A friend writes:

"Nice pick on the SB - but it doesn't count when you basically pick both teams ( "I am picking the Saints b/c I hate the Colts, but the Colts will probably win" ). Anyway, I definitely had a peak experience when Peyton threw that INT. For a couple months it looked like we would get the unholy trinity of the Yankees, Colts, and Lakers all winning championships in the same season, which would cause me to light myself on fire and never watch sports again (assuming I survived)."

Former Gazette reporter Shirin Parsavand writes:

"Probably Colbert doesn't know anything about Schenectady other than that the city's name has been used for comic effect ever since the vaudeville era, and maybe before then. I remember Michael Carrese, a former WMHT staffer who used to do most of the writing for the LCA show, telling me that Schenectady was always the butt of jokes because the "k sound" is funny. I just did a Google search and yeah, apparently that's a comedy truism.

Of course, Colbert is from S.C., which as Jon Stewart notes is the state that keeps on giving to comedy writers. (Its latest gaffe was when the lieutenant governor compared poor children who get school lunches to stray animals.)"

My friend Nachie writes:

"The more people write about Salinger shunning fame, the more it seems
like the best possible idea. I mean, the timeline sounds like: wrote
some classics of american literature; decided he didn't want to deal
with the noise and craziness of being famous (and I'm assuming that
means he didn't want to be a lecturer or academic); took his money and
moved to a small community where he was by all reports a happy dude;
lived his life.

That sounds like one of the better lives I can imagine.

It's funny, my mother's birthday was Monday, and she was talking about
how she wanted to make sure everyone in her english class had read
Catcher in the Rye and/or Nine Stories, and that every bookseller she
called in the city was out of them. Not surprising, but nice to hear."

My friend Amy from high school writes:

"I'm happy to read those stories about how everyone in Cornish and the Upper Valley just let Salinger be himself. I was telling friends over the weekend about how we'd hear that he was in the audience during our plays, and I'd wonder to myself, why would JD Salinger want to see a high school production of "Fiddler on the Roof" for "The Wizard of Oz," but that's the kind of low-key stuff that made him happy, I guess."

I know better than to bet on the Jets.

My friend Bill thinks I'm an idiot. He writes:

"Yeah, I hated Avatar. I think I'm the only person on the planet. I thought it was predictable, boring, and trying to come across with some lame message that white people shouldn't have killed the Indians. I read your review and that you thought it was the best movie ever made."

I agree - the plot isn't anything too special. I've read reviews comparing it to Fern Gully. But I thought the strong visuals and action anchored the story and gave it new life. The characters are sort of archetypes of the action genre, but I liked them anyway.

A friend writes:

"Good list. But what about Away From Her, Gran Torino (not everyone's favorite Eastwood, but definitely mine), Almost Famous, Ratatouille, The Visitor and Sugar? And shouldn't there be more documentaries? I feel like I watch one or two docs a week, although right now I can't think of a one that deserves end-of-decade honors."

Maybe I should do another 25. Although I'd like to point out that Almost Famous did make the list. Away From Her is really good. And there should be more documentaries - maybe Grizzly Man.

A reader sent me a letter about the difference between pleasure and happiness. An excerpt:

"At any rate, if you are an avid reader about the subject I would suggest you read Darrin McMahon's 'Happiness - A History.' I believe it might offer some additional thoughts for your consideration, especially in understanding the differences between pleasure and happiness. But both feelings are better viewed as two different states of mind. McMahon asserts that pleasure is certainly a component of happiness but happiness is a larger, more inclusive term; one that should be considered from the long view of one's experience rather than what occurs in a momentary event. The availability of new funds may provide for today's pleasures, but they most likely will afford virtually nothing to the sum of happiness in life. Happiness, it seems, depends more on living one's values rather than enjoying one's pleasures."

A friend writes to share his 120 Minute IPA experience:

"Last January, I had I think four pints of the Dogfish 120 minute IPA (I'm a veteran of the 60- and 90-minute versions, which are delicious, but weaker). It was the first night in years when I couldn't recall what I'd said. Good times."