It's not that his prose is somehow better when you're a child, it's that when you're a child you don't know enough to realize he is awful.

Beatific means saintly.

Yeah, and he proved it by being the Beatle that actually made solid, consistent post-Beatles work. In my opinion, McCartney, Ram, and the first few Wings albums are more consistently good than any given Beatles work.

Oh, they still make records?

Satan's Brew is so good! I discovered it in high school, stocked in the horror section of the local video store.

I think looking for big laughs in Tati is missing the point. Sure, he could be pretty funny, but he used gags structurally. The films are basically elegant machines strung together with gags rather than plot.

Agreed. The Royal Garden scene is the climax of Playtime. The way that the stuffy rhythms of the restaurant are battered and eroded by the forces of chaos (much like the uniform of the waiter on the balcony) until people actually relate and have a good time is the explosion of freedom and humanity that we have seen in…

Houston doesn't have lot of cultural exports? UGK, Townes Van Zant, Pauline Oliveros, Lightnin' Hopkins, Donald Bathelme, Gene Wolfe? Come on, kid.

I really love the pacing. And I think that the characters are fantastic. Especially Ajax. Such a likable sleaze!