What's in and out for 2025 🎉 (plus winter and spring tour dates ✈️)
✈️Upcoming Winter and Spring Travel Schedule
❄️Minneapolis January 27-29
🌉San Francisco February 26-28
🧄San Jose Mar 3-4
☀️Phoenix Mar 10-11
🎸Memphis April 1-2
📚Boston Apr 23-24
🚕New York Apr 28-29
🥊Philly April 30-May 1
Available in my home base of Chicago when not travelling, and domestic/international FMTY
Jesters, kings, himbos, and whores, welcome to the true hellfire that is 2025 🎉
Alt Text: Smiling asian woman wearing gold glasses, black hair lightly curled falling over her right shoulder, wearing a light blue sheer lingerie embroidered with sheer blue and white flowers, a green bangle, and a delicate pearl necklace. She has red nails and is sitting down and pouring a glass of champagne. Her tongue is slightly sticking out as she smiles and she is looking at the viewer.
It seems that our city’s carrier pigeons have been working over time! My mailbox has been inundated with ink splashed inquiries inscribed by quivering hands.
The uniting screaming motif of these letters: What has Chicago’s premier mistress of Flavortown declared the coveted objects/metaphysical concepts/experiences of 2025?
On the flip side, which expired containers has she tossed with disgust from the proverbial refrigerator of life?
Read on so you can be blessed with luck, prosperity, and pussy
What’s In ❤️🔥
1. Sweetness, tenderness, building relationships over time and space 💌
Thank you to the sweethearts who have generously celebrated my birthday last month with tips and gifts beyond my wildest dreams! You know how to fan the flames of romance from across state lines and time zones, and you will be thusly rewarded :)
And if you’re already feeling the spirit of lunar new year (the Chicago Chinese grocery stores certainly are READY lol), I dooooo have a wishlist
2. Brutalism 🏗️
The history of our built environment, especially architecture, has always fascinated me. Contemporary architecture critics have always looked askance at the seeming oppressive bulk and uniformity of brutalist architecture. I believe that we need to reexamine our hostility. There’s so much focus on the artistic and historical significance of privately owned buildings and homes, but why is there not such an eye trained on buildings rooted in the utopian ideas public ownership and communal living?
3. Mobility of mind, spirit, and body ✨
I’m literally trying to stretch more by enjoying the sensation and the slowness despite my desire for instant gratification. I’ve also been reading this holiday and enjoying the intricately crafted sentences of Kaveh Akbar’s debut novel, “Martyr!” that just unfurl with such luscious word play, and linguistic gymnastics.
How do you stretch yourself?
4. Boredom 💭
When was the last time you let your mind wander without your phone or a smart electronic? What was it like to ponder the thoughts in your mind, to contemplate all their facets, to chase an idea and play with it like a cat plays with a ball of string? To paraphrase, philosopher and author of the book “Burnout Society”, Byung Chul-Han, deep attention, an undivided contemplation produces culture.
Walter Benjamin describes boredom as “ warm grey fabric, on the inside, with the most lustrous and colorful silks”; “in this fabric, we wrap ourselves when we dream”. What does boredom produce? For me, I’m finally able to to be present, to dream, to let the mind wander. I hope you find and savor these moments of deep attention together with me, yourself, or others this year.
Alt Text: Smiling asian woman wearing gold glasses, black hair lightly curled falling over her right shoulder, wearing a light blue sheer lingerie embroidered with sheer blue and white flowers, a green bangle, and a delicate pearl necklace. She has red nails and is sitting down and pouring a glass of champagne. She is sitting down and looking at the glass of champagne she is pouring.
5. Valuing sex workers ❤️
Nothing hotter than someone who values sex workers’ time and energy!
6. Date Night at Kasama 🇵🇭
I love learning about the complex culinary stories and flavors of Filipino cuisine. It would mean so much to plan a romantic date at Kasama this year!
7. Experimental alcohol infusions 🍸
I’m going to start doing a garden compost infusion this month thanks to the gift of Little Deb’s cook book from a Floridian lover! Please let me know if you have any alcohol infusions you’ve made! It’s been a minute since my Buddah’s palm infusion and I would love any hot tips you have.
I would also LOVE to play around with some of the recipes in my Aviary cookbook which was also gifted by a Texan lover! Please let me know if you would like to do a cocktail date where we learn about the joys and trials of sous vide, tinctures, weird ice, gelee, and more.
8. DVDs and physical media in general 📀
Jeff Bezos and his grimy bald self will not own the physical means of media if I can do anything about it. Thank you to a certain Minneapolis lover who gifted me a DVD capable of broadcasting multiple regions!!!!!
9. Dates with me and my dog! 🐶
She’s super precious and loves people! However, she leaves people alone after she’s greeted them. It would be my dream to enjoy a staycation!
10. Free Palestine 🇵🇸
Goes without saying, please continue to donate to families trapped in Palestine. It is a moral crime that our tax dollars are used to bomb innocent civilians in refugee camps, hospitals, schools, and churches.
Please donate to the following gofundme’s and fundraisers. If you donate more than $100 and email me your receipt, I will offer $100 or more off our time together to show how much your generosity and commitment to justice means to me.
If you’re new to my blog and want to understand more about Israel’s genocide in Palestine, I recommend reading these articles.
Alt Text: Landscape photo of a smiling asian woman wearing gold glasses, black hair lightly curled falling over her right shoulder, wearing a light blue sheer lingerie embroidered with sheer blue and white flowers, a green bangle, and a delicate pearl necklace. She has red nails and is raising her glass of champagne to toast the viewer who is out of frame, but holding a glass of champagne as well.
What’s Out 👎
Messaging me constantly without acknowledging the value of my time
Fast Fashion and Faux leather
Potholes in Chicago
Unflavorful American vegan snacks
Pretending lotion and tongue scrapers don’t exist
AI and Chat GPT
Takeout containers without interchangeable lids
Astroglide, the worst lube ever
Smartphones, I preferably would like a brick phone at this point
The squirrels trying to break into my apartment
May our year to be filled with sweetness, ease, contemplation, and action.
To close, if I may quote our poet laureate, JP Brammer, may the microplastics in me see the microplastics in you this 2025 and until then…
XOXO,
Josie Qu 🍳
Smiling asian woman wearing gold glasses, black hair lightly curled falling over her right shoulder, wearing a light blue sheer lingerie embroidered with sheer blue and white flowers, a green bangle, and a delicate pearl necklace. She has red nails and is sitting down and pouring a glass of champagne. She is sitting down and laughing as she pops open a bottle of champagne.