A little rant about physical media ownership

 

When I read posts and comments like "I miss DVDs" or "I miss my CDs." Like what are you even talking about? These things didn't vanish, no one stole them away from you.
You decided that paying Amazon, Spotify, Netflix, and every other streaming program indefinitely for the "convenience" of experiencing these things was way better than actually owning them.

Maybe that is more convenient, I dunno, but I feel a lot better when I pop in a cassette or VHS knowing that there won't be ads, or that some corp isn't selling my data, monitoring conversations, or force feeding me their algorithm. But most importantly that the thing I paid for isn't going to suddenly vanish.

I know this is the crazy rant of some old tape head, but if getting back to these things sounds interesting to you I can help and it's easier thank you think.

Miss Blockbuster/video stores? Get to your Public Library. Our local library has a massive selection of DVDs and even VHS tapes for sale. It literally IS a mom n pops style video store and you don't even have to pay anything to rent. This isn't unique to my neck of the woods.

If you do want to own your physical media though, check out AMVets or the Haven of Rest in town. Thrifting prices have ballooned all over for sure but Tapes and CDs have consistently remained dirt cheap at these locations. Great way to start or beef up your collection.

If you're after a more curated experience, head to the Bristol Boo-tique: a Curiosities & Metaphysical shop where they have a collection of more sought after tapes, DVDs, and cassettes, as well as collectibles. It's like Fye at the mall but without the insane prices. Or if vinyl is your jam head 2 doors down to Cheap Thrills records.

Want to make your own physical media collection? The adaptors needed to record your own tapes and cassettes are usually around 10 bucks. If you have an internet collection and the VCR/walkman/slabs to record on, you could be making copies of everything you stream. Then at least you'd be getting something out of that subscription. There are guides on how to set it all up all over the net.

I'm not sure why I felt the need to type all of that. Just seeing too many helpless "I miss the good old days" kind of posts, which I guess is typical for this time of year. Spooky season is the most nostalgic time of year after all.

The way you used to live and entertain yourself still exists, you just gotta participate in it. Be safe, healthy, and have fun! 🎃

Back again-ish

 

Time for a proof of life and that I haven't abandoned my site or little side projects. Aside from a few touch ups we've wrapped up our renovations and really transformed our home! That being said, I don't have any plans to return to vending or commissions this year. It's been more refreshing to work on art for myself lately. I know that's disappointing to those who have emailed me with requests, but I hope this is more of a hiatus truly. I really appreciate everyone that has reached out and can't thank you enough for the interest!

Just for fun, please enjoy these pictures of our adorable pets:

Site updates: Added some links to the links section and boots to the video projects section.

The year long month of January

 

Just a few house keeping updates. Cleaned up some links and added some new ones. As more of my equipment makes it out of storage I'm going to continue working on the knowledge library. If you've ever been interested in recording your own VHS tapes, shell swaps, or even just repairs and maintenace it should hopefully be something to look forward to.

Thanks for continuing to stop by and I hope the extra extra long first month of 2026 is treating you well!

On Hiatus

 

Howdy party peeps! I wanted to quickly chime in to give proof of life as well as let everyone know that I am taking a hiatus on vending/creating for a while to focus on my home improvement projects. Specifically I am remodeling the unfinished portion of my basement into additional bedrooms and adding a bathroom. If you've ever dabbled in such projects then I'm sure you'll understand how time consuming and chaotic they can be.

That being said, I am unable to take on any new commissions or buy VHS collections at this time. The equipment I use to record VHS and audio cassettes is currently in storage so I am unable to engage any new projects right now.

I've already responded to everyone that's emailed me but I wanted to say thank you again for reaching out to request projects and to share your collections! I'll check back in with everyone at the beginning of the new year.

If nothing else gets posted from me this year, I hope you and your family have an amazing holiday season! I'm hoping for all the best for everyone's happiness and success! See you in 2026

Saucers Over Appalachia wrapped

 6/16/2025 - Saucers Over Appalachia wrapped

It's been a minute! I've been grinding non stop to prepare for Saucers Over Appalachia and I'm happy to report that the event was a huge success! The turnout was amazing and it seems like all the attendees really dug the move to the park over the convention center.

I think I sold out of pretty much everything UFO and horror related I brought. Super stoked to see people get excited about VHS and see their eyes light up with nostalgia. Good thing I brought VCRs! My favorite thing about being there was hearing about people's favorite movies and UFO documentaries. Also it's great to hear that I'm not the only person that was terrified of the Unsolved Mysteries theme song as a child. A huge thank you to everyone that stopped by to chat!

Huge shout out to Starry Eyed Artist Designs for allowing me to set up with them. It's always so much easier and more fun to work an event along side friends. The extra hands and eyes on everything and someone to hang with when things quiet down is invaluable. Can't wait for the next event!

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Supplemental! 6/16/2025 - West Virginia Cryptid Vacation

I did manage to sneak a vacation in before Saucers Over Appalachia. We drove up to West Virginia to visit Point Pleasant for the Moth Man Museum as well as Flatwoods to see the sights and visit the famous Braxie Chairs. Happy to report that the Moth Man Statue's ass is even more glorious than in pictures and the Braxie chairs are a sight to behold. Beautiful communities, but with just the right touch of creepiness to affirm "yep, I could definitely see cryptids haning out here."

I recommend the trip for anyone with an interest in cryptids and their origins. Lots of beautiful sights to see and artifacts to discover. I'd love to go again in the future!

Saucers Over Appalachia!

 

I'm excited to announce I've been accepted as a vendor for Saucers Over Appalachia, on June 14th!
I'll be bringing many UFO and other paranormal documentaries to beef up your collection as well as the usual horror selection and art. Check out the website for more details on the event and follow my Instagram for a preview of some of the things I'll be bringing in the coming weeks.

The Appalachian region has an extended history of UFO/Paranormal sightings and encounters. If you hold even a passive interest in the paranormal you should plan on attending Saturday June 14th as the community gathers to celebrate the history of these events and learn more. There will be lots of speakers, events, food, and of course art and collectibles for sale. Hope to see you there!

More mystery tape and web updates

 

Work has been slammed lately. On top of my other commitments I haven't had much time to sit down and go through more of the mystery tapes from the estate sale until now.

The next tape was simply labeled "space" and is a good hour of shooting some model planets over a backdrop of stars. Some great miniature work that comes out well on the VHS format. Near the end the creator actually moves his hand into the shot to give some scale to the miniature planets and shows us that they've been suspended to the backdrop giving a little illusion of depth.

The next tape labeled "Skeleton Rider" shows us another puppet they were working on. So far I'm about a half hour in and it's just footage of this skeleton figuring swaying on this galloping furry creature. I'll revisit this one later to see if there's any other footage of note.

Finally, maybe the most noteworthy update, is we have the artist's name. This tape was labeled "The Art of Tim Smith." It starts as a bit of a room tour, silently moving around the space showing some of the puppets and sculptures we've seen previously before taking some extended shots of his various paintings. I enjoy his line work and subject matter, obviously a fan of fantasy and science fiction. It's nice to have a name now, though I'm not having much luck at all in finding out more about them on the web or social media. As you can imagine the name "Tim Smith" leads to a lot of dead ends.

I'll continue to watch the tapes for more content and clues. We may not ever know who this person was, but the content along the way is certainly interesting.

*Page updates
I've added a knowledge library section to the site that will contain information on VHS care and maintenance, collecting, as well as creating your own tapes. I'm still working on building the pages within so it's an empty library at this point but stay tuned. I also found some of my files from my original Geocities Sonic fan page so I'm toying with uploading those in there as well.
Also cleaned up some links here and there and general tidying up. As always, thanks for stopping by!

Mirrored from: https://spinball.neocities.org/2025blog