At least they're finding interesting ways to lose.  My team just went and had a nationally-televised, prime-time pants shitting against their arch rival.  I know the complaints of a 49er fan are small potatoes here.  Still stings, though.

Interesting.  I always thought Pam's mom's implied lines were pretty obvious, and for all the times I've seen the episode, my interpretation hasn't really changed.  Not to say one take is wrong or right — just that we saw it so differently.

I'm in agreement with you about Malece, but only about half the time.  I vacillate between finding her personality to be entertaining in a dry sort of way and annoying in a teenage know-it-all sort of way.

Agreed.  A 30 minute elimination episode would probably be ideal, but that never happened for whatever reason (production costs, maybe?).  The hour-long elimination episode was always painfully padded and a chore to get through, especially towards the end of the season.

I understand the logistics that probably precipitated the change, but yeah, eliminations at the beginning derail the momentum considerably.  Like telling someone you ran over their dog on the way to their surprise party.  I think a "D" is a little harsh, though.

I actually used to be a firefighter in that area (even recognized some faces last night) so I can speak to some concerns:

The icing on the proverbial cake happened a week or two before the finale when the judges/producers, realizing they'd created a monster of sorts that turned on them, flipped the script and ganged up on Cyrus when it was looking like he'd actually go and win the damn thing.

Re: knowing about some contestants before the Top 20

Every year I think the same thing: I really wish the producers would do more than just one Vegas episode.  I still think it's probably the most compelling part of each season, but it gets mostly glossed over.  For all the attempts to manufacture drama during the rest of the season, they sure have some low-hanging…

I'm familiar with the works of Pablo Neruda.

It's damn near — no, strike that… — flat-out impossible to pick The Best Simpsons Moment, but that scene should be on any Top XX list.  Everything about it was perfect.

Oh Kelly Kapowski.  I was sure she would be somewhere near the top of the comments, but no, page 5.  That doesn't seem right.

A big thank you to the AV Club for running this.  The show had been on my radar for years, but I was just never able to find time for it until a few weeks ago, and I'll be watching the final episode tonight.

In some respects, I suppose we're really just discussing matters of taste when it comes to what makes a song compelling or interesting.  Personally, I enjoy the dynamics on Boxer and earlier albums (in moderation — "Mr. November" isn't likely to get an automatic repeat from me).  Ignoring the lyrics, themes and…

The National is my current favorite band, so I just can't find any snark in me.  I've listened to the whole thing about 3 times through over the past few days, and damn if I don't come away just a little disappointed in the album as a whole.  It's still good, but it isn't great, and great is what I've been expecting.…

Mother's Day got in the way, so I'll be watching this tomorrow.  Kind of a bell-shaped season for me — didn't much enjoy the attention and camera time paid to some of the players in the beginning, got better in the middle, but really wasn't a fan of anyone at the end.

I'm pretty firmly in the Anyone But Dawn camp these days.  21 years of marriage?  That man's a …something…not sure what.

I don't know if they've said if they're doing final 2 or 3 this year.  Assuming it's a final 3, Brenda is getting the no-votes third place finisher edit.

Well, Andrea, whom I remember nothing specific about from her original season at all, was definitely one of my favorites this year.  I think it's those big doe eyes.  She will be missed.

God, if Brenda's been like this all season then we're lucky she's been mostly invisible thus far.