That — apart from the general quality of the non-premiere/finale episodes — was the biggest (and nicest) surprise for me about this season!

I’d agree that he understood, from the perspective of writer/showrunner/director, how to keep it operating at its best. And you’re totally right: Chris’s best work, generally, was done in those first few seasons (most importantly, as you note, attracting much better talent than himself, which is arguably the thing…

I feel conflicted, too. Hell, at this point, my entire relationship with this show is conflicted. I love it, at its core (and at its best), but it also drives me fucking crazy.

Chris Carter has never had any perspective, so far as I can tell, about his show or why it ever worked, outside of whatever little whirligig is always going in his own head. The older he gets, the crazier it seems to me. It is pretty infuriating, though.

Requiem being the show’s original send off was really the only finale-related creative decision of Chris Carter’s I’ve ever agreed with, and unfortunately FOX botched that, insisted it keep going with or without him, and we got stuck with S8 and S9. And so on from there...

Unfortunately, he still appears to have all the control. And there are still some much better writers (Morgan & Wong, and Darin; plus they had some promising fresh writers this season as well) that are loyal to him, for whatever reasons.

That’s what I was thinking, honestly! I was reminded of a girl I once worked with who got a full bicep sleeve done of a mermaid, and yeah, the outline alone took up her entire first sitting. (She finished it in three, I think; the second one was all the warm colors, and the final one was all the cool colors, like the…

Damn! I imagine there must have been a good deal of shading or line detail? Either way, you’ve got much better stamina for inking than I do! (Thus far I haven’t had any pieces done that took more than 90 minutes, but I also have yet to use any color in any of mine...)

It is also not a crime deterrent at all, nor is it cost effective. It’s just us saying, essentially, some people are allowed to kill other human beings, and others aren’t. And yeah, it’s immoral.

Yeah, any large piece like this, especially when multiple color inks are involved, will take hours. It’s possible, depending on the piece and the artist, to get a large multi-color piece done in a single sitting (but it’ll probably take 4-6 hours, or something like that), but they’re often split across more than one…

I had no idea about this, but was very pleased to learn about it today.

I really miss Ebert. Years ago I befriended, pretty much by accident, a super curmudgeonly film critic, and he expressed his great admiration for Ebert really well: that it never really mattered whether he (or you, or I) agreed with Ebert’s final opinion on the film in question; he was such a great writer that he…

So do I.

I just have to say, not having had the experience of really having grandparents (paternal set were both dead before I was even born, maternal set lived on the other side of the country and died by the time I was 6, so I literally met them twice when I was young enough that I barely recall)... this was a very enjoyable…

Yes, exactly! I often have anywhere between 3-5 pairs in rotation at any given time. (They’re one of my favorite things to wear in the winter, actually, because my core body temp is above average, so if I just pair leggings with a shirt and a sweater, socks and a warm pair of boots, I achieve perfect harmony with the…

Yes, exactly! I often have anywhere between 3-5 pairs in rotation at any given time. (They’re one of my favorite…

The Breakfast Club has... not aged well, in a lot of ways. I think the only John Hughes movie that I can still stomach these days is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Definitely true. I feel like there are some things that can translate well from that period of your life, if you share them with the right friends, in the right context, etc... But for the most part? Rarely worth the trouble.

Right? Like, they would have to be made of the most comfortable material imaginable for me to even consider that price point. I’m squeamish about dropping that much on even a well-fitted bra, which is arguably a way more important article of clothing!

Right? Like, they would have to be made of the most comfortable material imaginable for me to even consider that…

I don’t know that I’d call them “regrets,” per se (more like “I just don’t care even though everyone keeps telling me I should”), but I’ve got some that really get some people all riled up. Particularly the Indiana Jones trilogy and the Back to the Future triology!

“Angry Eyebrows!” Bah, I am definitely familiar with those... I sometimes seem to have mine on without even meaning to/being aware. But that is very cool, and great name pick!