Hank Sartin
@hanksartin.bsky.social
Recovering academic, recovering film critic, taker of long walks, recounted at RamblingHank.com.
AI CEOs: Okay, we're actually concerned that our tech might annihilate humanity. We should slow down.
Mike Johnson: But the Chinese might win the race to destroy all human life. We can't slow down now.
Mike Johnson: But the Chinese might win the race to destroy all human life. We can't slow down now.
September 14, 2026 at 12:33 AM
AI CEOs: Okay, we're actually concerned that our tech might annihilate humanity. We should slow down.
Mike Johnson: But the Chinese might win the race to destroy all human life. We can't slow down now.
Mike Johnson: But the Chinese might win the race to destroy all human life. We can't slow down now.
At REI, when I used my physical member card, the cashier smiled and said “old school.” Then he said “wow, you’ve got a really low membership number! You really are old school.” Yup.
September 12, 2026 at 8:41 PM
At REI, when I used my physical member card, the cashier smiled and said “old school.” Then he said “wow, you’ve got a really low membership number! You really are old school.” Yup.
So clearly, recognizing the trouble they are in in the midterms in the Senate, the Reprehensibles' play is to get Fetterman to switch parties after the election. He's proven already that his views are more right-wing than he pretended. He's scared of socialism and horny for Netanyahu.
September 10, 2026 at 12:05 AM
So clearly, recognizing the trouble they are in in the midterms in the Senate, the Reprehensibles' play is to get Fetterman to switch parties after the election. He's proven already that his views are more right-wing than he pretended. He's scared of socialism and horny for Netanyahu.
I grew up moving between Illinois, New York and eastern Pennsylvania (Allentown), spent time on California, and I've spent the last 39 years living in Chicago, but my dialect leans very much between New York City and Delaware? Maybe those Pennsylvania years were more formative than I thought.
September 5, 2026 at 5:20 PM
I grew up moving between Illinois, New York and eastern Pennsylvania (Allentown), spent time on California, and I've spent the last 39 years living in Chicago, but my dialect leans very much between New York City and Delaware? Maybe those Pennsylvania years were more formative than I thought.
Great movie, great intro, great audience.
Eddie Muller kicks off Noir City Chicago 2026 at Chicago's Music Box Theatre by introducing Sweet Smell of Success. @noirfoundation.bsky.social
@musicboxtheatre.bsky.social
@musicboxtheatre.bsky.social
September 5, 2026 at 3:21 AM
Great movie, great intro, great audience.
Why has no one told me about Trader Joe’s Meyer Lemon and Cream yogurt? My breakfast has just gotten better, and the yogurt is cheaper than most other brands.
August 26, 2026 at 6:13 PM
Why has no one told me about Trader Joe’s Meyer Lemon and Cream yogurt? My breakfast has just gotten better, and the yogurt is cheaper than most other brands.
Listening to Little Sparrow, a really lovely album of bluegrass. Rest easy, Dolly.
August 25, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Listening to Little Sparrow, a really lovely album of bluegrass. Rest easy, Dolly.
"The justices cautioned that their order was preliminary and not a final decision about whether the administration’s order 'will necessarily be lawful' once the plans are complete." Next he'll announce plan to murder all Dems, and the SC will be like, "Let's see where he's going with this..."
August 24, 2026 at 9:35 PM
"The justices cautioned that their order was preliminary and not a final decision about whether the administration’s order 'will necessarily be lawful' once the plans are complete." Next he'll announce plan to murder all Dems, and the SC will be like, "Let's see where he's going with this..."
I just got of the Red Line, where I had to suffer through someone wildly misdescribing to his friend Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," and when he said "and the twist is that the guy is named Amontillado, and he's being made into a cask by being buried alive," I only just held myself back.
August 15, 2026 at 4:02 AM
I just got of the Red Line, where I had to suffer through someone wildly misdescribing to his friend Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," and when he said "and the twist is that the guy is named Amontillado, and he's being made into a cask by being buried alive," I only just held myself back.
We are going to have to waste so much time and energy taking that jerk’s name off things around Washington. (His crony Kennedy Center board is trying to get his name back on the building with a “Restored and Renovated by” credit. So stupid.)
August 13, 2026 at 6:30 PM
We are going to have to waste so much time and energy taking that jerk’s name off things around Washington. (His crony Kennedy Center board is trying to get his name back on the building with a “Restored and Renovated by” credit. So stupid.)
So, the timeline: Sen. Collins & Sen. Murkoswski, both in competitive races and urgently needing to reach across to D voters, say they oppose Blanche as AG. Then, hours later, hey presto, Sen. Cassidy announced his support. C and M get to claim they opposed. How was Cassidy bought off?
August 7, 2026 at 4:29 PM
So, the timeline: Sen. Collins & Sen. Murkoswski, both in competitive races and urgently needing to reach across to D voters, say they oppose Blanche as AG. Then, hours later, hey presto, Sen. Cassidy announced his support. C and M get to claim they opposed. How was Cassidy bought off?
I know what it means in context, but maybe not the best Bible quotation for a city beset by ICE.
July 25, 2026 at 2:57 PM
I know what it means in context, but maybe not the best Bible quotation for a city beset by ICE.
Well, it’s a lovely Saturday. Time to spend 11hours in a movie theater! @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social . Nice touch with the patio signage.
June 20, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Well, it’s a lovely Saturday. Time to spend 11hours in a movie theater! @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social . Nice touch with the patio signage.
The New York Times Cooking obsession with sheet pan meals has crossed the line into creepy. Sheet pan meals don’t love you back, NYT.
May 6, 2026 at 3:17 PM
The New York Times Cooking obsession with sheet pan meals has crossed the line into creepy. Sheet pan meals don’t love you back, NYT.
Watching Jackie Chan in Police Story again (It's been years since I'd seen it), and holy f*@%, the stunt work is so insane. And unlike digital shit, you can feel the realness and it matters. Ends with a long set of stunt outtakes, and that's as nuts as you might expect.
May 3, 2026 at 2:28 AM
Watching Jackie Chan in Police Story again (It's been years since I'd seen it), and holy f*@%, the stunt work is so insane. And unlike digital shit, you can feel the realness and it matters. Ends with a long set of stunt outtakes, and that's as nuts as you might expect.
You wouldn’t dare to make this up; it would sound too implausible. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/04/15/a...
Allbirds soars 373% after sneaker firm rebrands as AI stock
Allbirds Inc. shares more than quadrupled after the former shoemaker, just days away from ceasing operations, said it would pivot its business to AI compute infrastructure.
www.chicagotribune.com
April 15, 2026 at 7:03 PM
You wouldn’t dare to make this up; it would sound too implausible. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/04/15/a...
Today, looking at LinkedIn, I thought ‘God, I can’t wait until I retire and can kill this account. One less thing to monitor that keeps trying to engage me.’
April 13, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Today, looking at LinkedIn, I thought ‘God, I can’t wait until I retire and can kill this account. One less thing to monitor that keeps trying to engage me.’
A friend sent me this postcard from the British Museum. I love that Antinous, Hadrian’slover, seems to have applied a big smear of makeup
under his eye.
under his eye.
March 23, 2026 at 4:22 PM
A friend sent me this postcard from the British Museum. I love that Antinous, Hadrian’slover, seems to have applied a big smear of makeup
under his eye.
under his eye.
Reposted by Hank Sartin
If you've ever considered subscribing to The Reveal, this page will not only give you 20% the annual rate but access to unlocked audio commentaries for BLUE VELVET and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and pieces like my list on Sam Raimi and essay on Pee-wee Herman. thereveal.film/oscars-sale-...
Oscars Sale: Save 20% Off a Subscription to The Reveal
Now's a great time to upgrade to a paid subscription to The Reveal. Here's an offer, and a sample of what you've been missing.
thereveal.film
March 11, 2026 at 4:21 PM
If you've ever considered subscribing to The Reveal, this page will not only give you 20% the annual rate but access to unlocked audio commentaries for BLUE VELVET and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and pieces like my list on Sam Raimi and essay on Pee-wee Herman. thereveal.film/oscars-sale-...
I remember the first video store I ever frequented, which was located in the tiny train station of a suburb of Chicago. Very smart- got the traffic of people getting off the train. I was 14, but most of their customers must have been adult commuters. Great essay on a whole culture.
A truly excellent @kphipps3000.bsky.social rumination today on video stores, inspired by Alex Ross Perry's VIDEOHEAVEN and the Criterion Channel VHS series. Not a nostalgia piece, but a more clear-headed remembrance of a bygone era. (Also free to read!): thereveal.film/ghosts-of-vi...
Ghosts of Video Stores Past
The Alex Ross Perry documentary ‘Videoheaven’ and an accompanying Criterion Channel series explore our sometimes fraught relationship with videotapes and the stores that rented them.
thereveal.film
March 10, 2026 at 11:48 PM
I remember the first video store I ever frequented, which was located in the tiny train station of a suburb of Chicago. Very smart- got the traffic of people getting off the train. I was 14, but most of their customers must have been adult commuters. Great essay on a whole culture.
Jesus, Bret Stephens’ opinion pieces at the NYT are so toxic that the Times doesn’t enable comments.
March 10, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Jesus, Bret Stephens’ opinion pieces at the NYT are so toxic that the Times doesn’t enable comments.
If you aren’t following The Reveal (and, if you can, paying for it), you should start now. Then catch up on all of these Sight and Sound 100 Best conversations. I am always excited when the notification shows up for a new one!
Today at The Reveal: @scotttobias.bsky.social continue to watch every movie in Sight and Sound's 100 best list. We're at #45 which is also somehow the first Hitchcock on the list. It's a good one, too:
#45 (tie): ‘North by Northwest’: The Reveal discusses all 100 of Sight & Sound’s Greatest Films of All Time
Cary Grant is a man wrongfully accused in the first of four Hitchcock films to make the list. Is it one of Hitch's masterpieces or just frothy entertainment? We'll try to figure it out.
thereveal.film
March 3, 2026 at 5:45 PM
If you aren’t following The Reveal (and, if you can, paying for it), you should start now. Then catch up on all of these Sight and Sound 100 Best conversations. I am always excited when the notification shows up for a new one!
As a gay former film critic who wrote about any gay-adjacent content through the ‘90s and early ‘00s, I felt like Wesley Morris really got at some things in this essay. I have a few quibbles, but of the sort that make me want to chat with Wesley, not argue. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/a...
I’m So Used to Gay Tragedies That I Almost Missed Romance
www.nytimes.com
February 27, 2026 at 10:35 PM
As a gay former film critic who wrote about any gay-adjacent content through the ‘90s and early ‘00s, I felt like Wesley Morris really got at some things in this essay. I have a few quibbles, but of the sort that make me want to chat with Wesley, not argue. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/a...
Bless the mute function. I just used it instead of writing an angry reply to a post. I won't see this person moaning and pissing again, and I won't get attacked by a bunch of folks who side with them. I don't need to spend my time on social media in arguments.
February 20, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Bless the mute function. I just used it instead of writing an angry reply to a post. I won't see this person moaning and pissing again, and I won't get attacked by a bunch of folks who side with them. I don't need to spend my time on social media in arguments.