The Friday High Five

On Shoes, Dark Chocolate, and Liquid Fire

20th Century Fox

Every Friday I share 5 things I enjoyed this week. Also, high fives are inherently cool, and I think we can all agree Friday is the bestest day. Hence the Friday High Five. 🙏🏻

Today’s High Five comes from the 2006 film Borat. I only saw it the one time, probably in 2006, so I don’t recall much of the movie other than that it was a) hilarious; and b) super inappropriate. The kind of inappropriate that makes you wonder if you should be laughing.

The only two things I remember about this movie is how Borat says ‘high five’ when he tries to get someone to high five him for saying something offensive or stupid (or both). And the scene where he runs around the hotel room naked while wrestling another man, who my scarred memory tells me was also naked.

If you are now remembering this scene too: You’re welcome. High five!

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5 Things I Enjoyed This Week:

• Shoe Dog

• The Mandalorian

• Brookside Dark Chocolate

• Overwatch 2

• Hot Ones

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Shoe Dog

Though I haven’t had a chance yet to see Air, the very fact that Nike is top-of-mind inspired me to finally crack open Shoe Dog, a memoir by Phil Knight about Nike’s startup and early days. And while I’m predisposed to like this sort of content, I didn’t expect to love the book so much. I’m devouring it every chance I get.

Shoe Dog is a riveting read, but what I didn’t expect was it would also be a Good Book. The writing is often sublime. Highly recommended!

The Mandalorian

So I finally got a chance to watch the finale. I have thoughts, about the episode, and the season, probably more than I have the space to explore here. I liked the episode, and the season—I mean, it’s Star Wars—but it was pretty uneven. When you see how the careful plotting and tension-building of Andor plays out, a two-episode Mandalorian finale which amounts to one sprawling set piece feels a bit lackluster, even if it was thrilling and exciting.

Season 2 > Season 1 > Season 3

Brookside Dark Chocolate

I have been an avid Brookside enthusiast since my wife said, “here, try these,” years ago. Costco sells Brookside in like 5 pound bags, which is dangerously excessive. Clearly. And yet we have a few such bags in the house. Which is why I don’t get to go to Costco anymore.

Look: It’s my wife’s fault for making me try them in the first place.

Overwatch 2

This spot was going to go to the NFL draft, but my Detroit Lions did Detroit Lions things last night, and I don’t wanna talk about it. The wounds are yet fresh.

Instead, I’ll talk about the game I’ve been playing when I have a spare 20 minutes and feel the need to blow something up. I’ve been playing Overwatch for years. I like the class-based format and that I can finish a few games in an hour and move on with my life. I wrote about my favorite character and how he matches my worldview several years ago on Medium. The publication (Superjump) moved off of Medium last year and recently republished my story.

I read it again (most writers are filthy egotists at heart, and love nothing more than marinating in their own words) and found it rather good. I think you will, too.

Hot Ones

Hot Ones is basically the greatest thing on YouTube. The premise is simple: A host interviews a celebrity while the two of them eat increasingly hot wings. Since the celeb is distracted by the liquid fire in their mouth, their answers tend to be less-rehearsed and more real.

But the show’s secret weapon is the host. Sean Evans is the greatest interviewer ever. The questions he comes up with are interesting and he is just a smart dude. There’s a reason celebs keep booking his show despite the physical discomfort.

Not sure which episode I’d consider my favorite. Dave Grohl was a legendary episode. I recently enjoyed Pedro Pascal and Jake Gyllenhaal. But I guess I’ll drop Paul Rudd, as the guy is just so damn likable.

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What are you into at the moment? Leave a comment and let me know!

If you enjoyed this, please like it and share it with someone. It’s the best way to show your appreciation and it would mean a lot to me. :)