20OCT2024

Happy Sunday everyone! This week, I’ve been discovering a bunch of great music thanks to Hearing Things, a new music blog/newsletter from ex-Pitchfork writers. I’ve also been thinking about this helpful guide for discerning whether you’re talking to an Expert or an Imitator from Mergesort’s excellent newsletter.

More than anything, I’ve been working on “appreciating everything endlessly” thanks to this absolutely amazing 20 minute talk by Cabel Sasser at XOXO, that half the internet has been linking to for the last week (seriously, make the time to watch it and try to avoid spoilers).

On to the good stuff!

• ☕ Breville Infuser* – I’ll spare you the long backstory involving my wedding, tiny Argentine countertops, and 10 years of wanting an espresso machine, but I finally picked up this one, recommended by CoffeeGeek, during Amazon's Prime Day sale. It’s beginner-friendly, looks great on my counter, and offers manual controls for pulling a legit shot and steaming the perfect latte milk. I'm loving it and suggest keeping an eye out for a good Black Friday sale on it. *Amazon affiliate link to support my coffee and tech habit.
• ⌨ Hubano – Dan from SimpleBits Type Foundry just released Hubano, an all-caps display serif inspired by old Cuban cigar box lettering. It's gorgeous! Check out his other fun fonts, like Wilco Loft Sans and Dragonsteel. Dan also has a secret club with secret typeface meetings, but forget I said anything about that!
• 🧳 Transit Packing Cube 8L – I’m by no means the world’s most organized person, but I’ve learned over the course of a few decades and many continents that travel is smoother when you pack in an organized manner. After trying everything from budget Amazon brands to REI and Peak Design, my favorite packing cubes are these 8L ones from Evergoods. They’re lightweight but durable and open flat into two compartments for easy access. They are also terminally sold out, but a new batch are available for pre-order now—grab some for holiday travel!
• 👾 GamePal for iOS – GamePal launched this week, offering a beautifully designed way to track your modern and retro game collections, log playtime, and journal your progress— No longer having to waste time trying to figure out what quest you left off on, or what you were planning to do next time you fire up your game. iCloud sync and iOS 18 widgets make it even more delightful. I’ve only just started using it, but it feels like this will be my new go-to for tracking my games.
• 🕹️ Analogue 3D – Speaking of retro gaming, the brilliant (but evil?) minds at Analogue are back with their much-anticipated Nintendo 64 console. It’s not only stunning to look at but also will natively upscale your old N64 cartridges to glorious 4K! The console will work with original N64 controller as well as more modern Bluetooth and Wifi remotes... I'm no expert, but it should also emulate any N64 games that you may have backed up from your legally obtained cartridges, thanks to USB and SD card ports. Pre-orders open Monday, and it’s pretty much guaranteed to sell out immediately.

⠀That’s it for this week. Stay safe everyone!

How was this week's issue– find anything fun or new?

• 👍 Definitely some good stuff in this one.
• 😐 Nothing new, but it was still fun.
• 👎 Nothing new or of interest this week.