Well, dear readers, it’s Friday and tomorrow, bright and early, I leave for the York of New. I’m very much looking forward to the trip. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, I am ready to go. I must keep these here notes short because she of the Evil Eye is coming today rather than tomorrow because today I am here and tomorrow I shall be winging my way Eastward. Despite all my good intentions, I still have a busy day ahead of me. But before we get to that I must speak of my busy day of yester. Basically, I never stopped, from the time I got up at eight-thirty until about six, when I finally had to just stop. I finished routining the recording script, which I then sent off to the director and musical director. The director and I then went over it, made two adjustments, and now that is all set. I did some banking, did a few errands, spent a lot of time on the telephone, and finished the play. I must now make about five little additions to the second act, then I’ll polish it up and do another little private reading. I then started the arduous task of entering the final set of corrections to the new book. My final copy editor is very strict on the rules of grammar, and therefore I’m very careful about which fixes I do and which I don’t. The ones I don’t do are ones that I feel hurt the vernacular of the book – the voice, as it were. I always ask, though, and usually I’m told those are things that we can let slide because it has to do with style and voice. Voice is everything, especially when you’re writing in the first person, which this book is. But, she’s caught some real whoppers, and it’s great to be able to fix those up. Then I had to attend to some e-mails, then I ate, and finally I was just too pooped to continue. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Last night, I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Two for the Seesaw, starring Miss Shirley MacLaine and Mr. Robert Mitchum, from the play by Mr. William Gibson. I wish I could have seen the original cast on the stage – Miss Anne Bancroft and Mr. Henry Fonda. Miss MacLaine and Mr. Mitchum are perfectly fine, but my guess is that Bancroft and Fonda were magic. The film has been “opened up” a bit, which is too bad, as none of that stuff is necessary. The play’s attitudes are quite dated, but that doesn’t bother me at all. However, if this film were shown at the cinema today, certain lines would get hisses and boos. The film is not great, but it has some lovely moments. Where it excels is in Mr. Robert Wise’s excellent direction, Mr. Ted McCord’s luscious black-and-white scope photography, and, best of all, Mr. Andre Previn’s gorgeous, melancholy score. The DVD is region 2 and the transfer is lovely. The sound warbles a bit in the main titles, but then rights itself for the rest of the running time.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must hie myself right out of here very soon, before she of the Evil Eye casts her devastating glance my way.
Whilst I’m gone, I shall get some cash from the bank, buy a few various and sundried toiletries for the trip (the travel-sized kind), and kill time until she of the Evil Eye is finished. Once she’s gone, I must start to pack. Then I have a meeting somewhere around two, which will probably last two hours. Then I’ll come home, finish packing by six, and have the rest of the evening to relax and prepare myself mentally for the trip.
I shall also be posting tomorrow’s notes early, as I must get to bed by ten at the latest, perhaps even nine. I don’t think I shall bring any book work with me on this trip – I’ll do the rest of the corrections when I’m back in Los Angeles, California, USA. That way I don’t have to lug the heavy manuscript with me. But I do plan to do play fixes on both flights, and in any spare time I have in the York of New.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must ready myself for the trip, I must attend a meeting, I must do errands, I must pick up a package, I must get cash, and I must find time to eat something tasty. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/video player? I’ll start: CD, the new Guy Haines album. DVD, next up will be Garden of Evil, starring Mr. Gary Cooper. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, so that I have plenty of excellent reading matter before I leave for New York, New York, a trip for which I am ready to go.