Friday Faves 5/22: Killing Eve, Carly Rae Jepson, Churchill, Painkillers, Meatball Subs, and Skillet Cookies

We’ve all been asked “How are you doing” at some point during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, if we were asked how we were doing the stock answers were: “fine” or “good” or “busy.”

The state of being “busy” has dissolved in many of our lives. If we are busy during this current period, it’s typically because of family. Admitting we’re busy might lead us down the road of complaining about the people in our homes that are keeping us busy: kids, spouses, parents. Then we’re in a quagmire of awkward, unwanted conversation about how agitated we are by our loved ones.

However, there’s also the feeling that admitting you’re doing “great” (or even just “good”) is taboo. If you are brave enough to say you’re doing “great”, you still have to hedge your “great” mood with a recognition of how terrible everything is right now. It’s a vicious cycle that immediately makes you feel crappy again because the conversation veers down the path of complaining about being trapped in our houses and the fear of losing the summer and all the horrible things that have been stolen from us. It sucks and it’s exhausting.

And it’s the same thing over and over again.

Why does it feel so uncomfortable to say we’re doing “great”? Why can’t a section of the day, no matter how small, even during this pandemic, bring us a bit of joy, and why can’t we share that joy with others without feeling guilty. I’d venture that if someone said they were doing great and then explained why, it might actually make others find their own bits of joy in their days beyond the fact that the sun is shining or the weather is improving (which has become the default “positive” statement right now in my world).

I hope you all find something great this weekend.

Best Watch

Killing Eve: I’m doubling down on this. I wrote about Killing Eve a few weeks ago when we had only watched three episodes. Now we’re just about done with the second season, and I am here to tell you to open up Hulu and watch this show. Jodie Comer, who plays the assassin Villanelle, is fabulous. She’s one of my favorite TV characters of all-time. Yes, she’s a ruthless psychopath, but we find ourselves laughing multiple times an episode because of her. The scenes with Sandra Oh, who plays Eve, and Jodie Comer are exceptional and typically range from 5-12 minutes. The origination of the show is interesting; a dance writer for the Observer, Luke Jennings, self-published the books on Amazon. They picked up steam and Jennings suddenly was creating the show alongside Phoebe Waller-Bridges. Here’s a story about it from The Guardian.

And here’s a minute clip of Villanelle to give you a sense of the various personalities she takes on…

Best Read

Summer Reading List: Yes, summer is coming. Summer is usually like a yappy dog with bells on its collar, you know when it’s coming. Not this year, it snuck up on us because, well, Corona. New York Times offers a list of reading for the beach, couch, or the fetal position.

The Splendid and the Vile: Sometimes a book comes out at the perfect time. Erik Larson’s new book The Splendid and the Vile is one of those books. It covers Winston Churchill’s first year as Prime Minister. Within a week of his appointment in May 1940, France fell to Hitler’s Germany. Four months later, the Germans started bombing London and didn’t stop. The British experience during these months, with a massive army just across the English Channel ready to pounce is astounding. When the night raids started, Londoners flocked to the subways to sleep, as many as 177,000 a night, to avoid the bombs. Others slept on their top floor because they’d rather fall with the rumble than be buried underneath it. Churchill is quite the character, sometimes his behavior reads Trumpian, and then it doesn’t because he proves smart, determined, steadfast, and brave.

One quote stood out to me because it relates to this pandemic so closely: “The raids generated a paradox: The odds that any one person would die on any one night were slim, but the odds that someone, somewhere in London would die were 100 percent.”

Best Listen

Dedicated B Side by Carly Rae Jepsen: Spotify delivered this to my earballs this morning, I’m listening as I write these words right now…. Carly has a knack for writing so many songs that her B sides are better than her albums.

Sugar Calling w/ Billy Collins: This was a wonderful listen. Billy Collins is a Holy Cross grad (they’re everywhere) and former poet laureate of the United States. He reads a few poems, including one he wrote for the 9/11 joint meeting of congress in New York City. Put this on and just eves-drop on the conversation.

McKellar Podcast with Rory McIlroy: McIlroy joined this podcast for 90 minutes. It was an interesting conversation, I wrote many years ago about Rory’s honesty and willingness to talk and how refreshing it was following the Tiger meltdown in the last 2000s. I wish I knew where that post was now because I’d link to it here (I’ve looked in all the clouds…). McIlroy’s comments on President Trump went viral, but I thought they were thoughtful, much more thoughtful than anything Tom Brady or Bill Belichick have said regarding their relationship with Trump. Bonus: it’s three guys with accents from Great Britain.

Best Eat

Monument Meatball Sub: A little story about me: when I was a in third grade I was a regular at a Subway sandwich shop. It’s true, I’d walk into the store with my mom and the people knew me and would start to whip up a meatball sub. Every Tuesday was a half day at school, so this Subway was our weekly lunch spot.

The Monument version was very different from a Subway sub. It was on garlic bread, the meatballs were massive, it had a bit of kale, and the sauce was incredible. It was a special all last week, so I treated myself to the sandwich on Friday afternoon, splitting it with Tiff because it was massive. I also had to run 10 miles to feel okay about it (I didn’t do that in third grade after my Subway lunch.).

Skillet Cookies: Our friend made this last weekend during our quarantine pod gathering. We loved it so much that Tiff made it this week, too. Here’s the recipe.

Best Drink

Painkiller: It’s gonna be 85 degrees in Boston today, just about that perfect Caribbean weather for this tropical delight. We had a painkiller last weekend with some friends. It takes a very specific navy strength rum and coconut cream. Not really pantry items, but it was dynamite.

Best Plugs

I wrote three posts this week.

Monday - Live sports without fans has a voyeuristic feel to it.

Tuesday - Jordan’s “pizzagate” is complete nonsense.

Wednesday - During the pandemic we’ve been forced to think of athletes as people.

The Imperfect Game: Both and I talked about Blackburn Rovers and their heroes and villains. This was a fun one, as Both highlighted one of the greatest English strikers of all time and I dipped my toe into one of the most volatile rivalries in all of sports. iTunes (rate, review, subscribe please!)