Inspired by the recent Bombcast, where the crew did... the exact thing I'm doing now, I will be going through my favourite non-gaming-related things of 2023. This is to prove to the world that I am a well-rounded person and not a total freak who does nothing but play video games for the majority of the time. Now, these are not in order, so let's get started.

Smeg Automatic Coffee Machine

Do you know what's better than a $1200 coffee machine? A free $1200 coffee machine. Yeah, we won this thing in a prize raffle a few months ago, and I would say it's life-changing. I used to have to press my coffee, and it was a pain in the ass. Now I press two buttons, and out comes hot, perfect expresso coffee. I would never pay what Smeg is asking for, but if $1200 is not significant for you, this is worth it.

Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse

What a fucking movie Across the Spider-Verse is. The first one was one of my favourite movies of that year, Across the Spider-Verse is my favourite western animated movie ever. It is just incredible how amazing this movie looks. Even with so many different styles, the movie still has a cohesive look that borders on witchcraft. Not to mention an excellent story and characterisation. If I could watch one upcoming movie right now, it would be Beyond the Spider-Verse. I am dying to see it.

Bocchi the Rock and the Kessoku Band Album

I adore Bocchi the Rock. A show about an introverted guitarist starting a band with her friends seems like a played-out premise, but how it's told makes it unique. It uses animation to its greatest strength by changing the show's style to depict Bocchi's... uh… moments. One scene in Bocchi the Rock could be using live-action or 3D animation, early 90s-styled anime, or a weird board game. It is so confident and expressive in its visual storytelling that you might forget the show is funny and relatable. I also wanted to mention the Kessoku Band album they released. It is an excellent Japanese pop-rock album used to perfection in the show. Unlike K-ON! it is strong enough to stand on its own. Kessoku Band's cover of Asian Kung-Fu Generation's Korogaru Iwa, Kimi ni Asa ga Furu, is my favourite and most played song of the year.

I Finished A Video Game

I love some stupidly long video game retrospective and analysis videos, but they are becoming unhinged. As much as I love Noah Caldwell-Gervais, Action Button and PatricianTV, they seem to go on and on and on. That is where I Finished A Video Game comes in. Yes, his videos are still 4 to 8 hours long each, but what makes him different is that he makes his points and moves on to the next game or topic. He doesn't spend 90 minutes on the Skyrim Dark Brotherhood Questline. He spends 20 minutes on one Castlevania game and moves on. This makes it soooo much more accessible to watch than any other video game analysis person on YouTube, which is why he's become one of my favourites.

Another thing I like about him is he doesn't always pick topics that are done to death. I never need to listen to another god damn Dark Souls analysis but a 4-hour video on random Indiana Jones games? Yes, please! Please give him a try.

Gunther vs Sheamus vs McIntyre

If there was ever a match that defined the phrase 'big meaty men slapping meat', it's the Wrestlemania Intercontinental Championship Match between Gunther, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. Just three massive dudes smashing the shit out of each other. Many of the best matches of the year featured guys like Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson, technical masters of their craft. However, sometimes you want bears mauling each other, and that's exactly what this match was. It's hard-hitting and brutal stuff. I love it, and it's available for free on YouTube!

Cracker Island

Gorillaz are finally back to form after their last few middling albums. Cracker Island returns to Gorillaz's grimy poppy roots while being weird in its mood and instrumentation. Songs like Tired Influencer and Oil bring me back to the days of Plastic Beach, whereas stuff like Silent Running could easily be on their debut album. They also use outside artists to their strengths, unlike the last few times where it felt like they just wanted a name on their songlist. Stevie Nicks, Tame Impala and Bad Bunny feel right at home, whereas I felt like Snoop Dogg, Robert Smith, and Elton John felt like they were on previous albums just cause they wanted them on their album. Hopefully, this trend of Good Gorillaz stuff will continue.

Hey-EW

If you had told me my favourite All Elite Wrestling thing of 2023 would be the interview comedy show on their YouTube channel, I'd have called you crazy. Hey-EW is basically Between Two Ferns but with wrestlers (and occasionally drunk actors), and it is fantastic. RJ City is probably their most underrated and underused talent, and I don't even want to see him wrestle. All of them are pretty good, but my favourite is his interview with Adam Copeland, where they talk about everything from Money Plane to underage smoking. Good stuff.

VIBE Soda

I've never had to write a paragraph on a soda before, but damnit, I will try. VIBE soda is tasty, low in sugar and cheap. I buy multiple 4-pack every time I see them, and I think the most I've seen them at is 6 dollars. I'm trying to drink less soft drink and more water, but every once in a while, I'll drink one of these and not feel like I'm going to die. VIBE good.

Andy Math

How much of a math dork must you be to have a favourite math YouTuber? I bet it's a lot. Andy Math doesn't teach you how to solve problems, but he shows you what the mathematical thought process should look like. He sees a problem and, in straightforward terms, shows you his mathematical process to solve it. I would never use him to teach a specific thing in geometry but to show what excellent mathematical problem-solving skills look like. He makes math look like fun. How exciting.

gg.Deals

I don't buy any games anymore without checking gg.Deals. The single best deal aggregator online. It collects every legitimate storefront, crunches the numbers, and shows you the best deals for whatever game you want. It features some of the best filtering I've seen on any website and includes Xbox and Playstation storefronts. My only real complaint is that it does not have Nintendo's digital store. Besides that, it is the perfect website for finding the best game deals. I could not even begin to calculate how much this website saved me.