Friday Mix Tape: 16 Jan 2025

Here's my collection of randomness for this week. We've got holiday plans and New Horizons.

Holiday Plans:

I mostly feel like hibernating at this time of year, as we should (in my opinion.) However, I am noticing the gradual increase of sunlight in the evenings and enjoying the thought of Spring this year. With sunshine in mind, we decided to book another trip to Portugal.

Why Portugal?

Food: The food has always been a highlight of our trips.

A ceramic bowl filled with pork, chunky potatoes, gherkins and herbs on top of a matching ceramic plate.

A plate of grilled octopus served with chickpeas, new potatoes, cabbage, peppers and herbs.

People: Almost everyone we've met has been so welcoming and friendly, in addition to sharing with us their favourite places to visit away from the tourists, and their favourite local restaurants.
The Views and Architecture: We've been to Porto, Faro, and Lisbon and each place has its own charm and its own beauty.

Two port boats on the side of Douro river across from scenic rows of buildings leading up the hills of Porto.

Looking along the river as it meets the ocean. The shore is lined by large rocks and a walkway lined by palm trees.

A chef stands next to multiple smoking charcoal grills cooking fish and meats for the restaurant in front of him.

The scene inside of Faro Cathedral. A black angel is in the foreground, in front of a large, ornate golden altar with candles, a cross, and the Virgin Mary. The wall to the right is a religious scene created with Portugal blue and white tiles.

A yellow concrete whale atop a pile of rocks on a desert island, next to the shore. A lighthouse stands in the distance.

Looking from the balcony over a large plaza with a statue of the poet, Luis de Camoes. The plaza design includes important symbols and geometric tiling surrounding it. Surrounding the plaza are busy streets and historic buildings.

So needless to say, we're excited to be going back.

Music:

This week I both watched and read about music.

On Netflix, I watched Depeche Mode M, the music documentary covering three of Depeche Mode's sold out concerts in Mexico City, and their deeply emotional and dark musical themes which often align with the experience of Mexican peoples. The documentary felt like a piece of artwork, and the monologues and poetry from Mexican authors added to that deep and emotional feel of the entire film. Definitely recommend.

In reading, I found a recent interview with one of my favourite artists, Dan Boeckner, in Larry Fitzmaurice's Last Donut of the Night newsletter talking about his experience in the music industry, podcasts, and the recent re-emergence of the popularity of Wolf Parade, thanks to their Heated Rivalry sync.

Video Games:

This week I revisited a game I haven't played in a while because Nintendo released an update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons and a new Switch 2 version (and the released both a day early!)

I wasn't sure whether I would like the hotel idea or find it annoying, so far I'm finding it engaging and it's brought me back into the game. I am sure however, that in time I'm going to tire of crafting items for Tom Nook and Kap'n in the hopes it brings more visitors and more items I can purchase to decorate my own island. Plus I took the opportunity to reset my island with Resetti, so I'm starting with a (mostly) clean slate when it comes to decorating. As for the actual Switch 2 version, it adds a few bits of functionality but not that many I see myself using (at this point) so I'm glad I already had the base ACNH game for Switch, and therefore only had to upgrade versus buying the entire game.

Hope you're enjoying reading, and if you are please tell a friend! Also if you want to connect, you can find me on Mastodon or Bluesky. 🌿