Well, dear readers, the Labor Day weekend is but a memory and now it is time to get back to labor (robal, spelled backwards). I, for one, did very few labors over the Labor Day Weekend, so I’m somewhat rested, somewhat relaxed, and I’m ready to labor mightily. This particular week will be non-stop laboring and doing a plethora of other things. I have call backs, meetings, meals, maybe a screening, an opening night, writing, and preparing to ship a LOT of Simply Sondheim CDs as soon as they arrive. In fact, I will probably have to enlist some help to ship this batch. Speaking of help, yesterday was quite a relaxing day. For example, I got up. That was relaxing. I jogged. That wasn’t relaxing, but I got through it, which was good considering it was already about ninety degrees out by ten-thirty. When I returned from jogging I sat down and immediately pulled a muscle or three in my lower back. That was a little painful, but I decided to banish said pain by thinking positively, and, for the most part, that approach worked. We’ll see if I’m able to jog this morning. Then, Mr. Kevin Spirtas arrived and we went to the California Pizza Kitchen where I ate pasta. We had to come up with some special patter for a presentation he’s doing for promoters. So, we wrote said special patter whilst we lunched. After that, I came back to the home environment and sat on my couch like so much fish, trying to remind my lower back that I had banished the pain – my lower back wasn’t listening, however. I then toddled off to the Labor Day partay given by neighbors Tony Slide and Bob Gitt. It was their usual sparkling affair with their usual sparkling guests (the always present Norman Lloyd, Curtis Harrington, and Marsha Hunt, plus some folks who’d just come from attending Cinecon), and the usual yummilicious food. Cousins Dee Dee and Alan were there, too. It was very, very hot and humid, and I finally left to go back to the air conditioned splendor of the home environment.
Yesterday, I managed to watch two count them two motion pictures on DVD. The first motion picture on DVD (which I actually finished late the night before) was entitled Helter Skelter. You know how bankrupt the show business is when they start remaking TV movies. I thought the original Helter Skelter was quite good. The new one was very different from the original – the original mostly concentrated on the trial of the Manson family, while the new version mostly concentrated on events prior to the trial. I will say that the actor playing Manson, Jeremy Davies, gave a pretty amazing performance – his resemblance, voice, and body language were eerily on the money. The film was competent certainly, and I watched it because it featured one of the last performances (sadly) of Bruno Kirby. One still shakes one’s head that such a person could have gotten kids to do the things he got them to do. And worse, that this evil cretin actually got fan mail from people. Well, that’s the sort of world we live in, I suppose. I then watched the second motion picture on DVD, which was entitled The FBI Story, starring Mr. James Stewart and Miss Vera Miles. It’s an odd, episodic, and long film, directed by Mervyn LeRoy. It’s certainly not great, but I found it enjoyable in a rambling sort of way, and I always enjoy watching Mr. Stewart and Miss Miles. The transfer is excellent, unlike the Stewart box transfer of The Naked Spur, which is shameful. I also attempted to watch Shock Treatment, the “sequel” to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I endured it for fifteen endless minutes and it instantly entered my pantheon of awful films.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I have places to go, people to see, and things to do, not necessarily in that order.
Is this Tuesday or Monday? I’m completely confused. It feels like a Monday, but I do believe it’s a Tuesday. Well, if it’s Tuesday it must be Tuesday even though it feels like Monday.
If it’s Tuesday, that must mean I have a lunch meeting that may or may not be taking place, after which I have some callbacks for The Brain, which may or may not be taking place, after which I shall eat some dinner should a dinner take place.
For those who may have missed any of the merriment and mirth and laughter and legs that took place over the long weekend, you owe it to yourselves to catch up or, at the very least, ketchup.
My goodness, these are short little succinct paragraphs, aren’t they? They’re like clipped hedges, aren’t they? Clipped Hedges – that’s the title of my next novel. All little paragraphs neatly in a row, rather like a gazelle with a bunion.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, jog, make sure all the book stuff has been received by the publisher, perhaps have a lunch meeting, perhaps have some callbacks, perhaps have a dinner, and perhaps answer some telephonic calls and e-mails. Today’s topic of discussion: What true crime event did you find most compelling – an event that you followed as closely as possible, an event you read about and were mesmerized by, an event you wanted to know all the facts about? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I tell you the story of The Randy Vicar and the Clipped Hedges.