The Johnny Cash Show is coming to DVD this month. Looks promising. I went to JohnnyCash.com looking for more info, and that's where I discovered they have a Johnny Cash podcast, to which of course I immediately subscribed and begin downloading the back episodes (about 12, total). Haven't heard it yet, but it will be awesome, no doubt. I can't figure out how to link to it directly on their website, but you can subscribe through iTunes. I'm trying to cut down on my podcast subscriptions, since I never seem to listen to them, but this is one I'll definitely make time for (and shake my head ruefully when I consider how many This American Life episodes I have to get caught up on)

WFMU's Beware of the Blog takes a look at Bill "Droopy" Thompson's career. Apparently, the complete Droopy just came out on DVD, and can be picked up for less than $20. I'd pay that and more just for "The Shooting of Dan McGoo."

Major problems reported with Blockbuster Online. Apparently, some users haven't received a new movie after two weeks. I intend to subscribe to one of these online services again, after I work through some of the backlog of DVDs I've purchased, and was tempted to try Blockbuster due to the return-movies-to-the-store option (once I found out you can rent a movie in-store at that time, and they would mail you one as well, it started to sound like a pretty good deal). But hearing this, it sounds like the service offers the level of service one expects from Blockbuster, and seeing as the company's solution to the problem seems to be to deny that there is a problem, I think I'll stick with Netflix.

I was at Vons this afternoon, picking up a fennel bulb to make soup, when I noticed the DVD vending machine had a sign on it indicating new customers could get one free rental. So I made a note to take a look at it on my way out. Turns out the machines don't have great selection (Idiocracy and The Black Dahlia were M.I.A., for instance), but had many new releases available, including The Illusionist, which I'd wanted to see. So I went ahead and took advantage of the free rental offer (if I don't return it by midnight tomorrow, I owe $0.99/day, which is a fair price). The movie wasn't bad. Watching it reminded me that Ricky Jay was a consultant on the film, which led me to wander over to his website to see what he is up to these days. Turns out, he was performing his stage show in L.A. through most of January. As is often the case, I learn about a show I would absolutely have loved to see, only after it is too late to attend. Really disappointed me to learn I could have had the chance to see him. It was expensive (tickets started at $75), but very intimate (the theatre seats 84 people). It was held over well past its original run; let's hope it was successful enough to return to L.A. soon (or maybe he would be kind enough to venture down to San Diego, though no particular venue comes to mind that is well-suited to his performance (if St. Cecilia's was still around, that would have been ideal).