Friday Faves 10/11: Sinclair, Stew, Chili, Ireland, Zodiac, and a Guest Writer

Best Activity

Golf for my dad: This Saturday a group of friends and family gathered for a round of golf to remember my dad. I wrote about it here…

Shaed at The Sinclair: Boston is not lacking for concert venues; however, most of them are rather flawed. My favorite place to see a concert is The Sinclair in Harvard Square. It’s a small spot, but they’ve had some cool acts come through over the years (it also has a delicious restaurant attached to it). It has the feel of a small House of Blues. It’s all general admission, with a simple balcony and very small bench seating. Drinks are affordable, especially compared to House of Blues or the TDGarden or anywhere else in Boston.

On Tuesday morning, Tiff texted me and asked if I wanted to see Shaed at the Sinclair that night. Tickets were cheap (18 bucks at the door) and she had just discovered them the pervious weekend. We decided to go and it was a lot of fun. The group is comprised of a lead singer, Chelsea Lee, and identical twins, Max and Spencer Ernst (one of which is married to Chelsea). Max and Spencer play bass, guitar, keyboard, electric drums, tambourine, and anything else that makes noise. Apparently they were all friends in middle school. Check out their pop sounds here. Trampoline is their big hit.

We caught the opener, Absofacto, for the last couple songs. They were pretty interesting, too.

Best Listen

WHOOP Podcast on Alcohol: #SoberOctober is sweeping the nation (I’d like to think I was ahead of the curve with Sober September…). WHOOP is a device that is built to track sleep and other stats and recovery. It’s popular with athletes and teams are using the tracker. This particular episode covers the effects of alcohol on our body, mainly our sleep and recovery.

MONSTER Zodiac: You thought we’d go a week without some horrible murderous podcast to listen to? I loved Atlanta Monster (which was also a major topic in Netflix’s Mindhunter). This Zodiac series is 15 episodes and covers the Zodiac murders that started in the 1960s. It’s really well done and it made me want to rewatch the movie Zodiac from 2008.

Bon Iver i,i: This album has been out for a while, but I just got around to listening to it this week, mainly at my brother’s urging. Bon Iver is playing TDGarden next week, and I am considering getting some last minute tickets. The album is right down the Bon Iver alley, atmospheric and playable all the way through. It fits in with the cold weather that is descending upon Boston this week. “iMi” and “Hey, Ma” are my two favorites after a few listens this week.

Best Read

A Course Called Ireland: A golf trip to Ireland is on most golfer’s wish list. Tom Coyne decided to take it a (crazy) step further. He decided to play all 40 seaside links courses in Ireland. However, he wanted to walk the roads of Ireland, almost like he was playing one huge golf course. The five month trip, where he walked to and from each course and B&B (no cars allowed at all), was insane. Due to his walks, he stumbled upon places he might not have seen if he was zipping around in a car. Coyne is an excellent, humorous, and humble writer. He brings Ireland to life and I enjoyed visiting it with him, especially the courses and towns that I have been to myself.

Best Watch

Gary Gulman HBO Special: I think the argument can be made that the northern corridor of I-93 in Massachusetts (and just over the border in NH) has created some of the best comedians over the last generation. Gary Gulman, born in Peabody, MA, is part of this cadre of hilarity. Gulman’s newest special tackles his struggles with what he calls “The Great Depresh.” He was buckled by depression four years ago and has just really foudn his way back to square, but it’s always a battle. The special is clever as it goes from classic stand-up to some interviews with Gulman’s mom and wife.

Best Eat

My mom’s Stew: It’s that time of year, warm rib-sticking food is back on the menu! This weekend, I was out at my mom’s house and she made stew. It was a staple of my childhood winters, we’d get home from church on a Saturday evening and have stew. My mom, in true Irish fashion, serves her stew with a side of potatoes. You know, just in case…

Homemade Skyline Chili: When you marry someone from southern Ohio, Skyline Chili is going to find you. Tiff made a batch this weekend for us. If you’re really looking for the authentic experience, eat it over spaghetti. Some claim it isn’t even chili because it has no beans. Those people are wrong.

Best Drink

Dram CBD Seltzer: (We have a guest writer! Here’s Tiff!) I’ve been drinking the Dram Apothecary Gingergrass CBD sparkling water nightly for over a week now, and have noticed a substantial difference in my quality of sleep. Dram describes these beverages as “cheerful and aromatic”, and I have to agree- I’m definitely more cheerful when I drink these.

I have no idea what “adaptogens” are, but I like whatever they’re doing. These do not make you sleepy, or really change your mood at all... they just somehow enable you to power through the BS (Editor’s Note: As far as I know I am not the BS…). Maybe it’s placebo and good marketing, or maybe there’s something to the mix of herbs and Colorado-grown Hemp CBD.”

Toss your favorites in the comment section.

Natural Feedback For Kids Will Help Them Cope As Adults

I spent two days this week caddying in the Massachusetts Amateur championship for my friend Matt. It was an enjoyable two days at one of the most famous courses in American golf, The Country Club, surrounded by the best amateur players in the state. Matt played in the same threesome with two other competitors for both rounds, one on Monday and one on Tuesday.

Matt and I are college friends, so we’re both in our 30’s (although he likes to remind me I graduated a couple years ahead of him…). The two kids (yes, kids) Matt was playing with are college golfers. Matt and I also played college golf (Matt played much better college golf than I did… he doesn’t remind me of this, but the fact that I was carrying his golf clubs was enough of a reminder…).

Over the course of two rounds, the teacher in me couldn’t help but observe these two 20-year-olds as they navigated the golf course. The two of them were incredibly impressive, both when they were playing great and when things went pear-shaped. it’s so easy to blame outside forces for a bad shot or an unlucky bounce.

36 holes of tournament golf is challenging. It becomes more challenging when the course is hard and the stakes are high. Over the course of two rounds most players in this tournament hit about 155 shots. That leaves plenty of room for great, good, bad, and horrible shots. It leaves room for lucky bounces and unlucky bounces. It leaves room for high emotions and low emotions. It leaves room for our minds to have laser-focus and to wander.

One of the kids played the third hole, a par 4, in 14 shots total over two days. He made a score of seven, twice. He got stuck in some incredibly gnarly, high rough the first round and physically couldn’t hit the ball out of it. The second time playing the hole he hit his tee shot in the same long grass and we couldn’t even find the ball. He had to run back to the tee box and start the hole over with a two-shot penalty. Just devastating. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t moan. He just played, and he finished the round incredibly strong. I think he might have played the final 12 holes in 2-under par, which is quite impressive.

This experience got me thinking about the different types of feedback and learning experiences kids have as they grow up. There’s the social feedback, which is often out of our control when we are growing up. There’s the academic feedback, which feels objective when it’s bad (Mr. so-and-so HATES me, that’s why he gave be a B-) but in our control when it’s good (I worked so hard on that project and I earned that A…).

Those two types of feedback exist for every single child. How that feedback effects each child, the weight of the feedback, is different depending on each kid. For some, the social aspect matters more. For others, academic feedback is the end-all be-all.

I believe there’s a third type of feedback that exists. It’s the feedback that children seek out themselves. The feedback that exists through sports or musical instruments or youth group or other extracurricular activities/hobbies. If a child (or even an adult) puts too much value in academic (professional) or social feedback, it will create an imbalance that can leave out the third form of feedback. Likewise, if a person overvalues their extracurriculars, the other two items can suffer.

During our childhood, most of our our parents sign us up for stuff. They put us in positions to try things or offer us the freedom to choose for ourselves. We like some things. We hate others. We quit some activities. We stick with some of them. I realized this week during the MassAm how grateful I was that my mom signed me and my dad up for golf lessons when I was 7. This one small Christmas gift that I couldn’t hold in my hand while we were sitting around the Christmas tree has been the gift that has kept on giving. It allowed me the opportunity to pursue something I really liked. I cannot remember one day where I was forced to go to lessons. I asked for rides to the driving range. I asked for rides to the golf course. I asked to be picked up at sundown.

I loved the feedback. I loved the chase. I loved the challenge. I loved the hours spent with my dad, they are some of my fondest memories I have of him.

Sports and instruments are unbiased in their feedback. Coaches are not. Judges are not. But the sport itself lets you know where you stand rather quickly and fiercely. The natural feedback, sometimes fair and sometimes unfair, is more powerful than any other feedback. It forces you to take a breath, evaluate, calm down, and move on. Getting mad, blaming others, or wallowing in the past will get you nowhere (or, worse, it will send you spiraling downwards).

The two college kids I watched play on Monday and Tuesday won’t be professional golfers, they’ll have to find jobs just like nearly every other kid that plays golf growing up. But the experience that golf gave them, the ability to accept results and move on, will serve them well.

All kids should have the same experience, no matter what activity they choose. They should find something they love to do, pursue it, and receive as much feedback (both positive and negative) to help them learn and grow as they mature into adults.

Friday Faves week of 6/21: Caddying, T. Swift, Freddy Adu, Meryl Streep, and Fluff!

Every Friday, I plan on sharing stuff I liked from my week. The busyness of summer typically leads to a break in routine and doing stuff we like (I know, I know…this is from a teacher’s perspective.). Selfishly, this will be a great way to track my weeks and remember music, books, TV, podcasts, articles, recipes, places, adventures, and anything else that stuck out for me during the week.

Feel free to add your own Faves in the comment section.

Best activity

This past Monday, the first official day of my summer, I pulled myself out of bed at 6am to drive to Plymouth to caddy for my friend Matt who was trying to qualify for the Massachusetts Amateur Championship.

It was a blast watching him play golf on a great course, especially on the back 9 when he shot a 31 and qualified for his first ever for the Mass Am. It’s a pretty big deal.

It was a good way to start the week.

Best Listens

Taylor Swift’s new song, “You Need to Calm Down” has been making headlines and I’ve been listening to it on repeat. Yes, the message in the song is very “on the nose”, and the music video drives the point home even further, but the tune is catchy and I like some of the lyrics.

However, T. Swift isn’t the only female artist on my radar right now. A bunch of other female pop-stars are invading my ears, too. And I am just fine with it.

Grace VanderWaal first hit the scene on America’s Got Talent as a young girl. Now she’s (kind of) all grown up and her music is great. Here’s her music video for her new single “Stray” and if I were to direct you to a couple other songs I’d say listen to “Moonlight” and “So Much More Than This” should be on your list.

Next month, my wife and I are heading to Portland, ME to see Maggie Rogers in concert with some friends. I’ve been regularly listening to her album for the last month or so. She is like a super-powered Ingrid Michaelson (note: I love Michaelson, but when you listen to them back-to-back, Roger’s voice just packs more of a punch). Give “Light On” and “Fallingwater” a listen this weekend.

While my last listen isn’t a female pop artist, I’d be remiss to not give a quick shoutout to Vampire Weekend’s new album “Father of the Bride” which is not, sadly, a concept album to pair with the Steve Martin movie. However, it’s a great album with a lot of stuff going on. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite Vampire Weekend album, but it has some of my favorite songs: “This Life”, “Harmony Hall”, and “Stranger” are the songs I seek out the most. You’ll think you’re listening to George Michael, Paul Simon, The Grateful Dead, and The Talking Heads as work your way through the album. Bonus points to Vampire Weekend for including Danielle Haim on a bunch of the songs. Her and her sister (Haim) are awesome, too.

Best Reads - Music and soccer

NYTimes on T. Swift

Like I said above, the Taylor Swift single has been getting the attention of a lot of critics. The New York Times has a great piece with three of their critics debating the song and the music video. They’re smart, so you should read it.

What ever happened to Freddy Adu?

Freddy Adu was a 14 year-old wonder kid. The future of American soccer at the turn of the century. He was going to deliver the United States a World Cup. Then, things got hard. At 30, he’s still hoping to get back on the field. He probably never will…

Harry Potter

My friend Laura bought me the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as a gift on my last day of school. I read the series when I started teaching, figuring it was too powerful a force to avoid. I needed some “classroom cred,” so I plowed through the books just in time for the release of the final book.

I picked up the book yesterday evening and started reading it again. I plan on making my way through the series again because it’s alway good to reread books.

Best Eats

Giant brand sunflower seeds

I don’t, and never have, dipped chewing tobacco. I have enough friends with horror stories that typically culminate in vomiting, passing out in a shower, or both... However, when I am golfing I do enjoy a good sunflower seed. I have tried all sorts of flavors: Dill, Bacon, Frank’s Red Hot, cracked pepper. But my friend Pat handed me Giant’s Kettle Cooked seeds and I finished the bag this week. They have just the right amount of sweetness (think Kettle Corn popcorn). They’re so good, that sometimes I don’t even spit the shell out; I just chew on them until they’re crunched up enough to swallow.

The Black Bean and Avocado Torta at Monument

My wife and I are regulars at Monument Tavern in Charlestown. It’s delicious and the 3 minute walk from our apartment makes it very convenient on nights when we look at each other with the realization that we’re both unmotivated to cook dinner. On Wednesday, my wife was at a work function so I decided to grab dinner at the bar. This torta is my go to when I don’t feel like eating meat (read: when I’ve had too much meat already during the day/week). It’s spicy and packed with fresh ingredients, the bread is superb, and the side salad is so damn good you’ll consider bypassing their “half fries/half salad” option, which is what I did on Wednesday. It’s the best side salad you’re going to find in Boston (or maybe anywhere on this planet).

Fluff

As I wandered through Market Basket this week, there was a huge display for Fluff. The Somerville invention has never graced our cupboards before. That is no longer true. I forgot how delicious it is with peanut butter (or just alone on a spoon).

Best Watches

The Bachelorette

This is my greatest guilty pleasure, and I have managed to make my wife watch it with me over the last six years. This season is particularly good, even though Monday’s episode was a bit of a flop.

If you’ve never watched, you can just listen to the podcast my wife and I do each week. We watch segments of the show, pause it, record our pod for 15 minutes, then keep watching, pause, and record some more.

You can listen here to The Random Division (and tell any of your friends!).

Big Little Lies

The second season of Big Little Lies came out a couple weeks ago. We watched the first two episodes back-to-back this week. The show is outstanding and I think one of my favorite parts of the show is the tour de force of female actresses, which was made stronger by the addition of Meryl Streep.

My affinity for Monterrey, CA and the fact that I can relate to some of the school nonsense (the first season culminates with a death at an over-the-top private school Gala) makes this show hit close to home. But the acting and the story is awesome.

What were your Faves this week? Add them in the comments!

Have a great weekend and we’ll see you back here on Monday.