Every Friday, I post some of the coolest things I found (or explored) that week. I borrowed the concept from Tim Ferriss’ 5-Bullet Friday. Since I don’t want to commit to exactly 5 things, there will only be some points, which may change from week to week. My main motivation is to keep up the habit of regular blog posts with little effort, and to have a little archive of cool things I’ve stumbled upon.
What I’m listening to
Paramore was the opening band for Taylor Swift in Munich this year. I didn’t know them before, but I loved their performance. So I checked out their songs the days after and found some really nice gems (the Tiny Desk concert is great, too). Turns out they have been around forever. So after my weeks-long obsession with Taylor songs, I slowly got into Paramore. My current looping song is Hard Times (Apple Music, Spotify).
What I’m reading
I recently subscribed to The New York Times (digital subscription, $20/first year, then $90/year) as I wanted to stay informed during the US election. I’m impressed with what they offer and have become a fan of most of their subscriber perks, but especially their excellent news coverage (of course), the Well section, themed newsletters, NYT Audio app & podcasts, Wordle (most days I’m embarrassingly bad, my brain just can’t see words even when I have all the letters), and NYT Cooking (best cooking app I’ve ever used).
The article I probably enjoyed the most was “How Simple Exercises May Save Your Lower Back”. As a soccer goalkeeper, I have to take extra care of my lower back and thighs because most of my movements come from there. And my weaknesses have always been those neglected deep core muscles described in the article.
Through the NYT I had access to the long read “Can Saudi Arabia Buy Soccer?” about sports washing. I will never really understand why in the world rich soccer players choose to play soccer in a country with temperatures above 40°C. Now some players are doing it in their 20s, not even as a retirement plan anymore. But one sentence stuck with me:
“Sometimes my wife said some things, the way she dressed maybe needed to change. But the way I see it, the way I live [here] is amazing.”
Patriarchy at its best – as long as the man is happy, all is well. I have the feeling that only men would participate in this massive sports washing.
What I’m watching
“The Fall of Justice”. The New York Times published a video series about death row, which I find to be a strangely cruel punishment, especially when it turns out later that people didn’t commit the crimes they were accused of. Watching these stories is heartbreaking and makes me wonder when will we finally move past the death penalty?
“Project 2025 Leaks Reveal Trump Connection, While He Continues to Play Dumb” by The Daily Show I also liked and is worth watching. All I can say is they are really weird 🙂
What I’m excited about
At the moment I am most excited about the restart of my late soccer career (I wrote something about it here). In the beginning of July I joined the scouting training of BSC Eintracht/Südring and since then I am part of the first team of the club. After two weeks of training I strained my thigh and had to slow down for a few weeks (yes, I am getting old, I know).
Last week, we had our first official match, but I wasn’t fully recovered and didn’t play (unfortunately, we lost painfully 2:7). This week is the first time I feel ~98% recovered and probably ready to play in the cup match this weekend. This will be my first official match in a decade. Wish me luck!
Alright, that’s it for this week. Enjoy your weekend! 👋