Chong Li! Chong Li! Chong Li!

So far I am really enjoying that aspect of Excession.  The other two were so personal (and even "Consider Phlebas" was so distinct since it was focused on operatives seeking a Mind in the midst of the Idiran War).  I also like how it explores the Minds who have split off from the Culture…which is something I wondered…

I have spent this month immersing myself in Iain Banks's Culture books. I read "Use of Weapons" and "The Player of Games" and I am about a third of the way through "Excession."

And if you say to me tomorrow, oh what fun it all would be…
Then what's to stop us, pretty baby. But what is and should never be.

I think its always a difficult distinction to make.  Often the categories blur together but I think, for me at least, that it often comes down to levels of intellectual engagement.  I love movies that are often classified as "difficult" or "artsy" but that doesn't mean that after a long day at the office I always want…

Oh @avclub-0d4efaa2c9d1041eb9b8b5319eec8531:disqus we all know you aren't joking….and we also know that, if you really wanted to, you could write a 1000 word post explaining academically why that is the case [Sits back and waits as this promises to be a slow day at the office].

I don't understand the love that this film is getting.  I finally saw it last night and it left me cold.  It seemed like an exploitation picture that tried to dress up its most lurid elements in artistic pretense to gain critical acceptance.

I love "My Daughter the Broad"…just reading the song titles makes me laugh. However, the album of theirs that I always make people listen to is "Its Only Right and Natural." Those songs are just sooooo wrong…but still laugh out loud funny after all these years.

HBO has the money for a CEO of Tits, its an intern level position at Showtime..

The pilot was formulaic and overly broad but I'll probably give this a few episodes to see if it comes around because of the awesome scenery chewing potential for Jon Voight's character.

Wait, there's a new super psycho finder on the case?  How many of these people does the government/academia/looney bin have in reserve?

There was a random topless woman that they showed just to demonstrate that Dexter had made some "new friends" and Batista's sister was naked in profile.  Showtime's T&A quota was met….barely.

Well it appears we are all in agreement.  Get Hollywood on the phone!

A WHOLE LOTTA SPOILERS

She did well (as she usually does) with what they gave her.  Unfortunately, it wasn't a very fleshed out role so she spends most of her time reacting rather than making things happen herself.

I've never hated it but I can't say I like it either.  It just seems like waste to pick up on continuity from a 20+ year old film.  Superman is iconic.  His origin, abilities, and even temperament get tweaked and rebooted every few years in the comics (it used to be on approximately 16-year cycles but this is of…

But is that necessarily a good thing?  The origin story can be done well.

I finished Vernor Vinge's "A Fire Upon the Deep" which was excellent.  It has the scope of a large scale space opera where every action has consequences measured in systems and civilizations while managing to stay anchored to two tight personal narratives.  I also love Vinge's unique take on the physics…

Oh @avclub-6e8fb18f4f5788ce09ff72f8fdd81b4f:disqus in your time have you not heard of the 1966 Broadway Musical, "It's a Bird…It's a Plane…It's SUPERMAN?"

In my school district teachers couldn't show any films with any content above a "G" rating even in high school (Or, you know, talk about condoms or the existence of gay people).  But "Scared Straight"…..oh we got to watch that.  Most entertaining day of the school year.