The Bachelor has been the only reality show I’ve watched consistently over the last 15 years (I had to stop myself and do the math…). I found the show funny and intriguing and ridiculous. I roped other people into watching the show with me because watching alone felt silly. Who was going to laugh at my witty jokes and cutting observations if I was in an empty room?!
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Sunday Morning Grocery Shopping - We had a rather low-key Saturday night last weekend. Tiff planned her long run for Sunday (Big Sur Marathon is closer than it appears…), the weather was crappy, and I was fighting off a cold. That meant we were both up and at ‘em on Sunday morning. I was at Wegman’s nice and early, which was incredible. The traffic was non-existent, and the aisles in the store were peaceful.
This might speak to my relatively boring week or the rapid aging process I am experiencing, but seeing an early movie on Friday night, hanging-in on Saturday night, and grocery shopping early Sunday were delightful.
On top of that, we capped off the weekend with dinner at Orinoco, a delicious spot in the South End, with our friends Allie and Chris and then took in some jazz ambiance at The Beehive.
Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez - This Netflix docuseries is entertaining and chilling. I was left wondering what could have been for Hernandez if he could have just kept his nose clean. An incredible talent who was teamed with the greatest quarterback and tight end (Gronk) he could ask for. It’s shocking seeing the world he was living in and the crew he was running with. He believed he was invincible and worthy of endless loyalty from second-rate thugs, strangers, and anyone in between.
Sometimes, these types of documentaries make me uneasy because they start to manipulate the viewer into feeling too much sympathy for the central figure/villian: Brain damage, sexual repression, death of a father, a fractured family. Make no mistake, Hernandez was a bad dude, lacking any sort of guidance or conscience. The story is worth watching, however, I did think the sexuality angle was lazy and unnecessary, mainly because of the unsubstantiated claims.
The Gentlemen - Buckle up for more movies in this section… The Gentlemen was precisely what you’d expect from a Guy Ritchie movie. It was funny, lively, and fast-paced. Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels were some of my favorite movies to watch in college. Brad Pitt’s character in Snatch is one of my favorites in any movie anywhere. The Gentlemen has a little bit of violence (and one rather uncomfortable scene with a woman getting beaten up), but it’s not overt; a lot of it takes place off screen, with humor injected into it in in the aftermath.
Super Bowl - The sting of the end of the Patriots season is long gone, the Celtics have been a soothing salve for my sports wound. I am very much looking forward to this Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. Having spent my elementary years in the Bay Area, the Niners were always my second team (I think Kansas City wins, though…). I’ve had some fun banter with a childhood friend, Jon, who is a big Niners fan. The Jimmy Garoppolo trade juxtaposed to the Tom Brady possible exit is another interesting subplot for Patriots fans. Pat Maholmes is electric, Andy Reid can’t manage a clock (but deserves a Super Bowl), the Niners are interesting and dynamic coached by the guy that blew a 28-3 lead, there’s a Buckeye on the Niners in Nick Bosa whose name could come up quite a bit.
If you’re looking for some great insight into what it’s like to play in the Super Bowl, Chris Long is your man. He played for the Patriots one year and beat the Falcons, the next year he played for the Eagles and beat the Pats. He has some great stories for his experiences. Here’s the link.
I’m looking forward to making wings, having a few beers, and enjoying the game without any real dog in the hunt (it’s been a while…) and no fear of a slight Monday morning daze at work. I wouldn’t blame you for hating my guts following that last sentence.
Hardcore History w/ Dan Carlin - These podcasts are monsters, bordering on the length of an audiobook. A few summers ago I spent a week cleaning out my storage unit and listened to Blueprint for Armegeddon, which is a six-part, 20 hours of content about World War I. It’s exceptional. Dan Carlin is one of the few people I can think of that doesn’t need post-production to make his solo pods interesting. No music. No sound effects. Just him and his research.
I decided to take a dip back into the long podcasts and listen to them on my runs during the week. The episode The Celtic Holocaust is about five hours long. I’m about an hour into it, and plan to make a major dent this weekend during my 10 mile run. Spotify.
Maggie Rogers - I’m sitting in a Caffe Nero in Concord, MA right now killing time before a late meeting. I’m a little tired after some substitute teaching this week, and Maggie Rogers felt like the perfect shot of five hour energy. I love her album Heard it in a Past Life and was so pumped for her Best New Artist Grammy Nomination. I bet she outlasts Lizzo…
Two Things Can Be True, but One is Always Mentioned First - The Kobe Bryant news is horrible, and it’s also inundated my life this week: TV, Internet, casual conversations. It’s exhausting. This piece I thought summed up a lot of what I think about how we grieve and remember people that were famous yet made hurtful mistakes. I finished this piece feeling jealous; I wished I had written it. - The Outline.com
Tiff’s Chili - On Saturday morning, Tiff sat down on the couch with three cookbooks, determined to create an original and delicious chili inspired by some of her favorite recipes. We are participating in a chili cook-off next weekend in New Jersey, and Tiff’s competitive streak kicked into high gear. The chili will be a contender, I have no doubt. I’m not going to give anything away, because I know some of the competition reads this post. But just know, it was the best thing I ate this week.
Plantains of all kinds - At our dinner on Sunday night at Orinoco, it felt like every dish came with some form of plantain, and I loved them all. Fried or not. Stuffed or not.
Effie’s Cakes - I did not participate in a full fledged “Dry January”, but I have not had any alcohol since January 12 (which is a Herculean feat when you include the fact that I’ve been subbing the last two weeks at my old school….). My dryness, however, has created a void that tea tends to fill. At night, instead of cracking open a beer or pouring a finger or two of bourbon (or Scotch), I warm up some water and have some tea. This leads me to another vice of mine, cookies. These things go hand-in-hand: tea and a cookie. Effie’s cookies are insanely good. They are simple, with a hint of sweetness, they’re a perfect match for some tea. We can find them at Whole Foods, but much to my delight, I just discovered I can order them online! If I’m feeling frisky, I’ll put a small scoop of Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter right on top. If you don’t know cookie butter, you’re missing out…
Athletic Brewing - Full disclosure, this is not a thing I’ve had to drink since September. However, if you’re coming off a Dry January and are enjoying the boost in productivity and mood, this might be a great way to satisfy the beer craving without the crummy mornings. Our bartender at our local spot told us during dinner this weekend that he wasn’t drinking and had read four books this month as a result. Imagine being informed, sober, and still have a sudsy drink at the end of a long day. Check Athletic Brewing out.
Kobe, The Celtics, and Me - I wasn’t really sure I wanted to write anything about Kobe following the accident last weekend. There are times when I climb into bed and an idea scratches at me; Sunday was one of those nights. I woke up Monday and put some of my thoughts down. I’m not even sure it aged well in the five days it’s been out in the interwebs. I’m still trying to wrap my head around how we as a society grieve online and what it means. Kobe’s death might be the single most tragic celebrity death of the social media era. Here’s the link.
Boston Sports Cafeteria - About years years ago I wrote for a sports blog called TheFanHub. It was a blast and pushed me to write something every week. One monthly piece I did was a recap of the Boston sports scene through the lens of a high school cafeteria. I thought I’d bring it back for 2020… here a link to this month’s post.
The Random Division - Peter The Bachelor is flailing; it’s the most direct way to say it. He’s lost control of house, the women are pissed, and he just can’t get anything right. His best bet might be to try the Constanza Method where he just does the opposite of his gut instinct. Here’s a link to this week’s podcast. iTunes.
Tiff and I are looking for some questions that we can answer on the pod, so send along any questions you have for us about the Bachelor or anything else, really! TheRandomDivisionPod@Gmail.com
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There is a regal white tent out in the middle of the English countryside where the best of humanity spends its weekends. It’s a place where the people are kind, supportive, and creative. It’s a place that smells of sugar and spice and everything nice.
The Great British Baking Show is, by far, my favorite competitive food show, and it would also rank as one of my favorite shows, period. Recently, Netflix released a new season of the show, but it’s happening the old-fashioned way, one new show every Friday. No binging on sweet treats this time…
So what makes this show so wonderful?
First, the competitors on the show are unlike any group of people you will ever see. They are not competing for any money, but instead the prize at the end of this very long journey is a bouquet of flowers and a cake stand. That’s it. This final prize might be part of the reason the competitors are so incredibly kind to each other; the stakes are low. But maybe kindness courses through every single baker’s blood. Tears are shed at the elimination announcement each week. Oftentimes, the bakers will even help each other out when an extra set of hands is required, like putting the blades on a bread windmill or balancing the final cake at the top of a four cake tower. They’ll even share ingredients, and if competitors arrive at the same idea for a flavor combination, there is no whining, just maybe some good natured joking and depreciation that the other baker will probably do it better. They even cheer for each other, high fives and applause abound when someone get a good review from the judges.
Over the course of the show’s filming, the bakers return home each week. Yes, this show is filmed one week at a time. They are not holed-up for weeks on end, after two days, they go home, knowing what the next challenges will be. This means they are able to practice their skills. All while holding down steady jobs or going to school or running a household (or even some combinations of those things). That means the bakers who reach the final are competing for 11 weeks. I can barely manage my life when I have back-to-back busy weekends! It’s rather impressive.
As opposed to so many of the reality shows in the U.S, we are really not thrust into the lives of the bakers. We get a quick intro to where they live, what they do, and who is in their family. There are no clever chyrons, in fact, there are no chyrons at all. So it takes a bit of time to learn the names of the bakers. We learn about them mainly through what they bake. They all bring some form of inspiration with them to the tent, whether it’s regional flavors, a grandmother’s old recipe, or a family favorite.
The predicability of the show is comforting; it consists of three different baking challenges each week that all focus on one specialty or skill (bread, biscuits, chocolate, cake, etc.). Two of the week’s challenges allow for practice at home, but the middle challenge is a “technical” where the two judges, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, alternate in choosing a challenging, often unknown, bake for the competitors to muddle through with limited instructions. Each technical bake is judged blind. The “showstopper” allows for a lot of the folks to show off their insane imaginations and creativity.
Like any good show, there needs to be a villain, and Paul Hollywood, the silver haired, barrel-chested, baron of bread, is an excellent foil to all the revelry. He challenges contestants on their thinking, planting seeds of doubt (especially during bread week). He’ll prowl around the tent, hands shoved into pockets, seeking out missteps in order to hand out a fatherly, “I told you so…” Prue and the hosts, Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding, all balance out Paul’s energy with jokes and ribbing, mostly at Paul’s expense.
The thing about Paul, though, is that the bakers all crave his approval. It’s like the tough teacher in school, praise from them means a whole lot more than praise from a teacher that doles it out all the time. Paul’s handshake is the ultimate stamp of approval, and if you get it during bread week, well then you might as well be knighted.
The goodness that reverberates through the show is soothing. There is no loud music or harsh cuts back and forth that leave the heart racing. It’s an hour of television that transports you away from the hustle and bustle (you know impeachments and stuff…), teaches you a little bit about baking, and shows you that, yes, there are good people out there, and they love to bake.