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Saw the new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie last night. Not half bad! In particular, I thought the casting/characterization was right on, especially with Zaphod, who for the first time didn't feel 2D to me. They actually showed towels being useful, rather than just talking about it. Also, at times Ford and Zaphod feel actually a bit alien, especially early on, rather than just "people in space".

They skipped many great lines from the book, which is to be expected, but weird when they left in the line's setup in to advance the plot. I was half-tempted to yell "WHY DIDN'T YOU KEEP IN THE LINE???" sometimes, but overall I liked it.

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Review of the Moment

I think it was about five months ago that Press editor Alex Zaitchik whispered to me in the office hallway that Thomas Friedman had a new book coming out. All he knew about it was the title, but that was enough; he approached me with the chilled demeanor of a British spy who has just discovered that Hitler was secretly buying up the world's manganese supply. Who knew what it meant--but one had to assume the worst.

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New Site Feature of the Moment
Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed a new solution to the "what should I title the sidebar now that it's not just "Dylan and Sarah's Pointless Sidebar"--whoever has last made an entry gets to name it. Good idea? Too confusing? I kind of like it, though I agree with someone who pointed out that the comments link would be nice at the top...but I can't figure out how to make it fit on the same line as the title, and it's confusing if it comes between the title and the text. As always I'm open to suggestions.

Come to think of it, is "xyz's sidebar" the best formuation, given how the feature will change? What about "sidebar by xyz"? "xyz's aside"? "xyz gaiden"? (Sounding like a Japanese fanboy with that one...gaiden is Japanese for "side story".)