iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

For #TonyAward fans, here's the correct award statistic: Bess Wohl is the FOURTH female playwright to win for Best Play. 1956: Frances Goodrich, The Diary of Anne Frank (co-author) 1989: Wendy Wasserstein, The Heidi Chronicles 1998 & 2009: Yasmina Reza, Art & The God of Carnage

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

A show I watch is airing its final season, but I've liked each successive season less than the one before it. Now I resentfully consider the unwatched episodes. Will I watch them anyway? This is the great cosmic riddle.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

I want so much to talk about Pluribus with someone, but I am watching it by myself, months after it first aired, while existing in a friend community where no one else has seen it. THIS Is the loneliness that Carol feels, pretty much.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

I can't decide how to feel about Sue Grafton getting all the way to the Y book, then dying before she could write the Z book.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

In the 21st Century, only five Oscar winners for Best Original Song have also reached the top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100. They are... (1) "Lose Yourself" (2) "Let It Go" (3) "Skyfall" (4) "Shallow" and, as of tonight, (5) "Golden"

Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Thanks to Autumn Durald Arkapaw's win in Cinematography and Cassandra Kulukundis' win in the inaugural Casting race, a woman has now won at least once in every current Oscar category (except, of course, Actor and Supporting Actor).

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Autumn Durald Arkapaw is the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography. (Yes, the first woman ever to win in this category.)

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Something fun to consider before they give out the screenplay awards.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

A tie for live action short! This is the 7th time this has happened, including in 1994 when there was ALSO a tie for live action short. The last occurrence was 2012, for sound design. The most famous tie was between Katherine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand for Best Actress in 1968.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Amy Madigan is the 9th performer to win Best Supporting Actress as the only Oscar nominee from her film. She follows Mary Astor, Claire Trevor, Margaret Rutherford, Goldie Hawn, Linda Hunt, Marisa Tomei, Angelina Jolie, and Penelope Cruz.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Amy Madigan's win for "Weapons" is delightful just like Ruth Gordon's win for "Rosemary's Baby." Beloved veteran actress does great work as a supernatural villain in an excellent horror film. In years to come, this is a retrospective Oscar film festival I look forward to attending.

Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Here's a thread of deep cut Oscar trivia about today's nominations...

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Many thanks to @cole.fyi for taking these photos and making me feel like a halfway normal person during the photo shoot!

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

When you’re playing NYT Spelling Bee and you know the word is spelled “facsimile,” but you try “facimile” juuuust in case.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

The view from my TV: @sarahdbunting.bsky.social delivering wit and wisdom on ABC’s new doc series DIRTY TALK

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Reposted by Mark Blankenship

Tara Ariano @taraariano.com · 11/01/2026

Yesterday she barked at @markblankenship.bsky.social for an hour and a half. Today, she is in love with

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Reposted by Mark Blankenship

Tara Ariano @taraariano.com · 10/01/2026

AND THEN YOU BEAT HIS ASS WITH “CORIOLANUS” cc @markblankenship.bsky.social @cole.fyi

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Reposted by Mark Blankenship

Tara Ariano @taraariano.com · 10/01/2026

You’re playing Zero. “A Shakespearean Tragedy” comes up. You’re sitting with this guy

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

The countdown concludes! Here are my top 10 songs of the year, featuring at least one track that made me laugh out loud. lostsongs.substack.com/p/my-top-40-...

My Top 40 Songs of 2025: #10-1

The best (of the best) songs of the year!

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

As is my custom, I am counting down my top 40 songs of the year. Here's the first batch of songs, including punk, country, and new music from the lead singer of Fun. lostsongs.substack.com/p/top-40-son...

My Top 40 Songs of 2025: #40-26

It's the year's dopest tunes!

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Reposted by Mark Blankenship

Damon Agnos @damonagnos.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

I write sparse, brutal tales about life on ALF’s home planet under the pen name Melmac McCarthy

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

At long last, @sarahdbunting.bsky.social and I are able to investigate Madonna's music.

Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

I am counting down my top 100 90s songs, because obviously it needs to be done. The first batch of songs includes Paula, Phil, Heavy, and Jade. lostsongs.substack.com/p/my-top-100...

My Top 100 90s Songs: #100-81

We begin our journey through the decade's best music

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

William Joel has engrossed us again! @sarahdbunting.bsky.social and I team up with our good pal Dan Rogge to rank the songs on Billy Joel's album THE STRANGER. bleav.com/shows/mark-a...

bleav.com

Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs: Billy Joel’s “The Stranger,” Ranked (with Dan Rogge!)

Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

At various points in my life, I had both of these phones, so you know my conversations were COOL.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Print media alert! I was fortunate to write the companion book for the vinyl cast album of the GYPSY revival. Available now!

Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

Throughout my life, I've had such a complex relationship with mayonnaise. Currently, it's a love affair, but I've been through this cycle enough times to know it could end at any second.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

I just saw Final Destination: Bloodlines. My favorite thing is how the film is supposedly set in America, but half the cast sounds more Canadian than the cashier at Ottawa's second-largest Tim Horton's.

Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

Hi. Hello. I will never stop writing text messages in complete sentences with punctuation. Thank you for loving me as I am.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

I am delighted to be back on Extra Hot Great, especially for an episode that involves so much music.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Remembering that brief period when Dutch pop acts stormed the US charts with songs that sounded like they came from a German beerhall. lostsongs.substack.com/p/how-do-you...?

"How Do You Do," Mouth and Macneal (1972)

A trippy Dutch song with a hint of the German bierhall

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

A couple of times in the last week, I've seen a suggestion that "Chicago" was somehow a poor choice for Best Picture, and I cannot let this madness stand. The entire internet is grounded.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Let's talk about the surprisingly large number of European dance tracks that goof on the idea of American cowboys and such. lostsongs.substack.com/p/i-wanna-be...

"I Wanna Be a Cowboy," Boys Don't Cry (1986)

A song so stupid it touches the sublime

Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

A print-only newspaper! We just published Issue 7 of Modern Vintage News (modernvintagenews.com), where I'm proud to be Senior Editor. Join us for 40 pages of original reporting and essays about appreciating what we already have and rediscovering the supposedly familiar world around us.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

This is the godmother of pretty songs that became creepy because of a horror movie. lostsongs.substack.com/p/hush-hush-...

"Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte," Patti Page (1965)

It's pretty... and pretty terrifying

Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Unsung heroes: The people who communicate clearly with freelancers about payment and help them get their money promptly.

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Here's proof that Aerosmith wasn't the first act to sing about romance in a stuck elevator. lostsongs.substack.com/p/heaven-on-...

"Heaven on the 7th Floor," Paul Nicholas (1977)

A spiritual prequel to an Aerosmith classic

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

This is a fantastic performance of my favorite song from DEAD OUTLAW, which is my favorite new musical of this Broadway season. It's from the POV of a frontier woman whose boyfriend was killed while robbing a train. youtu.be/vpdVOQJBeYQ?...

youtu.be

Julia Knitel Performs "A Stranger" From "Dead Outlaw"

YouTube video by Playbill

Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Warning: If you read this essay, then the chorus of this song WILL be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. lostsongs.substack.com/p/i-do-toya-...

A silky groove from a one-hit wonder

"I Do!!", Toya (2001)

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

In Nashville, fruit tea inspires legends, secrets, and scandals. I'm covering all the juicy beverage stories over at The Food Section. thefoodsection.com/fruit-tea-go...

thefoodsection.com

Fruit tea gone wild - The Food Section

Shocking tales of Nashville’s signature drink

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

I wrote about this song because it helped in invent a genre. Back in 1994, I just knew it had a sweet groove. lostsongs.substack.com/p/dream-on-d...

"Dream On Dreamer," The Brand New Heavies (1994)

A hit from the folks that invented acid jazz

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Mark Blankenship @markblankenship.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Did you know a Maggie Smith movie inspired a massive hit ballad that references sheep in a meadow? Here's the scoop! lostsongs.substack.com/p/jean-olive...