Welcome back for another Weekly Rapport. I somehow managed to put together four posts in the last month so I’m patting myself on the back. New year, new me.
As always, please feel free to message me however you wish with feedback, recommendations on the layout of the site, or just to tell me you’re having a shitty week and need someone to listen. All commentary is welcome.
Here’s your weekly guide of things I’m enjoying, consuming, using and loving. Enjoy.
Book I’m Reading
Tiger Woods – Jeff Benedict & Arman Keteyian
I bought this for my brother’s birthday a few months ago and I couldn’t wait for him to finish it so I could read it myself. I’m about two-thirds in right now and it’s pretty wild. I previously read Hank Haney’s tell-all book on Tiger Woods, The Big Miss – which was mainly just trashing how weird and socially awkward Tiger is. This book dives much deeper. It goes in to his childhood and the psychological effect his parents had on him by basically veering him towards a solitary, disciplined, introverted lifestyle on his pathway to young stardom. It’s easy to forget how unbelievably dominant he was in the early 2000’s. It was basically a foregone conclusion before every tournmanent that he was going to win. It was just a question of by how many strokes, or in what new and creative way he was going to do it. But behind all the success, was a man deeply troubled by his lonliness, trust issues, sexual needs, and absolute obsession with being the greatest of all time – without caring about who he hurt or left behind along the way.
Of all the ridiculous stats and highlights surrounding his golf career, one of the more absurd ones was the the British Open in 2001 at the Old Course at St. Andrews – not only did he beat the second-place golfer by 8 strokes and a final score of 19-under, he played in wind and rainy conditions without once hitting a sand trap in all four rounds… The only player to do so that week. In 2000-2001 Tiger Woods was playing golf on a different planet.
Professional golfers were literally star struck and spell bound at his abilities
“He’s the best who ever played,” Mark Calcavecchia said. “And he’s only 24.”
Broadway Show I Loved
The New One with Mike Birbiglia
My brother got me tickets to see Mike Birbiglia on Broadway. If you’re a fan of stand-up comedy, you know who he is. If not, don’t worry since he’s not exactly a household name – although he should be. I’ve always said he’s more of a hilarious story teller than he is a comedian, which might have been his reasoning for doing a Broadway show. It’s a 90-minute stand up show covering one subject and it was amazing. There are no other actors or performances, just Mike telling stories. If you haven’t heard of him, do yourself a favor and check out his specials on Netflix or YouTube. He also has a movie on Netflix, in which he stars, called Sleepwalk With Me.
Photo That is Still Blowing my Mind
This is Zion Williamson. The #1 rated college basketball player in the country. He is 6’7, 285 lbs and he jumps THIS HIGH. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
This looks fake. By the way, the guy is about to block is 6’9. Carry on, Zion.
See you on the Knicks next year? *crosses fingers*
Great Reads Across the Internet
- Our Obsession With Taking Photos is Changing How We Remember the Past – anywhere you go – a concert, a museum, or a sports game – no one is actually enjoying the thing happening, just taking pictures of videos. I’m guilty of this myself. We’re creating a file storage system of our memories on our devices without every actually living through them with our own memores. Is this affecting the way we remember things? Do you actually remember what that meal tasted like, or do you just have the picture on your Instagram as your only lasting memory?
- Every Building on Every Block: A Time Capsule of 1930’s New York – “In the late 1930s and early 1940s, New York City sent photographers to every building in every borough in an attempt to make property tax assessments fairer and more accurate.” The city recently digitized those images and brought them to life.
Snapshot of My Amazon Wish List of Books
Every time I hear someone rave about a book – whether in an interview, podcast, book, or television show – I always log in to my Amazon account and add it to my Wish List. I have more books on my wishlist than I could read in a lifetime, but here are some of the more recent ones I’ve taken note of and will probably purchase at some point in the near or distant future.
Music
Someone recentlty asked me my favorite song of all time. While I don’t have a definitive list, this one is definitely up there.
Give Me One Reason – Tracy Chapman & Eric Clapton (Live Version)
The original song itself is great, and I love Tracy Chapman. But I think adding Eric Clapton’s solo blues riffs and deeper voice to complement in between Chapman’s verses makes it much more memorable. Gives me chills every time. Track 8
In case you were wondering about the rest of my top ten (I wasn’t) here are the rest! These are always changing and tentative to my mood, but usually remain in my stable of best songs ever made (in my opinion):
- Heard it Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye OR Creedence Clearwater Revival
- America the Beautiful – Ray Charles
- Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
- Superstition – Stevie Wonder
- Use Me – Bill Withers
- American Pie – Don McLean
- Come Together – The Beatles
- Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding
- Into the Mystic – Van Morrison
- Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry
Have a good one y’all
-KB