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.
SEE: No Time To Die
Gents. GENTS. Finally, finally, after months and months of waiting: it’s here. No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s final film as James Bond, hits theaters TODAY. Directed by Cary Funkaga, whose masterful films Sin Nombre and Beats of No Nation (along with his incredible one-shot action sequence in True Detective season one) make him a perfect fit for the role, No Time to Die reunites Craig with Lea Seydoux and pits them against Rami Malek as the villain. If early word of mouth is to be believed, this is going to be a phenomenal sendoff. Significant portions of the film were shot with Imax cameras, so if there’s an Imax theater near where you live, it’ll be worth spending the extra few bucks to see the film in its most epic form.
PLAY: Pandemic Legacy: Season 0
If Bond has you in the mood for playing some Spygames yourself, look no further than Pandemic Legacy: Season 0. As I’ve mentioned before, Pandemic-style games, in which you cooperate with friends to stop an imminent threat, are my absolute favorite type of board game — they’re wonderful, high-stakes puzzles, the kind of board games that genuinely have me on the edge of my seat. But given what we’ve all gone through in the last year-and-a-half, a board game about a Pandemic may not be all that appealing. The good news is that Season 0 upends the formula and instead being a game about a disease, this is a game about espionage. It’s also a prequel, so you don’t have to have played the other games to enjoy this one. It’s 1962, you’re a crack group of doctors recruited to the CIA, and you have to stop the Soviets from developing a new bioweapon, MEDUSA. Each person gets a “passport” with different aliases, who you even get to dress up with wacky disguises. The most fun I’ve had around a table in months.
MAKE: Chili
For years now, when the weather gets a little colder and fall really sets in, I’ll go to the grocery store, get a ton of beans and some ground meat, and make a huge vat of chili. Chili is an ideal fall food, an inexpensive, hearty meal that makes a great weeknight dinner but also can be served to company. (Especially true on game days!) Chili freezes well, too — and it’s something everyone can put his own spin on. The Kitchn‘s recipe is a good starting place, but feel free to improvise, too. Love rich, dark, acidic undertones to your chili? Throw in a little chocolate or espresso. Want brighter, warmer spice? Get a variety of dried chili peppers, grind ’em up, and toss ’em in the with the oil at the start. There’s no wrong way to make a chili.
LISTEN: Wiki – Half God
Wiki, a half-Irish, half-Puerto Rican New York based rapper, is on the rise, thanks to his excellent third album Half God, a record full of New York stories pitched at a slow burn. Tracks “Roof” and “Can’t Do This Alone” are particular highlights. If you like the simmer and low flow of Tyler the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt, you’ll love this record.
READ: The Disastrous Voyage of The Satoshi
Some people dream of composing symphonies, or writing books, or running for president, or creating their own companies. But for Grant Romundt, Rüdiger Koch, and Chad Elwartowski, this wasn’t enough. No: they wanted to create an entirely new utopian society, a society that ran completely on bitcoin. They would build it on a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic. They saw themselves as pioneers of a new movement: “Seasteading.” Predictably, this failed miserably, and the Guardian’s story of how and why it failed is a Fyre Festival-level delight to read. Apparently, amongst other issues, they didn’t have a solid plan for how to get rid of all of the ship’s sewage. To the next person trying to build a utopia, might I suggest: before you get in too deep, maybe figure out where to put all of the poop? Photo by Adam Gonzales on Unsplash
About the author: Michael Robin is an LA-based television writer and tutoring company co-Founder. 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.