THREAD: I got laid off from NYMag/Vulture after 14 years. The family lost 75% of income + medical. Now mzs.press bookstore, once a side project. is do-or-die for Judith & I. I feel weird telling you this because others are doing much worse. But if you could like or share this, we'd be so grateful!

This is a summary from apparently a real movie: > A former convict and drug abuser meets a dog trainer who wants him to help out in her work as part of his rehabilitation. Story told by the dog.

I hope they do BELLY/GUMMO.

In 2008, on NotComing.com, we published a comprehensive feature on Frederick Wiseman, including reviews of each of his films and an interview. I had ignorantly thought of this as a career retrospective — in the years since, he made *ten* more films. www.notcoming.com/features/wiseman-interview/

here is how you get into Wiseman

On Sam Raimi’s “Send Help” and the long tradition of castaways at the movies (🎁 link). www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/m...

One of the takeaways in this story about the history of the PG-13 rating is how certain films have been adjusted to satisfy the MPA. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

So about that font news ... gift article: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Crypto casinos have become wildly popular with young people. Here's how the sites built an exploitative online marketing machine using celebrities like Drake and an army of livestreamers: w/ @aric.bsky.social Jenny Vrentas, Leo Dominguez and @iamrumz.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Good news: If you would like to watch Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants on YouTube I have done a painstaking 4k upscale of this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0gW...

I wrote about how Earth's wobble causes our view of the skies to shift over time. Here's a paywall-free gift link. With @fparis.bsky.social and @iamrumz.bsky.social

“Jaws” was released 50 years ago today. Eve Washington and I did this story on its influence on countless other creature features, action movies, supernatural thrillers and even some of Steven Spielberg’s later blockbusters: 🎁 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

There are nine elements from "Jaws" that have been emulated many times over in the last five decades. (We watched over 50 films that include most or all of those nine elements.) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

For about a year, I worked with a retired British academic named Alasdair Spark to solve a mystery: where did the original photo from the end of The Shining come from, and where/when was it captured? Last week, we finally found the answer. www.instagram.com/p/DID43LBNPD...

Online vigilantes, known as “pedophile hunters,” are now using real-life violence to build a following online, attacking more than 170 people since 2023. From @aric.bsky.social, @alizauf.bsky.social, @iamrumz.bsky.social, Joyce Ho, Natalie Reneau and me www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

I hard launched a Substack called Old New to get all these cursed thoughts out of my head: oldnew.substack.com

5. Warlocks. 4. Animal breaks the fourth wall. 3. Maybe… they’re vampires? 2. Kurtwood Smith or John Lithgow is the bad guy. 1. Someone gets a real haircut.

Time of the Apes

This is the #Sundance premiere I’ve been most curious about, and now that the first reviews are out, I’m looking forward to seeing it at the #Berlinale even more than before. Mary Bronstein’s IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU — www.criterion.com/current/post...

Here is a Christmas gift months in the making: an RF rip of the greatest magic special in history. Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants, directed by David Mamet, never released on home video, sourced from an internal HBO Production tape sourced by @pulsingcinema.bsky.social: archive.org/details/rick...

We’re hiring 👇 t.co/bQNtBnwHGd

This $130 CON AIR painting is for sale at Round Rock Antique Mall

2023: The Year in Visual Stories and Graphics. (All 🎁 links.) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...