Reef Madness: Charles Darwin, Alexander Agassiz, and the Meaning Of Coral, by David Dobbs. When young Darwin joined the crew of the Beagle, his main interest was still geology, so one of his first publications was a monograph on how coral islands are formed. Unfortunately the deep-drilling technology that could have…

I suddenly realized that I want to work at WKRP in Cincinnati, so Andy Travis, I guess.

I read a book about biomolecular archeology. It was bland—I can't even remember the title—but informative. In the past archeologists used to thoroughly wash all the pieces of pottery they dug up. Nowadays the gunk attached to them is considered the interesting part.

Ironwood was the best of the early '90s Eros Comix…

Short answer: No, Spirited Away is widely considered peak Miyazaki.

"Numfar! Do the dance of joy!"

Among East German movies, Solo Sunny, I Was Nineteen, and The Rabbit Is Me are worth watching.

I took my mother to see The King's Speech and she enjoyed it a lot. There is an appreciative audience for that kind of movie.

I was commenting on the dissonance between "Jean-Luc Prickhard" and your lack of enthusiasm for Seven of Nine's T&A.

Madagascar 3 is funnier than the original. I guess "funnier" ≠ "necessary", though.

Comment/username lack of synergy.

I'm the guy who liked Helix…

Over the weekend, I read Ovid's Tristia. For those who aren't up on Latin literature, they're poems written after Emperor Augustus exiled Ovid to the back of beyond; they involve a lot of begging to be allowed to return to Rome.

If you understand the German dialogue, it's also pretty funny. As Calloway and his men are searching Alida Valli's apartment, her landlady is saying: "This is a respectable house! Metternich once slept here!"