Physical media consumption rubric
A photographic treasure trove of what I did *not* add to my collection
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Here’s some of what I watched this week:
I’m obsessed with the Olympics and no one can stop me!!!!! I’m particularly a fan of figure skating, ice dance, and snowboarding. I loved Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel’s routine to the bus driver from Spice World’s (Meatloaf’s) song, which they’d previously performed at the German National Championship.
Friend of the Letter Chet recently released the newest episode of Hit and Run, where he interviewed members of iconique Y2K Pop group PYT 25 years after their debut. In a world where context collapse prevails and literally anyone can interview celebrities (just saying), Chet is a breath of fresh air. He is SO well-researched, articulate, prepared, and composed. I really enjoyed it, as will all niche early 2000s pop music fans!!!
I watched Netflix’s America’s Next Top Model 3-part documentary so you don’t have to. It only skims the surface in terms of its problematic treatment of its young contestants, it could’ve been shorter, and I’m more interested to see the one on E! where the narrative is shaped by the models rather than Tyra. Although I find using UGC in documentaries a lazy copout that uses creators’ work without consent or compensation, it was fun to see a familiar face – Friend of the Letter Janine! Shoutout to her for giving me a slice of her cake from Netflix hehe :) WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU!
Below you will find a photographic treasure trove of physical media I did not buy! The impetus for sharing these pics now is because they clog up my camera roll. I’m tired of getting notifications that I am utilizing 127.9 GB of 128 GB of my iPhone storage – I haven’t forgotten! Consider this the third installment of My Digital Archiving Project (aka. MDAP, which you can read more about here and here). I’ve been keeping my photo count under 10k, which I consider pretty good.
If there is one takeaway for this week, it is: You don’t have to buy everything!! (Case in point: The Cosmopolitan Intimate Moments compilation CD…) For all intents and purposes, I’d like to differentiate consumers, resellers, and collectors because they have different motivations for buying things. Here, let’s focus on the collector’s POV.
Consumers buy shit they absolutely do not need, usually from giant corporations that actively negatively impact the world and adversely shift consumer behavior: Amazon, Shein, Walmart, Target, TJ Maxx, etc. Intention is low, as they are not purchasing commodities or essentials. These buys are fueled by impulse, novelty, and/or boredom.
Resellers buy shit at the deepest discount possible so that they can resell it on a secondary marketplace and generate maximum profit: Poshmark, Depop, eBay, etc. Intention is high, as sellers’ livelihood depends on market value of goods sold – though it’s a volatile, ever-changing figure.
Collectors buy shit because they feel some kind of attachment to or fulfillment by physical items. Intention is high, as collections are shaped by the collector’s individual taste, memory, and sentimentality. If intention was low, that would just be hoarding!!
In my Physical Media Renaissance™ video podcast episode, I go over my Nicstalgia Consumption Rubric. This is how I decide what gets on “the list” of what I buy and what doesn’t. The list is shorter than you might think!
Rarity: Is the item readily available, still in production, or available at a reasonable cost on the secondhand market?
Sentimentality: Do you have firsthand nostalgia, emotion, or investment in this item?
Opportunity: Is this something you would’ve wanted when you were younger and didn’t have it, or couldn’t find at a reasonable price.
Risk: Would you be mad if this piece of media wasn’t on streaming platforms and disappeared forever?
I came across these CDs/DVDs/tapes/etc. in 2025, and they didn’t quite fit into the criteria for purchase. I kinda wanna go back to the stores and get the first row of items here – FWIW, the MyScene movies are fabulous. But sometimes, it’s okay to just take a picture of something and call it a day. Stay tuned for what I did add to my collection soon…
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I need to follow this guide very closely!!!!!!