“enhanced interrogation” instead of torture walked so “detention centers” instead of concentration camps could run.

good, productive feminism explains that gender isn't innate and the patriarchy can be deconstructed; essentially telling young women that all men are creeps and predators and will never change is actually just weirdly reactionary and purposeless

reasons i left twitter, ranked:

1) scorsese-marvel discourse
2) nazis
3) nazis
4) nazis
5) nazis

The sanitization and sanctification of Michael Jackson is one of those subjects I can't seem to talk about with calmness or rationality; I just stare at these money-machine enterprises and feel revulsion. I think I'll skip the discourse on this upcoming movie.

Tweet by Martina Navratilova. "Predator. That is how he should register. A sexual predator…" quote-tweeting a tweet by "Biology Rules OK" about Dr. Beth Upton, a trans woman

This tweet is highly defamatory and Martina Navratilova should be fired from BBC Sport for it.

It demonstrates an horrendous level of hatred for a trans woman (who was cleared of all wrongdoing in a recent tribunal) because she is a trans woman.

Martian leader shortly before the events of War Of The Worlds:

Caught Bruce Springsteen's homecoming show in Newark last night, part of a tour designed as a musical cavalcade of protest against the rise of American authoritarianism. I have to say that as a brash and sincere act of dissent, it was one of the most genuinely patriotic things I've witnessed.

The Jackson estate can't hide Leaving Neverland from those who've already seen it A suppressive legal battle turned the moving Sundance documentary Leaving Neverland into a ghost haunting the Michael Jackson biopic.

This essay, by @timgrierson.bsky.social, on Leaving Neverland and how so many people have once again chosen to ignore the reality of Michael Jackson’s legacy is as excellent as others have said: www.avclub.com/leaving-neve...

Willard with Queenie and Ben.

NW: a film about a boy and his rat with Bruce Davison, Sondra Locke, Elsa Lanchester, and Ernest Borgnine.

In 1986, Locke made a film called Ratboy about a rat-human hybrid with makeup by Rick Baker. For her efforts, she received a Golden Raspberry nomination for worst actress--losing to Madonna.

Such a great choice! Glad we saw that one together.

John Cassavetes, Peter Falk e Ben Gazzara - Dick Cavett Show (1970) (legendado) YouTube video by David Furtado

In 1970, John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, and Peter Falk appeared on The Dick Cavett Show to promote their upcoming film “Husbands”. They were embarrassingly drunk and rambunctious in a shockingly unmediated environment. They didn’t promote the film: they embodied its chaos.
youtube.com/watch?v=EF9E...

The Columbine massacre was on this date in 1999. Instead of energizing our country to get gun violence under control, it kicked off a new normal. One of the best explanations ever of journalism's destructive impact on mass shootings came from Roger Ebert in his review of Gus Van Sant’s “Elephant.”

Coachella is trying to wipe all of the footage of The Strokes protest set so I’m gonna post it here. The last images on the screen made me cry.

In the same manifesto, Palantir's owners argued that we need a national military draft, that soft power is over, and that we were too hard on Germany and Japan after World War II. I don't think that company should be allowed to exist anymore.

From “The Simpsons” house genius John Swartzwelder, interviewed in The New Yorker by Mike Sacks

Karaoke singer who somewhat resembles Judee Sill.

I watched the Judee Sill documentary because of a review by @kcfennessy.bsky.social, and now when I see people who look like Judee Sill, like this Karaoke singer, I wonder if they know they look like her.

seven months on beehiiv, by the numbers was leaving substack worth it?

There's a lot of talk about leaving Substack & whether it will be the death-knell of your newsletter. I have been on Beehiiv for 7 months now & @tlpavlich.gay helped me run some numbers. So, was leaving Substack worth it? The answer, for me, has been a resounding "yes."

Here are the hard numbers:

100%. I feel for the workhorse kid he was at the time.

FWIW, I was pretty kind to this A&E series on the Jacksons.

Link: tinyurl.com/epwptpt8

Quite a kicker.

The Rise and Fall and Rise of Michael Jackson

Highly-detailed reporting that explains the extent--heavy on the financials--to which the Michael biopic, unsurprisingly, exists to juice the value of all MJ product, i.e. ending before the allegations began, etc.

Off the Wall meant the world to me upon its release, but after that...I noped out.

If you love to write, you also learn to love to rewrite. It helps to have something on the page to understand how to make it better. Very, very few first passes are great on the first try. If anything, those who actually believe they have this magic touch are writers who don't ever grow.

I have some huge news! I am making my debut on a Criterion disc for their stunning 4k restoration of Neil Jordan's THE CRYING GAME. I wrote an essay for the booklet and I'm very excited for everyone to check it out.

www.criterion.com/films/33812-...

How the Creator of “Beef” Graduated from Petty Feuds to Class Warfare The creator of “Beef,” Lee Sung Jin, discusses tailoring dialogue to Oscar Isaac and Charles Melton, the differences between Korean and American élites, and making TV in an age of “all-gas, no-brakes ...

I had a fantastic chat with Lee Sung Jin about the second season of BEEF, its eclectic origins, and its unexpected images. He also talked at length about his personal journey in the TV industry. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Happy 80th, you beautiful man

Curry in his Rocky Horror Picture Show make-up; his head is between his pink-gloved hands.

Happy birthday Tim Curry 🎂
📷 Mick Rock, 1974

"While Frank N Furter was his most memorable role, his favourite was as Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island because of the chance to meet Miss Piggy."
- Mark Brown

Somewhere in his writings Samuel R. Delany talks about living in London in the early 1970s and going upstairs to see who was playing amazing piano and getting to know that person and becoming friends with them and of course it was Tim Curry

Reminds me of a favorite song and performance.

Fun fact: E-Ray and Mimura both worked on Train Dreams.