add new blog entry

src/blog/🚧2024-02-01.md

@@ -1,8 +1,53 @@
 ---
-title: jan 2024 blog // best things of 2023 // three albums
+title: jan 2024 blog // three albums
 date: 2024-02-01
 draft: true
 ---
 
-https://kalechips.net/posts/2024-01-21-Travelers-Notebook
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2eyOGgqD4E
+![](/_assets/img/blog/whataweek.jpg)
+
+pardon for the lack of activity in january - i had very lofty plans of starting my new blog schedule, as well as finishing the "best things of 2023" that i think i've mentioned elsewhere on the site, but neither happened. i also didn't really do any art because i was busy doing manual labour and then recovering from that manual labour (although i think [this year's art page](/art/my-art-2024.md) is starting to look pretty good). i got a couple of lovely messages in the guestbook which never fail to put a smile on my face - thank you [sabrin.party](https://sabrin.party) and matinao!
+
+i'm taking part in [funguary](https://www.tumblr.com/feefal/740320319467913216/funguary-is-happening-again-february-is-right) this year, which is basically just an excuse to get prompts on doodles for the month and to soak up that SWEET SWEET SOCIAL CREDIT. im pretty happy with [my first entry](https://uuupah.neocities.org/art/my-art-2024/#img_2), a take on the turkey tail mushroom as a celestial priesty lady. future readers will see if i was able to keep my shit in gear and actually complete the challenge
+
+![](/_assets/img/blog/january_movies.png)
+
+i managed to squeeze a fair few movies into january considering my workload - the rewatch of annihilation was purely self indulgent; i love that movie and i will _not_ be changing my mind. i actually watched saltburn twice, once at home and once in a cinema, and was amazed by the visual direction and acting of the whole affair. i also saw dune in cinemas but this was a follow up because i'd finished reading the books. denis villeneuve does a great job of sanding the rough edges off of it and i am begrudgingly excited to see the second film at the end of the year. the menu was a really good one, and while i don't think its a perfect film, the bits that were meant to get me absolutely _got_ me. theres some pretty nasty stuff in there so be warned, but i reckon it was worthwhile. the john wick rewatch was mostly for fun, but i did really notice how low budget the whole thing is - it doesn't at all ruin the film, and honestly just makes it more impressive that we got the movie that we did on such a small amount of money.
+
+the other three films are for my film podcast, which i will not be sharing out of embarrassment. in short, 3 idiots is one of the better amir khan films i've seen, das boot is a great thriller that ends weirdly, and braveheart sucks. i did not enjoy it
+
+---
+
+### top 3 albums
+
+this month's top 3 are a bit weird because i spent most of the month listening to A. the radio, B. podcasts and C. video game soundtracks because id been a very good person in 2023 and abstained completely for a whole year so i deserved a little treat. in no particular order, my notable albums for this month are:
+
+<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 320px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=827208815/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://aindulmedir.bandcamp.com/album/star-lore">Star Lore by Aindulmedir</a></iframe>
+
+<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/00ulLqNt9uqJQc5iIZWdMR?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="152" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>
+
+<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/0LFPjvWEaHP7WKQD6F5pVS?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>
+
+obsidian soundfields in particular is pretty fun - they do this sorta droney sorta arctic ambient, and each track is an hour long. it's legitimately great music, but its also incredible for rocking over an entire work day
+
+talking about being very good in 2023 and not listening to video game soundtracks, here's my last.year report!
+
+![](/_assets/img/blog/last_year_2023.png)
+
+in an surprise to absolutely no one, solar fields took out the top place. i absolutely HAMMERED them last year, and they were my most played artist by a factor of two. i also was introduced to golemm this year and they very quickly hit second place, as well as askii in my constant quest for a skyrim soundtrack that isnt the skyrim soundtrack. overall, i'm really happy with the abstinence year because it introduced me to a load of cool new music, but i'm also going to avoid tracking the numbers too hard in 2024. sometimes its just nice to put on the persona 5 soundtrack and turn off my brain
+
+---
+
+### other blog stuff!
+
+\- [kalechips](https://kalechips.net/posts/2024-01-21-Travelers-Notebook) introduced me to this super nifty method of binding books that i think i might give a go! my initial thought was to replace the expensive field notes i use for day to day note taking, but those are stapled and probably aren't worth the trouble.
+
+<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/n2eyOGgqD4E?si=CCTpp6RA62ziBIof" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
+
+\- persona 3 reload came out! i've already played it before and honestly don't have the time nor motivation to play it again, but there is [a fresh new soundtrack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlStr6neXjc) to listen to
+
+\- i started and finished the talos principle in a continuation of my quest to play every big deal puzzle game since braid. it was really fun, with a decent balance that meant i didn't spend much time bashing my head against a wall, and actually had a solid setting and ending for a puzzle game - a serious rarity!
+
+\- i started watching dungeon meshi and continued watching frieren. dungeon meshi was one of my favourite literary works of 2023, and the show appears to be doing an excellent job of adapting it, with a sort of digital hand-sketched look i've never seen in a big budget animation, and classic trigger goofery to match. i haven't got super far through frieren, but it probably actually rivals dungeon meshi as just about the most interesting fantasy story concept i've seen, paired with some unequivocally _beautiful_ art. i can't wait to finish it
+
+\- i had originally planned to slap my best things of 2023 in here but honestly the post is long enough. i'll do it next week