The Weekend Reset – Ducks and Gelflings and Pericles and, wait, what?

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.

 

LISTEN: Laurel Canyon influenced folk-rock from Lana Del Rey.

Norman Fucking Rockwell! is a sun-drenched collection of folk-pop with occasional ventures into psychedelia and atmospheric balladry. To my ears, it is Rey’s most cohesive album to date. She collaborates on much of this album with Jack Antonoff, he of fun. and Bleachers and Red Hearse and, uh, Taylor Swift fame. This is a good thing. Lana’s vocals are in top form and her ability to turn a phrase has never been better. This is best listened to via headphones. The mix is amazing. This will definitely land on my year end top ten list. I had the opportunity to visit with Lana a couple weeks ago. You can listen to our conversation over here.

 

MASTER: The Portrait mode on your iPhone.

I love the photos that I get from my iPhone. It’s a 10 something or other and the camera is one of my favorite things about it. Having said that, I have lots to learn about making the most of it. Or, even, much of it. So I’ve been checking out tutorials and since the Portrait mode intrigues me the most, I’m passing this one along. I’m sure most of you have actual people to photograph and that’s great and everything. I mean, you should plan for holiday gift giving and such. Amiright? I’m working on my 2019 custom calendar featuring my pop culture dioramas with my cats and the neighbor’s hedgehog. Should I put you down for two?

 

EAT: It’s Rabbit Duck Season!

Ok. I don’t really think it is Duck season but fall is coming (no, really) and soon we shall turn our culinary sights on comfort food. Many of us make the transition from grilling just about anything we can to roasting said same. Roast fowl is a nice alternative to that which we tend to favor (looking at you chicken, turkey, game hens…). Raise your hand if your earliest memories of eating duck included worrying about biting down on shot and cracking a tooth. I’m not saying you may or may not have to worry about that making this dish, but the fact that you can get nice, already processed duck at more and more grocery stores makes the whole thing easier to put together. The particular duck shown above is something Joe cooked recently (here’s the recipe) and he had a few observations:

Looks amazing. Tastes pretty darn good, but doesn’t taste AS good as it looks. Not difficult in terms of the prepping and ingredients part, but it does take time. Lots of getting it in and out of the oven, rotating the thing, draining grease, etc. And save that duck fat. Man does it make everything taste better when you use it, sparingly, as a cooking oil.

As with most dishes, once you get the basics down, you can adapt it to your tastes and whims. I would serve this with a wild rice mix and steamed broccoli or Brussels sprouts.

 

BINGE: Jim Henson’s vision lives on in fantastic new limited series.

I am well aware that many of you guys may not be familiar with the classic 1982 movie that this new production is based on. But I sincerely hope that it is something you were introduced to via older siblings or parents or grandparents. Because it is a wonder. The world created in The Dark Crystal was something previously unseen in movies. Were it not for Jim Henson and his team, Yoda would never have been Yoda. It was a grand adventure.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is a prequel to the original story. And for those of you who have no connections to the original, this review might be relevant to your interests. The world making is astounding. In an age when everything is CGI 24/7, it’s lovely to see real sets and characters and effects. Much of what made the original so special is found here. The puppets are voiced by so many A-List stars that if you watch with friends, get ready to play “who’s that” each and every episode. Not necessarily for the youngsters as this gets pretty intense and creepy in many places. Here’s another review for you to check out.

 

READ: One of the year’s best reviewed novels.

Mark Haddon wrote The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This is all I need to know that I want to read his new novel. Because that book remains one of my all time favorites. I will always give Haddon the benefit of the doubt. So when I come across reviews like this one or this one or this, this, or this one I hit up my favorite local indie book store to get mine. Because The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Tim Johnstone is Dappered’s music correspondent as well as our resident gatherer of all things interwebs related. He’s pretty sure about some of the things most of the time, but totally clueless about everything else all the time.