Hot Layoff Fall

So, this isn’t exactly the update I imagined typing when I first started drafting my next post—which I tend to work on in short bursts spread over a few days or weeks.

As some of you already know, I was laid off from the Daily Dot last week. I posted a thread of my greatest hits over the past 11 years on Twitter, and I’m still credentialed to cover the New York Film Festival, one of the high points of my year. I have a vacation to Canada scheduled for next month (I already booked some non-refundable things for it, so I might as well go), but I’m otherwise launching myself into the next venture: Job hunting: Journalism, PR, communications, or anything that a journalism and/or radio/TV/film degree might be useful.

I have over a decade of experience writing about film, TV, pop culture, internet culture, and fandom. I’ve written about some of the biggest shows and films in the world and traveled and covered massive conventions and prestigious film festivals alike. And while we’re far from its arrival, I’ve been deep in the Game of Thrones trenches since 2013, and I'm a free agent ahead of House of the Dragon season 2.

To the media-adjacent folks reading this, you can email me here if you have any leads, leads, tips, connections, commissions, or introductions that you’re willing to bridge on my behalf. (You can also contact me at the newsletter email, which is located at the end of this post.)

What does this mean for Knit(ting) Flicks?

I started this newsletter last year as a way for me to post knitting updates—because I felt like the people who’ve followed me on [insert platform here] over the years did not give a shit about my knitting, and this allowed folks to opt in—while also expanding on stuff I’ve watched that I would otherwise not have a place to write about it. And while I’ve turned cinematic knitwear into a beat, sometimes there is only one thing to say about that sweater: It’s Good.

I may have also been subconsciously worried about what would become of Twitter (my biggest platform) and wanted to preserve as much of that as I could before it turned into a graveyard—and everyone retreated to one of the many Twitter clones out there. I also know some readers only discovered me through this newsletter. Either way, I’ve enjoyed having you here!

Obviously, I have a lot more time on my hands now to write more posts and knit more garments. But this newsletter will remain free for now: I don’t know if I can commit to creating enough paid subscriber-exclusive posts to justify asking people to pay for it, but you can pledge that you’d pay later down the line if I turn that option on.

Given that my layoff occurred so close to NYFF, I’m in the process of trying to cobble some semblance of coverage. But I also know that many of the films premiered elsewhere, and many outlets already have their coverage figured out (whether they have critics on staff or hired freelancers). I plan to self-publish what I can’t place, so for the next few weeks—during the festival and in the weeks/months after it—this space will become my hub for those reviews and be a little more Flicks-heavy than Knit(ting).

Rest assured, I remain on-brand, and I’m highlighting the many, many sweaters of NYFF. (Fun fact: Anatomy of a Fall is a sweater movie!)

To make up for it, I will hopefully have a much more Knit-centric post courtesy of the many yarn shops I plan to visit while I’m in Canada. Please share any Toronto/Montreal recs you might have—and not just the best shops to visit or which local brands I should watch out for—in the comments!

I’m nixing some of the usual sections this time—I actually have a new Knit-Date, but I’m saving it for next time—but what I will say is that I’ve been so floored by the reaction I’ve received to this whole situation. The friends and old colleagues who’ve come out of the woodwork, who’ve offered me help or given me leads, lent an ear, and donated to my drink fund…

Just…thank you.

Knitwear of the Week

Knit: A handmade, light blue and white striped pullover fit for a sheepherder.

Worn By: Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski), one of the heroes who could save or break the world still in his Innocence Era, in The Wheel of Time season 1.

Costume Designer: Isis Mussenden

You might have noticed that I’ve slowly been working my way through Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series for the past couple of years. At 14 novels (plus a prequel novella), it was a daunting endeavor; WoT was the kind of fantasy series I might’ve stared at when perusing Waldenbooks or B. Dalton at my local mall as a kid (RIP to both) but never touched. When I got older, the mentality was more about how there were so many books in this damn series that I didn’t have the time to read them when other books jumped out more.

I watched and reviewed WoT’s first season for the Dot as an Unsullied (a complete non-book reader). I’m not far enough into the WoT books to speak about how successful the adaptation is. But after years of covering Game of Thrones, hemming and hewing about adaptation choices, wondering how George will handle that character or that plot point in future books, and discoursing certain controversial aspects of that final season, all became so exhausting that I burnt out, WoT felt damn refreshing in comparison in part because I had so little of the baggage with me.

I didn’t know what the long-gestating fanbase, some of whom have been waiting for this show’s existence nearly as long as I’ve been alive, thought about the adaptation choices showrunner Rafe Judkins and his team of writers made. I didn’t have to worry about fandom wankery, although that one part of fandom’s racist song and dance about inclusive casting choices under the guise of “but it’s not how I imagined them!” is a tired and familiar one. My template for certain characters had nothing to do with what Jordan wrote on the page but was on the screen; Jordan can talk about Lan’s blue eyes all he wants (and he does), but Daniel Henney is my Lan now, so I’m ignoring all of it.

After some initial confusion—WoT kind of throws you into the deep end at the beginning—I really liked what I saw, even with the flaws my TV critic mind picked up. I liked the characters, I liked the world, and I wanted more. And so, after season 1 ended, I picked up the first book, The Eye of the World, and started engaging with #TwitterOfTime (RIP Twitter). I’m now up to The Fires of Heaven (book 5), which I finished in July, with plans to begin Lord of Chaos (book 6) after season 2 wraps up.

Because I’ve delved into the books, my memory of what happened in TEOTW versus WoT season 1 was pretty fuzzy—hence, the rewatch before season 2. Also, TIL Celine Song, who wrote and directed Past Lives (one of my favorite movies this year), was also a staff writer on season 1. Incredible.

But back to the knit at hand. You can tell that WoT fell under the radar a bit amid streaming’s fantasy boon because there is a huge, chunky fantasy sweater in the first episode—AND NOBODY TALKS ABOUT IT.

Even now that we’re three-quarters of the way through season 2—which is even better than the first season and firing on all cylinders—not enough of you are watching, and you should fix that immediately.

Want to nominate your own Knitwear of the Week?

I’m now offering you a chance to nominate your favorite piece of cinematic knitwear. I’ve got more information about what I’m looking for here. So, if you’ve got one, send an email over to [email protected] with your pick!