Glad to hear that Cynthia McKinney's FOIA requests have started to pay off.

I went to college in Oberlin, so I've been to Cleveland plenty of times. Friendly people, mediocre but fun sports teams, great beer, hilarious Slavic people. Everything you could want in a city.

But you get to live in Cleveland! (Not being sarcastic. I'd move there in a heartbeat.)

I remember The Arcade Fire being the first band I heard about primarily online/through friends. Every other band I'd been into before that, White Stripes, System of a Down, etc, I heard on the radio or through MTV. I guess if that's they way you still get your music, you're not going to hear The Arcade Fires of this…

It's probably this. Though the only rock station in Chicago was playing a Peter Bjorn and John song this summer, I think.

I managed to avoid hearing "Pumped up Kicks" until this August. I sort of wish I'd heard it sooner; it's a total knock-off of "Young Folks," but was a nice enough summer trifle.

Shut your mouth.

It's hard with rock, especially. I'll listen to top-40 sometimes, which can be a good way of getting acquainted with popular pop and R&B. But there's no equivalent for that with rock anymore.

My brain hurts.

Only 3 more months until New Year…

Nabokov's translation is interesting, but he attempted to do it as accurately as possible, which means he doesn't keep any of the poetic rhythm.

He always strikes me as pretty libertarian. I do disagree with him on a lot of his dismissive comments about women and other ethnicities, but he just seems to want people out of his business in a rather apolitical kind of way.

Eh, sorry for being an asshole to you. Your comment read as trolly to me. And I'm not really a huge Sex and the City booster. Most of it annoyed the shit out of me, though I did like the Miranda and Steve story arc.

Snooki's hardly the most ambitious person in the world, but you get the sense that if what was expected of her was holding down a job and whatnot, she would. I enjoy the shit out of the Jersey Shore, but I hope it isn't irreparably screwing up the lives of its stars. (Well, I really could give a fuck if Mike and…

The Irony of Fate!

Thank you SO MUCH for mentioning Gegen Die Wand. I can't believe I forgot about that fabulous movie.

The Mountain Goats in general are some great break-up music. Cubs in Five, yo.

Inconsequential lyrics can also be fun and witty. "Gucci Gucci," as Steve points out, is a great example of this.

If Jenni were ever to use her tough-love persona to anchor a daytime talk show, I'd watch it.

If this is what a sleep-deprived, cold-medicined recap looks like, I think you should start doing Benadryl shots every Thursday night while writing. Fine form.