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Haiku
Jan. 6th, 2026 02:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis is today's freebie, inspired by a prompt from jake67jake.
Maduro kidnapped --
he was quite unpopular,
but it was still wrong
* * *
Notes:
Read a discussion of Venezuela politics.
jake67jake. Maduro kidnapped --
he was quite unpopular,
but it was still wrong
* * *
Notes:
Read a discussion of Venezuela politics.
Streamers Don't Even Respect Their Own Shit...
Jan. 6th, 2026 12:02 pmchicatingBecause I'm, you know, slow to adopt, a lot of what I'm still doing on streaming is catching up with what excited my friends two or three years ago. THat's okay, I've had stuff to do, and if my attendants weren't generous, I'm not sure I'd have ever seen some of these things anyway. Last night, I finish a movie and finally find one of the more buzzworthy and award-winning offeringsthat recently ceased production and cried about it on all the magazine shows and yada, yada. So, like, I missed pretending that I and my friends in different states are hanging out on Saturday night with Mrs. Maisel in real time or whatever--that whole "Under the same big sky" Fievel thing, which binging makes moot anyway, I suppose, but, whatever, at least maybe I get to see all that I missed. Right?Ep one, scene one, potentially such a thrill. Except one of the hugest companies in the fucking universe only has space or time or...whatever for Seasons 3 through 5. And it's fucking *theirs*I'm a big grown-up lady and a storyteller myself. Like, I'll figure it out, right? Maybe even imagine something as good or better to fill in the gap. (Or they put it back one day...who knows?) But even without writing for them, I think it's disrespectful that these places treat "content" like leftovers that get pushed to the back of the fridge. My TV dream wasn't gonna come true anyway I suppose, but here's another place where, even if it had gotten closer, it still wouldn't have, anyway.(So, aren't I lucky? Nope,still can't make that one fly--worth a shot, though.)
Poetry Fishbowl Open!
Jan. 6th, 2026 01:11 pmysabetwordsmithStarting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "short forms." I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.
I'll be soliciting poetic forms of 60 lines or less, so basically below my epic range rather than only the short-short length of 10 lines or less. Free verse below the length limit is also fine. Here are 15 short forms with descriptions. Among my favorite short forms not listed there: hexaduad, indriso, sestina, villanelle. This list of 168 forms is alphabetical. Poets Garrett has my favorite list of forms, including a list of repeating-interlocking forms. Their main page has links to poetic forms of 3-10 lines. Plus a few of my own: A darrow poem is a short, haiku-like musing by dark elves. A khazal is a Whispering Sands desert poem in couplets. A moose track is a repeating-interlocking form. A tweet wire is a tiny 10-line poem designed for Twitter. Some short forms, like haiku and tanka, work well as verses in a longer poem. I have The New Book of Forms by Lewis Turco so most forms should be in there. You can also prompt with a link to any exotic form you find; I collect these things.
In addition to forms, I also need topical prompts. One-word or short-phrase framing will assist in keeping them small enough to fit within the theme. Here is a huge list of common themes. This page of idioms has alphabetical and topical listings. I love writing poems about an individual word; see The Phrontistery (WARNING! Black hole caliber time sink ahead!) for glossaries. Have an orientation that is not well represented in literature? Ask for a sexual, romantic, or other orientation! If it's not on any of my lists, just include a description or link to one. I also list gender identities and my characters with disabilities. Want to help me play with my bookshelf? :D I have The Conflict Thesaurus, The Conflict Thesaurus Volume 2, The Occupation Thesaurus, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, The Urban Setting Thesaurus, The Rural Setting Thesaurus, The Emotion Thesaurus, The Positive Trait Thesaurus, The Negative Trait Thesaurus, and The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus. Simply click "Read Sample" and view the table of contents for a list of cool ideas. You can prompt a sestina with six end words; I usually pick 5 short flexible words and one long exotic word, but I'll work with whatever I get. Favorite characters, threads, series, settings, etc. are also fair game but this is NOT the time for long plotty prompts. Consider combining a name or title with a short form, theme, or idiom. If you like to prompt with photos, this is a great opportunity for that. Just type in a topic (see above for possibilities) and click the Image link in your favorite search engine.
( Read more... )
I'll be soliciting poetic forms of 60 lines or less, so basically below my epic range rather than only the short-short length of 10 lines or less. Free verse below the length limit is also fine. Here are 15 short forms with descriptions. Among my favorite short forms not listed there: hexaduad, indriso, sestina, villanelle. This list of 168 forms is alphabetical. Poets Garrett has my favorite list of forms, including a list of repeating-interlocking forms. Their main page has links to poetic forms of 3-10 lines. Plus a few of my own: A darrow poem is a short, haiku-like musing by dark elves. A khazal is a Whispering Sands desert poem in couplets. A moose track is a repeating-interlocking form. A tweet wire is a tiny 10-line poem designed for Twitter. Some short forms, like haiku and tanka, work well as verses in a longer poem. I have The New Book of Forms by Lewis Turco so most forms should be in there. You can also prompt with a link to any exotic form you find; I collect these things.
In addition to forms, I also need topical prompts. One-word or short-phrase framing will assist in keeping them small enough to fit within the theme. Here is a huge list of common themes. This page of idioms has alphabetical and topical listings. I love writing poems about an individual word; see The Phrontistery (WARNING! Black hole caliber time sink ahead!) for glossaries. Have an orientation that is not well represented in literature? Ask for a sexual, romantic, or other orientation! If it's not on any of my lists, just include a description or link to one. I also list gender identities and my characters with disabilities. Want to help me play with my bookshelf? :D I have The Conflict Thesaurus, The Conflict Thesaurus Volume 2, The Occupation Thesaurus, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, The Urban Setting Thesaurus, The Rural Setting Thesaurus, The Emotion Thesaurus, The Positive Trait Thesaurus, The Negative Trait Thesaurus, and The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus. Simply click "Read Sample" and view the table of contents for a list of cool ideas. You can prompt a sestina with six end words; I usually pick 5 short flexible words and one long exotic word, but I'll work with whatever I get. Favorite characters, threads, series, settings, etc. are also fair game but this is NOT the time for long plotty prompts. Consider combining a name or title with a short form, theme, or idiom. If you like to prompt with photos, this is a great opportunity for that. Just type in a topic (see above for possibilities) and click the Image link in your favorite search engine.
( Read more... )
The Emperor Has No Wits
Jan. 6th, 2026 01:54 pmjjhunterNo one really believes Donald Trump is going to last. At the rate he's been declining, it would be a minor medical miracle if he survives to the end of his current term.
( Read more... )
tl;dr Who wants to live subject to immoral leaders and exploitive self-sabotaging systems? We are capable of better, and we do have collective powers to choose better and deny support to worse. Let's exercise those powers while we still can avert most of worst.
( Read more... )
tl;dr Who wants to live subject to immoral leaders and exploitive self-sabotaging systems? We are capable of better, and we do have collective powers to choose better and deny support to worse. Let's exercise those powers while we still can avert most of worst.
Fandom Snowflake Day 3
Jan. 6th, 2026 10:05 pmswingandswirl
Challenge #3: Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.
Wow. Where do I even start with fandom?
Fandom changed the course of my life, for the better.
Fandom was how I, a sheltered teen growing up in a conservative country, encountered gay couples for the first time, when shipper drama had me fleeing to the slash side of HP fandom. senmut and ilyena_sylph introduced me to poly couples with Happy’Verse, and I’m still friends with both of them to this day. The very kind encouragement of the folks in the World’s Finest Superbat comm gave me the courage to publish my own fic, first Harry Potter and then Superbat. And then Numb3rs fandom (and specifically numb3rs100 and its weekly prompts) taught me how to write. And then my beloved co-writers taught me how to write things longer than drabbles.
senmut and ilyena_sylph introduced me to poly couples with Happy’Verse, and I’m still friends with both of them to this day. The very kind encouragement of the folks in the World’s Finest Superbat comm gave me the courage to publish my own fic, first Harry Potter and then Superbat. And then Numb3rs fandom (and specifically numb3rs100 and its weekly prompts) taught me how to write. And then my beloved co-writers taught me how to write things longer than drabbles.I’ve lost a lot of those old fannish friends, whether they moved on from a fandom or I did, or when platforms shut down. But I’ve been lucky to keep some incredibly dear ones, and make excellent new friends, too. /waves to rhi and draconis, among others/
rhi and draconis, among others/Speaking of new friends, I want to talk about one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced, fandom-wise.
Numb3rs will always be the fandom of my heart. But it was never a particularly big show, and by 2022, the fandom was pretty much dead. And then someone (Hi Byrne!) wrote, and posted, an incredible story. Which inspired me to rewatch the series, and start writing again. And pull others in, too. And while Numb3rs will never be as active as it was, it’s still really cool to see the part I played in resurrecting it a little bit.
Another really awesome thing about fandom? Exchanges, and how much they’ve gotten me to push my limits. If it weren’t for exchange prompts, I would never have written To The Sticking Place, about Percy Weasley (and NOT a story I could have written in my 20s or without years of reading fic and meta). I definitely wouldn’t have been brave enough to think I could replicate Jane Austen’s style well enough to attempt thy love like a mark is stamp’d (I am a Jane/Colonel Fitzwilliam shipper to the end. Sorry, Bingles.) Or, even after shipper nonsense annoyed the fuck out of me, take on the challenge of writing The Goblin Emperor fic. Or write 10k of smut for an upcoming challenge, despite being ace.
Fandom also had me reading things I never would have encountered otherwise. Not just slash, although that's part of it. Thanks to fandom, I discovered drabbles, my beloved random fact fics, fic in the form of in-universe documents or meta, and a whole host of other things. I found writers who put the pros to shame, fics that made me gasp at the brilliance of their creators. I can safely say that reading fic has been an education, as much in what I should strive for as what not to do.
Fandom also had me reading things I never would have encountered otherwise. Not just slash, although that's part of it. Thanks to fandom, I discovered drabbles, my beloved random fact fics, fic in the form of in-universe documents or meta, and a whole host of other things. I found writers who put the pros to shame, fics that made me gasp at the brilliance of their creators. I can safely say that reading fic has been an education, as much in what I should strive for as what not to do.
Fandom also helped me reclaim my identity. When Numb3rs first aired from 2005-2010, I explained away some of the egregious errors in the show’s depiction of Amita (who was a Tamil American character played by a very westernized half-German actress) by making her half-Rajasthani. (It still didn’t fix everything, but it was better than nothing). When I returned to writing Numb3rs in 2022, I made a decision. Amita would be 100% Tamil Brahmin, and that would be enough.
Never mind that Hollywood thinks all Indians speak Hindi, love Bollywood, and subsist on naan and butter chicken. Never mind neither the showrunners nor the actress bothered to give Amita a defined backstory until s4, and even then, they chose the most goatfucking stupid way of going about it possible. I would write Amita as she should have been written, like the second-generation Tamil American daughter of immigrant parents with a connection to the old country the show said she was while failing utterly to depict it accurately.
That conviction led to me writing saaptiya and 25 Random Facts About Amita Ramanujan, two fics I’m incredibly proud of, with the support and encouragement of non-Desi friends. And in doing so, I healed a wound that I never realized had been hurting me for nearly two decades.
So yeah. Thank you, fandom. For everything.
[musical] Les demoiselles de Rochefort
Jan. 6th, 2026 05:38 pmmaluretteTitre : Les demoiselles de Rochefort
Composition : Jacques Demy, Michel Legrand, Gilles Rico
Langue : français
Type : comédie musicale
Genre : comédie romantique
1ère sortie : 1962 pour le film ?
Durée : 2h15 avec entracte
Où ? au Lido
( Read more... )
Les chansons étaient très bien interprétées, l'utilisation du décor modulable impressionnante, les danses et les acrobaties époustouflantes. Sans être aussi fan que le reste de ma famille j'ai beaucoup apprécié l'expérience. Et puis on ne va pas se mentir : le vrai bonheur c'est d'avoir vu ma petite sœur vivre sa meilleure vie cet après-midi ♥ apparemment la grande et les petites nièces sont ravies aussi ?
What can I say about The Young Girls from Rochefort that hasn't already been told..? other than, the film was already an impressive musical ; putting it on a theatre scene is incredible too? and for spectacle's sake we'll forgive the creepy vibes of relationships that aged badly?
Composition : Jacques Demy, Michel Legrand, Gilles Rico
Langue : français
Type : comédie musicale
Genre : comédie romantique
1ère sortie : 1962 pour le film ?
Durée : 2h15 avec entracte
Où ? au Lido
( Read more... )
Les chansons étaient très bien interprétées, l'utilisation du décor modulable impressionnante, les danses et les acrobaties époustouflantes. Sans être aussi fan que le reste de ma famille j'ai beaucoup apprécié l'expérience. Et puis on ne va pas se mentir : le vrai bonheur c'est d'avoir vu ma petite sœur vivre sa meilleure vie cet après-midi ♥ apparemment la grande et les petites nièces sont ravies aussi ?
What can I say about The Young Girls from Rochefort that hasn't already been told..? other than, the film was already an impressive musical ; putting it on a theatre scene is incredible too? and for spectacle's sake we'll forgive the creepy vibes of relationships that aged badly?
Today it did snow
Jan. 6th, 2026 03:17 pmoursinThough by now it's mostly dispersed - still lying in parts.
***
Yesterday had that exasperating thing of asking what I thought was a question for very specific thing (not even for myself, for someone who didn't have access to this particular knowledge-resource) and got, okay, one really good response that was right on point, and several which demonstrated that actual humans are quite capable all by themselves of hallucinating what the question actually was and providing answers entirely tangential and Point Thahr Misst.
***
I have had to do with this campaigner: ‘Women have to fight for what they want’: UK campaigner’s 60-year unfinished battle for abortion rights over archives of campaigns she was involved in (I even, as I recollect, suggested an appropriate riposte - a bouquet of parsley - to some weird hostile message sent to her by the notorious Victoria Gillick.)
Pretty much her contemporary, I don't think I ever met the recently-deceased Molly Parkin, but I certainly read various of her writings, including most of her various 'bonk-busters' - I'm not sure they entirely fit that category - which seem to have fallen out of print, at least, they do not seem to have enjoyed e-revival.
Snowflake Challenge 2026 Day 3
Jan. 6th, 2026 09:13 pmtropicsbear
Challenge #3
Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.
Today's prompt felt somewhat familiar, so I poked through my old entries and saw that I'd answered an iteration of it in 2018. The vibe of that 2018 entry is very "I didn't have the energy to write anything, but I still wanted to complete today's challenge so here's this half-baked response that's unintentionally prickly." I don't know whether to laugh or just ... sigh deeply.
That wasn't a great year for me, mentally.
I'm not really sure what I want to write for this prompt. Finding my 2018 post threw me into a melancholy mood and that's not really what I want to talk about right now. But at the same time, I couldn't really think of a topic/focus even before I started feeling down.
For now, I think I'll settle for a declaration of war of continuing devotion. (That's romantic a la love letters, right?)
At this point in time, I've spent more than half my life in fandom, being various levels of fannish through various mediums. I can't see myself ever stopping being in fandom, I can't see myself ever stopping being a fan of something. It's not an exaggeration that I can't imagine being a "normie." I want to one day be that old fandom lady that the Youths write about on whatever future version they have of a fandom platform, I want to be known as that one old lady who's keeping her ancient fandom alive by posting a fic every so often for it.
I entered fandom in the early 2000s because I wanted to and I'll exit it whenever I want to. And I don't want to exit fandom.
vriddyWarm as life | Kaijuu No. 8 | Kafka/Reno/Narumi, Reno/Iharu, Kafka/Hoshina | 7.3k words (WIP, 4/7) | rated M
Summary: The new threat posed by No. 9 weighs heavily on everyone. Under these circumstances, emotions run high and what starts as a way of relieving stress can easily bloom into unexpected feelings. Some people find that easier to admit than others.
Read it on Dreamwidth or AO3.
Summary: The new threat posed by No. 9 weighs heavily on everyone. Under these circumstances, emotions run high and what starts as a way of relieving stress can easily bloom into unexpected feelings. Some people find that easier to admit than others.
Read it on Dreamwidth or AO3.
Poem: Darrow Poems 12-12-25
Jan. 6th, 2026 12:02 amysabetwordsmithThese poems were written outside the regular prompt calls. They have been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred.
( Read more... )
fuzzyred. ( Read more... )
Science
Jan. 6th, 2026 12:00 amysabetwordsmithA NASA satellite caught a giant tsunami doing something scientists didn’t expect
When a huge earthquake struck near Kamchatka, the SWOT satellite captured an unprecedented, high-resolution view of the resulting tsunami as it crossed the Pacific. The data revealed the waves were far more complex and scattered than scientists expected, overturning the idea that large tsunamis travel as a single, stable wave. Ocean sensors confirmed the quake’s rupture was longer than earlier models suggested. Together, the findings could reshape how tsunamis are modeled and predicted.
When a huge earthquake struck near Kamchatka, the SWOT satellite captured an unprecedented, high-resolution view of the resulting tsunami as it crossed the Pacific. The data revealed the waves were far more complex and scattered than scientists expected, overturning the idea that large tsunamis travel as a single, stable wave. Ocean sensors confirmed the quake’s rupture was longer than earlier models suggested. Together, the findings could reshape how tsunamis are modeled and predicted.
out there having fun in the warm california sun
Jan. 5th, 2026 09:56 pmursamajorI brought my raincoat and boots down to SoCal for Christmas because the news had been spouting dire warnings about historic levels of rainfall, and they weren't kidding. The one time I chose to wear sneakers to walk around instead of my boots, they got completely soaked through; corner puddles rivaling in depth the ones I've stepped into in Boston hidden underneath grey-brown snow. Got to chat with a few neighbors and local restaurant owners about whether or not being open for Christmas was going to be worth it given the copious precipitation - takeout and delivery, yes; dine-in: almost certainly not.
( Christmas Eve: historic rain, Colombian food, hanging with family, Korean pizza and food TV )
( Christmas Day: jogging, more historic rain, gingerbread house-building, KBBQ )
( San Diego: mostly escaping the historic rain further north )
( ensaymada musings )
And then we got back to LA and mostly it kept raining, but we did manage to slip out to Santa Monica for the sunset on Monday when the skies cleared for a few precious hours. One more lunch out with Jung and Uhmuhni at Republique (H and U loved their chicken sandwiches Jung got the potato pancake with smoked salmon, and I got the seasonal ricotta toast with persimmons and pistachios. Cheesemaking goals; I'd love to make a ricotta at home that creamy!). Clearing out the leftovers.
And then the long drive back up the coast. Sandwiches at Red Scooter Deli in Paso to break up the journey (French dip for H, bacon jam grilled cheese for me); heading straight to the Aquarium upon arrival in Monterey. Mediocre overpriced pizza and garlic bread at the closest place still open (it was New Year's Day and we were in the heart of tourist trapland). I awoke the next day in time to catch an utterly sublime sunrise, jogging slowly along the coastal trail. Hyoun woke up half an hour later, caught up to me; we walked back together through the park where we got married sixteen-plus years ago.
Picked up Jollibee on the last leg so we wouldn't have to cook when we got home; drove past the sign we always spot too late talking about artichoke cupcakes, another thing I'll have to try to replicate at home this year. And then we were HOME and we did laundry and slept forever.
( Christmas Eve: historic rain, Colombian food, hanging with family, Korean pizza and food TV )
( Christmas Day: jogging, more historic rain, gingerbread house-building, KBBQ )
( San Diego: mostly escaping the historic rain further north )
( ensaymada musings )
And then we got back to LA and mostly it kept raining, but we did manage to slip out to Santa Monica for the sunset on Monday when the skies cleared for a few precious hours. One more lunch out with Jung and Uhmuhni at Republique (H and U loved their chicken sandwiches Jung got the potato pancake with smoked salmon, and I got the seasonal ricotta toast with persimmons and pistachios. Cheesemaking goals; I'd love to make a ricotta at home that creamy!). Clearing out the leftovers.
And then the long drive back up the coast. Sandwiches at Red Scooter Deli in Paso to break up the journey (French dip for H, bacon jam grilled cheese for me); heading straight to the Aquarium upon arrival in Monterey. Mediocre overpriced pizza and garlic bread at the closest place still open (it was New Year's Day and we were in the heart of tourist trapland). I awoke the next day in time to catch an utterly sublime sunrise, jogging slowly along the coastal trail. Hyoun woke up half an hour later, caught up to me; we walked back together through the park where we got married sixteen-plus years ago.
Picked up Jollibee on the last leg so we wouldn't have to cook when we got home; drove past the sign we always spot too late talking about artichoke cupcakes, another thing I'll have to try to replicate at home this year. And then we were HOME and we did laundry and slept forever.
Overnights, 2025
Jan. 5th, 2026 09:40 pmckdAs usual, ordered by first visit and asterisks indicate multiple separate visits.
2025 got my travel ramping back up (finally), even though I only went to two conventions and one of them (Worldcon) was literally in my city (between my apartment and my usual airport, though technically there's also an airport with international service between my apartment and downtown -- LKE). Two overnights from delayed flights; both would have stuck me at DTW (Romulus, MI) except that for the second one I was able to rebook on the next morning's IAD-SEA nonstop instead.
The big trip was Kraków and environs, with a bonus pair of overnights in Calgary because business class YYC-KRK was literally half the price of SEA-KRK or YVR-KRK. Having NEXUS made a Canada stopover easy; though I kinda miss the old iris scan kiosks, the new facial recognition ones are a lot faster.
Cambridge, MA*
Seattle, WA*
Romulus, MI
Arlington, VA*
Calgary, AB, CA*
KL678 YYC-AMS
Kraków, PL*
Jaworze, PL
Balice, PL
Sneads Ferry, NC
Minneapolis, MN
Harrisonburg, VA
Sterling, VA
Port Townsend, WA
SeaTac, WA
Tysons, VA
Airports (connection-only*, new to me@): BOS, SEA, DTW (should have only been a connection, sigh), DCA, MSP, YYC@, AMS*, KRK@, ATL*, ILM@, IAD.
2025 got my travel ramping back up (finally), even though I only went to two conventions and one of them (Worldcon) was literally in my city (between my apartment and my usual airport, though technically there's also an airport with international service between my apartment and downtown -- LKE). Two overnights from delayed flights; both would have stuck me at DTW (Romulus, MI) except that for the second one I was able to rebook on the next morning's IAD-SEA nonstop instead.
The big trip was Kraków and environs, with a bonus pair of overnights in Calgary because business class YYC-KRK was literally half the price of SEA-KRK or YVR-KRK. Having NEXUS made a Canada stopover easy; though I kinda miss the old iris scan kiosks, the new facial recognition ones are a lot faster.
Cambridge, MA*
Seattle, WA*
Romulus, MI
Arlington, VA*
Calgary, AB, CA*
KL678 YYC-AMS
Kraków, PL*
Jaworze, PL
Balice, PL
Sneads Ferry, NC
Minneapolis, MN
Harrisonburg, VA
Sterling, VA
Port Townsend, WA
SeaTac, WA
Tysons, VA
Airports (connection-only*, new to me@): BOS, SEA, DTW (should have only been a connection, sigh), DCA, MSP, YYC@, AMS*, KRK@, ATL*, ILM@, IAD.
Poem: "Who We Don't Ever Want to Be"
Jan. 5th, 2026 09:45 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the February 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from fuzzyred. It also fills the "nostalgia" square in my 2-1-25 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the Trichromatic Attractions thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes sobriety issues, angst, failed coping skills, self-loathing, difficulty planning, frustration with new skills, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
fuzzyred. It also fills the "nostalgia" square in my 2-1-25 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the Trichromatic Attractions thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes sobriety issues, angst, failed coping skills, self-loathing, difficulty planning, frustration with new skills, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
Best movies of 2025
Jan. 5th, 2026 10:00 pmdougoWhen 2025 started, I decided to be a little pickier about movies, and not bother going to see the ones with a low Rotten Tomatoes rating unless I had some reason to suspect I would enjoy it more than the professional reviewers they survey. I'm not sure it made a difference in my movie-watching habits, because I ended up seeing even more new movies than I had around this time last year, and the ratings distribution looks pretty similar—maybe weighted a bit more towards 8s and 7s, which is good. It also didn't help that AMC Theaters expanded their A-List subscription to let you go to four free movies a week instead of "only" three, and I took advantage of this most weeks!
My number one favorite movie of the year is a sports movie, which is pretty unusual for me, although the original Bad News Bears is one of my top five favorites of all time. Eephus does have some of that feel, except instead of Gen X pre-teen losers, the teams are made up of Gen X middle-aged losers. And instead of charting their unlikely ride to the championship game, it's just one game, from the opening pitch to the final out. But it's a great demonstration of how a baseball game can have all the dramatic beats of a complete story, in fact many stories on different levels. I found it absorbing and affecting, and maybe you would too?
My number two movie, the only other one I rated a 9/10, is Fackham Hall, which is an incredibly silly satire of Downton Abbey. It's filled with gags, from puerile to intellectual, and made me laugh way more than anything else this year. It evokes the classic ZAZ comedies much better than this year's Naked Gun sequel did.
The list below is separated into groups by rating out of 10, and in descending order within each group. (I haven't rated anything a 10/10 in years, because in my mind that means "an old favorite that stands the test of time", and nothing recent has aged into that yet. Also, fortunately, I didn't hate anything enough to warrant a 2/10 or 1/10 rating this year.) I saw nearly all of these in movie theaters; the exceptions are marked with an asterisk (except I did see Thunderbolts* in a theater, it just has an asterisk in the title!). As usual, for me the 2025 movie year doesn't end until the Oscars award ceremony, so I'll post a final updated list after that happens—hopefully sooner than my 2024 list I finally just posted yesterday!
- Eephus
- Fackham Hall
8/10 (really good):
- Tornado
- Predator: Badlands
- Freakier Friday
- Honey Don't!
- Black Bag
- Train Dreams
- Trifole
- The Ballad of Wallis Island
- Good Fortune
- Weapons
- A House of Dynamite
- Left-Handed Girl*
- It Was Just an Accident
- Pavements
- Relay
- She Rides Shotgun
- Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
- The Phoenician Scheme
( 21-148 )
9/10 (great):
Here's my current list of 2025 releases I plan to see in theaters soon:
Wicked: For Good
Zootopia 2
Is This Thing On?
The Housemaid
Avatar: Fire & Ash
Marty Supreme
Anaconda
The Plague
No Other Choice
Father Mother Sister Brother
The Choral
The Testament of Ann Lee
Sirat
Dracula: A Love Tale
And a selection of other 2025 releases I would like to catch up with:
( Read more... )
Let me know what else I missed!
