July 2025
Watching
- The Phoenician Scheme - it was okay? I don't know, Wes Anderson is always really hit or miss for me, some parts I really enjoyed, but it was overall kinda boring, could've been a lot shorter IMO
- Squid Game S3
- Do The Right Thing - it's a crime I hadn't watched it sooner! though I do wish the women in the film were given more depth, it felt like their characters were primarily just tied to their relations to male characters.
- Spotlight (rewatch)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream - saw a performance of it for the first time with my girlfriend, I generally don't actively seek out Shakespeare, but I always enjoy it. I really enjoyed reading Hamlet in high school and Othello in college! Everything I knew about Midsummer was just from when it was referenced in kid's shows, particularly Suite Life, so good to finally have that cultural knowledge lol
- KPop Demon Hunters - love the soundtrack! I would've loved to see more of the demon world and their deal, I just couldn't get myself to care about Rumi's whole deal, I just get bored with all that stuff in kids movies sorry guys, also didn't care about the relationship between her and Jinu, it felt unnecessary
- Rango (rewatch) - hadn't seen this in YEARS, I had a good time, but I can't believe this was intended for kids... love the score!
- Sucker Punch - I have no idea how I feel about this one, but it's possibly the most 2011 film I've ever seen. I also HATED the soundtrack, sorry y'all
Reading
- The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion by Margaret Killjoy
- How to Fuck Like a Girl by Vera Blossom - A History of My Brief Body covered a lot of similar themes/topics, and I preferred Billy's execution a lot better - this felt a lot more gratuitous and just didn't resonate with me, felt more like a Medium article where My Brief Body was more poetic and thematic (which isn't usually something I care much about but his writing really stuck with me)
Listening
- Richy Mitch and the Coal Miners - I first discovered them a while ago through Thunderhead, which always gets me, but I also have been listening to this live recording - such an immaculate vibe
Around The Internet
June 2025
Watching
- Creep
- Halloween
- Shaun of the Dead (rewatch)
- Chucky (the show) - and god it's dumb, but it was something to have on in the background while I did other shit
Reading
- Tranny by Laura Jane Grace
- Interference Archive: Building a Counter Institution in the United States by Jen Hoyer and Josh MacPhee - hell fuckin' yeah! This is exactly the type of work I hope to do in the future, though I mostly worry about the feasibility of it... and being able to make a living doing it... oof
Listening
- Fashion Nugget by Cake
- The Green World by Dar Williams
- Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple
- Sinners Soundtrack, specifically Pale, Pale Moon, I Lied to You, and Rocky Road to Dublin, of course
Around the Internet
May 2025
Watching
- I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK
- Secret Mall Apartment
- Companion
- Billie and Emma
- Final Destination
- Friendship - I was already a huge Tim Robinson fan, and this was exactly what I was hoping it would be
- Sinners - big shocker, I loved it! I can't stop listening to the soundtrack on repeat
- Color Out of Space
Reading
- Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America by Krista Burton
Listening
Around the Internet
April 2025
Watching
- Turning Red (rewatch)
- A Real Pain - I didn't really know what to expect going into it, but I though it was a good time!
- One Mississippi - hadn't watched anything from Tig Notaro before, really great!
- Fire Island - I totally forgot that it was a Pride and Prejudice adaptation, which I'm always a sucker for
- The L Word - finally gave in and gave it a shot... the lack of representation and gender-expansive characters is disappointing, but also it's gay so I WILL keep watching (edit: I stopped at the beginning of season 2)
- Stress Positions - so great! The epitome of gay chaos
- The Shrouds - I have plenty of thoughts, which you can read here
Reading
- A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt
- Sick Magazine, Issue 6
- Press Pause Volume 1 - Found this at a local used bookstore, now I definitely want to explore the more recent issues!
- Shock City by Aaron Alexovich - I really love the world-building, as well as the unexpectedly anticapitalist direction the plot took - really awesome!
- This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews
- Falling Back in Love With Being Human by Kai Cheng Tom
- Motheater by Linda H. Codega
Listening
- Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) by Digable Planets
Around the Internet
March 2025
Watching
- Ernest and Celestine - seen this a couple years ago, god it's so cute, love the soundtrack!
- Ingrid Goes West
- Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts: A Lein, Anuja, I'm Not a Robot, The Last Ranger, and The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
- White Lotus Season 3 - Parker Posey is killing it as the typical NC rich white woman, I'm getting flashbacks and it's scary, but idk this season is pretty boring so far (except of course of Sam Rockwell's flawless monologue)
- Valley Girl
- Youth in Revolt - of course I gave this a shot for Michael Cera, but uhhhh it was kinda weird not fully sure how I feel about it
- I Saw the TV Glow (finally watched it, was very excited to see Conner O'Malley)
- Sasaki and Miyano (rewatched because y'know what? it was the VIBE)
- Heretic - why are so many horror movies coming out lately like this... I love Sophie Thatcher tho
- Real Women Have Curves
- Anora - DAMN Mikey definitely earned that Oscar
- Mickey 17 - so fun! Exactly what I was hoping for, thank you for another hit BJH!
- Yes, God, Yes (rewatch) - I just love this movie
- Bernie (rewatch) - Jack Black just doesn't miss huh
- Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things
Reading
- The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo - chose it for the gorgeous illustrations by Júlia Sardà, but of course Kate DiCamillo doesn't miss, at least from my experience so far
- We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer - love this!
Listening
Around the Internet
February 2025
Watching
- Transmitzvah
- Conclave (again!)
- Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts: Magic Candies, In the Shadow of the Cypress, Yuck!, Wander to Wonder, Beautiful Men
- How to Train Your Dragon, 1 and 2, and then went on to binge all 6 seasons of Race to the Edge oops
- Diabolique
- Emitai - since I watched it all I hear in my mind is just "Kebebe!"
- Xala - my favorite actor was the evian bottle
- Cebbo
Reading
- Spill by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
- The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier - SO SICK
Around the Internet
- "creating a digital garden to end my doomscrolling" by Anna Howard (I had already gotten Obsidian to replace Notion but I ended up using Odysseas' video on setting it up - don't know if I'll stick with it but I like it for now!
- "How libraries are saving physical media" by Nomad Over Normal - I've started going to the library every week to choose CDs to add to my music library (I'm only listening to what I have on my iTunes library these days) and DVDs to take home for that week and I love it, feels so much more involved.
- "WHY NOT????????????" by joost klein - I will listen to anything this man releases on LOOP, and this video is so damn fun
January 2025
Watching
- Conclave - I will never shut up about this movie
- Thirteen - no bra, no panties!
- She Came to Me
- The First Omen - the final act was AMAZING
- Alien: Romulus - I've never watched a movie with my mouth hanging open like that
- Beans
- Close to You - cool to see an Elliott Page romcom but meh
- Party Girl
- Clockwatchers - had to continue my Parker Posey mood
- Frybread Face and Me
- His House (rewatch)
- Johanne Sacreblu
- Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Reading
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney - loved this! I need to revisit the movie adaptations, from what I remember of them I prefer the book, I love how everything unfolds/reveals!
- The Employees by Olga Ravn
Around the Internet
- "You should write self-indulgent trash" by The Cozy Creative - this really inspired me to try and fight my perfectionism, especially with writing
- "Third Place vs. Right to the City" by Radical Planning - of course I've heard third places referred to a lot, but I hadn't realized where it came from: this is why we always have to shape our own ideas instead of uncritically adopting existing things we hear!!
- "The Worst Remake Ever Made | A WICKER MAN Analysis" by Maggie Mae Fish - I finally watched the remake in October, and man now I really want to check out the original
- "Spotify Wrapped is changing the way we listen to music" by Gaila - the connection to surveillance really stuck with me, I had always had mixed feelings about Wrapped, but this video perfectly encapsulates it. It would be fun to see the results, but you also felt the need to guide it and censor yourself as to not embarrass yourself
