Well, dear readers, it is almost the end of September, and I think we all know what that means. What that means (for those who might not know) is that it is almost the end of September. Thus, October is a month just waiting to happen, and happen it will. This month simply flew by, like a gazelle doing a wing walk on a bi-plane. Well, I am looking forward to October, what with prepping the Kevin Spirtas concert, getting my book shipped, prepping our next CD release of The Last Starfighter, and putting together the LACC benefit. I must say, the last few days have been awfully peculiar. Two weeks ago, summer seemed to be over – we had rainfall, and the evenings were quite chilly. This entire week we’ve had temperatures in the 80s and 90s and the evening weather has been muggy and oppressive, not necessarily in that order. For example, yesterday was in the mid-90s, and it was 85 degrees last evening. Blechhh. Otherwise, I had a strange day, where everything just seemed slightly off. I can’t put my finger on it, really, which is good because it hates when I put my finger on it. I’m having sheet music created for the song I wrote for our very own young Caitlynne, and I had to attend to some details regarding said sheet music. Then I shipped everything that needed to be shipped, and then I picked up two count them two packages from amazon, which contained three count them three spaghetti western DVDs (when I get on a kick, I get on a kick). I then came home and wrote a few pages, and then I had several telephonic conversations, some of which were nice and some of which were annoying. I then had to put together a nice-sized order for a store in Australia that will now be handling Kritzerland product. I found out that my proof hardcover won’t be arriving until Monday or Tuesday, so I went ahead and placed my book order this morning – I’m promised books by the 10th at the latest, and sooner if it’s at all possible. And then the day was done and I wished I could just lie on a massage table and have a masseuse have her way with me. I don’t always lie on a massage table – no, sometimes I tell the truth on a massage table. Sometime next week I will be on a massage table getting a ninety minute massage and that’s that.
Last night, I watched one of the three count them three spaghetti westerns I got on DVD. It was entitled The Strangers Gundown (no, there is no apostrophe in the title treatment), although the film is better known as Django the Bastard, even though it’s not a real Django movie. Nor is Django a bastard in the film. Django is getting revenge on those who set up his regiment to be attacked by the enemy. Django (and everyone else) was left for dead. And yet, Django walks somnabulistically from location to location, offing those who were responsible. Is Django alive, or an avenging ghost? Only The Shadow knows, and The Shadow ain’t talking. It’s quite an enjoyable spaghetti western – not one of the classics, but one that moves right along. The transfer is scope and enhanced for widescreen TVs, but it’s really awful – filled with emulsion scratches, splices, and off-registration, not to mention a murky image and bad sound. Otherwise, it’s fine. Thankfully, the DVD can be had for under ten bucks. I also finished watching my bedroom movie on DVD, The Long Ships. I was so entranced by last week’s viewing of The Vikings, that I was in the mood for another Viking picture. Unfortunately, The Long Ships is not in the same league as The Vikings. It just meanders along with very little point, despite the occasional action sequence. Richard Widmark tries hard, but he doesn’t really have much of a character to play (and he’s the hero). And it’s one of the few films where I can say that Sidney Potier does a bad job – not his fault, really, but it’s just a completely weird performance (with a big wig on his head). The film does look splendidly splendid. The director was Jack Cardiff, who, of course, photographed The Vikings (and Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes). The credited cameraman is Mr. Cardiff’s operator, Christopher Challis, who went on to be a fine cameraman on his own. But the lighting reeks of Mr. Cardiff, and it’s visually a very striking film. Unfortunately, Mr. Cardiff isn’t a great storyteller – he’s competent, but that’s about it, and he gets no help from a rather bland script. There is one hilarious scene where the Vikings, horny as all get out, try to have their way with Mr. Potier’s concubines. It’s as if Gower Champion had suddenly showed up and staged it as if it were the Shriner’s Ballet from Bye Bye Birdie. It even has some gay content that’s most amusing in a very retro sort of way. The transfer from Columbia is gorgeous.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because I have other things to mention in the next section.
No, I lied. I don’t really have any other things to mention. Frankly, I’m bidin’ my time, ’cause that’s the kind of guy I’m. I lied about this section, I wanted to lie on a massage table – isn’t it true that I am a chronic and habitual LIAR? Oh, a Witness For The Prosecution reference.
Has anyone noticed that I’m bidin’ my time, ’cause that’s the kind of guy I’m? I mean I have nothing else to talk about. No, I lie – I do have something else to talk about. Isn’t it true that I am a chronic and habitual LIAR?
This afternoon, for example, I am going to John Marshall High School’s Career Night, and I will be talking to anyone who is interested in a career in the arts. I volunteered for it months ago, but I have no idea what I’m really going to be doing there – I suppose someone will tell me. I mean, I don’t represent a school or anything, but I have been in the business for thirty-five years, so maybe I can impart some words of wisdom.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write a page or three, I must start to organize our LACC event (we have several production meetings coming up in the next two weeks), I must do errands, I must make myself presentable for Career Night, and I must eat only a small amount of foodstuffs, as I will be dining heavily during dear reader Hisaka’s stay. Otherwise, I’ll just be bidin’ my time, ’cause that’s the kind of guy I’m. Today’s topic of discussion: Yesterday, we had one-off one-of-a-kind movies – today, what are your favorite one-off one-of-a-kind theater experiences, both plays and musicals, as well as concerts? You know, those plays, musicals, and concerts that were and are unlike you’ve anything you’ve seen before or since. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and let’s send out the final two days of September with a bang and a whistle and our skirts lifted and our garters showing.