This one goes out to those of you who’ve been buried in hipster haiku for the past week. Sarah Palin is going to be the topic of the Fall. That means for awhile New York City is going to have to pretend it cares about the rest of the country—though only after coming off the cusp of one hell of a solipsist party. Summer 2008 proved a veritable four act play, during which I saw Death Race and had my laptop stolen. Observe, and as the French say, appréciez:

Act I: “I Kissed a Girl”—the opening act—anything is possible.

Act II: The Dark Knight—plot development—overcoming evil, marginal concerns, mostly surrounding Sienna Miller.

Act III: Bruce Springsteen live from Giants Stadium—the story begins to take on a message—Aslan returns to Narnia.

Act IV: Obama—Al Pacino monologue (“I‘m a fan of man!”)—denouement. A positive transition into the more somber world of the Republican Party and Chris Matthews‘ yellow hair. Plus, if we’re lucky, a real Al Pacino monologue.

Welcome back to school.