["Not every Great Pumpkin has to be horror. Arguably Vincente Minnelli's best film (inarguably, though, to my mind), Meet Me in St. Louis, that big old slab of female-centric Americana, contains perhaps the century's greatest cinematic evocation of Halloween, outpacing even John Carpenter's sharp visualization of that most dreaded suburban twilight thirty-four years later. Throughout all the changing seasons of Meet Me in St. Louis, Minnelli is revealing the possibly false idyll of his turn-of-the-century Missouri suburb setting (cutie-pie tots obsessed with death and dismemberment; a Christmas overshadowed by sorrow and fear), but it's during Halloween that, with just the slightest tweaks, Minnelli transforms his blissful neighborhood into a surreal nighttime."]

["Another East Village institution is shuttering: Two Boots Pioneer Theater, which specializes in indie, underground, and cult fare, will most likely close at the end of the month. "I'm still hoping for a reprieve," says Two Boots owner Phil Hartman, who's seeking a partner or new owner. "But it was always a labor of love and never commercially viable.""]

["RWK here. Tonight Mark and I saw Burn After Reading at the Cerrito Speakeasy's 2-for-1 night where we enjoyed not just the film but some beers and some yummy 'zza. We decided that it would be a lot of fun to record some thoughts all immediate, so we tried our darn'dest to get back to my computer as quick as public transportation would aid us. It took a little longer than expected, and then we got sidetracked with songs, so our energy level was at a delirious low by the time I hit the record button. This episode is easily the funniest because it's a couple of tired goofballs joking through some scattered thoughts about a lot of things without much coherence. (In fact, Mark takes us on one helluva left turn at one point.) If anything, we hope this gets you goofin in the right way so that, while I may reiterate a lot of what I typed at Rob's place, and dominate our discussion, you might make your own sense of my/our argument in favor of this nasty, sad, hilarious film. That, or, you know, you could read this, maybe, since I share some thoughts with that smart alec. Or, failing purchase there, there's this witty dude, too. Finally: the songs in this episode speak for themselves, and you can find them here and here if, for some silly reason, you don't already have them. (Full disclosure: The Misfits track is all Mark, and, yes, I had to go find it to compliment our efforts here.) Oh, and, yeah, here's the quote from Cavell, ported over from this old post, and this book."]

["An Israeli archaeologist has discovered what he says is the earliest-known Hebrew text, found on a shard of pottery that dates to the time of King David from the Old Testament, about 3,000 years ago. Professor Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem says the inscribed pottery shard—known as an ostracon—was found during excavations of a fortress from the 10th century BC. Carbon dating of the ostracon, along with pottery analysis, dates the inscription to time of King David, about a millennium earlier than the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, the university said."]

["I wish I could give some eloquent reason why the Anthology Film Archives' retrospective of French New Wave filmmaker Jean-Daniel Pollet—titled Unidentified Filmic Objects, and which starts tomorrow—is absolutely must-see, drive-all-night-if-you-live-outside-the-city essential—but I can't. I haven't seen a single film of his. And I would venture to say that few Americans have. But I have been reading about him for ages now it seems, mysterious references in occult texts swirling around the New Wave. And if I had my Godard on Godard handy, I might even be able to quote from his review of Pollet's most acclaimed and most sought after film, Méditerranée (1964)—but I don't. So unfortunately I have to go the risky and perhaps tacky route of insisting on the absolute necessity of seeing these rare films (rarely screened, rarely subtitled) without a shred of evidence. And go even a step further and let the retrospective's press release do the talking:"]

_____________________________________________________
"Links for the Day": Each morning, the House editors post a series of weblinks that we think will spark discussion. Comments encouraged. Suggestions for links are also welcome. Please send to keithuhlich@gmail.com.