Friday Faves: Shy Bird's Fried Chicken, Taylor Swift, NBA Returns, London Derby Trophy Game

You might be reading this on Friday July 31, or you might be reading it over the weekend on July 32 or 33. This time of the year was always a tough one as a teacher. August is a month of Sundays. The start of school year beckoning with it’s curling long, boney index finger. In August, your email is open in the eyes of many, auto-responses might elicit a scoff from parents (or even admin…).

My message to teachers this year: Milk August for all it’s worth. Spend some extra time on you and your family, this fall is going to be incredibly difficult.

Make this the greatest July 2.0 ever. You deserve it and you’ve earned it.

Best Watch

90 Day Fiance: The Other Way - What a delicious train-wreck of a show. Americans travel to other countries to marry their soul mate (hahahahaha). India, South Africa, and Ecuador lure Americans away from the comfort of home. It’s a fascinating show, I’ve been watching this by myself over the couple weeks (This would NOT make Tiff’s Friday Faves…). It’s an easy watch, good background noise or riveting TV. Whatever you want it to be.

FA Cup Final - A trophy is on the line in Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Arsenal and Chelsea face off and it should be a good game. An all-London final and a potential opportunity for Christian Pulisic, an American, to win an FA Cup. That would be a big deal. 12:30EST kick-off on Saturday on NBC.

I highly recommend listening to Arsenal hero Ian Wright on the Stadio podcast; he talks about his experience in four FA Cup Finals in the 1990s with Crystal Palace and Arsenal.

NBA is Back - It’s wild sitting in my apartment, A/C thrumming in my window and Zion, LeBron, and Kwahi on the screen playing serious basketball. Celtics start tonight (Friday…). Can’t wait to see how the whole thing shakes out.

Best Read

Salt to The Sea - I’m reading book this with my tutee for her summer reading. It’s a really great, fast read. It takes place during World War II as the Germans are losing grip and refugees begin fleeing from the country before the Russians sweep through Poland and Germany. The story is told from the perspective of four characters. If you have a historical fiction fan in your house, or if you’re one yourself, this is a good, but intense, read. Amazon. I’ve also been reading Three Minutes in Poland, which goes hand-in-hand with Salt to the Sea. Three Minutes is a true story about an old vacation video from 1938 Poland. The author goes on a hunt to find the stories behind the people and his grandfather’s vacation. The stories he hears about the Holocaust and the diaspora that it caused are extraordinary.

Silence, solitude and sadness for Leganés after desperate La Liga finale - Soccer writing, when done well, can be really beautiful. This Sid Lowe piece about the dying moments of Leganes in Spain’s La Liga. The city hit hardest by the coronavirus, and the perennial little brother in a league of money of power, met their match this week. But not without one last fight. Guardian.com

Best Listen

“folklore” - Few artists could drop a surprise album at midnight that I’d listen to first thing in morning. Taylor Swift is one of those few. The album is pretty good, but different from a lot of here other stuff. Much more low key, no summer bangers that like “Shake it Off” (which came out summer 2014). It’s not my favorite album of hers, but it’s worth a listen because, well, she’s Taylor Swift. Also, the podcast “Switched on Pop” has a phenomenal episode dissecting the album.

Best Eat

Shy Bird - This was a new one for us this weekend. We had friends in town and stayed in on Saturday night instead of venturing out into the world. Shy Bird is in Kendall Square and it’s delicious. Their fried chicken should be on more lists because it’s delightful. We ordered their nuggets along with five pieces of their friend chicken, and good golly, the whatever they put on the batter is amazing. If you live in the Boston/Cambridge area, this place should be on your short list when you pose the question, “What could we order for take out.” Here’s the menu…

Best Drink

High West Campfire - I like bourbon and I like Scotch. This is a crazy mix of the two whiskeys. It has a smokey flavor to it, like Scotch, but the smooth sweetness of bourbon. Brown booze doesn’t always vibe with 90+ summer days, but somehow, this one works on a July evening.

Best Plugs

Mailbag - I wrote a mailbag this week. The three questions I received were about golf. You can read it here… If you have a question about anything for the next mailbag, write to StayhomeHusband@gmail.com.

Golf Goals - I’ve been busy playing golf and taking pictures of courses. It’s been a blast and I am looking forward to getting out and playing a handful of rounds in the next couple weeks (including a tournament!). I played two rounds last weekend. Follow me on IG (or just click this link to check out my posts). I’m also collecting all my writings on the blog here.