IJ is the most rewarding book I've ever read, and certainly the most addictive. I read it back in 2001; I'd read about everything else by him, and I kept putting IJ off because it is so daunting. When I finally broke into it I did nothing else for three months: no movies, no TV, no friends, I was addicted, addicted,…

Children of Men is my favorite movie of the decade.

bad
idea jeans

I once had a bitch
named Mandy May

I had to stop Blood Meridian half way through and begin re-reading it again. Then I read it again. For about two months afterwards, everything I read seemed hollow and ephemeral. Then I read it again. I still don't understand it.
I agree with Elitist Trash that it might be a bit weighty for the message boards, but I…

Great satire never announces itself as satire.

As a general rule, film adaptations of literary fiction don't turn out too well, while genre fiction, in the right hands, can make for great cinema (Puzo's The Godfather, Benchley's Jaws, King's The Shining, etc.). Just look at what Malick did with The Thin Red Line.

Zaireeka is stunning. Does anyone remember Pitchfork's 0.0 review (the reviewer didn't bother to listen to the discs at once)?

I read Skateboards, and I agree with Donna—the abuse is clear but ultimately implicit, and it's never reflected on by the author in any way.

Tossing Seeds, of course. Right above me @zirona1

I think Foolish is the high point…
But the early singles collection, I forget the name…it's orange…it's really good. They do a cover of "Train from Kansas City," cover some Sebadoh songs.

Ballard was great, a true original (and the kind of skilled writer who would never spew hackneyed shit like "a true original"). He was writing great stuff right up to the end. I think he'll be more relevant as we catch up to him.

I was living in Tokyo when the movie came out in Japan…I saw it in the movies a few times with no subtitles, and my Japanese was horrible at best. The whole Zeniba/Yubaba thing made no sense to me, but the film was so visually engaging that it didn't matter that I didn't understand so much of it.