I think Welsh was inspired by the T1 movie in expanding her role in Porno. IIRC, in the T1 novel, she only appears in the club/morning after scene. In the movie, in a very brief post-coital hash-smoking scene, she's actually the person who convinces Renton to get off his ass and do something with himself.

Possible. But maybe not. For an example, see the "Rue Britannia" storyline of Phonogram.

This aging Gen-X'er is of two minds of this sequel - I'm either gonna love it or I'm gonna hate it. I don't think there will be any middle ground for me on this one, and that's rare.

I think I still have my fishnet shirt, pleather short-shorts, and eye makeup somewhere. Now to lose 50 lbs, grow my hair out again, and gender-fuck my way through some Nitzer Ebb and "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove" again.

Love both of those novels. Yoshikawa really made Japanese medieval history come to life for me.

Read Eiji Yoshikawa's great epic novel Musashi, which begins just after the Battle of Sekigahara and ends with the duel on Ganryu Island. I won't claim to have consumed all (or even a significant portion) of the Musashi media, but for my money, it's the best depiction of this weird figure in Japanese history.

Is Mindy Kaling real?

“You got me in with the pot people! They’re the worst people, worse than people who study abroad or atheists.”

I'm definitely trying it next time I'm near Momofuku Nishi. I like what Impossible Foods is trying, but I can never justify the cost of their products when I go to Target.

I just spent the weekend with a gorgeous burlesque dancer (who is vegan) and her husband (who is an omnivore). We talked about cooking and how hard it could be in some places for her to find vegan fare at restaurants. And the entire time, I was gentleman and didn't ask how much she enjoyed her hubby's hot beef…

She's an unsung talent. Mary Birdsong is gold.

I've known one person who lived with his ex-wife long-term, and it drove him in a really deep depression, especially since she was actively dating. It took him years to finally move out, but by then the depression seemed permanent. I suspect that extended later-life depression (he was in his late 50's when I knew…

Vernon has my favorite moment of the season so far. In "Bad News: Dude's Dead," he has the only kind words spoken to Edgar in the whole ep (in fact, Edgar has been shit on harder than usual the entire episode). He tells Edgar that he needs to seek professional help for his PTSD…and then pulls out a fucking harmonica…

I wish Michael Penn would tour. I honestly love his music, and he produced the best tracks on Liz Phair's self-title (which were released separately as a DL-only EP).

I may be in the minority, but I really like the Deacon design and am disappointed by the "news" that they might not be showing up in A:C. I really liked the goblin-shark-like design of inner jaws, plus the slightly more organic look which somehow made it more "alien" than the Xenomorph to my eyes.

I did. I felt that the adaptation was okay enough. I didn't love it but didn't hate it at the same time. Glad I waited to Redbox it, rather than spend money at the theater.

"What's eBay? Is that some sort of fruity electronic San Francisco thing?"

Yeah, I was kind of surprised that anyone was "rooting for Amy" in Gone Girl. Both she and Nick are awful people, for sure - but damn, I wouldn't classify Amy as an anti-hero. She's a sociopath through and through, an outright monster motivated entirely by self-interest and delusion.

Ben Folds comes across as just a guy from North Carolina who happens to smoke a mean pork shoulder. Someone should get him a publicist.

I devoured most of Roth's pre-90's bibiliography when I was in college and loved his early work. But like Stephen King, he settled into a rhythm of sorts in the mid-80's that just irritated me. American Pastoral is one of the "recent" Roth novels I liked, and it's the only Nathan Zuckerman novel that I enjoyed (I…