holy shit

A nighttime shot of the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois, a 1000-seat movie house where EbertFest took place for 27 years. It's on the campus of the university of Illinois at Champaign Urbana, where Roger Ebert attended college and studied journalism. The marquee says EbertFest: The Last Dance, April 17 &18. In the foreground is the head and shoulders of a bronze statue of Roger Ebert.

A shot of the Virginia Theatre after the conclusion of the last screening on the last night of the very last festival. (The movie was the American president, and Rob Reiner was originally gonna be here.) What an astounding trip it's been. I was blessed to have been able to participate.

Gosford Park (2001)

Gosford World (2015)

Gosford World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Sisyphus but every day he unsubscribes from marketing and promotion emails.

Found out quite late that a trip I’m taking will have more intense hiking than I’d prepared for, so I got a little step machine to try and get (more) ready. As soon as I assembled it, my (admittedly old) recumbent bike sprang its belts. Was it jealous?

I love them too (shocker). No, they are not an "objective" measure of quality. But subjective, idiosyncratic measures are much more interesting! The Oscars capture a moment each year that lets us see how the industry wants its aspirations represented. If you care about film history, that has value.>

instead of Oscars discourse, might I recommend the scintillating intellectual discussion topic in my household this evening: what if George Smiley went on Taskmaster

Oscar Nominees Ranked By How Much I Want To Hear Matt Berry Pronounce Their Name There are no losers here, honestly.

type-click-type.ghost.io/oscar-nomine...

Image of British actor, Matt Berry, a famous for playing a vampire on what we do in the shadows on television, announcing him as the upcoming Academy Awards telecast

Sinners is gonna take it I guess. 🦇

TONIGHT: Jon Stewart hosts an all-new episode of The Daily Show with guest Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi

if you are in line for Michael B. Jordan to win the oscar stay in line!!

we finally reached the end of this calendar event i accidentally made 12 years ago

All-timer of a performance from one of my faves.

Frederick Wiseman Dies at 96: The Documentary Legend Was One of Cinema’s Greatest Masters Wiseman's 50-plus year career started with a bang, "Titicut Follies," and only got better.

In film after film, Frederick Wiseman watched with preternatural patience as systems revealed themselves through the tenacious, irreducible vitality of the people inside them.

I kept returning to his films while reporting my book, hoping to absorb some of that patience.

Such a profound loss.

I need this.

Hello, 911? He’s back. Yeah, on his pony. Sticking feathers in his hat, calling it macaroni

THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH A HISTORY MAJOR

bad bunny just won album of the year and his entire acceptance speech was in spanish so if you didn't understand it that's ok you weren't the intended audience

I'll straight up compare thee to a summer's day, idgaf

Libraries can't afford e-books. D.C. lawmakers have a plan. The demand and price for e-books is up — and it’s busting the D.C. Public Library budget.

Your Libby rental was free for you, but did you know it cost the D.C. Public Library $59.99?

The e-book boom (and a complicated pricing model from publishers) has left library systems strapped for cash. But D.C. lawmakers have a plan to fight back. 51st.news/ebooks-are-e...

"The number of downloads...surged by 529% after Mr. Mamdani’s news conference"

"there had been 3,000 people on a waiting list to access a limited number of e-book copies"

"2,000 people applied for a library card over the weekend, roughly twice as many as had applied by this time last year"

A win!

a blockbuster store with a man walking in front of it Alt: a blockbuster store with a man walking in front of it

Life tip: If you miss going to video libraries and borrowing videos or dvds, I'm delighted to tell you that *actual* libraries have dvds, *and* you can reserve films to borrow (whether they're new or old).

*Additionally* they have loads of films that aren't on streaming.

Oh, it’s just me weeping over the Carol Burnett spotlight in the season (series?) finale of the sublimely silly Palm Royale. She really did Something Good.

Books don't turn kids into someone else. Books show them they don't have to deny who they really are.

the whole point of being an american is eating food from every country on earth with people from that country and partying with them. that's the thing we're best at and it's fun as hell and i can't believe these dickheads are trying to fuck things up for us

They did it. Those bastards. They finally did it.

You cannot value the librarian code of ethics while also being pro-genAI. GenAI is a direct violation of our code of ethics.

Two conehead ice cream sundaes from Friendly’s, in to go cups with whipped cream and upside down ice cream cone visible

After a non-Christmas (everyone sick but me!) we really made up for it yesterday - Conehead sundaes with my cousin and the annual kid-free friends group bash with hometown beloveds, some of whom I’ve been close with for 30+ years. Certain things are just ageless…

Billy Joel listed 59 people in his single "we didnt start the fire." after Brigitte Bardot's Death, Only 3 Remain Alive.

Who will stop the Piano Man's reign of terror?!