The first copy of my monograph 'Demon Possession and Sexual Violence in Post-Great Recession American Horror Cinema' arrived and it's beautiful! I'm so proud. Thank you @uniwalespress.bsky.social

Great interview (although I’d say John Fogerty’s memories of Saul Zaentz are a million miles away from Douglas’s, lol).

Extremely exciting news: We're hiring a full-time film critic to come work with me at The A.V. Club! You probably have an idea if you're qualified for this, but if there's something that's not in the job listing, I'm sure I can answer Qs www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...

Laura Dern's, like, let's just pack 'em all up and send 'em to my house. Also, I saw Laura Dern walk out of a deli in LA once and I swear to god she was floating. www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2IZ...

We know by now that ravaging ecosystems never ends well - please sign!

Weird how deeply sports can burrow into your psyche. I haven’t paid attention to the NFL for years, and I’m like, ‘ooh, Pats are in the Superbowl! Let’s go!” I don’t know a single player, the coach, or even if Kraft still owns them, but for some damned reason my heart wants them to win!

Dark and wet morning on the hill #weather #FridayFeeling #ThePhotoHour #Dublin

I started watching this channel a few years ago - he explains how TVs (crt & digital) work better than anybody online. But this is next level. 60 min on a fascinating and very precise defense of solar energy as the future, followed by 30 min of the most righteous political rant. Please watch!

What a list from @mayascade.bsky.social for the @blackfilmarchive.bsky.social! blackfilmarchive.substack.com/p/28-films-f...

Did anybody not absolutely love Catherine O'Hara? The thrill of joy I used to get when I was young and before I really knew who she was and she'd pop in things and I'd be, like, she's in this one, too? Yes!

GIFT ARTICLE (no paywall). Masterpiece reporting here from Adam. He deserves awards for this. “This is my first occupation,” Olsen said as I climbed into the truck. “Welcome to the underground, I guess.”

This is fab, but also please, Europe, developing a solid, working OS - it doesn't need all the bells and whistles - it just needs to work and not to be mac or windows.

Only 2000 signatures needed now for Ireland to pass the threshold. We're at 70%, France is at 300%!! For gawds sake. C'mon #speirgorm we can do better than France! Don't just share on the socials, send direct what's app, message, get the phone out at break time. ✊ 🇵🇸 🇮🇪 #JusticeForPalestine

“If you’re not doing anything wrong, then there’s nothing to worry about!”

#speirghorm can also pressure the Taoiseach to boycott the White House for St Patrick’s Day. He won’t, but do it anyway.

Holy fucking shit this is awesome use this now cybernews.com/security/dev...

One of the best live versions of one of the best punk songs of all time. "alter your native land!"

Hugely important work from our friends at @oxfamireland.bsky.social mapping the extreme concentration of the planet's wealth in the hands of a few eccentrics. #SpéirGorm www.irishtimes.com/business/202...

I've been thinking about this a lot, for months: Gaza was a breaking point between verifiable reality and liberal governance. "AI" sparks fears ppl will believe things that aren't true, but Gaza SHOWED things that WERE true—& western governments, universities & news outlets pretened they were not.

Managed to get a peak at the Northern Lights in Perrystown, 19 Jan

Back at it on an early Jan morning! Wishing all my aca friends & colleagues a great semester! In times like these it’s more important than ever to help our students develop their critical thinking skills. Best of luck!

Duckduckgo has a survey for pro/anti-AI and I cackled so hard at the (current) results https://voteyesornoai.com

In 2017 I was presented with John Ford's Oscar for directing How Green Was My Valley. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect!

pulling this reflection on white silence/fear over here, too:

Minnesota legend Charles M. Schulz knew what made a great citizen. “Sometimes it is the very people who cry out the loudest in favor of getting back to what they call ‘American Virtues’ who lack this faith in our country.”

Well, here's 5 minutes of respite. Just press play!

Further. If this bullshit actually passes I want every party of the left to include a commitment to undo it in their next manifesto. "We can build infrastructure while following the law" is a pretty low bar and an easy sell. #Spéirgorm

The Social Democrats are no longer posting on X, you can follow them here @social-democrats.bsky.social

Ugh - I was using the trial version of Affinity Publisher for a while last year and finally decided to buy the full version ('no subscription!'), only to discover it's been purchased by Canva and you have to have a Canva subscription to download it. Things continue to suck!

The Deputy leader of this government is telling an outright lie in order to stir up racial hatred and build support for more oppressive laws This is a dangerous dangerous path we are going down. #speirghorm

RIP Tom Cherones, a key figure in the transition from '90s to '00s television. He directed almost all of Seinfeld's first 5 seasons (including The Chinese Restaurant and The Contest), and pushed the old style multi-cam sitcom to its breaking point.

This is an exceptionally good analysis of the role of X in global fascism, and illustrates why Ireland and the EU must act against it now. connectedplaces.online/reports/a-po...

🎶 I don't want to acquiesce I just wanna bang on these drums all day! 🎶

I block all kinds of random here, to make it better for me. People who post pictures of meat; anybody who does ‘x thing you love is so old now’; overposters; both siders, etc. If they do it once, they might again, and I’m just not interested in seeing any of that. My bsky is pretty good as a result😃

The relevant law allows for significant fines for companies, and for fines and up to 14 years in prison for directors or officers of companies that commit offences with their consent, connivance or neglect. There's no gap in the law here. X needs to be subject to criminal investigation.

I joined the @social-democrats.bsky.social a year ago. I've contacted party headquarters (and my branch, which isn't on X) and requested that they leave X. I've also contacted all my TDs. Most of them are pretty dormant, but they're still present on the platform. Staying on X legitimises X.

Ring your TDs and leave a message asking them to leave X. The script is simple: You are a constituent, by posting on X your representative is supporting a company which deliberately set out to promote image based abuse, and this is unacceptable. (You can also mention Musk's support of Dublin riots.)

Women's Aid said that it will no longer maintain a presence on X. "This online violence against women and children - especially girls - has often devastating real-life impacts and we no longer view it as appropriate to use such a platform to share our work. www.rte.ie/news/ireland...

Less than a week left to submit your abstracts for this!

Planning this term’s Punk Cinema class, and so stoked to get this Shellshock Rock package from @cherryredrecords.bsky.social in the post today. Includes John Davis’s original’79 film, 3cds of music & a 70page booklet w/write-ups on all the bands and old magazine clippings about the NI punk scene.

Let's talk about generative AI, contaminated information, and rhubarb. Once upon a time, Europe was at war. Food was scarce, and the government of the quote-unquote United Kingdom looked for alternatives. 1/

Movie stills in dialog (Being There 1979 / Stranger than Paradise 1984).

Yes, good thread. Ramped up misogyny is one of several battles the ‘revanchist’ right is waging against 20th-cent gains of fairness and respect. They feel like they’ve lost … something, so it’s fear and violence on every front.

How much do I know to talk out of turn? You might say that I'm young, you might say I'm unlearned But there's one thing I know, though I'm younger than you That even Jesus would never forgive what you do.

Stranger Things may be over, but I still got game! #DnD, #OldSchool, #ClassOf89

MTV music channels in UK and Ireland have now closed. End of an era 📺

I don't know, it seems the cool kids on bsky don't dig Jesse Welles, but I think he's great, and this new one is lots and lots of good. www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR15...

55 today, feeling it. But my mum tells me 55-65 were the best ten years of her life. We’ll see, but I’m looking forward to what comes next. 🤞

Bit of a haul - Happy Christmas everyone!