James Callan
@scarequotes.com
Moviegoer, movie lover. PNW denizen. UX content worker. Word nerd. Ich spreche ein wenig Deutsch. Handy on a trivia team. Hard cider, iced tea. he/him, cis
Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/xrv
Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/xrv
One of my favorite things about Pluribus is how committed it is to not being a plot-delivery device.
I get why not everyone cares for that, but it both commands and rewards attention.
I get why not everyone cares for that, but it both commands and rewards attention.
December 13, 2025 at 5:42 PM
One of my favorite things about Pluribus is how committed it is to not being a plot-delivery device.
I get why not everyone cares for that, but it both commands and rewards attention.
I get why not everyone cares for that, but it both commands and rewards attention.
Reposted by James Callan
This is the first short to feature Bugs Bunny in lingerie, and I think that's neat.
My Bugs Bunny Project reaches its 10th installment and enters 1942 with an unusual cartoon from Friz Freleng and Michael Maltese.
The Wabbit Who Came to Supper (1942)
Bugs Bunny fanatics had three full months to wait after Wabbit Twouble (1941), with nine other Warner cartoons – starring the likes of Porky, Daffy, Conrad the Cat, and sometimes no character…
strawberrypenguin.ca
December 12, 2025 at 6:48 PM
This is the first short to feature Bugs Bunny in lingerie, and I think that's neat.
Reposted by James Callan
I'm just surprised it's not "Ä. Ť. & Ț" given their weird thing about putting diacritics like they're writing for some Paris salon
December 11, 2025 at 11:22 PM
I'm just surprised it's not "Ä. Ť. & Ț" given their weird thing about putting diacritics like they're writing for some Paris salon
I know it's the New Yorker being the New Yorker, but damn, styling the company name as "A. T. & T." is hideous.
December 11, 2025 at 11:20 PM
I know it's the New Yorker being the New Yorker, but damn, styling the company name as "A. T. & T." is hideous.
Reposted by James Callan
I am not sure how to get people back into theaters or if it's possible, but I do know that if the strongest remaining argument is "you SHOULD," or something about the holiness of the collective big-screen experience, the battle is lost. That has no traction with people who don't already believe it.
December 11, 2025 at 7:20 PM
I am not sure how to get people back into theaters or if it's possible, but I do know that if the strongest remaining argument is "you SHOULD," or something about the holiness of the collective big-screen experience, the battle is lost. That has no traction with people who don't already believe it.
Disappointed the New Yorker got to "whodunnit renaissance" and didn't just push it all the way to "whodunnaissance."
“Wake Up Dead Man” and the Whodunnit Renaissance
A wave of high-concept murder mysteries has revived the classic genre—and proved to be catnip for modern audiences. Why can’t we get enough?
www.newyorker.com
December 11, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Disappointed the New Yorker got to "whodunnit renaissance" and didn't just push it all the way to "whodunnaissance."
Reposted by James Callan
It's the 11th of the month, and the last month of the year, so this is the "words I recorded in 2025" installment! buttondown.com/thingslearne...
December 11, 2025 at 1:50 PM
It's the 11th of the month, and the last month of the year, so this is the "words I recorded in 2025" installment! buttondown.com/thingslearne...
Reposted by James Callan
Some excellent, chewy words here, including heteropessimism, necrosecurity, and thermochauvinism
It's the 11th of the month, and the last month of the year, so this is the "words I recorded in 2025" installment! buttondown.com/thingslearne...
December 11, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Some excellent, chewy words here, including heteropessimism, necrosecurity, and thermochauvinism
To paraphrase Heraclitus, you can't watch the same movie twice.
Watch a movie you last saw 15 years ago and either really loved or totally couldn’t get into, and see what happens now. The movie is the same, obviously, but you’re different, and what comes up might really surprise you.
December 11, 2025 at 4:05 PM
To paraphrase Heraclitus, you can't watch the same movie twice.
Reposted by James Callan
Watch a movie you last saw 15 years ago and either really loved or totally couldn’t get into, and see what happens now. The movie is the same, obviously, but you’re different, and what comes up might really surprise you.
December 11, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Watch a movie you last saw 15 years ago and either really loved or totally couldn’t get into, and see what happens now. The movie is the same, obviously, but you’re different, and what comes up might really surprise you.
Reposted by James Callan
pronouns are a really important barometer for how cared for and supported trans people are
“Transgender and nonbinary youth (ages 13 to 24) whose pronouns are respected were 31 percent less likely to attempt suicide in the past year than those whose pronouns are not respected, according to a new report from The Trevor Project”
www.advocate.com/exclusives/p...
www.advocate.com/exclusives/p...
Transgender and nonbinary youth whose pronouns are respected attempt suicide less: report
"It's about effort, and just attempting to be respectful and kind to people," lead author Steven Hobaica tells The Advocate.
www.advocate.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:10 PM
pronouns are a really important barometer for how cared for and supported trans people are
After the credits, Billy Bob Thornton pops up in Tommy Lee Jones's bedroom and says "I'm here to talk to you about the Fargo Initiative."
Then "Ed Tom WILL RETURN ... in More Country for Older Men" over black.
Then "Ed Tom WILL RETURN ... in More Country for Older Men" over black.
so uh, the ending to NO COUNTRY isn’t ambiguous?
What's going on on that other website?
December 11, 2025 at 3:30 AM
After the credits, Billy Bob Thornton pops up in Tommy Lee Jones's bedroom and says "I'm here to talk to you about the Fargo Initiative."
Then "Ed Tom WILL RETURN ... in More Country for Older Men" over black.
Then "Ed Tom WILL RETURN ... in More Country for Older Men" over black.
Reposted by James Callan
A film like no other
can be watched for free at archive.org/details/swim...
Swimming To Cambodia (1987) : Spalding Gray : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
A film adaptation of the Spalding Gray monologue, where Gray recounted his experiences in Cambodia during the making of the 'The Killing Fields' (1984), in...
archive.org
December 11, 2025 at 3:11 AM
A film like no other
Reposted by James Callan
SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
'Skull of St. Thomas Aquinas being transported to Fossanova Abbey.'
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
December 10, 2025 at 5:10 PM
SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
Wonder how many people who don't speak much with their grandmother while she's alive actually want to speak to a grandmaesque bot instead.
IN DEPTH | If you could speak to your dead grandmother forever, would you?
If you could speak to your dead grandmother forever, would you?
www.independent.co.uk
December 10, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Wonder how many people who don't speak much with their grandmother while she's alive actually want to speak to a grandmaesque bot instead.
Opening line of a recruiting email:
"Our team was reviewing strategic content leadership profiles this week and was immediately struck by your impressive background in developing high-impact content strategies and ensuring creative execution drives measurable brand value and consumer loyalty."
"Our team was reviewing strategic content leadership profiles this week and was immediately struck by your impressive background in developing high-impact content strategies and ensuring creative execution drives measurable brand value and consumer loyalty."
December 10, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Opening line of a recruiting email:
"Our team was reviewing strategic content leadership profiles this week and was immediately struck by your impressive background in developing high-impact content strategies and ensuring creative execution drives measurable brand value and consumer loyalty."
"Our team was reviewing strategic content leadership profiles this week and was immediately struck by your impressive background in developing high-impact content strategies and ensuring creative execution drives measurable brand value and consumer loyalty."
Reposted by James Callan
Sometimes people are like "aren't you worried about the kids and their nonsensical new brainrot memes"
But like, the thing is, I can still spot a member of my internet generation by how they respond to "badger badger badger badger"
Playing with language and rhythm is fun, it'll be fine!
But like, the thing is, I can still spot a member of my internet generation by how they respond to "badger badger badger badger"
Playing with language and rhythm is fun, it'll be fine!
One of the things we've enjoyed the most about the six-seven phenomenon is the way it comes with a gesture, which we've also seen represented in emoji form as:
🫴 six-seven 🫳
🫴 six-seven 🫳
“6-7” belongs in the dictionary, actually
In defense of @dictionarycom.bsky.social's Word of the Year
Website: linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/67/
Substack: linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/p/67
In defense of @dictionarycom.bsky.social's Word of the Year
Website: linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/67/
Substack: linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/p/67
December 10, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Sometimes people are like "aren't you worried about the kids and their nonsensical new brainrot memes"
But like, the thing is, I can still spot a member of my internet generation by how they respond to "badger badger badger badger"
Playing with language and rhythm is fun, it'll be fine!
But like, the thing is, I can still spot a member of my internet generation by how they respond to "badger badger badger badger"
Playing with language and rhythm is fun, it'll be fine!
Reposted by James Callan
Tubi is such a crazy streaming service. It’s like if the Criterion Closet was in a gas station
December 9, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Tubi is such a crazy streaming service. It’s like if the Criterion Closet was in a gas station
Reposted by James Callan
Will Arnett was on Conan and told a story about how Conan dealt with the death of his parents by accusing Jason Bateman of killing them. It’s so funny.
December 9, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Will Arnett was on Conan and told a story about how Conan dealt with the death of his parents by accusing Jason Bateman of killing them. It’s so funny.
Reposted by James Callan
🚨 OFFICIAL MEGATHREAD 🚨
It's our annual Word of the Week of the Year competition.
Likes are votes, and you can upvote as many as you like.
Or leave your own words in the replies. They can win, too.
Listen for the winners in our live episode! Coming soon.
#WordOfTheWeekOfTheYear2025
It's our annual Word of the Week of the Year competition.
Likes are votes, and you can upvote as many as you like.
Or leave your own words in the replies. They can win, too.
Listen for the winners in our live episode! Coming soon.
#WordOfTheWeekOfTheYear2025
December 6, 2025 at 11:03 PM
🚨 OFFICIAL MEGATHREAD 🚨
It's our annual Word of the Week of the Year competition.
Likes are votes, and you can upvote as many as you like.
Or leave your own words in the replies. They can win, too.
Listen for the winners in our live episode! Coming soon.
#WordOfTheWeekOfTheYear2025
It's our annual Word of the Week of the Year competition.
Likes are votes, and you can upvote as many as you like.
Or leave your own words in the replies. They can win, too.
Listen for the winners in our live episode! Coming soon.
#WordOfTheWeekOfTheYear2025
Yeah, I think this is the underlying threat to a lot of writing jobs.
If what you're writing doesn't actually matter, it doesn't matter how well you apply your craft.
If what you're writing doesn't actually matter, it doesn't matter how well you apply your craft.
this is similar to what I've come to think of as the "reverse turing test"
when people find synthetic text is "good enough" to complete a task (homework, business report, email) it doesn't mean the machine is smart. it means they were asked to produce something that didn't matter
it's diagnostic
when people find synthetic text is "good enough" to complete a task (homework, business report, email) it doesn't mean the machine is smart. it means they were asked to produce something that didn't matter
it's diagnostic
So similarly, when we see people who prefer ChatGPT or a similar synthetic text extruding machine as a source of medical information, that means those are people who are under-served in the current system.
December 9, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Yeah, I think this is the underlying threat to a lot of writing jobs.
If what you're writing doesn't actually matter, it doesn't matter how well you apply your craft.
If what you're writing doesn't actually matter, it doesn't matter how well you apply your craft.
Reposted by James Callan
this is similar to what I've come to think of as the "reverse turing test"
when people find synthetic text is "good enough" to complete a task (homework, business report, email) it doesn't mean the machine is smart. it means they were asked to produce something that didn't matter
it's diagnostic
when people find synthetic text is "good enough" to complete a task (homework, business report, email) it doesn't mean the machine is smart. it means they were asked to produce something that didn't matter
it's diagnostic
So similarly, when we see people who prefer ChatGPT or a similar synthetic text extruding machine as a source of medical information, that means those are people who are under-served in the current system.
December 9, 2025 at 3:57 PM
this is similar to what I've come to think of as the "reverse turing test"
when people find synthetic text is "good enough" to complete a task (homework, business report, email) it doesn't mean the machine is smart. it means they were asked to produce something that didn't matter
it's diagnostic
when people find synthetic text is "good enough" to complete a task (homework, business report, email) it doesn't mean the machine is smart. it means they were asked to produce something that didn't matter
it's diagnostic
It's become pretty clear that the audience for "content" is not the same as the audience for "movies" or "TV" or "music" or whatever.
And also that the audience for "content" is treated as a proxy for all of those more specific interests.
And also that the audience for "content" is treated as a proxy for all of those more specific interests.
December 9, 2025 at 7:56 PM
It's become pretty clear that the audience for "content" is not the same as the audience for "movies" or "TV" or "music" or whatever.
And also that the audience for "content" is treated as a proxy for all of those more specific interests.
And also that the audience for "content" is treated as a proxy for all of those more specific interests.
The word "consumers" is blurring a lot here, because there is clearly at least one audience that does value move theaters — even if it's not as large as the audience that prefers convenient home viewing.
If movie theaters were a thing consumers loved, they would be there. They go there for horror movies, some action blockbusters. Let me reiterate a line I wrote decades ago about the nascent digital space: Consumers have taken control of their entertainment experience & they are never giving it back.
The pandemic.
The strike.
The sale of Fox.
“.. Box office experts say 15 to 20 percent of regular moviegoers have simply never returned ..”
@thr.com
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
The strike.
The sale of Fox.
“.. Box office experts say 15 to 20 percent of regular moviegoers have simply never returned ..”
@thr.com
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
December 9, 2025 at 7:16 PM
The word "consumers" is blurring a lot here, because there is clearly at least one audience that does value move theaters — even if it's not as large as the audience that prefers convenient home viewing.