This is one of my concerns with recommending or reviewing older anime: what's the point of pointing out something that's not practical for the reader to go watch for themselves? Robot Carnival is hopelessly out of print in North America, and even Evangelion is hard to come by (doesn't stream and new discs haven't been…

I just started watching Wake Up Girls last night. What a pleasant surprise from a premise (failing talent agency recruits girls for an idol group) that could well have been awful. Snappy pacing and clear-eyed about the inherent cruelty of using kids as entertainment.

Madoka's a damn masterpiece. It's amazing to think back on the slow build of tension that begins with a show that's seemingly the sweetest trifle when it begins and by the 11th episode you're absolutely dreading what awful revelation is coming next, and how wrong everything has been all along.

I was sorely tempted to stop reading when I saw the name Paul Krugman. I often give him the title America's Only Economist™, as he is the only economist I ever see cited by friends on Facebook (which goes back to the real problem: he is in the business of confirming existing political biases, and business is good).

I'm giving everyone the Rilo Kiley B-sides and cutouts collection Rkives as a reminder of why that band was so great and why we need them back so badly. Oddly, I think I like Blake Sennett's songs on this album more than Jenny Lewis'.

Well, let me tell you a story. A few years ago, the Distant Worlds: Final Fantasy video game music concert came to my little town (Grand Rapids, MI). I love the music, so wife & I got tickets to the show and the composer meet-and-greet after. Couple next to us in line (one of them seven months pregnant) told us they'd…

Like a lot of anime fans, I'm still recovering from the monumental mind-screw that was Madoka Magica: Rebellion, the followup to the 2011 TV series (which was itself compressed into two movies released last year, Beginnings and Eternal).

I saw Chess at Onstage Atlanta in the 90's, probably not more than 150 seats. With those great songs and strong characters, it holds up better in a small space than the other big 80's West End musicals probably would, though it was burdened with the awful Broadway book.

How is there not a "Hitler Reacts to…" video of this yet?

I've long thought that Chess would work better on screen than on stage, and particularly given the degree to which it is fixated on TV (the advertisements from the merchandisers, the fact that the match is televised [and that two guys hunched over a chess board isn't wildly theatrical], CIA spy Walter ostensibly…

As anime parodies go, I was kind of hoping Princess Kenny would meet her end in a parody of the infamous decapitation scene from Madoka Magica.

And now I've watched enough anime, I think I understood about half of the unsubtitled Japanese (although with all the loan words like "burakku furaidai", it isn't that hard).

Crap. I can't stop humming George RR Martin's wiener song.

Not in the slightest.

I like how on Monday morning, BBC America will regenerate back into the "All Star Trek: The Next Generation, All The Time" channel.

We need a term for this plague of easily-recognized 80's and 90's movies being turned into forgettable musicals. May I suggest "Betamax Musicals"?

I like that you say it's "oozing with style". That's a great explanation of the appeal. It's not as story-driven as a lot of things I like, but that's probably because it's spending time dwelling on these odd/creepy/funny/scary moments and drawing all it can out of them.

Yeah, because ABC handled Happy Endings so well.

And you are the first person to recognize it. Thanks.

Is Peter Gabriel solo really worthy of a spot, considering he's already in the Hall with Genesis?