Sniff. Best show on television. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm thankful to be a witness to what we've had so far.

Agreed on this. The Prologue was genuinely creepy, with a nice sense of dread running throughout. Disappointed this was so heavily cut/changed in the episode.

I guess my "finally got around to it" read for this year was The Gunslinger . I wish I had some insightful things to say about it other than I enjoyed it (which I did), but it hasn't really stayed with me. And I'm okay not moving forward with the rest of The Dark Tower series, at least for awhile.

No one does a metaphor/simile like Chandler. Stuff that should be considered corny ends up blowing me away. He's so slick with language.

Hatred of Rand and her philosophies can really get in the way of appreciating The Fountainhead , which is a great book. Atlas, Shrugged on the other hand…

"You I Never Knew" by Nite Fields, from their album Depersonalisation . Atmospheric post-punk that is really catchy. Great guitar play through the whole album, actually. I easily listened to this song more than any other this year.

Stoner is such a good fucking book. I read it for the first time last winter and, not that I was trying to depress myself, but it fit perfectly with the weather and left me in such a state of sad, nostalgic reverie. It's understated yet powerful. Such a knockout.

What's the consensus on Franzen's new novel, AV Clubbers? I generally like his work, despite the flak he gets. I've yet to read Purity , and I don't see a ton of others mentioning it either.

Yes! I was at the show. Just typical Bradford stage antics, I thought. I didn't think it'd become a news story, but a lot of people I knew that were also there were talking about it afterwards.

"Leather and Wood" is awful, as is the last track.

Reluctant to agree, but I'm glad someone finally said it. Not that I read a ton of praise either, but that's just it — it kind of came and went. It's pleasant and I enjoy listening to it, but it's not something I'm even considering for an end of the year list.

Blah. Yawn. Adding to the chorus of side-eyers to this list.

Cecily can flirt with me anytime.

They're fine so far. Not great but not the franchise-killer all the negative hyperbole has suggested.

And it hurt the readers. I (mostly) enjoyed the work Bendis did on Uncanny, but the delay with #600 and the dropped plot threads are frustrating, not to mention the ending so lackluster. Cyclops…held a peaceful gathering? Wow. And now he's "dead" and did something else terrible after the end of #600. I'm assuming…

Well, at least we didn't have to endure any of the awful contemporary musical cues that have plagued this season. Intro Credits song aside.

You really can't say enough about how hot she is. I still enjoy this show, but I feel that it has a lot to do with her.

But what about your nards?

Such an intense hour of television.

I had this on cassette — cassette! — and playing it on a school field-trip led to my crush asking to listen with me on the bus ride. We ended up "going out" after that. Which is the exact opposite of what would happen nowadays.