This is intentional, right?

10 movies about The Suburbs

1. Blue Velvet
2. E.T./Gremlins
3. Brick
4. Home Alone (or any John Hughes movie)
5. Most any Richard Linklater movie
6. The Truman Show
7. Back to the Future
8. Revolutionary Road/Little Children/American Beauty/etc.
9. Mallrats
10. Any movie from the 1980s

The meta double entendre

Inception and Buffy the Vampire Slayer both share this moment where a character explains to our protagonist the absurdity of their reality and how they must be dreaming.

Inception: Chased around the globe by anonymous corporations and police forces, the way the projections persecute the dreamer? Admit it: you don't believe in one reality anymore.

Buffy: Cause what's more real? A sick girl in an institution, or some kind of supergirl, chosen to fight demons and save the world? That's ridiculous. A girl who sleeps with the vampire she hates?!? Yeah, that makes sense.

This serves two purposes, first to advance the plot of questioning whether the protagonist is dreaming and second to give a wink to the audience at the artificiality of what they are watching.

Basically my point is that Buffy already did it Inception! Buffy even had to face the decision of killing her (subconscious) friends so she can wake up. In similar Inception fashion, the episode ends ambiguously, leaving open the possibility that the entire show is just some St. Elsewhere delusion. Give her the kick Willow!

My understanding of how presidential elections are won

• Obama: (see Bush II)
• Bush II: Gore claims invention of internet, ocular degeneration in the elderly
• Clinton: Played sax and said he wear boxers on national TV
• Bush I: didn't ride in a tank, something about a million lights
• Reagan: morning in America, Where's the Beef?, never uses the word "malaise"
• Ford: Redford and Hoffman discover DNC break in
• Nixon: Jane Fonda sits in anti-aircraft gun
• LBJ: girl looking for daisies is nuked
• JFK: Nixon was too sweaty
• Eisenhower: wins WW2, had the better jingle
• Truman: paper preemptively calls election for Dewey, voters vote opposite

11 Most Anticipated Films for 2011

1. The Tree of Life: Terrence Mallick brings his lush cinematography... to space!
2. Super 8: J.J. Abrams and a crazy cryptic teaser trailer.
3. The Adventures of Tintin: Steven Speilberg is back!
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: David Fincher, this man can do no wrong.
5. X-Men First Class: Magneto as a teenager, wuht!?
6. The Muppets: Jason Seigel killing it.
7. Harry Potter 7.2: Meh, seems obligatory.
8. Rango: Hope it is as crazy as the teaser made it out to be i.e. the first 30 minutes of Pirates 3.
9. Hanna: Child assassin.
10. Captain America: Hoping.
11. Scream 4: Ghostface with an iPhone!

Best movies 2010

For the first time since such lists began, I cannot come up with 10 films worthy of a top ten list. TV is better these days anyway.

1. Inception
2. The Ghost Writer
3. The Kids Are Alright
4. Toy Story 3
5. How To Train Your Dragon
6. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
7. Shutter Island
8. Tron: Legacy

Very notable MIA: The Social Network, Black Swan, The Fighter, Winter's Bone and more for sure.

Best music of 2010

Albums

1. Congratulations, MGMT
2. The Suburbs, Arcade Fire
3. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West
4. This is Happening, LCD Soundsystem
5. Contra, Vampire Weekend

Songs

1. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), Arcade Fire
2. F*ck You, Cee Lo Green
3. Power & Runaway, Kanye West
4. Cousins, Vampire Weekend
5. Drunk Girls, LCD Soundsystem

Most played iTunes tracks in 2010

1. 100,000 Fireflies, The Magnetic Fields
2. F*ck You, Cee Lo Green
3. Run, Vampire Weekend
4. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), Arcade Fire
5. Gold Digger, Glee Cast