Well, dear readers, I had quite a busy little day yesterday. First I attended the 88th birthday bash of Mr. Forest J. Ackerman. It was just two hundred of Forry’s closest personal friends. Frankly, or even robertly, I don’t do well at these huge affairs – I tend to just slink off into the corner and nurse a Diet Coke. I mean, the only people I knew were Richard Valley and his ever-lovin’ Tom, and a couple of others. But, the Thai food was quite good and I stayed two hours before finally taking my leave. I then drove to the Dale of Glen and delivered a copy of Writer’s Block to the store where I’m doing my signing – so they could read it prior to the event. I then did many other errands, including picking up one of the two new paintings I had to have framed (the third one had a nice frame already). As soon as I pick up the third, tomorrow, I’ll post the photos. Prior to any of that, I’d awakened at five in the morning from a dream I really didn’t like, feeling totally nauseous from the previous nights overeating. Was that a flashback? I mean, there I was, in the middle of going forward, telling about the day chronologically, when suddenly I threw in a flashback. Why did I throw in a flashback? Did in really want a flashback? Enough with the flashback already, I need to proceed with my chronological telling of the day’s events.
Last night, I watched one and three quarters new motion picture entertainments. The first was entitled Kinsey and was about the famous sex researcher Kinsey, hence the title of the film, Kinsey. The film had some excellent moments, but they were just moments. Otherwise, it just ambled along heavy-handedly, filled with self-importance. Part of my problem was the mind-numbing droning music of Carter Burwell. Part of the problem was the lumbering pace. But, it’s an interesting story, and the actors are excellent, although Liam Neeson unnervingly sounds exactly like Len Cariou. It’s written and directed by Mr. Bill Condon, so I’m sure you can guess the sort of things that are important to him and what he dwells on. Miss Lynn Redgrave has a really effective and touching cameo at the end. I’m sure it will be up for awards, but one of these days I’d just like to see a new live-action film that I absolutely love from start to finish. That film is not Beyond the Sea let me tell you. I finally had to leave because I just could take no more. It’s one of the oddest movies I’ve ever sat through – so misbegotten on so many levels. Obviously, Mr. Spacey decided to do his film in a highly stylized fashion (go-go boots and hip-huggers) and it just defeats the story he’s trying to tell. In every scene of the film you can figure out the “influence” – what movie he wants to emulate. Sometimes All that Jazz, sometimes Fellini, sometimes Young Girls of Rochefort and on and on. Well, you know what – give me The Jolson Story any day. I would have enjoyed seeing a straightforward biopic about Mr. Darin, but I guess that’s not possible these days. All movies have to be tarted up and filled with flash and I’m just so bored. And, I’ve seen All that Jazz and I’ve seen The Young Girls of Rochefort. The opening of Beyond the Sea is ten of the worst minutes I’ve ever seen on film – they have to explain everything and justify why it’s okay for Spacey, at his age, to be playing the young Bobby Darin. There is lots of music and several big dance numbers that are absolutely meaningless (they’re “fantasy” numbers or so they tell us after the fact). Mr. Spacey’s vocals are fine – he’s not Darin, but he does okay. But after eighty minutes I’d seen all I needed to see. I’m sure it went on for quite some time – when I left Bobby had just married Sandra Dee and gotten his gig at the Copa.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? I think we need another flashback right about now, don’t you? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below or, in other words, let’s flash forward.
There is still time to get your answers in for the Unseemly Trivia Contest. We’ve only had two guesses thus far and both were correct. You have until midnight tomorrow and the winners and High Winner will be revealed on Tuesday.
Don’t forget, Donald will have a new radio show up sometime today, so give it a listen. Last night, it was really rainy so I never got to take my Jacuzzi. The day had been totally sunny and the rain just came out of nowhere. Damn them, damn them all to hell. Was that a flashback all of a sudden? That is two flashbacks we’ve had in these here notes.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must relax and smell the roses and the Diet Coke, I must, if I’m in the mood, do a spot of driving about in my motor car, I must watch a DVD or two and I must eat various and sundried foodstuffs, whilst having a flashback or two. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to choose the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we?