freelance

The unexpected brilliance of Livia Soprano's final onscreen appearance

A much-mocked visual effects sequence uses the odd and uncanny to incredible effect.

cowboy bebop

Cowboy Bebop: "Asteroid Blues" and "Stray Dog Strut"

In which I wax philosophical about procedural worldbuilding

kirsten and natalie

Kirsten and Natalie #2: Little Women (1994) and Beautiful Girls (1996)

The movies and precocious girl children, explained.

newsletter

What's up for Episodes in 2022

We're switching some things up

best of 2021

11 rad things I wrote in 2021

In a really cruddy year, I still wrote some things I was proud of

bake sale bunch

The Bake Sale Bunch #17: Sophie Saves Christmas

Excerpts from the classic book series about a bunch of trans women who love to bake (sale)

letterdrop

Mary Bailey is the hero of It's a Wonderful Life

George is the protagonist, but Mary's the one who keeps Bedford Falls going.

anime

The eerie prescience of Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue

The 1998 anime film predicted our world of online celebrity and all the terrors that come with it.

taylor swift

Taylor Swift's evermore is a Christmas album

Finally, someone creates art that is very specifically about being sad between December 22 and January 3.

prince

1984: the greatest year in American pop music

From Michael Jackson to Prince and from Bruce Springsteen to Huey Lewis, the year rang with enormous, amazing hits.

jeopardy

"Jeopardy! fans are like trans people: There’s not actually that many of us, but everybody knows a few."

Reigning Jeopardy! champion tells me all about her historic run, her trivia history, and Ken Jennings.

christmas

That time Robert Downey, Jr., and Kermit the Frog made a Christmas special together

And then it was never spoken of again