Well, dear readers, it’s yet another start to another week, which I have no doubt will speed by like a gazelle in fishnet stockings. I have no idea if this is a busy week or a non-busy week. I have two lunches, that much I know, and I’ll be having a production meeting on the play with our producer. I’ll also hopefully be seeing and approving the cover to the book. I also have several kritzerland.com site issues to deal with – because the Stages/Together Again booklet was too long to include the synopsis for each show, we’re going to put them on the website, which means I have to type them into the computer. I can fix all the bad grammar and punctuation errors, so that will be nice. We also have to prep the Upcoming Releases page with The Last Starfighter. Finally, I have to get our designer ready for our very special CD single, which will be added to the splash page around Labor Day. I can only tell you that it involves an artist we’re all familiar with around these here parts. I’m sure there are other things I have to do, but I have no idea what they might be. Well, one of them is also preparing the website for Rewind, to make purchases very simple for those who want a signed copy. Speaking of Rewind, yesterday was a mighty strange day. I felt like I was in slow motion all the livelong day and night. Everything seemed to irritate me. Why did everything irritate me when I did not irritate everything, that’s what I’d like to know. You know how it is sometimes – things just bug your butt cheeks and there’s nothing you can do about it. I had no packages, but I did get four checks in the mail. Why did that annoy me? Because when I opened the envelopes, the total for all four checks was for just over sixteen dollars. I mean, honestly. I did get two nice CD orders yesterday, which did not annoy me – it gave me much happiness and my name isn’t even Joe. We all know that happiness is just a thing called Joe, but sometimes happiness is just a thing called bk. Who is Joe, anyway? Why does Joe get his name in so many sayings? A cup of Joe. Happiness is just a thing called Joe. He’s just an ordinary Joe. I’m a little bored of Joe, frankly or even joely. I want happiness to be a thing called Mervyn. Well, now, you see, I have gone off on a Joe tangent. I guess I should be happy about that, for, as we all know, happiness is just a thing called fershluganah Joe.
Yesterday, I watched two count them two motion pictures on DVD. The first motion picture on DVD was entitled The House on 92nd Street, starring Mr. Lloyd Nolan, Mr. William Eythe, and Miss Signe Hasso. It’s one of those Fox docu-noirs they were so fond of after the war. Like Call Northside 777, this was mostly shot on the actual locations where the real story took place. While it’s a perfectly okay film, I do get weary of all the “realism” – the film gets much better when the bad guys are on screen. I have no idea where William Eythe came from, but he has absolutely no screen charisma, which is fatal for a film in which he figures so prominently. Thankfully, the film is short, and it certainly is enjoyable in its own way. The transfer is very nice. I then watched the second motion picture on DVD, which was entitled The Cabinet of Caligari, the 1962 low-budget remake of the silent classic. Actually, other than the name Caligari, it doesn’t really have all that much to do with the original. The remake is written by Mr. Robert “Psycho” Bloch – Mr. Bloch, whatever one thinks of him as a novelist and short story writer, simply wasn’t a very good screenwriter. The film is filled with risible dialogue and scenes. Of course, it’s all justified by the end, but no amount of explanation makes those lines and scenes work. The film stars Miss Glynis Johns, who I always enjoy watching. Also starring is Mr. Dan O’Herlihy and Miss Constance Ford. It’s directed by a TV director named Roger Kay, who doesn’t have much directorial flair – even though the black-and-white Cinemascope photography of John “Psycho” Russell is top-notch. The film also boasts an excellent score by Gerald Fried. The film is overlong at 105 minutes, but the last fifteen minutes or so at least has some energy and pizzazz. The transfer is great.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below so we can see if happiness is still a thing called Joe in the next section.
Yep, happiness is still a thing called Joe, and frankly I would like to kick Joe in the shins. Then we’ll see if happiness is still a thing called Joe.
Don’t forget, Donald should have a brand spanking new radio show up for your listening pleasure, so be sure to check it out, won’t you?
I have so been in the mood to eat something interesting, but every day I end up eating the same old things. So, today I shall make every effort to either make something fabulously fabulous, or bring something home that’s fabulously fabulous, or go somewhere where they serve things that are fabulously fabulous.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must relax, I must take a walk, I must eat something fabulously fabulous, and I must type up the Stages and Together Again synopses. Is that right? Synopses? I guess so – it certainly can’t be synopsises. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite Harold Arlen songs, and also your favorite songs sung by Miss Lena Horne. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we reflect on the fact that happiness is just a thing called Joe.