Wondered why I had 9 people liking my old Letterboxd list just today, so had to go looking. Showing up on Kottke makes a lot of sense. (And kudos as always to @benzimmer.bsky.social for putting that list together in the first place.)

kottke.org@kottke.org · 12h ago

This is an old list but still interesting: the 12 most linguistically influential American movies since 1980. If you were compiling a list of linguistically influential movies since 2000, what would be on it? [letterboxd.com]

This is low key one of the most important popular studies that supports the societal importance of art history. So much so that I am doing everyone here a solid by not allowing the article preview to show, the images of which will haunt you for life. english.elpais.com/health/2026-...

Interesting to see how many of these are focused on young, rich, white, Californian women. I believe it was British linguist Geoff Lindsey who ID'ed young, affluent women as the vanguard for new pronunciations and speech patterns, rapidly adopting new forms perhaps as a social sorting mechanism.

This is an old list but still interesting: the 12 most linguistically influential American movies since 1980. If you were compiling a list of linguistically influential movies since 2000, what would be on it? [letterboxd.com]

Film list: 12 most linguistically influential American movies since 1980, selected by Ben Zimmer

Ben Zimmer originally drafted this list in 2003. In 2013 comments, he mentioned that Mean Girls and Juno would also make the cut. Further comment from Zimmer: "I note that the OED now includes…

letterboxd.com

I will always repost Nina Simone.

Jessica Ritchey@jmritchey.bsky.social · 9h ago

Nina Simone in Central Park, 1958. 📷: Chuck Stewart

"Are you ready for the sex purge?" is :chefs-kiss:

Odie Henderson@odienator.bsky.social · 11h ago

The only ONE NIGHT ONLY you should deal with is the one sung by Effie in DREAMGIRLS. This movie is puritanical, heteronormative horse pucky that's so outdated it should be sent back to 1984 where it belongs. Monica Barbaro deserved better. And Callum Turner? No. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/05/a...

Obviously we'll know more after November, but assuming Perez does get reelected I'm curious if that 15% showing for a progressive candidate pulls her at all to the left. She's terrible at cultivating local progressive support right now, relying on enough of them voting D over R in the general.

James Callan@scarequotes.com · 21h ago

Unsurprised that Gluesenkamp Perez made it through the WA-03 primary, though I thought she might come in second just behind Braun, the Republican challenger. I doubt she'll lose in November, given that Hennrich pulled 15% of the vote for third. Most of those progressives will vote D.

Unsurprised that Gluesenkamp Perez made it through the WA-03 primary, though I thought she might come in second just behind Braun, the Republican challenger. I doubt she'll lose in November, given that Hennrich pulled 15% of the vote for third. Most of those progressives will vote D.

I get often backed up on my emails. There's folks I want to give answers to and also just connect with. Sometimes there's just too many and it feels like too much. To solve the problem, I have taken to calling, answering my emails "doing my correspondence" like a proper Edwardian lady. 1/2

Today is a good day to read Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains,” but it is *not* the date featured in the original story. That was April 28, 1985. A few months later it was republished as a chapter of The Martian Chronicles with the date changed to fit the book’s timeline.

There are two wolves. One always lies. One controls the lever of trolley track. They're in a state of superposition inside a box. On the trolley are infinite monkeys at infinite typewriters going to an infinite hotel. The trolley must first travel halfway, but before that a quarterway, and so on...

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels

For sale: ventriloquist dummy, never haunted.

Every once in a while, the internet delivers sublime joy. #humor #foundontheinternet #magritte #comewithmeifyoufearthetreacheryofimages

BTW, I know that many people will call it Twitter till the day they die, but I do think that, journalistically, the era of "X, formerly known as Twitter" is or should be officially over. It's been three years.

Benjamin Dreyer@bcdreyer.social · 3d ago

"I posted something at X and stupid people got loudly huffy with me, a clearly superior being" is not my idea of an ideal article premise, but what apparently do I know.

As sociolinguists, we are truly blessed to have two great movies: Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Clueless. Thank you Amy Heckerling

It continues to fuck me up that we stay thinking about 9/11 but want to memory hole Covid so bad we're destroying the entire concept of public health in the US.

Doobie scoot canoe Exchanging glances Doobie scoot canoe What were the chances

Germany's Youth Word of the Year shortlist includes viral 'Doobie Scoot Canoe' meme

Germany's Langenscheidt dictionary publisher awards an annual prize for best new word or phrase as voted by teenagers. This year, the phrase "du bist gut genug"(you are good enough), from a song that ...

npr.org

If you give The Invite a heart when you log it, it should automatically ping your couples counselor.

Extremely related point: people don’t want to pay more for quality, they want to be cheap and complain!

Reconstruction 3 Enthusiast@squalortoballer.bsky.social · 3d ago

This is why flying is bad now. People will say they want full service airlines and wax nostaligic about the golden age of jet travel (when it was unaffordable), but revealed preferences are that people choose the lowest up front price option when spending their own money.

Remarkable confidence in the accuracy and value of their opinion

fesshole 🧻@fesshole.bsky.social · 3d ago

I tell waiters what I think of a dish, even when it's bad. My husband says this is wrong and I must stop. But if I don't tell them that their sauce is watery or a medium rare steak is actually well done then they'll never improve and they all lose their jobs. Honesty is polite.

I should just do a wordspotting podcast. I'm not going to, but I should.

Proshot or pro-shot: Clearly familiar to theaterheads, but new to me as a noun meaning the professionally shot (hence proshot) filmed performances that get released to cinemas or streaming. #wordspotting

Hadestown Stage Film Surpasses Hamilton for Highest-Grossing Live Capture

The pro-shot of the hit Broadway and West End musical opened to $10.2 million and will now be in movie theatres "indefinitely."

playbill.com

Wicker? But I hardly know her!

Craving chips and queso, probably have to settle for chips and hummus

if I ever taught film criticism lesson one would be “you being smarter than the movie is not interesting to anyone”

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels

Next non-fiction book, from the Fort Vancouver Regional Library. (Purchase request: Granted!)

Got a fresh wave of missing the Slate Culture Gabfest yesterday when reception was bad so I put on my "Summer Strut 2026 candidates" playlist.

Too many places are in the "make line go up" business, not the "make a good version of what we claim to make" business