Have not written here for a while, indeed have not written anything at all in the past few weeks. Lori and I completed our move into a fine new apartment and my time has been consumed by unpacking, organizing and settling in. Lots of space, plenty of windows, it's a definite improvement over our last joint.

I've been welcomed into the Film Threat fold as a staff writer, and I got my first box of review items from them last week. Over twenty DVDs plus a galley copy of the upcoming Roger Ebert book The Great Movies II ... unfortunately, the box contains a high percentage of homemade pre-fab "cult" movies with cookie-cutter names like Catholic Ghoulgirls, Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires and Night of the Chihuahuas. Much as I champion the creation of backyard art, there's nothing worse than a shot-on-home-video gore comedy. Perhaps future generations will find them quaint, but most of these things are so self-aware and tongue-in-cheek (without any genuine humor) that they cancel out the kind of charm that cheap horror films can deliver. It's the accidental humor that is so sublime, and it can't be spoofed.

Oh, and before I forget, congratulations to President Bush on his landslide victory! Slightly over half of the American people have spoken, and it is now time to drag the country into a brighter tomorrow. Welcome to the end of an empire.