Post by Mr. Pooka on Dec 27, 2020 15:34:40 GMT -5
This has been a weird year. The traditional top ten lists are all askew. Streaming is overtaking movies, books stores are closed, people can't work on the media we crave, food distribution, closed restaurants and tons of extra time has change the way many people eat... Most importantly though is that we are all still here. Living and going forward, (-8 As much as pandemics and riots and gonzo politicians are changing the face of the earth we can still learn and grow and enjoy ourselves!
I thought it might be fun to share some of the best things that came out of this year for me... sort of like traditional 'top 10' or 'best of' lists. Maybe you'll find something new or good here!
I'll probably add some more things as I remember them... just starting this list took forever because I kept going back over the year and thinking of more and more things... Oh, and if you'd like to talk about anything on the lists (ask an opinion about a movie or you'd like a recipe or anything at all), just ask!
Also feel free to share/add anything you learned, loved or liked this year, I'd love to read it!
Lets start with the usual big one. Most everyone has had some extra free time on their hands and watching Movies and TV has filled that for many of us...
TV and Movies
Here's some of the best things I watched this year. Not really just stuff that came out in 2020... with all the extra time to watch stuff it was a chance to go on a deep dive of the various streaming medias out there and find some buried treasures.
Harley Quinn - Not Birds of Prey... while BoP is on a lot of top 10 lists it was totally not for me (although I'm a big fan of the various BoP comics and loved most of the characters...) I'm talking about the animated Harley Quinn tv show. This is R rated and bonkers in all the right ways. This was actiony and hillarious and just a fun fun show.
Demon Slayer - This is simply a beautiful anime to watch. Main characters you care about, incredible art. Pooka and I are chomping at the bit for the Movie to be released over here.
My Hero Academia - Fun superhero school! It doesn't hurt that we found this shortly after I ran an Anime Highschool/D&D RP... This one has mostly great/intriguing characters, and actual exciting/interesting plots that are missing in most big budget American Superhero Movies.
What We Do In The Shadows just keeps getting better. I don't know how this one falls off peoples radars... It was one of the funniest and best tv shows that has ever been a tv show. ...and somehow it just keeps getting better!
Wolfwalkers - We just watched this movie and it was a treat. The art is breathtaking and the story is fun! ...also I miss traditional animation so much and this movie will to, (-8 (this was made by Cartoon Saloon the same people behind the Book of Kells and Song of the Sea.)
Lots of other good watchables... The Mandalorian would be in the top list but I know that you know about this one, (-8. Outsider, Big Mouth, The Boys, Schitt's Creek, Sword Art Online, Lock and Key, Warrior Nun... all good stuff. I'd toss in an honorable mention to a small Canadian show called Kim's Convenience. The first season is very Canadian, in a good way, but by the second season the comedy and writing really hits a good stride, (-8 If you haven't heard of it, you probably will now that one of the actors is going to be a Marvel Superhero now...
Lets switch topics... to the Best Kitchen Skill or Trick I learned this year!
Scrunching up Parchment Paper. (-8 Ya that sounds like I'm not trying or just silly, but... When you cut or rip off a piece of parchment paper to put it on a sheet it tends to roll up and sometimes slip around. Not the end of the world, but at least minorly annoying. Now if you take that paper and crunch it up in a ball and then simply flatten it out again, it stays put and still works perfectly, (-8 You don't have to go crazy with the scrunching, just a quick loose little crumple and your good to go! I do this all the time now, (-8
Best new Recipes and New foods I've come to love! If you want details or recipes or notes just ask!
Mochi. Pooka loves mochi and I've finally found a great and easy recipe that makes reliable perfect mochi all the time, (-8 I still want to experiment more with adding fillings and such but just haven't had time.
One pan sausage bakes. I love doing simple one pan bakes, usually chicken or pork chops, but I'd never thought about sausages until I saw a recipe online... Cutting up a couple sausages with various root veggies and cooking them all together is easy and cheap and delicious, (-8
Shishito peppers. I don't know if I'll ever be able to find these again way up here in the north, but I super fell in love with these delightful peppers and their natural hotness roulette, (-8 Just a touch of oil, some salt and hot oven for a couple of minutes and they turn into savory candy! They are super mild, except for about 1 in ten that is about as hot as a jalapeno... not super hot but enough that you notice, (-8
Chinese Eggplant. I've never been a big eggplant fan, but I picked up one of these when our store had a few and kind of fell in love with them! They are supposed to be not to diff from regular eggplant but whatever the diff is, I can eat these for days, (-8
Best RPG we played.
This goes to an oldie... and adventure written perhaps before some of you were born. Expedition to the Barrier Peaks... Being that it is sooo old, you might not be aware of the spoilers so I won't put it here... but this one was super fun to run! There was not a ton of other great RPG stuff to come out of this year... just lots of extra time for playing them, (-8
Best Video Game
Still Runescape. I've been playing this one forever and is still my go to, (-8 Fairly cheap (with enough free stuff to play for years) and very low end tech accessible.
Best Book (and I'm going right to comic books again, (-8)
Unnatural This is a tricky comic to define without to many spoilers... Here is the official teaser/synopsis. "Leslie is a simple pig girl. She loves sushi, she's stuck with a job she hates, and she lives under a brutal totalitarian government—one that punishes transgressors for anything deemed 'unnatural'."
There were also a bunch of good Red Sonja, Barbarella and Vampirella comics that came out this year too, (-8 ...but I haven't really read to many that stuck out as 'must reads' this year if I'm being honest... I do have lots of recommendations but nothing really recent.
...and I'm out of steam, (-8 I'll have to add any other good stuff if it comes to me, and again, feel free to share anything you like here!
I thought it might be fun to share some of the best things that came out of this year for me... sort of like traditional 'top 10' or 'best of' lists. Maybe you'll find something new or good here!
I'll probably add some more things as I remember them... just starting this list took forever because I kept going back over the year and thinking of more and more things... Oh, and if you'd like to talk about anything on the lists (ask an opinion about a movie or you'd like a recipe or anything at all), just ask!
Also feel free to share/add anything you learned, loved or liked this year, I'd love to read it!
Lets start with the usual big one. Most everyone has had some extra free time on their hands and watching Movies and TV has filled that for many of us...
TV and Movies
Here's some of the best things I watched this year. Not really just stuff that came out in 2020... with all the extra time to watch stuff it was a chance to go on a deep dive of the various streaming medias out there and find some buried treasures.
Harley Quinn - Not Birds of Prey... while BoP is on a lot of top 10 lists it was totally not for me (although I'm a big fan of the various BoP comics and loved most of the characters...) I'm talking about the animated Harley Quinn tv show. This is R rated and bonkers in all the right ways. This was actiony and hillarious and just a fun fun show.
Demon Slayer - This is simply a beautiful anime to watch. Main characters you care about, incredible art. Pooka and I are chomping at the bit for the Movie to be released over here.
My Hero Academia - Fun superhero school! It doesn't hurt that we found this shortly after I ran an Anime Highschool/D&D RP... This one has mostly great/intriguing characters, and actual exciting/interesting plots that are missing in most big budget American Superhero Movies.
What We Do In The Shadows just keeps getting better. I don't know how this one falls off peoples radars... It was one of the funniest and best tv shows that has ever been a tv show. ...and somehow it just keeps getting better!
Wolfwalkers - We just watched this movie and it was a treat. The art is breathtaking and the story is fun! ...also I miss traditional animation so much and this movie will to, (-8 (this was made by Cartoon Saloon the same people behind the Book of Kells and Song of the Sea.)
Lots of other good watchables... The Mandalorian would be in the top list but I know that you know about this one, (-8. Outsider, Big Mouth, The Boys, Schitt's Creek, Sword Art Online, Lock and Key, Warrior Nun... all good stuff. I'd toss in an honorable mention to a small Canadian show called Kim's Convenience. The first season is very Canadian, in a good way, but by the second season the comedy and writing really hits a good stride, (-8 If you haven't heard of it, you probably will now that one of the actors is going to be a Marvel Superhero now...
Lets switch topics... to the Best Kitchen Skill or Trick I learned this year!
Scrunching up Parchment Paper. (-8 Ya that sounds like I'm not trying or just silly, but... When you cut or rip off a piece of parchment paper to put it on a sheet it tends to roll up and sometimes slip around. Not the end of the world, but at least minorly annoying. Now if you take that paper and crunch it up in a ball and then simply flatten it out again, it stays put and still works perfectly, (-8 You don't have to go crazy with the scrunching, just a quick loose little crumple and your good to go! I do this all the time now, (-8
Best new Recipes and New foods I've come to love! If you want details or recipes or notes just ask!
Mochi. Pooka loves mochi and I've finally found a great and easy recipe that makes reliable perfect mochi all the time, (-8 I still want to experiment more with adding fillings and such but just haven't had time.
One pan sausage bakes. I love doing simple one pan bakes, usually chicken or pork chops, but I'd never thought about sausages until I saw a recipe online... Cutting up a couple sausages with various root veggies and cooking them all together is easy and cheap and delicious, (-8
Shishito peppers. I don't know if I'll ever be able to find these again way up here in the north, but I super fell in love with these delightful peppers and their natural hotness roulette, (-8 Just a touch of oil, some salt and hot oven for a couple of minutes and they turn into savory candy! They are super mild, except for about 1 in ten that is about as hot as a jalapeno... not super hot but enough that you notice, (-8
Chinese Eggplant. I've never been a big eggplant fan, but I picked up one of these when our store had a few and kind of fell in love with them! They are supposed to be not to diff from regular eggplant but whatever the diff is, I can eat these for days, (-8
Best RPG we played.
This goes to an oldie... and adventure written perhaps before some of you were born. Expedition to the Barrier Peaks... Being that it is sooo old, you might not be aware of the spoilers so I won't put it here... but this one was super fun to run! There was not a ton of other great RPG stuff to come out of this year... just lots of extra time for playing them, (-8
Best Video Game
Still Runescape. I've been playing this one forever and is still my go to, (-8 Fairly cheap (with enough free stuff to play for years) and very low end tech accessible.
Best Book (and I'm going right to comic books again, (-8)
Unnatural This is a tricky comic to define without to many spoilers... Here is the official teaser/synopsis. "Leslie is a simple pig girl. She loves sushi, she's stuck with a job she hates, and she lives under a brutal totalitarian government—one that punishes transgressors for anything deemed 'unnatural'."
There were also a bunch of good Red Sonja, Barbarella and Vampirella comics that came out this year too, (-8 ...but I haven't really read to many that stuck out as 'must reads' this year if I'm being honest... I do have lots of recommendations but nothing really recent.
...and I'm out of steam, (-8 I'll have to add any other good stuff if it comes to me, and again, feel free to share anything you like here!
For the fans who are enjoying the wave of high fantasy right now mixed with good banter and a very imaginative world. 
