Leonard Pierce
@leonardpierce.bsky.social
Marxist, wife guy, union man, ne'er-do-well. Concerned with words, generally. Chicago-based eating enthusiast. CPS, DSA, THC. Crime, baseball, communism.
http://immortal-science.com
http://immortal-science.com
Pinned
You heard popular Verge editor Sarah Jeong! Join DSA today!
November 11, 2025 at 3:09 PM
You heard popular Verge editor Sarah Jeong! Join DSA today!
All of Chicago remembers the joys of shopping at the "Miracle Mile Shopping Center", that real place that actually exists, but we can't do it any more because of all of the murders
Call in the troops to solve the commercial real estate crisis in our swanky downtown cores
You can’t make this shit up, folks
You can’t make this shit up, folks
November 11, 2025 at 3:01 PM
All of Chicago remembers the joys of shopping at the "Miracle Mile Shopping Center", that real place that actually exists, but we can't do it any more because of all of the murders
Not to lay everything in capitalism but this is a problem of copyright that can easily be solved by eliminating it.
Want a campy cartoon-superhero Bond who never changes? There's a guy who writes that. Want a lore-dense Bond who ages, grows, and dies? She does that. But we get this instead.
Want a campy cartoon-superhero Bond who never changes? There's a guy who writes that. Want a lore-dense Bond who ages, grows, and dies? She does that. But we get this instead.
James Bond’s death in No Time to Die is causing a nightmare for the next film. Writers are stuck because Bond “was blown to pieces.”
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
November 11, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Not to lay everything in capitalism but this is a problem of copyright that can easily be solved by eliminating it.
Want a campy cartoon-superhero Bond who never changes? There's a guy who writes that. Want a lore-dense Bond who ages, grows, and dies? She does that. But we get this instead.
Want a campy cartoon-superhero Bond who never changes? There's a guy who writes that. Want a lore-dense Bond who ages, grows, and dies? She does that. But we get this instead.
Really great Socialist Night School session tonight with @chicagodsa.bsky.social.
I worked a lot today and have been in a lot of long exhausting meetings and the weather was lousy, and I really didn't want to go, but as often happens, it was well worth it. Lots of terrific conversations.
I worked a lot today and have been in a lot of long exhausting meetings and the weather was lousy, and I really didn't want to go, but as often happens, it was well worth it. Lots of terrific conversations.
November 11, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Really great Socialist Night School session tonight with @chicagodsa.bsky.social.
I worked a lot today and have been in a lot of long exhausting meetings and the weather was lousy, and I really didn't want to go, but as often happens, it was well worth it. Lots of terrific conversations.
I worked a lot today and have been in a lot of long exhausting meetings and the weather was lousy, and I really didn't want to go, but as often happens, it was well worth it. Lots of terrific conversations.
Being the "post more Chicago content"change I want to see in the world, here's today: Gray Skies Over Guanajuato, 11/10/2025, Belmont Cragin.
November 10, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Being the "post more Chicago content"change I want to see in the world, here's today: Gray Skies Over Guanajuato, 11/10/2025, Belmont Cragin.
Noirvember heads halfway across the Pacific this chilly Monday for a look at HELL'S HALF-ACRE, whose woozy plot and occasional clunky Oriental stereotyping is propped up by some solid performances and a great postwar showcase of America's obsession with exotica. Worth a look!
Noirvember: Worth the Plane Fare - IMMORTAL SCIENCE
Today’s Noirvember entry carries on a few themes from our previous review of The Prowler: the presence of Evelyn Keyes (who I am assured ran a kicky newspaper column in...
immortalscience.pika.page
November 10, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Noirvember heads halfway across the Pacific this chilly Monday for a look at HELL'S HALF-ACRE, whose woozy plot and occasional clunky Oriental stereotyping is propped up by some solid performances and a great postwar showcase of America's obsession with exotica. Worth a look!
It's an easy choice
November 10, 2025 at 4:09 PM
It's an easy choice
So how's everybody feeling about the Democrats, good or
November 10, 2025 at 3:52 PM
So how's everybody feeling about the Democrats, good or
Nine deep into Noirvember and we arrive at a HIGH WALL, embodied in a review of this curious and convoluted 1948 noir that tries to treat mental illness seriously but falls victims to some woozy plot mechanics and the biases of its time. It's rescued by some strong performances; take a look.
Noirvember: Why Did You Bother? - IMMORTAL SCIENCE
Portraying mental illness in the movies is a pretty tricky proposition, particularly when it comes to protagonists. You want to make your characters off-kilter enough to be interesting to the...
immortalscience.pika.page
November 9, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Nine deep into Noirvember and we arrive at a HIGH WALL, embodied in a review of this curious and convoluted 1948 noir that tries to treat mental illness seriously but falls victims to some woozy plot mechanics and the biases of its time. It's rescued by some strong performances; take a look.
Thought BUGONIA was minor Lanthimos but his minor stuff is better than most directors' major works
November 9, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Thought BUGONIA was minor Lanthimos but his minor stuff is better than most directors' major works
I don't usually update my blog on Saturdays, but it's Noirvember, and doom waits for no man! Today, I look at 1948's KEY LARGO, onsidered a classic of the genre which I like but don't love. Why its theatrical origins weigh it down, and why it's got a more complex ending than people think:
Noirvember: You Were Rotten - IMMORTAL SCIENCE
Key Largo, as can be sniffed out from its somewhat stagey, cramped qualities, had its origins as a stage play. It bears little resemblance to the original product — a...
immortalscience.pika.page
November 8, 2025 at 2:20 PM
I don't usually update my blog on Saturdays, but it's Noirvember, and doom waits for no man! Today, I look at 1948's KEY LARGO, onsidered a classic of the genre which I like but don't love. Why its theatrical origins weigh it down, and why it's got a more complex ending than people think:
FUNNIEST NAZI NAME?
(a) Willi Bloedorn
(b) Otto Bradfisch
(c) Rudolf Buttmann
(d) Walter Gross
(e) Lutz Heck
(f) Manfred von Knobelsdorff
(g) Waldemar Magunia
(h) Helmut Poppendick
(i) Heinz Spanknöbel
(j) Werner Willikens
(k) Johann-Erasmus Freiherr von Malsen-Ponickau
(l) Friedrich Uebelhoer
(a) Willi Bloedorn
(b) Otto Bradfisch
(c) Rudolf Buttmann
(d) Walter Gross
(e) Lutz Heck
(f) Manfred von Knobelsdorff
(g) Waldemar Magunia
(h) Helmut Poppendick
(i) Heinz Spanknöbel
(j) Werner Willikens
(k) Johann-Erasmus Freiherr von Malsen-Ponickau
(l) Friedrich Uebelhoer
November 8, 2025 at 1:13 PM
FUNNIEST NAZI NAME?
(a) Willi Bloedorn
(b) Otto Bradfisch
(c) Rudolf Buttmann
(d) Walter Gross
(e) Lutz Heck
(f) Manfred von Knobelsdorff
(g) Waldemar Magunia
(h) Helmut Poppendick
(i) Heinz Spanknöbel
(j) Werner Willikens
(k) Johann-Erasmus Freiherr von Malsen-Ponickau
(l) Friedrich Uebelhoer
(a) Willi Bloedorn
(b) Otto Bradfisch
(c) Rudolf Buttmann
(d) Walter Gross
(e) Lutz Heck
(f) Manfred von Knobelsdorff
(g) Waldemar Magunia
(h) Helmut Poppendick
(i) Heinz Spanknöbel
(j) Werner Willikens
(k) Johann-Erasmus Freiherr von Malsen-Ponickau
(l) Friedrich Uebelhoer
Relatedly, it's probably fine that every week we get a story like "[horrible person you're hearing about for the first time] is putting [amount of money you literally can't conceive of] into [idea that nobody asked for, nobody wants, and totally sucks]"
Chat is it good that every bit of data that gets released now is accompanied by phrases like "in 50 years" or "in history" or "since record-keeping began" or "of all time"
November 8, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Relatedly, it's probably fine that every week we get a story like "[horrible person you're hearing about for the first time] is putting [amount of money you literally can't conceive of] into [idea that nobody asked for, nobody wants, and totally sucks]"
STEVE: Name a characteristic of democratism in capitalist society
LENIN: Democracy for an insignificant minority
STEVE: "For the rich", survey says...
BOARD: /dings
STEVE: Mao Zedong, name a quality of bourgeois democracy
MAO: Maintaining the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie
BOARD: /dings
LENIN: Democracy for an insignificant minority
STEVE: "For the rich", survey says...
BOARD: /dings
STEVE: Mao Zedong, name a quality of bourgeois democracy
MAO: Maintaining the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie
BOARD: /dings
November 7, 2025 at 11:11 PM
STEVE: Name a characteristic of democratism in capitalist society
LENIN: Democracy for an insignificant minority
STEVE: "For the rich", survey says...
BOARD: /dings
STEVE: Mao Zedong, name a quality of bourgeois democracy
MAO: Maintaining the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie
BOARD: /dings
LENIN: Democracy for an insignificant minority
STEVE: "For the rich", survey says...
BOARD: /dings
STEVE: Mao Zedong, name a quality of bourgeois democracy
MAO: Maintaining the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie
BOARD: /dings
NORMAL DICK'S MOZZARELLA STICKS
Now featuring Limp Dick's regular mozzarella sticks, Stiff Dick's fried mozzarella *on* a stick, and Tiny Dick's mini-sticks
Now featuring Limp Dick's regular mozzarella sticks, Stiff Dick's fried mozzarella *on* a stick, and Tiny Dick's mini-sticks
November 7, 2025 at 8:02 PM
NORMAL DICK'S MOZZARELLA STICKS
Now featuring Limp Dick's regular mozzarella sticks, Stiff Dick's fried mozzarella *on* a stick, and Tiny Dick's mini-sticks
Now featuring Limp Dick's regular mozzarella sticks, Stiff Dick's fried mozzarella *on* a stick, and Tiny Dick's mini-sticks
LOL go complain to Trudeau about it, loser, you're not even from here
Canadian multimillionaire and Shark Tank guy Kevin O'Leary went on TV to say he's upset Zohran won't talk to him: "I and others who invest in real estate have tried to get a meeting to figure out what's rhetoric and what's policy. So far for me it's been crickets."
November 7, 2025 at 7:14 PM
LOL go complain to Trudeau about it, loser, you're not even from here
Not beating my accusation that every UK conservative has a name that sounds like a Victorian euphemism for some kind of weird sex act by being called "Emma Little-Pengelly"
DUP Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly has turned down an invitation to attend Catherine Connolly’s inauguration as Irish president.
It will be the first time since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement that a serving first or deputy first minister has not attended.
jrnl.ie/6867988
It will be the first time since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement that a serving first or deputy first minister has not attended.
jrnl.ie/6867988
DUP's Deputy First Minister turns down invitation to attend Catherine Connolly's inauguration
NI’s first and deputy first ministers have attended all presidential inaugurations since the Good Friday Agreement.
jrnl.ie
November 7, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Not beating my accusation that every UK conservative has a name that sounds like a Victorian euphemism for some kind of weird sex act by being called "Emma Little-Pengelly"
In today's Noirvember entry at IMMORTAL SCIENCE, we look at one of the best noir titles of all time: 1948's KISS THE BLOOD OFF MY HANDS, a vicious little smear of a picture starring a rookie Burt Lancaster as one of the most violent, unlikeable, and compelling character he's ever played.
Noirvember: Eighteen Lashes - IMMORTAL SCIENCE
It took me a long time to see the 1948 Anglo-American noir Kiss the Blood Off My Hands. It’s a rare one, with few decent prints still available, and I was...
immortalscience.pika.page
November 7, 2025 at 5:25 PM
In today's Noirvember entry at IMMORTAL SCIENCE, we look at one of the best noir titles of all time: 1948's KISS THE BLOOD OFF MY HANDS, a vicious little smear of a picture starring a rookie Burt Lancaster as one of the most violent, unlikeable, and compelling character he's ever played.
Noirvember continues with a look at NIGHTFALL, the underrated 1957 Jacques Tourneur adaptation of a flinty little novel by pitch-dark crime novelist David Goodis. Check it out at my home on the World Wide Web, IMMORTAL SCIENCE!
Noirvember: The Most Wanted Man I Know - IMMORTAL SCIENCE
Nightfall was David Goodis’ metier. It was his primary compositional material, his inspiration, and his preferred period to work. Of all the noir writers of the classic period, he was...
immortalscience.pika.page
November 6, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Noirvember continues with a look at NIGHTFALL, the underrated 1957 Jacques Tourneur adaptation of a flinty little novel by pitch-dark crime novelist David Goodis. Check it out at my home on the World Wide Web, IMMORTAL SCIENCE!
What if - and I'm just freewheeling here - what if it was bad to lie constantly, brutalize immigrants, starve people, destroy the economy, murder foreigners with impunity, throw millions of people out of work, and make health care and school and housing unaffordable, regardless of the Epstein files
November 6, 2025 at 7:08 PM
What if - and I'm just freewheeling here - what if it was bad to lie constantly, brutalize immigrants, starve people, destroy the economy, murder foreigners with impunity, throw millions of people out of work, and make health care and school and housing unaffordable, regardless of the Epstein files
Chat is it good that every bit of data that gets released now is accompanied by phrases like "in 50 years" or "in history" or "since record-keeping began" or "of all time"
November 6, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Chat is it good that every bit of data that gets released now is accompanied by phrases like "in 50 years" or "in history" or "since record-keeping began" or "of all time"
It rules that we constantly have some cooked-up financial scam (subprime loans, crypto, AI, S&L, leveraged debt, energy futures, metaverse, etc., etc.) that makes rich people richer and makes everyone else poorer before collapsing and wrecking the country, but we can't have a planned economy ever
(Bloomberg) - US companies announced the most job cuts for any October in more than two decades as artificial intelligence reshapes industries and cost-cutting accelerates ..
@bloomberg.com #Challenger
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
@bloomberg.com #Challenger
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
November 6, 2025 at 1:14 PM
It rules that we constantly have some cooked-up financial scam (subprime loans, crypto, AI, S&L, leveraged debt, energy futures, metaverse, etc., etc.) that makes rich people richer and makes everyone else poorer before collapsing and wrecking the country, but we can't have a planned economy ever
Bovino is very obviously never going to admit he is bound by the law. Either he lies about what he did, lies about what other people did, or openly denies there was any wrongdoing even if it's on camera for everyone to see. Any ordinary citizen behaving this way would be in prison by now.
Lawyers are about to play portions of U.S. Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino's deposition.
Ellis asks if it's fair to say Black's experience has "placed a burden" on his faith?
Black: "Absolutely, yes."
Black: "Absolutely, yes."
November 6, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Bovino is very obviously never going to admit he is bound by the law. Either he lies about what he did, lies about what other people did, or openly denies there was any wrongdoing even if it's on camera for everyone to see. Any ordinary citizen behaving this way would be in prison by now.
Probably has nothing to do with the fact that the main character idolizes toxic girl boss types like Madeline "Acceptable Loss" Albright and ends up saving her town by selling its poorest neighborhood to Google
The fact that a lot of leftists despise Parks and Rec - one of the best and most sympathetic depictions of non-cop government in modern media - is a symptom of the fact that a lot of the left has no idea how to actually implement the policy proposals they want to enact.
The reason 30 Rock succeeds years later while parks and rec has aged like a toilet full of milk, is that 30 Rock doesnt shy away from portraying Liz Lemon as an obvious villian with a victim/hero complex, whereas Leslie Knope was played just a straight hero character, even tho she is a neolib shill
November 5, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Probably has nothing to do with the fact that the main character idolizes toxic girl boss types like Madeline "Acceptable Loss" Albright and ends up saving her town by selling its poorest neighborhood to Google
Noirvember marches on at IMMORTAL SCIENCE with a look at 1947's NIGHTMARE ALLEY, a film I find superior to the Del Toro remake on the strength of its eerie vibe, a breakout role for Tyrone Power, and a troika of stunning performances by its three hypnotic (and tragic) female leads.
Noirvember: I Was Made For It - IMMORTAL SCIENCE
Judging a movie by its potential is probably skirting the edge of fairness, but the creepy 1947 carnival-noir Nightmare Alley tempts one pretty strongly in that direction. The feeling it...
immortalscience.pika.page
November 5, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Noirvember marches on at IMMORTAL SCIENCE with a look at 1947's NIGHTMARE ALLEY, a film I find superior to the Del Toro remake on the strength of its eerie vibe, a breakout role for Tyrone Power, and a troika of stunning performances by its three hypnotic (and tragic) female leads.