#and then I go to my library and it has two copies of the dvd

[larkiethings]

shudder is the best streaming service bc they make dvds of their movies. ironically makes me want to subscribe more.

[flebus]

found out that my local library has a comments section for every item in their catalogue (??) and i really like this three star review on Conclave

[cookie-lore-keeper]

Half-moon Cookie! Half-moon Cookie! What do the archives look like? I’m trying really hard to imagine them!

I was actually about to talk about what my archives look like! Thank you for asking!

My archives (called the Half-Moon Archives) is in the Dream World and located between the world of cookies and the world of witches. It's always nighttime, and it accessible to both cookies and witches through the use of dreams. Sometimes, cookies who seek knowledge will wake up in my archives in their dreams. While it's called the archives, it also doubles as a museum.

If your worried about not being able to enter due to your dreams being hard to control, don't worry! I'm a firm believer that knowledge shouldn't be hidden, so it's not as hard to access if you think. Really, all you need to do is just... want to to there and hope to be before you fall asleep, and you can just go there. The reason many cookies don't go is purely because they just don't know it exists.

My archives are actually... very big. It has all the knowledge and records of Earthbread, as well as some stuff from the witches world. It can be overwhelming, so I try my best to keep everything nice and organized.

Also, be aware: I have a cat named Mooncake and an Owl named Wane, also called the Archive Owl. Mooncakes is very friendly and will come up to visitors for personal, but Wane is quite shy and doesn't like when other cookies come by to pet him, though, he likes to sit in corners and watch. Please respect his privacy, and if you see him, please kindly leave him alone.

The Library

(Last picture is art by Meghan Casey on ArtStation)

The largest section of my archives, and its the first thing you'll see when you enter! The library is big enough to fit humans, as witches like to come here too sometimes (though, they don't stay long. They mostly come by to drop off recipes or scrolls or books or whatever). Don't be intimidated by them if you see one! The only witches I allow in my archives are the ones that do not eat cookies, and I know that they're like gods to you, but you're more similar to them than you think. Most wouldn't mind having a chat with you!

It has both human-sized books/scrolls and cookie sized ones, but a lot of them are cookie sized. The library is sectioned off by kingdoms, cultures, genres, and time periods. The books here ecompass almoat everyrhing about the sections listed below, as well as more than that. If you have any questions about a specific text, just ask me! I'm always nearby.

Audio-Records Hall

If you're more of an audio learner, the Audio Records hall is perfect for your! This includes discs, DVDs, videos, and tapes of information, either through someone saying what happened or even by someone who was there as it was happening!

Genealogy Hall

The Geneology Section has the family trees, ingredients, and flavors for each cookie on Earthbread. It's where I get my ingredient pictures from for the ingredients post.

Planetarium

My personal favorite spot of the Archives that isn't the library. The Planetarium has both the night sky of the Cookie World as well as the night sky for the Witch's world. All you gotta do is pull a lever to switch between the two!

Art Hall

The art section of my archives depicts historical art from the cultures of Earthbread. Like the library, it's sectioned by kingdoms, cultures, and genres. Most of the things here are paintings, since other items could fit into the artifacts section.

Since we're getting to physical objects that come from Earthbread mentioned, I feel the need to say this: NONE OF THE ART OR ARTIFACTS IS STOLEN ART! Instead, I made exact replicas of them that I am able to put into the archives. They're exactly the same; just copies made to fit into the dream world. They can't be taken out of the dream world, so don't even try. (Unless I make you able to, but I probably won't).

I can't always make the replicas for various reasons, or I might not be able to because I don't even know what the artifact is. So, if there is anything you want to show me and to make a replica of, just tell me, and I'll happily add it to our catalog!

Artifacts Hall

Things way from the typical paintings. While there is a lot of relics from the Guild Museums here, but I also have so many more items than that as well! Like most things here, it's categorized by Kingsom, culture, and time period.

Magic Hall

The Hall dedicated to magic and how it works! Magic is such a fun thing and it goes over the different types of magic, how witches use the magic, how cookies use the magic, how magic effects us in the world today, etc, etc.

Biology Hall

Goes over the biology of cookies and other dessert creates in the world. It also goes over how specific types of ingredients effect cookies who have those ingredients, which I think is very interesting.

My Room

The only spot at the archives that I'd say are off limits, simply because I like my personal space. My room is at the very top floor in a dome-shaped tower. It works as my bedroom, my kitchen, and my study. If you can't find Mooncakes or Wane anywhere, they're probably in here. I have both cookie-sized items and human-sized items, as I switch between the two often.

Oh! I also have way, way too many ingredients there. If you need some ingredients for cooking or literally baking yourself a child, just come ask. Seriously, istg, I have everything.

[percy-thrills-thrillington]

Hi, Two of Us anon from last night, I literally went to my local library, got a fucking library card, and rented their copy of Two of Us. I cried at the end. Come Go With Me was a diabolical choice. Michael Lindsey-Hogg you’re a madman for making this

GOD “COME AND GO WITH ME” AT THE END, that’s how you know he’s one of us, lol. I’m so happy to hear you finally got your hands on a dvd copy, fr this has been so touching to hear

[valuedeversourcecustomer]

the valuedeversourcecustomer guide to better engagement with media in a digital hellscape without piracy (i'm for it, but there's a whole subreddit for that with all of the information I could provide in far more technical detail than i want to write about rn re: dns proxies, trackers, video ripping extensions, and how to identify a safe torrent. maybe i will write something like this some day if the interest is there)

1. buy a $10 to $20 tv antenna

i feel like literally everyone forgets you can do this still and receive a good number of network stations and have a genuine experience of "huh i wonder whats on" and experience the lost form of non-targeted advertisements for shit you would never ever care about. it is like being transported back to the mid 00s and also you probably have a local tv station or two that has interesting programming you would never otherwise see. added bonus is recovering the lost feeling of watching a show as it airs before it's even on a paid streaming platform completely for free. it rocks!

2. libraries

not just the dvd/bluray sections (which are great especially if you want to just grab something you've never heard of without it being pushed on you from an algorithm, or getting physical copies of things you like but maybe haven't experienced with a commentary track or seen bonus features for) but most libraries also give you access to kanopy with a few credits a month to use on a pretty fantastic library of independent and classic arthouse movies (i will reblog with a list of great movies that are currently on kanopy)

3. buy physical media, but never at full price unless it's a very special limited edition of something that will sell out and appreciate in price

I have a very large physical media collection, most of which i got at 50% or less of its msrp by waiting for sales or going to thrift stores, flea markets, and other local sales. I'm fortunate to live near a bookstore that sells used blurays dvds,and cds and boxsets of them for $1 EACH. no matter what it is. I got literally seasons 1 through 10 of the simpsons for under $20 bc there was just one boxset I had to find at a record store (season 8). not only is that cheaper than two months of disney plus but i also get all of the commentaries and original aspect ratios that to my knowledge there aren't even torrents of.

4. letterboxd

no seriously. regularly logging my films on letterboxd and following my friends has done so much to have films i'd never otherwise know about cross my path and become new favorites. it's very single focus on film gives it a kind of community feeling that I haven't felt on the internet since hyper specific forums died and it's been great for me as a social media fulfilling app that doesn't fill me with doom. it's so much fun to be like "oh huh i really loved this movie and how it looked, i wonder what other movies this cinematographer/production designer/art director has done" and find some absolutely wild stuff on your own or piece together that the same person worked on another thing you loved and have a new appreciation and a name to associate with art that moved you. it's really a great platform imo.

[babybluebanshee]

Stuff I've had to deal with as a city librarian - Halloween Spooktacular

Hello again boils, ghouls, and nonbinary werewolves! Your old buddy Blue has a backlog of whack-ass stories from her travels as a humble library clerk, so here's a big post fulla laughs, drama, and maybe a few bodily fluids tossed in for flair.

Seriously though, tw for bodily fluids, bugs, and PTSD

*A woman came up to the front desk and asked if we had a quiet area where she could make a zoom call and not disturb anyone. No prob, have people asking that all the time. The study rooms were all full, so she was pointed in the direction of the cafe. A few minutes go by, and suddenly everyone at the desk and the page in the shelves beyond it hears loud ass shouting coming from the cafe. Julie heads down to inspect, hoping it's not a fight she has to break up. Nope, as it turns out, the lady on the zoom call is leading an exercise class. She has a mat and everything, and was leading her class in aerobics when Julie got down there. We quickly moved her to a more out-of-the-way conference room.

*A children's board book was return to us with a bite taken out of it. The area was still wet. We do not know if it was child or beast that took the bite. We had to throw it away regardless.

*We had to bake almost all our DVD cases because we found two with bed bug eggs in them.

*A woman printed out some color pictures and asked if I could check to make sure they came out. I picked up the stack and the first one on top was of an angry-looking woman with her tits out. My surprise must have been pretty evident because the woman I was helping immediately turned red and told me they were for a court case.

*Like everywhere else in this god-forsaken country, homeschooling has been on the rise in these parts. As such, we get parents all the time coming in with printed copies of the curriculum they chose and asking if we have the books recommended by them. Whatever we don't have, we can usually get through inter library loan, but the catch with that is you can only have five going at a time. One day, we had a mother come in with a list of three hundred books her curriculum recommended, and she had us check out catalogue for all of them. Branson started helping her, but her shift ended in the middle of it, so I had to do the rest. It took forever, and we ended up only having about fifty of them because I guess this homeschooling curriculum hasn't been updated since the mid-2000s. To her credit, the mother was very exasperated with homeschooling in general and knows that her daughter doesn't want to do it anymore. Her husband is adamant that their kid not go to public school, however. I fought every urge to say that was fine for him to say when he clearly wasn't doing a goddamn thing to help her.

*There's a patron that comes in whom we know nothing about except that he's had multiple heart attacks and has massive anxiety about potentially having another. We know this because he tells us every time the library gets too loud for him, because he believes the noise will somehow "trigger" another heart attack. Normally, we would have no problem with that; heart attacks are scary, he has every right to be anxious about it and request quiet spots to hang out. However, the problem is that he takes it upon himself to police other patrons in the library who he thinks are being too loud near him. Some children were nearby, working on a puzzle and started getting a little rambunctious, and the dude yelled at the top of his voice for them to shut up and get away from him. We had to speak louder for a patron who was hard of hearing, and the death glare he gave us was chilling. He snaps at anyone who forgets to shut the sound off on their phone. The director finally had to tell him he can't harass patrons and to tell us if he has a problem with someone's volume. He's been better behaved since then, but any time we see him, we're instantly worried he's gonna flip out again.

*A little boy in a wheelchair came in with his family, and my god, that kid could zip around fast. His mom mentioned that she forgot to grab a book for his sister, so he rolled into the kid's area to grab it for her. He was back faster than a patron who could just walk in. And you could tell he was very proud of that fact.

*Shae gave me a Sylveon card about a year ago, and I wear it laminated on my lanyard (because I was originally gonna hang it from my rearview mirror but forgot). It's always a big hit with kids. One little girl, however, liked it so much she asked if she could have it. I chuckled and told her sorry, it was a gift from a friend. She merely replied, "no, I want it" and started making a grab for it. Luckily, she was on the other side of the counter and couldn't reach it, but it was still weird. Especially because her mother was right there and made no move to stop or reprimand her.

*My coworker Branson had to clean...something off the bathroom floor one night. She's adamant it wasn't poop, but also said it was so dried out she had to use a putty knife to scrape it off. Our best guess is vomit.

*I was working on a display at the desk and a little black girl came up to watch me work. We chatted for a little, her asking me all the usual little kid questions. Eventually, she asked me if I had kids. I said no, I liked being an auntie better. Plus, I wasn't married, so I couldn't have kids. She thought for a moment, then said "why don't you just buy one?" Branson was nearby and I heard her choke on a laugh. I was pretty close to losing it myself, and said, "I don't think it's very nice to buy a person." Luckily, her dad came up and they left shortly after, so Branson and I could finally laugh about it.

*A patron and his family got taken to court for not returning almost $200 worth of books and DVDS, after ignoring the four warnings we give people before we actually take that step (because at that point you're actively stealing city property). The patron was ordered by a judge to either bring the items to court or pay to replace them, so he brought them to the courthouse. The clerk was going to take them and the whole thing would have been over and done...except he wouldn't give them to her without a library employee present. He never gave a real reason except he was concerned the clerk would "do something" with the items. So without contacting the library or judge the clerk told him he could bring the books directly to the library. When the judge found out what she'd done, he called the library and told us what was happening, and to hopefully expect the guy in there that night. Predictably, we haven't seen him. This was almost a month ago.

*Branson got a phone call from the county jail, which is actually pretty common for libraries. Patrons get arrested and want to make sure their accounts are clear so they don't potentially get into further trouble with outstanding items. Branson goes through all the hold music and questions to finally get the patron on the line...and he'd dialed the wrong number. Branson felt so bad for him.

*A guy came in to use the computers. Donna was getting him set up, sitting at the desk, so she can only see him from about his torso up. He ended up needing help printing something, so I help him, and finally see the sidearm he's got in a holster on his belt. I tell him the library doesn't allow firearms of any kind, no, I do not care that he has a conceal carry, he can't have a weapon in a municipal building. He's kinda testy about it, asking why we don't have a sign. I tell him we do. He had to walk by it to get in the building. In fact, we have one at all three entrances. He smugly asks me to show him, because he didn't see them. Me, petty bitch that I am, make this fucker walk to all three entrances and show him each sign, then tell him as politely as I can to get rid of the gun before he comes back in. He huffily complies.

*I came into work one day and the director immediately called me to the back. He informed me that a couple was having a loud, angry argument on the patio outside the kid's area, and they called the cops for a wellness check because the woman sounded to be in legit distress. Like, rocking back and forth and screaming swears distress. Cop comes and presumably sends them on their way. We don't know for sure because he came, went out to talk to them, and just...left.

*A guy came in to pick up an inter library loan, and when Branson asked for his card, he said he didn't have one. Like, he wasn't a patron. Never mind how the hell he managed to get a fulfilled ILL without one. Branson informs him he has to get a card before he can check out the book, but it's going to cost him $15 since he lives outside city limits. He tries to pay with a check made out to him from someone else. We tell him that won't work. He leaves to get cash, but then immediately turns around and asks if he can just buy the book. I tell him no, since a) it's not our book to sell and b) we're not in the habit of selling books in the collection anyway. I ask if he'd like me to find it on Amazon for him, and he says no. He leaves and doesn't come back. Bonnie sent the ILL back, and we haven't seen him since.

*A lot of our patrons have conspiracy theory brain rot, so you can only imagine the fanciful tales we heard about the emergency test signal. There were theories it would "activate the nanites" in the covid vaccine and either kill everyone who got one or turn them into liberal zombies. My director had someone 100% seriously call it "the Satan signal". It would have been funny if it weren't so stupid.

[the-rewatch-rewind]

The most underrated 1980s teen movie

Script below the break

Hello and welcome back to the Rewatch Rewind! My name is Jane, and this is the podcast where I count down my top 40 most frequently rewatched movies in a 20-year period. Today I will be discussing number 10 on my list: Embassy Pictures and Monument Pictures’ 1985 adventure romantic comedy The Sure Thing, directed by Rob Reiner, written by Steve Bloom and Jonathan Roberts, and starring John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga.

In his first term at a small northeastern college, Walter Gibson (known as “Gib”, played by John Cusack) is frustrated with his sex life, or rather, lack thereof. So when his high school best friend Lance (Anthony Edwards) sends him a picture from UCLA of a beautiful woman (Nicollette Sheridan) and promises that she’s a “sure thing” – no questions asked, no strings attached, no guilt involved – Gib takes the first ride he can find to California for winter break, even though that means traveling with Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga), who has already rejected his underhanded advances and is on her way to visit her boyfriend (Boyd Gaines). Gib and Alison’s constant fighting finally pushes the driver (“Gary Cooper, but not the Gary Cooper that’s dead,” played by Tim Robbins) to abandon them on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, and they are forced to find their own way to LA. Their adventures prompt them both to learn from each other and start to change for the better.

I remember not being very interested in this movie when my mom first got it from the library, and her really having to talk me into watching it. I think I was pleasantly surprised the first time, but it wasn’t until I rewatched it a couple years later that I truly appreciated it and became kind of obsessed for a while. I saw it for the first time in 2004, then eight times in 2006, three times in 2007, once in 2009, three times in 2010, once in 2011, once in 2012, once in 2013, once in 2015, once in 2016, twice in 2019, and twice in 2022. I would have watched it more in recent years, but for a while I only had it on VHS (my sister’s had it on DVD for several years but since we don’t live near each other I don’t have many options to watch her copy, so I did finally get my own DVD of it last year) and it’s very rarely available on streaming services. There was a major boom of teen movies in the 1980s, many of which are still considered classics now, but hardly anybody ever talks about The Sure Thing, and I have no idea why because it is truly delightful.

Most of the people involved in this movie were just starting their careers. Rob Reiner had only directed one movie (This is Spinal Tap) prior to this, and it was both writers’ first feature film, and it was John Cusack’s first starring role. So The Sure Thing has the charms of a low-budget project that everybody’s making because they want to, not because they think they’re going to get rich and famous from it, with the added bonus that many of the actors did become rich and famous later, so you can watch it and go, “Oh look, it’s Dr. Mark Greene from ER back when he had hair” or “Wow, is that a very young Tim Robbins?” But even if none of them had made anything else, this would still be a fun movie to watch because the writing and acting are incredible, especially when it comes to the two main characters’ arcs.

I know the dynamic of a buttoned-down, over-organized control freak paired with a spontaneous, go-with-the-flow goofball has been done to death, but no movie does it better than The Sure Thing. The characters of Gib and Alison are so well developed that they feel like real people rather than a tired trope. Even though it’s fairly obvious from the moment Alison enters the story that she and Gib are ultimately going to end up together, their journey toward that predictable conclusion is never dull. Part of that is because of the obstacles they encounter on their journey across the country, but the main reason is because they were perfectly cast. Apparently both John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga were a lot like their respective characters at the time and therefore brought a lot of themselves to their roles. The whole “shotgunning a beer” bit was added because Cusack mentioned that was something he could do, and that became an important way to show the evolution of their characters and relationship. Initially, Rob Reiner didn’t even want to consider Cusack for the part of Gib because he was a minor, but the casting directors talked him into giving the then 16-year-old a chance, and Cusack’s audition convinced the director that he was the perfect Gib. Producer Roger Birnbaum went to court to have John Cusack emancipated and served as his legal guardian during filming. It is a little uncomfortable to know that Cusack was only 17 at the time of filming while his love interests were 20 and 21 – like, I know the age gap is only a few years, but he was technically a minor and they were technically adults, although their characters were all meant to be 18 or 19, so it’s not like the movie is promoting inappropriate relationships. Yes, it definitely would have been better to cast someone who was over 18, but at the same time, John Cusack does such an incredible job playing this character that I totally understand why they went ahead and cast him anyway. He plays Gib with the perfect balance of kind of a jerk but still kind of sweet that keeps the audience rooting for him while still criticizing his bad behavior. And the way he and Zuniga play off each other is endlessly compelling.

One of my favorite scenes, not just in this movie but in any movie, is after Gib and Alison have been kicked out of the car and accidentally left all their cash in a hotel room, and they’re sitting on the side of a deserted road at night hoping to hitch a ride. Alison finds a stick of gum in her purse, unwraps it, and the second she’s about to put it in her mouth, Gib says, “I’m starving.” So Alison dutifully breaks the gum in half and splits it with him. Then he starts listing other complaints until she can’t take it anymore and snaps, “Can’t you try to look on the bright side?” which of course is the sky’s cue to start pouring rain. In their desperate search for shelter, they find a trailer, but there’s a padlock on the door. Gib starts frantically pounding at the lock, and Alison thinks she might have a nail file in her purse, so she starts searching, and suddenly finds something much better. She tells Gib, “I have a credit card!” He’s so focused on getting into the trailer that at first he doesn’t understand the implications of what she said, and his immediate response is, “Credit cards work on a completely different kind of lock!” And Alison says, “I don’t think you understand: I have a credit card!” “You have a credit card?” “I have a credit card.” “You have a credit card.” And then her face falls as she remembers: “Oh. My dad told me specifically that I can only use it in case of an emergency.” And he just looks at her, soaked from the pouring rain, and deadpans, “Well, maybe one will come up.” And it’s just…so good. The comedic timing between the two of them is utter perfection.

And they’re also very good at having serious moments together. Like right after that scene, when they’re in a fancy restaurant because it was the only place they could find that would take a credit card – oh how times have changed – Gib opens up about where his interest in outer space came from. Earlier in the movie, both with Alison and with other girls, he’s tried to use his knowledge of space and astronomy to impress/seduce women – not very effectively – but here he’s being vulnerable and genuine, and Alison’s reactions show that she recognizes and appreciates that. And then when they finally get to LA and separate, they both do such a great job of showing how much they have changed, while still remaining true to who their characters have been from the beginning. Alison starts to realize that her boyfriend Jason, whose idea of a good time is staying home, playing cards, and admiring the special hangers and flannel sheets, is not nearly as fun to be around as Gib. And after making such a deep personal connection with Alison, Gib starts to question whether an emotionless sexual encounter with the Sure Thing is really what he’s looking for. Neither of them say these things in so many words, but they make it abundantly clear how they’re feeling, and it’s very rewarding as an audience member to see the characters we’ve become so invested in reach that point in their journeys. But they’re also very mad at each other, mostly because they’ve fallen for each other against their will, and it isn’t until they somehow get back to the east coast (we never see how that happens, but I guess it’s not important) that they resolve this tension. And the way they reconcile through a paper that Gib has their English professor (played by Viveca Lindfors) read to the class is an amazing way end the movie. So basically, this is a story about two very well-written, perfectly cast characters who go on an extremely satisfying journey that is just as fun to watch the 20th time as the first.

Now, if you’ve listened to other episodes, or even just read the description of this podcast, you might be a little confused right now. “But Jane,” I can imagine you thinking, “Aren’t you aromantic and asexual? Isn’t this movie all about a character pursuing sex, and then coming to the very amatonormative conclusion that he should commit romantically and sexually to the one person he’s had an emotional connection with? Why would a movie like that be in your top 10?” And you know, those are fair questions. They’re the kinds of questions I asked myself a few years ago, when I suspected I might be aroace but wasn’t completely convinced. And an important step on my path to recognizing that that label truly described me was when I realized that I appreciate this movie from a very aroace perspective. For one thing, it always irked me that the movie ends with Gib and Alison kissing. “Why can’t they end up as friends?” my obliviously aromantic teenage self would lament during the years when I was watching this movie the most. But on the other hand, I had always appreciated the message that forming a genuine emotional connection with someone is more fulfilling than casual hookups with people you’ve lied to and manipulated to get them to sleep with you. So I liked the part about “sex isn’t actually the end all be all of human experience” but I disliked that the conclusion was “but finding a romantic partner is” – could there be a more aroace response to this movie?

And as I thought about it even more, I realized that, even though I’m positive that this was not the intention of any of the filmmakers, there is a way to interpret the character of Gib as being on the asexual spectrum. In the first half of the movie, he does appear to be in constant pursuit of sex, at least at first glance, but a lot of his attempts are kind of halfhearted. You get the feeling that he wants to be able to say he’s slept with a lot of people because his friends and society tell him that’s what will make him cool. He seems a lot happier and more comfortable when he’s stopped trying to seduce Alison, and ultimately, even though the Sure Thing is definitely willing to sleep with him, he decides he doesn’t want that anymore, despite having travelled across the country specifically to have sex with her. Obviously, there are a lot of different conclusions that could be drawn from this. I think a big one is that people who are socialized as boys, regardless of whether they’re asexual or not, are often given a very toxic and unhealthy message about what their sex lives should be like, including the idea that women are objects to be tricked into providing momentary pleasure, and that having lots of sex is what makes you a real man. So it’s rather refreshing to see a coming of age story that shows a young man maturing by actively choosing not to have sex with a woman who is given no name, and is only identified by her willingness to put out. And in some ways I don’t want to encourage the headcanon that Gib is asexual because I think it’s important to show that allosexual men are allowed to say “no” when it doesn’t feel right, and that that doesn’t make them less of a man. But I also think the disconnect between how Gib is expected to feel about the Sure Thing and how he actually feels when he meets her is very relatable to asexual people. Society’s messages about how “normal” people feel about sex and sexual attraction are very confusing to people who don’t feel that way. And I guess what this movie is trying to say is that some of those messages don’t apply even to allosexual people. I just wish it didn’t perpetuate the amatonormative message that sex and romance are vital aspects of the most important relationship in everyone’s lives. In the story that Gib writes to reveal to Alison that he didn’t sleep with the Sure Thing, he reveals that she asked, “Do you love me?” and that for the first time in his life, he knew that those were more than just words, and that if he said it, it would be a lie, so he said no and left. And again, part of that feels very amatonormative, but at the same time, the whole idea of being true to yourself and honest with any prospective partners is a good message for people of all romantic and sexual orientations.

I still hope to find a movie about a journey like this in which the leading man and woman explicitly end up as friends (let me know if you’re aware of one), but I can almost be content imagining that soon after the events of this movie, Gib and Alison realize that they don’t actually like kissing each other but remain BFFs. Hey, it could happen! But that was definitely not the intent, and if you like cute 80s teen romance movies, The Sure Thing is definitely one to check out – if you can track it down. Don’t let my weird aromantic headcanon ruin your appreciation for this romance. I’m not saying this movie was made for aroace people by any means; my point is that realizing I was enjoying this movie in a very aroace way helped me come to the conclusion that I am aroace. And it’s also a great movie aside from all that, as one would expect from this director and cast.

Thank you for listening to me discuss another of my most frequently rewatched films. The Sure Thing was the only movie I watched exactly 26 times in the 20 years I was tracking, and I didn’t watch any exactly 27 times, so next week I will be talking about the movie I watched 28 times, which is widely – and extremely incorrectly – regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. So that should be a fun episode. As always, I will leave you with a quote from that next movie: “Forget ‘herb.’ I never heard of a hit that had the word ‘herb’ in it.”

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Daily Planet Classifieds

Fandom: DC Comics, Superfam, Young Justice 98, Titans

Summary: Laney Hausler is currently attending classes at Metropolis University when he sees a boy with his face in the library. At first, he thinks he's seeing things. Later, he starts to realize something strange is going on.

Conner Kent lives off-campus with his friends, but he sees a boy who eerily resembles him, and he hires a private investigator to look into the life of his doppelganger.

Chapters: 7/?

Characters: Jonathan Lane Kent, Conner Kent, Eddie Bloomberg, Rose Wilson, Bart Allen, Cassie Sandsmark, Cissie King-Jones, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Meloni Thawne, Vic Sage, Slade Wilson

Relationships: Past KonBart, Clois

Additional Tags: Father-Son Relationship, Father-Daughter Relationship, No Powers AU, Found Family, Family Secrets, No Powers AU, No Capes AU, Complicated Relationships, University AU, Roommates, Private Investigator, Twins, Multiple POV, First Person POV, Psychological Drama, Complicated Relationships, Unrequited Love, Platonic Relationships

Chapter Seven: The Family Video (Laney's POV)

Eddie returned with popcorn, candy, pretzels, chips, soda, and hotdogs. “Oh my god, Eddie… We’re not putting him down. We’re christening the TV,” Rose laughed. I didn’t understand the joke, but I was amused by the time and energy they put into making me happy. 

“I wanted to give him the whole movie experience. Lane, wait—. Do you know any movie titles off the top of your head?” Eddie asked. “Anything that you’d like to see?” 

I scratched my head. “Oh, Eddie… I don’t know anything about movies at all,” I replied. 

“Lane, he’s gonna bring out the bin,” Rose whispered. 

“What’s the bin?” I questioned. 

“I’m so glad you asked! Stay here,” Eddie smiled. I sat on the couch with Rose while he went to his room. Eddie’s room was the thing of fairytales. Between his plants, movie posters, and weird animatronic creations strewn about his room, his room was a forest for the peculiar. I liked sitting in his room and drawing the strange things that came to mind. Rose brushed a stray eyelash from my cheek with her finger. I delighted in the intimacy of her gesture. “One sec!” 

“Okay!” Rose and I answered at the same time. Rose chuckled and punched my shoulder. 

Eddie dragged a storage bin into the living room. “Come on. Come look,” Eddie replied. I walked toward the bin and looked at Eddie’s VHS tapes and DVDs. 

“They made a movie for To Kill A Mockingbird?” I questioned. 

Eddie smiled at me. “Do you want to watch that first?” Eddie asked. 

I shook my head as I dug through his movies. There were so many. I didn’t know where to start. “What is Scream?” I questioned. 

Rose and Eddie nodded. “You hafta watch Scream,” Eddie replied. I nodded. 

“Yeah, okay. Let’s do it,” I smiled. My phone rang. “Oh, hold on. It’s my father.” They nodded, and I stepped away to answer the call privately. 

“Hi, Father. How are you?” I asked. 

“I’m well. How are your classes?” Father asked. 

“Oh! They’re amazing. I went to a Neurology symposium last week and sent you a copy of my notes with my letter… I’m so happy here, Father,” I replied. 

“Are your roommates treating you well?” Father questioned. 

“Oh, they’re wonderful people. Eddie builds such strange and beautiful things in his room… Rose and I plan to start Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes together next weekend,” I answered, “I’m about to watch a movie with them.”

“Well, I hope you have a lovely time. It sounds like this has been an enriching experience for you so far,” Father replied. 

“It has. I love you, Father. I hope we can talk again soon,” I smiled. 

“Of course. I have two surgeries this morning, so I can’t call you back today… But I’ll text you my schedule later. I love you too,” Father replied, “Goodbye, Laney.”

“Goodbye, Father,” I answered before hanging up. I returned to the living room and sat on the couch while Rose and Eddie shut the curtains and made popcorn. 

“Was that your dad?” Eddie asked. I nodded and smiled at him. “How’s Dr. Hausler doing?” 

“He has two surgeries this morning, so he’s staying busy,” I answered. 

“Is your dad divorced? I never hear you talk about your mom,” Rose replied. I didn’t mind her asking because I knew about her mom. She told me one night when Eddie was out. 

“I don’t know anything about my mother. We never talked about her when I was young. I have the faintest picture of a woman in my mind, but Father says—. I used to draw a couple. Blue eyes, dark hair, warm smiles. I thought my mother left my father for this man, but Father says the people I remember were a patient and her husband,” I explained, “I don’t know anything about my mother… I’m afraid I can’t tell you if she’s alive or dead.” 

Rose and Eddie fell silent, and Rose hugged herself. “It’s okay… I had a great childhood,” I reassured. 

“You draw a lot, but we never see your work,” Eddie replied. He wanted to lighten the mood, and I was grateful. “Is it personal?”

“Oh, no… I just—. No one’s ever asked. My sketchbook’s in my bedroom… Would you like to see it?” I asked. They nodded. I went to my room and grabbed the leather sketchbook my father gave me for the trip to Metropolis. I brought it to the living room, and Eddie and Rose sat beside me, patiently waiting for me to reveal my drawings. I’d never had friends to share my drawings with, but I was eager to see what they thought. I flipped my book open, and it landed on a picture of the woman. 

“That’s the news reporter for The Daily Planet,” Eddie replied. I squinted at him. “You’ve seen her before?” 

“I must have… What’s the woman’s name?” I asked. 

“Lois Lane. Your dad did brain surgery on Lois Lane?” Rose questioned. I shook my head. The name seemed familiar. 

“I drew my home, too,” I whispered. The popcorn popped in the background, distracting both of us for a moment. “This is the dock in front of my house.” 

“Laney, this is beautiful,” Rose whispered. 

“You lived on a lake?” Eddie asked. 

“Uh-huh… We took a boat across in the morning, but I could swim the length of the lake in the summertime, but the garden was out back,” I explained. Lois Lane’s name plastered itself in my head as Eddie grabbed the popcorn from the microwave. Rose put the movie in the DVD player, and Eddie gave me the popcorn bowl and ran to his room. He returned with a video camera, and Rose shook her head. 

“Eddie, not the camera—.” 

“It’s his first movie. We can show the video to his dad on family week,” Eddie interrupted. I laughed and covered my face. Rose and Eddie playfully grabbed my arms to get me to look into the camera. “Come on. Smile for the camera, Laney.” 

I grinned nice and big for him, and Eddie turned the camera toward the three of us. “We’re about to watch Scream with Lane. It’s his first movie, so we’re all a little excited. Should we press play?” Eddie questioned. Rose waved with the remote in hand. I nodded. Rose turned the TV on, and the DVD menu had four options. Rose pressed play. 

** 

“Rose! I had no idea she would die when I said she reminded me of you. I’m so sorry,” I apologized. Rose laughed into my shoulder. 

“No, it’s okay. Tatum was hot, so it makes up for it,” Rose chuckled, “RIP to an icon.” 

Eddie got up to make more snacks while I watched the movie. Rose took the camera and pointed it at Eddie. “Edward Michael Bloomberg—.” “Nope. My middle name’s not Michael,” Eddie replied.

“Rudolph?” Rose asked.

“Wha—? No! It’s Allan,” Eddie answered indignantly. 

“Allan? Are you serious?” Rose chuckled. I giggled.

“And what are your middle names? Rose Wilson and Lane Hausler,” Eddie scoffed. 

“Don’t have one… And legally, it’s Rose Worth. Not Wilson,” Rose replied. 

“Lane’s my middle name,” I answered.

“What’s your first name?” Eddie and Rose questioned. 

“Jonathan… My father’s called me Laney my whole life,” I answered. It was strange. I hadn’t thought about it much. I realized something that day. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I knew it’d change my life forever.

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Wishful thinking

It's no secret that the powers that be are moving away from allowing us to keep copies of TV shows and movies on our bookshelves. While of course there are still many TV shows and movies being released to DVD, Blu-ray and 4K, these days - especially if a series is made for streaming - it's getting rarer to get a permanent media release.

Which is sad for collectors of certain performers or TV shows. For example, the first two seasons of The Orville, which aired on Fox, are available on disc. Season 3, which aired on streaming service Hulu, is unlikely to get the same treatment; with it likely being that show's final season, that means people who want discs of the whole series pretty much need to bootleg their own.

Of course there are exceptions. The current generation of Star Trek series, despite being made for streaming, are still reliably getting disc release (even the cancelled Prodigy).

And in some parts of the world, you will still see even streaming shows released. Jenna Coleman's The Serpent got a DVD issue in the UK because it aired on the BBC. Here in North America, where it was on Netflix, no release is expected. The Cry was out on DVD in the UK within a couple weeks of its BBC broadcast; in North America it was streamed so we had to wait more than a year.

So I don't have a lot of hope at seeing Wilderness getting a release on DVD or Blu-ray (despite a recent article about deleted scenes teasing of them maybe appearing on a DVD). Likewise, with the confirmation that Klokkenluider is going to streaming in North America, and strong hints Jackdaw will likely do the same, I don't really have an expectation of finding either film in my local Walmart (unlike Victoria, Me Before You, Doctor Who and even The Cry).

BUT, then came the news that, despite being a Netflix series, The Sandman Season 1 is scheduled for DVD release next month. And then, just a few days ago, I was in a DVD shop and saw a set (a steelbook, yet) for Marvel's Loki Season 1 - the first time I've seen a Disney+ series on disc. (I have since learned that some of the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff series like Andor and Mandalorian are also getting disc release)

So I guess never say never. Though I have no illusion that Wilderness is at all on the same level as a TV show based on a famous comic book and what is arguably the most popular TV series to date based on the MCU, and, well, Star Wars, the fact permanent releases for streaming have not been completely abandoned has given me a little hope that one day the Jenna Coleman Library (except for Room at the Top; we don't talk about Room at the Top LOL) might one day be complete.

[jemdoesart]

This is your sign to go to your local library! Istg mine has *everything* - not just books! They have dvd's, cd's, physical audiobooks, online ebook programs, they may even have passes for local museums, places to just sit and hang out, lovely librarians whose favorite part of the job is to give recommendations, they do community outreach, they have summer reading programs, they have classes and clubs, internet access, they may offer counseling for college applications, and so much more.

Using these FREE resources does not burden them, it shows support. It shows reasons for states to continue to give them funding, it shows appreciation to the librarians, and can benefit You in so many ways.

Following is a list of things my library has because it is well-funded and beloved by the community:

3d printers

Makers kits such as calligraphy, jewelry making, cross stitch, drawing, knitting & crochet, origami, quilling, watercolor, and wood burning.

Play area for young children

Displays of the lego builds made by local children

Incredibly impressive model train set display

Shelf full of baking pans available for checkout

Multiple study rooms

Programs for young kids (storytime, etc)

Printing and copying machines

Monthly delivery of library materials to those that are homebound

Vinyl cutter

A hat press

Embroidery machine

Mug press

Heat press

Sublimation printer

BlueYeti pro microphone

Color printer

Button maker

Laser engraver

Laser cutter

And yes, all of this is real shit available at my local library (they do have two branches so I am sure that some of the more expensive machinery is divided among the two, and also that I'm missing some more notable services)

[lanawinterscigarettes]

1, 14, and 25 for the ask list you reblogged! 💕

(Sorry if you’ve already answered those!)

I actually haven't got any asks from this list yet so you're all good! Thanks for sending this in hehe 💞

1. What are three shows in your watchlist that you’ve been meaning to get to?

Most of the shows i need to watch are ones I've started and just haven't finished yet 😮‍💨 though three that I haven't started at all are Buffy The Vampire Slayer, X-Files, and True Blood (I'm someone who likes to own physical copies of stuff, so I haven't watched Buffy or X-Files because I haven't bought the dvds yet as I hate streaming services). I actually have the first two seasons of True Blood on dvd I just haven't started the show yet because I'm too busy watching Gilmore Girls and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia lmao

14. What are some places where you feel most at home?

The beach I always used to go to growing up, plus libraries and antique stores in general. The nostalgia is what makes me feel at home the most <3

25. Do you have any piercings or tattoos? Are there any that you want?

As of right now, I have three piercings and no tattoos (I have both of my earlobes pierced once and a septum piercing). I'd love to get more piercings, like my eyebrow(s) or more ear piercings (rip to the bridge piercing I'd love to get but can't due to my glasses getting in the way and the lip piercings I'd like to have if I didn't constantly mess with/pick at the skin on my bottom lip 😔) I really wanna get a small tattoo that has a semicolon hidden somewhere in it, plus one of Stitch from Lilo and Stitch because he's my favorite little guy EVER and one of those heart tattoos that says "mom" in it on one of my biceps (I know it's stereotypical okay but I really love my mom). In general I just love piercings and tattoos because I'm really into body modification haha

(Ask game can be found here)

[hollow-prior]

I'm going to sound old as hell here but as streaming services continue to devolve into shittier and shittier services, I'm reminded of my love for DVDs.

They're not as convenient as just logging into a website/app and pressing play but they are:

Physical media that, once you buy it, is yours forever and ever unless you choose to get rid of it. And even then, you choose what happens with it. You can sell it, give it away online, gift it to a friend, give it to a thrift store, donate it to a hospital (side note: many hospitals take donations of DVDs for use in some of their longer-term wards), whatever you want. You also don't have to worry about losing access to it if you don't pay a monthly fee or if the service you use gets cancelled or if they remove the show/film. You just have it.

Easy to store. Get one of those big DVD cases and it takes up a tiny bit of space on a bookshelf. Simple as that.

Available to borrow/rent for free/super cheap. Most libraries have DVDs you can borrow like you would books. There's no cost. You get the DVD, you watch it, and you return it. That's it.

Super cheap when you buy them used. Especially now that most people are almost exclusively using streaming services, you can find DVDs for a couple dollars at most thrift stores or yard sales.

(Mostly) accessible. All films/TV shows made after a certain year are required to have closed captioning/subtitles available and many also have audio description options as well. While a lot of streaming services have captioning/subtitles, they're not always accurate or helpful and very few services have good audio description.

Widely available. The vast majority of films/shows that exist are available in DVD format. Yes, even the new ones. I've got a hold at the library for the 2023(?) Barbie movie. While it may take a bit to find a copy of a very obscure film, you never have to worry about whether or not the film/show is available on your specific streaming services and in your country in general.

Unique to your choices. There's probably a better way to word this but what I'm getting at is that you only buy what you want. You don't have to pay for an entire new streaming service only to watch like one or two shows from it. You just buy the shows/films you want to watch.

Look, I know DVDs aren't for everyone but seeing people complain about having to pay for another streaming service because it's the only one that has their show, I want to say like... you know there are other options, right?

Even if you don't have the space for a TV and regular DVD player, you can get a portable DVD player. I got mine for maybe 30$ at the Salvation Army store near me and I use it at least twice a week.

I don't have a single streaming service, both because I don't have the money for that and also because the whole idea of it is kind of wild to me. I've got my DVD hoard and my piracy sites.

But yeah anyways: DVDs are your friends.

[cur1e]

THIS.

People give me crap because I like buying physical media. Why? because even if there's DRM on it (DVD, Blu-ray) I have access to programs that can bypass or break the DRM and extract the content on the physical disc to make a back up copy. (that right is enshrined in the US copyright laws, despite the recording industry ASS of america and the motion picture ASS of america's continual efforts to rip it out.)

after I've ripped the disc, it gets put back into it's case, and surprise! Now it's the backup copy, and I run the ripped content through Handbrake to transcode the raw, extracted content down to something a bit more palatable to store on the multiple drives I keep my media library on.

Now, I will admit to becoming a touch lazy and buying a fair amount of music via iTunes; the bulk of it is not DRM encumbered, and what little that IS can be un-encumbered by some lossy transcoding from Apple's DRM format to the (defacto) industry default of MP3, at which point the media also gets mirrored to the multiple drives that comprise my media library. because I've seen first hand that Apple will cheerfully go "oh, you had that song, but I won't let you play it because for whatever reason you are suddenly listing as coming from a country where you aren't allowed to have that track", which is aggravating as all fuck.

And while I'm going to be running up the Jolly roger to capture a movie that was only released on Netflix and not to physical media, I do intend on rewarding the content's creator for their efforts.(1) Additionally, there is content that you simply cannot obtain via 'normal' means, because the IP owner holds it hostage (*coughs HBO/Disney/nintendo/sony*wheeze*) or no longer exists(obsolete computer and/or gaming systems).

If you can't own the content you desire but can only rent it, then It is morally correct to pirate it, especially when the company has the ability to make it vanish into thin air at a whim.

(It's also why I hate streaming services.)

(1) Not Netflix, but the IP's owner directly through merch or patreon or such. I did pay Netflix ~two months worth of subscription in order to watch the content prior, so there is that as well.

“If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing”

20 years ago, I got in a (friendly) public spat with Chris Anderson, who was then the editor in chief of Wired. I'd publicly noted my disappointment with glowing Wired reviews of DRM-encumbered digital devices, prompting Anderson to call me unrealistic for expecting the magazine to condemn gadgets for their DRM:

https://longtail.typepad.com/the_long_tail/2004/12/is_drm_evil.html

I replied in public, telling him that he'd misunderstood. This wasn't an issue of ideological purity – it was about good reviewing practice. Wired was telling readers to buy a product because it had features x, y and z, but at any time in the future, without warning, without recourse, the vendor could switch off any of those features:

https://memex.craphound.com/2004/12/29/cory-responds-to-wired-editor-on-drm/

I proposed that all Wired endorsements for DRM-encumbered products should come with this disclaimer:

WARNING: THIS DEVICE’S FEATURES ARE SUBJECT TO REVOCATION WITHOUT NOTICE, ACCORDING TO TERMS SET OUT IN SECRET NEGOTIATIONS. YOUR INVESTMENT IS CONTINGENT ON THE GOODWILL OF THE WORLD’S MOST PARANOID, TECHNOPHOBIC ENTERTAINMENT EXECS. THIS DEVICE AND DEVICES LIKE IT ARE TYPICALLY USED TO CHARGE YOU FOR THINGS YOU USED TO GET FOR FREE — BE SURE TO FACTOR IN THE PRICE OF BUYING ALL YOUR MEDIA OVER AND OVER AGAIN. AT NO TIME IN HISTORY HAS ANY ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY GOTTEN A SWEET DEAL LIKE THIS FROM THE ELECTRONICS PEOPLE, BUT THIS TIME THEY’RE GETTING A TOTAL WALK. HERE, PUT THIS IN YOUR MOUTH, IT’LL MUFFLE YOUR WHIMPERS.

Wired didn't take me up on this suggestion.

But I was right. The ability to change features, prices, and availability of things you've already paid for is a powerful temptation to corporations. Inkjet printers were always a sleazy business, but once these printers got directly connected to the internet, companies like HP started pushing out "security updates" that modified your printer to make it reject the third-party ink you'd paid for:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

Now, this scam wouldn't work if you could just put things back the way they were before the "update," which is where the DRM comes in. A thicket of IP laws make reverse-engineering DRM-encumbered products into a felony. Combine always-on network access with indiscriminate criminalization of user modification, and the enshittification will follow, as surely as night follows day.

This is the root of all the right to repair shenanigans. Sure, companies withhold access to diagnostic codes and parts, but codes can be extracted and parts can be cloned. The real teeth in blocking repair comes from the law, not the tech. The company that makes McDonald's wildly unreliable McFlurry machines makes a fortune charging franchisees to fix these eternally broken appliances. When a third party threatened this racket by reverse-engineering the DRM that blocked independent repair, they got buried in legal threats:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/20/euthanize-rentier-enablers/#cold-war

Everybody loves this racket. In Poland, a team of security researchers at the OhMyHack conference just presented their teardown of the anti-repair features in NEWAG Impuls locomotives. NEWAG boobytrapped their trains to try and detect if they've been independently serviced, and to respond to any unauthorized repairs by bricking themselves:

https://mamot.fr/@q3k@hackerspace.pl/111528162905209453

Poland is part of the EU, meaning that they are required to uphold the provisions of the 2001 EU Copyright Directive, including Article 6, which bans this kind of reverse-engineering. The researchers are planning to present their work again at the Chaos Communications Congress in Hamburg this month – Germany is also a party to the EUCD. The threat to researchers from presenting this work is real – but so is the threat to conferences that host them:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/researchers-face-legal-threats-over-sdmi-hack/

20 years ago, Chris Anderson told me that it was unrealistic to expect tech companies to refuse demands for DRM from the entertainment companies whose media they hoped to play. My argument – then and now – was that any tech company that sells you a gadget that can have its features revoked is defrauding you. You're paying for x, y and z – and if they are contractually required to remove x and y on demand, they are selling you something that you can't rely on, without making that clear to you.

But it's worse than that. When a tech company designs a device for remote, irreversible, nonconsensual downgrades, they invite both external and internal parties to demand those downgrades. Like Pavel Chekov says, a phaser on the bridge in Act I is going to go off by Act III. Selling a product that can be remote, irreversibly, nonconsensually downgraded inevitably results in the worst person at the product-planning meeting proposing to do so. The fact that there are no penalties for doing so makes it impossible for the better people in that meeting to win the ensuing argument, leading to the moral injury of seeing a product you care about reduced to a pile of shit:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/25/moral-injury/#enshittification

But even if everyone at that table is a swell egg who wouldn't dream of enshittifying the product, the existence of a remote, irreversible, nonconsensual downgrade feature makes the product vulnerable to external actors who will demand that it be used. Back in 2022, Adobe informed its customers that it had lost its deal to include Pantone colors in Photoshop, Illustrator and other "software as a service" packages. As a result, users would now have to start paying a monthly fee to see their own, completed images. Fail to pay the fee and all the Pantone-coded pixels in your artwork would just show up as black:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/28/fade-to-black/#trust-the-process

Adobe blamed this on Pantone, and there was lots of speculation about what had happened. Had Pantone jacked up its price to Adobe, so Adobe passed the price on to its users in the hopes of embarrassing Pantone? Who knows? Who can know? That's the point: you invested in Photoshop, you spent money and time creating images with it, but you have no way to know whether or how you'll be able to access those images in the future. Those terms can change at any time, and if you don't like it, you can go fuck yourself.

These companies are all run by CEOs who got their MBAs at Darth Vader University, where the first lesson is "I have altered the deal, pray I don't alter it further." Adobe chose to design its software so it would be vulnerable to this kind of demand, and then its customers paid for that choice. Sure, Pantone are dicks, but this is Adobe's fault. They stuck a KICK ME sign to your back, and Pantone obliged.

This keeps happening and it's gonna keep happening. Last week, Playstation owners who'd bought (or "bought") Warner TV shows got messages telling them that Warner had walked away from its deal to sell videos through the Playstation store, and so all the videos they'd paid for were going to be deleted forever. They wouldn't even get refunds (to be clear, refunds would also be bullshit – when I was a bookseller, I didn't get to break into your house and steal the books I'd sold you, not even if I left some cash on your kitchen table).

Sure, Warner is an unbelievably shitty company run by the single most guillotineable executive in all of Southern California, the loathsome David Zaslav, who oversaw the merger of Warner with Discovery. Zaslav is the creep who figured out that he could make more money cancelling completed movies and TV shows and taking a tax writeoff than he stood to make by releasing them:

https://aftermath.site/there-is-no-piracy-without-ownership

Imagine putting years of your life into making a program – showing up on set at 5AM and leaving your kids to get their own breakfast, performing stunts that could maim or kill you, working 16-hour days during the acute phase of the covid pandemic and driving home in the night, only to have this absolute turd of a man delete the program before anyone could see it, forever, to get a minor tax advantage. Talk about moral injury!

But without Sony's complicity in designing a remote, irreversible, nonconsensual downgrade feature into the Playstation, Zaslav's war on art and creative workers would be limited to material that hadn't been released yet. Thanks to Sony's awful choices, David Zaslav can break into your house, steal your movies – and he doesn't even have to leave a twenty on your kitchen table.

The point here – the point I made 20 years ago to Chris Anderson – is that this is the foreseeable, inevitable result of designing devices for remote, irreversible, nonconsensual downgrades. Anyone who was paying attention should have figured that out in the GW Bush administration. Anyone who does this today? Absolute flaming garbage.

Sure, Zaslav deserves to be staked out over and anthill and slathered in high-fructose corn syrup. But save the next anthill for the Sony exec who shipped a product that would let Zaslav come into your home and rob you. That piece of shit knew what they were doing and they did it anyway. Fuck them. Sideways. With a brick.

Meanwhile, the studios keep making the case for stealing movies rather than paying for them. As Tyler James Hill wrote: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing":

https://bsky.app/profile/tylerjameshill.bsky.social/post/3kflw2lvam42n

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/08/playstationed/#tyler-james-hill

Image: Alan Levine (modified) https://pxhere.com/en/photo/218986

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[ia-practicum]

Log Entry #1: Getting to know the library, weeding, presorting, organizing, and program observation

Intern: Isabella Alvarez

Supervisor: Kate Guynn

Dates Worked: January 13th, 15th, and 16th

January 13th, 4pm to 8pm

Getting to know the library, presorting, and organizing

For the first day and shift of my internship, I got to the library and found my supervisor Kate at the children’s desk, waiting for me to arrive. From there, we had a moment in her office where we decided on the following week’s schedule and discussed possible projects for me to do and work on over the course of my semester there, and ultimately we settled on LibGuides to serve as this ongoing project to do alongside other tasks assigned to me. Once that was settled, Kate took me around the library to show me the important areas I’d be around, which included the backroom area, the workroom and the different shelves and areas of the children’s department. I was then provided my first task, which was to take a three page list of non-fiction juvenile DVDs that hadn’t been in circulation for at least a full year and pull them from the shelves. It was a fairly straightforward task, and I learned that all non-fiction material in the children’s section was organized with a number and decimal system rather than solely alphabetically and author’s names. Nevertheless, I pulled material, checking it off the list if it was found and placing it on a cart and if it couldn’t be found, then an x was placed next to the name on the list. After that was done, I handed the list back and went with Kate to place the cart in the workroom for library staff to handle the rest of the process for non-circulating materials.

After that was complete, I was directed to a cart of returned books and asked if I knew how to shelve books. I wasn’t certain how exactly the library shelved material just yet, and I told Kate that and she directed me with another task. This was presorting the books and getting them ready to shelve, and I was told to do this with all the picture books on the returned books cart. Now it was organized alphabetically by the author’s last name, and I created a system by looking for all the a’s first and moving them to the shelving cart, then the b’s, and so on and so forth until all the picture books were on the shelving carts. Upon finishing that task, I informed Kate and she directed me to one final task before my time was up, which was to organize a couple of carts that held middle grade books. The library is currently in the process of making a clear, middle grade section, which required pulling the books from shelves and putting them on carts while waiting for space to be opened up for them. As a result, some books end up mixed up and out of order and needed to be re-organized. I took a similar strategy to presorting and pulled books off the cart if they were in the wrong spot, and placed them back on the cart once I found the right place for them.

January 15th, 10am to 12pm

Program observation and organizing

For this next day, it was a shorter shift than my previous one, and I only had two tasks for the day. The first of these tasks was sitting in and observing one of the library’s early childhood programs, called Babies and Books. In this program, parents bring in their kids that are at the sitting up and/or crawling stage for nursery rhymes, learning a bit about the different milestones babies should be reaching at certain points, and reading a fun book that typically has sensory elements to it. I sat in the back and watched Kate direct and run the program, holding a baby doll to showcase what parents could do to their little ones to play along for certain nursery rhymes, such as lifts and pointing to body parts. Copies of the book were passed out to the parents so the babies could see and feel what was on the book, and then they were passed back in after for bubble time, which was just going around and blowing bubbles. After the program ended, we had a short discussion about the program, where I learned that it serves as not just a fun activity for the babies, but it can encourage parents to read to their kids more at home and also provide connections for them with meeting other parents with babies. Kate had another program after this one, and since I would be seeing it the following day, she sent me to do my next task.

This next and final task of the day was organizing middle grade books again, although this was more of a looking over and making sure things were organized rather than going in knowing things needed to get moved around. For the most part, everything seemed to be in order, aside from a handful of books that were in the wrong places. Most of my time in this task was spent scouring over the middle grade carts and making sure things were in the right spaces because I finished this task fairly early on, and figured that I must have missed something because there was no way I was finished so soon. This included moving books between carts to make room for more potential arrivals if books were being added to the collection or being returned from being checked out. I figured another thing I could have done would be trying to move books to be a more linear method rather than having them be broken up (i.e having all t’s on one side rather than going t-z on one side of the cart and doing the same thing for the other). However, I didn’t have enough time for that, as my shift was already almost over by the time I started looking through the middle grade books and got the idea. I mentioned it offhandedly to Kate after my shift had ended, and she agreed that there wouldn’t have been enough time for me to do that.

January 16th, 10am to 12pm

Program observation

This shift was short like the previous one and would consist of sitting in and observing two different programs. The first of these programs was Toddler Time and was run by two other children’s librarians, Kodi and Sarah. It seemed similar to Babies and Books in concept, but I noticed that the energy level was very different very quickly. There was a lot more moving around and dancing, likely to encourage the kids to do the same as well. Toddler Time also had nursery rhymes and songs, but they were more for making the kids move around and have fun. Books weren’t passed out, but the pictures were still big enough to show off the contents of the book. Much like Babies and Books, after the story there were bubbles and a few more songs, and then the program ended. We discussed the similarities and differences between Babies and Books and Toddler Time before moving some things around and waiting for the next program to begin.

This next program was Preschool Storytime, and it was a lot more than a simple book reading to a young crowd. Much like the previous two programs, there were songs and little dances to help get their energy out before the stories began. Kate was running this program, and she read two different books to them, making sure to keep them engaged and asking them questions alongside the story to make them active participants in the story. It felt similar to the previous two programs, but it really showed me that these programs seem to build on each other and add a little something more each time so the programs grow with the kids. Post program discussion included Kate asking questions on my opinions, and I provided them as well as what I thought of the programs I’d seen this week. That concluded my first week of shifts at the library, and thus began the wait for next week’s shifts.

Next Shifts: January 23rd and January 24th

[crisis-aversion]

I feel the need to elaborate on this. Mostly because it’s kinda funny

Of the theatrical releases (that I am aware of) I have seen:

The Phantom Menace 1 1/13 times

Attack Of The Clones 1 time

Revenge Of The Sith 1/7 times

A New Hope 2 times

Empire Strikes Back 1 time

Return Of The Jedi 0 times

The Force Awakens 2 1/13 times

The Last Jedi 2 1/3 times

The Rise Of Skywalker 2 times

Rogue One 2 times

Solo 1 time

The main reason I never finished the OG Trilogy is that the first time we tried to watch SW through, when I was like. 12. We started at the beginning

Chronologically

So with two movies before we got to ANH (we didn’t own ROTS at the time, and in fact I don’t believe we do even now), we got distracted before we actually watched ESB

This is how movie marathons usually go in the family. We make it a few movies in and get distracted, so usually we never make it through the whole series. Or at minimum I’ve lost the ability to pay full attention to the third in a trilogy

To be fair we did watch a trilogy that time. It just wasn’t the correct three movies

Dad found ROTS at the library, but I had also borrowed the Marvel Encyclopedia at the same time (12 year old me loved Marvel). So I was too busy reading that to pay attention to ROTS. I only actually paid attention to a small handful of scenes

I didn’t have the same problem of not finishing the trilogy with the sequels, but it may have been because I didn’t watch them back to back because the dvds came from different christmases (I don’t remember whether I got them all at once or roughly in the same years they came out in). I half shipped Reylo after the first time I watched the sequels, mostly bc I love enemies to lovers and liked Kylo

Solo was one I got on dvd for Christmas roughly the same year as release

Rogue One is one of the few movies I’ve seen in theater when it was originally playing, and I own it on Blu-ray so I’ve seen it twice (though I wasn’t paying too much attention the second time, dad wanted to watch it and I was distracted by something I don’t remember)

The second time we attempted to watch the og trilogy we made (technically) more progress then the first time. We started on ANH so we wouldn’t have the series burn out but we still never managed to make it to the third movie

The second time we watched the sequels was bc I randomly found some sequel fics while reading SW stuff in AO3 and realized I barely remembered who these characters are and declared an impromptu binge. Somehow we made it all the way through for once, but that was mostly because I had somehow obtained a hyperfixation on Hux from fanfic despite not remembering who Hux even was other than a vague memory from the first time I watched the sequels of going “he’s hot” *not that long after* “oh no”

I found Reylo (and especially Rey) boring the second time around and have come to actively hate it due to the inability to kriffing find sequels fan content that doesn’t have it unless you manually filter it out

Not that long after that I rewatched approximately the last ten minutes of TFA and 50 minutes or so of TLJ because they were on Cable when I was visiting my grandparents and I still had a hyperfixation (why my SW fixation is specifically on the sequels, one specific book probably no one has heard of, and a parasocial relationship with the clones through my one friend and fanfic is beyond me. No one ever said I have taste)

I’d finish watching the og trilogy, but the tv and VCR aren’t compatible and the DVD player we connected them through died. So I physically can’t until we either find dvd/blu-ray copies thrifting or get to the library

For reference, the copies we own are as follows:

Phantom Menace: a VHS recorded off (presumably) a tv broadcast (incidentally how I came to rewatch the first ten minutes of it during our Matrix binge in 2020, because it was immediately after the first one and dad wanted a nap before we started the rest of the trilogy)

Attack Of The Clones: thrifted dvd (somehow, twice. Presumably mom or I forgot it was ROTS not AOTC we didn’t own yet)

Revenge Of The Sith: none, to my knowledge

A New Hope/Empire Strikes Back/Return Of The Jedi: VHS, in a box set. I don’t know how or when dad came into possession of it

Sequels and Solo: dvds, brand new

Rogue One: blu-ray, brand new

[lastchancevillagegreen]

Thursday, 29 February 2024:

The Unsustainable Library Library Project Part 6:

Live Sexy MF Prince and The New Power Generation (On Tour) (released in 1993, Italian import)

Wanting to ignore the almost 30 books on sports in my Special Book cart that needed a price check and rarity check, I opted instead to go into the storage room in search of new DVDs/ Blu Rays to replace the endless amounts of Spider-Man 1, 2 and 3, Matrix and Martix Reloaded, the endless parade of Harry Potter and Pirates of The Caribbean movies that clog our shelves. I believe the people want choices, not 25 copies of the same thing taking up space. I know how bored I would get as a customer searching for new movies and seeing the same old crap on the shelf, so I pulled all duplicates off the shelves and put them in the sorting room. Now I want to get them out of the sorting room and into boxes, but first I want replacement movies. So, into the storage room I went. Alas, I found but a few DVDs but I did discover two massive boxes of CDs that contained upwards of 600 CDs. I went through them just out of curiosity and lo and behold! The discoveries I made.

This live Prince bootleg has undoubtedly been floundering in a taped up box inside our storage room with hundreds of other boxes full of who knows what (mostly children's books and romance novels as well as an endless parade of Special Books that will ultimately steal my soul in my quest to sell them). But this set wasn't going to languish much longer. There was a point in the '90s when I owned a dozen or more Prince bootlegs. Today, I own at least eight, maybe nine, but this was coming home with me even if the front of the box doesn't look the best. After all, this was a mere one dollar bill. (There are two more Prince bootlegs there that will be coming home with me come next Wednesday.)

This set was recorded live at The Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia on Friday March 12th 1993. Above you see the front of the slipcover and then the back of said slipcover. I've arranged the slipcover so it is readable. After you open the slipcover, you pull out a CD holder and you can see the front of it below.

The next photo shows the gatefold of the above CD holder.

Here is the back of that CD holder.

There is a small insert that lists the titles of the songs. Someone kept it, but pushed it partially underneath one of the black inlay trays that held the CDs, hence, it was bent. You can see it below.

The final two shots are of the two CDs that contain this live performance.

And for the record, I did price all those sport books as well. Virtually none of which warranted Special Book status.