Previously on isoul.uk: From Veoh and Justin.tv to Self-Hosting My Own Media — streaming solved the convenience problem, but it did not solve the ownership problem.
For a long time I treated online accounts as permanent.
Why wouldn’t I?
I had used the same main account for roughly two decades. Over that kind of period an account stops feeling like an account and starts feeling like infrastructure.
Email goes there.
Previously on isoul.uk: Why I Self-Host — a technical curiosity became a practical choice about ownership, privacy, learning and keeping data in systems I control.
It is slightly ridiculous that one line can connect watching anime on Veoh around 2007 with running Docker containers on a mini PC in my house today.
But there is a line.
Back then, I was interested in one thing: finding something I wanted to watch.
Previously on isoul.uk: The Internet Used to Feel Different — forums had addresses, communities had places and discovery was active before feeds took over.
There are much easier ways to use technology than self-hosting.
If I want photo storage, somebody will sell it to me.
If I need file sync, there are dozens of services.
If I want media streaming, I can pay a subscription and install an app.
Instead, I have ended up with NASes, Docker hosts, virtual machines, DNS servers, monitoring, backups and enough cables to make the “easy” option look extremely sensible.
Previously on iSoul: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince — The Magic Grows Up — the full-cast audiobook brought out the story’s humour, relationships and gathering darkness before the final journey.
Seven books later, I’ve finally finished Harry Potter.
Listening to the full-cast audiobook of Deathly Hallows made the end of the journey feel very different from the wonder of Philosopher’s Stone. The ordinary school days, lessons, feasts and Quidditch matches are mostly gone. Harry, Ron and Hermione are no longer children discovering magic. They’re trying to finish the task Dumbledore left behind while the world they know falls apart around them.
Previously on isoul.uk: Discovering Anime on the Wild Internet of 2007 — the internet stopped being a reference tool and became the place we went to find what to watch next.
I don’t think the old internet was necessarily better.
It was slower, less reliable, full of broken links and often much harder to use.
But it did feel different.
The easiest way I can describe it is that I used to feel as though I was moving through the internet. Today it often feels as though the internet moves through a handful of feeds towards me.
Previously on isoul.uk: How Toonami Changed What I Watched — television opened the door before the internet showed me how much anime existed beyond the British schedules.
That next phase began with Naruto.
Toonami had taught me to recognise anime as something distinct, but Naruto was the point when somebody effectively said to me, “This is anime. Watch this.”
That somebody was my brother. We started watching it online, beyond whatever British television happened to schedule, and I fell in properly.
Major spoilers for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, with references to later Harry Potter instalments, follow.
Previous: Order of the Phoenix Is About the Life Around the Story
I’ve finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and I’m not ready to rank it. It’s still lingering in my head.
I fell in love with the original sense of magic: discovering Hogwarts, meeting its ghosts, learning about strange lessons and hidden passages, and watching three children find their place in an extraordinary world. I still love the smaller details — Nearly Headless Nick’s Deathday Party, Peeves creating chaos, Filch secretly trying to learn magic, and all those little corners of Hogwarts the films never had time to explore.
Previous: Goblet of Fire Is Where Harry Potter’s World Opens Up
The life around the main story # Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix follows Harry through his fifth year at Hogwarts after Voldemort’s return. Much of the wizarding world does not want to believe him. The Ministry begins interfering heavily with Hogwarts, Harry becomes increasingly isolated and angry, and the school year turns into a mixture of exams, politics, friendships, rumours, punishment and resistance. At the same time, strange dreams and visions seem to connect him more closely to Voldemort.
Another Spider-Man film, another miserable time for Peter Parker. Some things never change.
Major spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day follow.
Peter keeps going # Spider-Man: Brand New Day finds Peter living with the consequences of losing everyone closest to him. Aunt May is gone, while MJ and Ned no longer remember who he is. He carries on being Spider-Man, but he’s clearly struggling to move forward. That’s the Peter Parker I’ve always known: capable of saving everyone else, yet rarely able to sort his own life out.