Franz Kafka, From A Letter To Milena Jesenka Featured In "Letters To Milena,

It looks like the les mis & fantôme-y goodness page has been taken down on YT? I'm hurt. They had like 20 of my favorite vids *crying emoji*

The Rehearsal (1877) by Edgar Degas

David Thaxton's Phantom is a special kind of unhinged and...amazing?

Slowly starting to discover Phantoms 2018-present as I build my mini archive. He and Killian Donnelly (but also maybe Dean Chisnall?) are carrying the post-Panaro era on their backs.

Interrupting my usual POTO content to exclaim: God almighty this man!

The Winged Victory of Samothrace J.E. Schuler, Masterpieces of Sculpture

All final Broadway Phantoms, the kiss.

Incorrect Quotes: Jane Eyre (70/?)

Source

GIANMARCO SAURINO as  PROCURATORE FOURNEAU on "The Law According to Lidia Poët" | Season 2

I never make claims about "the best" but after much consideration I've broken my own rule and have come to the conclusion that '06 Earl Carpenter was the best Phantom kisser IMO. I have no further comments at this time and will not be taking questions.

A Sentimental Soapbox Essay on Fandoms and Archives and Why Your Hyperfixation Matters

Offline, I'm a grad student/historian in training who studies a community that is systemically under-archived. A significant part of my day job involves helping that community craft the archive from what's "left" while coming to terms with what they've already lost. In the meantime, I'm also navigating how to write the dissertation I want to write without the sources I want/need.

Aside from providing the fodder for my gothic romance hyperfixation, fandoms are a breath of fresh air because they remind me that it only takes a few passionate people to build an archive and, eventually, a preservation ecosystem. It all starts with someone who records things, collects stuff, and accumulates niche knowledge--and then shares it with others--just for the joy of it.

Two episodes of a (now obscure) Jane Eyre BBC adaptation have been missing for years, and today an anonymous superfan/de facto JE adaptation archivist who never gave up announced that they've been found after all this time. Masters take the time to make elitist or ephemeral artforms like musicals more accessible for present and future generations' enjoyment and now several Phantoms who performed the role before I was even born are among my favorites. Stuff like this warms my heart as a fan, historian, and a human.

Don't take for granted that some institution is studying and stewarding that "thing" you care about. Universities, museums, and the internet are flawed systems and, yes, instruments of power and capitalism. They also just can't (and shouldn't) do it all. Preservation runs on informal archivists and spaceholders like @glassprism and @wheel-of-fish and @behindthemirrorofmusic and trading economies (in the case of POTO) and so many other people/spaces. It thrives on us investing in the things that bring us joy. And that investment doesn't have to be financial; it often just looks like collaborating with others for free and finding time to channel our intellects and energies toward what we love.

The things that matter to you...matter lol. Don't let *gestures wildly* all the stuff going in the world convince you otherwise. Now or somewhere down the road someone's going to be glad you cared this much.