Still going over the first pass of the daredevils-versus-giant-prehistoric-shark book. Ai-yi-yi. Thank god for sweet vermouth.

In more cheerful news, last night I got to see Guy Maddin’s newest film, The Saddest Music in the World. It stars Mark McKinney as an expatriate Canadian turned smarmy, down on his luck Broadway producer; Maria de Medeiros as his tapeworm-infested, nymphomaniac, and possibly amnesiac lover and leading lady; and Isabella Rossellini as the legless Winnipeg brewery owner who sponsors a contest to find the titular tune. The movie—shot mostly in black-and-white, with the opening credits and a few keys scenes in startling color—is unabashedly histronic, totally unhinged, and a hell of a lot of fun.