Well, dear readers, I have some most excellent news: Max Preeo has completed his Unseemly Interview and it will be up as scheduled on Friday. Let me tell you, it is frank, it is no-holds-barred, it is no-barred-holds, it is filled with shocking revelations and pithy comments on various and sundried subjects. And you can only read it here, dear readers because it is a haineshisway.com exclusive. We go the extra mile here – of course, then we’re an extra mile away so I don’t really know what good that does. I hope I have whetted your interview taste buds.
Do you know what I discovered yesterday? Well, I’ll tell you what I discovered yesterday because otherwise you will not be in the know and you simply must be in the know: I discovered that I can play my Region 2 PAL DVDs in my computer. Apparently, it allows you to do this four times without permanently changing your settings to only play Region 2 PAL DVDs, but since I never play DVDs on my computer, I decided to check out all these PAL things which have arrived. I played a bit of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s masterful A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven), and while not perfect, it’s still a pretty wonderful transfer and scads better than the VHS I have. Then I checked out The African Queen. The African Queen didn’t like being checked out and he/she looked at me askance, let me tell you that. What the hell am I talking about? Oh, yes, The African Queen – the movie. It looks great. Then I checked out another Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger film, Gone to Earth, which is a stunning transfer of their version of this marvelous little film (there was barely twenty-five minutes of their footage in the US version, which had additional scenes directed by Rouben Mammoulian – in the US the film was entitled The Wild Heart). This version is completely restored and it’s a minor gem. Then I checked out the French DVD of Francois Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451, which I got because it’s a special edition and enhanced for widescreen TVs, unlike the Image DVD (out of print) here in the states. The Image DVD was gorgeous, letterboxed but not enhanced. The French DVD is a disappointment, image-wise, with colors that aren’t nearly as vivid and saturated (one needs to have those fire engines be red – Technicolor red) – the whole affair reeks of Eastman color brown – so I’m happy to have the Image DVD, and hopefully Universal will get around to doing an enhanced version using that same marvelous transfer. Do you know who the Production Designer is on Fahrenheit? Why, our very own Tony Walton, that’s who. I then checked out the DVD of Mr. Akira Kurosawa’s Stray Dog, one of his early films which I’m quite fond of. It looks just fine and dandy. I’m thrilled to have these DVDs and, of course, none of them (save the out-of-print Fahrenheit) have ever been available in the US.
What am I, a techno-nerd all of a sudden? In any case, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below to see what’s cooking in the next section.
Here is what’s cooking in this section: Welsh rarebit on toast points. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too? We should have had Welsh rarebit yesterday – that way we could have been chomping at the Welsh rarebit. Just what the hell is Welsh rarebit anyway? What kind of a stupid food name is that? Welsh rarebit. Honestly.
Tomorrow I am going out to direct for the day. Everyone else is too busy to do it, so I have to go to three different locations and shoot various and sundried interviews for the piece I’m working on. The good part of it is that I know exactly what I need and I won’t shoot hours of stuff that I won’t end up using. Perhaps I’ll have someone say Welsh rarebit, just for the rarebit of it.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must work all the livelong day, I must eat foodstuffs that will not make me nauseous and I must return home. All that and more, that’s what’s in store. And one further thing: Welsh rarebit. Today’s topic of discussion: What is your favorite stupid food or drink name? I’ll start – Welsh rarebit, followed closely by lime rickey. Your turn. Now, let’s have a plethora of pithy posts today because I need my entertainment. Post about the topic, post about your socks, just post. There have been a few errant and truant Hainsies/Kimlets these past weeks and it is time for them to return to our merriment, mirth and laughter and legs.