Iran So Far - SNL Digital Short YouTube video by Saturday Night Live

getting hyped for #nokings, thinking about the political texts that motivate me.

stay safe out there folks

youtu.be/zoS8DrrlnTQ?...

to the concerned student who asked, "dr roberts, did i see you sitting at the baseball field, eating insomnia cookies and crying?"— yes, two of those things are true, but it's just allergies

happy opening day!
go phils
#ringthebell

i've long had designs on doing an sju reading group with grad students & faculty, with the AI Con being our first book. i should finally get that together

strolling down the sidewalk in queens listening to, incidentally, paul simon— one of the patron saints of this borough. hope everybody is enjoying this beautiful goddamn day in new york (or wherever you are)

exactly. season 1 of this very show definitely conditioned us to expect brutal things. (when they got the whiskey, i thought 'oh no. a roofie') but i'm intrigued. definitely surprised at how they brought the two storylines together

ok right? i just kept imagining the worst (or, like, just any realistic thing that could happen to her). but then i guess they did foreshadow the one thing that she was, erm, growing

come back and tell us when you do. some parts i was on edge and then there were some tonal shifts that i found a little confusing (maybe purposeful). will be curious to see what you think about where it goes

that i've heard a lot of different responses to this episode so far. many people found it tense and stressful; some described it as 'fun' or more light. can't help but wonder about the factors that are shaping audience experience. (eg gender? imagining yourself in annie's position?)

without getting too academic (or spoiler-y), this S2 E1 of paradise is reception theory manifest. undoubtedly certain audience segments will be on edge a lot of the time and others, i predict, less so

though broadly true, this post is about pillion... which perhaps just as much as indie film writ large, says something about the sensibilities of english filmmaking

getting caught up on the award season slate. indie film is important for many reasons but one being— in this extreme era of AI, parasocial media, supernatural veneers, and maximal facialization— it is so refreshing, crucial even, to see normal humans looking normal onscreen

"grifting off your daddy like a suckling little doggie" is a helluva turn of phrase. at once familiar and fresh

blessed are the fact-checkers

glad she got her flowers (though not enough) in the doc. people don't really understand that scorsese would not be scorsese without thelma schoonmaker

largely kicked the cable news habit but couldn't resist a little hit of breaking in realtime. don't worry, i got my comeuppance when the host told a guest "now you have weeks of content for your podcast!"

back to college basketball, (barely) more morally palatable than the corporate news industry

so many. tied for first is aaliyah's are you that somebody. s/o mark gerard (see also: everclear's santa monica, d'angelo, etc)

supa dupa fly is an exemplar of the form. nobody does it like hype williams. peak 90s, peak MTV
youtu.be/hHcyJPTTn9w

Books I Saw on the E train (and a few other places) in 2025 iron flame – rebecca yarros (downtown E, hardcover) crying in h mart – michelle zauner (downtown E, softcover) you like it darker – stephen king (uptown 6, softcover) the midnight…

maybe the only year-end wrap up i'll do?

cheers to performative reading and performative posting

popmediaprof.com/2025/12/30/b...

can't stop thinking about this part in the scorcese doc where paul schrader says of taxi driver, "when i first wrote about him [travis bickle], he was the underground man. now he's the internet man." instead of talking to nobody, all the contemporary travis bickles are gassing each other up online
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wow, this is great. perfect time to put it into next term's syllabuses

in everything these guys do, the naming conventions for people, products, and companies is unmatched. i can't remember my life before i knew bart harley jarvis

yes, agree. most things that have tried (and failed) don't capture that lynchian/postmodern, wholesale rejection of the metanarrative

extended to dec 5

now you have a few more days to submit an abstract to the television area of the popular culture association

television scholars: come join us at the Popular Culture Association, one of the most fun conferences

deadline to submit an abstract to the TV area (or one of the 90+ others, if you must): nov 30

see you in atlanta in the spring!
pcaaca.org
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a kind of obsolete vernacular. wildcat...

the amount of "news" bots churning out fake headlines grows exponentially every day on this site

it should actually be illegal to create inaccurate posts about the phillies

keep harrison bader's name out your trash AI mouth

@workingfamilies.org wolf packs are everywhere (or start one!)

@lgbtqvictoryfund.bsky.social supports equality coalitions

@emilyslist.bsky.social elects pro-choice candidates

ruraldemocracyinitiative.org mobilizes progressive rural causes

you can @runforsomething.net or help a motivated friend

if you're upset, angry with federal government, i see you. i invite you to spend a few mins off this site today, connect w/ a group already taking action to change things. find a local political org near you. apply for a community board. join a city committee. DM me if you need ideas; happy to chat

it is. hilarious, horrifying, perfectly cast. i liked reservation dogs and love this one so i will follow sterlin harjo to whatever he does next (which i hope is a season 2)

‘The Lowdown’: FX’s Brilliant Neo-Noir Designed For The 21st Century Costume designer, Alyssa Blair, and production designer, Brandon Tonner-Connolly, on how successful storytelling depends on collaborative cooperation.

a cool article about television design and sense of place (in this case, tulsa) in the year's best TV show you're probably not watching— the lowdown
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www.forbes.com/sites/rachel...

"Politics is no longer something that is done to us; it is something that WE DO." - @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social