Saturday Morning Cartoons #76
From soup to nuts this holiday season.
Good morning, fam!
Hope you all had a good week.
After a full week of recovery, things are finally getting back to normal just in time for the holidays! ‘Tis the season for Friendsgivings, Soupsgivings, and all other kinds of givings.
While I figure out what we’re making for our second Soupsgiving, check out this week’s recs.
Go find some fresh veggies, bust out that immersion blender, and let’s get into it.
Here’s what I have for you this morning:
Abby and I started the newest season of Solar Opposites and we’re not sure how we feel post-Justin Roiland (the creator/lead voice actor who left due to domestic assault charges). Instead of finding a similar voice (a la Rick and Morty), they swapped in British actor Dan Stevens. We might give it another episode or two. (★★•••)
While napping off and on this week, I lost myself and flew through both seasons of Welcome to Wrexham. For those of you unfamiliar, it’s the documentary made by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney that tells the story of their purchase of Wrexham A.F.C., the third-oldest professional football team in the world, and their goal for promotion into the next league above.1 It perfectly balances sports stuff, stories from individual players, and the Hollywood glitz and glam from Rob and Ryan. (★★★★•)
For movie night, we gave The Killer a watch and as a huge David Fincher2 fan, I was…somewhat underwhelmed? I thought Michael Fassbender did an incredible job depicting the unnamed assassin who leaves nothing to chance, but ultimately, the movie felt a little anticlimactic. It did, however, make me want to check out the French graphic novel that acted as the inspiration for the movie. (★★★••)
Thanks to a rec from a friend, Abby and I started Balder’s Gate 3 on PS5 and I’ll be honest - I had no idea it was based on Dungeons & Dragons (which Abby is slowly getting me into). After spending around an hour creating our characters, we finally dove in and I have to say, we’re hooked. As someone who usually sticks to first-person narrative and shooter video games, I’m surprised that I’m this into an RPG. (★★★★•)
For our first Soupsgiving, we got to try an insane number of soups. After democratically voting for the fan favorite, we narrowed it down to the Ajo Blanco White Gazpacho and the Sausage and Kale Tortellini. Personally, I loved Paulie’s Smoked Butternut Squash (which has no recipe because it was vibe-based) and Abby made some amazing gluten-free cornbread in the shape of little gingerbread men. (★★★★★)
While we pre-gamed for a group dinner with friends, I was introduced to the magic that is Christmas in Paris tea from Stash and it’s time to spill the tea - I guess I’m cheating on coffee now. I’m ordering the holiday mix pack so I can sip my way through the next few months. (★★★★•)
After booking it a while back, a group of us finally hit up The Lucky Accomplice for their tasting menu. You can see a deeper breakdown here, but my favorites where their Roasted Squash with Habanada Sauce and the Pork Collar. I also went with the NA drink pairing which had some pleasant surprises. (★★★★•)
I hit up 23W Coffee (the newest coffeeshop in St. Louis) this morning and despite some opening kinks, I really enjoyed their pour over. I wouldn’t bank on grabbing a seat, but would definitely recommend giving their coffee a try. (★★★••)
Ready to celebrate the holidays but don’t have a fireplace? ‘Tis the season for the YouTube Yule Log! (★★★★•)
Apparently every story in the world has one of these six basic plots. (★★★••)
You made it to the end! As a bonus, I’ll leave you with this.
Cheers,
Billy
Promotion and relegation is a process where teams can move up and down between multiple divisions arranged in a hierarchical structure, based on their performance over a season. (Thanks Wikipedia!) Why don’t American sports do this?!?
Think Fight Club, The Social Network, and Zodiac to name a few.