David Lynch, above, who turns 61 years old today.

Meanwhile, though I’m chained to a desk in Los Angeles, it’s the second day of the Sundance Film Festival, and the inevitable trickle of the usual “worst year ever?” pieces has started. The latest is from Movie City News’ David Poland, though it does stoop to include a bit of backhanded friendliness and credit. One thing’s for sure: Grace Is Gone does sound like a snug fit for John Cusack, who never met an interview he couldn’t dispassionately grind his teeth through. (If you want to get him to open up, try asking about the Cubs — sometimes it works, sometimes not.) The film is about an emotionally detached father who loses his wife in the Iraq War, and goes on a roadie with his two daughters. Word is that the Weinstein Company is circling as a potential distributor…