I love Calvin and Hobbes, but…
Watterson hardly "quit while at the top of his game." He quit because his decline was already happening, and he wanted to stop it while he could. That last year was only occasionally funny. It lacked something special that most of the other strips had to spare.

He's a funny comedian but THE HANGOVER was way overrated. It was basically a remake of DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR for a slightly different demographic. For stoners who read sometimes instead of for stoners who merely watch TV. And it was only occasionally funny.

Thanks for the Eluvium heads-up. "New Animals From the Air" remains a perpetual favorite of mine. An epic genre classic.

Thanks for the response, Michaelangelo. It delights me that this site has a knowledgeable electronica critic, and it always makes me feel good when Caribou gets some recognition. There's an act that has never disappointed me—CARIBOU!—from the pure IDM of START BREAKING MY HEART (perhaps my favorite album ever); the…

That may be the hardest I've ever laughed on this site. Thanks, TLA.

Glass can rescue almost any film. I remember watching SECRET WINDOW—not at all a great film—and thinking,"Man, this score is just phenomenal."

The weird thing about Avatar is that it seems to be making all this money, but no one I know talks about it at all. When TITANIC came out, it seemed to be all that anyone anywhere talked about; with Avatar, the only mentions I've heard of it are on the radio (with conservative hacks enraged about its politics) or on…

I don't know this band…
…but this interview sure as hell doesn't make me want to.

Look all I'm saying is that if you like electronica,
then you NEED to hear the amazing new Caribou single, "Odessa."

First I laughed…
…and then I felt sick.

I admit: I kind of want to read that. The cover just looks so cool.

Right, right. I know it's not about the death of the author, and that it was intended for a specific moment of experimentation, but I think it says something beautiful about much of the writing process. Good writers (or good artists of any sort), I think, let the little accidents happen, but then, with every draft,…

It's an enjoyable site, though I disagree with it sometimes pretty strongly. (Like on Neon Indian.) My main gripe with them is that the site is basically an online music magazine—it makes almost no use whatsoever of the online format, including no links, no embedded music players, no videos, nothing. That's kind of…

Damn it Bender, I wanted to make that comment. Seriously, how ridiculous is Dracula's motivation in that book?! He wanted an expert librarian to organize his book collection? THAT's what this whole dumb book was leading up to? Are you serious?! Man, what a laughable premise. I wouldn't even give a spoiler warning…

I think it's just to be clear, but it really is dumb. I'd fight any publicity people who tried to do that with a book of mine, unless it was integral to the title or theme somehow.

Proto-fascist?

ZMF showed up at the AV Club offices? That's awesome! Where can I read about that? …Time for some searching.

Nice work, AViNaUS, that's some good writing, even if I don't totally agree with your conclusion that the two, lit. and phil. shouldn't be mixed. I think philosophy can inform great literature beautifully, can give it structure, can propel it. I don't think for instance, that the novels and stories of Kafka or…

Is AMERICANA the one about the most photographed barn in America? No, wait that was WHITE NOISE. Anyway—

And SOMETHING HAPPENED, of course. And, if Ferris was being honest, probably Dilbert, THE OFFICE (both versions), and OFFICE SPACE.