I assume you guys know this is particularly relevant, as Mike White is a Pasadena native (though pretty sure he was Oak Grove/Hillcrest Pasadena.)

100%. I'm still fighting that instinct.

I always loved the kids who just popped-by in high school. My house was the pop-by house for kids in my siblings' classes, and it was really fun. Like getting new family members. I'd come down to the kitchen and never knew who was going to be sitting there eating Cheezits and reading the comics, with or without my…

"Jerk" (or "the J-word") was and remains verboten in my parents house.

@avclub-e57dbebc740250d2c4a370cf6ccb35f0:disqus Aw that's very kind of you. The rants I have about publishing, feminism, and their intersection could fill a (completely unsellable) book.

I'm glad I wasn't the only person thinking this. What could have been.

She was his director, though. That ups the creepy factor considerably.

It's just such a surprise. This sounds cliche and terrible, but he really always did seem so full of life.

@avclub-a43012a332fc066e7ecf57a9b678fb51:disqus As a woman who works in the book industry, one of the biggest problems is that the industry itself doesn't take female writers as seriously. Despite the overwhelming female majority in publishing, a relatively small percentage of books sold to major "literary" imprints…

There are—the real conundrum and feminist mood-killer is that those other ones rarely sell the same way.

Says "She Was My Rushmore"

Oh my god, that's literally what I thought. I came to make snarky comments about the evident need to soundtrack kids movies with the worst techno covers imaginable—and you're telling me that this is actually a Top-40 song that people subject their ears to on a regular basis??

Oh, yeah, I guess I should have clarified: I almost never stick around for the interviews.

Did people watch The Daily Show last night? John Oliver killed it. The hesitation/stage fright from last week was completely gone. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the summer.

@avclub-f336f687c802c5fb53f586a467b03580:disqus Put me down for Justified, too. No show on tv makes me laugh louder or harder than Justified does

Maxine Peake is just phenomenal. Why she isn't a huge star is a complete mystery to me.

I think everyone with a heart beating in their chest loves That Thing You Do! Even Liv Tyler's woodenness can't dampen the fun of hanging out with the Oneders.

@avclub-3be42d8a3412057f79af152555e39bd4:disqus  I agree with you. Hadn't remembered the call to Harry—but that makes a lot of sense.

Yes. I think the speculation about Don's actions being motivated by Peggy miss the point that Don's actions are always motivated by Don. He doesn't actually (in my mind) seem to care that Peggy has a crush. But he cares a lot that he's not the big man in the room.

Yeah, as adorable as Peggy and Ted's mutual crush is (and it is adorable), I disagree with Todd—I really think that Don did what he did because the crush was compromising the work. Sure, he was a dick about it because of Don reason, but Peggy and Ted deserved a talking-to.