I kept thinking the same thing, with all of these articles calling Mario Nintendo's first.

I'm just curious what the complaints are for Super Mario Sunshine. That was basically my first Mario game since the NES, and I think I dug it at the time.

I'm sure what the Manhattans (or Rob Roys) that I make at home are a bastardization to some, but I like 'em just fine. No large ice cube, no orange peel. Just a couple shots whiskey (or Scotch), a shot of vermouth, some bitters (orange or Angostura), and a splash of cherry over ice. I'm not really interested in…

I guess maybe Tonight is given some slack from the success of its predecessor. And it had Loving the Alien, which is still a really nice tune, and Blue Jean, which was pretty much his last hit in any sense. I never got either, though, until almost a year ago, when Bowie's death inspired me to pick up pretty much all…

It's a sizable law firm, which I think explains things. To their credit, the party is really for all of the support staff—and I'm a full-time contractor, so it's nice that I'm included.

They do all of that here. Open bar, lots of food, live band, dancing, all on-site on the two conference floors where I work. I can't speak for the hooking up part, but people do let their hair down quite a bit—I wouldn't be surprised if stuff happens. I'm always taken aback by the women in the office who dress up…

First, had to laugh at your use of the word "subtle" in the second paragraph.

Funny enough, Pink Floyd had already released their early non-album singles 20+ years ago, in the comparatively cheaper Shine On set. I'm still making my way through this one, but there's probably a smaller set buried in there of just the good stuff.

Ditto. It just happened that two old artists I liked made really good albums this year.

Nice to see I think the only new albums I got this year are the top two listed.

I'm not even sure I got anything new BUT the top two this year.

I was living in Orlando at the time. We went on a lengthy lunch break, walked out to the adjacent field to the office where I worked, and watched the fire from the shuttle ascend through the sky when he went up. It was neat.

"Have you ever retired a musician/actor by mistake?"

I don't think I've seen any of these movies in their entirety. My impression of them was that they were simply meant to capitalize on—or help ensure—the actors looking cool. I caught part of 13 during the Thanksgiving break. It did not dissuade me of that notion.

Isn't that the fire graphic from the original Legend of Zelda? It's damn close. I should know, I probably spent hours just trying to set fire to different trees in the game to see if there were any secrets to uncover.

Isn't "A Life" about as lazy a title as one could have for a biography? Literally ANYTHING would be better/more interesting.

I think I partly like it BECAUSE of the insufferability. It veers between some genuinely great performances (Bad, Streets, etc.) and some of the most awkward, contrived dialogue ever put to film.

Funny, I was thinking of the Crow. There sure has been a lot of eye-gouging over the years.

I'm old enough to be puzzled by Final Fantasy being anything but a crude (but fun!) turn-based RPG on the NES. That and Dragon Warrior seemed to come along around the same time, and helped satiate my post-original-Zelda craving for role playing fantasy games.

I am a long-standing U2 fan, and despite my own fondness for the movie—as much for nostalgia as anything else—I have to agree with you.