Well, guys, I hate to inform you, but August got completely away from me.
When I pulled the page off my Book of the Day and exposed 9/1 and Little Red Riding Hood, it hit me that August was actually over. Not in a fun, “it was all a blur” way, but in a what the fuck happened? way. I’m genuinely not really sure what I did all month.
What I can tell you is that I didn’t do a very good job keeping it tight, but that’s a battle for another day.
Anyway, here’s what I can piece together from the forgotten month.
Had on Deck
If you want to know what I was wearing all month, look back at last Thursday. Here’s a few more to fill the void.
Nike ACG Snowgrass Cargo Shorts
I bought these for tennis originally because, of course I did. This was a few years back when I was playing more. Since then, they’ve converted into more of a chill-ass utility short. They give me some actual function in the pockets without having to worry about everything falling out like the mesh ones I had on deck last month.
ACG makes some cool shit, especially bottoms. I’m sure you’ll be seeing plenty of the Holepunch Core Shirt soon. No comment.
Vintage Nets Tee
What began as a cheap vintage shirt to wear to the gym has become a love affair. It’s been taken out of the gym bag and put into the rotation.
This isn’t a zag to the overload of dudes wearing Knicks shit down to their bloomers all summer. I’m a lifelong Nets fan, and the fit of this shirt is too good—boxy, but in a way that makes me look broad, not blobby. Though it’ll eventually have to go back to being a gym shirt when the graphic starts peeling to an unsavory degree from all the washing, we’ll ride this bitch until the wheels fall off—and maybe a little bit longer.
Swiped For
18 East Cropped Outworker Shacket
18 East always gets me. The clothes are just fun. As peak layering and lightweight outerwear season approaches, who could resist a crop with a few pockets?
After this one touched down, it was taken for a spin and passed with flying colors. I’d expect to see this on Had on Deck sooner rather than later.
Fare Filone Mugs
I mean, what’s a brand with no merch? Could this be a little bit of a cart-ahead-of-the-horse scenario? Yes. But who wouldn’t want a heavy butter-yellow diner mug from their favorite Substack about pants?
Put Away
Ice Cream Summer Rages On
Less of a trend and more of a lifestyle, Ice Cream Summer is still going full force with no signs of slowing down. As we head into the last few weeks of prime soft-serve season, I’ll continue to put it away until we transition into hot cocoa season.
Dumplings
I know they’re not in season, and I only actually ate dumplings once this month. I did gyoza a few times too, if we want to call them all the same. I’m going to call them all the same. But don’t dumplings sound good right now?
As I get more and more sick of this heat, I crank the AC, eat like it’s 40 degrees outside, think about where I’m going to put my Christmas tree, and wonder how many games the Jets are going to lose.
Pilsners
Usually I’m a Guinness guy, or if the taps look like skivotz, I’ll do a Modelo. Nice.
But in the spirit of community, I’ve been doing local pilsners. They cut through the summer mugginess. They all kind of taste the same, but that’s brewery beer for you.
In life, it’s important you do the right thing. You feel like less of a dirtbag buying an expensive four-pack than a cheap six-pack.
If one stood out, I’d say Icarus Brewing’s Furio. It’s an Italian pilsner, they’ve got Furio on the can, and I get a kick out of him flying too close to the sun.
Screens & Scribbles
I Was a Bad Boy, Didn’t Read
We listen and we don’t judge, or whatever the girlies say. I didn’t read at all. Didn’t even attempt it. We’ll get back into it.
I like to read with the gentle grunts of tennis in the background best anyway.
Kiki’s Delivery Service
This one just felt right. I’m gearing up to be inside a lot this fall, and I had never seen it. I kept getting a bunch of “this is cozy propaganda” stuff on my algorithm, so I figured I’d take it for a spin.
My only regret is not watching it with dumplings.
Tires
A much-needed reprieve from the stress of everyday life. This is one of those shows that feels like you watch the entire season in about 20 minutes. Credit to Tommy for putting his finger on that one.
Sometimes it’s just good to be silly.
Ear Stuff
Chance the Rapper — 10 Years of Coloring Book
Ten years ago, with a head full of hair, I got way too stoned at Forest Hills Stadium and the rest is history.
A decade later, with far less hair, we revisited Coloring Book. It still hit.
The Tim Dillon Show
I listen to podcasts in bunches or not at all. I was over Good Hang this month, so I put on a tinfoil hat.
Doing silly in a different way. You just have to embrace the absurdity, laugh, and move on with your day.
“Sue Me” — Audrey Hobert
Well, I finally did TikTok, and this has just been an earworm. I haven’t attempted the dance.
Already Over
Being a Big Softie
Well, I guess the impending dadding I’ll be doing is what’s making me so soft. Watching my wife at her shower doing the pregnancy glow, unwrapping all those little clothes, can really break the big guy down. (Yes, of course it’s the clothes that got me.)
I’m not even a dog guy. I would be perfectly fine without a dog.
But with a pre-booked stay with the pet sitter and a weekend away, I was way more nervous than I wanted to let on. Including one, “I’m picking him up in the morning. I can’t take this.”
And while we’re handing out reasons I was mushad in August, I officiated my best friend’s wedding. I shed a few tears there too.
These August highlights will be remembered long beyond the shorts I was wearing—or the fact that I wrestled with my shirt collar and lost all day.
Being a big softie. Already over it.
Coveting
Fall Outerwear
I just love outerwear, man. I sweated my way through a coach jacket today.
But that’s not even the one giving me the biggest itch. I snagged this ssstein jacket on deep sale last year, and I’m ready to share it with the world at the slightest breeze.
• • •
Well, that’s what I remember from the forgotten month. In September, we’ll do a better job remembering—and hopefully a lot more layering.
-SP
The Nets tee love you got from the gas station attendant on the way upstate was something out of a fever dream