plugging for Dr. Pepper
Do we get a free can when it finally comes out? Is that like a thing now? People who take forever to complete and release albums teaming up with Dr. Pepper? I think instead Dre should show a little Moxie.

Or not. I understand a lot of California's pot growers were opposed to it for how much it regulated them or something. It must be true because I heard it on NPR.

"Spielberg is Jewish"—So what? He would hardly be the first Jew to revel in Christian iconography and rhetoric (see also: Paul Simon). That's entirely beside the point, and only addresses a small part of what makes 'Last Crusade' a huge stepdown from the second, which was already a modest step down from the perfection…

See above.

I don't think you can say we are living in a post Rap world—The way I see it, we went from the Rock era—which started in late 50's—to the Hip Hop era in the mid to late 90's. At that point it was not just a matter of fashion or taste, but philosophy of composition and even technology. Most songs aren't "written" the…

I don't think I got the sense of her squiggling—but that's exactly the kind of thing I think he did really well. Even on the Dyson show, where he was dealing with the gushingly, embarrassingly sypathetic interviewer (And really, in a conversation that touches on the power of words does Dyson not realize how much…

Yawn's not doing it for you anymore?

Yeah—he's on the Michael Eric Dyson show right now.

Hip Hop Elder Statesman
Jay-Z was just interviewed on Fresh Air (this link may not work):

If global impact is at all a part of the conversation, there is no question that Hip Hop has supplanted Rock in overall ascendancy and influence. But as Pierce implies, and the conversation in these comments often bears out, there is a stalwart segment of the population that can't let go Rock hegemony—You still hear…

Sarah Vowell on TV and Thanksgiving:

back in the hole
I've said before that I didn't have a TV in the 90's and that I believe it had a lasting (mostly positive) effect on my objective evaluation of that decade and its cultural products. I'm getting to the point now where I am returning to that blissful state of willful ignorance. A coupla years ago I…

My own tears—Thanks Restasis.

That's the second time Gibberish that you've invoked the "H-word" without using it. I call bullshit on that. Nobody is more worried about being a hipster than the hipster is, and choosing not to use the word to me implies a level of sensitivity that's worth examination. What's more, and I can only speak for myself,…

When you resort to name calling your rhetoric lives up to your name. 'The Last Crusade' is bad because its climax is unexciting, like watching someone else play a really easy video game, and a chunk of its plot comes from 'The Jewel of the Nile'. It also uses far too much humor—which is not a bad thing in itself,…

I'm glad you mentioned 'Twin Peaks'
Because the response I and a lot of my friends had when 'Northern Exposure' came around was that it was 'Twin Peaks Lite': All of the quirk and none of the threat. This was when I was in college and didn't own a TV, so I only saw enough of the show to confirm my prejudices, but it…

That makes sense—I didn't see it amid any hype to speak of, but I know how that can cheapen any experience. But with no expectations at all, I found it very entertaining and quite funny.

I can defend '1941' along the same lines as Mormon Nailer, but I would also add that it was his first and only attempt at a straight comedy and he apparently learned his lesson (all the right parts were there, but it just didn't work. Should've been directed by John Landis). But there's no excuse, given Spielberg's…

In 3D!
Directed by Tim Burton! With Johnny Depp as the Scarecrow and Helena Bonham Carter as the Wicked Witch of the West! Can I have a job in Hollywood yet?

You didn't like 'Small Soldiers'? "Oh no! It's the baton death march!"