Well, dear readers, I am so completely in need of a massage it’s not even funny. I’ve now been saying this for over nine months, but now I am just a mass of knots and tangles and I need to be worked on, I tell you, I need to be kneaded. I have put in a call to my Russian masseuse but if she can’t accommodate me into her busy schedule, I may have to seek out other hands. I neck is especially bad, which I think stems from sitting at this here laptop so much during the writing of the book and now the short stories. In the meantime, I shall endure, oh, yes, in the meantime I shall endure. Speaking of endurance, last night I saw the staged reading of a new musical. I first saw a staged reading of this selfsame new musical six years ago. At that time, it was really just a bunch of songs in search of a book. Now it has a book, and it hasn’t really helped the piece. Part of the problem is that there are twenty-eight songs in the show, and twenty-five of them are ballads. It’s mind-numbing after a while. I know they are looking for a director and I’d say that would be a good thing for them to have, if, and it’s a big if, the creators will listen to him/her. A couple of the songs are pretty, but most just pile on the clichés. In the middle of the second act, the songs inexplicably go into Sondheim territory, never a good idea unless you happen to be Sondheim. The show is about love – an about-to-be-married couple, a couple who aren’t married (the guy is – wait for it – afraid to commit and afraid to say “I love you”), and a long-time married couple who play games to keep the marriage alive. A couple of the actors were good, which always helps. What does not help is having the entire audience filled with friends and family whooping it up, cheering, and giving a standing ovation at the end. That is precisely what the creators don’t need – they need honesty, and they aren’t getting it. They need guidance at this point, and then they need a reading in front of total strangers. That will tell them all they need to know. I sat next to Miss Melissa Manchester, who is related, I believe, to the wife of the songwriter. I attended with Miss Barbara Deutsch, who, but a few hours earlier, had invited me. One of her clients was in the cast. Her client had very nice teeth. Earlier, I had spent a somewhat relaxing day doing a spot of work, eating reasonable foodstuffs, and doing a few errands. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Last night I watched a very strange motion picture on DVD entitled Now and Forever, starring Mr. Gary Cooper, Miss Carole Lombard, and Miss Shirley Temple. This was pre-20th Century Fox Shirley, and boy was she cute as a button. The film is a soap opera filled with bathos, and a little humor on the side. Cooper is as handsome as can be, Lombard is pretty but never gets to strut her comic stuff, and Shirley is just adorable, but hadn’t quite nailed her persona yet. The film is part of a Universal Franchise DVD which also includes a film from the same year via the same studio, Paramount – Little Miss Marker. I’m in the middle of that one now and will have a full report in tomorrow’s notes. The transfers are really excellent for films made in 1934 – almost no wear at all and reasonably sharp. I just love me my Shirley Temple movies, but watching them you realize that you could never get away with them today. The PC clods would be all over them. To the PC clods I say phut.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below whilst I lament the need to be kneaded.
Yes, I am quite kneady right now. I could use some high-steppin’ kneading right now. Hopefully, the Russian masseuse won’t be rushin’ too much and she’ll be able to work me in tonight or tomorrow night. I don’t think I can wait much longer than that.
I also must try to get a haircut this week, for I am starting to look quite unkempt and I would like to look kempt for the Ray Courts show this weekend. I do hope at least one or two hainsies/kimlets will be there.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must do a spot of work, I must pick up some packages, I must attend to some things that need attending to, and I certainly must book a massage. I wonder if you can book a massage with both fiction and non-fiction books? Today’s topic of discussion: What are your PC bugaboos – the things you hate most from the PC clods? And what are your favorite Shirley Temple movies and songs? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, as I continue my need to be kneaded.