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adrian_turtle) wrote2025-09-09 09:42 amvoting
osprey_archer) wrote2025-09-09 09:49 amForgotten Newbery Books that Are Really Worth Reading
rachelmanija suggested a list of Forgotten Newbery Books that Are Really Worth Reading, so I’ve compiled my top ten, listed here in order of year of publication. For obvious reasons, this list skews toward the older books, and I tried to pick ones that I felt have been really forgotten, although it turns out that it can be a bit hard to tell if a book has been truly forgotten or if I, personally, just hadn’t happened to heard of it before this project. 1. Marjorie Hill Allee's Jane’s Island, 1932. Come for an engaging story that also meditates on women’s place in the sciences and society, stay for lovely description of life around the Wood’s Hole research station, and also for the cranky German scientist who is VERY shell-shocked from World War I and FIRMLY intends to prove that nature is red in tooth and claw.
2. Dorothy P. Lathrop’s The Fairy Circus, 1932. FAIRIES put on a CIRCUS with the aid of WOODLAND CREATURES. What more could you want from a book!
3. Erick Berry’s Winged Girl of Knossos, 1934. Have you always wanted a retelling of the tale of Theseus and the minotaur crossed with Daedalus and Icarus with a genderswapped Icarus who is a tomboy in the tomboy-welcoming culture of ancient Crete? Yes you have.
4. Christine Weston’s Bhimsa, The Dancing Bear, 1946. Two boys (one English and one Indian) go adventuring across India in the company of their friend Bhimsa, the dancing bear. A fun adventure story.
5. Cyrus Fisher’s The Avion My Uncle Flew, 1947. An adventure story set in post-World War II France, featuring a glider and some secret Nazis in the mountains and the most impressive literary trick I’ve seen in a Newbery book, or indeed in pretty much any book ever. (I talk about it at more length in the review but don’t want to spoil it here.)
6. Claire Huchet Bishop's Pancakes-Paris, 1948. In post-war Paris, a young boy gets a box of pancake mix from some American soldiers, and makes pancakes for his mother and sister for Mardi Gras. That’s it! That’s the story.
7. Louise Rankin's Daughter of the Mountains, 1949. When a young Tibetan girl’s beloved dog is stolen, she chases him all the way across Tibet and into India to get him back. Super fun adventure story. No one is the least bit fazed at the idea of a girl having an adventure.
8. Jennie Lindquist's The Golden Name Day, 1956. Nancy spends a year with her Swedish-American relatives and they get up to all sorts of lovely escapades. Beautiful illustrations by Garth Williams, who you may be familiar with from the Little House series. There should be more books which are just about characters having a fantastic time.
9. Mari Sandoz's The Horsecatcher, 1957. A Cheyenne boy wants to become a horsecatcher rather than a warrior. I’m not planning a companion post to the Problem of Tomboys about Boys Who Don’t Want to Do Classic Boy Things, but if I were, this book would be on it. Fascinating evocation of our hero’s world.
10. Cynthia Rylant's A Fine White Dust, 1987. Kind of an outlier on this list, which is mostly adventure stories and people having good times stories. This one is a realistic fiction story about a boy growing up in the South who falls in love with a traveling preacher. VERY intense. EXTREMELY gay. Never admits to being gay but nonetheless one of the gayest books I’ve ever read. Very short. I read most of it in one lunch break and spent that entire lunch break internally keening because it is VERY STRESSFUL but in a good way.
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henryjenkins_feed) wrote2025-09-09 11:49 amEMMYS WATCH 2025 — Severance: A Present Tense Dystopia
‘Emmys Watch 2025’ showcases critical responses to the series nominated for Outstanding Drama, Outstanding Comedy, and Outstanding Limited Series at that 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. Contributions to this theme explore critical understandings of some series nominated in these categories.
This video essay explores the place of Outstanding Drama Series nominee Severance (Apple TV+) in the genre of science fiction TV. Severance continues the recent trend of dystopian sci fi shows grounded in a near future, using a ‘mystery box’ narrative structure and demanding an intellectual, committed audience enabled by streaming platforms. This video analyses the visual ways the show builds its dystopian world: a world that feels intensely relatable and present, but simultaneously a horrific warning of technological potential.
The following video contains spoilers for Season 2.
Biography
Melanie Robson is a Lecturer in Screen Studies in the BA program at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and has a PhD from UNSW Sydney. She has co-edited a collection on Alfred Hitchcock (One Shot Hitchcock, Oxford University Press) and published in Studies in European Cinema, Mise-en-Scene: The Journal of Film & Visual Narration, Refractory and MAI: Feminism & Visual Culture.
henryjenkins_feed) wrote2025-09-09 11:31 amEMMYS WATCH 2025 — The Studio: Television (About Movies), Now More Than Ever
‘Emmys Watch 2025’ showcases critical responses to the series nominated for Outstanding Drama, Outstanding Comedy, and Outstanding Limited Series at that 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. Contributions to this theme explore critical understandings of some series nominated in these categories.
In the new comedy series The Studio, we follow Matt Remick (Seth Rogen), the new in-over-his-head Head of Continental Studios, working alongside best friend and VP of Production Sal Saperstein (Ike Barinholtz), as well as creative executive and Matt’s former assistant Quinn Hackett (Chase Sui Wonders), ousted studio head Patty Leigh (Catherine O’Hara), and the studio’s foul-mouthed head of marketing Maya Mason (Kathryn Hahn) in their quest to make original, artistic films at the studio level. The Studio is a successor to other showbiz satires such as Barton Fink (Joel and Ethan Coen 1991), Bowfinger (Frank Oz 1999) and most notably, The Player (Robert Altman 1992) and provides a close, comedic look at the machinations of modern filmmaking.
Fig. 1: “I’m sort of single-handedly keeping film alive.” – Matt Remick in “The Missing Reel,” Episode 4
Matt Remick is an avowed cinephile, earnestly attempting to make great movies that connect with audiences while dodging Continental Studios CEO Griffin Mill (Bryan Cranston, in an homage to Tim Robbins’ character of the same name in The Player), communicating with unruly filmmakers, actors, and writers, and eluding the encroaching threat of the studio’s sale to Amazon. As much as the series satirizes the players’ grasping for creative power in the film industry, The Studio is often quite sentimental regarding the filmmaking process and has a sincere affection for the people who make movie magic. As Patty reassures Matt, “The job is a meat grinder. It makes you stressed and panicked and miserable. One week you’re looking your idol in the eye and breaking his heart, and the next week you’re writing a blank check for some entitled nepo baby in a beanie. But when it all comes together, and you make a good movie, it’s good forever.”
Created by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, and Frida Perez, The Studio is part of a surge in showbiz satire on streaming television this Emmys season, growing a self-reflexive subgenre in which the industry “constantly speaks to itself about itself” (Caldwell 2008, 35) The series joins fellow Outstanding Comedy Series nominees Hacks, last year’s winner that follows the odd coupling of a young comedy writer and a legendary late-night comedienne, and the fourth season of Only Murders in the Building, which sees the trio of New York City podcasters-turned-detectives solving a murder while their podcast is adapted to the big screen. The Studio earned 23 Emmy Nominations this year, tying fellow Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso for the most nominations for a comedy series in the history of the Television Academy’s awards.
Over the course of its first season, The Studio takes us inside Hollywood studio filmmaking through the anxious antics of Matt and his ragtag Continental Studio colleagues. Each episode chronicles the minutiae of the pre-to-post production process, from Remick’s delivery of a studio note to director Ron Howard, a debate over the colorblind casting of the Kool-Aid Movie, to a thank you speech at the Golden Globe Awards. The pleasures of The Studio lie in the multitude of industry in-jokes and situational comedy, kicking off hilariously with an uncomfortable encounter between the studio executives and Martin Scorsese where Matt must kill the award-winning filmmaker’s proposed Jonestown/Kool-Aid project. Other memorable incidents include Olivia Wilde causing problems as she goes “full Fincher” mode on the set of her directorial effort, Matt’s insecurity over Ted Sarandos getting thanked over him at the Golden Globes, and the looming presence of Puck newsletter founder and The Ringer podcaster Matt Belloni. The Studio engages in what media industry studies scholar John Thornton Caldwell (2008, 2) calls industrial reflexivity, where deep texts (such as a television show about the behind-the-scenes of moviemaking) circulate information about production cultures and function as a “form of local cultural negotiation and expression.” Hollywood is a highly self-reflexive industry, constantly producing film and television about what it takes to make film and television, and often engaging in self-critique and reflection on the labor conditions within production cultures. The Studio playfully criticizes the commercial forces that intrude on studio workers, with Remick and his team standing in for a broader creative community dealing with corporate intrusions on media production in a tech-driven, conglomerate Hollywood.
Fig. 2: (Left to Right) Sarah Polley, Patty Leigh (Catherine O’Hara) and Matt Remick (Seth Rogen) on set of “The Oner,” Episode 2
The series frequently employs the “oner,” a technique used famously in the first 8 minutes of The Player where we follow studio employees literally behind-the-scenes as they walk and talk their way through studio offices and film sets in a single, unbroken tracking shot. In the second episode, “The Oner,” Matt and Sal visit Oscar-winning filmmaker Sarah Polley on the set of her new film as she shoots a oner through the set of her new romantic drama (Fig. 2). Purposefully, the episode itself was shot in one continuous take by cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra. Discussing the prep process for oners with Variety, Newport-Berra said, “we would go to these locations and walk through it with an iPhone, the script, and just see how it timed out” and “often we’d have to figure out how to blend two locations, or how we would get out of one scene and into another” (Tangcay 2025). Shooting oners was all about “capturing the energy” of Altman’s one-shot in The Player, but in their own way, according to Newport-Berra (Tangcay 2025). While Altman’s formal choices make us feel as if we are spying on the seedy, greedy underbelly of Hollywood in its oner, The Studio operates in a lighter comedy verité style, where frantic, handheld cameras and a mockumentary aesthetic construct the show’s situational humor, as opposed to the canned jokes found in traditional network sitcoms (Mills 2004; Thompson 2007). Importantly, comedy verité is not a genre but a mode utilized to account for ballooning studio budgets and to make a distinction between the classical sitcom aesthetic and the visual and narrative complexity of the post-network era. The Studio’s “television show about movies” premise, cinematic flourishes, and a subplot about the studio’s sale to a streaming tech company all offer sly metacommentary on contemporary “prestige” television production and the film-ification of the medium of television.
After the series’ launch on Apple TV+ in March, a couple of projects were announced in the trade press that prove we really are living in the world of The Studio. The first is Hershey, a biopic-drama starring Alexandra Daddario and Finn Wittrock about the Pennsylvania chocolate company (Shanfeld 2025). The second project, announced with cosmic timing just a month after the premiere episode of The Studio, is a Jonestown television series co-written by and likely starring Bill Hader as Jim Jones (and not Steve Buscemi as pitched by Matt to Martin Scorsese) (Otterson 2025). If you visit a trade press website, in all likelihood you are bound to find that your favorite childhood toy or character is getting the silver-screen treatment. However, despite every new studio film sounding like it’s based on IP, a true story, and driven by algorithms and viral marketing, The Studio ultimately shows us that the frenzied and earnest team efforts in working to make something great under such conditions may, in fact, keep film alive.
References
Caldwell, John Thornton. 2008. Production Culture: Industrial Reflexivity and Critical Practice in Film and Television. Duke University Press.
Mills, Brett. 2004. “Comedy Verité: Contemporary Sitcom Form.” Screen 45 (1): 63-78. https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/45.1.63
Otterson, Joe. 2025. “Bill Hader to Co-Write, Potentially Star in Jonestown Series in Development at HBO (EXCLUSIVE).” Variety, April 23. https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/bill-hader-jonestown-series-hbo-daniel-zelman-1236376109/
Shanfeld, Ethan. 2023. “Hershey Chocolate Movie Set with ‘Mean Girls’ Director, Finn Wittrock and Alexandra Daddario to Star (EXCLUSIVE).” Variety, April 25. https://variety.com/2025/film/news/hershey-chocolate-movie-alexandra-daddario-finn-wittrock-1236362628/
Tangcay, Jazz. 2025. “How ‘The Studio’ Pulled Off Its One-Take Episode: Weeks of Planning, Dozens of Takes and Lots of Flubbed Lines.” Variety, March 27. https://variety.com/2025/artisans/news/the-studio-one-take-episode-1236347408/
Thompson, Ethan. 2007. "Comedy Verité? The Observational Documentary Meets the Televisual Sitcom." The Velvet Light Trap 60: 63-72. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/vlt.2007.0027.
Biography
Madison Barnes-Nelson is a PhD candidate in Communication Arts (Media and Cultural Studies) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is currently working on a dissertation about how audiences make meaning out of comedy television, film, and digital media.
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enemiestoloversex2025-09-09 01:35 pmWorks due in one week!
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spikedluv) wrote2025-09-09 07:31 amThe Day in Spikedluv (Monday, Sept 8)
I did a load of laundry (washed, dried AND folded), hand-washed dishes, vacuumed the bedroom rug, went on a couple of walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, placed an online order, and scooped kitty litter.
I visited mom, read another long fanfic, and watched some HGTV programs.
Temps started out at 48.9(F) and reached 65.5, that I saw. It was mostly sunny, but for a day we weren’t supposed to have any rain, the clouds made some unexpected appearances.
Mom Update:
Mom was doing okay today. ( more back here )
In other ‘not great’ news ( this time it’s about Sister A )
elainegrey) wrote2025-09-09 07:10 am(morning writing)
Optometrist visit yesterday did not take forever, leaving me spinning a little with the extra hour, which then dissolved into audiobook listening and poking at things. I definitely had part of my brain saying, "I didn't plan anything, oh well, can't help but fritter this away!" I am giving myself a tiny pass in that the workday was packed and i did work over the weekend to meet a deadline in the style i wanted.
The optometrist office is on my Do Not Trust With Data list ever since they seem to have hooked up with some for profit optometry management business. That year i was asked to sign a data release that signed off on releasing medical data to a for profit company. I am not sure they had read their release. They ask for my medical insurance and i decline to give them that. I'm not sure what nefarious use could be made of it, but decline under the theory that the less data people have, the less correlating information can be amassed when they eventually have a breach.
Then, my favorite new thing: you are asked to sign a note that they gave you your prescription. "But you haven't seen me yet." "It was being forgotten." PFFFFFTTTT. I suspect they are sick of people calling up and asking for a prescription to use at one of the inexpensive glasses places, then pitching a fit when they don't get one, pointing to state law requiring they give it. Well, now one has pre-signed a document saying they did give you the prescription. It's a nice signal that making money is more important than eye health.
I'm not excited about any frames, but i think the new ones will be comfy. I will continue to wear the current pair for yard work. I do really like these frames, but they are heavy, and a bit of the metal inlay (in the metal) has snagged and broken off. I forgot to have them readjust the nose pieces before i left. Piffle.
smallhobbit) wrote in no_true_pair2025-09-09 11:27 amWell I Never (Spooks/Sherlock Holmes, Adam Carter, Sherlock Holmes)
Fandom: Spooks/Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Pairing/Characters: Adam Carter & Sherlock Holmes
Content Notes: No warning needed
Prompt: September 9th - well I never
Well I Never on AO3
sovay) wrote2025-09-09 02:00 amA wreck of possibilities, a volatility of stars
torachan) wrote2025-09-08 11:25 pmDaily Happiness
2. Today I actually took a walk at lunch as well, but I'm not sure how often I'll do that, at least in this weather. It was cooler than it has been, but still in the low 80s, and the area around my work doesn't have a lot of shady streets so I was in direct sun most of the time and ended up getting back to work sweatier than I'd prefer, but I did stop at 85C and get a delicious lavender taro latte on my way, so that was nice. I will definitely be taking a lunchtime walk on cooler days, and maybe even some not so cool days, depending on how I feel. It felt good to get up from my desk for more than just a quick run to the restroom or to go downstairs and buy a drink (I do get up for a few minutes every hour, but it's still a lot of sitting).
3. We had a nice dinner at Disneyland. The park was actually not that crowded and the weather was really pleasant (we didn't get down there until around eight, so the sun was down, but it wasn't as muggy as it has been the last few times we've been at night, including Saturday) and even traffic getting down there was pretty light.
4. Woke up to find Gemma in bed with me the other morning. Usually it's Molly!
divinemissem13) wrote in no_true_pair2025-09-09 12:56 amWhat Happens in Venice... - Star Trek TNG/ Voyager - Beverly Crusher/ Kathryn Janeway
Fandoms: Star Trek (TNG and Voyager)
Pair: Beverly Crusher/ Kathryn Janeway
Word Count: 1,496
Rating: T
Prompt: rust
What Happens in Venice...
*this also satisfies today's prompts from Star Trek Femslash Week!
olivermoss) wrote2025-09-08 10:26 pmSail Off Into The Night
It was cool to see it on the big screen. Visually, the movie is stunning. Not in an 'every frame a picture' sort of a way. The individual compositions are okay, but the visual storytelling is impressive.
I saw some people from book club and sat with them. They were out as a group for someone's birthday, so I accidentally crashed his birthday, but it was chill. Then, the bus home didn't seem to exist, so I took a Lyft home.
mecurtin) wrote2025-09-09 12:16 amthe Royal Purrcy
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-09-08 08:00 pm
Tuesday, August 26: The Greenbelt
A very cute bumblebee.
My other favorite insect from the day: a really big moth hanging out on a tree. :)
Eleven more pictures, including more insects and spiders:
One of the road bridges over the greenbelt path has some pretty mosaics.
Another of the mosaics.
(There are two more mosaics on the other side of the bridge, but someone was sitting there, haha.)
Crossing the creek.
There were many big, impressive spider webs along the path! With big, impressive spiders in them! I didn't realize until after looking at the picture that this one had a snack. :)
Not a spider, but a daddy longlegs! This one was almost orangey in color, which was neat.
These beetles were just face-first, going to town in the flowers. It was very funny. I believe these are "bumble flower beetles."
Some huge carpenter ants!
Some lovely little sweet peas in the overgrown/abandoned garden area behind some of the apartments.
Hollyhocks have definitely been having A Year! I saw them all over Santa Fe, and in a ton of gardens this year, and even a bunch of landscaping. This one is also in the abandoned garden.
A very charming little duck swam over just as it started raining.
I'm really not a fan of the influx of Japanese beetles that we've started having each year. They're terribly destructive. However, this one was very interesting - almost pink on the front segment instead of the usual green color!
It was also a two snake day, which was delightful! I didn't get good pictures of either of them, but Alex spotted one pretty large garter snake, which I got to see as it headed into the underbrush. Then I was leaning down to look at a little spider that scuttled across the sidewalk... and wound up pointing directly at a tiny baby garter snake that had been just at the edge of the path. Very tiny and cute!
It was a lovely day out. We got caught in a tiny drizzle, but not bad. It was pretty humid (especially for here!) so we were all a bit sticky by the end.