Friday Faves 6/28: Portland eats, Irish murder mysteries, con-men podcasts

Happy Friday, everyone! It’s time for another Friday Faves. Thanks to Brandon (Terra Whack music video, Miley Cyrus EP, and Jenny Lewis), Kaitlin (Beartown), and Dean (affirming Vampire Weekend selection) for adding their thoughts in last week’s comments. If you came across something awesome during the week and want to share, feel free to stick it in the comments section!

Best Activity

This past week was pretty action packed. On Saturday I ran a half-marathon in Portland, ME. My wife and I, along with some friends, made a weekend of it and spent two nights in a very cool AirBnB. On Tuesday, I wrote about the different types of runners and people you see at a road race. Read it here.

I also played in a golf qualifier for the Massachusetts Amateur Championship (if you read last week’s Friday Faves, I caddied for my friend Matt who shot a 71 and qualified). Unfortunately I did not play well enough to qualify, shooting a 77. It was the first time in probably 10 years that I played in this qualifier. There is nothing like playing golf on your own when every single shot counts. No “gimmies” from 3-feet away. No teammates to bail you out. I was proud of how I played and kept my composure, and I look forward to giving it a try again in the future.

Best Listens

This week was podcast heavy for me. I spent a lot of time in the car driving up and down from Maine (twice) and I have fallen into the rhythm of listening to podcasts more than music while I drive.

I listen to a lot of sports podcasts, but I polished off two series I had been listening to this week: The Shrink Next Door and Who the Hell is Hamish. Both are podcast series investigating two very different types of con-men.

The Shrink Next Door is about a therapist who basically brainwashes a patient. The patient, Marty Markowitz, is a wealthy man who shuns his family and friends at the suggestion of his doctor. For nearly 30 years Marty is at the mercy financially, emotionally, and spiritually of his therapist.

In Who the Hell is Hamish, an Australian man takes advantage of multiple families, taking their money and leaving a wake of confused women behind. Hamish disappears and so does all the money he stole.

My last listen is an audiobook. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is an awesome audiobook with a cast of readers, including Gaiman (who has a wonderful, hypnotic voice). The story is about a boy named Nobody (“Bod” for short) who lives in a graveyard and can see and interact with ghosts. I am looking forward to finishing it.

Best Reads

I’m going to dip into a n old reading favorite, because my reading ADD has me balancing A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Harry Potter right now.

Tana French is an Irish mystery writer. She wrote a fictional series about the Dublin Murder Squad, and each book focuses on a different detective on the force. Each book’s lead detective plays a small role in the preceding book. You don’t really need to read them in order. I did, and I loved them all.

Didn’t have a lot of time to read an articles this week, but this travel piece in the NYTimes on Camden, Maine made we want to visit for a weekend.

Best Watches

If you’re reading this before 3:00pm on Friday, make sure you find a TV to watch the US Women’s Soccer team take on France in the World Cup Quarterfinal. France is the host nation and the game is sure to be a doozy. I’m not sure who Donald Trump will be rooting for after his Twitter beef with US star Megan Rapinoe.

In the last couple of weeks I rediscovered Silicon Valley. It had fallen off my radar, so I had about a season and a half to watch. It’s stupendous. Thomas Middleditch was always funny, but it feels like he has settled into the role of Richard Hendricks (a Mark Zuckerberg knock-off) and there’s more opportunities for him to flex his improve muscles (which are quite strong). The absurdity of the show and the jokes made at the expense of Silicon Valley are great. It’s a laugh out loud show. Go watch it.

I stumbled across the movie trailer for “Good Boys” this week. I am conflicted about the movie. As a 35 year old, it looks hilarious. As someone who has worked with kids, I wonder how many middle schoolers will watch this and think it’s normal. It looks hilarious and I’m glad I won’t have to deal with any potential fall out when school is back in session.

Best Eats

Portland, Maine is a food paradise. Over the weekend, we visited a bunch of spots and ate a ton of delicious foods. Here are some quick hits (restaurant name and one delicious thing I ate). Next week, I’ll have a deep dive into each restaurant because they deserve more attention.

Local 188: Confit Chicken Risotto

Pai Men Miyaki: Steamed Pork Buns

Little Giant: Steamed Mussels

Also a big shoutout to my friend Peter for hosting me in Maine for a night so we could play golf. He cooked me a delightful dinner and introduced me to a Romaine wedge salad that was grilled with a little hit of salt and finished off with a mustard vinaigrette. Toss in a few Bissell Brothers brews, pork tenderloin, a baked potato, and a view of the Maine mountains. Not too shabby.

Shameless Plugs - Two Podcasts

My wife, Tiffany, and I had my sister on our podcast this week. We watched the latest episode of the Bachelorette together and had a grand old time. Here’s the Spotify link.

I also have a sports podcast called The Imperfect Game. Mike Giblin joined me on Thursday night to talk about the NBA free agency frenzy that’s about to start on Sunday. Here’s that link.