2020 Retrospective (COVID19 Edition)

2020 - Year in Review

Pater Familias

Fav H Show: Haikyuu!!  H has been into this for a while, and we started watching this together recently.  I really love how the show emphasizes friendship and teamwork.  

Fav J: J's gotten into these videos of kids playing with their toys, but the upside is that they inspire her to play with her own toys.

Fav New Food: During the summer M cooked food from different countries, and it was amazing, especially the Cambodian dish (Amok Trei) she made.

Fav Date Night Outing:  Because of COVID19, we ordered French cuisine from La Fresa Francesa in Hialeah and ate it in our backyard.  Magnifique!  

TV

Fav Thing Netflix Show:  The Sarah Cooper Special Everything's Fine completely captures the mess that was 2020.  It's like a two-hour meme that is relentless but hilarious.

Fav Actor: T'Nia Miller in her role as Hannah in The Haunting of Bly Manor.  Her performance was as beautiful as it was haunting.  

Fav TV Show (Cable): [Tie]  

- Community (NBC) was like comfort food for me.  I binge watched the show twice.  It was like my nightly ritual for a few months.  The ending hit me like a ton of bricks.

- Preacher (AMC) helped my later part of the year.  I feel bad that I was so late to the party on this one, but it was great seeing some of my favorite comic book characters brought to life.  The cast did a great job in the show and some of the comedic moments were pure gold...I'm talking about all the moments with Eugene. 

Mixed Media

Fav Non-Gaming Podcast: Dust scratched my itch for Sci-Fi radio play content.  Their Flight 008 show was well-produced and well-written.  It was like Lost met Dark Mirror.

Fav Film:  I'm Thinking About Ending Things (Netflix) - This film is heavy in all kinds of ways, but Kaufman crafts something that lingers in the air for a bit. 

Fav Book:  The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead.  This novel was heartbreaking and beautifully written.  The texture of the details and the flow of the narrative, with interlocking timelines, grabs the reader and leaves one saddened by the horror of the past.

Fav WTF Literary Moment:  Hearing the amazing audio production of The Sandman on Audible.  The voice-actors faithfully brought the first few graphic novels to life...in your ears.

Fav. Comic Series: March by John Lewis.  Grateful to have such a great set of books that capture the Civil Rights in the 1960s. Lewis's life and story are inspiring, and his presence in our history is a gift and a blessing.

Fav Song: Death Stranding by Chvrches.  This song was like a line being held against the darkness.

Fav Piece of Tech:  This is the year I got into PC gaming.  Grateful for a PC that could handle the games and the work load.

Favorite Moment when my mind heart was blown wide open: The season finale to The Mandalorian S2.  That moment between Djin and Grogu left me in tears...full-blown ugly-cry tears.

Gaming

Fav Gaming Podcast: 100 Top Videogames with Jared Petty.  Petty is one of the main voices in games, in terms of knowledge and insight.  His perspective is always refreshing.

Fav Video Game Score: Sayonara Wild Hearts.  It was pure electronic heartbreak music that literally made the game.

Fav PS4 Game: Rocket League.  There is no logical reason why I should love this game the way that I do.

Fav PC Game:  Battletech.  I mainly got my laptop to be able to play this game.  I loved the campaign and the story, logging in over 200 hours in the cockpit of my mech.  It was just like playing the tabletop game.  Sure,it might be repetitive at times, but when the enemy mechs went booooommmm, it was pure joy. 

Fav Video Game Choice That Made Me Really Think:  That moment you flip the table in Tabletop Simulator...it's like a pixelated anthem for 2020.

Fav. Video Game World:  The school of Wintermoor Tactics Club.  This game mixed a visual novel with a tactics game, but the world you play in is contained while also being rich.  I enjoyed my time with this game.

Fav Moble App: Among Us.  Got to play with friends, family and students.  It's great in that it is simple but also deceptive.  Memorable moments with this one. 





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