🚨 Calling all aspiring film critics in the Chicagoland area! 🚨 Applications for the Chicago Critics Association and Rotten Tomatoes Emerging Critics Program are now open! Details and how to apply here: chicagofilmcritics.org/grant Deadline to apply is March 27th, 2026!

Hot damn

I think about this Tony Benn speech much more than I used to

Starting to suspect that the Troop Respecters do not, in fact, respect the troops

you have to have a pretty impoverished vision of God if you're able to convince yourself that (a) starting a war will somehow trick God into doing something and (b) that God will pat you on the head for it upon return

We love to see it

I keep having to tell people I report to that no, I did not use an LLM to do [insert job here], and every single time I do, I have to explain why they’re not helpful in a way that makes me feel insane

while i am not an academic i did see this coming and post about it on bluesky, which is why i am quoted in this article

I love Chicago

Got so mad this weekend that I went for a run, felt so great at the end of mile one that I decided to make it an impromptu 5K, continued to feel so great that I set a PR for running a 5K, and then stepped off the treadmill to discover that I’d given myself a pair of spectacular arch blisters

At the heart of the Venn diagram between these two ideas is GROSSE POINTE BLANK and that’s why it’s the perfect movie

stepped outside for a vibe check and saw a beast fuckin hauling ass towards Bethlehem

I ask once again what is the point of having a phone line if you don’t take messages during business hours

dudes rock

A few loose thoughts on THE PITT in my monthly roundup:

No war.

I love everyone on THE PITT but Ogilvie is on my shit list

Hey would it be cool with everybody if I just went nuts right here right now

They're charged w/ misdemeanors for things like sitting on concrete barriers. One w/ a felony for allegedly fingerpainting on a barrier. The feds have dropped similar cases; the Cook County State's Attorney is prosecuting nearly all. 📝 @minabloom.bsky.social blockclubchicago.org/2026/02/26/w...

Voiding documents that make it legal for people to move through the world normally—especially but not exclusively when you give them no practical opportunity to get new ones even if they wanted to—is (still) not about bathrooms or sports. It’s about erasure.

Coping with everything by picking up yet another subscription to a niche streaming service

Finally caved and got an NYT Cooking subscription and now I think my Dutch oven is my new best friend

Five years ago, I published my first book! It’s about feminism & theology & the Alien movies. I’ve since seen Alien Romulus, which I’m both delighted and horrified to say lives up to my grand unified thesis about the films. I wrote a second edition in response. Signed copies can be preordered here.

For the evening crowd: two movies that I liked!

BUTLERIAN JIHAD WHEN

If you feel like directly supporting things that are made by real humans with love & care—with no ads, hot takes, or AI—a reminder that we're still dealing with the effects of this, and that literally every subscription gets us that much closer to ensuring we can keep doing this for awhile!

The first edition of this book was very good, and I'm excited to read this new edition. Don't miss out on a chance to get a signed copy from a person some are calling "one the best up-and-coming Chicago critics in the business" (me, I am saying that)

On How to Make a Killing and Pillion:

I admire its purity

Five years ago, I published my first book! It’s about feminism & theology & the Alien movies. I’ve since seen Alien Romulus, which I’m both delighted and horrified to say lives up to my grand unified thesis about the films. I wrote a second edition in response. Signed copies can be preordered here.

Got enthusiastically greeted by a corgi while I was walking to the gym this morning :)

This was fun (I was able to comprehend through 1300)

MZS.press is proud to offer pre-orders of the 2nd edition of @dodgyboffin.com's Becoming Alien, which includes a new chapter on Alien Romulus. I wrote the foreword for this edition. Copies purchased here are signed by both of us. Link: mzs.press/PRE-ORDERS-c...

Resurrecting the dumbest internet-brained thing I’ve ever done

Planning to go to Pittsburgh for fun/just because this upcoming summer. Any mutuals have recommendations for things to eat or do? We’re already planning to visit the Warhol and the Frick, mostly interested in good food and stuff that’s a little off the beaten path but still in the city

Resurrecting the dumbest internet-brained thing I’ve ever done

[maniacal laughter]

A pox on everyone who decided paper tags in clothing was a great idea

Part of Alien's beauty lies in the fact that it emerged in the wake of a bunch of films that were all about the limitless wonder of outer space. And then there's this one, which details what happens when you get lost in a claustrophobic nightmare pocket of the universe.

I love everyone on THE PITT, even and especially the jerks

The one-two punch of Downbound Train going into I’m On Fire is the kind of artistic perfection most of us can only dream of

True/False ticketing experience just now was genuinely the smoothest festival ticket reservation I've ever had. A blessing on the house of whoever did their work this year

This is my fault and I’m not remotely sorry

Spouse was trying to have a contemplative drive home from Ash Wednesday service, but unfortunately for him CPR by Wet Leg came on shuffle and I had to get rowdy

Pope Leo: “We perceive in the ashes imposed on us the weight of a world that is ablaze, of entire cities destroyed by war. This is also reflected in the ashes of international law and justice among peoples, the ashes of entire ecosystems and harmony among peoples, the ashes of critical thinking.”

***BENEFIT SCREENING*** WTO/99 in Minneapolis on 2/26 at the Riverview Theater - FREE with suggested $10 donation to local mutual aid group Neighbors Helping Neighbors. I'll be there for Q&A. See the beginning of modern militarized policing while raising money to protect our neighbors from it.

Is HOW TO MAKE A KILLING a bit broad? Yes, but so are most Greek tragedies. You know what most Greek tragedies don’t have? A Relient K needle drop, which HOW TO MAKE A KILLING deploys *expertly*

movies are so powerful

Yeah I’m into big tech Big technicolor musicals

It's Ash Wednesday! If you're looking for Lenten companion material that's a little different from your standard devotional, I wrote a book that recommends movies for all six weeks of Lent, plus Holy Week and Easter: share.google/NQTQkr4kchEZ...