Forgiveness is something you do for yourself, not the other person. The example given by @avclub-dd447685c5e7ee4499734a2074294b82:disqus is extreme, but I've also forgiven someone who didn't deserve it. Because when you don't forgive… you give that person, or their memory, an iota of power over your life.

That's just too low a bar. So many artists and (especially) writers have been assholes.

This morning I was reading an advice column in the newspaper. A woman had written about her emotionally abusive boyfriend, who demanded that she stop going out with her friends (coz he felt excluded) and cease all contact with her male friends, etc. She complied with all of his demands, but he still made her feel that…

Yes, exactly. I get that people hate on Cyclops 'round here, but one of my biggest issues with the X films is that they shunted him off to the side! I do like X2 a lot, but… so many missed opportunities. In the whole trilogy.

"Wolverine" and "team player" do not belong in the same sentence. (And yet, name a Marvel team, and he's on it! That Logan. Such a joiner.)

X3 is much worse than Spiderman 3. I get why people could hate it, but I found the Awkward Emo Spiderman stuff enjoyable and hilarious. I thought it was the best thing about the movie! X3 doesn't have anything nearly as enjoyable, though I did like Beast. (I saw X3 recently as an in-flight movie. It was even more…

Grimes is precious… not pretentious. (Bjork, too. And Joanna Newsom. And Amanda Palmer, kinda.)

This kinda misses an important point: things are taken seriously in academia because the point is to study things. To see how they reflect contemporary culture, etc. etc. But that's all within the halls of academia.

This is basically it, here. The real issue is what the artists promise, and whether they can deliver. If they promise an insanely great concept album about… say, the Gaza Conflict… and deliver an ill-considered piece of trash, worthy of mockery… then the label of "pretentious" would fit.

Amanda Palmer is precious, not pretentious. Like her or not, she is naturally, genuinely committed to her art and her persona. For me, pretentious refers to someone who wears the clothes that don't suit them, and everyone can see right through them. Like a hack poet who tries to appear as "deep" and "mysterious."…

Kickpuncher

I mean… Neville's a student of magic, not yet a full-fledged magician.

Jaime: I think the world is about to fall in love with “Frightened Inmate #2.”

That's something that confuses me, but then Pete never feels secure about anything. And he has the need to be the top dog in accounts, plus he desires to be included in everything. I know the perfect client for him — Hawthorne Wipes!

Nice people can be interesting. Fred in Angel, Willow and Giles in BtVS, Peter in Fringe, Hurley in Lost, Lorelai in Gilmore Girls, Keith Mars, etc. Most of those were put the wringer on their shows, but they were interesting outside of that. And none of them are perfect, they all have flaws, but they're still the…

I think the artificiality of the non-nudity (and the plane ride) works fine in Mad Men, because despite its naturalism it also has the feel of a stage play. I'm not sure that it would do better on HBO. A little nudity and profanity would hardly make it 10x better.

Seriously, no one's done this yet…? Fine, then.

Joan is a partner, she was never in danger of getting fired. But you're right in that she never wants the office to see her as anything less than impeccable.

I often come to these comment threads late as well. I'm sure a lot of people do. Keep your comments coming!

We should start a club! I like happy people, but there's happy and there's HAPPY. Like the HAPPY born again Christian crowd that I was once part of. And Hare Krishnas in general. It's good that people make an effort to really get along with everyone else, but can we be a bit more real as well? Ugh, maybe I'm the one…