I can't hold the general crappiness of the Saw series against the original, as Wan didn't make those. It's the modern version of the Nightmare on Elm Street series: great original that is diminished by its increasingly awful sequels.

I'm with you. I have absolutely no memory of this album existing and almost none of the songs mentioned ring a bell. I'm pretty sure I'll forget this album exists again by the end of the week.

Mick Jones. He's had an interesting career, but I'd love to hear if he could tap into the old righteous fury one last time. Not sure how an elder statesmen punk record should sound, but I'd be willing to give it a go.

Not true. Nothing was sillier than the bullpen car which, sadly, no longer exists. Nothing like telling the other team your relief pitcher lacks the energy to walk from the outfield to the mound without getting winded.

Oh, so you do understand why, you just want to sit off in your hipper than thou corner and silently pass judgment on your cultural inferiors. Well, we all have fun in our own ways. Happy to help.

Never said I affect the outcome (those studies show that a hostile home crowd does impact the officiating). I'm saying it's an enjoyable experience that also bonds a community together. So, yeah, I will keep using "we" thank you very much. Because the best thing about your local sports franchise is the fact it makes…

The Oscars' problem is that they don't know what they are honoring. I tend to think of the Oscars as the Hollywood mainstream film awards, and the less it tries to be like Sundance, the better. Why not just drop all pretenses and have a requirement of how much money the film grossed to be nominated for Best Picture?…

Because sports are a shared cultural experience. When the local team goes on a playoff run, you can go down to the local bar and be excited with a bunch of strangers who you share the city with. It's fun, and it gives the community something to bind it together. Mainly, it's the "it's fun" part.

Great. Now I'm crying.

I'm with you. I unabashedly love Alien 3, yet I also know this is a distinctly minority opinion. There's never a moment in the film in which the audience is given any reason to believe that any character will live to see the final credits, yet they all nobly try to stop the alien despite being doomed. And, ya know,…

Friday Night Lights started airing right about when I moved to Texas, and I found it to be an incredibly loving and accurate depiction of the state. I'm now married to a band director, which means I'm in the stands every Friday night during the fall to watch a new batch of kids and let me tell you… the "every game…

Worse yet, the Dallas affiliate broke to their reporter, live in Stephenville. I thought I was going to miss the finale so they could talk about the case. Instead, they kept it to the commercial break.

I blame the Avett Brothers, who I also really like. Their early stuff was almost like punk rock on banjos. Other bands softened the formula, and the Avetts also got wise to the game, and followed suit.

Cool! Now I have something to visualize when Lil Poseur wants to watch Frozen for the billionth time. Glad Sven makes it through okay.

As a citizen of Texas (and formerly of Louisiana), yes. They are wrong. The South has plenty of racist dillholes, but also many who abhor racism. You can usually tell which one is which by how they talk about the Civil War.

Nope. Ellicott City is a short drive down US 40 to Edmondson Avenue (and the nation's first strip mall… you're welcome, America!). Arbutus is wedged between south Baltimore and the airport. You can take US 1 into the city from there.

Don't you put that evil on us. Almost none of my punk rock friends from high school even play video games. I tapped out after Stationfall for godsakes.

Ellicott City. But agreed on Dundalk, And Arbutus.

I was an HFS kid. I remember how the festival went from being at the lake to a few years later at RFK.

I can see where that sentiment comes from, once the Punk Ruock Rulebook became codified, but 80s hardcore and post-punk was extremely democratic (or I guess, proletariat). It's essential ideology was very empowering: don't like the mainstream, well go make your own. 80s hair metal was very much about a special Them…