Well, dear readers, this is the week that is. My goodness, that was especially deep for a first sentence, wasn’t it? In that one sentence I feel we have had more depth than any other site on all the Internet. Where else can you read such deep things such as “this is the week that is?” I tell you, dear readers, we have moxie on this site. Yes, Virginia, we’ve got moxie on this site. And what is a site without moxie? A non-moxie site, that’s what a site without moxie is. Well, we’ve got us moxie here at haineshisway.com and that’s all there is to that. We’ve also got heart. Yes, we’ve got moxie heart here at haineshisway.com, and don’t let anyone tell you we don’t. Moxie heart? What am I, Kander and Ebb all of a sudden? Speaking of Kander and Ebb, I spent a rather relaxing day yesterday, and I must say the day went by slowly instead of quickly, and I found that very enjoyable. I’d awoken at eight, but then fell back asleep until ten-thirty. I tell you, I really needed my beauty sleep and I got up feeling refreshed and recharged, not necessarily in that order. I puttered around the home environment, did quite a bit of work making adjustments on the new short story and then writing a few new pages. I finished addressing envelopes, as we will hopefully be shipping out all preordered CDs this week. I then got a couple of bagels and had bagels, cream cheese and lox for my Sunday meal. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish and watched DVDs all the livelong day and night. All in all, a lovely day, and now we are ready to greet the new week head-on and with plenty of moxie.
Yesterday, instead of eating pasta, I watched a spaghetti western on DVD entitled Death Rides A Horse. I own quite a few spaghetti westerns, but I only really love the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns. The others I’ve watched all have their moments, but they just don’t do it for me like Leone’s films do. However, Death Rides A Horse is a terrific spaghetti western. Of course, even though it tries to ape Leone’s directorial style, it doesn’t quite make it, but the story of revenge is strong, the film is well-paced, and it’s got a wonderful leading performance by Mr. Lee Van Cleef. The film also stars John Phillip Law, who is only competent. It was also fun to see one of my favorite Brit character actors in the film – Anthony Dawson (he of Dial M For Murder). The photography is beautiful, and the Ennio Morricone score is excellent. The DVD is from MGM/UA and is region 2, but I presume they’ll get around to issuing it here in the US. I then watched seven episodes of Adam 12. I don’t think I ever watched more than one or two episodes when the show was originally aired, but I found the DVD fun to watch in the same way Dragnet ’67 is fun too watch. Episode one was directed by Mr. Jack Webb and suffers from too much Dragnetitis. Thankfully, the show found its own tone and style quickly. As with Dragnet, it’s great to see all the shots of the Valley circa 1968. In the first episode, there is a five-minute sequence that was all shot mere blocks from the home environment. It took me a minute to figure out the geography, but once I did, it was so much fun to see everything the way it was, which is not dissimilar from the way it is now. The little strip mall on the south east corner was a gas station, but everything else looks exactly the same. In a later episode, there is a wonderful shot driving south on Lankershim, where they clearly pass the El Portal (where we’ll be doing our play), then a movie theater (the marquee advertises a Sneak Preview), and then, a half-block later, the Guild (also a movie theater). The Guild was torn down in the early 80s. In another episode, there is a great night shot on Ventura Blvd. heading east, where you can clearly see the Studio Theater (now a Bookstar), the car wash on the south east corner of Laurel Canyon and Ventura, Tiny Naylor’s and Du-Par’s. What fun. Several of the neighborhood shots were done right around Colfax and Moorpark. My favorite things are when they are driving on location, then suddenly make a turn and magically end up on the Universal back lot. In another episode there’s a great shot of Officers Malloy and Reed coming out of Biff’s Coffee Shop. I can’t remember where it was, but I went there many times. Once Martin Milner and Kent McCord settle into their roles, the banter between them is lots of fun. And, of course, there are lots of great guest shots – I noticed two West Side Story (the film) alums in tiny parts (Ned Glass – Doc, and the fellow who played Officer Krupke). A very young Charles Dierkop has a small role, as does Zalman King, and I know there are some well-known folks coming up in episodes I haven’t gotten to. But, it’s those location shots that keep me watching. Of course, today I’ll be walking around all day saying, “1 Adam 12, see the man.”
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because this is the week that is, and we must get to it.
Have I mentioned that we’ve got moxie here at haineshisway.com? Have I mentioned that this is the week that is?
Why is this the week that is? Because this is the week that we will be shipping our new releases to those who were kind enough to preorder – and if you haven’t preordered and you want the CDs in advance of street date by two weeks, now would be a good time to do so. This is the week that we are meeting with publicists and lighting designers. This is the week when we shall be welcoming in a brand spanking new month, and this is the week which leads us into the long Labor Day weekend. Busy, yes, but we’ve got moxie, baby, and I feel that the whole week is going to be one big partay around these here parts. In fact, you simply must stick around all the time because I am going to open our Unseemly Live Chat room whenever I feel the whim, and you won’t want to miss out on that, let me tell you. For those who have never attended one of our live chats, let me tell you, it not only gets wild and wooly, it also gets wooly and wild.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write, ship packages, do errands, pick up packages, have several telephonic conversations, and then sup with Miss Tammy Minoff, our producer Missy Becker, and a potential publicist. Today’s topic of discussion: Since I do love our Time Machine topics, if you could take the haineshisway.com Time Machine, and go back to any decade or era to any city in the United States, to see how it was at a certain time, what city would it be, and what date would you choose, and what would you do if you had twenty-four hours to spend before having to come back to now? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and let’s fill them with Ye Olde Moxie.