Well, dear readers, yesterday we achieved a new plateau, posts-wise – 90,000 count them 90,000 posts. I feel confident that soon we will be the most popular site on all the Internet. Now, it’s on to 100,000 and a major celebration with lots of surprises in store. Yesterday, in addition to achieving 90,000 posts, I had a lovely day of doing various and sundried things. I wrote, I lunched with Miss Tammy Minoff, I honored a birthday request and took Panni’s daughter for Mexican Food, and it was all simply too too. Today I have quite a few things to attend to, including luncheon with Mr. David Wechter at the Cheesecake Factory, and then watching whilst Pool People install the new pump and heater and give me directions on how to work them. If all goes according to Hoyle, I shall be sitting in my Jacuzzi tonight, whilst the crickets serenade me with romantic cricket music, such as Moon Crickets, The Days of Wine and Crickets, Three Crickets in the Fountain, and my favorite, But Not For Crickets. I shall sit and luxuriate, oh, yes, I shall sit and luxuriate whilst sipping a finely-aged Diet Coke. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Before I tell you about the motion picture I saw last evening, first I shall tell you about a DVD I saw, entitled Cellular. As these awful, stupid sorts of movies go, it moved right along. The leading young actor was not so hot, but Kim Basinger was fine, as was the always reliable William H. Macy. The story was by Larry Cohen, who did the equally silly Phone Booth, not to mention It’s Alive, Q – The Winged Serpent, and God Told Me To. I did get a kick out of watching the extras. One of the little documentaries has interviews with the various producers. One woman, who appears to be quite a twit, actually proclaims that this young actor was “amazing, brilliant” and “the next Tom Cruise.” Nothing like a little hyperbole and making yourself look totally idiotic. And then there’s the “Associate Producer” some drugged-out-looking girl who can’t be over twenty-five, whose somnambulistic ramblings give new meaning to somnambulistic ramblings. Last night, I saw a motion picture entitled Sideways. I was not sideways whilst viewing Sideways. I liked Sideways but did not love it as quite a few people have. I found it went on too long (a typical malady for today’s films) – I mean 123 minutes is very long for this sort of film. I liked all the actors, but felt the person who ran away with the film was Thomas Haden Church. The direction was simple and fine, and thankfully no trace of digital coloring was in evidence. Everything looked normal and like it should have, a real rarity in American filmmaking these days. The Rolfe Kent jazz score was nice, but he was just ripping off the temp track, and I recognized most of what I imagine was used. I was also pleased to hear that someone had the good taste to use a Bill Evans/Claus Ogerman piece that I’ve introduced to hundreds of people over the last twenty-five years. It’s the slow piano piece used at key moments of the film.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must think of more cricket love songs. That’s criket, isn’t it?
Perhaps the crickets will sing Go Away Little Cricket, Lollipops and Crickets, The Look of Crickets. Perhaps we can have the greatest hits of the crickets. Let’s just don’t get those crickets angry, otherwise we might be in a sticky wicket, crickets-wise. I just seem to be going on and on and on about the fershluganah crickets, don’t I? Perhaps the title of my next book will be The Crickets and I. Perhaps not.
I wonder if crickets play cricket? I wonder while I wander, although occasionally I wander while I wonder, just for a change of pace. Do you wonder while you wander or wander while you wonder? Does the chalice from the palace have the pellet with the poison or is the pellet with the poison in the vessel with the pestle? What am I, Danny Kaye all of a sudden?
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must lunch with David Wechter, I must watch Pool People do their thing, I must do some writing, and I must be serenaded by crickets whilst sitting in the Jacuzzi. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66, and the Jacques Louissier Play Bach albums. DVD, next up is Frank Sinatra in Suddenly, which has finally been issued in a DVD (purchased from amazon.uk) with a good transfer and in its proper 1:85 ratio. I’m really looking forward to seeing it, after all the years of lousy public domain copies. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, as we head towards 100,000 posts.