Monday Cannon Fodder

Today’s Ben’s birthday, so he’s taking the day off. You should wish him a happy birthday!

How was your weekend? I was sick for most of it, which sucks as I had Friday off for Veterans Day, but spent the whole day in bed feeling like poop. Fortunately, I recovered enough to enjoy at least part of the weekend, but overall I wouldn’t recommend being sick as a weekend strategy.

You know who had a good weekend? Serge Gnabry, that’s who. He went and got himself a hat trick! I mean, sure, it was against San Marino, against whom Germany won 8-0, and against whom probably several people reading this could get at least one goal, but still. I like Serge and I’m happy for him.

You know who else had a good weekend? Nacho Monreal, who got his first goal for Spain in their 4-0 win over Macedonia.

You know who also had a good weekend? The rest of Arsenal’s international contingent, which emerged unscathed (so far) from their exertions.

You know who didn’t have a good weekend? Tim Howard. As if losing to Mexico in Columbus for the first time in forever wasn’t tough enough, Howard picked up an adductor strain that will probably keep him out of the MLS playoffs and require a couple months to recover from.

Turns out having the best-paid squad in the world only buys you sixth place.

And finally, this was a pretty big weekend for music - A Tribe Called Quest released their first album in 18 years, which is awesome and you should check it out. I am not a super knowledgeable person about rap and hip-hop, but I have always loved ATCQ; if you have too, this album absolutely does not disappoint.

The other album that was released is a live album, which I’m not usually crazy about. But! One of my favorite albums from the 90’s was and remains Mike Watt’s Ball-Hog Or Tugboat, which featured the Minutemen founder and legend playing a bunch of songs with a bunch of his friends, like Eddie Vedder, Kathleen Hanna, Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, and a whole bunch of other awesome people.

They also toured behind this record, and finally, almost 22 years later, the Chicago show of that tour has been released as a live album, and it’s amazing.

What about you? What new music have you found recently? What are you watching? What are you reading?