Well, dear readers, here we are on a lovelier than lovely Thursday. And why is it a lovelier than lovely Thursday? Well, I’ll tell you why it is a lovelier than lovely Thursday, because why should I keep such things from you dear readers? It is a lovelier than lovely Thursday because this particular Thursday is my very own actual birthday. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, today is my very own actual birthday. For example, today I woke up with a pointy party hat on. When I got out of bed, I was amazed to find myself wearing colored tights and pantaloons. When I walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, what should I find but the official haineshisway.com celebratory foodstuffs of cheese slices and ham chunks. As soon as I saw that, I began to involuntarily do the Hora and the Lambada (The Forbidden Dance). And at that moment I knew it was my very own actual birthday. But, before we get to my very own actual birthday and What It Means, may I just say that I am still quite overtired. In fact, I’d like to be over being overtired. I’d just worn myself down over the last three weeks, and it unfortunately has taken a toll on me, and I’m feeling a bit under the weather. I am drinking EmergenC and just trying not to do much during the day, but I think I’ll need the weekend to truly catch up on my sleep. I’ve been trying for ages to catch up on my sleep, but up is very crafty and I never quite catch up in the act of being on my sleep. I hate when that happens. Where was I? Oh, yes, fighting illness. Yesterday, for example, I fought illness by relaxing all the livelong day – the only thing I did was lunch with our very own Pogue, and a fine time we had. Then, in the evening, I attended rehearsal of the play. We got quite a bit blocked, almost two-thirds of act one. That’s the joy of blocking an act in which only two characters appear. I will probably be fixing and adjusting what we did, but it was a good beginning, and I’m starting to understand how the play should visualize itself. I think my actors are going to be quite wonderful – we’re all just starting to feel our way through, but some things are already beginning to work well. After the rehearsal, I came home, had some pistachio nuts, and had a lovelier than lovely telephonic conversation with an old friend whom I hadn’t talked to in ages. I always enjoy catching up with old friends, don’t you? But up is very crafty and sometimes you simply can’t catch up with old friends – once I caught up with some new friends, and up was mortified by having been caught. Where was I? Oh, yes, it was lovely to catch up or, at the very least, to ketchup.
Yesterday, I did manage to finish watching a motion picture on DVD entitled Scarlet Street, a film of Fritz Lang. Scarlet Street was made back-to-back with another Lang film entitled Woman In The Window, a film I’m very fond of. Scarlet Street and Woman In The Window share the same three leading players – Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, and Dan Duryea. They are both considered film noir. But, Scarlet Street has always been a difficult film for me because the film has always been in the public domain, and therefore the tapes or DVDs one could purchase looked like dupes of dupes of dupes off 8mm. You could barely see an image, let alone the wonderful atmospheric photography. Well, at long last, that has all been rectified on the new Kino DVD. The transfer was made off an excellent 35mm print housed in the Library of Congress. Having excellent source material makes all the difference in the world, and now one can appreciate Scarlet Street for the truly excellent film it always was. Eddie G. is just wonderful in it, as are Bennett (how sexy was this woman), and the slimy Dan Duryea. On certain inane DVD sites they’ve been complaining about Kino’s high prices and the fact that the print has occasional dirt flecks. Well, excuse me for living, but this DVD is a miracle – a beautiful copy of a film that has only heretofore been seen on truly horrifying public domain tapes and DVDs. The contrast is rich, the black-and-white image is moody and atmospheric, the detail is sharp – I mean, the nitpicking that goes on is just incredible. If you like Fritz Lang, if you like noir, or if you just like terrific acting, this DVD is definitely worth a purchase.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Don’t I have a birthday to be celebrating? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below so the celebrating can begin.
So, here it is – another birthday. Today I am officially 58 years of age. I don’t even understand the concept of 58 years of age. When I look in the mirror I do not see anything that resembles 58 years of age, not even my butt cheeks. I feel good, I’m in fairly good shape, I’m healthy, and so 58 is truly just a number. I don’t lie about my age, I don’t find the need to shave years off my age, I’m proud of my age. I am proud, like a gazelle marching to the tune of a different drummer. I, too, am marching to the tune of a different drummer. I fired the old drummer – the new one keeps much better time. For time marches on, inexorably, and all we can do is go along for the ride in time’s motorcar. I no longer have a clew as to what the HELL I’m going on about. Perhaps I’ll eat a cheese slice.
I cannot believe that no one is throwing me a surprise party. No one is even throwing me a party. No, I shall probably sit around like so much fish, and then I shall be rehearsing. And by the end of rehearsal, it will be too late for a surprise party. I wonder if I’ll even have cake. I mean, I could go out and buy my own cake, but that’s pathetic and I’m not doing it. I think I’m going out over the weekend, so I’ll at least have one birthday dinner.
But, I’m not complaining. I’m happy, and I’m going to partay right here at haineshisway.com, because this is the warmest and best place to be for birthdays.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a birthday, I must do no errands, I must only sit around the home environment like so much fish, relaxing, and then I must rehearse. Today’s topic of discussion: We did Sondheim the other day – what are your all-time favorite performances of Irving Berlin songs? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I prove what good shape I’m in by doing the LIMBO.