Well, dear readers, here we are not only on a Friday, but the last day of September. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, it is the last day of September, which means, of course, that tomorrow will be the first day of October. I ask you, where else on all the Internet can you find such information? Nowhere, that’s where. September has been a whirlwind month, a whirling dervish of a month, a whirling, twirling whirligig of a month. I’m looking forward to October, and hope that it will bring many good things to one and all and also all and one. So, let’s send excellent vibes and xylophone this way and every other way, because we cannot have enough excellent vibes and xylophones and October is a month when excellent vibes and xylophones will be most appreciated. There, I’ve said it and I’m glad. Yesterday was a fascinating day. I don’t know why, really, but everywhere I turned, fascinating things were happening. For example, I got up in the morning. That was fascinating. I then had to attend to many things, such as putting gas into the motor car, and shipping packages. I also picked up a surprise package – the hardcover copy of my new novel, which arrived several days earlier than they told me. What a thrill to hold it in my very own actual hands. It looks quite splendid, and now we’re on track for books to be delivered within the next ten days. Speaking of delivered, I then had to hie myself to John Marshall High School, where they were having a Career Night. There we all sorts of colleges represented, along with folks like myself who were there to talk about careers in various fields. It was a bit of a bust, actually, as there weren’t many kid interested in a career in the arts, and the ones that talked to both myself and the rep from LACC didn’t seem serious at all. One nice young man did seem serious about wanting to be an actor, and he told me he came from two generations of actors, his father and his grandfather. I asked him who they were – his grandfather I never heard of, but the minute he said his father’s name I knew exactly who he was talking about. His father is actor Rick Podell, with whom I acted in the pilot I did for CBS, playing George Kennedy’s son. The last I saw of Rick was when he was appearing in the LA premiere of Sunset Blvd. with Glenn Close. I was producing Judy Kuhn’s album at the time, and I went to see the show, and saw Rick backstage. It’s a small world, after all. Oh, now I can’t get that song out of my head. I’m just sitting here like so much fish, with “It’s a small world, after all, it’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all” coming out of my mouth. I hate when that happens. After Career Night, I met up with Pogue, and we supped at our new favorite jernt, Bird’s. I ate way too much food, but I must say it was every bit as good as the first time we ate there a couple of weeks ago. The conversation was, as always, lively and sparkling, not necessarily in that order, and we laughed and laughed and just when we thought we could laugh no more, we laughed again.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die. Yes, you guessed it, it was another of those spaghetti westerns, this one starring Montgomery Ford (aka Brett Halsey), and Tatsuya Nakadai. Like most spaghetti westerns, this was a story of revenge, and it was quite entertaining. It didn’t ever achieve the style of the Leone films, but the script was very good (by Dario Argento, who’d just written part of Once Upon a Time In The West for Leone, and who was about to become a popular film director with The Bird With The Crystal Plumage). Argento apparently loved The Magnificent Seven, and there are small homages to that film in this film. I have decided to see as many of these spaghetti westerns as I can lay my hands on. My favorite thing about them all is that they all use the same sound effects for the always-present blowing wind. I walk around the home environment making the sound of that wind and it’s ever so much fun. I’m making the sound of that wind right now whilst I’m also singing It’s A Small World, which I’ve retitled It’s A Small Windy World. Besides, the answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind. The transfer on some of these spaghetti westerns is a little iffy, especially the ones from VCI, but they’re watchable.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below and let us not forget that this is the last day of September and tomorrow is the first day of October and that it’s a small world after all.
Have I mentioned that it’s a small world after all? Speaking of a small world, dear reader Hisaka is now winging her way to Los Angeles, California, USA. She’ll call me as soon as she’s settled in at her hotel. We’ll then have supper together at a place to be determined. I’m not quite certain when I’ll take her on the Kritzer tour – perhaps on Sunday, when there is no traffic. On Saturday, I shall escort her around the Ray Courts show, and then we’re having a West Coast hainsies/kimlets dinner for Hisaka at Musso and Frank. I will have camera at the ready. In attendance will be our very own Pogue, our very own Hisaka, our very own me, our very own Miss Tammy Minoff, and our very own Mr. Nick Redman. I’m really looking forward to it.
I’m going to try and get some writing done this morning, and then I’ve got a little shipping to attend to, as well as various and sundried errands to run. Then I have freed up the rest of the afternoon, in case dear reader Hisaka wishes to do anything. I haven’t decided yet whether there will be an Unseemly Trivia Contest on Saturday – we shall see what we shall see.
I tell you, I’m sitting here singing It’s a small world after all, and I am driving myself crazy (a very short drive). I can also smell smoke from the various fires that are raging in various areas. It’s amazing how far and how fast that smoke travels. Oh, and here is a funny story – a limo arrived at my home environment yesterday, and the driver knocked on my door and asked if I was ready to leave. He was there to pick up Mr. Jimmy Marsden. I suggested to him that the limo company update their records for Mr. Marsden. Luckily, he lives only about fifteen minutes from here, so I’m sure he got where he was going in time. Ironically, he’d received a package here yesterday, so I just gave it to the limo driver to give to him. End of funny story.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must write, I must do errands, I must attend to dear reader Hisaka, and I must figure out where we will be supping. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player, and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, the quite rare soundtrack to Patrice Leconte’s wonderful film, 1 Chance Sur 2 by Alexandre Desplat. I’ve been after this soundtrack CD since seeing the film, but it was in and out of print in France so fast, that I’d begun to despair I’d never find a copy (it’s a really good score). I did manage to find a CD single of the main title music and the end credits pop song. But three weeks ago, the CD turned up on eBay and I snagged it, and at a very decent price, too. I’ve played it quite a few times already and I love it. DVD, next up another spaghetti western entitled The Great Silence, which is supposed to be excellent. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we all sing it’s a small world after all, ad nauseum until we get nauseum.