"Carol Cleveland is very cute in a maid’s outfit."

Two for me.

YEAH!  I read Onion Jack in one of the Best American Comics anthologies a couple of years back (2006, says the spine on my bookshelf) and was astounded how funny and touching (!) it was.  I loved it.

Skip him completely?  Even High Castle and Ubik, which I've been told are pretty essential from friends whose literary acumen I trust?

Vonnegut's my favorite, too.  Rosewater is one that I want to revisit, it's been so long.  I'll have to add it to the pile.

I've got a couple of books I'm working on, plus a uncanny amount of "this one next" candidates.  I'm halfway through The Great Gatsby - first time in almost twenty years.  I've had Murakami's Norwegian Wood half-finished and on the back burner for way too long.  And for some reason I decided that now was the time to…

Curious as to why Ripping Yarns is on the list.  A region 1 release
through Acorn Media came out in the mid-aughts.  It is lamentably out
of print (maybe why it's listed here), but it was a legit, legal US dvd
release.

Why'd it take so long to see the light?

I'm not usually a "how could you forget this-and-that" kind of guy, but…

Thanks, I will.  I've been meaning to look into Hackett's solo stuff, just haven't gotten around to it yet.  I'm pretty curious 'bout the record he did with Yes' Chris Squire last year (Life Within a Day).  Though to its detriment, it's credited to "Squackett".

I saw Brief Encounterfor the first time just a couple months ago, and really liked it; I was impressed by how heavy it got.  "Epic" in its own way, for sure.

Agreed.  Also, I think the presence of Steve Hackett on both Trick and Wuthering help soften the absence of Gabriel on those records, and it's really Hackett's departure that ended arty/prog/etc.Genesis for good.

"Academy president Hawk

Sweet jesus…

The Office (UK).  Second series, episode six.

Agreed, indeed.  And I've always loved Footnote to Howl as well:

Can I have Fifty pounds to mend the shed?
I'm right on my Uppers.
I can pay you back
When this postal order comes from Australia
Honestly.
Hope the bladder trouble's getting better.
Love, Ewen?

Yeah on Pablo.  But with Amnesiac - there's a not-as-classic opening track with Packt Like Sardines, but it leads into Pyramid Song, which I think is an utter masterpiece, so… it's close.

Same here.  The strongest opening tracks I can think of.  It initially took me a while to finish the album.  There was a time I just played Airbag over and over, then (what used to be called) side 1 over and over.  Looking back, I sorta regret how long it took for me to get to No Surprises.  And Lucky.  Ah well.

He doesn't.  But I think that's because he's torn by his loyalty to Leo, his desire (if not love) for Verna, his pride (in not taking first Leo's offer, then Casper's, to settle his debts), and his identity as a right-hand man for the gang bosses.  His decisions look unsure to me because he truly doesn't know what the…