The Weekend Reset – The Witcher, an Axe, and your Slow Cooker

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.

 

BINGE: Toss a coin to your Witcher!

This feels a little anticlimactic, not gonna lie. Netflix’ adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s books (and subsequent series of video games) debuted on December 20th so you may have already seen it. I get that. For those of you who haven’t, there is a lot to like about the series. Like the books which proceeded it, stories unfold in a non linear fashion. You will be confused until you aren’t. Henry Cavill is excellent in the role of the Witcher but you could argue that he isn’t even the main character here. That’s not a bad thing. Expect a heap of monsters, magic, terrific costumes, bloody medieval mayhem, and sexy times. The series benefits from fantastic production elements. And prepare to have a very catchy song stuck in your head. It has been something of an inspiration (this, and this). If you are one of the millions who binged it when it first came out, it’s time to go back and catch everything you missed. And yes, I’ve already done that.

 

THROW: Axe throwing and alcohol! What could possibly go wrong?

I kid. There are safeguards. I promise. Please excuse the bullspit hipster reference in the above video. It is beyond lame. It represents a big-city elitism that has become tiresome for those who live in flyover country. So there’s that. BUT. This is super fun. It’s for those of us who believe bowling isn’t dangerous enough. I kid. Mostly. All of these things are true: this is inherently dangerous but there are safeguards (because, insurance); this is the ultimate friends night out event; quick reaction skills are helpful when throwing; there might be liability forms to fill out.

 

EAT: Prep. Set. Go. It’s slow cooker season.

We have moved into the slow cooker season. Winter is the perfect time to bust out this convenient kitchen tool. Many dishes can be prepped in advance and thrown together before you leave the house. Which means you can spend a few minutes the day before, get up and assemble the ingredients, turn on the cooker and take off. When you return, dinner is ready. This time of year, this seems like the best thing ever. Winter soups lean to the hardy, so I always suggest making a green salad to serve with the soup as a nice balance. In this instance, it could be as simple as sliced radishes, thinly slice sweet peppers, some shredded iceberg lettuce and some fresh lime juice, crumbled cojito cheese and a splash of avocado oil with freshly ground salt and pepper.

 

LISTEN: An exciting debut release from Devon Gilfillian.

From where I sit, this gentlemen has a bright future. Having had the opportunity to spend time with him and see what he does from a vantage point of five feet, I speak from experience. Devon has just released his debut album and it’s a heady mix of genres, gritty Rock infused with R&B, Gospel, Folk and then some. He is a humming bundle of positive energy and if you have a chance to see him live, do it!

 

APPRECIATE: Something to consider while you dry out (or don’t) in January.

For those of you who are giving your liver a break this month, here’s a primer on how we began our relationship with booze. Hat tip to the swell folks over at Laughing Squid.

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.