It would be so much easier to dismiss The Guardian if it didn’t employ some excellent writers. Its television critics, for example, are usually more entertaining than the programmes they review. The reason I still buy the paper on Fridays is because the “music” part of the film and music supplement actually covers popular music by making occasional reference to the music. The main focus of the cover story about The Killers yesterday, however, was the lead singer of the band’s adherence to Mormonism, though this in a way tells you what you need to know about their music.

Anyway, here are three links: Via John Naughton’s blog comes another amusing bit of football whimsy by Harry Pearson and a typically thoughtful piece by Victor Keegan about user-generated content. (Keegan certainly wasn’t the youngest speaker at Jackie’s hip and happening MySpace thing earlier this year, but he was probably the best.) And thanks to Vic for txting me this headline—The Guardian also employs some playful subs—that hints at some of the strides backwards Russia has made since the break up of the Soviet Union.