Already, have gotten e.mails from places like Action Center, about upcoming protests regarding Bush's State of the Union address. The dread i felt all day paralyzed me, and i didn't really do anything. Tomorrow, there's a press screening of "Becket", which i decided to try to see again, because i'd seen "Venus" and i guess i wanted to see Peter O'Toole before he wasted himself.

On Doug Cummings's blog (http://filmjourney.weblogger.com), he has a piece on "contemplative cinema". George Robinson's blog (http://www.cine-journal.blogspot.com) has a (preliminary) year-end round-up; as George observes, it really was a good year at the movies. At least, for those of us who wanted to see something else except the usual Hollywood stuff. I'm working my way through the Netflix selections for the Independent Spirit Awards; am now finishing "Wristcutters: A Love Story" which is rather quietly (as opposed to determinedly) quirky. Here's where aesthetics become tricky: "Wristcutters" is probably a "better" film than "Four Eyed Monsters" (which is far more jagged and sporadic), but "Four Eyed Monsters" is more "original" and that does count for something.

Well, at least this month is Mystery Month: the Hallmark Channel has new "Murder 101", "Mystery Woman" and "McBride" episodes, and Bravo has the new season of "Monk" and "Psych". The kid who plays the lead in "Psych" is a graduate of the Experimental Theater program at NYU; with him and Camyrn Manheim, that's two very successful graduates of the program (which is probably not what Richard Schechner anticipated).

"The L Word" had the premiere of its fourth season; it's such a fantasy show, but i enjoy it. Jennifer Beals has become quite accomplished, and i think Katherine Moening and Daniela Sea are pretty amazing. (What amazing? I think they're hot!) It's as much a fantasy as the American version of "Queer as Folk" was, but what's the harm?

Watching "Wristcutters", i recognized Leslie Bibb, and then Shannyn Sossamon made her appearance. There are a number of these girls (Carly Pope, Bibb's co-star on "Popular", is another) who seem to float through these indie productions.

Yesterday, in between the screening of "China Blue" and "The Italian", i stopped by to see Douglas. He's now become quite fond of his computer (after months of screaming about how terrifying it is), and i felt guilty, because i showed him a lot of sites... well, i showed him Mason Wyler's MySpace page, and i knew he'd love it. Not just because Mason Wyler is so cute, but because he's so sincere! Mason Wyler's recent post about how lonely he was when separated from his boyfriend for 10 days (due to the holidays) was just too adorable. And i knew Douglas would find it all too charming.

Spencer Quest has announced (on his fansite) that the three month hiatus he mentioned is actually a 90-day rehab program. I hope he'll be ok.

Haven't spoken to Brett since just before Christmas, and i wonder how he's doing....

One film that will be opening in the next two months is already one of my Ten Best for 2007: "Into Great Silence", that magnificent documentary about Carthusian monks. I just loved it when i saw it, and i can't wait to see it again.