One of my favorite guilty pleasures is watching Project Runway. Unlike most of the reality TV based on lust, greed or stupidity, this show has elements I can relate to. The contestants' passion and creativity, the beautiful or interesting clothing they make, the work under pressure and the challenges (like "create an outfit using only fresh flowers") inspire me. Project Runway is a dreamers' show about having an artistic vision and trying to make it to the next level. Now that's a concept I can totally relate to. And of course there's Tim Gunn. C'mon. Too divine.

In a world awash with jingoist theories, myopic Mandarinism and brazen political obfuscation, it's downright euphoric to read Richard Rorty's Philosophy and Social Hope, first published in 1999 as a compendium of the philosopher's greatest hits. Rorty's thought continues the great tradition of American pragmatism that resounds through the work of Dewey and James, but unlike many of his compatriots, Rorty's writing is entertaining to the point of being a page-turner. You'll find yourself thinking, "I wish I had had that line ready at that Bushian bun-thrower last week!" Well, read it, and restock your arsenal!

I love late night TV. Girls Gone Wild is like National Geographic documentaries for minorities to watch. Breasts are exposed, they dance in strange ways and they speak in their native languages: "Like oh my God." Then the TV evangelists heal churchgoers, and then the "Holy Ghost" possesses the churchgoers. Only in church can you get the Holy Ghost and not get arrested. When people get the Holy Ghost, they act like every homeless person in the streets of Philly, shaking, dancing and talking to themselves. I think the "Holy Ghost" is a crazy dude from back in the day that died and now possesses people for fun.

Everyone knows about the greatness that is Plastic Little. Well Jayson Musson, one of the four members of Plastic Little, has another musical project everyone should know about, which is just as funny/smart/ridiculous/heartfelt as Plastic Little, called American Sneakers, which he does with Steven James, an acoustic guitar playing lad with black spray paint on his fingertips as he strums the tunes, which I would describe as "folk" and not "rap" music and I have been listening to their CD Darts & Daggers all summer and this paragraph is all one sentence and I now mentioned Plastic Little four times.