Friday Faves 5/15: Cheeseburgers, Sketching, Jaylen Brown Dancing, Bissell Brothers, and Wind of Change
Best Activity
Sketching - I have never been much of a drawer. I doodle on my notes or while I’m on the phone or in a meeting, but last week I came across a NYTimes article about sketching and the positive impacts it can have on our mindset, even if you just take 10 minutes a day. So I did, I took 10 minutes a day, put a simple object in from of me (coffer mug, wine bottle, a vase), and just tried to sketch it. I watched a couple youtube videos and bought some pencils and a sketchpad.
The thing I’ve found the hardest about sketching is the imperfection of it all. Nothing comes out on the paper as I picture it in my head. However, this, I think, is also the value of the exercise. I have a limited ability and I’m trying to acquire a new skill on my own, and I’m doing it for no one else but myself. The better sketches happen when I stop caring, or I don’t get tied up in making it look “perfect” or “realistic.” It’s an activity I look forward to each day, and something I think about when I’m not sketching. After just a week, I am looking at objects differently: the light, the shape, my perspective. At times, I’m even ranking items: I could draw that… oh, man, I could not draw that, yet.
Like any new hobby or activity, improvement will come. With a visual activity, I’ll see the improvement from page to page, sketch to sketch. When everything around us feels stuck, it’s a nice feeling to flip through a week’s of sketches and see the passing of time and some slight improvement.
Best Watch
TaylorMade COVID Relief Golf Match - On Sunday, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolff, and Dustin Johnson will play a 2-on-2 skins game at Seminole Golf Course. Live sports are slowly making their way back. The golf course might be the star of the show though. Seminole is a golf geek’s architectural wet dream and is rarely, if ever, shown on TV and has never hosted a professional only tournament. Tune in on NBC at 2PM on Sunday… here’s the low down via GolfDigest.
Jaylen Brown dancing - This is the new, “Heading into the weekend like…” video. I’ll be honest, I hate on LeBron James for his stupid-ass videos. I know that if LeBron did this, I’d roll my eyes. You know why LeBron wouldn’t do this? Because he’s too far from the camera… you can barely tell this is Jaylen Brown.
Also, how about his hype-man in the background? Just stupendous. I choose to believe this was filmed on the side of 95 North in Wellesley.
Enjoy…
Best Listen
Gossip in the Grain - Streaming music has certainly altered my listening habits. There’s a saying in the NFL, “If you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks.” I’d say, “If you have access to all the music, you have access to no music.” I end up in these closed loops because of the algorithm. Ray LaMontagne’s newest single, We’ll Make it Through was brought to me by the robots behind Spotify. I hadn’t forgotten about LaMontagne, but I hadn’t listened to him in a while. I popped on “Gossip in the Grain” one evening this week, it was one of the rainy evenings, the type of evening you could picture LaMontange writing a new song.
Wind of Change Podcast- Could a rock ballad have possibly ended the Cold War? This podcast investigates the likelihood that the CIA wrote the hit song “Wind of Change” by German rock group the Scorpions in 1990 to become the “soundtrack to the revolution.”
Best Read
A History of the World in 6 Glasses - I finished this book last night, and it was a great, quick read. It discusses the impact of beer, wine, rum (and other distilled drinks), coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola throughout history. The book doesn’t bounce around from era to era, it follows time linearly, each drink gaining influence at different times in history. The section on the Opium War blew my mind.
The Making of Marcus Rashford - The young Manchester United star has been making an effort to feed the less fortunate in Manchester. A solid story about kindness, empathy, and perseverance. NYTimes.com.
The Outer Banks is the Show of the Year….- I wish I had written this piece. Really funny, but also full of hard truths about a really great, fun TV show. It won’t win awards, but it might win this quarantine. -SFGate
Best Eat
Summer Cheeseburgers - It was 70 degrees in Boston on Thursday. It was delightful, so we decided to fire up the grill and make some cheeseburgers. Now don’t be fooled, these were quarantine burgers to the max, frozen and thin (I went double patty…). Nothing special, some pickles and ketchup on the top. No fries. No frills. But cracking a beer, firing up the grill, and sitting out on the deck as the sun set on the end of another pandemic day was a calming slice of normal.
Best Drink
Substance by Bissell Brothers - Tiff loves Bissell’s Lux beer. In search of an escape one day, she decided to drive up to Portland and pick up some Bissell Brothers beer. She also grabbed their flagship beer called Substance. It’s a delicious IPA that isn’t super heavy or overwhelmingly bitter or hoppy. I look forward to the day we can go back to Portland, eat great food, and have a couple beers in Bissell’s tasting room.