The one critique I have seen that has some substance to it* is, I guess, a bit of a feminist critique. For all the subversion of tropes and supposedly strong female characters that Grossman created he still tended to rely on a sort of "damsel in distress" situation to redeem Quentin. I am not sure that I am fully on…

I actually really like the books. I never really quite understood all the hate it gets (at least not the "edgy Harry Potter" critiques). I enjoyed the subversion of fantasy tropes, the world building, and the complex characters that Grossman created.

I want to add to your point on the characters not all being well liked is that many fail to point out that the second book is told, at least in part, through Julia's viewpoint. She really gives Quentin a thorough dressing down for all of his pretensions about being a "trained" magician and how his privilege often…

It is always jarring to see a piece of pop culture that is given glowing reviews by the Av Club (great character depth and world building!) and then given the easy joke/snark treatment by the Newswire (it's like Harry Potter if he was a dick). Which is it guys? Awesome or shitty? How am I supposed to form an opinion?

I want to see this done with Steve Winwood. Does Steve Winwood have an album coming out any time soon? It doesn't matter. Let's just get Eric Eakin to interview Steve Winwood.

I wouldn't say the wrestlers failed so much as they were given an awful gimmick. The fact that they successfully moved a bland "we love havin' fun" stable into an almost ironic heel stable is kind of impressive. Sometimes fans will play along and boo the heels but sometimes they appreciate how good the wrestlers make…

Does anyone think that New Day is going to get pushed over into baby face territory? I mean just for the fact that those guys got that awful gimmick to work is something a lot of fans are going to appreciate. All three guys are talented and the gimmick has a similar element to what Bo Dallas had in NXT (which many…

The music is goofy but the scene was violent and bizarre. It was like the American freakout about 80's metal and Marilyn Manson except that these guys were actually practicing what they preach (murder, suicide, setting churches ablaze).

I feel like I would be more interested in some of their later stuff. A couple years ago my girlfriend played "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" for me and it was kind of mind blowing. I knew that they had some darker stuff but, shit, I didn't see that coming. I read somewhere that Lennon hated that song and called it, "granny…

I don't think "I do a lot of drugs" is the same as, "I was raised Catholic and fought against the idea that I'm gay for most of my adult life." Also, a lot of comedians work a good portion of their material around sex and relationships. I mean, do you watch Louis C.K. specials and think, "I get it! You are…

The Beatles. I kind of have some regrets for not listening to them as a teenager. It seems like a lot of people tried to beat it into my head that The Beatles were the best band ever and no band could compete with them. I hated that idea and 13 year old me reacted to it by proclaiming that The Doors were actually the…

I have the same problem with these types of lists. I am much more likely to watch Dazed and Confused for the 37th time than I am to watch Boyhood a second time.

I love where they have been taking Brock since the last Wrestlemania. He isn't a face, a heel, or even a "cool" heel. Brock and Heyman are out for themselves. The fans will cheer when he fucks up Roman (or Michael Cole for that matter) and they will boo when he does the same to Bryan at some point. He is just a dude…

I vaguely remember that tour but I didn't realize that Superchunk opened up for the Get Up Kids. I would have figured that would be the other way around.

Googling that tour I found the R.E.M. set list from Sandstone: http://www.setlist.fm/setli…

Jesus Fucking Christ that sounds like an amazing show.

I also saw that Comedy Central tour in 2003 and I also mostly went for Mitch but I stayed for Lewis Black and Dave Attell. At the end all three came out and worked the crowd a bit which was pretty fantastic.

"It feels like an obligation and a chore…" Absolutely. I can't help but feel I should watch Wrestlemania but I just don't have any emotional investment in any of the matches even though so many of my guys are on the card (albeit in pointless matches). The only thing that interests me are Heyman's worked shoots.

I guess it depends on what counts as "horror" as a genre. For example, neither "What We Do In The Shadows" or "Only Lovers Left Alive" are exactly horror in the traditional sense but they both dealt with the supernatural and both were critically acclaimed. There also seems to be a group of friends or colleagues or…

It even had a ridiculous haunted house complete with a hall of mirrors.