Max Wolpert
@maxwolpertmusic.bsky.social
composer, violin/viola/mandolin, D&D, bread • comp faculty at U of Idaho • wife guy to @sprightlysound • he/they • www.maxwolpertmusic.com
Top five film genres:
These absolute numpties have fast & clever dialogue
Charismatic demagogue forms own society
Putting a team together for the ___ of the century
People do their jobs very well
What the hell IS that thing
These absolute numpties have fast & clever dialogue
Charismatic demagogue forms own society
Putting a team together for the ___ of the century
People do their jobs very well
What the hell IS that thing
Top five film genres:
Gloopy melting monster
70s science fiction film about contemporary politics that's a total bummer
It all happened in one crazy night!
Groups of men dancing and singing about their jobs
Children's story written by someone who has never met a child
Gloopy melting monster
70s science fiction film about contemporary politics that's a total bummer
It all happened in one crazy night!
Groups of men dancing and singing about their jobs
Children's story written by someone who has never met a child
top five film genres:
lady journalist in depression era america is going to get to the bottom of this, man or no man
warriors learn magic, defeat master who killed their master
the camera moves!: an experiment
the folks in this building is a reflection of all america
immigration as a vibe
lady journalist in depression era america is going to get to the bottom of this, man or no man
warriors learn magic, defeat master who killed their master
the camera moves!: an experiment
the folks in this building is a reflection of all america
immigration as a vibe
November 17, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Top five film genres:
These absolute numpties have fast & clever dialogue
Charismatic demagogue forms own society
Putting a team together for the ___ of the century
People do their jobs very well
What the hell IS that thing
These absolute numpties have fast & clever dialogue
Charismatic demagogue forms own society
Putting a team together for the ___ of the century
People do their jobs very well
What the hell IS that thing
Reposted by Max Wolpert
The far right is obsessed with Lord of the Rings and Musk keeps posting about "hobbits" because modern scientific racism owes more to fantasy worlds and gaming systems than genetic science, and they see both as effective mediums for right-wing propaganda www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why Elon Musk Needs Dungeons and Dragons to Be Racist
The fantastical roots of “scientific racism”
www.theatlantic.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:42 PM
The far right is obsessed with Lord of the Rings and Musk keeps posting about "hobbits" because modern scientific racism owes more to fantasy worlds and gaming systems than genetic science, and they see both as effective mediums for right-wing propaganda www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Max Wolpert
I feel like there is an easy fix to make it clear what it's about, here's a quick and dirty edit:
November 8, 2025 at 4:06 PM
I feel like there is an easy fix to make it clear what it's about, here's a quick and dirty edit:
Reposted by Max Wolpert
Florence and the Machine Covir Bandes:
Siena and the Devyce
Milan and the Contraptioun
Orvieto and the Mechanism
Venyce and the Gadget
Gubbio and the Whirligig
Spoleto and the Apparatus
Siena and the Devyce
Milan and the Contraptioun
Orvieto and the Mechanism
Venyce and the Gadget
Gubbio and the Whirligig
Spoleto and the Apparatus
November 8, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Florence and the Machine Covir Bandes:
Siena and the Devyce
Milan and the Contraptioun
Orvieto and the Mechanism
Venyce and the Gadget
Gubbio and the Whirligig
Spoleto and the Apparatus
Siena and the Devyce
Milan and the Contraptioun
Orvieto and the Mechanism
Venyce and the Gadget
Gubbio and the Whirligig
Spoleto and the Apparatus
Reposted by Max Wolpert
In my little town in northern Idaho, the mayoral candidate sponsored by Pete Hegseth's church just lost by 30 points.
NOBODY likes these weirdos.
NOBODY likes these weirdos.
November 5, 2025 at 3:31 PM
In my little town in northern Idaho, the mayoral candidate sponsored by Pete Hegseth's church just lost by 30 points.
NOBODY likes these weirdos.
NOBODY likes these weirdos.
In my little town in northern Idaho, the mayoral candidate sponsored by Pete Hegseth's church just lost by 30 points.
NOBODY likes these weirdos.
NOBODY likes these weirdos.
November 5, 2025 at 3:31 PM
In my little town in northern Idaho, the mayoral candidate sponsored by Pete Hegseth's church just lost by 30 points.
NOBODY likes these weirdos.
NOBODY likes these weirdos.
Reposted by Max Wolpert
Reposted by Max Wolpert
"Bury him face down." This barn burner of an obit might feel hyperbolic to people who entered the world in the wake of 9/11; it's not. Cheney was one of the architects of today's American Christian conservatism. He was directly responsible for millions of deaths. Salt the earth where he's buried.
Dick Cheney departs the world he made: defector.com/dick-cheney-...
Dick Cheney Departs The World He Made | Defector
At its heart, American conservatism is a fantasy. It’s a vision of a world too evil to be saved or cared about, and fearsome enough to justify any and every impulse toward cruelty and violence that a…
defector.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:43 PM
"Bury him face down." This barn burner of an obit might feel hyperbolic to people who entered the world in the wake of 9/11; it's not. Cheney was one of the architects of today's American Christian conservatism. He was directly responsible for millions of deaths. Salt the earth where he's buried.
Reposted by Max Wolpert
Game 7 of the World Series is traditionally a pretty low-stakes affair. TBH I think we can safely ignore the whole thing, frankly it's time to start talking about the 2026 Colorado Rockies.
November 1, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Game 7 of the World Series is traditionally a pretty low-stakes affair. TBH I think we can safely ignore the whole thing, frankly it's time to start talking about the 2026 Colorado Rockies.
Reposted by Max Wolpert
Look sometimes it's easy to lose faith in humanity, but I just saw JAWS in a movie theater and when the shark blew up a little kid in the back yelled "THAT WAS FOR QUINT!!" and the whole house erupted in applause.
October 30, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Look sometimes it's easy to lose faith in humanity, but I just saw JAWS in a movie theater and when the shark blew up a little kid in the back yelled "THAT WAS FOR QUINT!!" and the whole house erupted in applause.
Look sometimes it's easy to lose faith in humanity, but I just saw JAWS in a movie theater and when the shark blew up a little kid in the back yelled "THAT WAS FOR QUINT!!" and the whole house erupted in applause.
October 30, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Look sometimes it's easy to lose faith in humanity, but I just saw JAWS in a movie theater and when the shark blew up a little kid in the back yelled "THAT WAS FOR QUINT!!" and the whole house erupted in applause.
My first thought watching "Absolue Power" (1997) was "wow Clint Eastwood looks so young," only for the movie to open with a barrage of jokes about how decrepit he is.
October 27, 2025 at 12:53 AM
My first thought watching "Absolue Power" (1997) was "wow Clint Eastwood looks so young," only for the movie to open with a barrage of jokes about how decrepit he is.
Reposted by Max Wolpert
Have had Black Messiah in regular rotation the past few weeks and all I can say is RIP to one of the best to ever do it. Didn't leave us much but it was all pure gold, and utterly singular. No doubt he would have come back with a masterpiece if he had the strength. Just a massive loss to the world.
October 15, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Have had Black Messiah in regular rotation the past few weeks and all I can say is RIP to one of the best to ever do it. Didn't leave us much but it was all pure gold, and utterly singular. No doubt he would have come back with a masterpiece if he had the strength. Just a massive loss to the world.
My school of music is hosting a tailgate party at the university football game, and apparently I have been voted Faculty Member Who Will Have the Least Fun at the Tailgate.
October 8, 2025 at 2:59 AM
My school of music is hosting a tailgate party at the university football game, and apparently I have been voted Faculty Member Who Will Have the Least Fun at the Tailgate.
Daniel Day-Lewis should be forcibly enrolled in clown school by court order. It ought to be against the law to Act that ostentatiously without it being even a LITTLE fun.
October 3, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Daniel Day-Lewis should be forcibly enrolled in clown school by court order. It ought to be against the law to Act that ostentatiously without it being even a LITTLE fun.
Reposted by Max Wolpert
I enjoy a well-thought-out, rule-based magic system in fiction as much as anyone, BUT I also think that we should give more props to what Terry Pratchett did in the Discworld books, where it was less about rules and more about vibes and, more importantly, what fit a given story the best.
🧵
🧵
October 1, 2025 at 3:02 AM
I enjoy a well-thought-out, rule-based magic system in fiction as much as anyone, BUT I also think that we should give more props to what Terry Pratchett did in the Discworld books, where it was less about rules and more about vibes and, more importantly, what fit a given story the best.
🧵
🧵
THE NINE LIVES OF ADOLPHE SAX gets a consortium premiere this afternoon with Erik Steighner and Oksana Ejokina at PLU! Program also includes Carter Pann's "The White Horse," which is NOT about the chess piece.
September 21, 2025 at 6:28 PM
THE NINE LIVES OF ADOLPHE SAX gets a consortium premiere this afternoon with Erik Steighner and Oksana Ejokina at PLU! Program also includes Carter Pann's "The White Horse," which is NOT about the chess piece.
Reposted by Max Wolpert
As you cancel streaming services, here is a casual reminder that only 16% of Americans read for pleasure anymore, and your local library has hundreds or thousands of books you haven't read.
They would love to see you stop by and renew your library card.
They would love to see you stop by and renew your library card.
September 18, 2025 at 7:55 PM
As you cancel streaming services, here is a casual reminder that only 16% of Americans read for pleasure anymore, and your local library has hundreds or thousands of books you haven't read.
They would love to see you stop by and renew your library card.
They would love to see you stop by and renew your library card.
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been...[A]nti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" -Asimov
a few years ago being a complete moron with dipshit takes and proudly ignorant became a “political opinion”
totally maddening the way the press plays along and dems get scared to offend the morons by calling them morons
totally maddening the way the press plays along and dems get scared to offend the morons by calling them morons
We used to call this stupidity. There were smart people and stupid people and we let the smart people do the things they were good at and the stupid people were taken care of and didn't need to worry about what the smart people were doing. But now we let the stupid people think they're smart.
September 5, 2025 at 2:12 PM
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been...[A]nti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" -Asimov
Next, NPR reviews "School of Rock," which is about a country singer who becomes a substitute teacher.
Netflix's wildly popular movie about a fictitious all-girl rock band is hitting nearly 1,800 movie theaters around the country this weekend as a singalong version.
Fans across the country raise their voices at 'KPop Demon Hunters' singalongs
Netflix's wildly popular movie about a fictitious all-girl rock band is hitting nearly 1,800 movie theaters around the country this weekend as a singalong version.
n.pr
August 24, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Next, NPR reviews "School of Rock," which is about a country singer who becomes a substitute teacher.
Reposted by Max Wolpert
Good thread on why Newsom’s anti-trans bent goes beyond saying things on a podcast. I do think he can be pressured into doing the right thing in the way a Republican could not, but I do. Not. Trust. Him. At all. Nor should you.
let's talk about why.
newsom vetoed AB 2442, which would have made it easier for care providers to become licensed if they offer gender-affirming care.
www.eqca.org/vetoes-gende...
newsom vetoed AB 2442, which would have made it easier for care providers to become licensed if they offer gender-affirming care.
www.eqca.org/vetoes-gende...
August 23, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Good thread on why Newsom’s anti-trans bent goes beyond saying things on a podcast. I do think he can be pressured into doing the right thing in the way a Republican could not, but I do. Not. Trust. Him. At all. Nor should you.
To my eternal shame, it's H.P. Lovecraft
Here’s a question: who is the artist with politics you disagree strongly with, whose politics *do* (in your view) influence their art, that you still think is talented and whose work you enjoy?
August 9, 2025 at 2:48 PM
To my eternal shame, it's H.P. Lovecraft
I've never been an Ari Aster fan, but his recent guest spot on a podcast I listen to left me more convinced than ever that he is 1. kind of mean and 2. not nearly as smart as he thinks he is.
At the newsletter: Ari Aster made a movie about how Both Sides are being led astray by Internet Extremism. I watched it in a heavily Trumpy small-town movie theater and had a panic attack. No paywall: jude-doyle.ghost.io/on-see/
On Seeing "Eddington" In Trump Country
Jude Is Afraid.
jude-doyle.ghost.io
August 6, 2025 at 10:49 PM
I've never been an Ari Aster fan, but his recent guest spot on a podcast I listen to left me more convinced than ever that he is 1. kind of mean and 2. not nearly as smart as he thinks he is.
I asked my wife to pitch a "Phantom of the Opera" threequel and she spat out "Daae Another Day" without blinking.
August 1, 2025 at 1:28 AM
I asked my wife to pitch a "Phantom of the Opera" threequel and she spat out "Daae Another Day" without blinking.
Reposted by Max Wolpert
Proposal: All academic job application portals should have a Domino's Pizza Tracker system to update you on their progress, with possible free pizza upon rejection.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
July 30, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Proposal: All academic job application portals should have a Domino's Pizza Tracker system to update you on their progress, with possible free pizza upon rejection.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?