Josh, I couldn't agree more about The National. I saw them play at a bar for two or three hundred people in Madison, a few thousand people at the Hammerstein Ballroom, and a stadium crowd when they opened for R.E.M. last summer, and their stage presence somehow seemed appropriate for both venues. Of course, seeing…

Salvation Army Woman
The scene with the woman from the Salvation Army takes place right where I was expecting him to get back together with (Laura?) the really good-looking secretary. That scene is more mean-spirited and bitter than I was expecting. I wasn't giving Willeford enough credit, the novel was darker than…

Two commenters with Road House-inspired usernames? How long until Brad Wesley starts sharing his opinions on AV Club inventories and The Hater?

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are off the hook
Because now people have a new band to hate for ruining modern classics with gimmicky covers. I actually sort of liked the 'sincere' vocals that come in after about a minute and a half or so; an entire recording of that wouldn't have sounded half-bad. But the screaming…

Ice Cream, Rick Astley
Throughout high school I was too busy playing sports to have any job more regular than babysitting, but the summer after my senior year I went to work at a fast-food restaurant specializing in roast beef and frozen custard. I went to an all boys high school, and the women at the custard stand…

I want to choke people
Who say things like "today's Free is full of apparent contradictions." How pompous can a guy be?

Priorities
I loved the first 300 or so pages of the novel - the part about Cal's family history - but thought that the novel lost momentum once Cal and her confused sexuality came more to the fore. Hopefully the show won't short change the rich backstory in order to focus too much on Cal's career as a performer.

There's some great humor in these episodes, too
I agree that these are the most urgent and dramatic episodes of the season so far, but we should recognize that they also have some of its best comedy.

Its not just that Mendoza and Sotomayor are both latino; they are also both former assistant district attorneys from New York City who later became Federal District Court judges.

The funeral is a beautiful scene, as is the part where Charlie breaks the news about the teenager's death to C.J., while in the background you hear the children saying "America!" in response to President Bartlett's joking questions.

Siapaise is an asshole.

Does anybody know a good music store in Brooklyn?
I know that Williamsburg is supposed to have a few good stores, but is there anything in the Park Slope/South Slope/Prospect Heights/Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill/Brooklyn Heights/Fort Greene swath of downtown Brooklyn? There are about 50 nice little bookshops; why are…

My suggestion for the next 'Reader's Choice'
My suggestion for the next 'reader's choice' is Salman Rushdie's *The Ground Beneath Her Feet.* It has its flaws as a novel, but it presents a ton of issues to discuss, cleverly reworks a Greek myth, has myriad references that seem custom-tailored to appeal to A.V.…

These are crazy hella obscure!
Neither of these two books is available from the Brooklyn Public Library.

One of my favorite scenes in the show's run.

My Cousin Vinny Is More Accurate Than You May Think
My Cousin Vinny may be the best trial movie ever made. Its a farce, of course, but you can tell that the movie was written by real lawyers - the lawyers ask open-ended questions on direct, leading questions on cross, make proper objections, and the Judge rules…

Question
Tasha, under what circumstances did you watch "Emmanuelle Versus Dracula" for the first time? If you don't mind sharing . . .

My favorite part of the West Wing
I think of the West Wing as being a 1930's-era screwball comedy, modernized and set in the White House. I love how its punch lines come from totally unexpected angles. My friends and I still say "It dates back to Parliament. What do you want from me?" when we can't otherwise…

That has 'fraternity house' written all over it . . . or, alternatively, it is one of those movies you watch because you're bored out of your mind but which you end up unexpectedly liking, and wanting to tell your friends about, without admitting that you actually watched it. Emmanuelle v. Dracula has all of the…