Review: 'David Lynch: His Work, His World'

Over the course of a lovely but tiring seventeen years of Psychobabbling I've scaled way back on writing anything but reviews here. So I allowed a big, awful milestone to pass without much more than changing the banner at the top of this page. I'm talking about the death of David Lynch, my favorite artist, one who was so versatile, open, and willing to tap into dreams and nightmares, so old-fashioned hardworking, that he has been nothing short of the biggest creative inspiration in my own life. 

I got my start as a writer when my article on the role of dream worlds in Lynch's work was published in the final issue of the Twin Peaks fanzine Wrapped in Plastic way back in 2005. Although I've since published a couple of books, and even got to work on one of them with one of my top music heroes, Dave Davies, the biggest thrill of my career was seeing my name on the cover of Wrapped in Plastic beneath those of Peaks co-creator Mark Frost, star Catherine Coulson, writer Bob Engels, editor Mary Sweeney, and David Lynch. 

Farewell, Catherine Coulson

Coulson and Lynch on 
the set of Eraserhead.

Very sad news today: Catherine Coulson, the actress and camera person who became an icon for imparting enigmatic warnings while holding a baby-sized log on "Twin Peaks", has died of cancer at the age of 71. Coulson was one of the eaerliest denizens in Lynchland, helping filmmaker David Lynch make his brilliant debut Eraserhead (her official credit is "assistant camera," though she did a lot more than that, including taking part in some S&M shenanigans in a lost deleted scene). She then appeared in Lynch's short film "The Amputee", an absurdly comedic experiment with film stocks that found her writing a mundane letter while Nurse Lynch cleans her oozing leg stumps. 

However, Coulson would make her biggest impression on screen as Margaret Lanterman, better known as The Log Lady, on Lynch and Mark Frost's series "Twin Peaks". When the show became a phenomenon in 1990, the image of Coulson in her wool sweater holding her log of wisdom was nearly as pervasive in pop culture as that of Sheryl Lee's blue, plastic-wrapped face as Laura Palmer. When Lynch and Frost announced that they would be returning to "Twin Peaks" with a long-awaited third season this year, most fans probably assumed that Catherine Coulson would be lifting the log again. Sadly, that won't be the case. Today I'm sure her friends in the cast and crew have other things on their mind than the future of "Twin Peaks" anyway.

Review: The Criterion Edition of 'Eraserhead'

Eraserhead has been streaming on Hulu as a member of the Criterion Collection for two years, which means excited speculation that Criterion might give it a proper home-media release has also been circulating for years. The ultimate cult movie meets the finest video-distribution company to achieve cult status of its own. That is a relationship much happier than Henry Spencer and Mary X’s.