-owned coffee shops in the metro area. This included going on a local tour of Black-owned coffee shops.

Friday’s road trip destination was Wellston for an Oklahoma barbeque classic. So who better to join me than my friend and editor of the Curbside Chronicle, Nathan Poppe, who is a bit of an Oklahoma classic himself. For many Oklahomans, The Butcher BBQ Stand is the state’s best and it’s hard to argue that take. I could give you a list of worthy competitors, but pound-for-pound The Butcher might be Oklahoma’s top barbeque restaurant when it comes to consistency across the board.

I don't know, but I think you absolutely can omit it. I mean, the no-cook sauce I make is simply tomatoes, olive oil, salt, and garlic, so there's no reason why it shouldn't work. I might consider adding a splash of white balsamic or white whine vinegar when you add the crushed red pepper flakes. And thank you :) Expand full comment ncG1vNJzZmioma%2FHorHVnqmynqKesaLFjaysm6uklrCsesKopGioX6m1pnnCmqWnnZRiwbC5wK2mnqtdl7Ktu9Wem2aaqWK9qsbZmmacp52isq%2FA0g%3D%3D