2025-10-20 15:46:39
My original article last week caused a bit of a kerfuffle. I had a few people contact me (I won't name names) to take umbrage. Largely along the lines of "it isn't actually an issue" and "you're making me feel bad for having CDs".
For those saying it's not an issue, I say I have yet to see compelling evidence to counter all of the examples I gave. Some examples, under some circumstances, perhaps — but not enough to change my mind.
To the people I made feel bad, the article isn't aimed at the average everyday physical media owner – hello, that's me! – it's aimed at the irrational "You Should Just" people who make sweeping statements with zero empathy. If you felt I was attacking you personally maybe have a think about why you might be triggered by the word privilege.
I see a lot of "You Should Just" posts; install Linux, ditch streaming, start a blog, go analogue, buy ethically, refuse to use AI. For every "should just" there's a list of reasons why someone would find that difficult to impossible.
There wasn't any judgement in the original article, I wasn't gunning for anyone or any group in particular.
I'm not saying you shouldn't own physical media. Nor am I saying there's anything wrong with owning stuff; go ahead, buy whatever!
I own physical media myself; hundreds of books, vinyl, DVDs. I love it and, also, fuck Spotify/Disney/etc. But I recognise I'm in a privileged position to do so. I have my house and income and health and a level of stability that all go towards allowing me to keep these things.
My post simply provided some examples of people who might find it difficult to "just" use physical media instead of online services.
It might be stating the obvious to a handful of people who read this but (a) you're not the target audience and (b) there are plenty of people for whom this is brand new information.
2025-10-20 01:43:51
Woke to fog, a hazy mist obfuscating everything beyond the property borders. I pulled on trousers, grabbed my camera, and set off before the sun burned it all away. I needn't have been so eager; the sun never got hot enough and the fog stayed with us all day.
Enveloped in my own personal cloud, the village was dead. My footsteps muffled, a listless call-and-response between two blackbirds a block apart. Reaching the far end of the street, where urban gives way to rural, I started to hear the hum and fizzle of the pylons; that exaggerated buzz of rapidly ionizing air like furious TV static.
The following day, three funerals. The weather obliged with claustrophobic drizzle. The carpet of beech nuts by the substation has softened losing its crunch.
A bucket of windfall apples on the pavement, free to a good home, will soon be an apple bob if this continues.
On the Green, they have started stacking branches for the annual bonfire. In this weather it looks rather "Wicker Man".
I was off work the first half of the week but I managed to make it into the office for the Last Day™.
After 17 years, Havas Lynx is leaving its home on Princess Street for a shiny new office block on the old BBC site.
There was very much an "end of term" vibe to the day; some teams just basically clocked off at lunch. We finished a bit early and had some drinks and cake while we played The Traitors and I got to be a Traitor!!!
2025-10-20 01:10:43
Sure, flowers are lovely but this season calls for nettles covered in spider webs glistening in twilight fog. Happy spooky season, folks!
2025-10-17 22:28:11
Swedish metal supergroup Arch Enemy released a deluxe edition of their latest album, "Blood Dynasty". So far so Arch Enemy. Nothing really leaps out as "Wow!" but it's all competent; the chugging is on the right places, Alissa's growl is on point (I wish they let her do more clean vocals — it's what made The Agonist so good). I imagine it's a hit with the fans.
For some reason this week, The Algorithm™ decided to give me some quirky Japanese indie punk and, honestly, I'm not mad about it!
First up is the painfully catchy "oddloop" by Frederic which has an equally quirky music video. I'm not 100% sure what it's about but it's fun and up beat.
Equally joyful is the opening melody from "Necry Talkie" by bloom. Verging on the unhinged, it sounds like an 8-bit video game soundtrack mashed into bouncy indie pop-punk. Absolutely brilliant!
2025-10-15 16:49:56
The pushback against streaming media, despite many valid points, has some "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" vibes to it. Particularly around owning physical media; books, CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, BluRays, cassettes, floppy disks.
But, as with a lot of things, the reality is a bit more nuanced than "streaming music bad, owning vinyl good".
Physical media takes up physical space.
Physical media is expensive.
Physical media often requires furniture to house it as well as devices to play it.
Physical media is susceptible to irreparable damage leading to costly replacement or repair.
Here follows a non-exhaustive list of people who may not be able to favour physical media over streaming.
2025-10-14 16:01:03
I have been using a gorgeous Lamy CP-1 ballpoint for a while now and recently had to source refills as I had used all the ink.
Turns out they're tricky to find and kind of expensive. I bought a cheaper knock-off but the dip in quality was noticeable.
However, I do have Parker refills aplenty! I've got a small collection of cheap Jotters that I've picked up over the years and those refills are both decent quality and easily found. I can even get them on my weekly shopping delivery if needs be!
Sadly, the Jotter is good for just that — scribbling a few words on a shopping list or similar. I can't stand writing for long periods with it at all.
So I started looking into fancy pens that also use the Parker-style ballpoint insert.
There are many gorgeous and expensive pens that meet my needs but I am not spending that much on a pen!
I found some lovely looking Cheap Imitations™ going for around £12 on eBay.
Luxury Bolt Action Pen Titanium Alloy Rollerball Pen 0.5mm Point Birthday Gifts
I paid my money and waited. But not for long. Delivery was much quicker than expected/advertised which was a nice bonus!
It has a lovely heft to it — the all-metal construction, I imagine. It's a bit shorter and thicker than the CP-1. The knurled grip is comfortable even over fairly sustained periods of note taking.
Because it uses familiar refills it writes as well as your budget. I'm already considering gel refills to see if that elevates my writing experience.
The bolt-action is clicky-clicky satisfying and an excellent fidget toy! I've never used one before so we'll see if its novelty wears off…