Why here?
This is what happened.
I tried to post something on my site (philintheblank.net) but I couldn't post unless I uninstalled a theme or downgraded wordpress or convinced my uncooperative ginormous inhuman webhost to update their outdated PHP installation.
Maybe if I had sacrificed a black chicken or a pygmy goat, or burned an effigy of a blue and yellow alligator (my webhost's logo. We don't have alligators here, only crocodiles, and anyway I am not about to try and wrangle and slaughter any prehistoric reptile capable of lethal force.) Or maybe if I had taken the time to look under the hood of my website to try and figure out the real problem.
But I didn't really have time for all that. Instead of tearing up a wall to find a mangled wire inside a building that was collapsing under the weight of years of garbage plug-ins and a theme that I regret ever getting involved with - all sitting upon the rotten foundation that is Hostgator - I decided to move out! I was going to head to the countryside and start my Brasilia.
Then I stumbled upon this thing, Bear Blog, where I am writing this right now. It exists and it was started by this guy Herman, who has this to say:
During the early days of lockdown, my girlfriend got deep into gardening. She would spend hours nurturing her tomato plants, weeding, watering, puttering about. She would spend afternoons reading articles on permaculture, figuring out which plants grew well alongside other plants. Lavender with tomatoes kept the pests away, slight shade for the granadilla vine, some water, but not too much for the root vegetables. It was lovely to watch her coax tasty and nutritious food individually out of the ground. I can’t imagine full-scale farming being nearly as enjoyable.
That’s what I want from my products. I want to putter about, feel connected to the process, and have fun doing so. I want to make things that don’t scale. To see people tuck into them and enjoy them as people, not as stats.
WELL GODAMM, Herman. That is exactly how I feel about Scoot West Africa, The Sleeping Camel, Postcards from Timbuktu and every other project I may or may not be currently involved in.
So my old site is a museum. Modern day Phil is here, with Herman, puttering about.
UPDATE
My old site is not a museum. My webhost got with the program and I can post once more. I am still ahem looking for another webhost though.
For blog posts, it's still philintheblank.net. I am proudly keeping my official "Phil Paoletta" presence here. On Bear. With Herman.