The Weekend Reset: A game of throws, an engrossing historical whodunit, and a paleo treat.

It’s Friday. Looking for something to switch up your weekend, or to give you an excuse to relax a little? That’s what the Weekend Reset is for. Each week contributor Tim Johnstone pulls together five things to get your weekend started. Could be something to read or watch, something to eat or listen to, or even something to do. Enjoy the weekend fellas.

 

PLAY: There is a reason this has been a popular pastime for generations

While the history of the game is a bit murky, it has been popular overseas for hundreds of years. The name Darts is actually shorthand for several different ways of playing with the miniature version of what were originally arrows. The game evolved from a kind of war games going back centuries. You’ll find dart boards in dive bars and whiskey joints. You might even find one at a pal’s house. It is a game anyone can play. Besides, pointy things + a target + strategery = good times. Not to put too fine a point on it,  it is a perfect game to play while enjoying your favorite beer or wine or single malt favorite. It’s the kind of game one can play while enjoying a sporting event on television, say, a World Cup Soccer match for instance.

 

EAT: Step up your app game with Paleo Fish Tacos

There is something genuinely satisfying in finding a recipe, taking it on and seeing it through. Especially when the pay-off is delicious. This is a great dish that would be a great addition to a summer get-together. Don’t be intimidated. While the ingredient list looks long, you might have some of this in your pantry. As far as the heavy lifting goes, there really isn’t that much to stress over. Once again, this recipe will set you up with skill sets you can call upon in the future and as you develop your own style.

 

WATCH: First rate film noir from the Coen Brothers

Long before Joel and Ethan Coen made Fargo or The Big Lebowski or No Country For Old Men or Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, they made Blood Simple. It was their first movie and it is full of everything we love about their movies. Brutal and funny, shocking and atmospheric, Blood Simple has been called neo-film-noir and that description is pretty accurate. The performances are fantastic (this was Frances McDormand’s first movie), the roles are gritty and the cinematography is a key reason the movie is so good. You might just need a shower after watching it.

 

LISTEN: The Jesus And Mary Chain – PSYCHOCANDY

This album was a revelation once upon a time. It remains a joyfully messy response to much of the slick synthpop coming out of the England at the time (1984). The Reid Brothers had a habit of drenching perfect pop melodies in waves of distortion or fuzzed out power chords. Raucous and sloppy, with a tip of the hat to both The Ramones and The Beach Boys, the band was all teen-angst before it was a thing. That’s Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream on drums in the video above. He was just launching his own band as The Jesus and Mary Chain were first getting attention. PSYCHOCANDY manages to sound about as fresh today as it did then since the hooks are timeless and the dissonance is 100% analog.

 

READ: American History + A Legendary Whodunit = Great Summer Read.

Summer usually offers some time to catch up on reading. Summer is also a time where the reading is generally light. I mean, how many times have you seen “War & Peace” on a beach towel? Never. The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal, and the Hunt for America’s First Serial Killer is a terrific entry in the Historical Non Fiction genre (sub group: murders) and it is easily consumed on a weekend getaway. True stories nearly always make for more engaging reading and this does not disappoint. The story is engaging but so is the peek at life in 1880 you get along the way, including a reminder about how we treated our own back then.

Tim Johnstone is Dappered’s music correspondent as well as our resident gatherer of all things interwebs related. He’s currently undergoing a Tim Improvement Project™ (Version 4.0) and he understands that this is a life-long endeavor.