Gianna Ortner-Findlay


My Written Work

NTDaily.com •

University alumna opens up shop: ‘Crochet has my heart’

After nearly six years of dreaming, university alumna and Denton resident Shelly Diaz found the perfect spot for her small business. At 934 N. Locust St., less than a mile from Denton’s Downtown Square, Denton Yarnworks sits between a State Farm insurance building and residential housing. The store announces its presence with a banner and a chalk sign, welcoming customers in.The yarn store hosted its grand opening on June 14. Diaz said the turnout “blew my mind,” and exceeded her expectations. S...
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Revolution Record Convention spins back for third anniversary

On the morning of June 28, the Patterson-Appleton Arts Center was transformed. Rows upon rows of records lined the main exhibiting space, posters were displayed on the wall and items from T-shirts to tote bags were visible to peruse as vendors from across Texas gathered to sell their wares. KUZU 92.9 FM, in partnership with Recycled Books, Records & CDs, hosted its third annual Revolution Record Convention. The convention, often shortened to REVCON, was a seven-hour affair. Early bird access beg...
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‘Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil:’ a tale of rage, love, hunger

“Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil,” the latest addition to New York Times Bestselling author V.E. Schwab's list of titles, is a masterclass in uncovering new angles in the shadows of an old genre. The novel, around 560 pages long, is a daring step into a new kind of vampiric novel, one interwoven with historical intricacies, love and heartbreak. It is a nearly perfect novel, faltering only with its rushed and cliff-hanger ending, which, as a standalone work, leaves the reader feeling dangled...
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‘Wherever I go, whatever I do, Denton will be in my heart:’ Blind Fox closes food truck after more than half a decade

After working in the food industry for 10 years and getting her associate's degree in culinary arts from Le Cordon Bleu in Austin, Texas, Krysten Hanger moved to Denton in December 2019 with the dream of opening a restaurant. Hanger and fellow chef and then-business partner Keith Abate put those plans on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Citing financial and health safety concerns, the pair pivoted to launching Blind Fox as a food truck instead.Now, more than five years later, Hanger, who has...
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Mayfaire Renaissance Market aims to ‘scratch the medieval itch’

In the grassy hills outside the Denton Civic Center, the sounds of horns and overlapping orchestral vocals floated over traffic, accented by the impact of foam swords on foam shields and metal axes sliding off of fortified wood as Vikings clashed. Attendees, ranging from fairies with intricate wings and sprites with mushroom-capped hair to barbarians and knights in full medieval armor, flocked to the Mayfaire Renaissance Market on May 24. While rooted in Denton’s market and vendor scene, the eve...
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A blend of documentary screenings, music showcases and art exhibitions across downtown Denton, Thin Line Fest finishes 18th year

As Thin Line Fest, a five-day, three-part multimedia festival, came to a close, its final two days ended just as lively as it began, celebrating art in all its forms starting around 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27. Throughout downtown Denton, attendees danced to music from local bands like Dome Dwellers and international acts like My Bad Sister as venues emitted a mix of sounds and camera flashes as photographers captured their performances.The now-concluded festival celebrated 18 y...
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University alumnus releases debut album ‘Forever Came Too Soon,’ explores loss and love for life with music

After over two decades surrounded by music and a decade in the industry, university alumnus and Texas-native Luke Herbert released his debut album, “Forever Came Too Soon,” on May 2. The 10-track album runs just under 29 minutes and culminates Herbert's years of sound experimentation and production practice with other musicians. In addition to being self-produced, the album showcases Herbert as a one-man band, with the musician playing every instrument himself or using software to replicate them...
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5-day Thin Line Fest returns with photography, music and film showcase

Thin Line Fest returned to Denton’s Downtown Square for its 18th year April 23-27, showcasing free events and performances across Denton.With an average annual attendance of 15,000 people, the longest-running documentary film festival in Texas’s lineup included a showcase of more than 160 photos, over 40 bands and 67 films.The opening reception, held at the UNT CoLab on Wednesday, April 23, welcomed featured photographers and others to socialize. Complimentary drinks and food were provided. The...
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SXSW 2025: Christopher Landon’s new thriller film ‘Drop’ suspensefully traps its characters in a daring, deadly race against time

AUSTIN, Texas –  With films like “Freaky” (2020), “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones” (2014) and “We Have a Ghost” (2023), writer and director Christopher Landon is no stranger to thrillers. In one of his most intimate films to date, “Drop” yet again blends humor and action, although there are moments where viewers will have to suspend their belief for the film's plot. “Drop” premiered at South by Southwest on March 9 at the Paramount Theater, a historic venue with nearly 1,300 seats, almost...
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SGA announces 2025-2026 election winners, Rutwik Duggireddy named president-elect

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Student Government Association president-elect Rutwik Duggireddy’s name and to include information about the election. After five days of student voting, business junior Rutwik Duggireddy and political science junior Armando Sanchez were certified today as the 2025-2026 Student Government Association president and vice president, respectively. “I've been doing this for a long time, and I'm beyond proud and beyond happy to be...
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SXSW 2025: ‘La furia’ showcases the duplicity of healing from trauma and the consequences of unresolved anger

Content Warning: The following review contains mentions of sexual assault AUSTIN, Texas— In “La furia,” director Gemma Blasco’s second full-length directorial project, she introduces a raw, unfiltered look into the violence thrust upon women.The nearly two-hour Spanish-language film, which premiered March 8 at South by Southwest at Violet Crown Cinema, takes place in Barcelona, Spain.A stand-out drama from Blasco, the film excels with its usage of nonlinear storytelling. However, its weakest usa...
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Anti-vaccination beliefs and practices, while rooted in trying to help children, are inherently making them less safe

While the anti-vaccination movement has been around since the creation of the very first vaccine in the 18th century, hesitancy surrounding vaccinations has not diminished in modern times.  Vaccine hesitancy has allowed children to become infected with diseases against which they could have been immunized. Those who follow this movement, known as “anti-vaxxers,” perpetuate a distrust in the government and scientifically backed vaccinations. This distrust unnecessarily introduces their children t...
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TikTok ban is less about data security and more about censorship

Over four years ago, in the last days of President Donald J. Trump’s first term in office, he announced via an executive order that TikTok was a national security risk. Now, hot on the heels of the shutdown of TikTok, which lasted a mere 12 hours starting the evening of Jan. 18, the app has been granted a grace period of 75 days by executive order made by the very administration that first pushed the ban. The acquisition venture by both the current and previous presidential administrations is an...
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Broken Lens Film Festival celebrates 12th year, showcases films centered on Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Less than two miles from Denton’s downtown square, Trinity Presbyterian Church’s bustling parking lot featured a film reel-adorned sign inviting attendees inside the church’s door.Inside, the Broken Lens Film Festival was in full swing. Created by the People for Justice in Palestine, formerly known as the People for Justice in Palestine and Israel, the nearly two-day festival on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25 featured vendor booths, free food, virtual speakers, film screenings and more.“I’ve been involved...
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JD Clayton brings country-colored rock and roll to Denton with debut headliner tour ‘Blue Sky Sundays’

Drums boom and snares hiss with harmonica whistling intricately over the beat. Music leaks out of the door of Andy’s Bar as attendees step in and out of JD Clayton’s concert. On his only night in Denton, traveling from Tulsa, Oklahoma two nights before, the 29-year-old touring musician drew more than 40 people to crowd the venue with his latest tour stop, introducing audiences to a new kind of country. The tour began in late August in his home state of Arkansas, and is Clayton’s first headliner...
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Disney+ conjures comedy and suspense with plot and dialogue in newest mini-series ‘Agatha All Along’

When audiences last saw Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), the formidable centuries-old witch whose power was forged from the murder of her coven in Salem, Massachusetts, she was in the midst of an epic magical battle with the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) that she lost. In “Agatha All Along,” the first two episodes of which were released Sept. 18, audiences see a distinctly new version of Agatha, who is stuck unaware in her Westview persona Agnes. The series is a direct sequel to the previous mi...
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Sabrina Carpenter stays in fans ‘good graces’ with new album ‘Short n’ Sweet’

Certified pop princess Sabrina Carpenter released her highly anticipated sixth studio album “Short n’ Sweet,” on Aug. 23, garnering 57 million streams globally on Spotify for its’ debut. This vast number of eager fans made the drop her largest ever and with streams climbing daily on songs like “Please Please Please,” “Taste,” “Bed Chem,” “Lie to Girls” and more, it isn’t hard to realize why. With twelve songs clocking in at just 36 minutes and 15 seconds, the album is just as short as it is swee...
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‘Blink Twice’ masterfully weaves a psychologically thrilling story, nightmare meets paradise with haunting twist

While this film initially presents itself as yet another overdone trope masquerading as something new, “Blink Twice,” will have viewers second-guessing their initial judgment.Actress Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut begins with a low hum and the flicking yellow eye of a lizard. The film opens somewhere tropical, panning out from the up-close shot of the reptile and buzzing insects. From there, the shot shifts to an Instagram page called “anailmals,” the profile of cocktail waitress and nail artis...
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University administration disallows voter registration during class time

University Provost Michael McPherson sent an email to college deans earlier this month disallowing voter registration during class time, something professors say has never happened before.Deans relayed McPherson’s message to department heads, who then shared the information with faculty. An email sent by College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Executive Dean Albert Bimper was shared with the Daily.“As you are aware, this is a big election year,” Bimper said in the email. “It is likely that v...
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A knockout in comedy and action, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ slices its way to the top

Warning: The following review contains spoilers for “Logan” (2017).Six years after the release of “Deadpool 2” (2018), movie goers and Marvel Cinematic Universe fans alike rushed to the opening weekend of “Deadpool & Wolverine” (2024) to view more of the fourth wall-breaking character and his salacious jokes.The film, which differentiates itself from the character’s origins in 20th Century Fox’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009), has had a majorly successful opening weekend, securing its spot as...
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Glass Animals’ fourth studio album gets lyrically lost in space

With a nomination in the Best New Artist Category at the 2022 Grammy Awards, and songs hitting the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart, Glass Animals has had a boom in popularity over the last two years. Their wide success came after “Heat Waves,” a song from their “Dreamland” (2020) album that launched the British indie-pop band into the heart of pop culture, ushering a wave of popularity the band has been trying to wade in ever since. After teasing the album for months, posting flyers...
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'Fly Me to The Moon' launches into theaters, plot and acting unable to boost box office revenue

Clouds cup an orange-tinted moon, bathing movie-goers exiting the theater in diluted beams of light as they filter out of a showing of Greg Berlanti’s “Fly Me to The Moon.”The film, released nationally on July 12, is based on a story by Bill Kirstein and Keenan Flynn. Unlike most modern films, the movie began with its actors credits layered over a montage of newsreels from the early 1960s, giving context to viewers unfamiliar with the space race between the United States and Russia at the height...
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American pop rock band Imagine Dragons releases sixth studio album ‘Loom,’ leaves more to be desired

Founded in 2009, the Las Vegas, Nevada-based band Imagine Dragons has had a relatively successful career. Their sixth album, “Loom,” a 10 track journey, was released June 28, with several songs performing better than others.The highly anticipated album is a bold dip into the world of electropop with the familiar undertones of pop-rock for which the band is known. Jumping in to “Loom,” the first track “Wake Up” sparked a double-take and check to confirm this was the correct album and band being p...
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Supreme court supports anti-camping law, ruling sets precedent for homeless communities everywhere

In a landmark decision, and the largest deciding factor on homelessness from the United States Supreme Court in decades, the highest court decided 6-3 to uphold Grant Pass, Oregon’s anti-camping laws, which would criminalize those experiencing homelessness. The case, Johnson v. City of Grants Pass, which had previously been deemed cruel and unusual under the Eighth Amendment by the 9th Circuit in 2022, was overturned on June 28 after the city appealed the original decision. The 9th Circuit’s ori...
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