Well, dear readers, October started rather in a peculiar way for me, but we shall endeavor to get things on a better track quickly – hence, anyone who would like to send excellent vibes and xylophones in this here direction should feel free to do so – they would and will be much appreciated. On a better note (C#), most of the day and evening was quite lovely – it was just a short patch in the afternoon that was plenty annoying for any number of reasons. Yesterday morning I headed over to the Bank of Bur, where I scooped up dear reader Hisaka and took her to the Hollywood Collector’s Show. We met up with Pogue and his pal Pat. That was a rather “p”-filled sentence, wasn’t it? We did our rounds of the room and then, just for a change, we did our rectangles of the room. There seemed to be a lot more people attending the show this time around, at least for the first two hours. But it seemed light on the celebs to me. We did see Michael York, Carla Laemmle, Sheman Hemsley – SHEMAN Hemsley??? What is this, a hermaphradite show all of a sudden? Sherman Hemsley, Ty Hardin, Lee Aaker, Jay North, Stella Stevens, Kevin McCarthy and many others. We had a long and lovely conversation with Mr. Warren Berlinger, who was just charming and funny as all get out, and we all know how charming and funny all get out is. We also had a nice chat with the lovelier than lovely Mariette Hartley and her next door neighbor, Rick Lenz. I also had a great little chat with Mammy Yokum herself, Billy Hayes, who really is one of the dearest people ever. There seemed to be more dealers this time around, and that was nice. We were there for about three hours, and we had a nice light lunch afterward. Hisaka then went and took a nap (she had jet lag and hadn’t slept at all), and I went home, where I was greeted with the handful of annoyances. One interesting thing I found out is that certain people still read this here website every day, as they apparently have since this here website was created. You’d think they’d tire of it, really, but I guess they don’t. Well, if that’s how certain people get their jollies, who am I to say nay? That bit of news was not part of the annoyances however – I just found it interesting. I tried to relax a bit, and then I picked up Hisaka and off we went to the Wood of Holly. We got there about forty-five minutes early, so we walked down Hollywood Boulevard, and I gave her the Hollywood portion of the Benjamin Kritzer tour, which continues tomorrow. We then met up with our dinner companions, the Pogues, and Nick Redman and his pal Julie Kirgo. David Mamet was in attendance with his wife Rebecca Pigeon, elsewhere in the restaurant. We had a wonderful time, and we laughed and laughed and just when we thought we could laugh no more, we laughed again. I don’t know if Hisaka was getting everything, but she seemed to be having a great time, and she bonded with everyone. Pogue and I had the pounded steak, Julieanne and Hisaka had the combo Louis, and Nick and Julie split a huge steak. We were there for quite some time, then we walked across the street to a new jernt called Lickety Split, which is the only place in LA that now serves frozen vanilla custard ice cream. It wasn’t quite as magical as what I used to get back in the 50s, but it was very good. I then took Hisaka back to the hotel and I came home and sat on my couch like so much fish, whilst I pondered Sheman Hemsley, which is, of course, the title of my next novel.
Yesterday, I did manage to watch one motion picture on DVD, entitled Hondo, which I got an early copy of, along with early copies of McClintok, Private Parts, The Demon Seed, and Dracula AD 1972. I’d never seen Hondo before, and I must say I found it to be something of a minor classic. Wayne is at his best, and it must have been one of the first things Geraldine Page had done – she’s really excellent, and you can tell what a marvelous Lizzie she must have been just a couple of years later in The Rainmaker. Lee Aaker (who I’d just seen at the Hollywood Collector’s Show) played Page’s son, and Ward Bond, James Arness and Michael Pate were all excellent, too. The film is beautifully shot, beautifully written by James Edward Grant, and really well directed by John Farrow, one of his best films, I think. The musical score, credited to Emil Newman and Hugo Friedhofer, is all Friedhofer and it’s mighty fine. The transfer is ninety-five percent fantastic, with the other five percent being a little less than fantastic but still more than acceptable. Some of the color is really breathtaking and it’s all quite sharp.
What am I, Sheman Hemsley all of a sudden? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’ve got a full day of stuff ahead of me, and I want to get some photographs posted, too.
Today I shall be taking Hisaka on the main part of the Kritzer tour. Rather than having a dinner, we’re going to eat the foods of Kritzer as we drive about in the motor car. If we can get in, we’ll have a burger at The Apple Pan or some other burger place like it. We’ll have a slice of pizza somewhere, too – that sort of thing. Hisaka actually went through each Kritzer book and typed up a list of all the places she wants to see, and we’ll be hitting each and every one of them.
All this lack of sleep over the last three weeks has really started to catch up with me or, at the very least, to ketchup with me. I started feeling very woozy and weird yesterday, especially in the morning, but by the afternoon I felt a bit better. When I got home last night, I felt weird again – it all has to do with being overtired, and I’ll try to get some sleep tonight and the next few days, even if it means I post the notes a bit early.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must return to the Hollywood Collector’s Show briefly (with our very own Mr. Nick Redman), and then I must give the Kritzer tour accompanied by the Foods of Kritzer eating tour, after which I shall try to return home to relax and hopefully get to bed early. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite John Wayne films? I must say, I find Mr. Wayne a wonderful actor and iconic presence, and I truly think he’s brilliant in The Searchers, Red River, Rio Bravo, and The High and the Mighty. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and don’t forget to give some thought to Sheman Hemsley, and don’t forget to float your excellent vibes and xylophones in this direction – we need ’em, baby.