Recently: 23 December

23 December 2022

I’m in the mad rush to read all the books and see all the movies from this year that I haven’t yet. Of course, I won’t, but it’s a fun game to play.

John Waters’s favorite films of the year
Patti Smith and the things she’s seen.
Caitlin Doughty on the future of human composting.
“When I defend my right to look out the window, I am defending my right to witness so much: front stoops, dog walkers, graffiti, rain puddles, industrial corridors, hand-painted grocery signs, school kids all in a line. The river! The lake! Bikers and joggers and drivers obliviously picking their noses! Your brain must cast a wide net to catch it all. You experience a different city when you ride public transit through it.” Staring out the windows on the city bus.
The Netflix DVD blog is running a great series on DVDs and the history of film media distribution.

The only thing I bought on Black Friday was a complete ebook set of all of the Paperbacks from Hell, lost horror classics from the 70-80s. I started working my way through them with Elizabeth Engstrom’s Black Ambrosia, which deserves all the praise I’d heard. I’m a big fan of stories about evil teenage girls and this one centers on one who manifests vampirism as a response to the world’s threats. It’s ripe for a wider rediscovery.
If the words “gothic horror set in historical Mexico” work for you, get you to The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas. I loved it.
So Chloe Okuno’s Watcher is great.
Deadstream is a fun new entry of found footage horror and is worth a watch.
Speak No Evil is not fun. I was incredibly stressed out for almost the entire runtime, but its horrific spectacle is hard to turn away from.
I thought the first season of Avenue 5 maybe didn’t quite come together, but it’s so full of great performers and characters I that took a swing through the second season, which definitely comes together and is very funny and everyone should be watching it.
I’m always on the lookout for a new scammer podcast to listen to and Sympathy Pains fits the bill admirably.
RIP Angelo Badalamenti.