Thor's coat, Junho Homme

Hey Ricky. We have different personalities (I never say anything self-deprecating, for starters; and the only masochism I exhibit is underachieving, like working as a telemarketer) but I was in the same boat as you. I managed to reinvent myself physically about four years ago. It took effort, of course, but it was a…

Today's the 28th anniversary of Nicola bryant's last "Doctor Who" episode…

If all men are brothers, would you let one marry your sister?

Very flattered, and I hope you like it: it is a personal favorite.

"Herbie butter" is the name of the special effect/sentient plot point/whatever I am talking about from the story. I reread it a little and I guess it's Coleman doing performance art (pg 209 or so.)

I'll finish "Shadowland" in a week, then, and let you know what I think. I really did enjoy the style—Straub writes lyrically and is one of those writers, like Campbell, where I reread sentences and pay careful attention to what's going on. At this point in the story though, it's wall-to-wall hallucinations,…

I'll confess that I've never finished a bentley Little novel ("The Walking," "The Town") though I enjoyed a few of the short stories in "The Collection." I actually do want to get a hold of "The Ignored" one of these days and just read it, since it sounds pretty intriguing.

I sort of regret my comment because "Shadowland" really did sort of start promisingly. The cover is gorgeous and strange. I'll pick it up every now and then, but I get the feeling I should have kept going with it. I pushed through Ramsey Campbell's "Obsession" which similarly felt like it sucked and was dated, yet…

1- Did you see Shadowlands?
2- Yes. Very very sad.
1- My daughter's movie is much sadder. It makes Shadowlands look like Porky's.

I think it'll be good—the reveal—although I worry if maybe I've spoiled it for myself by all the comments I've read guessing who or what missy is.

Usually "Doctor Who" can conjure up a dry grin, but "You're missing some classic park action," especially during that dire situation, got a sincere LOL.

Why does King pronounce sentient "senty-int?"

I don't know. I started "Shadowland" a month ago, and it's my first Straub, but 300 pages into it and I've lost interest. It just doesn't make any sense as a novel. I also happened to give the "Ghost Story" movie a shot; it was weird and unpleasant-looking so I didn't finish it.
And "Koko" sounds like a stupid name…

You know, I only half-remembered the Doctor ever getting a weird phone call and there was never any explanation for it. I guess I didn't read the whole question or understand what you were asking exactly since "Call me Gus!" flew by me twice and I caught it on the rewatch. A zillion things happened in "The big bang"…

It could've been a train wreck (sorry) easily enough. The focus was kept on the bodies though. And the script wasn't constantly amazed at its anachronisms;
instead the Doctor asked how Clara was both smiling and sad.

I could totally see that working for one story. He can certainly carry his own. For me, Capaldi is *just* a little overwhelming, enough so that I pay attention to the guest cast and Clara a little more when I get the chance, since they're easier to relate to. It's a win-win because this is what "Doctor Who" is at its…

Interesting. We have one of those slightly-less-than-HD widescreen TVs, and in a few scenes (where 6 characters were onscreen, and where maisie had to squeeze past Clara in the narrow hallway) it looked a little more HD-ish than usual, and yet still somehow not quite right.

One little flaw—and the whole story is liquified, like a Voord in a scratched wetsuit.

The sardonic computer voice said "Call me Gus!" a couple times.