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
How it started, how it's going.
February 18, 2026 at 12:16 AM
How it started, how it's going.
Reposted by James Callan
Pâté should be called schmeat.
February 17, 2026 at 11:04 PM
Pâté should be called schmeat.
Reposted by James Callan
Historian of medicine here. Yes. Yes, they did.
before antibiotics did people just die all the time from everything?
February 17, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Historian of medicine here. Yes. Yes, they did.
Reposted by James Callan
(Woody Allen eating a Da Bomb wing on Hot Ones)
WOODY: Boy, that's like dating your first Gentile girl, there's a real sting to it. Wowee, that's hotter than a New York cab in August. Havin' flop sweat like after the Curse of the Jade Scorpion premiere.
SEAN: Was it weird marrying your daughter?
WOODY: Boy, that's like dating your first Gentile girl, there's a real sting to it. Wowee, that's hotter than a New York cab in August. Havin' flop sweat like after the Curse of the Jade Scorpion premiere.
SEAN: Was it weird marrying your daughter?
February 8, 2026 at 7:19 PM
(Woody Allen eating a Da Bomb wing on Hot Ones)
WOODY: Boy, that's like dating your first Gentile girl, there's a real sting to it. Wowee, that's hotter than a New York cab in August. Havin' flop sweat like after the Curse of the Jade Scorpion premiere.
SEAN: Was it weird marrying your daughter?
WOODY: Boy, that's like dating your first Gentile girl, there's a real sting to it. Wowee, that's hotter than a New York cab in August. Havin' flop sweat like after the Curse of the Jade Scorpion premiere.
SEAN: Was it weird marrying your daughter?
Reposted by James Callan
If I wanted to learn about the history of TV criticism (not sociological / McLuhanite), what would I read?
February 17, 2026 at 9:28 PM
If I wanted to learn about the history of TV criticism (not sociological / McLuhanite), what would I read?
"Editing is a process that combines the rational and the nonrational. I have learned to pay as much attention to peripheral thoughts at the edge of my mind as to any formally logical approaches to the material." — Frederick Wiseman
great appreciation by @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social
great appreciation by @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social
The Eye of a Camera: Frederick Wiseman (1930-2026) | Tributes | Roger Ebert
A legendary documentarian is gone.
www.rogerebert.com
February 17, 2026 at 7:30 PM
"Editing is a process that combines the rational and the nonrational. I have learned to pay as much attention to peripheral thoughts at the edge of my mind as to any formally logical approaches to the material." — Frederick Wiseman
great appreciation by @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social
great appreciation by @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social
And a few thoughts on Send Help. Spoilery!
A ★★★½ review of Send Help (2026)
This review may contain spoilers. Visit the page to bypass this warning and read the review.
boxd.it
February 17, 2026 at 6:37 PM
And a few thoughts on Send Help. Spoilery!
Rewatched Labyrinth this weekend for the first time in decades .. and it's OK.
A ★★★ review of Labyrinth (1986)
This review may contain spoilers. Visit the page to bypass this warning and read the review.
boxd.it
February 17, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Rewatched Labyrinth this weekend for the first time in decades .. and it's OK.
I was the right kind of nerdy kid in the 1970s to know of Christine Jorgensen, and I also know people just called her "her." Thanks, People's Almanac folks.
(I'm sure some people did not use "her," and there was a lot of "this man became a woman" framing.)
(I'm sure some people did not use "her," and there was a lot of "this man became a woman" framing.)
every time someone says something like "there weren't trans people when I was a kid" or some shit about trans people being a new thing because WOKE all I can think is "motherfucker Dog Day Afternoon was made in 1975"
February 17, 2026 at 6:22 PM
I was the right kind of nerdy kid in the 1970s to know of Christine Jorgensen, and I also know people just called her "her." Thanks, People's Almanac folks.
(I'm sure some people did not use "her," and there was a lot of "this man became a woman" framing.)
(I'm sure some people did not use "her," and there was a lot of "this man became a woman" framing.)
Reposted by James Callan
it's really the amount I have to fight spellcheck on the daily that keeps my expectations for artificial intelligence in check.
February 17, 2026 at 4:56 PM
it's really the amount I have to fight spellcheck on the daily that keeps my expectations for artificial intelligence in check.
Reposted by James Callan
Dear Shareholders,
Due to a tepid fourth quarter, we will no longer be pissing on our labor force and telling them it's raining.
Going forth, we will be pissing on them and daring them to do something about it.
Due to a tepid fourth quarter, we will no longer be pissing on our labor force and telling them it's raining.
Going forth, we will be pissing on them and daring them to do something about it.
February 16, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Dear Shareholders,
Due to a tepid fourth quarter, we will no longer be pissing on our labor force and telling them it's raining.
Going forth, we will be pissing on them and daring them to do something about it.
Due to a tepid fourth quarter, we will no longer be pissing on our labor force and telling them it's raining.
Going forth, we will be pissing on them and daring them to do something about it.
Washington's Birthday might affect these hours
February 16, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Washington's Birthday might affect these hours
BRB adding this to my end-of-life documents.
February 16, 2026 at 7:07 PM
BRB adding this to my end-of-life documents.
Reposted by James Callan
Reposted by James Callan
You're not listening to jazz right. *This* is how you listen to jazz:
Hans Buter
Jazz café 'De Groene Kalebas', Amsterdam, 1950s
Hans Buter
Jazz café 'De Groene Kalebas', Amsterdam, 1950s
February 16, 2026 at 6:23 PM
You're not listening to jazz right. *This* is how you listen to jazz:
Hans Buter
Jazz café 'De Groene Kalebas', Amsterdam, 1950s
Hans Buter
Jazz café 'De Groene Kalebas', Amsterdam, 1950s
"Everyone in the world has two jobs, their own and film critic." — Truffaut
Where Is Cinema?: An Interview With A.S. Hamrah | Defector
As you may have heard, the twinned industries that produce art and criticism in this country are embattled. On every side, there is steady conglomeration, privatization, and the rapid uptake of labor-...
defector.com
February 16, 2026 at 6:35 PM
"Everyone in the world has two jobs, their own and film critic." — Truffaut
Reposted by James Callan
I'm convinced that if Bluesky had an option to hide posts with images that have no alt text, it would improve my experience 10,000%
February 16, 2026 at 4:30 PM
I'm convinced that if Bluesky had an option to hide posts with images that have no alt text, it would improve my experience 10,000%
I am crushed that this karaoke venue offers two songs from Inside Llewyn Davis yet neither of them are “Please Mister Kennedy.”
February 16, 2026 at 2:09 AM
I am crushed that this karaoke venue offers two songs from Inside Llewyn Davis yet neither of them are “Please Mister Kennedy.”
Headed to “musicals” themed karaoke after this movie, and I plan at the very least to do “Lydia the Tattooed Lady.”
February 15, 2026 at 10:51 PM
Headed to “musicals” themed karaoke after this movie, and I plan at the very least to do “Lydia the Tattooed Lady.”
Reposted by James Callan
I helped mobilize a group of neighbors to provide direct aid to nearly 50 families who are in hiding from ICE.
These folks deserve fresh, familiar foods. So we're purchasing groceries direct from neighborhood Latino markets whenever we can.
Venmo @kristina-halvorson to help, and please repost.
These folks deserve fresh, familiar foods. So we're purchasing groceries direct from neighborhood Latino markets whenever we can.
Venmo @kristina-halvorson to help, and please repost.
February 14, 2026 at 4:44 PM
I helped mobilize a group of neighbors to provide direct aid to nearly 50 families who are in hiding from ICE.
These folks deserve fresh, familiar foods. So we're purchasing groceries direct from neighborhood Latino markets whenever we can.
Venmo @kristina-halvorson to help, and please repost.
These folks deserve fresh, familiar foods. So we're purchasing groceries direct from neighborhood Latino markets whenever we can.
Venmo @kristina-halvorson to help, and please repost.
Headed in to an auditorium to see Labyrinth and passed a group of kids headed out to concessions.
One of them said “I don’t really care if we miss the beginning.”
Another yelled “How dare you! It’s one of my favorite movies!”
One of them said “I don’t really care if we miss the beginning.”
Another yelled “How dare you! It’s one of my favorite movies!”
February 15, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Headed in to an auditorium to see Labyrinth and passed a group of kids headed out to concessions.
One of them said “I don’t really care if we miss the beginning.”
Another yelled “How dare you! It’s one of my favorite movies!”
One of them said “I don’t really care if we miss the beginning.”
Another yelled “How dare you! It’s one of my favorite movies!”
Reposted by James Callan
When did the kids start saying "gives me the ick" instead of "makes me uncomfortable"? (By kids, I mean people under 35yo.) And. why does completely normal human behavior make them feel icky?
February 15, 2026 at 12:47 AM
When did the kids start saying "gives me the ick" instead of "makes me uncomfortable"? (By kids, I mean people under 35yo.) And. why does completely normal human behavior make them feel icky?
Reposted by James Callan
35 years ago today THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was released in theaters and the pull quote it received on this newspaper ad has never been topped.
February 14, 2026 at 4:33 PM
35 years ago today THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was released in theaters and the pull quote it received on this newspaper ad has never been topped.
Dug Paris Blues, but the final scene really sealed the deal.
A ★★★½ review of Paris Blues (1961)
Before Sunrise squared. Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier are American jazz musicians who live in Paris in 1960; Joanne Woodward and Diahann Carroll are two American tourists visiting Paris for two weeks...
letterboxd.com
February 13, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Dug Paris Blues, but the final scene really sealed the deal.
Not original to me but boy it resonates. (Saved from Twitter a couple years ago.)
February 13, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Not original to me but boy it resonates. (Saved from Twitter a couple years ago.)