@ET: I guess it's just that the sympathy critter is used this way in so many films ("Inured to human pain and suffering, eh? How about we stick it to this THREE-LEGGED KITTEN!!") that, when I see an animal, I start wincing. *SPOILERS* Waiting for the German Shepherd to die horribly distracted me completely from the…

Unearned tears
This has been referred to a few times, but I want to hash it out. Some films earn my tears (e.g. Iron Giant) by putting well-developed characters in untenable and/or inspirational situations; others cheat and just push my buttons by, for example, threatening or killing sympathetic animals (fuck you, I…

"mule-sting". Christ. I can't even get my mistakes right.

TQ: I totally read that as "the mole-sting", wondered briefly if there was some well-known equine long-con I had missed, then read it again. Liked my version better.

hate hate hate
No one is ever going to read this, I know, but I have to get this off my chest. The PC version came out recently, and I downloaded it based AVClub recommendations, damn you all to hell.

"There's only one way to find out" - damn, I hate that phrase. It is most often used when there are at least a dozen immediately apparent ways to find out. Two of them are usually "think about it for even a moment" and "look it up". Grr.

My dad would constantly spout Monty Pythonisms, but I thought they were his own originals. Dearie me, the disillusionment…

Free to be you and me
Anyone else out there have their ideas about equality, gender relations, blah blah blah formed entirely by Free To Be You And Me, the Marlo Thomas / Alan Alda kid's album?

Constantine had a lot going for it, but I just can't get past Keanu Reeves. How on Earth could you cast him as a character who is explicitly a) English, b) cleverer than anyone else in the room, c) witty and d) Stinglike in appearance? I hated the movie the first time I watched it, but the second time I just used my…

Aha! The book was called "Marianne Dreams" by Catherine Storr, and PAPERHOUSE was indeed based on it. Thanks for providing the clues I needed. On order…

magic pencil
I *know* this came up in a AVQ&A, but I can't find it: that book about the sick girl with the magic pencil who then dreams about what she draws. But she's all grumpy about being sick, so she draws really horrible things like boulders with eyes. Damn. I'm probably not going to sleep well tonight.

Yeah, they dumped plenty of clues that Locke is now Smokey (e.g. Ben's "the thing that's coming out of the jungle - I can't control it", then Locke walks out). Maybe too many.

Yep, Jian's the guy from Moxy Fruvous. I too will admit to being a huge fan. Saw them on Thanksgiving Day in Chicago a few years back. The audience was all folk who either a) hate turkey, b) hate their families or c) were Canadians in Chicago for some reason, but that only added to the overall exuberance.

closing shot
I'm once again forced by time zones to resort to crazy-ass theories, since all the previous comments have covered the plausible ones.

JJD: Sorry, joining the party late. Time zones.

WWOFTBBNT: I very much like that interpretation of breaking the rules. It does make me wonder how he (Widmore) pulled it off, though - many members of our gang are very motivated to break the rules in that sense, but don't seem to be able to do so.

@ Fats Pinto: Brass Eye! Thank you for reminding me of its existence. I'm off to YouTube.

real crackling
Last time I roasted a pig in my pig box (www.lacajachina.com), I offered my guests the crackling, and responses fell into two groups: those who looked with concern and suspicion on the plate full of hot crunchy skin (with the occasional pig hair), and those who, having grown up with the stuff,…

Roku
I bought a Roku box (don't have TiVo, don't play games) and love it. It gets me Netflix WI and Amazon On Demand, and it's permanently hooked up to my projector (don't have a TV) so I don't have to sit hunched over my computer or fuss with cables. And yes, the limited content actually has its charms. I'm working…

Yummsh: Sorry for not citing your earlier theorizing. It was the timing that convinced me this week. I had had this preconceived notion that Widmore left the island pre-Dharma, but if we believe his claim that it was Ben who (eventually) kicked him off, then he's still there now. If he wasn't jotting off-island in the…