For good measure alone, Critics, particularly the cranky ones like I've recently become, all deserve a well–placed boot up the arse once in awhile and so, much to my delight I too loved much of The Simpsons movie I prematurely sniffed at last week on this forum. I even get to add this delicious addendum: The critics are wrong! It's pretty wonderful. Many great bits. Much self-deprecation. Maggie emerging as a full–blown character. Okay, okay: I was wrong.

Saw a wonderful guitar pull over the weekend. For those unfamiliar with the term, guitar pulls involve three of four people, sitting in a line or around a circle, taking turns playing their own songs. Christopher Denny, Mike Ferrio and Matt Mays, all of whom are signed to the 2:59:00 label, were superb, managing with no rehearsal to accompany each other. Fresh off his debut record, Denny, from Arkansas, has a big voice and seems like a talent worthy keeping an eye on. Ferrio is the founder of the band Tandy, is a big talent. And finally there was Matt Mays, an accomplished singer/songwriter from Nova Scotia, where he leads a band called El Torpedo. All three were really focused, singing extremely well and being very respectful of each others space. All three have releases available on www.2minutes59.com.