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Hello and welcome to the ReadyMade Vault!

I know that a webpage for everything is a bit unexpected but it's something I have wanted to do for a bit. I felt I needed to take the leap recently however and I'll explain the best I can with my signature diatribe.

Viewers of my channel know that my output has decreased from 2023 to today. Over that time I had found other creative passions as I had gotten burned out with video editing and trying to upload. On top of all of this, I felt like I had lost the creative spark that made me gravitate to YouTube as a kid/teen. It's such a different system now and one that often squashes free expression. I made these videos as a creative excercises and that slowly turned into obligation. Instead of trying to keep up, I chose to do it at my own pace. I had plans to bring the channel back in 2025 with videos about Wish You Were Here and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, but then came the changes. In late July 2025, amidst numerous draconian pushes by both right and left wing parties across the world, YouTube announced an AI age verification process. The process would flag accounts that YouTube believes may be used by a minor and put them in Restricted Mode until they verify their age. To verify it, however, the user has to put in personal information. As I write this the feature has not rolled out yet but given the site's completely batshit past when it comes to implementation, as well as the horrible implementation of similar policy across the pond in the U.K., I know that this will harm more people than it ever "saves." I am opposed to any policy like that and don't want to be involved on a site that uses that level of surveillence, especially today as the United States government ramps up its attempts to watch the people. It has become fundamentally clear that companies like Google should not be given any sort of trust on issues like these. Restricted Mode creates a massive issue for my channel. While only a few videos of mine have been age-restricted (of my own volition) a majority of them are not viewable in that mode. That means if you don't comply with Google taking your personal data, my hard work (as well as the hard work of many other creators) may as well be lost media. The second channel is also affected, though not as heavily. It is horrible and demoralizing. I have been making essays for over five years. I have put so much effort into them. Now they can't even be seen unless we bend the knee to a company over an issue they won't solve.

This has taken me out of "retirement" because I feel that I need to preserve the videos I've made. I doubt they'll be taken off YouTube, but they might as well be gone to anyone who doesn't comply. As someone who opposes that type of policy, I feel that I must try and preserve what I have put so much time into. I did look at YouTube alternatives but they either suck (fuck Rumble) or require way more work than I can do (Peertube just wouldn't work for me given where I am). We must also grapple with the fact that these platforms are only as strong as the people coming to them, and I don't see the Mr. Beasts and Markipliers of the world going to smaller platforms unless this goes so bad that it becomes unavoidable. Beyond this, video-hosting is an often expensive endeavor and the platforms are not your friends. They are businesses. They can and will roll over, even if there is no long-term benefit. We've seen that here in America under Trump. Entire institutions will cave even if it means short-term favorability.

So I'm making the vault.

All videos from the main channel are being put on the Internet Archive (donate to them if you can, by the way). Stuff from the second channel and beyond will soon appear there too. I will also start blogging here on this site: sharing my thoughts on random albums, concerts, and other things on my mind. I hope that this place is something exciting for you all. I want to make something special out of something so shitty. Perhaps we need that attitude now more than ever...

Thanks for reading and visiting the site! Tell your House Representative and Senators to oppose censorship bills like KOSA while supporting fair bills like the Fair Access to Banking Act.