Did I do a Cookin Soul post on the old blog? Who knows? It is however that time of year where I put on the mixtapes and remind others how dang good they are.

Brand new for 2025…

Old favorites…

I love that the gymkhana series, made popular by Ken Block, has continued with Travis Pastrana. This years video features a sick car and jaw dropping stunts. That is every year, but they keep pushing the creative and death defying boundaries. Almost more interesting is the behind the scenes for the build out of this years car, based on the Subaru BRAT (Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter).

The interesting nugget about the “chicken tax” seats in the bed was right up my alley.

The Chicken Tax is a 25 percent tariff on light trucks (and originally on potato starch, dextrin, and brandy) imposed in 1964 by the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson in response to tariffs placed by France and West Germany on importation of U.S. chicken.

From 1978 to 1987, the Subaru BRAT carried two rear-facing seats (with seatbelts and carpeting) in its rear bed to secure classification as a “passenger vehicle” and not as a light truck.

How am I just hearing about Rome Streetz in 2025? He’s been on for a minute and collaborating with an all star roster of MCs. Not till I saw his 2025 album Trainspotting pop up in some year end list did I get acquainted. He is in good company with the likes of Griselda, Boldy James, and and smoothly sails over Conductors beats. Give it a listen.

We are getting creative as 2025 and the ABC challenge come to a close. Creative as in we are into “there isn’t a restaurant for that letter” territory.

Y Lost Letter

Bending the rules in acknowledgement that there are no letter “Y” restaurants lets us sneak in big hitters. Nearly everyone we shared the challenge with asked if we had a letter “L” and if we didn’t Lost Letter should be it. It completely lived up to the hype. Fancy dining, fancy food, and all of it delicious. This for sure feels like a special event restaurant, but we went on random Wednesday for the challenge and it was great.

QPot Hot Pot & BBQ

Yikes, this is the first restaurant in over twenty that we didn’t actually like. The review rule of thumb failed us. You could probably chalk this up to a chain of events. We’d never been to hot pot, the waitress asked us, and then explained so quiet and fast that we had to watch a quick video on our phones to figure things on our own. We eventually ate some good food, but I am generally not a fan of restaurants where I am in in charge of making me a great meal. Fondue, salad bars, Mongolian BBQ, and now Hot Pot are off the list.

I got a new 3d printer this Fall. A full post is in the works on that, but for now, this wild thing where the build plate moves not the nozzle(s) and it is cooled with dry ice. Cooling and nozzle speed/accuracy are the limiting factors in how fast a consumer FDM printer can print an object.

We’ve doubled down on the ABC challenge. Last week we hit our 18th and 19th spots and we have reservations this week for the 20th. Holiday time off work is right around the corner too, it just might be possible.

Memi’s

This Egyptian restaurant in the fan had some great food that reminded me of the meals my Dad makes. The Tagine Beef with Potato that I had could have come right out of his kitchen. The cocktails from the bar were a little flat, but maybe get a beer or whine and enjoy your dish all the same.

Olde Towne Smokehouse

BBQ in a tiny house turned restaurant feels like how BBQ should be served. We stopped in for lunch and had solid pulled pork and brisket. The sides (hush puppies and sweet potatoes) were good too. It was beyond cramped though, so maybe go on a nice day and sit outside at the picnic tables? Pop the hatch on an SUV and hang your legs out the trunk?

Best Games of the 2020’s is back with the eighth entry this year, and the only VR game that felt like a triple AAA game (that I’ve played) is off into the sunset.

Hades II (2025) goes on at #22

Sequels can be weird. How much do you stray? How much do you remain the same? How do you meet and even exceed unknowable expectations? Hades 2 is a great game, but built firmly on the house Supergiant already lived in. That “house” is #4 on the Best of list.

Hades 2 quickly evokes everything I loved about the first game. Compelling and quick combat, paired with interesting characters and a story that make “one more run” incredibly addictive. The art was already amazing and it has been stepped up to another level. The surface world and the world below feel like you are getting twice the amount of game and variety for the price of one.

Killer stuff. So what gives, why the mid-table ranking? After over 35 hours played, I still haven’t finished it, and I’ve lost momentum to do so. The story is still strong, but the gameplay loop got tedious. A run to the final boss of the underworld is easy now, almost a 100% guaranteed win. The top side is the same through the first three zones, but the final zone is a big spike in difficulty.

A typical run takes 25-30 mins. For the underworld that is 25 non-challenging minutes to progress 3 minutes of story. For the surface that is 25 minutes of the same loop, to have my butt kicked when I arrive at progression. I’m guessing speed runners have solved this, but for my very average abilities it tipped into not having fun. And then into moving on to other games.

Half-Life: Alyx (2020) drops off the bottom of the list. What a cool execution of a new technology with so much promise. I never finished it though, because of the spins, sweats, and headaches. I don’t think VR is for me.

It is the middle of November and I did a bad job tracking for the October media log. And by “bad job” I mean I didn’t do it. So how about some recent recommendations instead?

Michael Che

Most know him from Weekend Update, but I’d seen a few of his specials before and really enjoyed his sketch show. We saw him live in Charlottesville last month and it was great. His opener, Paris Sashay was hilarious and Che crushed his set.

Weapons

The rare “scary” movie that gets great critic reviews is my kind of scary movie. This move is wild, strange, and occasionally puts you on the edge of your seat. I’ve linked the trailer above, but I’d actually recommend not watching it. Go in cold, know nothing, and be rewarded with a thrill ride.

Bridge Planet Nine

A sci-fi heist gone wrong from a local comic artist and writer, Jared Throne. A fun and quick read that primed the pump for starting a Scum & Villainy campaign with friends this month (more on this later).