Okay. And we're live. We're live on — gosh, what is it? Friday, October 2nd. What a treat. What a time to be alive. Um, yeah, what a time to be alive indeed. I thought I would just come up here on the Substack and on the YouTube and — you can hear the sirens outside, the police types. Anyway, I just wanted to check in and say, hey, I just got off the air. Can I say that? Is that correct? I just got off the air with Don Lemon. And um, gosh, am I balanced here? There we go. I was a little off center. Um, Don Lemon was nice enough to have me on his show this evening. I jumped on at around 5:30. We always jump around topics, Don and I. It's never the same — whether he has an agenda and I'm... I don't know what the agenda is anyway. I can never tell. But um, we had a good time. It was a good half hour with my friend Don, and we covered a lot of ground, which is nice.
Friday, October 2nd — my new playlist is out on Spotify. The October 2026, very Halloween-themed playlist. The music is... well, let me just — it's called, it's called Dungeons and Drag Queens, the name of the playlist. And it's got some gothy type... is it gothy? I don't know who is on this. It's October 2026. I have got Concrete Blonde, David Lynch, some Massive Attack, some Nirvana, some Bork, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Cure, Cocteau Twins, Depeche Mode, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Portishead, Iggy Pop, The Velvet Underground, Bork, uh, The Smiths, Joy Division, PJ Harvey, uh, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, Fabulous, The Psychedelic Furs. I love it. Ministry and a little bit of Marilyn Manson. I will put the link in the show notes for you. Um, share, copy link to playlist. Very good. But it's in my — if you follow me on Spotify, you shall find it. And um, I will put it right there in the comments. Will that read? Yeah, I guess it should. But I put a comment there in Substack. I'm going to try it right here. I'm going to post a comment onto YouTube. Um, and the October playlist — look at me multitasking here — playlist. There we go. That is going to YouTube. And I'll put it up later also when this video posts to Substack and to YouTube. I'll put it in the show notes, in the description, for each, each channel.
So, um, what else do we have to, um, what else do we have to talk about? We have to talk about a lot of things. So, yeah, Don and I talked about the whole Pete Hegseth drama of it all and how, you know, he was saying that the military has no place — is no place for fatties, beardos, weirdos, wimps, and radicals. I think that's going to be the name of my next playlist because fatties, beardos, weirdos, wimps, and radicals is who I want at my table on Thanksgiving. Like, I don't know where you're going. Um, but I prefer the fun kids table. Just me. Um, [laughter]
Could Pete Hegseth be a worse representative of the male gender? I mean, my god, he really is the worst representative of the male gender. And I mentioned today, earlier today — I don't have it handy, otherwise I would grab it and show it to you — but there is a book that I like to revisit every now and then. It's a book by this guy named Glenn O'Brien. He died in 2017. He was a writer and a humorist and a man of the arts. He was in Andy Warhol circles back in the day, and I hate that term 'back in the day,' but I mean in the '60s and into the '70s. Glenn did film reviews for Interview magazine in the magazine's earlier days, something like that. Anyway, Glenn used to have a column in GQ magazine, a regular column called The Style Guy. Glenn O'Brien was the style guy. And in 2011, 2012, I want to say — maybe even 2013, I don't remember, I'm at a loss here — Glenn published a book, wrote a book called How to Be a Man. And it is something that I think should be distributed to every 18-year-old upon leaving college, or graduating from high school, or getting his GED. How to Be a Man. There's lifestyle stuff, manners, um, how to have some humor, how to dress, how to give a [ __ ] about your house — like your home, choosing a sofa, that kind of thing — and grooming and all the things about how to be a man. Really behavior stuff, you know, social graces, all of that. And I take a peek at it often. I also have a digital version. And I bought the Apple Books version so I can check it out on my iPad or in my phone whenever I want. Whenever I feel like checking in with it, I'll open up a chapter and just read it. But I think everybody should read it. It's a terrific book. And um, yeah, it's harder to get because it was published by Rizzoli. I think Rizzoli should do another printing of it. Um, but if you go to Amazon, I suppose, or maybe Barnes & Noble, you might be able to find a copy of it.
Um, so Rachel here asks on Substack, 'Do you sense that Pete Hegseth is slightly gay in the closet?' Uh, I don't know. I can't get a read on that. I don't know. I do get the distinct impression that he is a major [ __ ]. That I know for sure. Um, as evidenced by his — this very bizarre, performative, cartoonish notion of manliness. I mean, it is a joke. I mean, he kind of like looks the part, and Trump likes people who kind of look the part because he's got, you know, the silvering — the salt-and-pepper, like, slicked-back hair, and the suit, and he's got a little tan, which is, you know, a combination of makeup and a blush from the drinking because alcohol makes you look a little ruddy. Um, so yeah, Trump likes how he looks. And if he never said a word — like, if you didn't know what he sounded like or didn't know what he had to say — like, just a picture of him, if you'd never seen him before, you might have thought like, 'Oh, that guy looks kind...' But then there's that stupid American flag pocket square that he puts in the jacket of his suits. Awful. So, no, Pete Hegseth is not — is he gay? I have no idea. I have no idea. I hope not. And God help anybody who has to put up with that. Uh, Fran McTamney. Oh my gosh, look at this. My friend Fran McTamney — I put it on the screen here. Um, good evening, buddy. So glad I could catch you tonight. Thanks for posting. Oh, you're a good friend, Fran. Thank you. Well, there's a bigger screen for YouTube. I was doing that wrong the whole time. Thank you so much, Fran. I really appreciate that. You're a good pal. You're a good pal. Um,
2011 was the book — thank you, Colleen. Colleen knows that Glenn O'Brien published How to Be a Man in 2011. It's a terrific book. Um, I think every man — I swear to God, I think every young man should get that book when he turns 18. Yeah. You know, when you graduate high school, you should get Glenn O'Brien's How to Be a Man. It's also not for nothing — it's entertaining. Glenn was a very funny writer, and I aspire to have his wit. He was a very witty — um, a very witty writer. Clever. Clever. Yep. And a real supporter of artists. Like, he was in on the art scene, which is not something I'm in on. And I kind of wish I were more tuned into the art scene because I think artists, you know, keep things going for us culturally. Getting like a really nice glow of sunset coming into the window here. I'm facing out the window. My desk is arranged in a very Carrie Bradshaw kind of situation. So, um, she has way more clothes though.
What else is happening this weekend? Unfortunately, now I'm getting bad reports about um, Rotten Tomatoes. Um, let's go look at what's out this weekend. Now, Digger — uh, the new Inarritu film starring Tom Cruise — is only pulling in 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. Bummer. And Verity — little Anne Hathaway's latest. I mean, this is her third big movie this summer: The Odyssey and The Devil Wears Prada. Um, Verity — she's not ending on a good note. Uh, this film is apparently a bucket of ass according to every review I've ever read. Um, and that's a bummer. Uh, but Prime Time with Robert Pattinson. I want to see who directed this story. Who directed Prime Time is what I want to know. Um, uh, Lance Oppenheim. Okay. Uh, Merritt Weaver — God, I like her so much. She's such a great actor. Um, but I want to see Prime Time. I really do. Um, so maybe I'll see that tomorrow.
And then tomorrow night, I have a — I have a — I have a double-header. I have a dinner and then a party. Two different venues. I don't like — some people think that my life on social media looks like this big glamorous thing where I'm going out all the time. The truth is I don't go out. I only give myself maybe three nights maximum. I don't do things more than three nights in a week. It's not always three things to do on a given week — like a party or a dinner or an event or something. Um, but I don't — I like to hang out at home. I like to hang out with my dog. I like to do like a little one-on-one — like I'll go have a dinner with a friend. But like a thing, like an event? I only got so much. I can only do so much. So tomorrow I'm doing — I'm doing two for one. I'm going to a dinner with friends, which I'm really looking forward to. And then afterward, I'm going to another part of town to — um, I'm scooping up a friend of mine and we're going to head, high-tail to another party, which I'm really looking forward to. It's going to be a lot of fun. So that's my weekend.
And then I'm — I'm re-engaging, guys. I'm very excited about this. As a 55 — almost 56-year-old man, I'm very excited about re-engaging with books and reading. I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday and bought a few books. I'm just about done with my book on Roy Cohn. Did I talk about this? Um, can't — can't recommend this enough. It's called America's Scoundrel, by Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark. Susan Goldmark is Bird's wife. She apparently does a lot of the research and stuff for the projects. He also wrote American Prometheus about Robert Oppenheimer. Um, but this book about Roy Cohn — fascinating. I mean, a real window into this dark soul, and also the thing that kind of put a lot of the wiring into the beast that is Donald Trump. Fascinating. And then I'm going to move on to a novel. I'm going into fiction. Thank you, Oprah's Book Club. John of John, by Douglas Stuart. I already started it, but I want to really — I want to finish it. This is fiction and I can't wait. And then a few more. So, yeah.
That's, uh — I'm going to enjoy some reading. I'm telling you, like, what I really love to do, almost more than anything, a really good night with me is — if I'm not going to see a movie — and I don't count going to the movies as an event because I often do that myself. I, in fact, I — on some level, I almost prefer going to the movies by myself. But I have a few movie-loving pals who are good company at the movie theater, so that works for me. Like Titus is great. My friend Dennis is great to go see a movie with. Um, uh, Mary Jean is down to clown at the movie theater sometimes. Um, but other than that, I'm generally — I go to the movies on my own. So, um, but I don't count that as like going out. That's a little different. So I want to go see some stuff in the movie theater.
And, um, let's see, a comment here on YouTube. Interested to check that out. 'I was torn between John of John and Yesteryear. I chose Yesteryear. I chose wrong.' Are you not enjoying Yesteryear? We're talking about books here. Uh, Joe is asking, um, 'I have heard so much good stuff about John of John. I am about two or three chapters into it. Um, and enjoying the story and the writing so far very much.' Yeah. Takes place in Scotland. Uh, and it makes me... um, okay, good to know. Um, it makes me not want to live in the Hebrides of Scotland. However, I think there is really something to be said about the Scottish tradition of like the way they make their tweed. Like there is nothing in the world like Scottish tweed and Scottish wools. I have a Harris tweed jacket. It's one of my favorite garments in my wardrobe. I've got, um, my Shaggy Dog sweater from J. Press — the wool is from Scotland, from the Hebrides. But this book, John — oh, it's not selling Scottish life on me because it just feels cloudy all the time. But I did have a great trip to Scotland a couple years ago. God, it was lovely. Really, really lovely.
Um, the hardest part. Uh, here on Substack, somebody commented, 'I love Barnes & Noble, but try bookshop.org — they donate part of their sales to independent bookstores.' About that. I know exactly what you're saying and I appreciate that. Um, it happened to be on my way home from where I was going. There's a Barnes & Noble over on Broadway and 83rd. Um, I had to go to One Medical to get a blood draw because every few months I have to get my lipids panel looked at. Um, so that was on one corner. ZBARs was up the block, and then Barnes & Noble was an impulse on my way home because it was on the walk home. That's why I went to Barnes & Noble. Ordinarily, I would go to the Strand Bookstore, which is down on Columbus and 82nd. I love going to the Strand Bookstore, but it was just not on the way home. That's why the Barnes & Noble thing happened, but I appreciate your sentiment there. Um, Janet Schwarz said, 'NPR interviewed the writer of John of John. What an interesting life.' Oh, I'm going to have to search for that. I'm going to have to search for that. Um, it reminds me of this Irish movie that I saw because there's a little gay theme in John of John, and there's a great Irish movie that was out last year. It made the festival circuit. Um, it probably had a short run in theaters. I rented it on iTunes. It's called On the Sea. On the Sea. Just look it up. Uh, there's a bit of a Brokeback Mountain kind of an aspect to it. Um, it's a good film. It's a great story and it's a good film and it takes place in the UK area. Yeah. Made me think of that.
Uh, Lori Press here on Substack says, 'I saw Digger last night. I think the NYT review was harsh. Bravo to Tom Cruise to step out of his comfort zone. It was unusual and different.' Um — oh, Jim, I love your comment. I'll get to that. Um, I will probably see Digger because I get four films a week with my AMC Stubs thing. So I will see it. I mean, what the [ __ ]. And while I may not be eager to like be Tom Cruise's best buddy, and I'm not down with the Scientology [ __ ], I do think that Tom Cruise gets the short end of a stick as an actor. And I do — while he is — while no one makes action films like him except maybe Keanu Reeves. Um, I think like Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise — some of our greatest action stars: Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron. Have you seen Atomic Blonde? Come on. Um, Daniel Craig. [sighs] There are others as well. I mean, great stuff. Great stuff. I think Tom Cruise in Magnolia — he gives such an incredible performance, and his bit in — um, oh [ __ ] — Tropic Thunder is hilarious.
Um, so he is capable of stepping outside his comfort zone, and he is capable of doing more interesting character work. So, you know, we'll see. I'll see Digger because I love Inarritu's movies. I mean, I think he does such amazing films. So, yeah. Uh, Jim Hippo here says, 'Hit Von a few nights ago. Saw Tom Jones at the Beacon.' [ __ ] you. Jim Hippo. You got to see Tom Jones at the Beacon. God, was that everything that I'm imagining it was? Please say more on that. Um, and the Beyond — the Vyond is one of our few remaining diners. That's one of the books I got, actually, the other day. Um, Jean about the Atomic Blonde soundtrack — you are right, my dear. Um, and how long have I been talking? 20 minutes. I got to cut this off.
One of the books I bought — it's in the bag in the other room, um, at Barnes & Noble — is a new book about diners in New York City called Counterculture. Uh, God, the name of the writer is escaping me. Um, but we'll find it for you. Counterculture. Counterculture book. Um, uh, yeah, here it is. It's Penguin Random House. Counterculture: New York City's Greatest Diners and Luncheonettes. My favorite word. Uh, by James T. and Carla L. Murray.
Uh, I'll get a little graphic for you so you can see the picture. But, um, it is — um, so good. I can't wait to like really do like the bigger, deeper dive into it. And if — if — if StreamYard lets me upload — yeah, James and Carla, Barbara Sam knows. Um, if James and Carla let me upload from the desktop. Can I do it? Can I do it? Um, let's — no. So tacky. Hang on a second. I have to change the format of this picture and show you what I'm looking at. Um, export as a JPEG. And we're going that way. It's going to be on the desktop. And yeah.
Um, here we go. All right. This is the book. It's called Counterculture. Um, and it is out now. There it is. If you're watching this on YouTube or on Substack, you can see it. You won't see it if you're just listening, of course. But, uh, James T. and Carla L. Murray. Words by Emma Orlow, or Orlau — excuse me. Um, I would like to know where that cover photo is from. I want to go to that diner. I'd like to sit at that counter. I love sitting at the counter, um, in a diner, like right here. Like this. These are my favorite seats right here. These are my favorite seats in the diner — the stools, the counter. That's where I like to sit. Or a booth, of course. Um, yeah, that's the book. I'm so excited about it. Cannot wait. [laughter]
Anyway, that's that. Um, I have talked enough. Thank you guys for hanging out. If you have not yet — all right, if you have not yet, if you're on Substack, please consider becoming a paid subscriber because it kind of helps keep the effort alive. It helps me feed the dog. And if you are watching on YouTube, you know, you can do what my sweet friend Fran did. Trudy [ __ ] just did it. You see that? Trudy [ __ ] just dropped a tenner in the tip jar. Trudy, thank you so very much. Thank you so very much. Um, I really appreciate that. Um, and you can also — so you can subscribe on Substack. If you're watching on YouTube, you can of course drop, uh, these fantastic tips in the tip jar. I really do appreciate it. Um, if you were subscribing on Substack, you would have — as a member — you would have seen my unplanned, impromptu, delightful conversation yesterday with my good buddy Ule Vasquez, whose work you've seen in film and television for years. Ule is a working actor, you know, and he's working on a show now — I forget which one — but he's a good pal. And I sent him a little note saying, you know, do you want to come and join my live video on Substack if you're in the mood? And he, lo and behold, showed up. So that was good fun. So if you're a paying subscriber to Substack, you saw that. YouTube, you didn't. So anyway, um, that's it.
And I, um, yeah, I'm very grateful for you guys for hanging out. And, um, have a great weekend. I might — I might bounce in here over the weekend. We shall see. I got books to read. I might share some insights into — I'm going to try to at least polish off one book. Um, but yeah, I'm excited. All right, thanks for hanging out. See you.
