I love it when somebody (Helfinger) doesn't find someone funny, then has to create some convoluted, imagined reason that others do. Nobody laughs at Ansari because they're trying to assuage their white privilege guilt. People just don't do that.

I was (at least in this ep's comment section) vocal about preferring just a Sledge adaption. I'm willing to suspend that thought in deference to Todd, he was right after all that the series becoming much more engaging in later episodes when most of it were doubting it in the early going. However, this brings up…

I'm somewhat curmudgeonly against these productions. Sedaris originally allowed a play adaption as a favor to a friend and now regrets it as many of these productions ramp up the cynicism and mocking without bringing the real affection he has for the holiday.

Especially relevant on this site is the fact that Frank Darabont was one of the screenwriters for Dream Warriors. It's a small world people.

I was hoping someone would bring Nightmare 2 up. As I recall, none of the original creatives worked on it and it was not liked at the time for the way it went so far afield of the original. A fellow film student showed some clips from it in class once to bolster his "this is really about a scared, closeted gay teen…

This ep hit me harder than any before it. I've had problems with connecting to the characters and chalked it up to the writing. Here the writing (and acting and directing) was fantastic, aside from the pat reversal that Todd cited. I find it interesting that the same writer and director for this ep and Peleliu…

Rowan I'd say that the problem is not so much a cult of objectivity, but the way that ideal is practiced: There are two sides (and only two sides) to every story and even if 98% of the experts on one side, I must give equal weight to the 2%. Oh, also a political candidate has to prove through early polling that they…

I'm with you Bfred but meaningful lobbyist reform is only slightly less likely than doing away with the Electoral College or rectifying that very lightly populated states getting two senators while Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and Guam have no real representation in Congress. It's really depressing whenever I think…

I also will trumpet Julia Davis, though I mostly know her from her brilliant show Nighty Night. The idea that she and Jessica Hynes would be in something bleaker/blacker intrigues me greatly.

The sentiment of that duo-death scene was lost on me (sorry) due to my brain screaming, "What freak commits suicide just to stay with their 'true love' leaving their child an orphan? And what a lovely mother, never even mentioning your kid. Ji-Yeon's probably better off because Jin probably would have fucked her up…

It's the same thing as Penelope Cruz. I first saw her in Spanish films and then was sad by how terrible she was in U.S. films. She goes back to Pedro and is again glorious. Actress working in her first language or talented writer/director?

Sigh
I was really, really hoping to see something that would redeem this only slightly better season, but of course I was a fool to hope. Blah from top to bottom. Kera Saun (spelling) would have taken this season in a walk even with the leather aviatrix outfits.

Other books
Kurlansky's other books are quite good, Salt in particular is wonderful. I'm not a baseball fan, but I'll try this out as a fan of the author.

Wylie
From the outset I wanted to see him win so as to get more chances to see him work his mojo in the single elim eps, but it was not to be. However, Jonathan was so incredibly charming in his modesty that he's my new favorite.

Thanks WCOG and to all the other knowledgeable folks. I'm finding that the additions/corrections/explications in the comments vastly enhances my enjoyment of the show, which I'm only tentatively enjoying mostly because I still don't feel connected to the three main characters. Having not seen the entire run of BoB, I…

Hemorrhage in the brain cannot be equated with drug use. I suppose that cocaine or meth *could* tip the balance in someone with an already present aneurysm, but that's far from a "probably". Plenty of people have aneurysms unknowingly and sometimes they burst. It's sad because there's generally nothing that could have…

Pampl I think you mean They Might Be Giants, who were named after a movie so don't really fall under this category. I like TMBG and the name, but I can see people recoiling from movie name bands such as Knife in the Water (again, I like the name and the band).

I'll clarify your "Texas is not that kind of Southern" by refining it to *some* of Texas is that kind of Southern. Great soul food is available especially in East Texas (which geographically and some demographically looks plenty like Louisiana) but elsewhere too. Though, not so much at T'afia, to which I've been…

The only reason? What about if you had an apparently very specific crush on any and all dark-haired, mustachioed detectives? Matt Houston (and Magnum and Rick Simon) excited me in a way that I did not yet understand and, oh I've said too much.

Saw the play tonight and wholly agree with the kidd.