Saturday Morning Cartoons #115
Big Hero (Thirty)Six
Good morning, fam!
Hope you all had a good week.
Welp, another birthday in the bag which means I’m 36 and now in my late-mid-thirties. (That’s a thing, right?)
To celebrate, we kept things a little more low key this year. I took off work, had a me day, and Abby and I went out for a nice dinner.
You know, real adult shit.
While I go tick off another box on my mortal calendar, check out this week’s recs.
Close the curtains, lose yourself in a mental doom loop of existence, and let’s get into it.
Here’s what I have for you this morning:
I read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and it was a doozie! I can’t say too much about the plot without giving away a big twist but if you liked Klara and the Sun, then you’ll enjoy the same dramatic sci-fi genre Ishiguro has become known for. (★★★••)
During the second part of this week, I was pet sitting over night for some friends which meant I used my evenings to knock out some TV. First up, I finished The Boys Season 4 and my god was it just as brutal as the previous seasons. Things hit a little too close to home with a presidential campaign, an assassination attempt, and superhero-based conspiracy theories, but overall, it was a pretty solid penultimate season. (★★★••)
Next up was The Bear Season 3 and I’m not sure why it took me this long to finish it. A lot of amazing moments throughout the entire season but my personal favorite episode was “Napkins” which was directed by Ayo Edebiri (her first directing credit).(★★★★•)
For movie night, we somehow landed on A Simple Favor and I have to say, I was underwhelmed. The casting was spot on (Anna Kendrick as a mommy blogger with a secret and Blake Lively as a too-cool-for-school mom with a secret) but the twists and turns were all telegraphed from a mile away. (★★•••)
As part of my birthday off from work, Abby and I went to Alamo and saw Didi and I can’t rave about this movie enough. It’s a coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy who is learning to skate, flirt, and fit in. The nostalgia factor is through the roof thanks to AIM Chat, Myspace, and the early 2000’s soundtrack in general. I absolutely loved it. (★★★★★)
Speaking of great movies, this birthday boi got to pick what movie we watched at home and I obviously chose Big Hero 6. It has robots. It has superheroes. It has…emotional family dynamics that give the main character a rich motivation for helping others?! Damn, Disney. I see you. (★★★★•)
It’s not a birthday without some goofing around at a coffee shop. I went back to my new favorite Comet Coffee and got their speciality Samuel Espresso, a Colombia Inmaculada Pour Over from Kaffeelix, and last but not least, their Chocolate Almond Croissant. This might be the best croissant in St. Louis, tied with the Darkness from La Pâtisserie Chouquette, of course. (★★★★•)
For a birthday dinner, we went back to Sado and put our lives in their hands. In other words, we did an omikaze of nigiri and sashimi and holy mackerel,1 it was amazing! There were too many to keep track of but the Smoked Masu (Applewood Smoked Ocean Trout and Fuji Apple Relish) definitely stood out. Ya’ll, don’t sleep on the St. Louis food scene. (★★★★•)
Looking for some music to listen to while you crush email and own your spreadsheets? Throw on “Big Desk Energy” on Spotify and don’t forget to press “Shuffle.” (★★★★•)
Ooh, boy, if you haven’t been keeping up with all the Australian breakdancing drama from the fallout of the Olympics, catch up by watching this TikToker’s breakdown. (★★★••)
You made it to the end! As a bonus, I’ll leave you with this.
Cheers,
Billy
Yes, that was a fish pun.