Well, dear readers, tonight begins the Jewish holiday of Passover. Yes, Virginia, tonight begins the Jewish holiday of Passover, and we will be celebrating it right here in the home environment and on haineshisway.com. What is fascinating is that at this time last year, we were about to record the vocals for the Guy Haines album. I know this because I was on vocal rest, and had just done the Ray Courts show. Last year, I attended an Orthodox service, something I’d choose not to do again, if I had my druthers. Tonight, Tammy and her friend Lauren, Lauren’s husband, and a friend of theirs, are all convening at the home environment and will be cooking here all the livelong day. Then, we shall have our very own seder and I will have an ongoing and full report for you every step of the way. Whilst they cook, I shall be sitting at my handy-dandy laptop, writing away. Yesterday, for example, I managed to crank out four pages and I’d like to at least do two today. Aside from my writing mania, yesterday was a rather quiet day. Oh, I did this and I did that and I also did that and I did this, but it was a very non-taxing day, which was a good thing. After doing this and that and that and this, I did go to the editing room for about three-and-a-half hours. We didn’t really get started until after about ninety minutes (still loading stuff into the computer), but once we got going, we managed to get a third of act one done, and it’s looking very good. I’ve still got inserts and pickups to attend to, but we’re getting a cut of the actual show first, straight through from beginning to end. Once that’s done, then we’ll go back and put in said inserts and pickups. It was a very good night’s work, and the editor will continue on tonight, then we’ll be working all day Saturday, and we’ll try to finish the first cut by then. After the editing, I came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I managed to watch one count them one motion picture on DVD entitled The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, from the novella of Tennessee Williams, as adapted by the wonderful Gavin Lambert. I’d never seen it before, and I must say I was quite taken with it. It’s the only film of director Jose Quintero, and it’s very well done, with beautiful photography and bold lighting, and a terrific performance by Miss Vivien Leigh. Mr. Warren Beatty plays opposite her, and for about ninety percent of the film he does one of the worst Eyetalian accents I’ve ever heard. But, he’s very charming, and very good looking and it doesn’t really matter. And the film has a great supporting performance from Miss Lotte Lenya, who was nominated for an Oscar for her work. It’s somehow a very hypnotic film and I just really liked it a lot. The transfer from Warner Bros., while not the sharpest I’ve ever seen, has such gorgeous and accurate colors that you forgive the occasional lack of detail and the grain, which is a teeny bit heavier than should be. If you want to know what color looks like when films were printed in IB Technicolor, this film has it in spades. Hence, if you want to know what’s wrong with the colors on the Breakfast At Tiffany’s DVD and The Nun’s Story DVD, one need look no further than The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, where the fleshtones are perfection, and the array of color leaps off the screen. Compare that to the flat pasty-brown image on The Nun’s Story (not talking about sharpness – The Nun’s Story is a sharper transfer than Mrs. Stone – talking about COLOR), and you’ll see what I mean. This DVD is part of the Tennessee Williams box set – I’ll be watching Sweet Bird of Youth next, and if that transfer is as good as Mrs. Stone, I shall be very happy indeed.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button whilst asking the following question: Why on this day to we click on the Unseemly Button?
Today, other than writing, I have no plans other than perhaps jogging this morning. Otherwise, I shall supervise the food preparers and be the hostess with the mostess on the ball. I shall be charming and urbane, like a gazelle wearing boy shorts.
Tomorrow, dear reader Hisaka arrives. I probably won’t be able to visit until later in the evening, as I have a very busy day, with lots of things to attend to. But, we’ll be supping with Julieanne Pogue on Friday, attending the Gardenia on Saturday, and I’m sure we’ll do other things as well, so that her visit is ever so much fun. It’s just unfortunate timing that the only time we can do all this editing is this week and this weekend, as we want to get a locked cut, do some color adjustments on the video, and then sweeten the whole show. It’s quite time consuming, and once we’re finished, I think we’re going to leap right into cutting the Kevin Spirtas video. The latter will definitely come out as Kritzerland’s first DVD release, but I’m not sure that will be the case with Deceit. I’ll have to see how it all comes out before making that decision.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, host a seder, I must do some Jewish shopping at Gelson’s, I must write, I must pick up some packages (hopefully), I must ship a package, and I must answer the four questions and see if Elijah is anywhere to be found. I must eat Matzo and gefilte fishes, and chopped livers, and bitter herbs, and matzo ball soup, and pot roast, and other Jewish foodstuffs, whilst being the hostess with the mostess on the matzo ball. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions (at least four) and loads of lovely answers, whilst we have our official haineshisway.com Passover seder. Don’t pass over our celebration, you hear?