Thanks, NYT!

True, true. Last decade kind of sucked, no?

In other news:

1. R.I.P. Eric Rohmer. I regret not going to that one lecture of yours at Columbia. Talk about guilt. Prolific, extraordinary director of the Nouvelle Vague. I resolve to see more films. The only one I've seen so far has been "Conte d'hiver" but I quite liked it.

2. Will have film series in the Spec every other Wednesday. Awesome!

3. R.I.P. "Columbia & Its Discontents". It was getting sloppy, and I was getting nowhere with my vaguely snarky commentary. Also, two regular shindigs in the Spec is way overkill for someone resolved not to enter into that particular cult.

4. Yoga? Tried it, liked it, keeps me from committing mass homicide. Anyone want to join me at Columbia while explore this whole anti-anxiety thing, let me know.

5. Up in the Air was the best movie I've seen since... Up! No joke. And actually, those two are like apples and oranges, so not even a good comparison. It was probably one of the best comedies I've ever seen, and one of the most original. And it wasn't even that funny. In fact, it wasn't really much of a comedy at all. It was a drama with irony and self-awareness, which is really the only thing that gives something the label of "comedy" nowadays. I loved it loved it loved it. For your own sake, please see it. I cannot be more emphatic about it. I liked it so much I'm not even going to try to review it.

(P.S. George Clooney is a hunk and a half, and always will be.)

6. Newest Gadfly is out! And actually has been since early December. But the PDF is available HERE! Looks good, no? I only wrote a short debate piece arguing against the use of neurotransmitters, near the end. Could you tell I was very VERY emphatic? Could you tell I sound mildly socialist? I hope so.