Well, dear readers, the long Memorial Day weekend is over and so is May. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, this is the last of May and tomorrow brings a brand spanking new month, which we hope will be busy and fruitful and happy and healthy for all dear readers. June will be a busy little month for the likes of me, what with prepping the new book for publication, putting the finishing touches on the play, raising the money for the play, continuing formulating plans for something that could end up being a ton of fun, getting the Kritzerland website ready for launch, preparing Kritzerland’s two initial releases, finishing a short story or two, and traveling to Portland for a reading/signing, about which more later. It’s hard to believe that we’re almost heading into the second half of the year, but we are. The end of May did end a bit bittersweetly with the re-acquaintance of someone I hadn’t seen in quite a while – it was all very enjoyable and then, as these re-acquaintances always seem to do, it turned into a disappointment. I am actually actively bored of people who don’t know how to be forthright and honest, and who do things selfishly with no regard for others. I do hate to be enigmatic, but suffice it to say that thank goodness I have learned from the past, and I am cynical enough to always be suspicious and wary – and, I’m sorry to say, it always pays off. I’ll just keep my tight-knit circle of friends – I don’t really need any new ones, especially of the fair-weather variety or even the fair-weather hollywood reporter. My goodness, that was a tangent, wasn’t it? But, June is here, and I’m sure it will be bustin’ out all over. We shall be merry and gay, like a gazelle wearing cotton underpants and harlequin socks.
Yesterday, I woke up quite late, and had to rush to Vinnie’s to do the After the Ball mix. It all went very quickly. He’d already done his pre-mixes, and because it’s basically just piano and voice (with a few additional instruments now and then), it was very simple to finesse. I listened to some of the mixes late last night whilst driving around in my motor car, and they sounded very nice indeed. During the mix, I drank two Diet Cokes and Vinnie and I ate a bowl of Trader Joe’s Cheese Puffs. I then got a very annoying message on my voice mail, dealt with it swiftly, and then came home, ate, and took a nice Jacuzzi.
Last night, I watched no motion pictures on DVD. I didn’t want to begin something and not finish it, so perhaps I’ll get to one this very evening.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, on this last May day, whilst we prepare to welcome June, which will be busting out all over, much like June Wilkinson.
For anyone who was errant and truant on the long, long weekend, do check out the notes and the posts as it was all quite scintillatingly scintillating.
I’ve been receiving some swellegant e-mails from people who are very happy about the Kritzerland announcement. I think it’s going to be a fun endeavor, and I’m quite looking forward to our official launch in July.
And now – Dino at the piano. No, that’s not right. And now – the answers to our Unseemly Trivia Contest. We had several correct guesses – our winners are: FJL, Michael Shayne, JMK, Matthew, Bill Tinsley, and Macchus999. We’ll announce our chosen-at-random winner after the answers.
The question was:
This 70s musical has a book and lyrics by someone who would go on to become a major director of hit musicals. It has music by someone who would go on to write a major television theme. The star of the show was a dramatic actor new to musicals. This actor would then not do another musical for many years, until he returned to Broadway in a revival. Two actresses in the show had appeared together in a hit musical just prior to this show. The conductor and orchestrator conducted the musical that the two actresses appeared in.
Name the show.
Name the author of the book and lyrics.
Name the composer.
Name the star of the show and the revival.
Name the two actresses.
Name the conductor and the orchestrator.
And the answer is:
The Selling of the President.
Jack O’Brien (director of The Full Monty, Hairspray, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)
Bob James (His TV theme was Taxi)
Pat Hingle (the revival was 1776)
Barbara Barrie and Pamela Myers (both of whom had just appeared in Stephen Sondheim’s Company on Broadway)
Hal Hastings and Jonathan Tunick (also of Company)
Congratulations to all our winners. We put all the names into our Electronic Hat, and it has chosen completely at random our High Winner: Matthew. If Matthew will send his address via e-mail, he will receive a sparkling prize. We’ll have another Unseemly Trivia contest this Saturday.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, go to Vinnie’s to do whatever fixes that need be done on After the Ball, and I must listen to the little nitpicky fixes on the Guy Haines album, so that both can be put to bed and sent off to mastering. I must also pick up a package or three, attend to some errands, perhaps pay a visit to someone if I must, and eat some foodstuffs at some point. Today’s topic of discussion: If someone treats you poorly, do you tend to walk away? Do you seek redress? Do you seek revenge? Do you act in kind? Are you able to take the high road, or do you immediately travel the low road. I must say that I tend to behave poorly, because I simply cannot stomach being treated without courtesy or respect, and I don’t think people should get away with such behavior. However, I do always give said people a chance – I give them a chance to behave properly. If they ignore the chance, then I tend to be a very bad boy. I know I shouldn’t, but it’s just the way I’m made, I guess. I don’t let it consume me, mind you, I just take swift action, do whatever it is I need to do, then walk away and put it out of my mind forever. It doesn’t really happen all that often, but I’m curious as to how others handle such things. I was astonished to find out that Mr. Sondheim, for example, never lets go of grudges. I know two specific instances where he has harbored hatred of two individuals and speaks of it viciously whenever he has the chance. One of those individuals has, according to the individual, written letters of apology, only to still be spurned. And the individual in question didn’t really even do anything wrong (the incident happened during a notes session on one of Mr. Sondheim’s less-successful shows). Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we bid a fond farewell to the last May day and whilst we welcome June in with open arms.