The new Tron movie looks dumb.

My generation (I'm in my early thirties) has had an interesting run in Hollywood so far. Whereas George Lucas and Steven Speilberg were referencing and synthesisizing classic films and literature, our generation is referencing Lucas & Speilberg, without taking the leap back to the sources. Even the Star Wars Prequels and the new Indiana Jones, horrible as they were, managed to keep this level of postmodernism, looking back while looking forward. Other than obvious gen-x examples like Tarantino or Wes Andersen, where are we in the post-modern framework? Mirrored-glass office building facing another mirrored glass office building in a city of mirrored glass office buildings.

[edit: I saw Tron and it was even dumber than I thought it was going to be]

Alternative Nation

I've been really enjoying the What Ever Happened to Alternative Nation feature over at the A.V. Club:

Part one
Part two
Part three

Required reading for men of a certain age.

b.a.n.a.n.a.g.r.a.m.

If you want your name to sound like a sports car, change your middle initial to "X."
Mine would be a DX-H. Motor Trend's import car of the year!

If you want your initials to sound like either a newly-discovered hormone or an abbreviation for a Latin legal term, change your middle initial to "Q."
D.Q.H.