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 we’ll pull 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.
READ: Fire Season
Right now, the West Coast is on fire — and much of America is blanketed in smoke. How did we get here? In Fire Season (which Joe previously featured in a 10 Best Bets), fire-watcher and former Wall Street Journal Reporter Philip Connors delves deep into both the science of our worsening annual wildfire crisis while also providing a thoughtful look at what it means to do the lonely job of being a firewatcher. Equal parts introspective narrative and scientific deep dive, this is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what can be done to prevent future fire seasons from being even more devastating than this one.
WATCH: Into the Spider-Verse
There have been a LOT of Spiderman movies — some very good, some very bad, some very meh. And yet Into the Spiderverse might be the best of all of them, because it does what no other comic-book movie has done before: it actually LOOKS and FEELS like a comic. The animation style is both wholly original and totally gorgeous — but the animation alone isn’t why Into the Spiderverse beat out Pixar’s Incredibles 2 for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. Into the Spidervere is both a Spiderman movie AND a commentary on all of the Spiderman movies and comics that have come before it — somehow, it manages to tell a story that incorporates every single iteration of Spiderman that’s existed while also feeling fresh in its own right. An absolute delight of a movie. Streams on Netflix.
PLAY: Marvel’s Spiderman
Last week was double Watchmen; this week? Double Spiderman. Why? Because after watching Into the Spiderverse, there’s nothing more fun than actually getting to BE Spiderman. (In a video game. I’m not advocating you try to get yourself bitten by a radioactive — or regular — spider.) Marvel’s Spiderman plays like a greatest-hits compilation of the very best video games of the last decade — part Arkham City, party Assassin’s Creed, part Shadow of Mordor, this game is an absolute joy to play. The writing is tight and hilarious, the character development is as good as some of the best Spiderman movies, and the mission design is excellent. And there’s nothing quite as liberating as swinging through the skyscrapers of Manhattan, zipping from ledge to building to ledge, watching the video game sunset. If you’re looking for an adventure: this is the perfect game for that.
LISTEN: Alligator by The National
I absolutely bloody frikking love this album. Full stop. With fall looming, almost any National album is well-suited towards the change of seasons, but man, this one? It feels like the record when The National became THE NATIONAL. The songwriting is just so, so, tight, the lyrics so elliptical and perfect, the arrangements that perfect signature brand of chamber-rock, rich with horns and strings and woodwinds and warmth. If you’ve never dove into the National’s catalog, this is a great place to start.
LEARN: Something New
We live in an incredible era, an era where we have a veritable Library of Alexandria at our fingertips. And yet somehow, I still find myself sitting on the couch spending hours watching cat videos. (Not to knock cat videos! I love cat videos. And they might even help lower your stress.) But last weekend, I finally managed to pull myself away from the cuteness and instead I picked up the guitar that’s been sitting in the corner of my living room for five years, completely unused, and opened up my copy of Hal Leonard’s Guitar Method: Volume 1. I’ve wanted to learn guitar for (checks watch) twenty years? And last weekend, I finally started. Is there a skill you’ve always wanted to have? A language you’ve always wanted to speak? A historical period you always wanted to delve deeper into? An instrument you’ve always wanted to play? Have you always wanted to learn how to code, or to paint, or to sing, or to cook? Maybe now is a great time to dive in. Check out hundreds of phenomenal free courses on Class Central, which skews towards the academic; zillions of creative-oriented classes on Skill Share; or plenty of off the wall great lessons on YouTube. Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
About the author: Michael Robin is an LA-based television writer. When he’s not working away on his latest pilot script, you can find him scuba diving, hosting Shabbat dinners, or goofing off with his goldendoodle, Biggie Lebowski.