"Wait, wait — NOOO! IT'S A COOKBOOK!"

The classic Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" is suddenly and horrifically pertinent.

In season three of Twilight Zone, the 24th episode, “To Serve Man” (written by the great Rod Serling himself), told the story of an alien race landing on Earth during an international crisis. Text in quotations is from Wikipedia.

“The Kanamits, a race of 9-foot-tall (2.7 m) aliens, land on Earth as the planet is beset by international crises. As the Secretary-General of the United Nations announces the landing at a news conference, one of the aliens arrives and addresses the assembled delegates and journalists using an artificially created voice. He states that his race's motive in coming to Earth is to provide humanitarian aid by sharing their advanced technology that can easily and inexpensively solve all energy and food shortages and prevent international warfare.”

The 9-foot-tall aliens “deliver on their promise to turn the world into a Utopia, transforming barren deserts into blooming fields, and each nation is given an impenetrable force field that leads to the virtual disbandment of all militaries.”

After much effort, a clever government cryptographer named Patty manages to decode the title of a book supplied by the aliens: “To Serve Man.” Initially thinking this is a tome about the aliens’ intention to help humans achieve peace and prosperity, the world’s governments encourage all earthlings to take the aliens at their word.

“Humans soon begin volunteering to travel to the Kanamits' home planet, which is described as a paradise, and the Kanamits set up embassies in every country on Earth and weigh all passengers boarding their ships.”

As the docile and blindly enthusiastic humans vote with their feet, waiting to board the alien ship, Peggy rushes toward the line of people waiting like cows embracing their march toward the slaughterhouse—brandishing the alien book, which she has finally finished translating.

“Wait, wait, wait,” she screams at the uncomprehending humans. “IT’S A COOKBOOK!”

Watch several clips from the episode here.

This is how I feel about the human beings that voted for a fascist felon to be the most powerful man on Earth. A pussy-grabber who is already set on dismantling everything this country has always stood for, making us into a laughingstock across the free, and, especially, the non-free world. I wish I could tell them “It’s a cookbook!”

Because, my once-dear friends, your gooses are cooked. And unfortunately, due to, ya know, democracy (at least for now) so are ours. I.e, we, the ones who did not vote for the criminal.

Note: My original intention for this post was to write “Your October-in-Florence Report,” but I’ve lost the will to celebrate that blissful before-time. All my friends in Italy and England are literally gob-smacked, incredulous, shocked—and fearful. Deeply fearful.

I’ll just mention here my recent memoir for those who are in search of a bit of depth and levity. Rottenkid: A Succulent Story of Survival.

“Did you know that if you tap the ❤️ at the bottom or the top of this email it will help others discover my publication and also MAKE MY DAY?” 

Tidbits For The Week of November 11, 2024

Brigit’s What I’m

CURRENTLY LOVING ➡️  Pasta Fagioli. There is solace in beans. 
THINKING ABOUT ➡️  Yale history Prof Timothy Snyder's Substack piece: Oligarch's Island. (Yo Gilligan, we SEE you prancing around in joyful anticipation of world domination.)
LISTENING TO ➡️ Deep Forest @ 1992.