Kevin Smokler

I still joke about "Beating Up the Ocean" (via @moryan.bsky.social )

No, I will never learn how to spell "lieutenant" properly.

"In the United States, 1950s are idolized as the most wholesomely American decade, riding the pride of winning WWII into the paranoid patriotism of the cold war...This era is where white America... longs to be great again-- Leave it to Beaver effaces the Montgomery Bus Boycott" -- Alice Bolin

Co-headlining summer tour in Heaven? (via @danyelsmith.bsky.social )

Truly a miraculous arc if you were around in the 80s, 90s and remember the weight of HIV and the toll it took. Unreserved and unqualifiedly good news.

Stella McCartney and Jeff Koons Reunite at Last Caution: slippery when wet!

I'm stuck on the work "reunite" here...

Don Henley Says 2026 Will "Probably" Be The Eagles' Final Year Don Henley has suggested that 2026 will be The Eagles' final year as the band continues their Sphere residency in Las Vegas.

I'm pretty sure that happened in college and I found out about it via Lycos News or Infoseek Today or Pointcast or something...

Tiny Desk Radio: Paramore, Thundercat, Chaka Khan Look for Tiny Desk Radio on your local NPR station.

Who's ready for Paramore, Thundercat, Chaka Khan, Triple Headliner bill?

www.npr.org/2025/12/19/g...

Film Academy Will No Longer Show Oscar-Nominated Films to Members on Big Screen (Exclusive) The organization says its post-nominations screenings, which reportedly cost thousands of dollars a pop, drew "an average of five members" over the last years, leading to the decision to eliminate the...

How exactly are movies not just television then? Are we presuming all Oscar voters have at-home screening rooms?

www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...

Dropkick Murphys Frontman Calls Out NFL for Hypocritical Stance Toward Bad Bunny’s Halftime Performance Dropkick Murphys' Ken Casey questions why NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suggested Bad Bunny not bring political discourse to his Super Bowl gig.

And while we are at it, there needs to be way way more progressive political representation from folk who look like Dropkick Murphy's lead singer Ken Casey. To wit...

consequence.net/2026/02/drop...

I will never hear "Moment 4 Life" the same way...

#DYK? The phrase "dressing down" meaning "to reprimand" came from the nautical practice of "dressing down" (i.e. applying wax and oil) to damaged sails. To "dress down" meant to "fix, or correct" and evolved to mean "to correct meanly"

No One Wore a Wig Like Catherine O'Hara Wig people are special, and O'Hara embodied that spirit like no other.

With the possible exception of Joe Pesci in nearly all of his post-Oscar roles

ministryofpopculture.substack.com/p/wigs-secre...

Tedium Trends 2026: The Surprisingly Importance Of 26 The number 26, which gets back-burnered compared to numbers with neater divisibility, is an essential digit. And you’re gonna be hearing all about it in 2026.

Apparently the Number 26 is WAY WAY more important than our current calendar year or letters in the alphabet or the number of bones in the human foot

A Music Superstar Took a Hard Turn Right. It’s Shocking—and a Long Time Coming. A long series of events led Nicki Minaj to where she is today.

I had not banked or even bet a sock of pennies on Nicki Minaj becoming the self-proclaimed #1 fan of our Dipsh*t in Chief

Toni Plays the Dozens | Namwali Serpell What’s so funny about Toni Morrison?

How Toni Morrison managed to be so funny about vile things... (via @lithub.com.web.brid.gy )

Savannah Pirates and Treasure Museum in Savannah High seas history comes to life at this immersive museum with an on-site tavern.

Guess which US city is both the birthplace of the Girl Scouts of America, Tutti-Frutti Ice Cream and our nation's first Pirate Museum?

Why the Future of the Movies Lives on Letterboxd The entertainment industry is in crisis, but a social platform for film enthusiasts is thriving. Is it changing the way we watch?

Research purposes: If you are under 30 and like movies, do you use Letterbxd? Are you familiar with the term "cinema?"

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

37+ things The Washington Post did wrong and 22+ things they could do to fix it "@mackenziescott you have the opportunity to do an extremely funny (and genuinely heroic) thing right now."

Either I was playing hookey at Petball Petes the day they taught arithmetic or Jeff Bezos will do -5 of these.

A goodly number of San Franicscans are sheltering in place this weekend thanks to the Super Bowl, he says via a note in a floating bottle...

Painting the worlds of Studio Ghibli with art director and background artist, Yoji Takeshige We speak to the esteemed Studio Ghibli art director about creating atmosphere through “humidity”, and how the films create magic rooted in reality.

Meet the geniuses behind the backgrounds and landscapes of your favorite Studio Ghibli movies...

Informació de servei

An Oral History of Hulk Hogan and ‘Real American’ “Real American” is one of the most recognizable songs in American culture (embarrassing, but true). Written by vocalist Rick Derringer and released on 1985’s The...

I'm sure you've always wanted to know the back story of Hulk Hogan's theme song, right? RIGHT? (empty room)

10 Movies to Stream for Black History Month

Not only is it Black History Month. It’s also its 100th anniversary!!

To commemorate its centennial, I wrote a list of 10 Black films, one from each of the last 10 decades, to stream.

Bandcamp’s Mission and Our Approach to Generative AI We’re articulating our approach to generative AI so musicians can keep making music and fans can trust the music they find on Bandcamp.

Bandcamp has banned AI generated music from the service. All Hail.

(via @scottandrew.com )

Football by Chuck Klosterman: 9780593490648 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Could this be the best book on football ever?” —Tyler Cowen "Another masterwork from one of our greatest minds.” —Esquire “[An]...

Chuck Klosterman has a new book out about Football (via Rolf Potts)

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/704152...

Elon Musk Mad At Thought Of ‘The Odyssey’s Helen Of Troy Being Black, Says Christopher Nolan “Has Lost His Integrity” As moviegoers await the Imax epic that is Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey', some are already ripping apart the film.

Who was asking you?

IPTV.garden - Watch Free Live TV Online Watch over 10,000+ free TV channels online. No registration required. Explore global live television, sports, news, and movies on IPTV.garden.

So it turns out there's a way to watch Public Television from anywhere in the world. Like, if you wanna see cable access in Mongolia...Behold! (via @densediscovery.bsky.social )

iptv.garden?ref=DenseDis...

As if! 'Clueless,’ ‘The Karate Kid,’ ‘Inception’ among 25 movies entering National Film Registry As if they’d leave “Clueless” off the list. Amy Heckerling’s 1995 teen comedy is one of 25 classic movies chosen this year by the Library of Congress for its National Film Registry.

Announced this week: CLUELESS joins the National Film Registry. Read all about its legendary writer/director AMY HECKERLING in my new book BREAK THE FRAME: CONVERASATIONS WITH WOMEN FILMMAKERS

kevinsmokler.com/break-the-fr...

#DYK? The Phrase "to draw the line" is thought to have come from lines drawn on the floor of the English Parliment to separate the two houses.