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Chunk, Drunk, Hunk, or Monk?

These should be the next 4 pandemic-inspired characters for Unmatched!

Board Games

Lockdown has increased my appetite for gaming. We’ve enjoyed a wide variety of both competitive and cooperative games. 5 of our favorites, particularly for 2 players, include:

1. Clank!
2. Onitama
3. Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu
4. Unmatched
5. Wingspan

My favorite sites for learning about games, besides Board Game Geek (, include Tom Vasel’s reviews on Dice Tower, Shut Up & Sit Down, and Rodney Smith’s Watch It Played YouTube Channel. But my all-time board game review remains BardicBroadcasts’ hilarious overview of the original Hero Quest:

Food

Cooking has been a great, healthy way to pass the time. Instead of scrolling thru online recipe sites with 1,500 key phrases, to limit my screen time I research recipes from my bookshelf. Cook’s Illustrated publications are by far my favorite.

For the first time, I also started exploring varieties of bourbon whiskeys. My favorite bourbons so far include: Bib & Tucker, Old Forester and Woodford Reserve.

Friends & Family

Slack, Steam and Zoom are no substitute for quality in-person gatherings. I’m grateful for a quality digital voice line that still lets me communicate with my tribe, whose diversity continues to expand my perspective during hyper-partisan times.

Music & Media

Last year, I replaced my traditional Sony receiver with a SONOS Amp. Paired with 2 Tannoy towers and 5 SONOS satellite speakers, I love the ability to control sound levels room by room. Pandora and Spotify have been wonderful for discovering plenty of new artists. Blues, country and soul have been the best genres to uplift my spirits.

Favorite new series to stream include: Lovecraft Country, Space Force, The Mandalorian, The Queen’s Gambit, and Watchmen.

Quiet

Solitude during lockdown has made me greatly appreciate silence, particularly in over-crowded Seattle. The peacefulness makes it much nicer to enjoy time in our yard and walking around our neighborhood.

Happy Thanksgiving!