Dire Straits' "Sultans of Swing" has always been a song for the depths of winter for me.  For some reason, it's always called up the memory of driving past copses of bare trees lining fields of frozen earth.  In the summertime, it's a good song, but it's almost too much for me; in January, it's strangely warming.

Dire Straits' "Sultans of Swing" has always been a song for the depths of winter for me.  For some reason, it's always called up the memory of driving past copses of bare trees lining fields of frozen earth.  In the summertime, it's a good song, but it's almost too much for me; in January, it's strangely warming.

I saw this exhibition in person on its last day, and it was incredibly intense and overwhelming—in part because there's nothing like really good performance art to make you feel conscious of every move you make, and in part because the place was packed.  I ended up sitting on a bench near the bubblers, crying, and…

I saw this exhibition in person on its last day, and it was incredibly intense and overwhelming—in part because there's nothing like really good performance art to make you feel conscious of every move you make, and in part because the place was packed.  I ended up sitting on a bench near the bubblers, crying, and…

I liked Perry Moore's Hero. 

I liked Perry Moore's Hero. 

Ray Bradbury was one of the last living connections to Henry Kuttner.  As much as I enjoy Bradbury's work in itself, I think the thing that makes me saddest is the realization that just about all of the greats of mid-century pulp fiction have passed on.

Ray Bradbury was one of the last living connections to Henry Kuttner.  As much as I enjoy Bradbury's work in itself, I think the thing that makes me saddest is the realization that just about all of the greats of mid-century pulp fiction have passed on.

You can make a pretty good argument for Cowboy Bebop.  Even if it's not superior to the original, it's damned good and worth watching in English.

You can make a pretty good argument for Cowboy Bebop.  Even if it's not superior to the original, it's damned good and worth watching in English.

Are You My Mother? read like something Bechdel desperately needed to write for herself and maybe keep in a drawer for a while.  I loved Fun Home to pieces, but the loopy therapy-speak in the follow-up was increasingly annoying and occasionally bizarre.  (When you accidentally injure yourself, it's a purposeful thing…

Are You My Mother? read like something Bechdel desperately needed to write for herself and maybe keep in a drawer for a while.  I loved Fun Home to pieces, but the loopy therapy-speak in the follow-up was increasingly annoying and occasionally bizarre.  (When you accidentally injure yourself, it's a purposeful thing…

The Minnesota Opera's 2008 production of Escape from the Seraglio set the story on a train in the 1930s or 40s, and it was marvelous. 

The Minnesota Opera's 2008 production of Escape from the Seraglio set the story on a train in the 1930s or 40s, and it was marvelous. 

First thing I thought of was RENT.  Glad to see it made the list.

First thing I thought of was RENT.  Glad to see it made the list.

When I read them some years ago, I worked at a job with a lot of downtime and had a friend who really wanted someone to talk to about them.

If you like Brienne and are willing to do go with some slightly more slice-of-life stuff, you might actually really like AFFC.  Her chapters were really fun for me, because they're one of the rare occasions when GRRM actually tries to deal with the common people of Westeros and what all the machinations in King's…

A Feast for Crows is my favourite ASOIAF book.  Anything that focuses on Brienne and Sansa is all right by me.

Season 3 was essentially a watered-down season 2, and the central contestants matched up really easily, sometimes right down to the contestants' race.  Manila Luzon might be great (and she is), but half the time, it felt like she was explicitly cast as a Jujubee replacement.  The formula was so closely replicated that…