Yeah, that's one of my biggest arguments against Leno - the only parts of his shows that ever border on funny have absolutely nothing to do with him. Headlines, Jaywalking, the guest correspondents, etc could be hosted or presided over by anyone else and have the exact same entertainment value (for better or worse).

Instead of "Taste Taste"
this should be filled under the heading "I Ate This On Purpose."

Sorry if this point has been made elsewhere, but I think it's worth pointing out that during the last chorus of the song, it switches to future tense (i.e. "Tomorrow holds such better days, days when I can still feel alive…"). This shift marks a positive ending - that is, the protagonist choosing not to kill himself.…

Wow, you guys went crazy on this thread. Thanks for the lively discussion. I have many of the same problems with the book as Sincere Sensei - including its length (I'd have either preferred a few hundred pages less or the same length if it weren't so incredibly ellusive/meandering). As I mentioned previously, I also…

Fate?
One of the things I'm enjoying about this book club is that the discussions have helped me better appreciate the books featured, even if they may never appear on my list of favorites. So thank you, Donna, for this heartfelt entry.

Yeah, prior to the release of Get Guilty, mine was "On the Table" - though it isn't the first track on The Slow Wonder, it does appear on one of the O.C. soundtracks, and thus always popped up first alphabetically.

The first two movies
Am I the only one who thinks someone needs to go all George Lucas (though preferably someone who's not Chris Columbus) on Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets when this thing is over and redo the effects so they match the quality of the later films? If you put the laughable CGI of the Quidditch…

Target audience
I was wondering who the presumed target audience for this book would have been at the time of its writing. It seems to me that much of the narration/characterization is purposefully over-the-top and satirical. However, weren't pulp novels like this targeted towards teenagers/average joes to a certain…

Did you read the book for free online? My guess is the typos were due less to the author (or narrator) and more to someone scanning an original copy of the text with not-so-great letterform identifying software. Sure, having someone proofread would have helped, but you get what you pay for…

Since HBO isn't TV it doesn't have to apply by the same seaonal rules. Both the Wire and the Sopranos had periods with sometimes 1 year+ gaps between seasons, so it's quite possible that 7 seasons will mean more than 7 years…

Carter Beats The Devil
I love the novel and I am excited at the mere prospect of its rich atmosphere being brought to life in a series. AMC seems like an ideal fit for the material, although I agree with the concerns about sustaining the story for multiple seasons.

I loved Surge and mourn its loss to this day.

@Janet: I do believe it was Walker. I think I may have even recorded that theme off the TV on a cassette because I enjoyed it so much. It's a shame that all the Batman and Superman: TAS DVD releases imposed the first credit sequences on all episodes rather than those which originally aired with the episodes. I really…

Coraline's is the first film score I've bought in probably a decade. It somehow fits perfectly, even though there's nothing French about the rest of the film. Cheers to Coulais.

James Newton Howard
I know he's mentioned in the article re: Batman, but I gotta give it up for James Newton Howard, especially his work on M. Night Shyamalan's movies. I am probably the ultimate Shyamalan apologist (which I know isn't going to make me any friends around these parts), but the scores for The Village…

Idlewild
the album may not be that bad, but Idlewild the movie belongs in that parenthetical shit list. I netflixed it for the first time a few weeks back and it was a struggle to get through. I know it was originally supposed to be on HBO but it was worse than their standards (usually) allow. It was actually painful…

Great Northern
I am the only one who's heard Great Northern's "Remind Me Where The Light Is"? I think it's a fantastic album that I find myself returning to time and time again. It'll definitely be in my top 10 this year.

Obviously, the Judge should be played by Sean Patrick Flannery as Powder from the movie Powder. Pale, hairless, and supernatural: it's a winning combination!

You may have us, but you'll never get off the island!

That's definitely true of this book, but as I recall, The Road does describe the characters' emotions and motivations throughout. And most of the characters in No Country… (at least the movie; have yet to read the source), with the possible exception of Chirguh, have pretty clear motivations which move along a…