I interpreted that scene more that the necessary passion was more an accumulation of all the feelings he had for all his friends. But I may need to watch it again.

Maybe it's because I'm a weirdo who's seen Ferris Bueller, High Fidelity, Annie Hall and Marx Brothers movies far too many times—and therefore I look at an imaginary camera several times a day when I find myself exacerbated—but I think you guys are reading too much into Abed's looking into the camera. Annie coudn't…

Exactly.

Yeah, and "good" pro wrestling is a combination of a number of things, including the in ring product. The story can be good, but the match boring, and vice-versa. Athleticism does matter, as does character. That's what makes the whole thing interesting for some people. When all the aspects are firing, pro wrestling is…

OH NOSE!!111!! NOT LONGHAND. HE MUST BE A BACKWARD LIVING INBRED NUCLEAR MUTANT IN LOVE WITH HIS SISTER. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD EVER JUST SAY, "Fuck it, I just like writing with a pen and pad" UNLESS THEY WERE SUPERSTITIOUS CRYPTO-CHRISTIAN MORON LUDDITES?!!!

No doubt.

I've never understood that hypothesis. I mean, obviously I could be wrong (I usually am), but Mr. Fantastik sounds nothing like Rodan. Plus, the alias "Rodan" fits with the motifs of "Take Me to Your Leader" better than the name "Mr. Fantastik." To me it would seem more like someone taking an alias that fits with the…

Mister Fantastik has hours and hours of recorded—both solo and otherwise— music made under his obscure alias of "The RZA."

Eh, it's not so much "penetrability." It's more a matter of appeal. I grew up pretty poor and in several communities that could be described, I suppose, as "blue collar" Hispanic. Reading was for girls and "fags." Something Wicked this way comes is one of my favorite books, but even Bradbury isn't enough to break…

Yeah, and that writer was probably the star of the workshop.

Yeah, but in all honesty, though, I would've found all those books boring, too. They're not, obviously. Those are all amazing books and some of my favorites, but my mind had to get primed to read them.Quite frankly, we read Hamlet in high school and I remember thinking, "What the fuck is this shit? I don't even…

I find it interesting that so many people confuse superfluous technological advances with "progress."

Actually, all that description was just an excuse for the writer to show off. It's isn't actually about telling a story anymore. In the MFA world, it's about constructing the least interesting sentence.

I didn't start until I was 19. I was watching Fear and Loathing and Las Vegas and somebody told me it was a book, and I was like, "You mean somebody can write a book like this? You can write a book where people just traipse around Las Vegas doing drugs and puking on things? That's so awesome."

Well, personally, I do think humans are "obliged" to be active, and I do believe there is some kind of "mind-body" connection and part of why everybody's so miserable in this country is because they're all fat or weak and eat too much candy.

Because he has a "following." It's about whether the book can make money, not whether it's any good.

As a cinematic hipster, I'm always loathe to admit that this movie was my introduction to Miike… but oh was it a glorious introduction.

Me too.

I've read a fair amount of Burroughs, and I agree with your general assessment: that you read him (often in college) and never want to read him again. His worldview is simply not something I find appealing or entertaining. Sometimes I find his writing morally reprehensible on some levels.

Yeah, but that's normal.