The world sucks right now, but today I got to see the new Baz Luhrmann concert film, where for 90 minutes you were transported to a cosmic plane where the only King was Elvis, and rhinestoned jumpsuits were never sexier, and I just wish I could stay there forever. #EPiC

A+ State of the Union counterprogramming by TCM.

“…I don’t know what Fennell wants from me. I had fun watching this movie without enjoying it, which seems too meager an experience to have been her goal as a filmmaker.” 💯

At North Shore Movies this week I reviewed MELANIA, which shouldn’t even be called a documentary. It’s just footage.

love this: “The Minnesota we want welcomes everyone who lives here, regardless of why they’re here, because the winters are hard enough without the people being assholes, too.” open.substack.com/pub/ohdionne...

Me binging Halloween junk food and immediately regretting it. #theshining #happyhalloween

“What is a progressive America? One where everyone loves each other’s differences, because we all share a common cause: beating back fascists, one-percenters, and anyone without a sense of humor.” 💯

"Who's winning?" "Nobody. One side's just losing slower than the other." 'Night Moves' [1975]

#Severance S2ep9 had some absolute bangers for one liners but this scene absolutely killed me:

Ok so it’s bad enough that egg prices are outrageous, now #Severance is traumatizing us with scenes like this. Thanks @benstiller.redhour.com I am officially done eating eggs until I can get Jame Eagan’s creepy stare unburned from my retinas.

I think about this from @naomiaklein.bsky.social a lot. "Conspiracy theorists get the facts wrong but often get the feelings right." The sense that people are gaining wealth from human suffering while concealing reality is valid, but the root problem isn't evil people but the nature of capitalism.

#Severance S2ep.8 did nothing to stave off my seasonal depression but at least I found some more fun references to The Shining:

Don't be hating on sugar. Who stood by you when things went wrong in your life? Who comforted you? It wasn't kale, that's for sure.

This is the way

To the jerk who came into our shop today to use the bathroom without buying anything and felt the need to lecture me and my coworker that there were only two genders and we needed to fix our sign, just want to say we’ve updated it accordingly. Hope this clears up any confusion. 😡

“I’ve learned to let the beauty of the world and the bravery of other people pull me up and out of the despair.”

I believe Musk and DOGE disbanded 18F because we stood in the way of their "procurement capture" operation. We get the government *out* of wasteful contracts. Musk wants that money back for himself. Explanation by @anildash.com of procurement capture: www.anildash.com/2025/01/04/D...

literally every time I talk to friends

Just saying.

#Severance tin-foil hat people - is there anything to Mark’s first words to both Helly R. (in the very first scene of the show) and Gemma (in S2 ep. 7) being “Who are You?” Or is this just a wink from the writers?

Me anytime I’m tasked with putting IKEA furniture together. #Severance

Technology may yet destroy us, but today the algorithm is feeding me content from two different Dillard’s, and I’m ok with that.

Dear manager: 1. I was not good 2. I did not walk on my knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting 3. I, a soft animal, did love what I love, however 4. I let the world offer itself to my imagination 5. Over and over it announced my place in the family of things, and I listened

I have a tattoo—“no formerly heroic times”—that refers to a passage from Dillard’s For the Time Being. It reminds to not valorize nostalgia, to not see yesterday as rosier than it was because today is bad. I don’t want a return, I want for us to advance toward justice, not a misremembered yesterday.

“How you live your days is how you live your life.”

I think about this passage all the time. We're surrounded by meta-debates about the most effective and savvy forms of resistance but moral clarity has its own purpose.

I wrote about the dominant creed of American life — the Gospel of Stuff and Status — and argue that these false idols are making millions of people avoidably miserable. www.forkingpaths.co/p/the-false-...

i’m so depressed i act like it’s my birthday every day

Daily recurring thought

Today’s affirmation/aspiration: Your outie contributes thoughtful content to the family group chat and helpfully encourages all members follow appropriate texting etiquette. #severance

joy is absolutely one of the STRONGEST and most important forms of resistance we have. fascism fears it for a reason. that's why a dictator's goal isn't to anger the populace, it's to beat it into apathy and numbness. joy is not made to be a crumb - because it is an avalanche.

I hope America is as lucky as the delta jet - everyone survives but the right wing explodes

The eggs thing comes up a lot in random conversations out in the world - especially at the grocery store. The talking point I'd recommend when discussing it with strangers is to acknowledge the situation is ridiculous then pivot to "well, look who's running the country now, what do you expect?"

Ok I think the #Severance marketing department went a little far with this publicity stunt.

Minneapolis theater group doubles down on DEI initiatives as federal funding is threatened

Yay! This makes my heart so happy - Seward neighborhood is my old college stomping ground and I couldn’t be prouder!

"If you know and love a federal worker, particularly in a targeted agency, do something kind for them. If you’re a federal worker, particularly in a targeted agency, tell us what you need and how you’re doing."

What a strange and interesting Valentine’s Day. My new Friday ritual is scrolling through #Severance takes online as a kind of coping mechanism. Today I didn’t get very far after coming across @nikostratis.com’s piece, which somehow broke my heart and healed it in the space of its 2000 words.

Saw The Brutalist this weekend and couldn’t figure out why I was having such a visceral reaction to seeing images of director Brady Corbet and wanting to punch him in the face. Just realized it is because I subconsciously associate him with Ricken Hale from #Severance

Worth a read www.politico.com/news/magazin...

“In my dreams, we see ourselves as citizens, not just consumers, see in each other future allies, not people who made different choices in the past.”

Anybody else catch the reference to Kubrick’s The Shining in last week’s episode? #Severance

Bonus points if you also upvote adding Black History Month etc. back to Google Cal: support.google.com/calendar/thr...

I don’t know if this does anything but it’s worth 30 seconds of your time.

Five Things Dems Must Do to Fight Trump Now open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

Truth isn’t complicated, but it’s under siege. Technology isn’t destiny, and democracy isn’t doomed—if we fight for it. My latest essay on how lies, algorithms, and power are reshaping our world—and how we win it back: www.notesfromthecircus.com/p/flood-the-...

Ah, let us say goodbye to the golden age of America where corporate greed was the root cause of corruption in government; now we can usher in a new era where the corporation IS the government. Surely this will go well.

Thanks #Severance for implanting the disturbing Woe/Gaunt Bride character into my brain this week. I’m sure her and the creepy diner man from Mulholland Drive who already haunts my subconscious will get along just great.