Newsletter Issue #21
Happy new year! 🥳🥳
Newsletter Issue #21: 27 December to 2 January 2021
1. What happened this week
This is the first newsletter of 2022! My family celebrated the New Year by letting me cook some Rosti for dinner. Thankfully I had my dad to help me with the sausage and chicken for the sides. Pre-pandemic, my family went to Marche at least once a year and because of that, I’ve grown fond of their Rosti with sausage. The taste is nostalgic and brings back happy memories. Mr Bao took me in as sous chef (assistant chef) on Monday, so I felt fairly confident since I’d already done it once before. However, I found that it was quite different doing it on my own. I think the colour might have been a little different because I only used melted butter to coat the pan instead of oil. The taste was okay but I think Rosti just has to be eaten hot. For a more objective opinion, my brother said this of my cooking, “It’s just potato”. You can decide for yourself if I passed or not based on the photos below.
I can’t believe 2022 is already here. I’m excited for the new year but it’s always a sad feeling knowing that 2021 is all gone. To prepare, I got a 2022 planner from The Paper Bunny, a local lifestyle brand. It as a bit of an expensive purchase but I’m really happy with the quality and its features. It’s almost too precious to use but the only way to get my money’s worth is to use it, so I shall.
2. For the Record
🎞️ What I’m watching (Movies, Shows, Videos)
Movies
Encanto (2021) – I thought it was ok. I don’t know if it would have been worth watching it in theatres. I think many people will be able to relate to the film’s central theme of family, as I did. While I didn’t think the songs were that great while I was watching the film, I listened to them again afterwards and they’re growing on me. My favourites so far are We don’t talk about Bruno and Surface Pressure.
Black Widow (2020) – In my quest to watch all the Marvel productions, Mr Bao decided that I should watch Black Widow next. It was an interesting movie! I actually enjoyed the story and the action sequences. As I understand it, this films serves as closure for Scarlet Johanssen’s Black Widow and an introduction to Florence Pugh’s. I loved both of them in the movie but I especially love Florence Pugh. Maybe partly because I saw her in the 2019 film Little Women and I thought she was really cool.
YouTube
Gary C’s funko pop collection – Can you believe the man is 41 this year? He doesn’t look it at all. I love that he’s unapologetic about his obsessions. From this video, I see a glimpse of a side of YouTube that hasn’t been as popular in recent years. What I mean is that he’s probably not a full-time YouTuber and he’s just making videos in his bedroom to share random things with friends. I currently watch some younger vloggers who only started making videos in the last few years when YouTube has already been quite established and the style is markedly different. I wonder if it’s because newer YouTubers understand the potential of it being a source of income or fame and are trying to optimise their content to go viral. I’ve certainly done that myself. It’s just kind of interesting to see how the YouTube landscape has changed. Click here to watch.
Why Most Japanese Clip Art Looks Like This – This is an interesting look into why Japanese illustrations all look so similar. It’s apparently all thanks to one man who diligently uploaded illustrations everyday for free (within certain limits). It’s an interesting concept which may have played a role in him landing collaboration opportunities with One Piece, Pokemon, and LINE. Click here to watch.
🎧 What I listened to (Music, Podcasts, Audiobooks)
Music
Snowman by Sia – An interesting older song which got stuck in my head. Click here to listen.
We Don’t Talk About Bruno (from Encanto OST) – I think this song is really good. I found a mistake in the animation though. At 3:13 in the music video, Mirabel’s family is dancing around her. The second person who appears after Isabela is a random person from the village whose fish had died. At 3:19, she disappears and is replaced by Dolores, Mirabel’s cousin. I feel like this was a mistake because the lady with the goldfish is not part of Mirabel’s family and only has a bit part in the song. The fact that it turns into Dolores also suggests that there was some kind of mistake. If you haven’t yet, go watch the video and let me know what you think happened. 🤔 Click here to listen.
3. Content Round-up
✏️ Posts this week
Thanks so much for reading! Happy New Year everyone. May you find strength and happiness in 2022! 🎊
💜 jy
Credits for assets used in the header image
Anti-Clockwise from top left:
