His fart guy is really good

Asuka, maybe other people do this, but I never said she was a construct of the record company, nor did I say she was scheming masterfully behind the scenes just to screw with Weird Al. Nor do I even fancy myself a "Lady Gaga detractor." I don't know where you're getting this stuff. I have two of her albums, and while…

Asuka, she's responsible for having a "camp" that would act that way, especially for a musician with Al's tenure.

And "Smells Like Nirvana" was definitely harder on Kurt Cobain than this song is on Lady Gaga.

Seems like part of the larger "nature vs. nurture" issue. Even if sexual preference is partially formed in ways other than genetics, that doesn't make it the same as a "choice," as in between getting ice cream or cake.

At least Mr. (Sir?) McCartney didn't tell him to record the track before he could tell him no.

I definitely agree about the "genetics vs. choice" argument. I don't even want to get into that argument because it is completely irrelevant. Anyway, it's not like Lady Gaga was the first person to ever have a song saying to be yourself. You have to be pretty full of yourself if you think you're making a big…

Any kid with a MacBook and Youtube account could do things just about any musician does at this point.

I would think that's the reason it's out at all - that is, on Youtube. If she had been reasonable and just told him "no" after receiving the lyrics sheet, he wouldn't have put in all the time to record the song.

The whole Coolio thing sounded like a huge miscommunication to me, if I remember correctly. Al has no legal requirement to get the permission, but generally likes to do so. I think he got it from someone affiliated with Coolio and said in hindsight he should have gotten it from Coolio himself.

Less important than Dead Bowie?

I wonder what the role of "science ships" in the Federation is. Military vessels such as the Enterprise D are so focused on science and exploration that it surprises me they would have a separate class of ships for science. Although it could make sense. A ship with more firepower would be appropriate for exploring the…

Haha, good stuff Walter.

RJ and Alurin: I didn't really expound on that enough, but that's what I was getting at. Sure, Vulcan is destroyed, but you can chalk that up to a different timeline, so all the adventures you remember from TOS, TNG, etc. are still intact. And by the same token, Romulus getting destroyed doesn't change that either.…

@udjibborn: I'm only at the beginning of book 3 (after a hiatus), but I would find it hard to believe Gregor Clegane has any kind of redeeming qualities.

I guess the Darth Vader thing was supposed to be a joke? The best contemporary example I can think of as a movie hero objectivists could look to would be Tony Stark.

Well, how could we possibly pay for our exorbitant AVClub subscriptions if we didn't have our trust funds?

Trekinosis, this is why you shall not have the first post. Though to be fair, neither will I.

I agree the casting is fantastic. I think Quinto and Pine make an excellent Spock/Kirk. I'm hoping in the 2nd movie they write the characters more like actual Spock and Kirk.

I wonder if people born deaf would have different thoughts about it than people who used to have hearing. But I still find it hard to imagine you wouldn't want that extra sense. I mean, if there were an extra sense I could get (as long as it wasn't constantly painful or something), I'm pretty sure I'd like to have it.