Chris Otto (Papergreat)
@papergreat.bsky.social
Journalist by day. He/him. ALLY.
Blogs about books, ephemera, movies & history at papergreat.blogspot.com
Digs folklore, Ruth Manning-Sanders books, cinema from Japan and lots of other niche stuff
Has 23 indoor cats & takes care of the feral cats & skunks
Blogs about books, ephemera, movies & history at papergreat.blogspot.com
Digs folklore, Ruth Manning-Sanders books, cinema from Japan and lots of other niche stuff
Has 23 indoor cats & takes care of the feral cats & skunks
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
If you want to really understand baseballs labor history and why certain things are so set in stone, then you should read Helyar’s Lords of the Realm. I reread it usually once a year just to refresh myself with the insanity
February 17, 2026 at 3:32 PM
If you want to really understand baseballs labor history and why certain things are so set in stone, then you should read Helyar’s Lords of the Realm. I reread it usually once a year just to refresh myself with the insanity
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
This is the furthest out we have heard (so far), but it has been public knowledge for well over a year who the Phillies have an agreement to sign in 2028, meaning that player won't turn 16 until after 9/1/27, which you can do the math on. It has been celebrated, when it should be pilloried
This is the worst thing happening in baseball. It is happening all the time and nearly every team is doing it. And a lot of prospect media is complicit.
February 17, 2026 at 4:24 PM
This is the furthest out we have heard (so far), but it has been public knowledge for well over a year who the Phillies have an agreement to sign in 2028, meaning that player won't turn 16 until after 9/1/27, which you can do the math on. It has been celebrated, when it should be pilloried
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
One of the best selling books in the UK in 1974 by one of its most well known writers
February 17, 2026 at 7:05 AM
One of the best selling books in the UK in 1974 by one of its most well known writers
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
The impact of Frederick Wiseman on nonfiction filmmaking was seismic beyond measure and beyond compare. Like how do you even begin to consider his influence on documentary technique or his decades of insight into how institutions (and artistic spaces) operate? What a treasure. R.I.P.
February 16, 2026 at 8:55 PM
The impact of Frederick Wiseman on nonfiction filmmaking was seismic beyond measure and beyond compare. Like how do you even begin to consider his influence on documentary technique or his decades of insight into how institutions (and artistic spaces) operate? What a treasure. R.I.P.
Frederick Wiseman and Robert Duvall on the same day. Sigh.
February 16, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Frederick Wiseman and Robert Duvall on the same day. Sigh.
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
Babe Ruth hit 149 home runs after Robert Duvall was born.
February 16, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Babe Ruth hit 149 home runs after Robert Duvall was born.
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
I'm assuming that by this point my love for him in THE PAPER (1994) goes without saying but really and truly, watch him run an editorial meeting and tell me this man hasn't been doing this twice a day for decades youtu.be/AA7f9QZvGnE?...
Scenes from "The Paper (1994)"
YouTube video by Samuel
youtu.be
February 16, 2026 at 6:18 PM
I'm assuming that by this point my love for him in THE PAPER (1994) goes without saying but really and truly, watch him run an editorial meeting and tell me this man hasn't been doing this twice a day for decades youtu.be/AA7f9QZvGnE?...
As if you need any more encouragement to watch Tender Mercies, it's only 92 minutes long. Maybe one of the most efficient dramas of all time. Tell the story and move on.
One of the true greats
Go watch 'Tender Mercies'. He'll tear your heart out.
RIP
Go watch 'Tender Mercies'. He'll tear your heart out.
RIP
February 16, 2026 at 6:30 PM
As if you need any more encouragement to watch Tender Mercies, it's only 92 minutes long. Maybe one of the most efficient dramas of all time. Tell the story and move on.
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
A giant loss: Robert Duvall is gone. An extraordinary artist who was fluent in every dialect of film acting, from ice-cold underplayer (The Godfather) to expert naturalist (Tender Mercies, The Apostle) to balls-to-the-wall maniac (Apocalypse Now). One of our all-timers. Plunge into that filmography.
Robert Duvall, the legendary actor whose career has spanned over six decades, has died at 95, his wife announced
February 16, 2026 at 6:09 PM
A giant loss: Robert Duvall is gone. An extraordinary artist who was fluent in every dialect of film acting, from ice-cold underplayer (The Godfather) to expert naturalist (Tender Mercies, The Apostle) to balls-to-the-wall maniac (Apocalypse Now). One of our all-timers. Plunge into that filmography.
Ugh. The past 14 months or so represent one of the worst stretches of deaths of film legends that I can remember.
February 16, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Ugh. The past 14 months or so represent one of the worst stretches of deaths of film legends that I can remember.
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
A perfect storm of a pandemic, a brief flash of civil rights consciousness, a corporate mega-merger, an obsession for exploiting IP, and a blanket demand for any and all streaming material, managed to result in Disney financing a movie centered around Native Americans letterboxd.com/nickfield90/...
A ★★★★★ review of Prey (2022)
A perfect storm of a once-in-a-century pandemic, a brief flash of civil rights consciousness, a corporate mega-merger, an obsession for exploiting IP, and a blanket demand for any and all streaming ma...
letterboxd.com
February 15, 2026 at 11:48 PM
A perfect storm of a pandemic, a brief flash of civil rights consciousness, a corporate mega-merger, an obsession for exploiting IP, and a blanket demand for any and all streaming material, managed to result in Disney financing a movie centered around Native Americans letterboxd.com/nickfield90/...
Holy cow, a Brand X reference!
Phil Collins is one of the musicians on this album and sings one song in Sanskrit.
Phil Collins is one of the musicians on this album and sings one song in Sanskrit.
Drop an album that was important to you when you were nineteen.
February 15, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Holy cow, a Brand X reference!
Phil Collins is one of the musicians on this album and sings one song in Sanskrit.
Phil Collins is one of the musicians on this album and sings one song in Sanskrit.
Recommended!
BILLSON FILM DATABASE (kindle or pbk)
"Essential reading"
"the best film guide ever"
"The wittiest & funniest film reviews I've ever read"
"I would love to argue movies with this woman in a bar that stayed open late"
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1546443118
"Essential reading"
"the best film guide ever"
"The wittiest & funniest film reviews I've ever read"
"I would love to argue movies with this woman in a bar that stayed open late"
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1546443118
February 15, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Recommended!
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
February 15, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson did a pretty good job of explaining why One Battle is what it is on their Unspooled podcast.
Also, everyone should go watch The Battle of Algiers now.
www.iheart.com/podcast/143-...
Also, everyone should go watch The Battle of Algiers now.
www.iheart.com/podcast/143-...
One Battle After Another Unspooled | iHeart
VIVA LA REVOLUTION! Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, One Battle After Another, reenergizes the revolutionary spirit. In this special episode, Paul and Amy...
www.iheart.com
February 14, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson did a pretty good job of explaining why One Battle is what it is on their Unspooled podcast.
Also, everyone should go watch The Battle of Algiers now.
www.iheart.com/podcast/143-...
Also, everyone should go watch The Battle of Algiers now.
www.iheart.com/podcast/143-...
New blog post www.papergreat.com/2026/02/weir...
Weirdest thing I'll purge this year
Papergreat, established in 2010, is a daily blog about ephemera, books, history, postcards, all things paper, vintage advertising, and folklore.
www.papergreat.com
February 14, 2026 at 9:40 PM
New blog post www.papergreat.com/2026/02/weir...
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
As Valentine's Day approaches, I have a confession.
I recently started watching "The Love Boat" from the beginning. I'd never seen a single episode before and I don't just like it, I love it.
This show has everything! 1/3
I recently started watching "The Love Boat" from the beginning. I'd never seen a single episode before and I don't just like it, I love it.
This show has everything! 1/3
February 13, 2026 at 2:49 PM
As Valentine's Day approaches, I have a confession.
I recently started watching "The Love Boat" from the beginning. I'd never seen a single episode before and I don't just like it, I love it.
This show has everything! 1/3
I recently started watching "The Love Boat" from the beginning. I'd never seen a single episode before and I don't just like it, I love it.
This show has everything! 1/3
Nuremberg
On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
February 13, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Nuremberg
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
faculty books aren't for sale at ours, but they do sell books by basketball coaches and the mascot
My university outsourced our bookstore to some new company, and they stopped carrying books written by faculty. A faculty member offered to donate copies of their book for the bookstore to sell, and they said it was against corporate policy
February 13, 2026 at 6:33 PM
faculty books aren't for sale at ours, but they do sell books by basketball coaches and the mascot
Reposted by Chris Otto (Papergreat)
My graduate readings this semester, minus Brownell's 24/7 Politics (Princeton has a silly desk copy system that I had a tough time navigating but enroute now). The course is recent US history.
February 13, 2026 at 5:49 PM
My graduate readings this semester, minus Brownell's 24/7 Politics (Princeton has a silly desk copy system that I had a tough time navigating but enroute now). The course is recent US history.
I've gone from: "I think Computer Chess (2013) was too smart for me to understand" to "I think Computer Chess was too smart/complicated for its own good, to the point of being interesting at times but not fully working." Waiting for Guffman + Primer is a tough genre mix.
February 13, 2026 at 4:14 PM
I've gone from: "I think Computer Chess (2013) was too smart for me to understand" to "I think Computer Chess was too smart/complicated for its own good, to the point of being interesting at times but not fully working." Waiting for Guffman + Primer is a tough genre mix.
I want to spend a year living in NYC and just going to movies.
Ready to spend an obscene amount of time at Film Forum next month.
Film Forum · AGNÈS VARDA: A COMPREHENSIVE RETROSPECTIVE
Agnes Varda
A Comprehansive Retrospective
Friday, March 13 - Thursday, April 2
filmforum.org
February 13, 2026 at 1:57 AM
I want to spend a year living in NYC and just going to movies.