<p> I was sad, if not entirely surprised, to hear that Roger Ebert had died.</p> <p> I don&#39;t have—and I don&#39;t think I will ever have—the relationship with movies that he had; while I find movies entertaining, I also own a T-shirt that sums up my feelings startlingly well: &#34;The book was better.&#34;</p> <p> Roger Ebert bridged the gap for me. I enjoyed reading his reviews and essays enourmously. He made me want to be a better, more informed, member of the audience.</p>

<p> I understand Stanley Fish is a controversial character. I don&#39;t rightly know why–I gather something about academic politics and maybe being on the wrong side of people who like to call other people fascists or something–and I&#39;m pretty sure it doesn&#39;t concern me.</p> <p> What I do know is that I find <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/my-life-report/">this essay he wrote about the things, in retrospect, he wishes he had placed more importance upon during his life</a> to be compelling stuff.</p>