This finally arrived today, thank God. Thanks, HBO, for finally sending me a copy. I’ll get to it sometime this afternoon. Everyone in the online-entertainment-journalism community, it seems, has already seen and reviewed this Jay Roach-directed film, which debuts on Saturday. (I’m especially intrigued by Roger Ebert’s review.)

I am much more in love with and comforted by this quintessentially American establishment than anything to be found in Manhattan-Brooklyn. It is this kind of vibe and atmosphere that persuaded me to return to Los Angeles. Green trees and good burgers (which I don’t eat any more).

I took this the night before last while walking on Durand Drive in Beachwood Canyon. The sight of downtown LA from this vantage point was spellbinding, but very little of what I saw and felt survives in this photo. We’re all grateful for the fact that cameras are much more light-sensitive than ever before, but they’ve got a ways to go as far as capturing nightscapes.