Oh, what a treat to have you pop up, dear Sac! Hope you're well. You can follow my peregrinations on Vine, which better suits my Internet-shortened attention span these days. xx

Oof. That "stone's throw" setting feels like a tell. Someone writing from a driving perspective, essentially. Craigie does offer valet for those patrons timid about finding a spot along the quiet streets that flank NECCO and its other industrial, tech, and residential neighbors (not to mention the church and the Uhaul depot) after hours. But its so-called go-to powers truly come alive during nasty weather, when the New England- and midwestern-bred staff throw open the (non-swinging) doors to locals arriving on foot, cross-country skis, or, in my case during a February blizzard that saw the governor shut down the state, newly purchased snowshoes. And they put up staff at a walking-distance hotel to ensure everyone's safety. I liked the cameo by Karolyn and Charlie.

Josh: Thank you for taking the time to comment. Even before the Carney controversy, Rappaport's work has not been easy to come by. The very good video store near the Kendall in Cambridge had only Rock Hudson's Home Movies on VHS back then. The university library catalog shows no holdings now. Rest assured, I've managed to fill my time since Seberg seeking out work by artists who demonstrate respect to their fellow makers. As the saying goes, à chacun son goût

The tell here? The "waitress (that needs to get laid)" is a person, o elite Yelper, which means you shoulda acknowledged her humanity and said the "waitress (WHO needs to get laid)" to get that cocktail faster.

Oh, good, so it's not just me then. And here's Orlando Julius with "James Brown Ride On," which was the African appropriation of Soul Brother No. 1 I was thinking of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8kl3qDJ9y4

Isn't it? I knew her [Marie Howe's] boyfriend Jimmy [not Johnny] around the time this was written -- he and I both haunted this one video store, where he was friends and I was entangled with one particular person, who died way too young. Being back in Boston-Cambridge-Somerville on movie-related business tends to make me melancholy in a way I feel this poem really described better than I ever could.

Thanks, Jon. What's your tumblr?

I blush. You are too kind.

Ooh, post links!

Wait, are spam commenters getting sarcastic now? What an interesting business model!

Souviens? How quickly you forget it is MARTIN Picard, not his mime brother.

@Sac, no misunderstanding. Plus, I love The Black Stallion. Tragically, though, I am now in the land of satellite-provided stingy Interweb access, where if we exceed 425 Mbytes in 24 hrs, they shut us off for 24 hrs. Hippies. That said, can I commend the animated series ARCHER to you, the first season of which is currently streaming on Netflix?

Doooooo eeeet! I love to hate the Brahmin-y mama in Voyager and it'd make me watch Geo. A.

I know, right?

@Anne: Yoinks! Hadn't heard that, although I did post a link to some guy's exploration of why Abe Froman doesn't show up for his lunch res a while back. Now I will think of little else.

Dude, don't I know it! I have a photocopy of the opening spread of "Movies vs. Films" on my office door at work. That's probably why I found Queenan so amusing.

Ah, I remember that piece now. After starting off with the sort of snide condescension that made me want to kick him in the nuts, McGrath pulls it out. But I still don't get the whole "Can you imagine people notice a movie star? Poor, simple rubes" thing, as though NYT readers would never be so gauche. Whatever, dude. [Then again, my brother lives on Dot Ave now.] Those 9 a.m. starts for NYFF press screenings sound deadly, and today's bill looked esp. grim. Here's a palate cleanser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDov3gE1nOY

Vadim: Far from obligatory and good to hear from you. I don't doubt Paul's chops, far from it, but it does seem like things have gotten so dire that the only way a smart guy can get clips is by taking on this sludgy not-quite-non-subject rather than actually writing about, you know, movies. It's a no-win, basically. But he is fortunate to have you as a friend and champion. Burr and Morris are holding it down, and worthy of much respect and attention. Heck, Wesley throws down with Dassin in the video clip, and it doesn't get cut! Seriously, I've met and liked Mekado M., but you think A.O. doesn't get curbed when he flings around the highbrow esoteric references like that? As for Affleck's latest flick, which I haven't yet seen, if it makes you go to Boston, OK, then. There's much to commend it, provincialism be damned. But it is like, um, me deciding my opinion of Austin based on Slacker, maybe? Or Spy Kids? Not sure what exactly the analogous movie would be, only that it is the one that makes your hackles rise when outsiders name-check it as the source for why they GET where it is you grew up. Still, would welcome a link to the NYT piece you cite, as that is an aspect of Gone that I really gave Mister I was on a PBS show as a kid growing up in Cambridge serious props for. I know exactly the despairing dudes you refer to. Also, in that hood, 2 is, if anything, late for that sort of dedicated drinking. Just sayin'. Damn, would love to continue this at Grassroots or wherever, but I can't swing NYFF this year. Still, I definitely owe you a cheap pint and a conversation when I'm next in New York.

Vadim: He can be a sweet man, and in fact sought me out to say goodbye when he needed to leave the PH screening early for a dinner engagement. And what a polymath! But [and I will omit the exclamation point], his embrace of drama for what seems like drama's sake, his tendency to publish correspondence without permission, and his encouragement of acolyte-type behavior in his students all leave me feeling a little squicky. My impatience may stem from occasions when colleagues' issues or irresponsible behaviors have intruded on students' ability to focus on their own lives/work. So I don't know about Carney having a gender blind spot, per se. In the two years he and Ted Barron programmed the American Independents series at HFA, they did show work by Kelly Reichardt, Miranda July, and So Young Kim. I'm just never gonna take it well when I feel I'm being asked to speak on behalf of my entire gender.

Cahng: I'm the only one allowed to swear on my fucking blog. Whether you're telling the truth or lying [and God help you if you are], ake it up with a therapist, not the Internets.

Nothing mysterious, Hugh. Merely stands for "friend of cinetrix." I lured Dana into an end-of-year film conversation [a la Slate's movie club] way back in January 2005, well before the sages at Slate saw fit to elevate her to film critic. One of my rare moments of prescience. As for Insdorff, I just wanna hear from her grad students. Is she always like that?

Wow. Thanks for that link. What an amazing story.

Agreed. Bale lost me circa Laurie and Patrick Bateman.

David- I tried to do it justice as a non-techno person. You and Amy should be so proud of this film.