Beltmann

Really? I looked around a little and didn't notice any VC'ers, at least none that I would have recognized. Where were you sitting?

Careers and parenthood definitely put a crimp in the concert-going, especially weeknights. But I still manage to catch a handful. Recent shows: Jenny Lewis (just got back), M. Ward Next up: Tweedy, Guster, MMJ

Oh my. Ladies, shut up and hold on to your nipples!

There were only two new shows that I was interested in checking out this fall: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Friday Night Lights. I'll be at Jenny Lewis tonight, but I'll DVR Lights. It sure looks promising.

That's how I feel about Jon Stewart--he's smart and funny, yes, but every line is delivered as if he thinks it's the wittiest damn thing ever uttered.

I'm with you, froggie.

My entire familiarity with Dane Cook derives from the two times he's hosted SNL. I don't know anything about the frat-boy baggage he carries, but I thought he was fairly sharp and likable the first time he hosted. This week, though, was the complete reverse: The monologue was mediocre at best (no rogue peanuts to save the day), and he added virtually nothing to the sketches.

I'm saddened to learn that your family is experiencing this very painful time. My thoughts and prayers are with you all. When my brother died last year, I took comfort in the enduring memories of him, the shoulders of loved ones, spiritual faith, and music (especially yours). I also found some degree of comfort in literature, which contains the wisdom of civilization, advice written across the centuries to us and those who come after us. Eric Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant To him who in the love of nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language;

True. On those same grounds, I teach several Lincoln pieces as significant American literature.

A sharp 14-year-old girl agrees to meet her chat room pal, an older man, but the story reverses our expectations: She drugs him, ties him up, and plans an awful torture regime to punish him for being a potential pedophile. (I know what you're thinking... does it involve castration? Why, yes, yes it does.) That makes it sound like a teen-movie version of Death and the Maiden or Takashi Miike's Audition, and it does contain a similar vein of sadism, but it also contains a surprising sense of humor: When the dude's family jewels go crunching down the garbage disposal, it's both cringe-worthy

It's not easy, likable viewing, but it is brimming with glaring Outback skies, surprising intelligence, committed performances, and complex moral turnabouts. It's among my favorites of the year.

Anyone else catch M. Ward playing "Chinese Translation" on Craig Ferguson last night? I set the DVR and just watched now. Sounded and looked good, but I was personally a little disappointed in the song selection, since Ward played "Translation" on Letterman a few weeks back. I had been hoping for something fresh.

That show is really growing on me.

Banlieue 13 / Pierre Morel / France / 2004 Set in a bombed-out Parisian barrio of the near future, this swift, hyperactive actioner sparks to life in the weird juxtaposition of greasy urban rubble and some of the most graceful stunt choreography of recent memory. The plot

I should have included that one, too.

For me, a little Sufjan goes a long way. It is unlikely that I am going to buy this.

At this point I'm just adding to the mountain, but wow, that's a beautiful baby. Congrats, Judy! Both Stacy and I are thrilled for you guys!

That's been my impression as well.

Hornby's Fever Pitch, Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and the collected works of Pauline Kael, Jonathan Rosenbaum, and Thomas Hardy.

Happy Birthday, St. G!

AM: Box Full of Letters / It's Just That Simple BT: Sunken Treasure / Why Would You Wanna Live MA1: Hesitating Beauty / She Came Along To Me ST: Via Chicago / My Darling MA2: Someday Some Morning Sometime / Black Wind Blowing YHF: I Am Trying To Break Your Heart / Reservations AGIB: Handshake Drugs / I'm a Wheel That was hard.

I just listened and.. say, why didn't I ever notice that before?

Same here. My wife is always a little baffled when I fess up to really liking these guys.

Happy Birthday, Kev. Thanks for being a great friend.