Sometimes you go to the thrift store and they have a rare Devo bootleg. This one was stuffed inside a minty copy of Sade’s STRONGER THAN PRIDE (I would have plenty happy to have the Sade record).

The thoroughly depraved THE LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET as an unannounced extra on the Vinegar Syndrome blu ray for CORRUPTION.

God what an amazing career Udo Kier had.

MEGADOC is available to rent or buy digitally. Only bummer is that it’s not twice the length and doesn’t take us into the editing room. Fascinating and very entertaining film.

At thrift store and they have a ton of 90s low budget action movies on laserdisc. Not really sure how much of this I should buy. I wish they weren’t $5.99 each.

1. GOODFELLAS 2. AFTER HOURS 3. TAXI DRIVER 4. MEAN STREETS 5. THE AGE OF INNOCENCE Happy Birthday to the best living director.

Dog sitting today.

Since moving near Santa Monica, I have met so many rich women who rely on expensive psychics. I had no idea it was a thing.

Local thrift store has “Dear Me,” Peter Ustinov’s autobiography, here’s the section where we talks about working on LOLA MONTES and calls Max Ophüls “a German giggler who lived in his own particular stratosphere of subtlety.” Enjoy.

Top five after “Various” which was the favorite. This list will probably change a bit once I’ve finished cataloging my 7” collection. I should trim down by King Gizzard and Segall collections a bit. Not all of those are essential.

Crazy. I have this same notecard on my computer.

ONCE WERE WARRIORS was a big one for me when I was a kid, I haven’t seen it in decades but I’m sure it still packs a wallop. I watch THE EDGE every few years, that’s a very rewatchable movie.

It’s MEMORIA. It’s also the best movie of the decade.

I know he’s not popular on here but I still mostly like Gavin Newsom. I’ll always remember how early and loud his support was for gay marriage. He was way out in front of most of the Democratic Party on that issue.

A+ Nike spot.

Eleanor can’t bear to look.

Good mail day with arrivals from @diabolikdvd.bsky.social. So many essential pinky titles being quietly released by Discotek, who seems to specialize in anime.

Lots of great Halloween decorations in my area but this one spoke to me.

IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU is one of the best films of the year. See it if you get a chance.

I really wish some of the half dozen or so must-catch art house films release over the last three weeks would had been spread out during August and September. Looks like I may miss THE MASTERMIND, IF I HAD LEGS and BLUE MOON because I was busy with work and attended a film festival.

I was resistant to the new Geese album at first but now I’m totally sold. Great album.

This is my schedule for AFI FEST. YOUNG MOTHERS vs YES was my only annoying conflict. They overlap and both have only the one screening. I grabbed YOUNG MOTHERS for now but I might switch…

Define our musical taste in 8 artists: Television Joanna Newsom Thelonious Monk Curtis Mayfield Jay Reatard Patrick Cowley Can A Tribe Called Quest

Looks like I have a private IPIC screening of A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE tonight.

Brewers team all accidentally washed their jerseys with something yellow.

Jeanne Dielman (all Akerman, really) Killer of Sheep Satantango Celine and Julie Go Boating/Out 1 A Brighter Summer Day Army of Shadows The Ascent Don’t Look Now Sorcerer/Cruising

I love when Severin releases a box set with a documentary or book about a very specific sub-genre and supports it with a massive syllabus of films. I have no expertise in this field and I look forward to attending this course.

This is my schedule for AFI FEST. YOUNG MOTHERS vs YES was my only annoying conflict. They overlap and both have only the one screening. I grabbed YOUNG MOTHERS for now but I might switch…

MEMORIA is current best of the decade.

#Top5FirstViews September 2025 1. A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (Kazan) 2. SCENT OF A SPELL (Ikeda) 3. THE CANDIDATE (Ritchie) 4. NIGHT OF THE JUGGLER (Butler / Furie) 5. THE MARGIN (Borowczyk) Damn good month. ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER was the best new release I saw by a mile.

Picked up some interesting books at the local thrift store. The Fleischer is signed.

No One Waved Goodbye by Tacoma Radar was just reissued by Numero Group. It has a bit of the Scottish twee gentleness of their label mates Camera Obscura but layered with a noisier guitar and narcotic haziness similar to Slowcore bands like Codeine. Definitely one of my favorite discoveries in 2025.

Good mail day. Both Amazon and Barnes & Nobel have good Kino sales happening right now. I picked up some 4K upgrades for films I like quite a bit.

1. THERE WILL BE BLOOD 2. PUNCH DRUNK LOVE 3. MAGNOLIA 4. PHANTOM THREAD 5. BOOGIE NIGHTS 6. HARD EIGHT 7. LICORICE PIZZA (only seen once) 8. THE MASTER 9. INHERENT VICE (only seen once)

@zachralston.bsky.social Have you seen THE LONG WALK yet?

The Fiery Furnacnes’ Blueberry Boat vinyl reissue limited to 500. OOP for quite some time, one of the best albums of the 2000s.

Trump will threaten the Soros-funded terrorist organization known as Gwar: Scumdogs of the Universe.

Yawn.

I slept on it and decided to cancel my Hulu/Disney/Espn subscription.

The new album DARK SKY RESERVE by Robin Kester is worth checking out if you enjoy chill, dream pop. Adrian Utley from Portishead is on guitar on several tracks.

David Frum on Jimmy Kimmel: "This is not cancel culture because it's not culture. It's state repression. It's an order from the government. Here is the script, you must read, if you do not read it, you will be taken off the air."

Good mail day. Hope this lives up to the hype.

Top Redford films that I haven’t seen. Probably going to watch THE CANDIDATE or JEREMIAH JOHNSON. Anyone want to make a strong case for any of the others instead?

They probably won’t lower the flags to half-staff for Robert Redford, but I can’t think of any celebrities with a less complicated legacy of advocacy for sensible policy and the arts. That he was also a talented actor with a taste for ambitious projects and an acclaimed director is somehow secondary

Let me check the integrity of my laserdisc player the only proper way: with my Milli Vanilli-sploitation porn MILLI VANILLA.

So… i was at an estate sale today and this was $10.

It’s not very good, but there is something very comforting about the new DOWNTON ABBEY film, especially after this shitty, horror-show of a week.

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER tickets are finally available to purchase from AMC.