Good Morning/Nite Dazees,

There is more shit going on in the world than just your shit.

That hit home for me this week because I’ve been so “locked in” on Green Wednesdaze and Nap Pack that everything else started becoming background noise.

I missed a good friend’s birthday and a family gathering. I would’ve never even known if I wasn’t up at 2AM doom scrolling and saw everybody celebrating without me. It's not just personal shit either. I had no clue families in Gary, Indiana had gone nearly two weeks without power. How was I that uninformed?

Somewhere along the way we made being unavailable sound aspirational. Locked in. Head down. Zero distractions. Sometimes that’s focus. Sometimes it’s being a shitty friend, family member or citizen with better branding. If people you love are celebrating without you or your community is suffering and you don’t know, “I’m busy” doesn’t mean SHIT.

It’s okay to lock in. It’s not an excuse to check out.

Lucky number this week: 225

225 W. 5th Ave. is the City Life Center in Gary. Storm-relief supplies can be sent there. Keith Lee partnered with The Salvation Army to help Gary, and Tyrese Haliburton matched his financial donation.

If you can do something, PLEASE do something.

Proceed with caution to the most important 764 words of your week.

-Joey

Salt Hank turned a viral French Dip into lines around the block in the West Village, and now the sandwich has made its US Open debut. Thin-sliced prime rib, caramelized onions, horseradish aioli and provolone on a baguette with au jus. Tennis has officially become my excuse to eat one of the most internet-famous sandwiches in New York.

CHREECE is another thing I almost missed. The festival takes over Fountain Square on August 29 with 70+ artists across eight venues, and I would’ve been sick if I missed two of my favorite artists performing.

Laylo hits Square Cat Vinyl at 2:30 PM and MMYP performs at Hotboys at 6:40 PM. I talk all this shit about supporting creatives, so showing up is the bare minimum. Plus Rico Nasty is headlining. It’s back outside time.

Lemon terps are finally getting some shine again and now LuLu Lemon has me ready to annoy every plug in my phone.

The problem is everybody seems to have their own version.

Here are the three I’ve got my eye on:

Fiya Farmer: (Lemon Tree × Cream Smoothie) × (Sweet Retreat × Z)
Preferred Gardens: (Lemon Tree × Cream Smoothie) × Fun Dip
Superb: (Lemon Tree × Cream Smoothie) × (Sweet Retreat × Zkittles)

Fiya Farmer is supposed to be the OG but that doesn’t automatically make that version the best, and I only want the best.

So I’m putting out an APB to every plug I know.

It’s time to run a lemon terp tournament.

Think about your go-to meal when you eat out. Burger and fries. Wings. Chicken sandwich. Whatever.

Now ask yourself: Does it actually taste different from restaurant to restaurant?

Different logo. Different decor. Different “house sauce.” Somehow I keep getting the same brioche bun, the same fries and a burger that tastes suspiciously familiar.

Then I went down the Sysco rabbit hole.

Regulators blocked Sysco from buying US Foods in 2015 because the combined company would’ve controlled 75% of national broadline food distribution. Now Sysco is trying to buy Restaurant Depot for $29.1 billion.

If restaurants are only shopping from the same enormous suppliers and the same catalogs, how different are these restaurants really?

Maybe we’re not getting more choices.

Maybe we’re eating at the same restaurant with different decor.