Margaret Layne
@emelleghostlight.bsky.social
Ex-pat New Yorker now in the PNW. 30 years a theatre casting director. Eng Lit major, Anglo-, biblio-, ailurophile. I double-space after a period, and I defend and deploy the Oxford comma. Liberal & Lively Arts 4eva!
Hey, chyron check, Local News Broadcast: Senators/Congresspersons voting in favor of a bill vote YEA, not YAY (charming though that is to imagine).
November 13, 2025 at 5:36 AM
Hey, chyron check, Local News Broadcast: Senators/Congresspersons voting in favor of a bill vote YEA, not YAY (charming though that is to imagine).
This is how I'm going to look every time someone dislikes one of my posts...
November 2, 2025 at 7:30 PM
This is how I'm going to look every time someone dislikes one of my posts...
You go, tiny king! Shakespeare is only as hard as you tell yourself it is. Happy St. Crispin's Day!
5 year-old Henry V St. Crispin's Day speech Shakespeare
YouTube video by A Hatch
youtu.be
October 25, 2025 at 10:42 PM
You go, tiny king! Shakespeare is only as hard as you tell yourself it is. Happy St. Crispin's Day!
Wow, hadn't seen Campbell Scott in a while. The paternal genes are really asserting themselves these days.
October 18, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Wow, hadn't seen Campbell Scott in a while. The paternal genes are really asserting themselves these days.
October 11, 2025 at 9:47 PM
An absolute oner. Good night and thank you Diane Keaton.
Seems Like Old Times with Diane Keaton in Annie Hall
YouTube video by David Gibson
youtu.be
October 11, 2025 at 9:15 PM
An absolute oner. Good night and thank you Diane Keaton.
"I don't care if it rains or freezes/
As long as I got my AI Jesus..."
As long as I got my AI Jesus..."
Text With Jesus app draws thousands as creator says AI can help people explore scripture
AI chatbot developer Stéphane Peter tells FOX Business he is "not particularly religious" and that the response to the app has been "overwhelmingly positive."
www.foxbusiness.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:43 PM
"I don't care if it rains or freezes/
As long as I got my AI Jesus..."
As long as I got my AI Jesus..."
Today it was pointed out to me that you can sing "Empty Chairs At Empty Tables" to the theme song from The Muppet Show and I have no idea how I'm supposed to live the rest of my life with that information.
October 4, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Today it was pointed out to me that you can sing "Empty Chairs At Empty Tables" to the theme song from The Muppet Show and I have no idea how I'm supposed to live the rest of my life with that information.
In celebration of Julie Andrews' 90th birthday today, here is the opening sequence of Darling Lili, one of her most exquisite and quintessential performances on film: elegant, ethereal, entrancing. The winding, silver-thread melody and luscious orchestration are by Henry Mancini (of course),
Julie Andrews - Whistling away the dark
YouTube video by Cayetano López
youtu.be
October 1, 2025 at 6:06 PM
In celebration of Julie Andrews' 90th birthday today, here is the opening sequence of Darling Lili, one of her most exquisite and quintessential performances on film: elegant, ethereal, entrancing. The winding, silver-thread melody and luscious orchestration are by Henry Mancini (of course),
None of it is even remotely funny anymore, but credit where it's due, the recurring claim by TFG that he ended the long conflict between Cambodia and Armenia -which I'm sure will come as a surprise to both countries - legit cracks me up every time he says it.
September 25, 2025 at 9:45 PM
None of it is even remotely funny anymore, but credit where it's due, the recurring claim by TFG that he ended the long conflict between Cambodia and Armenia -which I'm sure will come as a surprise to both countries - legit cracks me up every time he says it.
Imagine someone showing up at your neighborhood community event and proceeding to insult the host, their home, the amenities provided, all the other guests, the guests' friends, and all of *their* homes, and then expecting to be told how wonderful they are...
September 23, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Imagine someone showing up at your neighborhood community event and proceeding to insult the host, their home, the amenities provided, all the other guests, the guests' friends, and all of *their* homes, and then expecting to be told how wonderful they are...
I love when the TikTok fashion influencers do one-word responses to celebrity gowns on the red carpet and they say something like "traumatizing" and you can't tell from either the tone of their voice or the dress whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.
September 15, 2025 at 4:20 AM
I love when the TikTok fashion influencers do one-word responses to celebrity gowns on the red carpet and they say something like "traumatizing" and you can't tell from either the tone of their voice or the dress whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.
There's nothing more nerve-wracking to me in film or TV than an EVA to fix the solar array - because it's ALWAYS the stupid f**king solar array, why do they even keep putting these things on spaceships if they're just going to jam or bend or snap off in some crucial way & start flapping around??
September 13, 2025 at 8:19 AM
There's nothing more nerve-wracking to me in film or TV than an EVA to fix the solar array - because it's ALWAYS the stupid f**king solar array, why do they even keep putting these things on spaceships if they're just going to jam or bend or snap off in some crucial way & start flapping around??
I miss the days when in spite of other differences we might have at least we could mostly all agree that Nazis and slavery were bad.
August 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
I miss the days when in spite of other differences we might have at least we could mostly all agree that Nazis and slavery were bad.
"Anybody that's ever studied history in any sort of serious way knows that you feel a range of emotions, and 70% of the time those emotions are not positive emotions that make you feel good
August 20, 2025 at 12:25 AM
"Anybody that's ever studied history in any sort of serious way knows that you feel a range of emotions, and 70% of the time those emotions are not positive emotions that make you feel good
Portrait of a cat who has triumphed (for today) in evading a wellness trip to the vet.
August 16, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Portrait of a cat who has triumphed (for today) in evading a wellness trip to the vet.
Reposted by Margaret Layne
maybe its too blunt of an object but i will go to my grave thinking a big part of why we got here is a refusal to say dumb people and dumb ideas are dumb. we were too polite, and instead we said "that's an interesting take" when we should have said "shut the fuck up, you absolute dumbass."
August 15, 2025 at 2:28 PM
maybe its too blunt of an object but i will go to my grave thinking a big part of why we got here is a refusal to say dumb people and dumb ideas are dumb. we were too polite, and instead we said "that's an interesting take" when we should have said "shut the fuck up, you absolute dumbass."
NYT Connections is getting increasingly schizophrenic. It's either "things that are red" and "animals you find on a farm," or "homonyms for islands of Micronesia missing one letter."
August 11, 2025 at 5:19 PM
NYT Connections is getting increasingly schizophrenic. It's either "things that are red" and "animals you find on a farm," or "homonyms for islands of Micronesia missing one letter."
"Although Americans take for granted that fame, once tasted, is addictive, it is possible simply not to want to do it any more..."
A typically insightful and elegant essay by Adam Gopnik in appreciation of the inimitable & famously reclusive Tom Lehrer and the high art of political satire.
A typically insightful and elegant essay by Adam Gopnik in appreciation of the inimitable & famously reclusive Tom Lehrer and the high art of political satire.
How Tom Lehrer Escaped the Transience of Satire
The late songwriter’s targets are mostly forgotten—so why do new generations keep discovering him?
www.newyorker.com
August 2, 2025 at 9:20 PM
"Although Americans take for granted that fame, once tasted, is addictive, it is possible simply not to want to do it any more..."
A typically insightful and elegant essay by Adam Gopnik in appreciation of the inimitable & famously reclusive Tom Lehrer and the high art of political satire.
A typically insightful and elegant essay by Adam Gopnik in appreciation of the inimitable & famously reclusive Tom Lehrer and the high art of political satire.
If the paparazzi and stan photos from the location shoots of The Devil Wears Prada 2 are to be believed, it's a movie entirely about fashion-forward people walking out of buildings and crossing streets, sometimes while talking on the phone.
July 29, 2025 at 7:34 PM
If the paparazzi and stan photos from the location shoots of The Devil Wears Prada 2 are to be believed, it's a movie entirely about fashion-forward people walking out of buildings and crossing streets, sometimes while talking on the phone.
I wonder how one gets added to the WhatsApp group chat of EU leaders? There has to be some serious shade getting thrown on there.
July 27, 2025 at 8:24 PM
I wonder how one gets added to the WhatsApp group chat of EU leaders? There has to be some serious shade getting thrown on there.
Man, Bernie Telsey is spinning that theatre Rolodex like a particle accelerator this season. #GildedAge
July 7, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Man, Bernie Telsey is spinning that theatre Rolodex like a particle accelerator this season. #GildedAge
My mom used to describe a certain kind of person as SMEEVY - I think it was a coined word, a cross between "smarmy" and "skeevy," I've never heard anyone else use it, but I think of it every time I see Mike Johnson. The smeeve is strong with that one.
July 5, 2025 at 5:47 PM
My mom used to describe a certain kind of person as SMEEVY - I think it was a coined word, a cross between "smarmy" and "skeevy," I've never heard anyone else use it, but I think of it every time I see Mike Johnson. The smeeve is strong with that one.
It's probably not officially in the etiquette books because it seems like something you shouldn't have to say, but I'm pretty sure that if you're dropping bombs on somebody you should take off your f****** hat.
June 22, 2025 at 8:30 AM
It's probably not officially in the etiquette books because it seems like something you shouldn't have to say, but I'm pretty sure that if you're dropping bombs on somebody you should take off your f****** hat.
I'm kind of loving it that at the rate it's going theatre social media will eventually create a complete performance-by-performance video record of every single time Rachel Zegler sang "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" on the Palladium balcony from the beginning of the run to the end.
June 18, 2025 at 3:24 AM
I'm kind of loving it that at the rate it's going theatre social media will eventually create a complete performance-by-performance video record of every single time Rachel Zegler sang "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" on the Palladium balcony from the beginning of the run to the end.