Philip Walford
@philipwalford.bsky.social
I write for a living. And less successfully in my free time.
http://morbidcuriosity.substack.com
http://morbidcuriosity.substack.com
What I love about the idea of Bitcoin as a store of value is that you can cash one in any time you like for the electricity that was used to mine it. Right?
January 23, 2025 at 11:08 PM
What I love about the idea of Bitcoin as a store of value is that you can cash one in any time you like for the electricity that was used to mine it. Right?
As someone who decided several times over the past five years that it was already too late to buy Bitcoin, I do find myself wondering if this will be the one instance when it turns out that the emperor was wearing small but exquisite golden briefs the whole time.
November 30, 2024 at 12:16 AM
As someone who decided several times over the past five years that it was already too late to buy Bitcoin, I do find myself wondering if this will be the one instance when it turns out that the emperor was wearing small but exquisite golden briefs the whole time.
The best Christmas song is, of course, 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence' by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
November 25, 2024 at 7:36 PM
The best Christmas song is, of course, 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence' by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
I find it odd that people are saying the Vanity Fair writer was trying to ape McCarthy's style. I didn't actually see any signs of that at all. DFW I can maybe see if I squint, but even then not really. Reads more like Didion put through a gormless twat filter.
November 21, 2024 at 7:47 PM
I find it odd that people are saying the Vanity Fair writer was trying to ape McCarthy's style. I didn't actually see any signs of that at all. DFW I can maybe see if I squint, but even then not really. Reads more like Didion put through a gormless twat filter.
Biden needs Scranton, but does Scranton need Biden? Something (temporarily?) topical for Slackjaw medium.com/slackjaw/as-...
As A Fan Of The Office, I Think Biden Should Drop Out Of The 2024 Election
An open letter to a president whose time has come.
medium.com
July 19, 2024 at 6:02 PM
Biden needs Scranton, but does Scranton need Biden? Something (temporarily?) topical for Slackjaw medium.com/slackjaw/as-...
A little personal reflection on Larkin and Nostalgia: "She probably didn’t even read the poems from start to finish when she was having him struck off the curriculum. It seems more likely that she just started a couple and stopped as soon as she reached a diaphragm or a tuberous cock and balls."
Love Songs in the Digital Age
Thoughts on Philip Larkin, nostalgia and ubiquity.
morbidcuriosity.substack.com
September 30, 2023 at 8:00 PM
A little personal reflection on Larkin and Nostalgia: "She probably didn’t even read the poems from start to finish when she was having him struck off the curriculum. It seems more likely that she just started a couple and stopped as soon as she reached a diaphragm or a tuberous cock and balls."
Every time I hear it, I can't get over how utterly modern 'The Great Gate of Kiev" sounds. Particularly the slow swinging section at the midpoint with all those interleaving, chiming chords. It sounds almost impressionistic, despite being written a year before Ravel was even born.
September 29, 2023 at 6:55 PM
Every time I hear it, I can't get over how utterly modern 'The Great Gate of Kiev" sounds. Particularly the slow swinging section at the midpoint with all those interleaving, chiming chords. It sounds almost impressionistic, despite being written a year before Ravel was even born.
You're not allowed to pronounce "mirror" as "meer" just because it's a more convenient rhyme.
September 27, 2023 at 12:44 AM
You're not allowed to pronounce "mirror" as "meer" just because it's a more convenient rhyme.
I know it's petty, but I think one of my least favorite groups of people are those who find David Tennant really appealing. This counts double for Good Omens. And yet I have nothing against David Tennant himself.
September 5, 2023 at 9:47 PM
I know it's petty, but I think one of my least favorite groups of people are those who find David Tennant really appealing. This counts double for Good Omens. And yet I have nothing against David Tennant himself.
Le Tombeau de Couperin deserves more attention.
September 2, 2023 at 9:38 PM
Le Tombeau de Couperin deserves more attention.
Watched Tilda Swinton in "Three Thousand Years of Longing" over the weekend. She's extremely good at delivering glassy, aloof RP, but her Yorkshire accent was painfully forced. Are there any posh British actors who can convincingly play working class and/or a regional accent?
August 29, 2023 at 8:55 PM
Watched Tilda Swinton in "Three Thousand Years of Longing" over the weekend. She's extremely good at delivering glassy, aloof RP, but her Yorkshire accent was painfully forced. Are there any posh British actors who can convincingly play working class and/or a regional accent?
Mystified that the angels/aliens in "Come Sail Away" by Styx address the narrator both as 'lads' and 'baby'.
August 25, 2023 at 12:19 AM
Mystified that the angels/aliens in "Come Sail Away" by Styx address the narrator both as 'lads' and 'baby'.
This is my favorite line from a recent piece I wrote for @vox.com on fictional presidencies. I've always had a weakness for Miltonic rage. www.vox.com/culture/2023...
August 23, 2023 at 8:24 PM
This is my favorite line from a recent piece I wrote for @vox.com on fictional presidencies. I've always had a weakness for Miltonic rage. www.vox.com/culture/2023...
The Spotify listeners per month data is pretty interesting. Was not expecting Mexico City to have the world's highest concentration of A Flock Of Seagulls fans. Or that Sao Paulo has almost twice as many Oingo Boingo fans as the next most devoted city.
August 23, 2023 at 7:23 PM
The Spotify listeners per month data is pretty interesting. Was not expecting Mexico City to have the world's highest concentration of A Flock Of Seagulls fans. Or that Sao Paulo has almost twice as many Oingo Boingo fans as the next most devoted city.
Reposted by Philip Walford
We have a Webster too, though he's gone by Webby since about ten minutes after we got him.
August 23, 2023 at 5:18 AM
We have a Webster too, though he's gone by Webby since about ten minutes after we got him.
My Twitter is now full of these accounts that pop up over and over, despite not following them (the menswear guy, various reactionary techies, a handful of handwringing trad-chads). The Culture Critic is by far the worst. Glib, historically illiterate snobbery dressed up as common-sense aesthetics.
August 22, 2023 at 7:09 PM
My Twitter is now full of these accounts that pop up over and over, despite not following them (the menswear guy, various reactionary techies, a handful of handwringing trad-chads). The Culture Critic is by far the worst. Glib, historically illiterate snobbery dressed up as common-sense aesthetics.
Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton.
August 22, 2023 at 6:33 PM
Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton.
The fierce glare on my banner belongs to Marjorie Cameron. She was the original triple threat: an artist, actress and witch. Look at those eyes. She even managed to scare the shit out of Kenneth Anger.
August 19, 2023 at 1:42 AM
The fierce glare on my banner belongs to Marjorie Cameron. She was the original triple threat: an artist, actress and witch. Look at those eyes. She even managed to scare the shit out of Kenneth Anger.
Moving on to a new project. "Grievous Angels" was about art, music and magic in the C20th, told via the lives of Aleister Crowley, Marjorie Cameron, Kenneth Anger, Gram Parsons et al. This scene at Altamont is one of my favorites. https://morbidcuriosity.substack.com/p/extract-from-grievous-angels
August 18, 2023 at 10:10 PM
Moving on to a new project. "Grievous Angels" was about art, music and magic in the C20th, told via the lives of Aleister Crowley, Marjorie Cameron, Kenneth Anger, Gram Parsons et al. This scene at Altamont is one of my favorites. https://morbidcuriosity.substack.com/p/extract-from-grievous-angels
As a species we tend not to deal all that well with big numbers and big ideas. Is that why most people still seem fairly relaxed about the climate crisis? And yet we're all pretty scared of sharks and Damien Hirst. Maybe there's something in that.
The Physical Impossibility of Extinction in the Mind of Someone Living
When you know there's a shark in the water, don't you swim like hell for the shore?
morbidcuriosity.substack.com
August 18, 2023 at 6:09 PM
As a species we tend not to deal all that well with big numbers and big ideas. Is that why most people still seem fairly relaxed about the climate crisis? And yet we're all pretty scared of sharks and Damien Hirst. Maybe there's something in that.