#daily stories of pennsylvania

[publicdomainbooksdevotee]

So bold was [Joe Disberry, thief] that, according to reminiscences preserved by early settlers, he was known to enter the kitchen of a dwelling when the family were in bed, start up a fire, cook a meal and eat at his leisure. If disturbed in this agreeable occupation he relied on his swiftness of foot to escape.

The more things change…

#didn't know revolutionary era pennsylvania had a famous thief #it's the first one i clicked on but the writing style is distressingly dry #i thought this would be like interesting newspaper anecdotes but it seems to be more history #daily stories of pennsylvania #public domain books #came back to add more tags: #i thought this book was going to be daily life stories from the 20s but it's a series of daily history stories…from the 20s #it's also not very well written so i give up on it. no more quotes #i would also file this one under 'worse than usual' on the racism front

[oceanpulls]

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have a plan to soundtrack everything

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – best friends and Nine Inch Nails bandmates – found unlikely creative fulfilment (and a couple of Oscars) by reassessing what they had to offer as musicians. Now they’re thinking even bigger, and imagining an artistic empire of their own making

By Zach Baron

Photography by Danielle Levitt

Every weekday, Trent Reznor makes his way from his house, a cottagey sprawl behind a white wall in a canyon on Los Angeles’s Westside, to a studio he’s built in his backyard. There he meets his best friend, bandmate, and business partner, Atticus Ross, and they get to work. Reznor and Ross observe the same hours, Monday to Friday, 11am to 7pm. “We show up,” Reznor told me. “We’re not late. We’re not coming in to start to fuck around.” It’s a methodical, orderly existence that Reznor could not have foreseen in the ’90s, when he was fronting Nine Inch Nails and struggling with a drug-and-alcohol problem that was his answer to success. “I would do anything to avoid writing a song,” Reznor said. “I’d rewire the studio 50 times.”

Now Reznor has a wife, Mariqueen Maandig, five children, and multiple jobs. He is sober. Since 2010, when the director David Fincher asked Reznor and Ross to score The Social Network, for which Reznor and Ross won an Oscar, the two men have had steady employment composing for film. This year, Reznor and Ross are also starting a yet-to-be-named company, built around storytelling in multiple disciplines: film production, fashion, a music festival, and a venture with Epic Games.

And then, of course, there is the oldest and perhaps still the most complicated of Reznor’s jobs: being the frontman of Nine Inch Nails. In 1988 Reznor formed what was then a one-man band; the first two full-length records Nine Inch Nails released, Pretty Hate Machine(1989) and The Downward Spiral (1994), have sold more than eight million copies. (Over subsequent years and subsequent albums, the band has since crossed the 20 million mark in sales.) In the ’90s, for a time, Nine Inch Nails were ubiquitous: a phenomenon on the level of Nirvana or Dr Dre. During that decade, the success of the band nearly killed Reznor. “I didn’t feel prepared to process how disorientating that was,” he said. “How much it can distort your personality.”

These days, Nine Inch Nails, which Ross joined as a full-time member in 2016, present a different problem – how do you make something old, something so already well-defined, new again? There are years when Reznor feels like he has the answers and years when he’s less certain. He has put the band on hiatus more than once; after the last Nine Inch Nails tour, in 2022, Reznor deliberately took a break from playing shows as well. “For the first time in a long time I wasn’t sure: what’s the tour going to say?” Reznor told me. “What do I have to say right now? We can still play those songs real good. Maybe we can come up with a new production. But it wasn’t screaming at me: this is what to do right now.”

But he and Ross still come to work, daily, in search of transcendence. “We sit in here every day,” Reznor said. “And a portion of the time organically becomes us just figuring out who we are as people and processing life and a kind of therapy session. And in those endless hours it’s come up: why do we want to do this? And the reason is because we both feel the most in touch with God and fulfilled.”

It is easy to make things when you are a teenager growing up in rural Pennsylvania, near the Ohio border, as Reznor was, and you have nothing to lose and everything to gain; it is considerably harder, once you’ve got older, and found a way to make things that people like, to keep going. It’s an old story: the act of creation can lift you up, but those sharp gifts can also destroy you, and if you make it past that, the sheer blissful regularity of life with money and a family can even you out so thoroughly that there is no friction left to work with. You look inside the cupboard and the cupboard is bare, or it’s a mansion and living inside of it is a person you’re bored of, and so you stop looking. But Reznor and Ross have never stopped looking, and the search for that magical feeling of finding something – that feeling of, in Reznor’s words, “I don’t know where it came from. I don’t know how I just did what I did, but I’ve channelled it into something that worked” – is still the thing that organises their days and their moods.

We were talking in their studio, which was low-lit and cold and full of synthesizers’ blinking lights. Reznor was on a sofa and Ross sat in a chair nearby. The two men first met in the ’90s, when Reznor signed Ross’s band, 12 Rounds, to Reznor’s Nothing Records. Soon after, they became friends, and then musical collaborators. “I was just getting sober,” Reznor said, “and I was in a pretty fragile transitional phase. And I just hit it off with Atticus right off the bat. And part of it was, he was someone who was on much firmer ground, in a mentor-y kind of way, than I was.”

Ross is two years younger than Reznor, but when they met, he’d already been through certain things Reznor was just getting around to. “I got clean when I was very young,” Ross told me. “So I had a bit more experience than him. Put it like this: I knew you could have fun without being high.”

Their friendship has been a constant in both their lives since. “I don’t know if parts of us are broken and we don’t feel good enough,” Reznor said, staring at the ceiling of the studio, “but we know if we work as hard as we can and do the best work we can, it fixes something. At the core of it, that’s what unites us creatively. On top of that, I think his take on the world and role in life helps me understand my place and not feel as detached in some ways.”

Reznor often jokes, or simply explains, that he is a “quart low” on whatever it is that makes people happy. “I think we can both, on our own devices, run below zero as a baseline,” Reznor said. “I don’t mean manic depression, I just mean we don’t take compliments well. It’s like when we won the Oscar, it was the day after: ‘Let’s take today guilt-free, kind of say fuck yeah.’ And tomorrow we’ll have settled back down to a few feet below sea level.”

In their years of collaborating with each other, both men have found some mutual reassurance – a little lift. Reznor gestured at Ross.

“I remember something he said to me – I don’t know if you want me to say this or not – in one of our talks years ago: ‘Here’s what I want today.’”

“I see what’s coming,” Ross said, nervously.

“I just want to feel OK,” Reznor said, quoting his friend. “I want to feel like I’m OK.”

One day this winter, Reznor greeted me at the door of their studio – in the course of reporting this story, I never saw him anywhere else – wearing a black hoodie made by the synthesizer company Moog, black jeans, and black running shoes. At 58, Reznor still retains the angular intensity and jet-black hair of his youth, but time and fatherhood seem to have made him quicker to smile. He looks a little like a college professor now, or an unusually-well-cared-for software engineer. He led me back, past walls of unused gear and several black-clad mannequins, all of which startled me, to their primary workspace, where Ross – a tall west Londoner (he grew up in Ladbroke Grove) with a stern face and a pleasantly reedy voice – sat at a computer, also all in black. (Once, I asked the two men whether their upcoming clothing line would feature any colour. “No,” Reznor said, incredulously. “Of course not.”)

They were on deadline for two films at the moment, including Luca Guadagnino’s forthcoming Queer. “But we’re trying not to work,” Reznor said, drily. Leaned up against one wall was a photo of the two in tuxedos, accepting the Academy Award for best original score for their work on The Social Network. Reznor had contributed to soundtracks before, in the ’90s, but he’d never formally scored a film until The Social Network.

But Reznor and Ross quickly realised that the work, in some ways, wasn’t so different from songwriting. “What do we do when we write a song?” Reznor asked. “We’re trying to emotionally connect with somebody.” Take the Mark Zuckerberg character in The Social Network:“Here’s somebody who thinks this idea is so important that it’s worth kind of fucking your friends over for it. And then realising maybe it wasn’t worth it, or I didn’t realise how I’d feel if I got what I wanted at the price of this. I can relate to that in my own language. Suddenly there’s music.”

“I’m grateful not to be as angry and frustrated and desperate as I have felt in the past,” Reznor said. “I couldn’t have predicted that I would feel this level of fulfilment.”

And Reznor found that he enjoyed the exercise of solving someone else’s problems instead of his own. “There’s something about not being the boss and working again in service to something that I initially felt guilty for feeling kind of fulfilled by in a weird way.”

Reznor said that on another Fincher film, Mank, the director suggested: “What if it sounded like maybe inspired by Bernard Herrmann and as if it were recorded in 1935 and this film canister sat on the shelf for 60 years?” OK, interesting. (Ross and Reznor were nominated for that one too.)

On the first film the two men scored for Guadagnino, Bones and All, “we got a cut of that that was nearly four hours long with no music and we kind of thought, Oh, fuck,” Reznor said. “Four hours we sat without a pee break, transfixed. It didn’t need music. And when you watch that you approach it differently.” Then Guadagnino brought them Challengers, due for worldwide release in April. Reznor said, “He started us down a path, saying, ‘What if it was very loud techno music through the whole film?’” (This is exactly what it turned out to be.)

“I wish I had his notes,” Ross said of Guadagnino. “His notes were so fucking funny on what each piece was meant to do.”

“Oh, yeah,” Reznor said. “‘Unending homoerotic desire.’ It was all a variation on those three words.”

They liked the challenge of scoring, they found, and that feeling of not being in control. They also liked the way it made them crave being in control again: “It makes you more inspired to work on other stuff when we’re finished,” Reznor said. “Even if it’s just, Thank God it’s done now and we can appreciate the freedom we had before we gave it up.”

These days, Reznor and Ross also like having jobs that let them be at home, around their families. Both men had tumultuous or lonely lives when they were younger; both men have found that fatherhood soothes certain unresolved aspects of their pasts. Ross has three kids, and “probably the greatest reward is how balanced and happy they all are compared to – certainly my growing up was an unusual sort of scenario. It was a fairly chaotic youth.” Ross comes from a notable English family, but his immediate lineage was more unstable. “My dad had a club called Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace in LA in the ’70s,” Ross told me. “He went bankrupt in England and had a judgment passed against him where he couldn’t talk to a bank manager for 15 years. So he moved here and opened this sort of Studio 54 on roller skates on La Cienega and Santa Monica.” Ross held up a coffee-table book full of photos of the club. “You don’t need to look at it, but it was just a mad life. So I grew up in some madness.”

It is particularly endearing to see Reznor, who at a distance was a fierce and terrifying figure in his 20s and 30s, find domestic bliss. I am old enough that my adolescence coincided neatly with the S&M-flavoured, I wanna fuck you like an animal era of Nine Inch Nails; when I was leaving Reznor’s house one day, I noted with some amusement the cheerful mundanity of a basketball hoop in the backyard. “I’m grateful not to be as angry and frustrated and desperate as I have felt in the past,” Reznor told me. “I couldn’t have predicted that there was a world where I would have a sizeable family with kids and feel the level of fulfilment and comfort and be able to live in that.”

Was that something you were consciously seeking before you found it?

“I think I had some abandonment issues from my parents splitting up, or feeling I never fit in, and I’d gotten accustomed to being on my own. And largely due to my own, I think, inability to really be intimate with people, or share or be open or know how to be a friend or a partner to somebody… Trying that out and doing it with pure and full immersion has led to an unexpectedly great outcome.”

-----------------------

The other film project Reznor and Ross were on deadline for was Scott Derrickson’s The Gorge, a science-fiction thriller starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy. They were working on a lengthy, music-dependent scene that they’d already mostly scored. But, Ross said, “the director wants it to be a bit more, I can’t think of a better word than just a bit more scary and intense.” They weren’t sure what that directive meant, exactly, but they were content – they were happy – to try to figure it out: to enter the room once again, carrying nothing, and to try to leave it with something that didn’t exist before.

Ross called up the scene on a monitor at the centre of a long mixing board: Teller and Taylor-Joy in an evil-looking spiky forest. Reznor and Ross have somewhat fluid roles in their collaboration, but today the plan was for Reznor to improvise some music while Ross edited and manipulated it in real time. “Atticus’ superpower,” Reznor said, “is that I can come up with a melody and a chord change, and he can make that sit on the scene in a way that is meticulous, and mind-numbingly boring to watch him do.”

A studio assistant, also in all black, presented himself to help Reznor set up a microphone and a cello next to a keyboard that sat underneath another computer monitor. Ross hit play on the footage and what they’d already completed of the score, a kind of haunted, chanting murmur. “It’s basically atmosphere at the moment,” Ross said. Next to him was a synthesizer whose make and model he asked me not to print and which the two men use as a kind of sound ecosystem to feed stuff into.

Reznor began by pushing down on the piano’s keyboard, while with his other hand he manipulated the sound with a flat synthesizer on the desk in front of him. It began as a kind of mellow pan flute thing, and then, with a push of a few buttons, became more of a sad, Social Network-ish plonk. Ross stood up and started tapping the synthesizer to his left, and the sounds Reznor made began to loop and accumulate – little melodic figures that plunged in and out of feedback. Reznor moved from the piano to the microphone, where he sang a few soft passages in a baritone falsetto, more sad than spooky, and then to the cello, which he played slowly and choppily. Ross moved between the computer and the synthesizer, trying to harness it all as it built to a loud, echoing crescendo.

After about 20 minutes, Reznor sat back in his chair, and Ross soon followed suit. Everything got quiet again. “It’s going fishing,” Reznor said to me, shrugging. “Sometimes something happens.”

-----------------------

Or, sometimes, everything happens. One of the first things you see when you arrive at Reznor’s home studio are two original paintings by the Yorkshire artist Russell Mills – on the left, a razor against a rusty red background; on the right, a decaying yellow-and-black collage – that ultimately became the insert and the cover art for Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral. This is the record with “Hurt” and “Closer” on it. It’s an album Reznor nearly didn’t survive.

Why do I bring this up? Well. If I may, for a moment, sound like the ageing dude in a black T-shirt leaning against the back wall of a bar where you’re just trying to be young and free of recitations of what the year 1994 felt like, there was a different quality to the way things would happen in music. Bands would labour for years, unknown, and then just get struck by lightning, is the best way I can put it: one day, you’re just a guy, and then one radio station plays your song, and then every radio station plays your song, and everyone is listening to those radio stations, because there is nothing else to do, and then MTV loops your video, and everyone watches it because, again, there is nothing else to do, and all of a sudden you are known by millions of bored people in a way that doesn’t quite happen now. This is a gross oversimplification, of course, but here Reznor is, one of the very few people who have experienced the thing I’m describing. I thought: let’s just ask him what that was like.

Reznor said, OK, he could tell me exactly what it felt like. He gave me a single moment: Woodstock ’94, which Nine Inch Nails almost didn’t play – “it seemed like it was going to be gross, to be honest with you” – but ultimately did. “And when we got there, it was terrifying,” Reznor said. “It was way bigger than I pictured in my head and walking on stage. But this is the point of the story: I knew. You could feel like you were in the right place at the right time.”

In retrospect, how did you handle success?

“Had a drink. That’s what sent me down the path. I wasn’t the guy that, you know, at 12 years old cracked a beer. That wasn’t it at all. Just, I feel anxious around people. I’m not sure how to act, especially now that you’re someone that’s supposed to act a certain way. There’s a projection. It feels uncomfortable to walk down the street and people are looking at you because they recognise you. That’s weird. Suddenly everybody wants to be your friend and you’re the coolest. Everyone wants to date you and shit like that.” Reznor said he found it was “easier to have a beer before I go in that room, and then a couple of beers before I go in that room. And pretty soon over a period of time, wait a minute, things start to get out of control. And you know how the story goes.”

Here’s how the story went: Reznor began to wonder if Trent Reznor could ever live up to the Nine Inch Nails guy that people had in their heads. “The reason I was having to drink was to fix that problem, my own insecurity. But the net result is: I’m not really who I am because now I’ve got drugs or alcohol in my system and I’m not thinking as who I really am. And that comes into focus once one gets sober and has time to reflect and kind of think about what got you there and shit you did.”

Eventually, Reznor got sober, and built himself back up. Today he’s happy to talk about all of it, obviously, but he and Ross have done a lot together since – 10 albums’ worth of Nine Inch Nails (Ross was an official member of the band for five of them), among other things – and Reznor is, by nature, not one to dwell too much on the past of a band that he’s still very much trying to figure out. “We’re not fans of resting on our laurels. We’ve been afraid of thinking about nostalgia. That’s a whole other conversation, but the reality is we’re getting older and our fans are getting older and that’s a fact. And I think, say, during the pandemic, not that you asked this question, but as I’m sure everybody was, I was pretty genuinely freaked out and very clearly came into focus: I’ve got to protect my family.”

He was consumed by fear, by terror of what might happen, of what he might do about it. “I can’t even fit all my kids in a car,” Reznor said. “But in the midst of that anxiety, sitting alone in here, I found comfort in nostalgia. I found comfort looking back at things from my youth that I’ve been afraid to even allow myself to glimpse at because it meant artistic death. Because one has to look forward. One can’t be self-referential. I was so afraid growing up in a little shitty town. I could see people that thought the highlight of their life is junior in high school catching the football. You know what I mean? That’s it. That was the peak. I don’t want to fucking be that person. I could see my fate if I stayed in that town.”

In those moments sitting by yourself, what were you getting nostalgic for?

“I miss parts of living in Pennsylvania. I miss a simpler life that I grew up with. I really loved the first INXS album in 1983. I was a senior in high school, and when I listen to it now I could almost start crying because it fucking reminds me of driving in a shitty fucking car in the summer in Pennsylvania. You know what I mean? Man. I allowed myself to kind of immerse myself in who I was at that time, and what it felt like.”

Reznor had been trying to remake himself ever since he left where he grew up, and now here he is in Los Angeles, over 40 years later. “And I kind of went on a deep dive for a while and allowed myself to realise: I am who I am. And the things that made me weren’t the cool things. I’d always been ashamed of: I came from a shitty town; I didn’t have an exotic upbringing; shitty education, you know what I mean? That’s who I am. I’m not sure what the point of all that confession was.”

Well, except: “It plays into where I’m at now.”

-----------------------

The last time I saw Reznor and Ross, it was once again in their studio. They were sitting very still. Had they been working before I got there?

“We were for a little bit,” Ross said. “And then nervously thinking about you arriving.”

Really? It’s OK if that’s the truth.

“That’s the truth,” Reznor said. They’d just been in this room for the past weeks, months – years, really, he said. Head down. Working. He gestured at me. “It’s a different mindset.”

And “I was thinking about something you said the other day,” Reznor said. That was on a Friday. I’d asked a somewhat rude question about their soundtrack work, which was: why would Reznor or Ross work for anyone else when they didn’t have to?

Now it was Monday. “I thought about that over the weekend,” Reznor said. “It’s like, Why are we doing this? The idea comes from what we think is a good place of ‘Let’s break it up. Let’s get sent down the rabbit hole on certain things and feel like we’ve got tasks being assigned to us rather than us just blindly seeing what happens creatively.’ ”

But, he said, “I think coming out of a stretch of a number of films in a row, I want some time of seeing where the wind blows versus: there’s a looming date on a calendar coming up and we’d better get our shit together. And certainly in the last few weeks I’ve been itching to do what we often do, which is just come in and let’s start something that we’re not even sure what it’s for.”

Some of that energy, he and Ross said, would probably become the next Nine Inch Nails album. Doing soundtrack work, Reznor said, had “managed to make Nine Inch Nails feel way more exciting than it had been in the past few years. I’d kind of let it atrophy a bit in my mind for a variety of reasons.”

But now, “I do feel excited about starting on the next record,” Ross said. “I think we’re in a place now where we kind of have an idea.”

And then there was the company, which Reznor and Ross spent the last two years putting together, piece by piece, with the help of John Crawford, their longtime art director, and the producer Jonathan Pavesi. The idea was, what could they do that they hadn’t already done around storytelling? Some of that might take the form of examining Nine Inch Nails from yet another angle – “we’ve been working on homegrown IP around Nine Inch Nails, stories we could tell, and we’re working on developing those in a way that are not what you think they’d be.” (As in: not a biopic.) They also have a show in development with Christopher Storer, the creator of The Bear, they said, and a film with the veteran horror director Mike Flanagan.

Reznor put on a pair of black-rimmed glasses so that he could examine a piece of paper next to him. “We just wrote some notes because I knew I’d forget what the fuck I’m about to say.” There was a short film coming with the artist Susanne Deeken. There was a clothing venture, a T-shirt line made in collaboration with a notable designer whose name they’d like to keep secret for now, which will arrive this summer. There was a music festival that they were currently planning, “where we’re going to debut as performing as composers along with a roster of other interesting people,” and a record label, both scheduled to launch around the same time.

And for two years they’ve been working with Epic Games on something that is not exactly a video game, in the UEFN ecosystem Epic has built around Fortnite – “It’s what Zuckerberg was trying to bullshit us into calling the metaverse,” Reznor said. “You can’t say that word any more, but in terms of the tool kit, thinking about it through the lens of what could be possible for artists and experiences, we thought that would be an interesting way to tell a story through that.”

They were nervously contemplating the prospect of having day jobs again, of being responsible for more than just themselves. Early on, as they contemplated launching the company, they’d sat down with David Fincher to ask him about movie production: how does it work? “And he’s like, oh, you’re fucked,” Reznor said. “I can distil a two-hour conversation into that. Because, he said, ‘I know you guys, and no one’s going to care more than you do, and you will not be able to let it go.’”

Reznor has actually had this experience before, of being sucked into a project bigger than Nine Inch Nails and having it take over his entire life. Years ago he worked as an executive, first for Beats and then for Apple, building a streaming-music service.

“Trent was very clear when we started,” Ross said. “We cannot let this get into Apple terrain.”

Reznor laughed. “What I mean by that is – I will make this brief; I’m trying to think through what I’m about to talk shit on. Just to self-censor for a second.”

Reznor paused for a moment and then explained. For years, he said, he’d wondered: what would make a good streaming service? This was before the advent of Spotify in the US or Apple Music. Jimmy Iovine, Reznor’s old label boss – later, Iovine would also become Ross’s brother-in-law, after he married Ross’s sister, Liberty, in 2016 – was launching a music service at Beats, which was then acquired by Apple, and Iovine said to Reznor: come try to make this thing a reality. And Reznor surprised himself by saying yes.

“It was a unique opportunity to work at the biggest company in the world at a high level,” Reznor said. “And it was interesting, the scale of the people that you reach through those platforms, just the global amount of influence those platforms can have was exciting. The political situation I was dropped into was not as exciting.”

Reznor enjoyed working with Apple’s design team and its engineering team. “But it made me realise how much I want to be an artist first and foremost.” Reznor also became discouraged with the possibility of fixing the problem that he was trying to solve. “I think the terrible payout of streaming services has mortally wounded a whole tier of artists that make being an artist unsustainable. And it’s great if you’re Drake, and it’s not great if you’re Grizzly Bear. And the reality is: take a look around. We’ve had enough time for the whole ‘All the boats rise’ argument to see they don’t all rise. Those boats rise. These boats don’t. They can’t make money in any means. And I think that’s bad for art. And I thought maybe at Apple there could be influence to pay in a more fair or significant way, because a lot of these services are just a rounding error compared to what comes in elsewhere, unlike Spotify where their whole business is that. But that’s tied to a lot of other political things and label issues, and everyone’s trying to hold onto their little piece of the pie and it is what it is. I also realise, I think that people just want to turn the faucet on and have music come in. They’re not really concerned about all the romantic shit I thought mattered.”

Anyway, Reznor said, turning to Ross, “That was a long-winded way of saying, when we talked about this company, I just said, ‘Be aware of what success might look like because it will turn into something that eats up lots of cycles and time and attention and energy.’ ”

But, Ross said, taking on new responsibilities was, paradoxically, also a way to stay a little younger. “I know we’ve all been talking about being dads and being adults and all that,” Ross said, “and there is a part of me that thinks: it’s important to keep the kid alive.” Meaning the child inside yourself, rather than the one you’re responsible for.

He told a story about him and Reznor visiting the director David Lynch at his house to work with him on the 2017 revival of Twin Peaks. “And I don’t know how old he was at the time,” Ross said, “but he was older. But just walking in there, and he had the room set up and there’s a screen there, there’s some chairs here and there’s some musical instruments there and he’s smoking a cigarette. There’s nothing old about that dude. You know what I mean?”

Lynch showed them some Lynchian footage. It was incredible, even if they didn’t quite know what they were looking at. Lynch was probably 70 or 71 at the time. “But it’s that thing of it doesn’t matter how old he is,” Ross said. “He is alive. It’s that bit of it all that one doesn’t want to lose with age.”

The point was, Reznor said: “Let’s try some stuff. We’re bored. We are. You know what I mean? We’re grateful. We enjoy doing films. We can write a better Nine Inch Nails record, I think. We can put on a cooler tour. We are aimed to do that. But man, what if we try to do that?” Meaning, the company. “What if we could take what we’re good at, like we did with film? We identified something I think we’re good at and we figured out how to apply it to something else. What if we take that theory and try it on some other things? And that’s led us into: we’re not beaten down completely yet. And it feels exciting. That’s what matters to us right now.”

-----------------------

Styled by Mobolaji Dawodu Grooming by Johnny Stuntz using Dior Capture Totale Hyalushot SFX Makeup by Malina Stearns Grills by Alligator Jesus Tailoring by Yelena Travkina Set design by Lizzie Lang at 11th House Agency Produced by Emily O’Meara at JN Production

#my ninposting #my transcription #trent reznor #atticus ross #nin #nine inch nails #trent #reznor #gq

[wilwheaton]

every accusation is a confession

Found this on Reddit:

Republican Ralph Shortey, Donald Trump's Oklahoma campaign chair and former Oklahoma state senator, was indicted on four counts of human trafficking and child pornography. He plead guilty to child sex trafficking.

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/trump-s-oklahoma-campaign-chair-plead-guilt-child-sex-trafficking-n822461?fbclid=IwAR142W77Q5Dan71BsxC_5uH8h1BBA4EGyqP_VMsrx7lSvoPX9Njjvt0oHK0

Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was indicted on federal charges of structuring bank withdrawals after prosecutors alleged Hastert had molested at least four boys as young as 14 and attempted to compensate his victims and subsequently conceal the transactions. Hastert eventually admitted that he sexually abused the boys whom he had coached decades earlier, and was sentenced to fifteen months in prison.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/18/us/dennis-hastert-released.html

Republican Tim Nolan, chairman of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in Kentucky, pled guilty to child sex trafficking and on February 11, 2018 he was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison.

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/05/03/former-judge-tim-nolan-could-sentenced-today-more-drama-could-get-way/577947002/

Republican congressman Mark Foley, in charge of the congressional caucus dealing with exploited children and predominant anti-gay politician, caught sexually harassing 16 year old page boys working under him.

https://www.cc.com/video/u1k1hb/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-headlines-foley-erect

Republican Pennsylvania State Senator, Mike Folmer, arrested and convicted of child pornography charges.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Folmer

Republican Minnesota State Representative Jim Knoblach Drops Out Of Race After Daughter Says He Molested Her For More Than Ten Years 22 Sep 2018

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/22/lawmaker-quits-race-after-daughter-says-he-molested-her-more-than-decade/?utm_term=.8ac8527c7f43

Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida.

https://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/sops/flyer.jsf?personId=28587

Republican County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

http://www.lanternproject.org.uk/library/child-abuse-arrests-and-court-cases/child-abuse-arrests-trials-and-proceedings/ex-county-commissioner-admits-sexual-abuse-of-girl/

Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation.

http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20120426/NEWS90/204260334

Republican legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison_Misla_Aldarondo

Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Giordano

Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl.

http://archive.easyreadernews.com/archives/news2001/0621/rb%20Shortridge.php

Republican Senator Strom Thurmond, a notable racist, had sex with a 15-year old black girl which produced a child.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strom_Thurmond

Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile.

Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl.

https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/18/nyregion/embroiled-first-selectman-takes-leave.html

Republican Congressman Donald “Buz” Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail.

https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/25/us/teen-ager-in-ohio-testifies-to-sex-with-a-congressman.html

Republican fundraiser Richard A. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2003/04/24/gop-activist-admits-to-child-porn/5af2adf0-bec8-4a10-b061-014de679422a/?utm_term=.d7ebcbf4f92b

Republican activist Mark A. Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children.

http://www.thenewblackmagazine.com/view.aspx?index=437

Republican activist Randal David Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child.

https://www.westword.com/news/randy-ankeney-suit-that-could-free-thousands-of-prisoners-headed-to-state-supreme-court-6054115

Republican Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a female minor working as a congressional page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Crane

Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter.

https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/02/opinion/journal-beverly-russell-s-prayers.html

Republican congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bauman

Republican Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped.

http://www.njherald.com/article/20060510/ARTICLE/305109971

Republican activist Marty Glickman (a.k.a. “Republican Marty”), was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl and one count of delivering the drug LSD.

https://www.arktimes.com/TheHoglawyer/archives/2007/08/28/the-latest-republican-sex-scandals-plural---more-of-the-same

Republican legislative aide Howard L. Brooks was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography.

Republican Senate candidate John Hathaway was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media.

https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/06/us/politics-the-senate-maine-candidate-again-faces-1990-child-sex-accusation.html

Republican preacher Stephen White, who demanded a return to traditional values, was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him.

http://www.thedp.com/article/2004/01/brother_stephen_convicted_of_soliciting_sex

Republican talk show host Jon Matthews pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals to an 11 year old girl.

https://www.houstonpress.com/news/jon-matthews-conservative-talk-show-host-and-sex-offender-pulled-from-kpfts-prison-show-6740755

Republican anti-gay activist Earl “Butch” Kimmerling was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her.

Republican Party leader Paul Ingram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison.

https://culteducation.com/group/1255-false-memories/6514-man-in-notorious-sex-case-finishes-term.html

Republican election board official Kevin Coan was sentenced to two years probation for soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl.

https://www.semissourian.com/story/57773.html

Republican politician Andrew Buhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.

https://www.arktimes.com/TheHoglawyer/archives/2007/08/28/the-latest-republican-sex-scandals-plural---more-of-the-same

Republican politician Keith Westmoreland was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children).

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2002/6/21/23202/Tennessee-Legislator-Commits-Suicide.aspx

24 pages more here - https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/4/28/2028057/-Republican-Sexual-Predators-Abusers-and-Enablers-Pt-24

#republicans are garbage #fuck these fascists

[nanowrimo]

30 Covers, 30 Days 2023: Day 3

Day 3 is here and it feels like things are just heating up. Today's feature is Code 51 by Jill Chapman, a Young Adult novel full of mystery. This novel cover was designed by the amazing returning artist, Cookie Redding!

(For those of you who don’t know, 30C30D stands for 30 Covers, 30 Days in which 17 Wrimos and 5 YWP Participants get the chance to win a professionally designed cover! The rest of the days are being filled by community features. We’ll be posting a cover a day throughout November, so make sure to check them out!)

Code 51

Jacqueline Kolby wants to get through her senior year in high school to get on with better things. She doesn't want attention in or out of class from anyone. Jac, as her friends call her, ignores headlines and surely doesn't want to be one. However, when an arsonist seems to target her family, staying in the background isn't possible anymore. Jac's dad gets burned in a barn fire after several of their corn fields are razed. Now she's had enough. The police and fire marshal don't have any suspects. Her mom is busy caring for her dad while her grandpa mourns the recent loss of her grandma. Jac and her two friends set out to solve the mystery before anyone else gets injured. Who would want to hurt her family? Why now?

About the Author

Jill resides in Southern Indiana with her husband of forty-five years. They enjoy their country lifestyle and visiting with their children and grandchildren. Her life centers around her family and her yellow lab, Indy. She is an avid movie watcher and loves Mexican food and watercolor painting. 

She has published a middle-grade mystery series titled The Bomb Squad. Code 51 will be her first venture into young adult mystery/suspense books.

Jill’s interest in books began in childhood when reading provided a wonderful outlet for her wild imagination. She loves to tell stories about her life experiences with humor mixed in to convey the sense of adventure she feels daily. Jill says her life is like a good plate of nachos, a tiny kick of spice, and a whole lotta cheese.  

About the Designer

Cookie Redding is an artist, designer and lecturer with the School of Visual Arts at the Pennsylvania State University and teaches courses in the Digital Art and DMD Programs. Her work encompasses the art and design world, with a focus on multiple media forms of expression.

Redding's influences are from a diverse array of disciplines spawning from the classics and antiquities, to history and tech. Her explorations integrate these elements into a study of symbols. The imagery she deals with within her work is a study from the beauty of words and by being within nature. Her explorations show how the literary world meets the natural work with color and texture. Check her out on Instagram and Facebook!

Cover Design Process:

This year. we gave designers the optional prompt to explain their design process for the cover! Here's Cookie's:

My process typically starts with some sketching, brainstorming and listmaking. Then I start to hone my composition concept while also searching for imagery that would be ideal for the cover. I went through around 8 iterations and then my concept adjusted a bit to include the grid--that's when everything fell into place! Thanks so much for letting me be a part of 30 Covers 30 Days again--it's the highlight of my design year!

#nanowrimo #nano #30c30d #30 covers 30 days #design #young adult #cookie redding #jill chapman

[eretzyisrael]

by Zach Kessel

Last week, I wrote about the upcoming Palestine Writes Literature Festival, to be held at the University of Pennsylvania from September 22 to 24. Featuring as speakers noted antisemites, running the gamut from Marc Lamont Hill to Roger Waters, the festival promises to be a veritable cornucopia of hatred of Jews: calls for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the land of Israel, accusations of Jews being subhuman, insinuations that a Jewish cabal controls American media, you name it. If it’s a form of antisemitism, it’s sure to be found on Penn’s campus this weekend. I hope it’s a coincidence that the festival’s last day coincides with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism.

There’s an update to this story, and for those familiar with the rising tide of antisemitism on college campuses across the country, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Since the festival began drawing attention over the past week or so, there have been strident responses from the university’s Jewish alumni and supporters. More than 2,000 such concerned individuals signed an open letter sent to the university’s president, Liz Magill, urging her to issue a statement — without equivocating or falling into both-sides-ism, as higher-education administrators often do when they lack the courage to condemn antisemitism — “specifically denouncing the event’s platforming of known antisemitic speakers.” The letter’s authors noted that, had a university department sponsored a festival promoting anti-black or anti-Asian racism, homophobia, or any other kind of bigotry, there’s no question that Penn would immediately distance itself from and condemn the event. Of course, within the academy and progressive intelligentsia more broadly, Jews are themselves oppressors, and antisemitism isn’t a legitimate form of hatred deserving of attention.

Though the University of Pennsylvania does and should aim to foster an environment of free expression, the letter notes, “neither academic freedom nor freedom-of-speech principles prevent the university from using its own voice to speak out against antisemitism wherever and whenever it occurs, especially on campus.” The Palestine Writes organizers have a right to voice their opinions, but they do not have the right to do so on Penn’s land.

It turns out that’s too much to ask of Magill. In a statement obtained by Jewish Insider, she made perfunctory comments about how the university opposes all forms of hate including antisemitism, how Waters has been roundly condemned for his past words and actions, and how she is “personally committed more than ever to addressing antisemitism in all forms.” You’d think part of that commitment might entail disallowing such vile displays from taking place on the campus she runs. Apparently, at least in Magill’s eyes, it doesn’t. She invoked the university’s “responsibility to foster open dialogue and cultural diversity on campus.” But there’s a massive difference between open dialogue and cultural diversity and tacitly endorsing speakers who traffic in this kind of antisemitism.

And then, Thursday morning, something at once entirely predictable and yet bone-chilling for Penn’s Jewish students happened: A student at the university vandalized the school’s Hillel building. As the Daily Pennsylvanian reported, “a regular attendee” opened the building’s doors for a morning service, and the culprit entered:

“When I walked into Hillel, I noticed that the lobby was completely trashed — one of the podiums was smashed, one of the tables was smashed. There was stuff everywhere,” [University of Pennsylvania student Marc] Fishkind said. . . . “He immediately started smashing things, yelling ‘F**k the Jews’ and ‘They killed JC,’” Fishkind recounted from what he was told by someone who was there, adding that eventually, the perpetrator ran out of Hillel as the police arrived.

Make no mistake: As university president, Magill bears responsibility. By allowing the Palestine Writes Literature Festival to take place on her campus, and by allowing multiple academic departments to co-sponsor the event, she has helped foster an environment of antisemitism at Penn that empowers people like the student who vandalized the Hillel building. Magill doesn’t seem to understand that her inaction has consequences and that by building a permission structure for antisemitism, she has allowed antisemitic acts to occur.

It’s insane that we have to keep writing about events such as these. From my May 2022 piece in National Review:

Last month, several student groups signed a statement written by NYU School of Law’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter defending terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and accusing Zionists of controlling the media, a well-worn antisemitic canard. On April 26, Georgetown Law School’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter hosted Mohammed El-Kurd, an activist who has accused Israelis of harvesting the organs of dead Palestinians and of having “an unquenchable thirst for Palestinian blood & land.” In recent weeks, the Rutgers chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi — a historically Jewish fraternity — faced multiple incidents of antisemitic harassment. First, activists waving Palestinian flags yelled antisemitic slurs and spat at fraternity brothers. A few days later, vandals threw eggs at AEPi’s house during the fraternity’s Holocaust Remembrance Day proceedings — the second year in a row the house was egged during Yom HaShoah. On Saturday, April 23, at Northwestern, where I am an undergraduate, the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter organized a candlelight vigil and painted messages across Northwestern’s “Rock,” a boulder on campus that student organizations paint for various promotional purposes. By Tuesday morning, alongside the SJP chapter’s Instagram username, the rock bore the slogan “From the River to the Sea.”

Hatred of Jews on campus, of course, didn’t end in May 2022. Antisemitic attacks at American universities have nearly doubled in 2023, and almost 60 percent of Jewish college students in the United States have either experienced or witnessed antisemitism at their places of learning, according to an Ipsos poll. Another Ivy League school, Princeton University, has included on a humanities course syllabus the book The Right to Maim, which claims that Israelis harvest Palestinians’ organs, a variant on the time-worn “blood libel” canard.

The longer academic institutions take to actually address antisemitism on their campuses, the longer they’re allowing it to flourish. By hiding behind rote affirmations of a school’s commitment to diversity, to equity, to whatever progressive buzzwords they like to emblazon on their overpaid and underworked administrators’ doors — and by refusing to act when the time comes, like right now — university presidents like Liz Magill create the conditions in which, for instance, Hillel buildings are vandalized. I’m left with only one question: What did she think was going to happen?

#palestine writes literature festival #antisemitism #university of pennsylvania #campus antisemitism #liz magill

[eugeneroehoe]

Hi, @mylastresortiswriting! I was your short story gifter for HBO War Daily’s short story event! Thanks for your help in letting me know what you wanted from my anon ask. It was VERY difficult for me to write something within the word count, but I hope you enjoy what I came up with :)

Home

Edward ‘Babe’ Heffron & Eugene Roe

Babe can’t figure out how to deal with the after effects of war, and goes to the only person he knows can help.

Word count: 994

Going home was harder than Babe could’ve ever expected, somehow. War seemed like hell, but it wasn’t until it was over that he realized how used to it he’d become. And he wasn’t even one of the guys who had been in it from the start.

He thought about how this was the last time he’d have any reason to wear this uniform on the train home. Unless Hitler had a brother he didn’t know about, or something.

No more uniform, no more explosions, no more death. That should be a comforting thought. But when he laid back down on his real bed at home the first night, he didn’t sleep at all. He got up and went for a walk around his neighborhood as though floating, just a presence rather than a person. It was his home, and somehow he felt like he no longer belonged to it.

His family wanted to celebrate his safe return, but it only reminded him of Bill’s not-so-safe return, and made him upset. They opted for a special dinner of all of Babe’s favorite foods, but resisted inviting the entirety of Pennsylvania over and kept it to close family only. It was nice, but Babe was mostly quiet.

Anytime someone asked him a question about what he saw while he was gone, he just shook his head. There was no way he was going to ruin the innocence of his loved ones by giving them even a hint of what it really was to feed their imaginations. Imaginations were usually worse than reality when it came to thinking of horrors, but Babe thought this might be the only exception. What he saw was worse than anything a mind could conjure up.

Days turned into weeks, then months, and eventually his family gave up on asking him if he was okay. They knew the answer would always be the same lie.

Working a regular job was weird. He woke up to his mother’s soft voice calling to him instead of screaming or explosions. He’d go in, talk to his coworkers, many of whom were in the exact same situation as him, and pretend like nothing was wrong.

He visited Bill a lot after work, so much so that Bill’s ma stopped asking who was at the door when he knocked, instead just opening it for him with a smile.

Sometimes he and Bill talked, other times they said not much at all. This time had been different, though. Bill wasn’t exactly the most intuitive guy, but even he could tell something was on Babe’s mind.

“What’s wrong, kid?”

“Have you talked to any of the guys? Since?” Babe mumbled, fumbling with his sleeve to get some of his nervous energy out. He kept his eyes downcast, but he could feel Bill staring holes into his face.

“A little,” Bill answered with a small shrug that Babe couldn’t see. “Mostly Toye. I thought about writing to Winters just to say…well, I don’t know what. Somethin’. But I haven’t yet. Why?”

“I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout them. A lot. ‘Specially Gene,” Babe admits quietly, glancing up and then back down quickly, as though afraid of what Bill’s reaction would be.

Bill nodded slowly, rubbing his chin with his hand. “Hard not to. You took a liking to him, I seem to remember.”

Babe doesn’t deny it.

“Well? Didya write to him?”

“No. I don’t know what to say.”

“Then go see him.”

“What?” Babe exclaims, eyes wide. “Unannounced? That’s kinda rude…”

“Oh, Christ, Heffron. I can’t believe you of all people are worryin’ about manners.” Bill rolls his eyes and shifts on his bed.

“But if I don’t know what to say now, how the hell will I when I’m standin’ right in front of him?”

“If you really miss him, you’ll have something to say,” Bill says simply, almost dismissively. Babe knew then that he’d lost.

Then he was on the front steps of Eugene’s house, taking it in as if it were something more grand than it really was. When he’d gotten off his bus and asked the first person he saw for directions, he immediately recognized the accent and only then did he truly know how much he’d wanted to hear it again.

He’d much prefer it coming from the mouth of his friend, which would come true if he could bring himself to knock on the damn door. He sits down on the steps instead.

“Edward.”

Babe nearly jumps out of his skin and turns to look over his shoulder. After the war, he’d been so sensitized to sound, but he hadn’t even heard the door open. Gene was always like that, silent.

“How did you know I was out here?” Babe asks dumbly, too stunned to think of anything a little more touching. He quickly takes in the sight of Gene in civilian clothes, almost stunned by it. Like he’d been expecting him to open the door to his home with that same red cross on his arm.

Gene’s lips pull into one of his almost-smiles, small and subtle, and Babe feels like he might cry. “I saw your shadow through the window. Thought maybe you were a ghost.”

“Funny, I kind of feel like I am.”

“Is that why you’re here? I can’t bring back a dead person.” It’s meant to be a joke, but Gene’s eyes are empty as he says it.

“Gene, I-” Babe’s own throat won’t let him speak, and his eyes burn.

Eugene tilts his head a little, gently closes the door behind him and approaches Babe. When Babe continues to say nothing, he sits down on the step beside him. Babe just looks at him.

Babe inhales sharply. “I thought I’d know what to say.”

“Then maybe you don’t need to say anything at all.”

Babe’s shoulders drop, then he pulls the man into a hug. They stay like that, and for the first time in months, Babe feels okay.

#band of brothers #band of brothers fanfic #eugene roe #babe heffron #hbowarshort23

[psalm22-6]

This story comes to you from my dive into the archives of California newspapers, a story which must have reached the west coast the week of October 12 1897 because it was then printed in the San Jose Herald, San Francisco Call, Los Angeles Herald and other newspapers that a girls’ school in Philadelphia had banned Les Misérables, on the grounds that it was not appropriate for young women. Here is the headline from the Call:

The book was proposed as part of the French curriculum, which apparently needed to be approved by the board of education, of which Dr. Thomas G. Morton was a member (side note: he was the first president of the American Anti-Vivisection society and he apparently performed the first successful open appendicectomy. There is an elementary school named after him in Philadelphia today). He had read the book himself and wanted it removed on these grounds: 

My objection is to the tone of the book. It deals, as any one who has read it knows, with the grisettes of France. That in itself is condemnatory. I think that we who have charge of the public schools have a sacred trust, and we cannot be too cautious in setting before the young girls and boys that which detracts from their ideals of virtue and purity. Their parents hold us responsible, and we owe a duty to them and to the girls. If the book is in a library, that is a different thing, for the child's parents are supposed to keep an eye over what she reads, but to require pupils to read a tainted book is wrong. I would object to any classic, even some of Shakespeare's works, if they are immoral.

The only member of the board who opposed him (and also the only woman on the board) was Mary E. Mumford.   The story was even printed in the newspaper Vestkusten (the West Coast), a newspaper for Swedish immigrants in northern California.

People seem to have generally thought banning the book was a silly idea.

By October 23rd came the happy news that the book would be allowed. Miss Dalcourt, the French teacher, had (from the beginning) selected an edition abridged by Frederick C. de Sumichrast, an associate-professor at Harvard, which was made for teaching purposes, in which whole books are replaced with summaries. For example, the entirety of book 3 of volume 1, The Year 1817, is only presented in summary as is Christus Nos Liberavit and a Rose in Misery. Volume 1 ends “She was thrown into the public grave” and leaves out “Her grave resembled her bed.” So I guess that took care of Morton’s anxiety over the grisettes.  But people still were not finished making fun of Philadelphia, as in this article from the Chicago News, reprinted in the San Jose Daily Mercury on the 31st of October 1897: 

The ground of Philadelphia’s objection to “Les Miserables” has, we are sure, been misunderstood and the city of Brotherly Love has, in consequence, been subjected unjustly to ridicule for excluding the volume from the public schools.  Philadelphia’s objection, as a matter of fact, is wholly esthetic, and not ethical, as hast been represented. The Philadelphia ban has been put on the work, not because of its alleged morality but because of its lack of verity, as seen from a Philadelphia standpoint. The criticism is not that M. Hugo put into his book some young ladies whose conduct was not up to the Pennsylvania standard, and whose examples are thereby likely to debauch the minds of Philadelphia's young people, but that the Frenchman filled his books from beginning to end with a lot of absurd and absolutely impossible episodes and incidents, the description of which would inevitably confuse and benumb the Philadelphia intellectuals. Thus, M. Hugo represents a man as sawing his way out of prison in a year, and he tells us that the same man stole some silverware, repented and got elected Mayor all in the space of twenty years. Many other incidents might be recited wherein this reckless and rack-brained Frenchman describes events as happening with a celerity which is not only ludicrous but wildly impossible. Perhaps the most startling instance is where the author makes a female character grow from infancy to maturity in eighteen years. The Philadelphians wisely decided not to place such distorted and misleading views of life in the hands of school children. They argued justly that the inevitable effect would be to make Philadelphia youths dissatisfied with spending eighteen years in getting to the knickerbocker and marbles period of life. Reading that men in France performed long journeys in a few months time, the Philadelphia children might secretly criticize their parents for taking a week to cross the street. Philadelphia for the present will stick to the Chinese drama, where nothing ever happens short of a week, and to the Meredith novels, where nothing ever happens at all.

Of course, there were people who actually thought that banning the book might be sensible, as in this article from the Los Angeles Times, reprinted in the Sacramento Daily Union on the 4th of November: 

A good deal of fun has been poked at the Philadelphia Board of Education, because of the recent ruling of that board, to the effect that Victor Hugo's great novel, “Les Miserables,” should not be used as a text book for the study of French in the Girls' High School class. It is true that most of the criticisms passed by the press upon this ruling have been in the nature of "squibs," or mere flippant comment, but in some instances attempts at serious criticism have been made. As regards the latter, they appear to have been based upon misapprehension. 

There is no denying that Victor Hugo's greatest work of action is a masterpiece of literary excellence; nor can the high moral purpose of the work, considered as a whole, be successfully assailed. But it must be said, in candor and in truth, that it is a work which can be understood and appreciated only by men and women of mature minds. To such it appeals with potency and purpose. But from the very nature of the book, it might prove a stumbling-block rather than a benefit to young persons of either sex, whose minds are immature and whose characters are unformed. 

It appears, as a matter of fact, that the action of the Philadelphia Board of Education does not in any wise [ways] contemplate the exclusion of the book from the general reading public, nor does it attempt to say, even, that young girls may not read it at their homes, provided their parents have no objections. It simply declares that in the education of girls ranging in age from 12 to 17 years, in the Philadelphia High School, “Les Miserables” is not to be included in the works which the students of French are required to study.

But in the end, like I said, it appears that the book was allowed and I think the overall effect of the story was probably basically similar to what is implied by this joke printed in the Chico Record on February 28th 1898:

#les miserables #my research #lm in america #censorship #lm in education

[justforbooks]

A murder mystery locked inside a Great American Novel.

. . . a charming, smart, heart-blistering and heart-healing novel. In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well.

Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighbourhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. As the story moves back in time to the 1930s and the characters' stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community - heaven and earth - that sustain us.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

#just for books #The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store #james mcbride #book review

[publicdomainbooksdevotee]

Ooooh, this looks promising:

#daily stories of pennsylvania #Frederic A. Godcharles #i'm diving in #expect some random quotes #public domain books #old newspaper

[twwpress]

Weekly Press Briefing #76: December 3rd - December 9th

Welcome back to the Weekly Press Briefing, where we bring you highlights from The West Wing fandom each week, including new fics, ongoing challenges, and more! This briefing covers all things posted from December 3 - December 9. Did we miss something? Let us know; you can find our contact info at the bottom of this briefing! 

Challenges/Prompts:

There are no open challenges/prompts that we know of this week. Do you have a challenge or event you’d like us to promote or know of one we’re missing? Be sure to get in touch with us! Contact info is at the bottom of this briefing.

This Week in Canon:

Welcome back to This Week in Canon, where we revisit moments in The West Wing that occurred on these dates during the show’s run.

Season 5, Episode 9: Abu el Banat aired on December 3, 2003.

Season 6, Episode 8: In the Room aired on December 8, 2004.

Season 7, Episode 8: Undecideds aired on December 4, 2005.

Photos/Videos:

Here’s what was posted from December 3 - December 9:

Amy Landecker posted photos of herself, Brad, and friends at LA Comic Con and The Ice House Comedy Club. 

Amy Landecker posted a photo of herself and Brad with some of their former Transparent castmates, including Trace Lysette, Our Lady J, and Zackary Drucker at Our Lady J’s show at The Wallis. 

Dule Hill posted a clip from A SAG-AFTRA Foundation video, ‘Exploring Identity and Healing Through Acting For Black Male Performers’, where he appears as a member of the panel. 

Josh Malina posted a video of himself performing Suddenly Seymour with Zoe Hall when Thrilling Adventure Hour performed at The Bourbon Room. 

Josh Malina posted a video of former University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill and Representative Elise Stefanik during congressional hearings discussing whether calls for genocide of Jewish people should be considered harassment. 

Josh Malina posted a photo of himself in a Chanukah sweater. 

Josh Malina posted a photo of Tom Waits along with a belated birthday wish and song lyrics. 

Josh Malina posted a photo of a batch of latkes he made. 

Josh Maline posted the lyrics to the song National Brotherhood Week by Tom Lehrer. 

Marlee Matlin posted a Happy Chanukah video. 

Peter James Smith posted photos from his Thanksgiving weekend trip to NYC.

Rob Lowe posted videos and photos from an interview with Abby Hornacek about his upcoming documentary, Liberty or Death: Boston Tea Party. 

Rob Lowe posted a photo of a billboard for his new reality tv show The Floor, which premieres on Fox January 2nd. 

Donna Moss Daily: December 3 | December 4 | December 5 | December 6 | December 7 | December 8 | December 9

Daily Josh Lyman: December 3 | December 4 | December 5 | December 6 | December 7 | December 8 | December 9

No Context BWhit: December 3 | December 5 | December 6 | December 7 | December 8 | December 9

@twwarchive: December 4 | December 7 | December 9

@JanneyUpdates: December 7 (1) | December 7 (2) | December 8

Editors’ Choice: 

This week, we’re recommending stories that feature one of our favorite tropes: there was only one bed! Be sure to share your favorites we didn’t include, as well!

I want to get stuck in your head like Everlong playing on the late night radio by starsontheceiling for joshatella (shuuuliet) | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | “It’s just a bed,” she says, and it feels like a lie. “Haven’t you ever shared a bed with a friend  before? Like, in college or something?” “Yeah but not with a…” he trails off. “With a what?” :: There was only one bed - I don't know what else to tell you the warmest bed i’ve ever known by mikaylawrites | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | “Okay,” he says. “What does that have to do with you kicking down my door at three in the morning?” I had to leave my room. It’s below freezing in there and if I stay another minute I’m gonna get frostbite. I went to the front desk but no one was there and Ginger said she wasn’t coming back tonight so I didn’t know where else to go.” one of the greats by rearviewmirror | Rated G | Jed Bartlet & Leo McGarry (No Pairings Listed) | Complete | during a late night on the bartlet for america campaign trail, jed and leo have to share a motel room. and there's only one bed Mr. Sandman, Bring Me a Dream by ABSea | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over… just wrong enough to make it feel right by Luppiters | Rated G |  | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | Complete | “Hey, CJ. I have a room reserved nearby. They might have more – come with me?” CJ swallows her surprise at the familiar voice – one she hasn’t heard since after Inauguration; one that both calmed and unnerved her. For TWW Press' Wheel of Destiny challenge: Only One Bed, S4 and the Bartlet Farm.

Please hold for the reblog with all of this week's fic updates!

[dwellordream]

“By the 1750s a concern of farming families was the scarcity of good farmland. The fact that an entire continent lay before them gave little comfort to people then living on the eastern seaboard. Parents hoped that their children could settle near them rather than move to a frontier area. But land became more and more expensive, and most families could not afford to buy farms in settled areas for all their children. Some sons and daughters had to migrate. Initially, they moved to distant towns, and then, as the century progressed, to frontier areas such as Maine, western Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and even Ohio.

…The idea of the subsistence farm, on which a family raised everything it needed for a comfortable living, rarely was realized. Most people traded crops, goods, and services. Generally, this was accomplished locally, and many individuals never visited the thriving commercial centers of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. But they came to depend more and more on people who did, traveling peddlers or local merchants who went to large towns and cities to get goods to trade in rural areas.

…For women, life on an isolated farm was particularly difficult because of the nature of their work roles and health care needs. Men living in rural areas still traveled to town to conduct necessary business such as selling crops and trading goods produced on the farm. Their work in town gave them opportunities for social interaction, the chance to gossip or discuss the political questions of the day. But women generally stayed close to home, restricted by pregnancy, the needs of nursing infants and small children, and their daily work routines.

…Women skillful in the use of medicines and knowledgeable about the human body provided valuable services to their neighbors and communities as well as to their own families. They often were as successful as professional physicians in treating their patients. Like many crafts and trades, healing was learned through an apprenticeship. As a result, the daughters of healers and midwives frequently followed in their mothers’ footsteps, becoming local experts consulted for their special knowledge and skill. This pattern was just as common for African Americans and Indians as it was for whites.

…Literate women often kept medicinal recipes, called ‘receipts,’ in the same books in which they wrote down their cooking recipes. A receipt for cough syrup might be found between recipes for ginger cake and stuffed fowl. In addition, women grew standard ingredients for medicines in their gardens. Herbs such as vervain and Jerusalem oak were known to expel worms in children; caraway relieved colic; and marigold quickened the healing of cuts, bruises, and sprains.

Most women also had experience in attending births. Unlike Native American women, who generally gave birth alone or with one attendant in an isolated location, white women gathered relatives and friends together for births in their own homes. Labor and delivery generally were attended by several female relatives in addition to the midwife. …Husbands stayed at hand, but they were not crucial figures in the birth of their children unless it was not possible for women attendants to be there. (The modern turnabout is interesting: Today husbands generally are present at their children’s births, and female relatives and friends are excluded.)

…Births were almost public affairs in the community of women. During a normal labor, women visited, sewed, exchanged bawdy stories, and gave details of their own past deliveries. Their presence demonstrated women’s concern for each other, the importance of female bonding at this crucial time, and significance accorded a woman’s labor--her travail. Friends wanted to be at the scene, a part of the ritual of birth. They regarded attendance at a birth as both a duty and a privilege. On a more practical level, for the new mother the psychological benefits of having friends nearby was great.

…Like their white mistresses, African-American women preferred to have the company of relatives and friends during childbirth. The work routines of slaves often made this impossible, but women other than midwives sometimes were allowed to leave the fields to assist at births. Black and white women regularly attended each other in childbirth, especially when few women lived within easy traveling distance. White women valued the help of a skilled black midwife, and black women similarly relied on the aid of their white mistresses when their labor began. Childbirth was one occasion that called for the breakdown of racial barriers.

…In order to care for their families, neighbors, and relatives, women needed a broad education in both mundane tasks (such as whitewashing the house and raising vegetables) and activities requiring considerable skill (such as caring for the sick and spinning). Many women knew at least a little about healing, producing cloth. Dairying, and brewing, and they all performed the day-to-day, backbreaking labor of gardening; preparing and preserving food; raising and killing poultry; hauling water; and in between, of course, bearing, breastfeeding, and caring for young children.

…Women were most in need of household assistance when their children were young. One infant usually did not prevent a woman from fulfilling her household obligations, but when a second baby arrived, she needed help. The older child, now usually two to two-and-a-half years old, required constant supervision, and the infant needed much of its mother’s time for breast-feeding. (Bottle feeding was not practiced unless a mother was ill or had died. Lack of sterilization made it unhealthy, and bottle-fed babies rarely lived.)

…Even wealthy women had to labor very hard, and the help of slaves was essential when there were few relatives and neighbors nearby to share work. Enslaved women therefore assisted with both child care and housekeeping, just as white servants did. Acculturated African-American women generally received these jobs because they could speak the language of their owners and had grown accustomed to white customs and manners. As slaves, they were not paid wages, worked long hours, and often were forced to live apart from their own families.

…Inadequate household help was not only inconvenient or burdensome for a mother. It could actually prove to be dangerous for young children, who consequently went without adequate supervision. While a housewife tended the fire or milked her cows, a youngster might pull over a kettle of boiling water, pick up a knife carelessly left within reach, or wander away into the fields or the woods. …In the absence of adequate child care, mothers sometimes relied on physical restraints to control the movements of their very young children. A high chair or go-cart, the colonial equivalent of a modern baby’s walker, could keep a child from crawling underfoot or into an open fireplace. But such devices could not replace a mother’s watchful eye, and accidents still occurred.

…If a farm had enough laborers--and in the South this was more and more often the case as the 18th century progressed--an elderly woman might be placed in charge of caring for several very young children while their parents worked. On larger farms and plantations slave women might be allowed to return home to breast-feed their infants at certain times during the day, or a baby might be brought back to its mother for nursing. In either case, from a very early age black children had to learn to be independent of their mothers for most of the day. Only on Sundays were women allowed to spend all of their time with their children.

…Under the law any child born of a slave mother also was a slave, and therefore could be sold at any time. Slave marriages had no legal validity, which gave slaveowners the right separate slave spouses at will. As a result, enslaved women lived with the constant fear that they might be separated from their children and husbands. When an owner migrated to a new area, suffered financial setbacks, or died, black workers went up for sale. Most slave owners made no attempt to keep families together. As a rule, breast-feeding infants were sure to stay with their mothers, for otherwise the babies were likely to die. Their deaths would rob their white owners of valuable property.”

- Marylynn Salmon, “The Community of Women: Childrearing and the Sexual Division of Labor.” in The Limits of Independence: American Women, 1760-1800

#marylynn salmon #history #american #colonial #slavery #gender #children #the limits of independence

[boricuacherry-blog]

transformative power of the classroom for African Americans, and the importance for Black children of stories that centered Black characters - lamenting in her essay "Negro Literature for Negro Pupils" that "for two generations we have given brown and black children a blonde ideal of beauty to worship, a milk-white literature to assimilate, and a pearly Paradise to anticipate, in which their dark faces would be hopelessly out of place." In her diary, which she kept daily for most of her life, she also recorded less lofty reactions to the daily grind of the classroom, as in this outburst from 1897: "Exhausted? I feel like a dishrag. 62 untamed oderiferous kids all day...Fiends, just fiends pure and simple."

Throughout her time in Delaware, Dunbar-Nelson's activism continued. She wrote for Du Bois's The Crisis on women's suffrage and became a field organizer for the campaign in Pennsylvania. In 1916, she married Robert J. Nelson, a journalist and politican, and together with him edited and published a progressive newspaper, the Wilmington Advocate.

In her diary, she also detailed the romantic relationships she had with women, including the Los Angeles-based activist Fay Jackson Robinson and artist Helene Ricks London, in entries that are sometimes tortured, but often frank and celebratory.

In the twenties, the cultural and political explosion of the Harlem Renaissance swept Alice Dunbar-Nelson up in its trail, even though she had not lived in New York for many years and was still based in Delaware. She was friends with most of the leading lights of the era, especially Du Bois and the poet Georgia Douglas Johnson, but she had her differences with them, too. She critiqued the novelist Jessie Redmon Fauset's generally well-received novel Plum Bun, rejecting the "injudicious laudation" that she worried was coming to a Black writer purely on the basis of race. She wanted a bigger frame, and laid claim to a white literary canon that was as much her heritage as any other, writing a scholarly dissertation on Wordsworth, with whom she shared a love of nature. One of her best-known poems celebrates the natural beauty of a violet in nature by contrasting it with the artifice of its copy in an urban setting, where the idea of the flower calls to mind: "florists' shops/And bows and pins, and perfumed papers fine;/ And garish lights, and mincing little fops/And cabarets and songs, and deadening wine."

And despite her early reputation as a poet, she found her voice more and more as a journalist when she wrote a syndicated column, Une Femme Dit, and contributed a wealth of reviews and essays to newspapers and magazines.

#alice dunbar nelson #poet #writer #biracial #history

[morgynemberisagenderfluiddaddy]

Interview with a Jared

As I've been working on my novel I've missed my other OCs so I thought we could catch up with them!

Hey Jared, thanks for coming down! How are you doing today?

"Hello, hi. Yeah, it's been a nice break from things. No, I'm doing okay, it's been a long week but I'm used to long weeks it keeps me busy."

Well, I'm glad you're doing okay! Anyway, I thought we would start with a couple of basic questions to get you warmed up and introduced a little bit and get into some deeper stuff later.

So what's your full name and how do you feel about it? Do you feel like it suits you?

"Mm, my full name is Jared Dionysus Quinn, and since I picked it I feel pretty good about it. But looking back, Jared is a little boring, I needed it to be at the time, but now I would probably pick something like Jupiter... Or Lavender, I think that would be cool."

Do you have any nicknames? How did they start?

"I've got a few and they range from endearing to offensive; Jer is the obvious one, but it started when my brother was just learning to talk, Jared was too hard to say.

Jer-bear, Courtney started it, I don't know where it came from but she hasn't let it die.

Rad, my boyfriend... He has this thing where he likes to make up nicknames and stuff. It started as shortening my name, but now he so lovingly changes it to 'Rat' now and then... I think I'm actually in his phone as Rat...

Anyway, uh. Quinn is obvious.

Pretty boy, I used to get called Pretty Boy a lot as an insult, I don't know how it's an insult but screaming " I better be the prettiest motherfucking boy on this side of Manhattan" apparently made it stick.

This doesn't really count as a nickname, but my personal favorite is the way my girlfriend says my name, she's from Ireland and she has an accent so it kind of sounds more like she's saying 'Gerharde', it annoys her but I think it's cute.

Oh and also there's the "Faggot Fair"... That's what Wyatt likes to call our friend group."

I'd honestly love to be a part of that group, but alas... Pronouns?

"He/they. I don't really bother with pronouns or labels in general."

How old are you and when is your birthday?

"That's a fun story, so I'm either twenty-seven or twenty-eight. I don't really know when my birthday is, I just know it was in the last four months of 1979 or the first four months of 1980. So by default, according to the State of New Jersey, my birthday is January first, 1980. Which is fitting, that's exactly ten years older than my brother."

Based on that comment we'll go to the next question, where are you from?

"Legally, New Jersey. Technically, I was born and spent a few years in Pennsylvania, but I've lived most of my life in Jersey... Unfortunately."

Who are the people in your life? Tell us about them!

"My little brother, Nicky. He's seventeen and a major pain in my ass, but I love him... He tests that, daily, but I do. Our unofficial adoptive mother Rachel Hart, was my fifth-grade teacher and she's always been really great to us, and so have her daughters, Courtney and Drew are like sisters. My girlfriend, Jayne, we've been together for a few years now. Our boyfriend, Wyatt, he and I have been on and off since high school. And my best friend Vince, he and I met in high school, too. We're both nerds."

To prove you are NOT a member of the Garden Gnome And Garbage Goblin Association, how tall are you?

"*laughs* No, but my brother is. Um, I think I'm around 5'10" or 6'0"? It's kind of hard to tell, I slouch and because I tend to hang around the 4GA."

What are you doing these days for work? What do you think of it?

"Nothing interesting, I tend bar and wait tables. it's not exactly my favorite. Mostly because do you know that saying about bartenders and hairstylists being untrained therapists? People always want to talk to me, I truly don't understand why, I'm very unfriendly and I have nothing to say to them but it keeps a roof over our heads and my brother in cinnamon toast crunch, so it's fine.

What would your dream job be, then? Or what is your dream just in general?

"Good question. I've never had much time to think about it really, I've just done what I can... I think it would be pretty cool to run a bookstore, maybe just a little indie store somewhere... I think the dream would be like the odd innkeeper, but with books. Something like that, or anything with books, really.

What is one word you would use to describe yourself?

"For better or worse, independent."

Why do you say that?

"I've been through a lot, I feel like it's the one consistency I have. I like to be alone, I know how to be alone and I'm good at it."

What's your hair texture like?

"Limp, it has a little bit of a wave to it but it's flat and a little stringy most of the time. That might be from the dye, though..."

An odd question but I really could not leave it out, what do you smell like?

"I've been told like strawberries and cedar."

What do you think your most noticeable physical attribute is?

"It'd be stupid if I didn't say my eyes, They're really green, my boyfriend refers to them as 'jolly rancher green', I personally think they're more of a Starbucks green. People always comment on them, I guess they're a little freaky, but that suits me."

Would you say you're more of an introvert or an extrovert?

"Introverted. As I said, I'm very independent, maybe reclusive. I don't trust others well, I just prefer to be alone."

What about when it comes to decisions? Are you impulsive or are you more careful?

"I wouldn't say careful, calculated is a much better word for me. Everything I do is extremely premeditated. It's served me well, and it's a habit I can't break, but it's also tiring. Especially with my partners, I know it drives them nuts."

Do you feel like that leaves you being more of an assertive person or shy?

"You know, you would assume everything about me would say I'm shy, but I'm strangely assertive. Even when I don't need to be. I'm kind of aggressive, in a way.

What is something you think people should know about you?

"I'm not as intimidating or as arrogant as I seem. A lot of what I give off is a shell, but to be honest, I prefer it that way."

I think maybe people should know a bit about your upbringing, is that something you're comfortable with sharing right now?

"I suppose. I mean, it's something that's going to get out eventually. Just as long as Nicky doesn't hear this, but he doesn't read and if he sees my name on it then he definitely won't."

Okay then. What's your current relationship with your parents?

*Jared takes a deep breath, slowly sighing as he thinks*, "It's completely non-existent. I ended up running away at ten and I've never looked back. I don't even know if they're still alive or not."

What about siblings? What is your relationship with them?

"It's just me and my little brother Nicky. He and I get along-ish, I've been raising him since he was born so that's a bone of contention and he likes to fight my authority, but I would be lying to say he isn't my best friend. Nicky is really the main reason I'm alive today, I don't know what would've happened to me if he wasn't born."

What kinds of attributes do you guys share? Are you a lot alike or way different?

*Jared chuckles to himself as he fidgets with his shoelace* "That's dependent on which one of us you ask. He [Nicky] doesn't like to admit it, but we're a lot alike. We look just like each other, except he's a little more slender and smaller, as well as much younger... His hair is lighter and I'm constantly having to hear about how his eyes are muddier than mine, but for the most part, we share everything. Personality-wise, Nicky is much more extroverted and friendlier than I am, he's also kind of naïve. That's a good thing, though, that's what I want for him... All and all, we're both just divas."

What was your childhood like?

"The words 'brutal' and 'traumatic' come to mind. Um, it was hard. Both of our parents had substance issues and we're abusive in their own ways, they weren't around a whole lot and when they were it was awful. I don't remember much of what it was like before Nicky, at least I try not to, and after that, it was just bouncing around foster homes. It wasn't much of a childhood."

What would you say your strongest childhood memory is?

"The night Nicky was born.

He was premature, I don't remember exactly how early he was but he weighed about four pounds and he was really tiny. We were both drug babies so he had a lot of issues, he wasn't supposed to make it.

It sucked, when our mother said she was pregnant I hoped the baby wouldn't make it, as tragic as it sounds, I didn't want them to have to go through everything I had been through.

I would stay in the hospital with him as long as they would let me and would sneak back in when they wouldn't. Our parents were there for most of that but they weren't really present, not that I really let them, I wouldn't even let the nurses touch him.

I remember holding him when I was able to and looking into his little eyes, I swore there that I'd never let anything happen to him. That's when I started thinking about taking him and running away so when he was healthy enough I did."

... I'm not sure how to comment on that, so we'll just move forward.

*he laughs but it doesn't reach his eyes* "Yeah, I get that a lot."

What was school like for you?

"It was pretty average until about high school. I got a lot of shit in high school, I was odd... Was, no, I am odd. My favorite things at that time were psychological thrillers and my knife collection and of course D&D and my humongous crush on David Bowie. I digress, a lot of the kids were creeped out by me so the bullying didn't last long. Besides, I was friends with the school asshole, Wyatt, so they left me alone if they didn't want to get a lit cigarette flicked in their hair, and Courtney was friends with everybody so she didn't stand for much of that either."

What about work-wise? What kind of student were you?

"I was a fairly good student, I was just trying to keep my head down and I knew if I got grades it would open more opportunities for me and Nicky so I worked hard on that."

What about after-school programs? Did you do any activities?

"Ugh, my foster parents were always signing me up for shit against my will. I did chess, but I still don't know how to play chess. I was forced into theater, I threatened everyone within an inch of their lives until they kicked me out. Band, they begged me to leave, I couldn't play anything to save my life. Debate, I was good at debate but I'd make the other kids cry, apparently, my level of debate was 'inappropriate'. Most notably was basketball, though. My foster father decided since I was tall-ish and skinny I could play basketball. I don't have an athletic bone in my body so everyone near me including myself was in mortal danger anytime I stepped on the court. No one believed me so I had to play one game, I got a concussion and I think I broke another kid's arm."

Okay, this is a very, very important question. Tea, coffee, or hot chocolate?

"Coffee. I like tea, especially the kind Jayne gets from Ireland, but I can't function without caffeine. At this point, I think I'm about 55% percent coffee and 5% water."

How do you like to unwind?

"Mostly reading. I like bubble baths, but I don't get a lot of time for myself, I don't unwind a lot."

Do you have any pet peeves?

"Paperback books, the fact that hardcovers are expensive. People that talk on the phone loudly in public, people in general, that there are different shades of black, the sun, coffee without creamer, when your sock slides down in your shoe, sand, putting things back when they're empty. Nicky, stop doing that. And smokers, Wyatt's been a smoker since I met him, I can't stand it."

What are your special skills?

*There's a prolonged pause*

*This was meant as a joke, but Jared got distracted by the thread hanging off of his sock*

"Sorry. Um, I'm a fast reader. I can make dinner with practically no groceries. My friend, Vince, once signed me up for this marksmanship program and I learned I can shoot a gun with a 'strange' accuracy, I don't know why he called it strange. Oh, and not to brag but I've been called a  'scary' liar."

What’s your most useless, weirdest, or least marketable skill?

"I'm really good at painting nails. My brother likes to make fun of me because sometimes when I'm over at my girlfriends we'll do our nails together, but I don't hear him complain when I do his."

How do you sleep at night? Are you a heavy or light sleeper?

"Well, I have what my psychiatrist girlfriend calls post-traumatic night terrors, so not well! But... There is no 'but', I haven't slept in however old Nicky is."

What are some habits you have? Any strange ones?

"I think all of them are probably a little strange. I talk to myself a lot, make up songs, and dance around while I'm doing chores. I fidget with my ring a lot, I collect knives I find out in the world, I can only sneeze while everyone is quiet, and I listen to music with one headphone because I can't trust the people I live with."

What's a fun fact about you?

"I collect a few things. Scented candles, books, comic books, and knives I find out on the street."

What do you think of children, either in general or about having them?

"I like kids, there was a time when I thought about being a teacher, if I had gone to college that's probably what I would've done. I hadn't thought about it too much, I've always had Nicky so I do have a kid but having my own, I don't know... I would rather adopt or foster, I know what that's like, there are already so many kids that need someone, it's harsh to say but I'd rather help one of them than have my own."

How about animals?

"I love animals, especially cats. One of our foster families had an old, fat, orange cat named Otis! He almost killed me because I'm allergic to cats, but he was a great cat. I want to get a cat but my girlfriend won't let me, I told her I'd get a hairless cat but she's not budging on it. I like dogs too but Wyatt doesn't so they've never been an option. Ideally, I'd get a snake or a bearded dragon! Wyatt hates that idea, too, though. So for now I'm pet less... Well, not totally, I have Nicky."

What is a weird quality that you have?

"Probably my laugh, it's been called a cross between The Joker and Woody Woodpecker."

What is your imagination like?

"It's a very strange place, it's a place where Nevermore the Raven and pink unicorns live, the sky is black it's always raining but there's a permanent rainbow, and a Barnes and Nobel on every corner. I feel like I'm kind of like Morticia Addams in a way."

What is most important to you?

"My mess of a little family I don't know what I'd do without them."

How emotionally/mentally vulnerable are you with other people?

"In all honesty, not very. It depends on the person, but even with my partners and my brother and Vince... I have to try really hard and a lot of times it has to be brought to my attention. It's my armor, though, being vulnerable in foster care isn't exactly an option... Or in New Jersey."

Do you think about what you wear or do you throw on whatever you find first?

"I don't put too much thought into it, no. Nicky hates it, he says I either dress like somebody's lesbian aunt from Iowa on vacation in Hawaii or a Myspace whore. I think he should consider himself lucky 'cause I could get more whore-ish."

What's your biggest secret?

"My brother doesn't know that I ran away or the abuse I went through, he thinks our parents are dead."

Smallest secret?

"I dye my hair black, it's scandalous."

What are your top five likes and dislikes?

"Top five... Coffee, comic books, chocolate-covered espresso beans, candles, cold weather. Dislikes; soup, summer, heat, Wyatt, audiobooks.

How do you feel about sports?

"It's dependent on the sport, as long as I don't have to play them I actually like watching them. Mostly football and hockey, sometimes soccer if Jayne feels a particular war towards a match."

Alrighty! Those are all the questions I have for you today! Do you have anything you want to say to the people reading this?

"Don't drink coffee on an empty stomach, and if you're ever in a fight with a crackhead in the parking lot of a Wawa's, go for the eyes! Goodbye!"

---------------------------

Hey! Thanks for reading!

Here's a very special thank you to @void-imp @lilypixels and @harrmoony for sending me questions and helping me write this interview!! You guys are great ilysfm <3

#the way i rushed to finish this 😭 #izzys baby ocs #oc: jared #my oc art #oc quotes #get to know my oc #oc interview #interview #ocs #original characters #original writing #writing stuff #creative writing #writing #writers of tumblr #writerscommunity #writeblr #writers #writerscorner #ts4 #artists #artwork #digital artwork #digital art #oc art #oc artwork #artists on tumblr #original character #character interaction #morgynemberisagenderfluiddaddy

[dannyreviews]

Women Talking (2022)

Sarah Polley is one of those auteurs whose filmography plays out like a student learning their craft. Her feature film debut “Away From Her” was simplistic in its narrative, then came her autobiographical documentary “Stories We Tell” where her storytelling improved. Now we have “Women Talking” which is Polley coming into a milieu of character development and emotional strife. With the Academy Awards only a few hours away from the writing of this post, Polley will surely be dusting off space on her shelf for her well deserved Oscar.

From Miriam Toews’ novel of the same name, “Women Talking” focuses on a small group of women and girls in a Hutterite colony in Canada. Abuse has been rampant for a long time and things have hit a breaking point with the arrest of some of the colony’s most powerful elders. With charges pending, a meeting of some of the victims takes place in which a decision must be made. Will they stay behind and forgive their abusers, which would mean a place in heaven? Or will they desert the only home they ever know and risk eternal damnation? Over the course of 24 hours, that choice is debated back and forth.

The only thing contemporary about “Women Talking” is the year that the story takes place; 2010. Beyond that, this is as much a period piece as any classic novel from the 19th century adapted by Merchant-Ivory or David Lean. The characters’ fashion, speech, demeanor and movement all harken back to a long ago era, despite the year and their insulation from the outside world is also odd. Just like the Amish in Pennsylvania or Hasidic Jews in parts of Brooklyn, the past is the present, and the present is non-existent. The choice to photograph in semi-black and white was also wise as if to illustrate the purgatory that each woman lives through on a daily basis, but also the fact that they live in another universe that happens to be on Earth. Even the film score by Oscar winner Hildur Guðnadóttir has the feel of a Sci-fi epic, but with a more Classical slant. It may have taken place in recent years and brings up now-current issues such as #MeToo, but “Women Talking” couldn’t be more of an anomaly in so many categories, and that winds up being the film’s greatest strength.

“Women Talking” starts very deceptively as a Brecht style drama in which dialogue is spoken more in verse format and there’s very little emotion from each character. Words repeat nonstop and you wonder what the nucleus of the film really is. But that is the entire point, these women are conditioned to act as common folk, knowing very little about things that the majority of humanity take for granted, like maps and grammatical punctuation. Brecht’s work can be seen as dry poetic legalese, that stagnates the environment around its characters. But then gradually, the dialogue becomes more free-flowing, the sentences much looser in pronunciation and the cries much more melodic, rather than pent up and the colors even become a little brighter. As you see the characters evolve, so do their surroundings.

One of the drawbacks about a film’s ensemble is that there are no truly standout performances, but rather little standout scenes. The cast spans from veterans like Judith Ivey, Frances McDormand and Sheila McCarthy to the newer crop of actresses like Claire Foy, Rooney Mara and Jessie Buckley. All of them are equally amazing and do their own acting exercises which illuminates the drama. Ivey is the one that has the most heart tugging scenes. Being the eldest of the group, her character Agata knows only the few acres of land as her world, but its her strength that makes her see beyond familiarity. Foy’s Salome is another character whose hurt and injury is all over her face and voice. Buckley’s Mariche is probably the most delicate of the women, precious like a porcelain doll, but fragile like cracked glass. The problem is, not enough time is given to really let us know these women individually, as opposed to as the collective that are presented as. That is not the fault of the screenplay, but the plot’s setting and circumstances. That being said, I would have liked to at least see one or two characters up close as a sample of what life in the colony was like instead of brief flashbacks that give off a superficial experience.

After tonight’s Oscar ceremony, whether or not Sarah Polley wins the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, she will be a major player in Hollywood and I hope she takes advantage of it well. “Women Talking” may not be perfect, but it’s the calling card for a fruitful career that I hope will be rich in future masterpieces.

8/10

#dannyreviews #women talking #sarah polley #miriam toews #hildur guðnadóttir #judith ivey #frances mcdormand #sheila mccarthy #claire foy #rooney mara #jessie buckley #metoo #academy awards #oscars #hutterites #canada

[sleepykittypaws]

2024 TV Holiday Premieres

No Longer Being Regularly Updated As Of June 14, 2023

ABC

The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration (musical performances and holiday celebrations from various Disney properties) - Nov. 30

Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade (annual holiday parade/musical showcase taped in Disney World, Disneyland and other Disney Parks worldwide) - Dec. 25

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2025 (LIVE annual Times Square ball drop celebration hosted by Seacrest) - Dec. 31

CMA Country Christmas (annual holiday concert special) - TBA (Website)

The Great Christmas Light Fight (season 12 of the reality competition featuring outrageous holiday displays) - TBA (Facebook)

NBC

135th Rose Parade (Annual New Year’s parade LIVE from Pasadena, Calif., hosted by Hoda Kotb and Al Roker.) - Jan. 1

A Saturday Night Live Thanksgiving Special (highlights from SNL’s best Thanksgiving sketches) - Nov. 27

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (official parade coverage, LIVE)  - Nov. 28

The National Dog Show (taped coverage of the 2024 National Dog Show from Oaks, Pennsylvania, hosted by John O’Hurley) - Nov. 28

101st Annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center (annual New York City tree lighting, LIVE) - Dec. 4

A Saturday Night Live Christmas Special (highlights from SNL’s best Christmas sketches) - Dec. TBA

CBS

The Thanksgiving Day Parade on CBS (unofficial coverage of the Macy’s parade, LIVE)  - Nov. 28

Byron Allen Presents a Merry Soulful Christmas (musical special hosted by Byron Allen; originally announced for December 2023 but delayed) - TBA

PBS

Call the Midwife Christmas Special 2024 (special holiday episode of the 13th season of the long-running BBC series, airing same day as in the UK) - Dec. 25

Hallmark

Holidazed (limited holiday series starring Erin Cahill, Ian Harding, Nansen Contractor, Giles Panton, Noemi Gonzalez, Sarah-Jane Redmond, Loretta Devine, Lillian Lim, Tim Perez, Barry Levy and Jacob Insley; written by Claudia Grazioso; Six Oregon families living in the same cul-de-sac deal with the highs and lows of the holidays; filmed in Victoria and Duncan, B.C.) - TBA

Lifetime

Merry Liddle Christmas Vacation (holiday sequel to 2019′s  Merry Liddle Christmas, 2020′s Merry Liddle Christmas Wedding and 2021′s Merry Liddle Christmas Baby; starring Kelly Rowland, LaTonya Williams, Bresha Webb, Jaime M Callica, Nathan Witte, Thomas Cadrot and Debbi Morgan; written by Andrea Stevens and King Hassan; The Liddle family goes on a holiday vacation to celebrate Tyler and Jacquie’s birthday and their toddler twins birthdays; announced in 2022 but delayed due to the strikes; filmed in B.C.) - TBA

Great American Family (formerly GAC)

⚠️ Want all to be aware there is more to GA Family, née GAC, than G-rated Christmas movies. Though I’m including dates and details here in the spirit of being a completist, worth noting the funding and founding of this channel, which comes from the Donald Trump-aligned Hicks Equity Group, brings with it an explicit anti-diversity agenda, hiding under guise of harmless sounding words like “family-friendly” and “safe” programming. More detailed explanation here (bottom of page), and additional more recent thoughts, for those who want it. And if you’re looking for outside sources on GAF’s political affiliations and lack of inclusion, see these stories from The Daily Beast, Vulture, the L.A. Times and Bloomberg.

A Sound of Music Christmas (holiday movie inspired by the Sound of Music; written and directed by Michael and Janeen Damian; filmed in Austria) - TBA

TV One

In the Kitchen with Tamar & Evelyn Braxton (holiday cooking special featuring the mother-daughter duo’s own recipes from every holiday) - TBA

Max

The Naughty One (action-comedy written by Zach Helm and produced by Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, announced in 2021) - TBA

Britbox

Mrs. Brown’s Boys New Year’s Special (one-off holiday episode of the series; available same day as UK) - Jan. 1

The Jonathan Ross Show Christmas Special (U.S. premiere of the 2023 special holiday episode of the chat show) - Jan. 24

Death in Paradise Christmas 2024 (holiday movie based on the BBC series starring Sara Martins and Ralf Little about a British detective sent to a Caribbean island; filmed in Guadeloupe; available same day as UK) - TBA

The King’s Christmas Address (annual holiday speech delivered by King Charles III via the BBC) - Dec. 25

Disney+

Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas (Bret McKenzie-produced remake of the 1977 Muppet ABC special in conjunction with the Jim Henson company; announced in 2019) - TBA

Twas’ The Night (musical anthology holiday series written and produced by David E. Talbert; Santa tells his grandchildren stories of his holiday adventures; announced in 2023) - TBA

Apple TV+

Wolfs (at least partially holiday-set thriller starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Amy Ryan; written and directed by Jon Watts; A pair of lone wolf fixers are forced to team up; filmed in New York and L.A.) - TBA

Lady in the Lake (at least partially holiday-set series starring Natalie Portman; based on the book by Laura Lippman; A 1960s housewife who dreams of becoming a journalist, investigates two seemingly unconnected, unsolved murders; set and filmed in Baltimore) - TBA 

Paramount+

Winter Spring Summer or Fall (holiday romance starring Jenna Ortega, Percy Hynes White and Adam Rodriguez; directed by Tiffany Paulsen; written by Dan Schoffer and Paulsen; Two teens fall in love over four days across different seasons; filmed in Utah) - TBA

Prime Video

One Fine Morning (a.k.a. Un Beau Matin; French-language, partially holiday-set movie starring Pascal Lea-Seydoux, Melvil Greggory, Nicole Poupaud and Garcia; written and directed by Mia Hansen-Love; A widow and single mom juggles caring for her family, including her father with dementia, and a new affair with an old friend of her late husband’s) - Jan. 1 (Trailer)

Ex-Mas (holiday teen rom-com based on the book by Kate Brian; Two teen exes go on a road trip to rescue their little brothers, who have set on a quest to save Santa from global warming; announced in 2020) - TBA

Red One (big-budget holiday action movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Nick Kroll, Kristofer Hivju, Wesley Kimmel and Mary Elizabeth Ellis; directed by Jake Kasdan; written by Chris Morgan; The leader of an elite force named the E.L.F must protect Santa and Christmas from those who seek to destroy it) - TBA

Suddenly It’s Christmas (English-language remake of 2022 Italian family film Improvvisamente Natale, directed by Peter Chelsom; adapted by Chelsom and Tinker Lindsay; When a young girl learns that a summer trip to her beloved grandfather’s hotel, where they usually spend the holidays, is cover for her parents telling her they’re getting divorced, she and her grandfather plan to recreate a perfect Christmas in hopes of reuniting her parents; filmed in Italy) - TBA

Hope (limited series based on the 2019 Oscar-nominated, holiday-set Norwegian movie; adapted by Alice Ball and starring Nicole Kidman; A May-December marriage where the younger half of the couple is diagnosed with a brain tumor which they keep secret from their family at the holidays; announced in 2021) - TBA

12 Days of Christmas (holiday movie produced by and starring Stephen Curry; directed by Charles Stone III; written by Kevin Heffernan and Peter Gaulke; A kid and holiday-hating man wakes up a dad, adding a new child every day until Christmas; announced in 2021) - TBA

The Man with the Bag (holiday movie starring Alan Ritchson; directed by Adam Shankman; written by Allan Rice; Santa enlists the help of a thief after his magic bag is stolen; announced in 2023) - TBA

Santa is Real (musical holiday movie written by Laura Rosann) - TBA

The Truth About Mrs. Claus (holiday movie based on the bestselling book by Meena Harris; adapted by Taylor Chukwu; An elf learns the North Pole’s greatest secret: Mrs. Claus runs it all; announced in 2023) - TBA

Netflix

Boy Swallows Universe (magical-realist series starring Travis Fimmel, Felix Cameron, Simon Baker, Phoebe Tonkin and Lee Tiger Halley; based on the novel by Trent Dalton; adapted by John Collee; A boy who receives a mysterious phone call on Christmas Day, must break his mother out of a feared prison; filmed and set in Brisbane, Australia) - Jan. 11 (Trailer)

Meet Me Next Christmas (holiday rom-com starring Christina Milian, Devale Ellis, Kofi Siriboe, Kalen Allen and Pentatonix; directed by Rusty Cundieff; written by Camilla Cordelia and Molly Halderman; To meet up with the man of her dreams, a woman must somehow find a ticket to a sold out Christmas Eve concert; filmed in Toronto) - TBA

Our Little Secret (holiday movie starring Lindsay Lohan, Ian Harding, Kristin Chenoweth and Tim Meadows; Bitter exes discover they’re currently dating siblings when they all get taken home for the holidays and try to hide their past from everyone) - TBA

The Thanksgiving Text (based-on-a-true-story tale of an accidental holiday invite that led to a lifelong tradition and friendship; written by Abdul Williams; announced in 2021; filmed in Arizona) - TBA

Auntie Claus (Kenny Ortega produced and directed musical based on the children’s book series by Elise Primavera, adapted by Tiffany Paulsen; A materialistic young girl learns the true nature of giving through her adventures at the North Pole with her eccentric aunt; announced in 2019) -TBA

One Day in December (holiday-set series starring Lucy Boynton; directed by Drake Doremus; based on the book by Josie Silver; A chance sighting on a bus leads to star-crossed, complicated love across multiple years and holidays; reported in 2023) - TBA

That Christmas (Richard Curtis working with Locksmith Animation and co-writing script with Peter Souter, based on Curtis’ own children’s holiday book series—The Empty Stocking, Snow Day and That Christmas; directed by Simon Otto; combining the storylines from all three children’s books and setting them simultaneously in one English beach village, Curtis calls the animated movie, “Love Actually for kids.”) - TBA

Carry On (holiday-set action-thriller starring Taron Egerton, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler and Jason Bateman; directed by Jaume Collet-Serra; written by TJ Fixman and Michael Green; A TSA agent is blackmailed into putting a mysterious package on a Christmas Day flight; filmed in New Orleans) - TBA

Black Doves (holiday-set spy thriller six-episode series starring Ben Whishaw, Sarah Lancashire and Keira Knightley; A politician’s wife/spy seeks to get to the bottom of who killed her lover, and why, with the help of the only friend she can trust; announced in 2023; filmed in London) - TBA

Prentice Penny Project (writer/director Prentice Penny’s “magical” African-American family film based on he and his wife, Tasha’s, original idea; announced in 2020) - TBA

The Great British Baking Show: Holidays (US debut of 2023 Christmas Eve and New Year’s special episodes of the Great British Bake Off, featuring returning Bake Off favorites battling for holiday cake plates) - TBA

The Snow Sister (Norwegian original movie starring Mudit Gupta and Celina Meyer Holland; based on the children’s book, and adapted by author Maja Lunde; The youngest member of a family devastated by grief meets a mysterious Christmas-loving girl named Hedwig) - TBA

MyTime Movie Network

Xmas Clue (original holiday limited series co-produced with France’s TF1) - TBA

Freevee

Mistletoe Mixup 2 (holiday movie sequel to the 2021 film starring  Matthew Lawrence, Danielle C. Ryan  and Joey Lawrence; directed by Andrew Lawrence) - TBA

Digital/DVD/Other

SLEIGH (holiday horror short starring Zoey Luna and Maxwell Almond; written and directed by Stella Alfaro; Pagan artists gather to celebrate the solstice) - Jan. 8, Amazon PVOD (Instagram)

Ghosts Christmas Special: A Christmas Gift (2023 Christmas special and series finale of the BBC series; first time available in the U.S.) - Jan. 16, PVOD

It’s Me, Billy Chapter 2 (holiday movie sequel starring 1974 original actors Olivia Hussey and Lynne Griffin to the 2021 Black Christmas fan-film from Dave McRae bringing the saga “to an unofficial and epic conclusion”) - Oct. 11, YouTube

Saint Nick of Bethlehem (holiday movie starring Daniel Roebuck, Cathy Moriarty and Duane Whitaker; directed by Spencer Folmar and Roebuck; A man who lost his own son finds joy in giving presents to other children; based on a true story and filmed in Bethlehem, Pa.) - Nov. 14

Athena Saves Christmas (holiday comedy starring Cuba Gooding Jr, Joseph Baena, Ludovica Frasca, Paxton Kubitz, Michael Blackson, Robert Costanzo and Glenn Plummer; directed by Josh Webber; written by Greg Crowder and Webber; A group of young adults and their dog must solve a series of riddles to save Christmas in their town from a mob boss; filmed in Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead, Calif.) - Nov. 23

Silent Night Bloody Night 3 (holiday slasher sequel starring Lloyd Kaufman, Julie Anne Prescott and Tina Krause; written and directed by Will Collazo Jr. and Prescott; The final girl wakes up in an asylum and must avoid being murdered by a killer who wants to see her dead for the holidays) - Dec. 25

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (holiday movie remake/reboot of the 1964 cult classic, directed and produced by Cynthia Webster; Santa tries to save what’s left of humanity by bringing Christmas to Mars for the first time.) - TBA

How to Make Gravy (Australian holiday movie starring Hugo Weaving, Daniel Henshall, Brenton Thwaites, Damon Herriman, Kate Mulvany and Agathe Rouselle; based on the song by Paul Kelly; directed by Nick Waterman; written by Megan Washington and Washington; A prisoner named Joe writes to his brother about his longing to be home for Christmas; announced in 2022) - TBA, Australia on Binge

Dimming Lights (holiday drama starring Laura Mitchell. Heather Fraley, TeriEnna Blanco and Michael Newman; written and directed by Preston Walden; Sisters return home for the holidays and find their estranged mother in the grip of dementia; filmed in Tampa, Fla.) - TBA

A Christmas Cheer (holiday movie written by Clint Ford; What happens to Ebenezer Scrooge, and Jacob Marley’s ghost, after the events of A Christmas Carol?; won a screenplay contest in 2020) - TBA

Four Cousins and a Christmas Wedding (holiday movie sequel to 2021′s  Four Cousins and a Christmas, starring Raffaela Capp, Natasha Capp, Ayla Kell and Lily Gibson; written and directed by Maria Capp) - TBA 

Finding Her Voice for Christmas (faith-based holiday movie based on the stage play Finding Her Voice; starring Don Dusty Phelps, Jessie Tate Jr. and Deandre Griffin; A revealed family secret results in a crisis of faith) - TBA 

A Chinatown Christmas (holiday movie based on the book by Kailin Gow and Nancy Wu; adapted and directed by Gow; An arrogant businessman who always spends Christmas eating alone at a local Chinese restaurant is angry with the owners when they decide to close for the holiday) - TBA

Let it Snow: A Christmas Time Loop (holiday movie where a teen has to help his best friend trapped in a holiday time loop; filmed in New York and New Jersey) - TBA

One Christmas Night in a Toy Store (holiday horror movie starring Simon Phillips and Sayla de Goede; directed by Paul Tanter; the third in the Santa slasher trilogy, this time Santa and Mrs. Claus take Christmas Eve hostages; filmed in Ottawa) - TBA

The Twelve Days After Christmas (holiday movie directed, starring and co-written by Melissa Archer; also featuring Laura Osnes) - TBA

Xmas at Moe’s (holiday movie written and directed by Ray J Pope; Brothers have to put aside their differences in order to save a homeless shelter at the holidays; filmed in Atlanta) - TBA

A Brooklyn Christmas (faith-based holiday movie directed by Shaun Paul Piccinino; co-written by Drew Henriksen and Anthony Mangano; A bookie finds himself forced into being a holiday hero) - TBA (Website)

Hungry Bear Tales to the Pole! (Czech animated holiday special directed by Katerina Karhankova; based on the books by Zbynek Cernik; Two bears travel to the North Pole for the annual popsicle festival, with a little help from some friends) - TBA (YouTube shorts)

Christmas at the St. Nick (holiday movie written by Mark Amato; holiday travelers reluctantly team up to make their holiday plans happen, but find themselves falling in love) - TBA

Ellie and the Christmas Creep (animated movie from Luxembourg-based animation studio Fabrique d'Images; directed by Caroline Origer; An intrepid elf tries to save Santa from his fame obsession she believes is caused by a creep) - TBA (Website)

Aubrey Flint’s Christmas (holiday comedy directed by Jack Spring; written by Chris Boyle-McQuarry; filmed in UK) - TBA

It Happened on Christmas (small-budget holiday movie written, directed and starring LP Green, along with Leandro Somoza and Jonna Devereaux) - TBA (Instagram)

Family Christmas (holiday movie starring Rían Sheehy Kelly, Jeremy Holm, John Pirruccello and Emma Jo Boyden; directed and co-written by Michael Moreci; A holiday heist collides with stranded travelers trying to get home in time for Christmas; filmed in Champaign, Ill.) - TBA

The Santa Assist (holiday movie starring Eric Roberts; directed by Ross Marks; Santa goes to New Mexico to fix a relative’s problem and ends up falling in love; filmed in Las Cruces, N.M.) - TBA

Manuscript (holiday-set thriller about a trio of friends who find an unpublished work that could bring fame and fortune and slowly turn on one another during a Christmas pre-party; filmed in Pennsylvania) - TBA 

The McNamara Brothers Christmas Story (holiday movie written and directed by��Marc Alan Solomon; A group of friends and family come together for a Christmas Eve game night where secrets are revealed; filmed in Claxton, Ga.) - TBA

It’s Christmas! (holiday movie starring Brittany Snow, Lucas Bravo,Simon Callow, Chloé Jouannet, Elektra Kilbey, Richard Elis and Ben McGregor; written and directed by Jamie Adams; Hoping to bring her husband’s dysfunctional family closer in the wake of his mother’s death, a wife invents list of holiday tasks she claims her mother-in-law wanted them all to do; filmed in Wales) - TBA

We Wish You a Dairy Christmas (holiday movie starring Aeon Cruz and Brit Ellerman; directed and co-written by Elgin Cahill; A woman reluctantly returns home to help save her family’s farm) - TBA

Feather Christmas (holiday movie starring Ocean M Harris, Tom Machell and Teresa Dawn Taylor; directed by Lucy Turner, written by Dan William O’Leary; filmed in the UK) - TBA (Instagram)

Niko: Beyond the Northern Lights (international animated movie sequel to 2008′s The Flight Before Christmas and 2012′s Little Brother, Big Trouble: A Christmas Adventure; co-directed by Kari Juusonen and Jørgen Lerdam; Niko dreams of being a member of Santa’s flying forces, but faces stiff competition for the job) - TBA

A Very Bavarian Christmas (holiday movie based on the novel by Katie M Reid; A single woman who feels stuck in her small, holiday-themed town and dead-end job at a Christmas store, unexpectedly finds love as she regains her holiday spirit) - TBA

Date for Christmas (holiday movie directed by Louise Alston; written by Stephen Vagg; A women invents a fake fiancee to comfort her dying mother, but when mom unexpectedly recovers she has to keep the con going for the holidays) - TBA

Last Christmas on Walden St (small-budget holiday movie written, directed and starring Tyler Cole, along with Roni Weissman; filmed in Georgia) - TBA

Carnage for Christmas (partially crowd-funded holiday horror film starring Jeremy Moineau, Joe Romeo, Dominique Booth, Cassie Hamilton, Toshiro Glenn and Olivia Deeble; written and directed by teen filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay; When a trans true-crime podcaster returns home for the holidays for the first time since transitioning, she’s drawn into a murderous ghost story that might just be real) - TBA (IndieGoGo)

Pastor Sue’s Christmas (right-wing holiday movie starring Rebecca Grant and Joy Villa; co-directed by Chris Johnson and Villa; filmed in California) - TBA

Tinsel (holiday short starring Maja Bloom and Nathan J Lloyd; written and directed by Davey Ezra; An actor working as a mall elf becomes an '80s action-movie hero when he diffuses a holiday hostage situation; filmed in Portsmouth, England) - TBA (Instagram)

Hot Mom (holiday-set comedy written and directed by Jimmy Kustes; A college student and his girlfriend spend the holidays with his mom and her new boyfriend; filmed in Tampa, Fla.) - TBA

Lumia (six-episode holiday series created by Created by Anastasia Heinzl and Pöllä; A Parisian teen is forced to spend the holidays in rural Finland with her mother, where she starts seeing strange lights in forest) - TBA

Mr. Santa the Musical Christmas Extravaganza (holiday movie starring Geoffrey Owens, Tommy Davidson, Peter Donald Badalamenti II and Paul Kevins; written and directed by Noel Calloway; With Christmas spirit at an all-time low, Santa goes undercover as a high school teacher to try and convince teens to believe in holiday magic again; filmed in New York City) - TBA

I’ll Be Dead for Christmas (holiday horror movie starring, written and directed by Geordy Skolnick; along with J.C. Hoffman, Jilly Kent, Joshua R. Pangborn, Ximena Zavala, and Heth Weinstein; A mentally disturbed patient blackmails a hospital employee into telling horrifying stories on Christmas Eve) - TBA

A Very Elevated Christmas (holiday movie starring Frank Powers, Michelle Martinez and J.D. Hernandez; directed by Luis Perez) - TBA (Facebook) 

Christmas with Buddy (faith-based drama starring Joseph Gray and Brian Biggers; directed by Cameron Arnett and Cornelius Muller; written by Michael D Acosta; A young man with cerebral palsy tries to figure out what God’s purpose for him is; filmed in North Carolina) - TBA

A Carolina Christmas (holiday movie starring Kelly Lynn Reiter, Melissa Reeves and Matthew Ashford; written by David Michael Ross; A snowstorm traps a divorced couple together at the holidays as their daughter schemes to reunite them) - TBA

The Town of Tails (a.k.a  Kruuna; four-episode Finnish holiday series from creator Minna Panjanen; A professor who years ago found his parents murdered on Christmas Eve investigates another mysterious death in Tails, with the help of a Christmas spirit only he can see) - TBA

Family Christmas (holiday movie produced by Kenneth Van Camp; A woman giving up hope on true love has to decide whether to settle for an old flame or take a chance on a new, holiday romance; filmed in Detroit) - TBA

An Emerald Coast Christmas (small-budget holiday movie written, directed and starring Elesia Marie, along with Shannon Williams and Teance Blackburn; A big city culinary school grad heads home for the holidays; filmed in Florida) - TBA (Website)

How to Kill Your Family and Get Away with It (holiday horror movie starring Eden Shea Beck; directed by Robbie Dias; written by Marc Gottlieb; An extremely dysfunctional family gathers in a secluded cabin for the holidays, hiding dark secrets that lead to murder; filmed in Big Bear, Calif.) - TBA

Christmas Kennel (holiday movie starring Tatyana Ali, RaéVen Kelly, Marla Gibbs, Angela Gibbs and Malcolm-Jamal Warner; directed by Sean Dinwoodie; filmed in Rhode Island and Connecticut) - TBA

Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point (holiday movie starring Michael Cera, Ben Shenkman, Francesca Scorsese, Sawyer Spielberg and Gregory Falatek; directed by Tyler Taormina; written by Eric Berger and Taormina; A family gathers for a final Christmas in their childhood home and a teenager looks to make her mark on the neighborhood; filmed in Smithtown, NY) - TBA

Holiday Holdup (holiday-set crime drama starring Jeremy Holm, John Pirruccello and Agnes Albright; written by Michael Moreci; Restaurant employees get revenge on their mob-tied employer) - TBA

Xmas in July (small budget black comedy take on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol starring, written and directed by Joel Clark, along with Crichton Atkinson and Daniel Martin Berkey; Ebenzer and Cratchitt experience multiple alternate realities, each more horrifying than the last; filmed in Brooklyn, N.Y.) - TBA (Website)

Ebenezer the Traveler (six-episode mini-series starring Jerry Parisi, Amanda Rae Dodson and Michael Bertolini; directed by Joe Valenti; written by Leland Prater; A look at what happened to Scrooge after the events of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol) - TBA (Website)

Once Upon a Christmas (faith-based holiday movie starring Garry Nation and Melissa Nunnally; directed by Nathan Blair; A Scrooge-like old man is turned back into a teenager by an angel, who warns him he must repair his family relationships by Christmas or be doomed; filmed in Denver) - TBA (Website)

Breakup Season (holiday movie starring Chandler Riggs and Samantha Isler; written and directed by H. Nelson Tracey; A man takes his girlfriend home for the holidays to meet his parents and things don’t go as planned; filmed in La Grande, Oregon) - TBA (Instagram)

Switched Up Christmas (holiday comedy starring Ava Torres, Levi Smith, Ella Fraley, Brian Villalobos and Van Quattro; directed and co-written by Zane Nixon; A dysfunctional family who has lost their Christmas spirit, finds themselves regaining their love of the season through a holiday body swap; filmed in Houston, Texas) - TBA

Oh Christmas Tree (holiday movie starring Mason Gillett, Kay Barnes, Rachel Petsiavas and Christopher Long; directed by Paul Duncan; filmed in North Carolina) - TBA (Website)

Dead for the Holidays (holiday horror movie starring Tifani Winkfield, Allen Yates and Carter Bratton; directed by Thomas Martin and Lawrence Sara) - TBA

Our Christmas House (holiday movie starring Michael Dumas, Whitney Bacon, Sabrina Orro, Precious Ugbodu and Andrew C. English Jr; directed by Annabel White; written by Jaron Lanier; A news anchor must choose between a big holiday story and the man she’s falling in love with) - TBA (IndieGoGo)

Our Church Thinks We’re Dating (holiday movie starring Ashley LaRae, Burke Brown, Megan Alexander and Mark Christopher Lawrence; directed and co-written by Tim Nolte; The last two unmarried people in a church group spend a holiday weekend pretending to date in order to stop others from constantly trying to set them up; filmed in Denver) - TBA (Facebook, Website, Trailer)

Christmas Crashers (small-budget holiday movie starring Christine Traversa, Bridget Nine, Steve Boress, Leanne Johnson and Zaine Bray; written and directed by Kevin L Mounce; A couple decide to step off the holiday fast track and recommit to each other, but not everyone is on board with their pared-down holiday plans; shot in central Illinois) - TBA (Website)

Little Miracles (small budget movie written and directed by Pat Denson; film version of her off-Broadway musical, Little Christmas Miracles; based on a true story tale of two recently widowed moms who take their kids on a holiday road trip) - TBA

The Christmas Forest (small budget movie from faith-based Wright Family Films; directed, written and starring Ashley Hays Wright) - TBA, YouTube

Kid Santa (Italian holiday movie, live-action/animation hybrid starring real-life brothers Alec and William Baldwin and Elva Trill; directed by Francesco Cinquemani; filmed in Rome) - TBA

Once Upon a Christmas Eve (faith-based holiday movie starring Najee De-Tiege, Hector David Jr., Michael Franklin, Alicia Tomasko, Sofia Lauren, Alexa Ketchum, Gabriella Estabrook and Gianna Angela; written and directed by Dominic Giannetti; Estranged siblings struggle to hold their family together at the holidays) - TBA

A Queer Christmas Carol (LGBTQ take on Charles Dickens’ classic starring Daniel Bainelebeau, Qiana Camille and Larry B. Carter II; written and directed by Henderson Maddox) - TBA

Needle Little Christmas (holiday movie starring Sara Waisglass, Jonathan Kite and Thomas Lennon; directed by Jason DeVan; When she dies just before Christmas, a woman gets the chance to return to earth in the form of a Christmas tree in hopes of and restoring her friends’ spirits; filmed in El Reno, Okla.) - TBA

Chicken Coop (holiday movie starring Monica Moore Smith, Eric Wood and Mark Bracich; written and directed by Joseph DeGolyer; Family secrets are revealed during a holiday trip home when an estranged father and son attempt to repair a broken pipe in a chicken coop; filmed in Utah) - TBA (Facebook)

Christmas at the Frat House (holiday movie starring Karon Riley, Lem Collins, Jared Wofford, Kevin Savage, Amber Reign Smith, Kelsi Lee and Jael Roberson; directed by Charmin Lee; written by Lem Collins; Four frat brothers make, and break, a pact not to marry for 10 years after college. The last man standing is set to propose at Christmas when secrets emerge from his friends’ relationships and his girlfriend’s past that could make him reconsider; filmed in Atlanta.) - TBA

A Screenshot to Santa (holiday movie starring Essence Atkins, Tony Rock, Torrei Hart, Kennedy Stephens, Shai Moss, Jacob Gaines and Ray Buffer; written and directed by Monica Floyd; While their parents are at a conference, a teenager sick of caring for her much younger sister sneaks out to see her boyfriend on Christmas Eve; filmed in L.A.) - TBA

(Once Upon a) Philly Christmas (faith-based holiday movie starring Robert Clohessy, Bridget White, Brian Anthony Wilson, Myles Clohessy, Shannon Wilson, Julianna Layne, Gabi Faye, Rich Enkels, Dominic Costa, Bridget White and Brian Anthony Wilson; directed by Bridget Smith and written by Mike Walsh; A teenage gamer accidentally travels back in time to Bethlehem, to make it home he needs to discover the true meaning of Christmas; filmed in Philadelphia) - TBA (Website)

Love After Holidays (holiday movie starring Darin D Barron, Jennifer Figuereo, Gabi Faye, Taral Hicks Dawson, Jeremy Meeks, Shari Ellis and Angela Perymon; directed by Antoine Allen; written by Maurice McCallum; based on the self-help book Love After by Jacinth Headlam; The rise and fall of a talk show host who loses everything; filmed in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) - TBA (Instagram)

A Kismet Holiday (holiday movie starring Karen Obilom, Joyful Drake, Lamman Rucker and Javon Johnson; co-written and directed by Chazitear; filmed in Washington, D.C.) - TBA

A Christmas in New Hope (holiday movie starring Adrianne Palicki, Malcolm Goodwin, Katrina Bowden, David Anders, Ryan Cooper and Mia Armstrong directed by Julia Barnett; co-written by Barnett and Kathleen Estes; A single mom of a special needs child enters a home renovation contest focused on saving her home from foreclosure, but things get complicated when she falls for her musician neighbor; filmed in Waco, Texas) - TBA

Gingersnap Christmas (holiday movie starring Desirée Ross, Jake Lockett, Natalie Buck, Réka Lukács and Obum Éji; directed by Julia Jay Pierrepont; written by Matt Lindenburg and Eva & Frank Myer; A grieving woman finds love and her Christmas spirit, while visiting her Caribbean grandmother for the holidays; filmed in L.A.) - TBA

Christmas on the North Pole Express (holiday movie starring Brian Boynton, Marla Moore, Riley Rose Downey and Sam Broome; written by Cody LaRue; Two people meet on the famed Christmas train while traveling to a wedding; filmed in Owosso, Michigan) - TBA

The Holiday Exchange (holiday movie starring Taylor Frey, Rick Cosnett, Samer Salem, Daniel Garcia, Blake Cooper Griffin, Joe Aaron Reid, Camila Banus, Nick Adams, Ashley Fink, Kyle Dean Massey and Kyle Richards; directed by Jake Helgren; written by Frey; A successful businessman enters into a holiday house swap and both he and the man he swapped with find new love; filmed in California) - TBA

Royal Runaways (a.k.a. A Little Faith; holiday movie starring Mark Cuban, Ashley Brinkman, Alex Day, Eliza Roberts, Naomi Matsuda, Mario Silva and Faysal Shafaat; written and directed by Candy Cain; When his father, the king, dies, a European prince flees to America and hides his identity by working in a winery) - TBA 

Holiday in the Hamptons (holiday movie starring Naomi Matsuda, Ashley Brinkman, Paulie Calafiore, Eve Kroh and Eric Roberts; written and directed by Candy Cain; A woman inherits her grandmother’s house at the holidays.) - TBA

A Jar Full of Christmas (holiday movie starring Brooke Burfitt, Cara Maria Sorbello and Jason Frederick; written and directed by Candy Cain; When a woman inherits her mom’s home, sparks fly with a childhood friend; filmed and set in Lake Placid, NY) - TBA

Christmas Overtime (holiday movie starring Meghan Carrasquillo, Jadon Cal and Laura Ault; directed by Ann Deborah Fishman; co-written by Fishman and Simon Parker; A holiday-hating actress must convince a Christmas-obsessed group she’s one of them in order to land a commercial) - TBA

Xmas Gamble (holiday movie starring Tom Arnold, Michael Madsen, Fernanda Romero and Waymond Lee; directed by Kenny Yates; written by Jerry Artukovich; A recovering gambling addict needs cash to save his mom’s home, realizing he’s never lost on Christmas, he rationalizes one last bet) - TBA

An Elliot and Friends Christmas Carol (puppet holiday special, based on featuring original characters created by Jeffrey Ault; starring Dana Anderwald, Alana Phillips and Dean Napolitano) -TBA (Trailer, Facebook)

Bring Back Christmas (holiday movie starring Ricardo Ortiz, Josh Zaharia, Casey James and Neil Charlesworth; directed by Rafael Nani; written by Marcelo Ricardo Ortiz; A materialistic teen wishes Christmas out of existence, making him the only one in the world who remembers the holiday; filmed in Vancouver, B.C.) - TBA (Website)

Christmas at the Mistletoe Inn (holiday movie directed by Lexi Giovagnoli; written by Vicki Vass; A jaded Christmas movie scout finds herself in a town straight out of one of her holiday movies; filmed in North Carolina) - TBA

Christmas Cover Up (holiday movie starring Ray Cunningham, Skye Griffin, Trina and Towanda Braxton; filmed in Houston) - TBA

Christmas Carole (a.k.a. Noël au Balcon; French-language holiday comedy starring Didier Bourdon, Noemie Lvovsky, Jules Sagot, Christophe Montenez, Alice Daubelcour and Janaïna Halloy-Fokan; directed by Jeanne Gottesdiener; A small-town mayor tries to coordinate her town’s holiday festivities while her husband holds down the holiday prep at home, until their adult children arrive and everything falls apart) - TBA, France

Christmas Licc (holiday movie short starring Taylor T-Dawg Da Don Butler, MW Maniak and Kea White; directed by Kimberly Latrice Jones; Friends attempt a misguided Christmas robbery to get out of a financial jam) - TBA (Twitter)

Winters’ Garden (a.k.a. The Christmas Garden; holiday movie starring Madeline Coughlan, Lior Selve, Federico Dordei, Peter Jason, Farah Merani and Chuck Marra; directed by Shari Hamrick Grewal; written by Joany Kane; A New York City cooking show host travels to lay the remains of a World War II nurse to rest in an English castle garden, and becomes enchanted by the site’s holiday charms; filmed in Lake Arrowhead, Calif.) - TBA  (Trailer)

Blended Christmas (holiday movie starring Jennifer Freeman, Anthony Dalton II, Victoria Rowell, Dream Doll, Carlee Elston and Charles Baston, written and directed by Tamala Baldwin; A new bride cancels her honeymoon to care for her husband’s ex after a freak accident; filmed in Atlanta) - TBA

Mississippi Christmas (holiday movie starring Darrin D Henson, Clifton Powell, Terri J Vaughn and Valarie Pettiford; written and directed by Christel Gibson; filmed in Atlanta) - TBA

Filthy Animals (written and directed by James T North IV; starring Raymond J Barry, Layla Louise, Hal Dion and Austin Wheeler; A pair of petty criminals stumble into a very dark Christmas) - Dec. TBA (Instagram, Website)

Civil Christmas (holiday musical starring Sophie Bolen and Kyle Patrick; A Southern belle shelters a wounded Union soldier on Christmas Eve; co-written and directed by Joel Paul Reisig; filmed in Michigan) - TBA

Christmas with the Pups (holiday movie starring Danielle Scott, Simon Ellis, Lila Lasso and Kitty Sudbery; directed by Louisa Warren; written by Tom Jolliffe; A ranch-owning family finds a Pomeranian at the holidays, unaware she already belongs to an influencer) - TBA (Trailer)

Meet Me at the Christmas Train Parade (holiday movie featuring Ryan Northcott, Emma Johnson, Maureen Rooney, Sue Huff, Michelle Todd, and Will Brisbin; directed by Dylan Pearce; written by Nathan Usher; To stave off a developer that will destroy their charming town square, a single mom enlists the help of nearby villages to revive a Christmas tree-lighting tradition; filmed in Edmonton, Alberta; aired in Canada in 2023) - TBA

Creating Christmas (holiday movie starring Greer Grammer, Jason Cermak and Briana Buckmaster; directed by Jason James; A children’s book author enlists an artistic teacher to help him out of a creative rut at Christmas; filmed in Vancouver, B.C.; aired on Paramount+ UK in 2023) - TBA

Royally Yours, This Christmas (holiday movie starring Cindy Sampson, Steve Byers, Holly De Barros, Bukola Ayoka, Michael S. Morrone and Darrin Baker; directed by Don McBrearty; written by Jessica L. Randall; A single mom is mistaken for a wealthy do-gooder and finds herself romanced by a royal; filmed in Toronto; aired on Paramount+ UK in 2023) - TBA

A Perfect Christmas Carol (holiday movie starring Stephanie Bennett and Preston Vanderslice; directed by Wendy Ord; A chef heads home for the holidays with her boyfriend, only to battle with his mother for his love; filmed in Kelowna, B.C.; aired on Binge in Australia in 2023) - TBA

Sincerely Truly Christmas (holiday movie starring Jake Epstein, Paula Brancati, Richard Waugh and  Tom Hearn; directed by Sean Cisterna; written by Matthew Thaler; Holiday magic gives an event planner the ability to hear what everyone else wants for Christmas; filmed in Toronto; aired on Binge in Australia in 2023) - TBA

Me and Mr. Christmas (holiday movie starring Sara Garcia, Blair Penner, Michael Lazarovitch and Jocelyn Chugg; directed by Dylan Pearce; written by Jenny M Krick; A woman looks to boost her new PR firm by fielding a winning contestant in a holiday bachelor contest; filmed in Edmonton, Alberta; aired on STAN in Australia in 2023) - TBA

The Heiress of Christmas (holiday movie starring David Pinard, Katerina Maria Vitkoff and Alys Crocker; directed by Meeshelle Neal; An heiress is forced to work in her family’s department store for the holidays; filmed in Toronto; aired on TF1 in France and Binge in Australia in 2023) - TBA (Trailer)

Christmas on the Alpaca Farm (holiday movie starring Kirsten Comerford, Matt Wells and Diana Diaz; directed by Michael Kennedy; A Christmas sweater designer clashes with a local alpaca farmer; filmed in Hamilton, Ont.; aired on TV24 and Channel 5 in the UK in 2023) - TBA

Christmas at Carbell Family Farm (holiday movie starring Tamara Almeida and Cody Ray Thompson; A developer has designs on a Christmas tree and must track down a long list of owners to secure the site) - TBA

Holiday for Hire (holiday movie starring Andrew Rogers, Casey Waller, Christie Leverette, Michael Deni and Mark Valeriano; directed by Jared Cohn; written by Julia Terranova; When her boyfriend dumps her just before Christmas, a desperate woman hires an actor to play him for her family; filmed in Simi Valley, Calif.) - TBA

Holly Jolly Christmas (a.k.a. Untitled Christmas Movie Project; holiday movie starring Allison Bailey, Rebecca De Mornay, Chris Elliott, Jordan Doww, Teo Rapp-Olsson, Pete Ploszek, Neal Davidson; directed by Christine Luby; When siblings come home for the holidays, they are shocked to learn their parents have sold the family home and plan to move overseas; set and filmed in Danbury and New Haven, Connecticut) - TBA

Christmas Telethon (holiday comedy starring Patrick Warburton, Matt Nease and Leslie Talley; directed by Doug Henderson; written by Henderson, B. Harrison Smith and Nease; Local anchors try to save their struggling TV station with a telethon that goes terribly wrong; filmed in Millersville, Pa.) - TBA

Cape Holly Christmas (holiday movie starring Sebastian Stewart, Anna Marie Dobbins, Brian Austin Green, Celeste Desjardins, Barbara Mitchell, Rae Farrer, Neil Enock, and Laura Yenga; directed by John Bradshaw;  written by Erica McKenzie and Mark Mungo; A woman hopes to win a baking contest to save her home and small-town bakery, but falls for a guy who turns out to be related to the bank trying to foreclose on both;  filmed in Leduc, Alberta, Canada) - TBA

S’up, Xmas! (a.k.a. Jae, Natal!; Brazilian animated holiday movie directed by Camila Padilha; A princess tries to introduce a traditional Christmas to her island home, only to see them twist it into a unique tropical holiday festival) - TBA

A Christmas Heart (faith-based holiday movie starring Kevin Sorbo and Sarah Reeves; written and directed by Bill McAdams, Jr; A widowed firefighter gets a DUI and is assigned community service where he meets someone who helps him recover from tragedy; filmed in Granbury, Texas ) - TBA

Operation Nutcracker (holiday movie starring Ashley Newbrough and Christopher Russell; An event planner and wayward son have to work together to find a missing nutcracker in time for a wealthy family's high profile charity auction; filmed in Ontario) - TBA

Jingle Bell Heist (holiday movie starring Olivia Holt, Connor Swindells, Peter Serafinowicz and Lucy Punch; directed by Michael Fimognari; written by Abby McDonald; Two thieves casing the same Christmas Eve job, team up and fall for each other; announced in 2023; filmed in the UK) - TBA

Mr. Christmas (holiday movie starring Tom McLaren, Charlie Schlatter, Casey Burke, Lynda Day George and Nicholle Tom; A man hatches a Christmas movie-inspired to win back his estranged family.) - TBA

The Christmas Letter (holiday movie starring Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid and Angus Benfield; directed by Tori Hunter; written by Michael Cunningham; Spurred on by a wealthy friend’s annual Christmas letter, a man makes it his mission to perfect his life before the next holiday; filmed in Utica, New York) - TBA (Facebook)

[pocketseizure]

I'm excited to have a story in At the End of Everything, a fanzine celebrating Night in the Woods. My piece is a series of connected vignettes about the subtle uncanniness of daily (and nightly) life in Possum Springs, and the atmosphere is pure Rust Belt Gothic heavily based on my own experiences in rural West Pennsylvania. Preorders for the zine are open until November 30, and please feel free to check out the free wallpapers available on the zine’s Carrd site. 

🍂 https://nitwzine.bigcartel.com/ 🍂 https://nightinthewoodszine.carrd.co/

#Night in the Woods #zines #fanzines #my fic