#Music Wanderlust

[stuffaboutminneapolis]

Electric Fetus (1982) via Hennepin County Library

[joshleyson]

THIS IS: SIARGAO ✨

December film dump 🎞️

Growing up in Mindanao for almost 2 decades and never actually being able to traverse the picturesque landscapes in the eastern part of the island is something that I know I have to break before the year ends. So I did.

I flew from Manila to Cebu so early in the morning to catch a connecting flight to Siargao by noon. Traveling to Siargao was a lot of firsts for me. Not having to go to every detail but when the plane was about to take off to Siargao, we were all offloaded due to the bad weather on the island. Fortunately, instead of having to fly back to Manila, the airline was kind enough to take me to a nearby hotel in Cebu, all expenses paid including food, transportation, and next-day ticket. It was an unexpected staycation which surprisingly I enjoyed.

Coming from a very tiring day at work and then going to the airport, I felt like I really needed this quiet time, and I was able to check in to this lavish hotel all by myself while waiting for my flight the next day. Also, I had a great night as well in Cebu catching up with one of my long-time friends and her beaux. I went back to my hotel around 3 in the morning because there’s just so many things to catch up and I really missed my homie so much. Keyword: low-maintenance friendships.

So the day finally came, and I was able to land safely on the island of Siargao. Right off the bat on my first night, I had a lovely dinner with my travel friends slash buddies at work and we went to a bar, and danced the night away which to me serves as a prelude to the great experience this vibrant community had in stored for me as a Mindanaoan that have never set foot beyond the confines of Zamboanga and western Mindanao.

We spent our days being on the road which to me was such a release. Being able to smell the fresh ocean breeze while blasting our favorite Y2K songs in the car and relying on Waze or Google Maps for our next destination, to me, makes the trip so much fun because of the spontaneity and unpredictability that it brings. We went island hopping, danced in the boat, swam on open waters, ate our hearts out, moved from one accommodation to another, and I tried surfing for the first time! I never thought I would enjoy the experience because it was raining lightly at that time and the waves were so big it could easily engulf me, but man, best day ever!!!! I fell on the surfing board and slammed my body on the rushing waves several times but being able to stand on the surfboard for the first time was such a liberating experience. A little bit of a stretch, but it was and I will try it again once I go back to Siargao.

☾

I flew back to Cebu and then to Manila to catch one of my friend’s wedding and luckily I made it with no delay. Looking at the pictures that I got to develop from a Fuji film camera that I brought with me on the island, I am reminded again of the incredible healing power of what it’s like to try new things, be with nature, and just breathe. Knowing that the year is about to end in a couple of weeks, I felt so blessed to have that opportunity to break the complicated rhythm of corporate life and to disconnect for a moment. 

After 3 weeks, I get to fly back to Boracay to celebrate New Year’s Eve. So many epic moments that I am also grateful for which I may save for the future but nevertheless, my last month of 2023 was such a banger and I hope it always feels that way.

By the way, I’m writing all these on my iPhone because I’m too tired to get up and open my MacBook, so I appreciate you for hanging with me this far. So that’s it for 2023!

Simply put, I just want to say Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones, and may 2024 be as effervescent as your hopes and dreams for the future.

J.

(December, 2023)

(Photos were shot using Fujifilm Simpleace 35 mm camera + iPhone 15 Pro Max)

FOLLOW ME: Instagram/TikTok/Twitter: joshleyson

(Music by Grammy nominee, Victoria Monét. All rights belong to her and her publishers. For personal and non-commercial use only. Stream her great catalogue on Spotify and Apple Music.)

[useless-catalanfacts]

These are the earliest (finished) Renaissance paintings in the whole Iberian Peninsula: the musician angels frescoes in the València Cathedral, Valencian Country.

In the year 1469, a fire destroyed the main altar of València's Medieval cathedral, so they needed to rebuild it. In 1472, Roderic de Borja -who would later become the Pope Alexander VI-, came back to València after spending almost 20 years in Rome with his uncle Pope Callixtus III. And he came back with two Italian painters: Paolo da San Leocadio and Francesco Pagano.

At the time, the Renaissance hadn't yet spread outside of Italy. It was starting around 1490 and in the early 1500s that it spread to the rest of Europe. But these two Italian painters who came to València were already painting in Renaissance style.

At first, the Cathedral authorities were unsure of these artists, considering that they had to paint the main altar, the most important place in the whole cathedral. For this reason, they asked them to prove their skills. Paolo de San Leocadio and Francesco Pagano started painting the Shepherds' Adoration, but their skills impressed the cathedral authorities so quickly that they didn't even need to finish it before going on to paint the altar.

The unfinished painting The Shepherds' Adoration (1472) by Paolo da San Leocadio and Francesco Pagano.

A later reform during the Baroque period considered these fresco paintings old-fashioned and covered them with a new Baroque vault. The Renaissance frescoes were brought to light again in 2004. Experts expected to find the frescoes covered by a layer of lime and mostly destroyed, but they were pleasantly surprised to find them in a great state of conservation.

Photos by Catedral de València, Pablo Casino, Prats i Camps and sancholovesart.es.

[croftersforlife]

Someone needs to take away my ability to think

[funnyforyou24]

he do be working hard for freedom Just for laughs Follow me

[travel-with-us2025]

if you need to travel with us and book your hotel now just click here

[soundsfaebutokay]

Vibing to The Amazing Devil is tricky because one minute you're wreaking havoc on the high seas or fighting dragons in the fae realm then all of a sudden you're catapulted into a metaphorical therapist's chair where you have no choice but to confront your complicated feelings about your parents.

[boookfreeak]

i'm the hardest goodbye that you'll ever have to say

i'm the jesus of wishing to christ he'll come back.

i'm the child that you just didn't have time to conceive.

[averyauthorship]

Maybe it's just because I literally finished reading Harrow the Ninth by @tazmuir at 12:00 am last night, but I'm listening to "Farewell Wanderlust" by The Amazing Devil right now, and it's so Harrowhark/Gideon-core.

[stuffaboutminneapolis]

RIP Laurie Lindeen 😥

Taking their name from the film "It's A Wonderful Life," pehaps the purest expression of Americana ever produced, Zuzu's Petals take all of that absurb hope and grind it into their very own version of the ideal. With a vocal style remniscent of the Slits or the Breeders, guitars the crunch one minute and serenade the next, and unruly rhythms that theaten to go off on their own at any time, the Zuzu's find joy in creating indefinable pop that begs to be listened to, danced to, thought about, and cried over.

- Twin/Tone 'one sheet' (1992)

[mihran12]

Milan, Italy 🇮🇹

[848ellie]

Our trips 🍄 are filled with laughter, music, and memories that last a lifetime. From spontaneous dances to late night conversations under the stars, we make every moment count.

[joshleyson]

the island: 10/2023

Here’s to wanting a little taste of fresh air and finally getting it, a breather so I can live again, sunsets to remind me that all good things will come to an end so I’ll make the most out of it, and lastly, being comfortable with my own skin.

// 10.2023 ig carousel: @joshleyson

[useless-catalanfacts]

The knowledge needed to be a bellringer has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. What chimes are played for each holiday, to tell the time, when someone has died, for a wedding, for a baptism, for each mass, what would be played to alert a danger, how to take care of the bells...

The 21st century is seeing many traditional jobs get lost. But not the job of the bellringer. Though the bells that tell the time have been automatized, other chimes are still done manually. Many towns have a strong tradition of bellringing and have been passing down their knowledge, but to ensure that no town is left behind, the Guild of Bell And Carillon Ringers of Catalonia is starting the Joanetes School of Bellringers.

Starting in autumn 2023, every Saturday for a year the aspiring bellringers will attend class in the village of Joanetes (pictured above, in Comarques Gironines, Catalonia) and will be able to practise with the village's Medieval church's bell tower.

[croftersforlife]

Just Dance Coaches as Things I’ve Heard:

Wanderlust: Oh no! I accidentally opened the Oxford Dictionary!

Sara: I’m a hoe for chicken tenders

Brezziana: I’m just trying to write an inspirational quote but my pen won’t write!!! 😭

Jack Rose: Arson is an overrated crime

Mihaly: *orders a water with no ice* We’re partying tonight, folks

Night Swan: How do you think I look so young? I feast on the broken dreams and tears of children

The Traveler: I got an email in my inbox inviting me to join the illuminati?

Si’ha Nova: If he had done that while we were dating, I would have said no

Cygnus: Happy Birthday. Welcome to my bee shed

Mothigan: You don’t develop through a crysilis?

[we-are-inevitable]

jack is the kind of person to listen to those folk-y poppy playlists titled “wanderlust” or “mountainside” while actively skateboarding through the busiest streets in manhattan