Well, dear readers, today is a day. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, today is a day. Not just a day, but the first day when I don’t have a rehearsal or a meeting or a zillion things piled on top of me. Oh, there are a few things I have to do – for example, I have to start writing some patter for the LACC show, but mostly I’m going to sit around like so much fish, twiddling my thumbs. Have you ever twiddled your thumbs and if so what did your thumbs think about being twiddled? I would now like to know who made up the expression “twiddle or twiddling my thumbs.” Actually, forget about the expression – I’d like to know who made up the word “twiddle.” Excuse me for a moment.
All right, I now have the answer. Over one century ago, there was a gentleman who curdled cream for a living. He was known as the premiere cream curdler and people came from both far and wide and wide and far to have their cream curdled. This gentleman’s name was Thomas Widdle. One day, a person arrived. The person saw Mr. Widdle’s sign outside of his shop. The sign read: T. WIDDLE, CREAM CURDLED – CHEAP. The gentleman knocked at the door, and Mr. Widdle answered it. The gentleman asked if he could have some cream curdled and Mr. Widdle, being a curdler of cream, said yes. But, the gentleman had an odd request. He wanted to stick his thumbs in the cream whilst Mr. Widdle was curdling it. He said, “I cannot allow your big, ugly thumbs in the cream whilst I’m curdling it.” The gentleman took umbrage at that and said so. “I take umbrage at that,” said the gentleman. “I’ll show you umbrage, you big galoot.” With that, Mr. Widdle whacked the gentleman’s thumbs with a wooden spoon, which caused the gentleman to yelp, “Why, T. Widdle, my thumbs, my thumbs.” Because he was in great pain, it came out sounding like “twiddle my thumbs.” Just as the gentleman was yelping “T. Widdle, my thumbs” over and over again, a group of passersby were passing by and they overheard the yelping. Next thing you know, “twiddle my thumbs” was all the rage around the village of Exeter On The Thames. And thus, T. Widdle unwittingly created the expression “twiddle my thumbs.”
Well, yesterday I was on overload, but the above is quite a load all by itself, don’t you agree? Speaking of loads, yesterday was a very long day. First of all, I was awakened by a call from New York, New York at six-in-the-morning. Then I had to get everything ready for my breakfast with Mr. David Wechter. We met at Mel’s Diner, and we had a lovely bit of breakfast. I handed him the large box of DVDs and tapes, which are being digitized for next Tuesday’s editing session. I then had to ship two huge boxes of CDs, and then I came home and began dealing with a plethora of e-mails and telephonic calls to be returned. Then I had luncheon with Miss Tammy Minoff, and then I immediately headed off to LACC, but not before picking up a lovely package from dear reader Hisaka in far away Japan. The package contained something I have been salivating for – the new region 2 DVD of Miyazaki’s latest film, Howl’s Moving Castle. The film got mixed reviews, as all his films usually do. It’s only six months later, or until the next film comes out, that everyone then proclaims the last one a masterpiece. I’ll have plenty to say about Howl’s, when I finish it. I can only tell you that I’m thirty minutes in and I can say that I will see no more beautiful-looking film this year. We had a nice production meeting at LACC – I met our sound designer, who seems fine, and we got a lot done. I then had a rehearsal with the four teachers who are doing my parody lyric to Everybody Ought To Have a Maid. I staged the entire number in ninety minutes, and once they get it in their bodies and learn the lyrics by heart, it is really going to be funny, I think. One of the teachers is a bit slower than the others, so my two assistants are going to work with him privately to make sure he’s on track. I then came home and sat on my couch like so much fish, whilst eating an ear of corn. I wanted to eat a nose of corn, but I only had a fershluganah ear. I hope it was okay to eat this particular ear of corn – I’ve had it in the ‘fridge for two weeks. It looked fine and tasted okay, so I’m sure it was safe.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below whilst we all T. Widdle our collective thumbs.
As already noted in part one of the noted notes, today I shall not be doing much of anything if I can help it. Oh, I do have to sit down and figure out what sections I’m reading from the book, and I do have to order a Parisienne Cake for the signing. Tonight I shall be going to the Ahmanson Theater to attend the opening night of The Drowsy Chaperone. I was given tickets to the show and the party for producing the session where we pre-recorded the overture to the show. And I must say, those very gracious people of the Center Theatre Group, thanked me in the program. That’s class. I’ll have a full report when I return home, but the notes will probably go up a bit late, depending on how long I stay at the partay (the show itself is very short – an intermissionless ninety minutes).
I really, really hope to see a few dear readers or lurkers at my reading/signing tomorrow at Bookfellows in Glendale. It begins at two o’clock, and I can only tell you that I will really enjoy reading aloud from this book.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do as little as possible until I leave for the Ahmanson. I will do a bit of organizing, and I do hope there will be a package or three for me to retrieve. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player, and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, an import from RCA Spain – Nilsson’s delightfully daffy soundtrack to Mr. Otto Preminger’s Skidoo. The CD is work it just for the opening track, wherein Mr. Nilsson sings the end credits – it’s quite mad and brilliant. DVD, Howl’s Moving Castle, courtesy of dear reader Hisaka, and then two new Fox noir titles. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and don’t forget, today is T. Widdle your thumbs day.