Day: April 4, 2020

“I’d Rather Vote For Trump Than Biden…”

by

I’ve had this “bonding with Joe Rogan” thing going on for a while, but no longer. Rogan is saying he’s so appalled by the idea of Droolin’ Joe being president, of Declinin’ Biden not being physically or mentally up to the job, that we’d have to trust in his cabinet and vice-president…that’s a thoughtless and horrid thing to say.

I don’t like the idea of a president with cognitive issues any more than the next guy, but Joe Biden‘s basic instincts are fair and humane and respectful of Average Joe Sixpack — I know that much about him for sure. A barely audible, gray-faced Biden on his death bed would be ten times preferable to an obese, lying sociopath in the White House. I’m truly disgusted that Rogan feels otherwise. Where is his decency?

Redford as Mr. Coronavirus

by

“Am I really so bad? Am I really so frightening? I’m killing thousands per day as we speak, true, and dying from congested lungs and a lack of oxygen is not the nicest way to go, I’ll admit. Okay, agonizing. But I’m nothing to be frightened of…not really. Take my hand and everything will be peaceful and serene, I promise. And there’ll be no more Donald Trump. The running’s over. It’s time to rest.”

“Nothing in the Dark” (episode #81 of The Twilight Zone) was shot during season #2 but held over until season #3. It originally aired on 1.5.62.

Robert Redford‘s hand reaches out a bit too suddenly at 1:52. And his fingers shouldn’t be open, which suggests a kind of grasping — he should be offering a handshake. But his last facial expression before Gladys Cooper reaches out — a look of gentle assurance — is perfect.

“No shock. No engulfment. No tearing asunder.”

Mosquito-Free Newsroom

by

N.Y. Times critics A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis are celebrating His Girl Friday in their latest Coronavirus Viewing Party piece. Partly, they write, because this 1940 Howard Hawks film explores “the glories and outrages of a subject that is especially dear to both of us — journalism,” but mostly because Rosalind Russell‘s Hildy Johnson is a feminist icon — a flinty, whipsmart reporter and a complete professional equal of Cary Grant‘s Walter Burns.

What got my attention was their acknowledgment that “there are disgracefully battered copies” out there, and that “the best-looking ones we found are on the Criterion Channel and a free HD version on YouTube.” I’ve just watched the latter (portions actually) and it’s significantly better than the competition, which is to say blissfully free of the Egyptian mosquito swarm that smothers the Criterion Bluray, which is presumably identical to the Criterion Channel version.

Excerpt from HE review, posted three years ago: “I’m sorry but the Criterion Bluray really doesn’t look that much better than the way the old Columbia Tristar DVD did on my 480p Sony flatscreen.

“Yes, it’s a higher-quality transfer (if you project it onto a large screen it’ll look much better than the DVD) but it’s completely blanketed by digital mosquitoes. I kept thinking to myself ‘poor Ralph Bellamy, playing that poor dope from Albany and having to sit there and suffer as those billions of mosquitoes crawl all over his head and neck and hair, not to mention Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and all the rest besieged by the same swarm.”

Newly Emboldened

by

A decade ago Jett and I were sitting in a rear outdoor patio section in a West Village restaurant. Just us. A couple of squirrels were nosing around, and I began tossing them some pretzels and pieces of bread. Jett was immediately annoyed: “C’mon, every squirrel in the neighborhood will be here in a couple of minutes.” Sure enough, a third appeared. And then another and another. I loved it. At one with nature, benevolent papa feeding the critters, etc. A matter of temperament.

Yes, Of Course, Thanks

by

Last night and for the very first time, Bill Maher used a little choreography as he delivered a New Rules riff, in this instance a reasoned complaint about The Beast getting a popularity bump out of the coronavirus thang. The only bit I would have changed is the jacket-shucking finale. Maher shouldn’t have thrown his suit jacket and tie to the ground, which conveyed despair — he should have slung them over his shoulder.

Read more