James Callan
@scarequotes.com
Moviegoer, movie lover. PNW denizen. UX content worker. Word nerd. Ich spreche ein wenig Deutsch. Handy on a trivia team. Hard cider, iced tea. he/him, cis
Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/xrv
Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/xrv
This cover art somehow gives Married to the Mob some Age of Innocence vibes.
January 21, 2026 at 4:57 AM
This cover art somehow gives Married to the Mob some Age of Innocence vibes.
There are probably a couple, but I'm hard pressed to think of a Hard Case book I've read that was better than Five Decembers. An outstanding example of what you can do with the hardboiled form.
Book report!
Really great, with unexpected twists, a scary villain, and a detective with dark skills and a noble code worthy of Chandler. Would love to see more books featuring him.
Maybe the best thing is it’s conjuring of WW2 Hawaii and the Pacific. I’m no authority, but it *feels* authentic
Really great, with unexpected twists, a scary villain, and a detective with dark skills and a noble code worthy of Chandler. Would love to see more books featuring him.
Maybe the best thing is it’s conjuring of WW2 Hawaii and the Pacific. I’m no authority, but it *feels* authentic
Purchased solely because in his newsletter, @vermontgmg.bsky.social said he’d been buying other books just chasing the high of reading this one
January 21, 2026 at 1:20 AM
There are probably a couple, but I'm hard pressed to think of a Hard Case book I've read that was better than Five Decembers. An outstanding example of what you can do with the hardboiled form.
Reposted by James Callan
Good allyship, Puzzmo.
January 20, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Good allyship, Puzzmo.
Team Caveman Clubs
7. Puffed Cheetos >>> those little caveman clubs
January 20, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Team Caveman Clubs
Reposted by James Callan
For new followers: Hello! I mostly post about movies and other forms of pop culture here (with a dash of despair about Everything That's Going On). The best way to read me regularly is at The Reveal, the film newsletter I co-write with @scotttobias.bsky.social. Paid subscribers keep us going!
The Reveal
A film newsletter from Keith Phipps and Scott Tobias. Reviews, essays, lists, commentaries, community.
thereveal.film
January 20, 2026 at 6:18 PM
For new followers: Hello! I mostly post about movies and other forms of pop culture here (with a dash of despair about Everything That's Going On). The best way to read me regularly is at The Reveal, the film newsletter I co-write with @scotttobias.bsky.social. Paid subscribers keep us going!
I think Trump is inarguably a bullshitter (distinct from a liar) and I wish that was pointed out more often.
The problem is that it’s so obvious to all of us that he says things that are untrue, that he does so over and over, that he’s entirely resistant to any form of fact checking or truth, and that he’s pathological, dangerous and is in no way representing the world in any way accurately.
January 20, 2026 at 6:06 PM
I think Trump is inarguably a bullshitter (distinct from a liar) and I wish that was pointed out more often.
Reposted by James Callan
Damn, even Sesame Street is scoring off me
January 20, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Damn, even Sesame Street is scoring off me
I don't have a lot of vendettas, but if you build an online payment form that won't let me paste in my credit card number, you're on the list.
January 20, 2026 at 6:02 PM
I don't have a lot of vendettas, but if you build an online payment form that won't let me paste in my credit card number, you're on the list.
Reposted by James Callan
Gary Larson: In my cartoon I invented Cow Tools as a cautionary tale
Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools
Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools
January 19, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Gary Larson: In my cartoon I invented Cow Tools as a cautionary tale
Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools
Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools
Reposted by James Callan
I appreciate your commitment to the written word Anne but I'm pretty sure grammar isn't the top issue here
"Donald Trump now genuinely lives in a different reality, one in which neither grammar nor history nor the normal rules of human interaction now affect him. Also, he really is maniacally, unhealthily obsessive about the Nobel Prize."
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:58 PM
I appreciate your commitment to the written word Anne but I'm pretty sure grammar isn't the top issue here
Worked out that I saw both The Testament of Ann Lee and Hamnet this weekend, and that has not been to Hamnet’s benefit.
It’s not perfect, but Ann Lee is much knottier when it comes to grief and how it can change someone.
It’s not perfect, but Ann Lee is much knottier when it comes to grief and how it can change someone.
January 19, 2026 at 1:56 AM
Worked out that I saw both The Testament of Ann Lee and Hamnet this weekend, and that has not been to Hamnet’s benefit.
It’s not perfect, but Ann Lee is much knottier when it comes to grief and how it can change someone.
It’s not perfect, but Ann Lee is much knottier when it comes to grief and how it can change someone.
Reposted by James Callan
CHERBOURG is one of those movies that you'd see in some hole in the wall theater after it's been out for a few weeks because you had an afternoon off and hey, Catherine Deneuve is pretty and then it rewrites you fucking DNA.
January 19, 2026 at 1:19 AM
CHERBOURG is one of those movies that you'd see in some hole in the wall theater after it's been out for a few weeks because you had an afternoon off and hey, Catherine Deneuve is pretty and then it rewrites you fucking DNA.
Probably Dead Poets Society, with the caveat that I haven’t seen it since 1990 or so. But I saw it 4 times with different friends and never liked it.
I’ve seen Elf 4 times and think it’s fine. Don’t like it but don’t really dislike it, either.
I’ve seen Elf 4 times and think it’s fine. Don’t like it but don’t really dislike it, either.
What is the movie you have seen the most times that you would say you do NOT like?
January 17, 2026 at 5:11 AM
Probably Dead Poets Society, with the caveat that I haven’t seen it since 1990 or so. But I saw it 4 times with different friends and never liked it.
I’ve seen Elf 4 times and think it’s fine. Don’t like it but don’t really dislike it, either.
I’ve seen Elf 4 times and think it’s fine. Don’t like it but don’t really dislike it, either.
Reposted by James Callan
What is the movie you have seen the most times that you would say you do NOT like?
January 15, 2026 at 2:59 PM
What is the movie you have seen the most times that you would say you do NOT like?
Hitchcock for me for sure, but then probably Demme.
If the question is ever “What director’s films have you cumulatively rewatched the most?,” it’s gotta be Hitch for me.
I g.d. love The Birds, and it gets better every time I watch it.
January 17, 2026 at 5:06 AM
Hitchcock for me for sure, but then probably Demme.
Seeing this on Saturday at @hollywoodtheatre.org in 70mm — looking forward to it.
I suspect The Testament of Ann Lee is going to vanish pretty quickly if, as predicted, it strikes out completely with Oscar noms, but it's better than most of the movies still in the race, as well as a better Fastvold/Corbet joint than The Brutalist. (Soundtrack's all bangers, too.)
January 16, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Seeing this on Saturday at @hollywoodtheatre.org in 70mm — looking forward to it.
Still hate the word "verbiage."
Even when people using it don't mean anything by it.
Even when people using it don't mean anything by it.
January 16, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Still hate the word "verbiage."
Even when people using it don't mean anything by it.
Even when people using it don't mean anything by it.
Reposted by James Callan
Josh awakened slowly. The last thing he remembered was the glint of the axe as it came down, and then... darkness. Where was he? Why was he naked? Why the hell couldn't he feel his limbs? As his vision cleared, he looked down. That's when he saw the nails. Josh began to scream.
January 16, 2026 at 2:17 AM
Josh awakened slowly. The last thing he remembered was the glint of the axe as it came down, and then... darkness. Where was he? Why was he naked? Why the hell couldn't he feel his limbs? As his vision cleared, he looked down. That's when he saw the nails. Josh began to scream.
Reposted by James Callan
Molly's being characteristically thoughtful. I'll be more of an asshole: THE AI COMPANIES HAVE USED WIKIPEDIA'S SHIT FOR YEARS. It costs millions of fucking dollars in infrastructure to serve up content to these companies. Should Wikipedia subsidize them? No? Then it's *good* they're getting paid!
I think people are erroneously interpreting the headline to mean that the Wikimedia Foundation is embracing AI for purposes like generating encyclopedia content, or are providing AI companies with more training data than they were already scraping.
January 15, 2026 at 11:18 PM
Molly's being characteristically thoughtful. I'll be more of an asshole: THE AI COMPANIES HAVE USED WIKIPEDIA'S SHIT FOR YEARS. It costs millions of fucking dollars in infrastructure to serve up content to these companies. Should Wikipedia subsidize them? No? Then it's *good* they're getting paid!
Trump won the Nobel Peace Prize just as legitimately as Putin won the Super Bowl.
January 15, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Trump won the Nobel Peace Prize just as legitimately as Putin won the Super Bowl.
Reposted by James Callan
friends, i have re-opened the recording desk for CANNED: conversations about getting fired. if you've been dyin to tell that story about that time you got axed, i want to talk with you. FAQ here, and please get in touch.
(also, please share with your people. thank you.)
(also, please share with your people. thank you.)
FAQ | Home
Got questions about talking to CANNED? Here are the most common. Get in touch if yours isn't answered here.
cannedpodcast.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:06 AM
friends, i have re-opened the recording desk for CANNED: conversations about getting fired. if you've been dyin to tell that story about that time you got axed, i want to talk with you. FAQ here, and please get in touch.
(also, please share with your people. thank you.)
(also, please share with your people. thank you.)
So many formative movie theaters for me are gone now.
The last moviehouse in the University District will close its doors this week, after 85 years. It’s very sad news; the Varsity — where my parents went to movies when they were at the UW, in the 1950s — was a place filled with stories. www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
This longtime Seattle movie theater is closing
The Varsity Theatre is closing, effective Thursday, leaving the U District, once a hub of moviegoing, without a movie theater.
www.seattletimes.com
January 14, 2026 at 12:03 AM
So many formative movie theaters for me are gone now.
Reposted by James Callan
i think the auto body shop should find a different way to say “we’re almost finished with your car”
January 13, 2026 at 2:12 PM
i think the auto body shop should find a different way to say “we’re almost finished with your car”
Reposted by James Callan
Everybody thinks 'https://' stands for 'hypertext transfer protocol secure' but it actually stands for 'head to this place, sucka' followed by a colon and two laser sounds
January 13, 2026 at 8:17 PM
Everybody thinks 'https://' stands for 'hypertext transfer protocol secure' but it actually stands for 'head to this place, sucka' followed by a colon and two laser sounds
Reposted by James Callan
When we go fancy, we go with Isigny Sainte-Mère after picking some up at our local cheese shop.
Our Butters
What makes Isigny Butter so distinctive? First and foremost, its local region. The vast “hedged […]
www.isigny-ste-mere.com
January 12, 2026 at 7:40 PM
When we go fancy, we go with Isigny Sainte-Mère after picking some up at our local cheese shop.