An attorney friend called me this afternoon. I asked what he was up to, and he said, “I’m just doing my drive…it makes me feel free.” I think you’ve just coined a term, I said. Pandemic freedom driving! Or just plain freedom driving, I guess.

Obviously not an option for most New Yorkers, Chicagoans and Bostonians, but certainly for Los Angelenos.

I’ve been in this town 37 years, and I’ve never once jumped into the car or hopped on the rumblehog with the intention of just cruising with no game plan, and before the mob pounces I want it understood that I haven’t done this yet.

But if my attorney pal is doing this I’m figuring a thousand or ten thousand others are following suit.

HE to “Virusbro” scolds: Is there something wrong or irresponsible about roaming the streets and freeways of Los Angeles with no destination in mind and with no intention of going or stopping anywhere (except maybe a gas station)…to hop in and drive around town like Randy Newman in ’83, but wearing an N95 mask and surgical gloves?

I’m sure there’s something shitty and deplorable about this. C’mon…lay it on me.

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?

Joe Rogan–who supported Bernie–on his podcast yesterday w/ managing director of Thiel Capital Eric Weinstein.
“I’d rather vote for Trump than [Biden]. I don’t think he can handle anything. You’re relying entirely on his cabinet.”
1.3 million views on YouTube since yesterday pic.twitter.com/Sxor0RvVZ0

— Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) April 4, 2020

I don’t care if I’m reposting — the side-by-side (perfect Dylan image) and the lyrics make a difference.

“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.”

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.”

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.

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.

The L.A. Coronavirus Lockdown was called off today (Friday, 4.3) on account of beautiful blue-sky weather. Certainly among people in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Nearly everyone wore masks and gloves and strict distancing was being maintained, but there were an awful lot of cars on the roads and a whole lot of people were taking the air, riding bikes, sitting on park benches, etc. Everyone seemed to be more or less saying “goddammit, we’re sick of this crap…there’s nothing wrong with walking outdoors as long as you’re careful” and words to that effect. It was Tatayana’s first time outside in roughly three weeks. The Franklin Canyon hiking trail was closed, and that was fine.

Somebody on Facebook has asked for votes on the five Best Supporting Actor nominees of 1964. I can settle this right fucking now.

The guy who should have won, hands down, was Lee Tracy for his performance as ex-president Art Hockstader (a character roughly based upon Harry Truman) in Franklin J. Schaffner and Gore Vidal‘s The Best Man.

The winner was Peter Ustinov for his amusing but lightweight performance as the bumbling Arthur Simpson in Jules Dassin‘s Topkapi. Ustinov’s Oscar was more about charm and likability than anything else.

The second most deserving was Edmond O’Brien‘s portrayal of an alcoholic southern Senator in John Frankenheimer‘s Seven Days in May.

John Gielgud‘s King Louis VII of France in Peter Glenville‘s Becket was more of a cameo than a supporting performance — a pleasing but minor thing.

Nominating Stanley Holloway‘s performance in My Fair Lady was (a) a joke and (b) an insult to the other four contenders.

I saw a tweet a day or two ago that mentioned the social distancing element in Michelangelo Antonioni‘s L’Eclisse (’62). I was strolling around the neighborhood last night — empty streets, silence, desolation — and realizing that we’re all living in an L’Eclisse-like world.

The gnawing sense of isolation that we’re all feeling is about prudence and caution, of course, whereas the atmosphere of existential stillness and solitude in L’Eclisse is a portrait of angst and alienation. The 1962 classic is the climax of Antonioni’s alienation trilogy, the first two films being L’Avventura and La Notte.

It’s nonetheless the same kind of atmosphere.

I watched my Criterion L’Eclisse Bluray last night, and was struck by how well it fits into our current realm. Shot mostly in Rome, some 58 or 59 years ago. Consider this excellent assessment of the film and the Bluray by The Dissolve‘s Scott Tobias.

DeNiro couldn’t wing it? He had to read the copy in front of him, and sound like he’s reading it?

One thing he could’ve said is that Dr. Strangelove isn’t a traditional “comedy” as much as a brainy suspense thriller that’s angled toward apocalyptic, ultra-dry satire and flavored with eccentric performances.

Oh, and “gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!” was never that great of a line.

A much better one: “I first became aware of flouridation, Mandrake, during the physical act of love. A profound sense of fatigue, a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence. I can assure you it has not recurred. Women sense my power, and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake, but I do deny them my essence.”

Please notice the rustic woodwork in DeNiro’s office. Recorded inside a nice home in some rural area. Decor-wise it could’ve been shot inside DeNiro’s Greenwich hotel, which I’ve visited two or three times.

And what’s with the beard? Isn’t DeNiro currently portraying cattleman and convicted murderer William Hale in Martin Scorsese‘s 1920s-era Killers of the Flower Moon? (Pic may or may not be on hiatus due to the coronavirus lockdown but still.) Hale was clean shaven.