I talked in a previous post about making music more regularly. And boy, do I have a gear addiction. Since that post, a drop from Telepathic Instruments' Orchid appeared so I jumped at that. And I have an Arturia Astrolab 37 due to arrive before the end of the year.

Music is my weird escape into another world. I've written before that I don't actually see it as a form of personal expression, because half of it (for me, at least) is just finding sounds and doing stuff. I find a mood or a vibe, more than I a find myself expressing a per-conceived notion or feeling.

Photography is similar. I tend to just embrace a vibe on the camera, driven by Fuji recipes or tinkering. I don't seek out a mood, per se.

I have enough ability that I could do that. I think that's how accomplished artists achieve their work. But I just don't have the inclination. I start at the technical discipline and just about appear to touch the rest.

But what I've noticed from creating things over the years is that they absolutely serve as a time capsule for me to look back on moments. Individual moments, eras, or just to spark memories. It's why music and photography are important to me.

Today, we had a family day out at "Elf Town." an elaborate Santa's grotto escape-room type situation where we were brought through a series of rooms by elves. We had the reindeer stable, a post office, Mrs. Clause's bakery, and of course we met the big man himself. I took a bunch of snaps throughout, which are much better photos than my iPhone could ever muster. But they serve as a lovely capsule to recall the day. But also an era. In the next few years my kids will get into the Christmas thing much more than they have before (because it'll be fully understood), and then they'll get out of it as they become teenagers. It's important for me to document this stuff.

And now. Right now. Is one of my favourite parts of the year. Not because we get time off work to spend with family and just sort-of hang out. No no, it's because we get listicles of the top things of the year. Most of which I missed. My Apple Music account is suddenly rammed with very weird and random music that has cropped up from someone else's top 10. I'll do similar myself in the next week or two.

But man, it's scary to look back and think that right now, we're nearly at the end of 2025.

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