I walked past there a couple months ago when the music was off for some reason and it felt really weird. I didn’t like it.

Right? I love that they’re bold and unapologetic about cranking up the music. I would hate to live with that all day. But that’s why I didn’t move there. What a concept.

That book is at the top of my TBR pile. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s next up after I polish off Helen Oyeyemi’s Gingerbread.

It’s an annoying hook, really. The Hugos are a pretty big example of where the written word is proudly the focal point but for some reason we still have to pretend that the other categories are the real appeal. And I wouldn’t even mind if there was any actual commentary on said written works.

I don’t know what to make of novelette. I read the Naomi Kritzker and thought it was just okay and I’m still mad at Tina Connelly for that abomination that is Ironskin. But I could get over that I guess. I’m curious about the Zen Cho piece—I’ve only read Sorcerer to the Crown but I did really enjoy that.

I’d say the first third of the first season was whatever. But The first season still had some excellent episodes after it picked up around PK Tech Girl or DNA Mad Scientist. I’m doing a re-watch and it wasn’t as painful as I thought it’d be. 

I had a couple of friends get genuinely angry with me because of my lukewarm (but more or less positive) impression of GOTG. The big appeal of that movie was the novelty of it in the MCU but if you’d seen Farscape, it came across as derivative—not in a bad way but in a very, very clear way.

The DVDs are great for the commentary, though!

I’m in the middle of a re-watch and it’s still really great. The writing is so sharp, even compared to the “new golden age of television” that came after. 

Awesome to see a strong roster for the novel category. The last few years, short(er) fiction has been kicking ass (this year too). There’s lots of stuff I meant to read but didn’t get around too like Brooke Bolander and Kelly Robson. Time to get reading. 

I’ve lived in DC off an on for a couple of decades and I was just there a few months ago ... for the first time! Ridiculous, I know. I was probably too old for that crowd, but the bartenders were great. 

I’ve never been, but I’ve heard good things about Churchkey. I think they do brew their own beer. That 14th St. stretch has really developed (even if it’s a little much for me).

I find the bar scene in DC more miss than hit. But I do really like Benjamin’s on Franklin in Brookland. It’s located in this small-ish food hall called Tastemakers where there are these different vendors you can grab food from (including ice cream sandwiches). It’s low-key and the cocktails are solid. But it’s also…

Maybe a few seasons ago I would have called this episode boring, but I appreciate the restraint. So many of the season finales are so bloated and overdone that I rather like a moment to take a breath and set things up for the next iteration. For the record, none of the snow shenanigans bothered me because the main…

And of course the whisperers survive the storm by being entirely unaffected by it.Not a flake to be found despite the fact the settlements and the whisperers must be no farther away than 30 miles (probably less) from each other.

I know the one about the twins moved backwards and forwards. I liked that book more than I thought I would.

I totally see that. For some of these properties, even a limited series is better than a full on TV adaptation.

Because of the short length of the story in the first book, I think you could integrate all those back stories without it having a bad effect on the pacing. I think if you tried to stretch that first book out too much, that would slow it down too much as well. But it would have to be done very carefully for sure.

I think somebody made a joke mid-season about watching the adventures of a pregnant Michonne traipsing around the zombie apocalypse. I have to say it’s about as hilarious and entertaining as I thought it’d be. Those kids had it coming.

Agreed, although I was specifically talking about grand jury service which can be quite long (as I mentioned, I was a litigator so I’m definitely familiar). Thanks for the info!