Moving forward

Coming back from a fantastic holiday, usually a few things happen.

The first is that when contrasted with the end-of-the-year British weather, I immediately want to go back.

And the second is mandatory daydreaming about what if I just left everything behind, moved to one of these islands and spent the rest of my days playing guitar in a local bar.

Both are valid thoughts, but having new trips and events scheduled, plus interesting projects to sink into, is often enough to combat them.

And there is a lot to do, so let’s get right to it.

WORK

Casefile 2025 may be over, but we are not resting, and it’s full steam ahead, preparing for 2026, which will be the 10th anniversary of the podcast!

There will be many surprises in store, but for now, I am focused on preparing music libraries for all the new upcoming episodes.

That means writing more than 30 new musical cues, rewriting 30 more and then creating multiple musical stems from each.

I am at the writing stage, which I hope to finish by the end of the week. Then I am excited to start creating the stems using my newly acquired Omnisphere 3 (which I haven’t had time to explore yet).

The Dog’s Lounge is also in full-go mode. Paulina is recording videos for her launch, and I will be in charge of the content strategy.

I am very excited for it, and I believe that her product will shake up the fresh food dog market, as it is incredible what she has come up with.

And lastly, with YouTube, I will be consolidating as I don’t want to spread myself too thin with all the various projects. So with the help of my brothers, we are going back to focus on interesting facts about the world of sound, mostly mixed with my love of movies.

Here is the latest one we did.

BOOKS

How Not To Fuck Up Your Marriage by James Sexton

What is the best way to get marriage advice?

Read a book by a prominent divorce lawyer.

It’s a funny, straight-to-the-point, no-nonsense book about marriage and why divorce happens. With the hope that by reading it, married people can avoid it.

It’s good with one criticism that it is a bit too American for my taste (he is an American lawyer), but knowing how they love litigation (and it seems, divorce), I think the general advice is evergreen.

GAMES

Battlefield 6 & Arc Riders

Having many side projects means that something has to give. For me, it was gaming. A beloved hobby that, unfortunately, I had to put on a shelf.

However, recently I got persuaded by my brothers and mates to join the online squad and pulled the trigger (figuratively and literally) on these two new games.

I am not back to constant gaming like in the past, but an evening match is a good way to catch up with friends who live all around the world.

MOVIES

Only Murders in the Building S5.

As much as I love being on holiday, I missed my home theatre setup.

We are back on Disney+ and catching up with the latest season of OMITB. Every season is a perfect autumn watch, and this one didn’t disappoint. And I am not just saying that because Steve Martin loves Casefile (I promise).

MUSIC

The Offspring & Simple Plan

To combat holiday blues, I had tickets to the gig pretty much straight after coming back.

I mentioned before that pop-punk is not my 1st genre, but it was The Offspring’s Americana that introduced me to alternative music and started my musical journey when I was a young kid. So they have a special place in my heart.

Also, it was awesome to attend a high-energy, good vibes and funny show as a pick-me-up.

Emma-Jean Thackray

As I dropped my mum off at the Mamma Mia musical (as a thank you for watching Benji when we were away), I went to see this alternative jazz musician playing in a hall nearby.

It was something different and very groovy.

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you (hopefully!) next week!

Mike

https://mikemigas.com/

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