Shallow Thoughts: World Cup Redemption, Iced Coffee and Shakey Graves
June 20th, 2014
Shallow Thoughts: Vapid headline grabbing, meandering nothings and a false sense of importance
Home Made Iced Coffee
Iced coffee is one of the best parts of the summer. When it’s unbearably hot out, iced coffee somehow makes that just a little bit more endurable. For such a simple and easy to make beverage, iced coffee can be a bit over-priced at coffee shops. Especially when it’s so easy to make at home. At home all you need is a french press to make a good iced coffee. All I do for mine is this:
Coarsely grind 1 1/4 cups of coffee and put it in your french press Add 3 1/2 cups of cold water Stir, cover, and let this sit for 12 hours at room temperature Press the grounds and pour your coffee to a new container for storage
When you drink it, all you do is add a good amount of ice, milk (optional), and a little water if you find the drink to be too strong. It ends up being a little closer to an extract in potency than regular coffee, so you can either water it down with lots of ice, milk or water.
US Soccer Gets Revenge
Ghana eliminated the USA from the world cup in 2002 and 2006. The prolific scoring Ghana squad certainly made an effort to effectively eliminate the USA again on Monday (every win counts in the group of death), but fortunately they came up short. It was amazing to see Clint Dempsey score a goal 32 seconds in, the sixth fastest World Cup Goal. After the quick start, Ghana made a strong effort to get back in the game, eventually outshooting the US 21–8, though only outshooting the US 8–7 in shot on goal attempts. The US took a heavy hit as Jozy Altidore went down with a hamstring strain in the 23rd minute, and the US squad had another scare as Dempsey took a nose-breaking kick to the face (which ultimately only sidelined him for a few minutes). The game was physical and intense for the full 95 minutes of play. After Ghana tied the game up in the 82nd minute, it was amazing to see John Brooks Jr., a defensive player from the US bench come in to score the game winning header in the 86th minute. It’s a game very few fans will forget.
Shakey Graves
This guy has the Austin alternative/country rocker thing down pretty perfectly. He’s got the look, the raspy voice, the guitar playing chops and the personality. He plays with an energy that’s impressive and charged for a solo act. Channeling his energy into the bass drum as he finger picks skillfully, he is a joy to listen to. He’s part of a larger sound coming out of Austin that makes me seriously think I need to make South By Southwest a reality in the next couple years. The music of Austin is just so electric and alive.
Gone Girl
Now that I am seemingly the last one to read this book, and David Fincher has a Ben Affleck adaptation of the book set to release this year, I’ve decided to hop on the band wagon. So far I’m over fifty percent through the book, and I can see the appeal. The writing isn’t anything mind-blowing, but there is enough intrigue to keep me turning the pages. It’ll be interesting to see how similar the movie ends up being to the book. I can’t imagine David Fincher not wanting to add something uniquely his own to the telling of this mystery.
