Well, dear readers, do you realize that in four short days it will be the middle of June, for heaven’s sake? That is just ridiculous. Where did the first two weeks go? It’s insanity really. You know what I say? Slow down already, time, will ya? Let us stop and smell the roses or the coffee or the buttermilk, let us stop and smell something. Enough with the days and weeks whizzing by like a gazelle on uppers. There, I’ve said it and I’m glad. Excelsior! Now, where was I? And why did I just type “Excelsior!”? That was just so random, wasn’t it? Excelsior! There, I did it again. Damn them, damn them all to hell. Excuse me for a moment whilst I try to become lucid. I feel I have lost my lucidity. I feel my lucidity has gone missing. If anyone has seen my lucidity tell it to get the HELL back to my home environment, because these here notes are getting more surreal with each passing minute. Excelsior! Before I go any further, let me tell you about yesterday. Yesterday, we had a casting session for our next reading of my new play. We really only need to cast one person in this three hander. We saw about thirty actors for the role and not one of them was within a country mile of what we want. Frankly, not one of them was in a country mile of even saying any of the lines correctly. There were so many “likes” and “you knows” and made-up lines and forgotten lines – well, it was all quite depressing. I’m going to put the word out amongst friends to see if we can find someone that way. All three roles in this little play are somewhat tricky, so we must have the right actors. Tammy will be fine because I wrote it specifically for her. In any case, the search continues. After the session, I headed home, picked up some packages (several books and an LP entitled Presenting Peter Palmer), caught up on things and then headed off to the screening of Witness for the Prosecution.
The screening was at my neighbor’s home environment, my neighbors being Mr. Robert Gitt and Mr. Anthony Slide, two lovely people, and two people who are film lovers, authors, historians, and archivists (Mr. Gitt is head of the UCLA Film Preservation, and for those who have the new The Razor’s Edge DVD, Mr. Slide provides its commentary track). We viewed a brand spanking new 35mm print of Prosecution. What a great movie it is. I never tire of it, and I never remember what the various twists are. And that cast. Tyrone Power, although a bit too old for his role, is really good as Leonard Vole. Marlene Dietrich is great as his wife, but the film belongs to Mr. Charles Laughton and Miss Elsa Lanchester, who are nothing short of brilliant in their roles. Their interplay is hilarious and there were many huge guffaws from the assembled crowd. But, that’s not all – you’ve also got Torin Thatcher, Henry Daniell, John Williams, the wonderful Norma Varden, and even Ruta Lee. The script by Billy Wilder and Harry Kurnitz, from the short story and play by Agatha Christie, is great, as is Mr. Billy Wilder’s direction. After the film we had a lovelier than lovely feast with salads, fruits (they must have known that was our topic of the day), rolls, and Coronation Chicken Curry Salad in honor of the Queen’s birthday. My cousins Dee Dee and her ever-lovin’ Alan were there, along with many of our lovely neighbors. The conversation was sparkling and a good time was had by all.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because I’ve got something very special to say in the next section.
Excelsior! Wasn’t that special? Actually, now that I think of it, Mr. Guy Haines himself sings that word in one of the songs on his new album, New Guy in Town. I will soon be able to post the cover right here at haineshisway.com – you dear readers will see it before the Kritzerland website is up.
Today, I hope to get some writing done, and then I hope to do nothing else but relax and play and watch DVDs. That’s my idea of heaven.
If you haven’t sent in your guess for our Unseemly Trivia Contest, do so. Make an attempt – you can’t win if you don’t try.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must write, I must stop and smell the roses or the coffee or the yogurt, I must drive about in my motor car, I must watch a DVD or three, and I might even sit on my patio and sip my Diet Coke. Today’s topic of discussion: What was your very first paying job? Let’s hear all about it, you dear, dear people out there in the dark. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we? Oh, and one other thing: Excelsior!