After reading Sam Wasson's book "The Big Goodbye," about the making of 1974's "Chinatown," I bought the movie on Blu-ray, not having seen it in years. Then to round things out I wanted to see "The Two Jakes," the 1990 sequel, which I had never seen at all.
The Blu-ray, though, was priced on Amazon at an absurd $33. I withdrew my request that my brother get it for me for Christmas.
"It's available for five bucks from Apple TV," he admonished me via email. "Get with the times, man!"
To quote Bartleby the Scrivener, I would prefer not to. Instead, I decided to borrow this semi-obscurity from the Los Angeles Central Library.
Since the pandemic I've been a proud Los Angeles Public Library cardholder, but all I'd done is borrow Libby audiobooks, which are virtual. In visiting the library on Feb. 4, Transit Equity Day, when transit trips were free, I checked out my first item: the DVD of "The Two Jakes."
This was from the library's exceedingly well-stocked DVD room. It'll remind you of a Blockbuster, except without the redundancy of multiple copies of whatever terrible new movie just came out. Also, at a library, you can't check out a box of Junior Mints.
The borrowing slip said the DVD was due the following Tuesday, seven days later. That might be cutting things close. I watched the movie the next night.
"The Two Jakes" takes place in 1948, 11 years after "Chinatown," and presents a new case for Jake Gittes, this one involving suburban development and oil drilling. Jack Nicholson is back, as star but also as director, and Robert Towne again wrote the script.
The plot is overly complex, but as a sequel it's better than expected. It wouldn't have been worth $33, but it would have been worth five bucks.
Now I had to get the movie back to downtown L.A. in a timely way. Maybe streaming wouldn't have been such a bad idea.
On Feb. 9, I took the train ($10 round trip on weekends) and among other activities dropped off the DVD. This got the movie back two days early. I have a respect born in childhood for the sanctity of library due dates.
"Could I have renewed this for a second week?" I asked the library aide. The answer was yes, but he added: "Did you know we no longer charge fines?"
I guess I need to get with the times, man. But this is the trend at libraries.
Riverside, Rancho Cucamonga, Corona and San Bernardino County libraries are among those who've stopped fining patrons for overdue materials, although you'll be charged if you don't return items at all. Ditto with L.A. city, as well as L.A. County. (But not Riverside County.)
Good to know "Seinfeld's" Lt. Bookman wouldn't have visited my house and berated me for keeping the "Chinatown" sequel an extra week or two.
Forget it, Jake. They're library fines.
In that same Transit Equity Day column, my description of the shirtless man on the subway, underwear slightly exposed, confidently engaging with the world and cozying up to a tourist, excited comment.
"This is why I don't ride public transportation," remarks Ted Melendez of Upland.
A day later, Susan Radder of Chino reports: "This morning I find myself still chuckling over your colorful description of the carefree man on the train with his exposed lavender undies."
Frederick Paul of Riverside says simply: "Neon-bright lavender underwear. Gets the ladies every time."
"Please be careful in the selection of topics for your column," cautions reader Steve Hart of Murrieta. "In today's column you admitted to participating in Transit Equity Day. In case you hadn't heard, President Elon Musk has outlawed equity in the United States. You may be getting a call from the DOGE and spending some time at Guantanamo Bay."
On a positive note, Steve adds: "I hope you can still file your columns from there."
Reader Karen Miller moved to Norco in 2023 and, after a couple of "horrible" drives to Orange to see her doctors, she despaired of the stressful travel involved. After a past column here about Metrolink, she decided to give the train a try, boarding the Inland Empire/Orange County Line at the North Corona station and riding three stops to Orange, a 33-minute trip.
"It has been a lifesaver," Karen reports. "There is an easy bus connection at the Metrolink station that goes directly to UCI. I would not have ever known about Metrolink had you not written about it in a column. You have saved me from so much driving anxiety."
That's fantastic to hear. I'm delighted to have been of service.
Karen says the schedule change last October, which added two midday trains to that line, gave her more options for when she could return home, a plus. Now she's thinking of branching out.
Says Karen: "I'm planning on a Union Station trip just for fun. The Metrolink has opened up so many places to me."
That should be music -- or at least a toot on a train horn -- to the agency's ears.
Ash and debris from the Eaton and Palisades fires is being hauled to seven landfill sites around Southern California, three of them in the Inland Empire: Beaumont, Corona and Moreno Valley. The IE's status as a dumping ground has rarely been this literal.