Micah's Read of the Week, Vol. 109
Deshaun Watson is the star the NFL deserves: A cynical, empty narcissist, Scathing Book Review of the Week, New Yorker Cartoon of the Week, Recipe Corner, the return of Micah's Yoga Club, and more.
Hello, and welcome to Micah’s Read of the Week.
This is a newsletter filled with things Micah Wiener finds interesting. Check out the archive of previous newsletters here.
Micah’s Yoga Club is back, this Sunday.
We’re back. Micah’s Yoga Club II is happening this Sunday. 9 AM at Meanwhile Brewing in Austin. It’s free. And best of all, I will buy the first round (beer or coffee)! There’s no catch. No RSVP is needed. Just come say “hi.”
Come join us for a 1 hour full body, feel good flow appropriate for all levels. This class will be lead at a steady pace that allows you to fully connect breath with movement so you can feel the benefits of each pose by being present in your body.
Please bring your own yoga mat & water bottle.
Namaste.
Scathing Sports Column of the Week
Deshaun Watson is the star the NFL deserves: A cynical, empty narcissist
Buckle up, because the great Sally Jenkins is here and she has something to say. Check the lede:
The NFL has a terminal contempt for little people. It specializes in the abuse of the powerless with impunity, and Deshaun Watson’s light suspension and mock penitence, which he couldn’t sustain for even a full sentence, was just another take-us-for-fools offense. Never has the syndrome been more apparent than in Watson’s head-clutching double talk following the announcement he will sit out 11 games and pay a $5 million fine. His non-apology was so sourly cynical and canned, such a combination of bad faith and bad breath, that it made you long for a Listerine rinse.
Watson is a creep of the highest order. There’s no debate. Jenkins also sees the bigger picture, and nobody connects the dots better.
Among the ways Watson harmed his victims was in making them “fearful” of his ability to “use his status as an NFL player to damage their careers,” Robinson found. He exploited a major power imbalance — it was a dual offense along with the unwanted touching — and his accusers were right to think they probably could suffer more proportional consequences of his nasty behaviors than he ever would.
The NFL has a major problem with misuse of power — all varieties of it. Watson’s case was just one in a larger power-abuse complex, from Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder harboring serial sexual harassment in his franchise with zero real world penalties to Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross’s slap on the wrist for boldly trying to cheat the audience via tampering and his flirtation with tanking. There lurks in all of these episodes an underlying sneer and chortle of secret understanding: These men are too rich to care, and there is no NFL punishment they can’t easily absorb and no reputational damage the league won’t help them cure with stage-managed proceedings to quiet the credulous and inferior rest of us.
Watson wasn’t alone in his two-faced double talk. The 26-year-old was just emulating his elders. Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam seemed to think that cloaking themselves as human rights activists would somehow drug you into forgetting they wagered three first-round draft picks and the biggest guaranteed contract in NFL history on Watson, even as the line of women accusing him of sexual creepism wrapped around the block.
“We can talk about Deshaun, or we can talk about the major issues the country faces and make a difference,” Dee Haslam said. “How can we move forward as a country?” she added, a remark that can’t even be retyped on this page without keening, mascara-smearing laughter.
“Is he never supposed to play again?” Jimmy Haslam asked. “Is he never supposed to be a part of society? Does he get no chance to rehabilitate himself? That is what we are going to do.” Ahh, I see. The Browns traded for Watson because they’re Father Flanagans who want to rescue him.
Most assuredly Watson deserves a second chance, and nothing anyone does at the age of 26 should be the sum story of their life. But any thinking person must surely doubt whether a partial suspension that allows him to play the final third of the season, a fail-safe $230 million contract left almost untouched by penalty and a false apology and cleansing second-chance narrative calculated to wrap the story up with a bow will do the trick for the young man. Yet this was the convenient attitude also copped by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement: “Deshaun has committed to doing the hard work on himself.”
No, no he hasn’t. He hasn’t squarely apologized to — or even recognized — the women he abused. Clearly, they’re too far beneath him.
New Yorker Cartoon of the Week
Scathing book review of the week
Jared Kushner’s ‘Breaking History’ Soulless and Very Selective Memoir
OK. I’m not going to say anything about Jared Kushner or his memoir I haven’t and will likely never read. I’ll leave all of the writing to the NYT’s Dwight Garner. As far as scathing reviews go, this one is an all-timer.
This book is like a tour of a once majestic 18th-century wooden house, now burned to its foundations, that focuses solely on, and rejoices in, what’s left amid the ashes: the two singed bathtubs, the gravel driveway and the mailbox. Kushner’s fealty to Trump remains absolute. Reading this book reminded me of watching a cat lick a dog’s eye goo.
The tone is college admissions essay. Typical sentence: “In an environment of maximum pressure, I learned to ignore the noise and distractions and instead to push for results that would improve lives.”
Every political cliché gets a fresh shampooing. “Even in a starkly divided country, there are always opportunities to build bridges,” Kushner writes. And, quoting the former White House deputy chief of staff Chris Liddell: “Every day here is sand through an hourglass, and we have to make it count.” So true, for these are the days of our lives.
There’s a page or two about Kushner’s time at Harvard. He omits the fact that he was admitted after his father pledged $2.5 million to the college.
His wooing of Ivanka Trump included a good deal of jet-setting. Kushner briefly broke up with her, he writes, because she wasn’t Jewish. (She would later convert.) Wendi Murdoch, Rupert’s wife, reunited them on Rupert’s yacht. Kushner describes the power scene:
On that Sunday, we were having lunch at Bono’s house in the town of Eze on the French Riviera, when Rupert stepped out to take a call. He came back and whispered in my ear, “They blinked, they agreed to our terms, we have The Wall Street Journal.” After lunch, Billy Joel, who had also been with us on the boat, played the piano while Bono sang with the Irish singer-songwriter Bob Geldof.
You finish “Breaking History” wondering: Who is this book for? There’s not enough red meat for the MAGA crowd, and Kushner has never appealed to them anyway. Political wonks will be interested — maybe, to a limited degree — but this material is more thoroughly and reliably covered elsewhere. He’s a pair of dimples without a demographic.
Recipe Corner
Don’t look now, but the first weekend of college football is upon us. Let’s take a potluck approach. Whether it’s a tailgate or your buddy’s house, don’t be the bozo with boring slaw or potato salad.
street corn-inspired slaw with spicy tahini
FOR THE SPICY TAHINI DRESSING:
2 cloves garlic peeled
1 small jalapeno roughly chopped
½ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup chopped chives
½ cup tahini
2 tsp. lime zest
¼ cup fresh lime juice
2 tbsp chipotle hot sauce I like Siete Foods brand
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp fresh cracked pepper
Warm water as needed some tahini can be thicker than others. If your dressing is too thick, add warm water ¼ cup at a time until you have a texture you can drizzle but is still thick.
FOR THE CORN:
2 tbsp avocado oil
2 tsp honey
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp fresh cracked black pepper
4 fresh corn cobs – husks removed
For the Slaw:
4 cups finely shredded purple cabbage
4 cups finely shredded green cabbage
¼ cup pickled onions sub thinly-sliced red onions
5 radishes thinly sliced
1 cup chopped cilantro
½ cup toasted and salted pepitas
½ cup crumbled cotija cheese omit for dairy free
FOR SERVING:
Lime wedges
In a high-speed blender or food processor, add the garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, chives, tahini, lime zest and juice, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Depending on how thick your tahini is, add your warm water 1 tbsp at a time then blend on low to start to chop up the garlic, jalapenos, and herbs. Slowly increase the speed to medium and blend until creamy and completely smooth. Transfer to a jar and set aside.
Preheat your grill to medium-high heat (about 375-425). Allow to heat while you prep the corn.
In a small bowl, mix the oil, honey, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Using a pastry brush, coat the seasoning on all sides of the corn, making sure all the kernels are coated.
Once the grill is hot, transfer the corn to the grill. Cook, rotating every 2-3 minutes, until the corn is cooked through and a bit charred, about 12 minutes total. Remove from the grill and allow to cool.
Once corn is cool enough to handle, carefully cut the kernels off of the cob and place in a large bowl.
To the large bowl add both cabbages, the pickled onions, radishes, cilantro, and cotija. Add your desired amount of dressing and toss until well combined. Serve with lime wedges.
Spicy Caesar Potato Salad
2 1-lb. bags Trader Joe’s Teeny Tiny Potatoes or 2 lb. baby creamer or new potatoes
3 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. plus 2¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt; plus more
2 drained oil-packed anchovy fillets, finely chopped, or 1 tsp. anchovy paste
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ cup mayonnaise (preferably Hellmann’s or Best Foods)
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. (or more) Trader Joe’s Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce or other Calabrian chile paste
2 scallions
Freshly ground black pepper
Place two 1-lb. bags Trader Joe’s Teeny Tiny Potatoes or 2 lb. baby creamer or new potatoes and 3 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. plus 2¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a large pot of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until potatoes are tender but not falling apart, 11–13 minutes.
Stir together 2 drained oil-packed anchovy fillets, finely chopped, or 1 tsp. anchovy paste, 1 garlic clove, finely chopped, ½ cup mayonnaise (preferably Hellmann’s or Best Foods), ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan, 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, 1 Tbsp. Trader Joe’s Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce or other Calabrian chile paste, ½ tsp. Dijon mustard, and ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl. Taste dressing and season with salt if needed and add more hot pepper sauce if desired.
Drain potatoes in a colander and let cool in colander in sink 5 minutes.
Meanwhile separate dark green parts from 2 scallions and thinly slice; set a small handful aside for serving. Thinly slice white and pale green parts of scallions and add to remaining dark green parts. Add scallions and potatoes to bowl with dressing and gently toss to combine. Season potato salad with freshly ground black pepper and more salt if needed.
Transfer potato salad to a serving bowl and top with reserved scallion greens.
Toasted Sesame Cookies
You know we’re bringing the cookies.
1 3/4 cups (249 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks or 170 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 ounces (85 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped into bite-size pieces (averaging 1/2-inch with some smaller and some larger, optional)
Black and white sesame seeds, for rolling
Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line three sheet pans with aluminum foil, dull-side up.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg, toasted sesame oil, water, and vanilla, and mix on low speed to combine. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Add the chocolate, if using, and mix until combined.
Form the dough into 3-ounce (85-gram) balls (1/4 cup). Roll in the sesame seeds, and place 4 cookies an equal distance apart on each sheet pan. Bake the cookies one pan at a time. Bake until the dough balls have spread flat but are puffed slightly in the center, 9 minutes. Lift one side of the sheet pan up about 4 inches (10 centimeters) and gently let it drop down against the oven rack, so the edges of the cookies set and the center falls back down. After the cookies puff up again in 2 minutes, repeat lifting and dropping the pan. Repeat a few more times to create ridges around the edge of the cookie. Bake for 15 to 16 minutes total, until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden brown but the centers are much lighter and not fully cooked.
Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days (or refrigerate for up to 3 days).
Did Micah practice yoga this weekend?
Yes. One hour at Sersana Dripping Springs Saturday. Come join us this Sunday.
That’s 31 in-person weekend classes in 34 weeks this year.
More Micah
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Email: micahwiener@me.com
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