I get hit with this weird hammer of anti-intellectual bullshit from time to time, a kind of reaction criticism or commentary (mine or others) about music, movies, comics, movies, whatever. This closeminded shithead shriek goes up that you're/I'm either THINKING TOO HARD ABOUT THIS STUFF (which, honestly, I might argue was actually impossible, depending on how you parse "thinking") or, that favorite fallback of the lazy apologist, YOU JUST HATE EVERYTHING. And it always drove me nuts! Because, let's face it, when you request that Interpol drive their tourbus into Franz Ferdinand's tourbus, it's hard to argue the contrary, you know? But it wasn't true. I just couldn't quite say why.

But tonight I read this, from an absolutely excellent interview with your friend and mine, and summer movie hero to children everywhere, Mr. Patton Oswalt, that sums it up better than I've ever been able to articulate:

Certain friends of mine are big film buffs who love to write. They don't hate movies. Everyone thinks, "You guys are movie snobs—you fucking love to hate movies." No, no, no. We're actually disappointed all the time, because we love movies and want them to be better. We want them to all be great.

And, that's it, man, that really says it all: All this shit doesn't have to be so goddamn shitty all the time. And I'm tired of apologizing for insisting otherwise.

Yep. Okay. Back to writing THE TUBERCULAR ADVENTURES OF ERNST ERSKINE now.

Be calm and carry on.