Jules et Jim (dir. Truffaut). It took me a long time to sort out that the one with an English name is French and the one with a French name is German. I find that in French a German accent sounds much like an English accent.

座頭市物語 (The Tale of Zatôichi) (#1; dir. Misumi). Good stuff. Unusual for the genre in that the hero draws his sword only about three times in all.

Lolita (dir. Kubrick).

続・座頭市物語 (The Tale of Zatôichi continues) (#2; dir. Mori). This is the shortest of the series (72 minutes) and a bit thin on story; but it is here that Ichi takes actions that will mark him as an outlaw, and also learns something of the woman he loved and lost.

Lawrence of Arabia (dir. Lean). I saw the first half before.

Ever wonder about the use of the word liquidation as euphemism for political murder? It’s not in Webster’s New International, 2d ed. of 1952.

Now that I’m not sick anymore, I’m bored!!

The Misfits (dir. John Huston). I dropped it after about forty minutes; it might be more enjoyable if I hadn’t read of its history. The script spends too much of the time exclaiming how wonderful the writer’s wife is. Clark Gable looks like the celeb of the week on a kid show: hold the famous smile for awhile, now frown avuncularly, now cock an eyebrow as fan service for any mothers or grandmothers who might be watching.

The Guns of Navarone (dir. J Lee Thompson). More nuanced than typical war movies of the time. — Gregory Peck has one embarrassing moment: contained fury is not something he sells well.

The Hustler (dir. Robert Rossen). The sequel The Color of Money (1986, dir. Scorsese) led me to expect a caper, not a damn sports-underdog story. I like caper movies.

West Side Story (dir. Robbins/Wise). Did the dances look less absurd when it was new? — I’d never have spotted Rita Moreno, so much younger here than I’ve seen her before.

The Comancheros (dir. Michael Curtiz, John Wayne). Amiably standard Western fare.

One, Two, Three (dir. Billy Wilder). Funny script, but most of the characters are one-note; I get tired of the constant shouting of Cagney (as Coca-Cola’s man in Berlin) and Buchholz (as a fervent young Communist swept up in circumstance).

I’ve been useless all day with fever. I didn’t mind so much when the day was warm . .

A friend of Russell writes:

Stephany is having an interesting problem with the California Transit Authority, and someone on one of your lists or blog might have some advice on how to proceed.

In the last two months, Stephany has received three traffic citations for blowing through the Golden Gate Bridge FastTrak lane without paying. They bill her for the unpaid toll ($5) plus a fine ($25) that must be paid within 15 days or her DMV registration will become attached.

The problem is that Stephany never is anywhere near the Golden Gate Bridge nor crosses the toll plaza (something she can prove when the supposed violations took place), never mind blowing through it without paying. And as is the case for such things, you are guilty by default unless you take the time to contest it. She contested the last two, which they cleared, but she just received her third one in several weeks and now she is quite pissed.

Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action. Whether the cause is incompetence or malice, this is harassment under the color of authority that she is forced to take the time to deal with. The people at the Transit Authority are stupid and unresponsive; they have no reason to give a damn and one gets the impression that this happens all the time.

There are two open questions:

1.) Has anyone else been getting these bogus citations?
2.) What is the best way to generate enough pain for the transit authority that this abuse stops?

Comments and suggestions are welcome, and it would be particularly interesting to know if other people have had the same thing happen to them. I’ve found a few references on Google to other people getting these inexplicable citations over the last couple months, but it seems that some people just pay them rather than deal with it. It would not surprise me to find out that these things are being sent out randomly, trawling for revenue from people to[o] lazy to fight it since the fine is not that steep.

and:

Steph sees no reason to anonymize this. She wants this to stop, and it seems the only way to do that will be to inflict some pain on the transit authority. The citation states that the “toll surveillance system” shows that the vehicle in question committed the infraction, but that they are routinely incapable of providing evidence of any type makes this claim doubtful.

It smells like a revenue fishing exercise, and such scams are not without preceden[ts].

Suggestions are invited.

Wodehouse, the next generation: a fan’s delightful movie concept

Bryan Caplan: The Idea Trap: why bad economic policy is so rarely repealed

Institute for Justice: The 25 Best Friends of Property Rights: amicus briefs in support of petitioners in Kelo v. New London