Well, dear readers, once again another week has flown by like a gazelle in a leisure suit. I can’t believe a whole week has gone by since The Party Animals Live but it has. And what a strange week it’s been, rather like a rollercoaster ride. Speaking of rollercoaster rides, our choreographer for The Party Animals Live is Disneyland’s resident choreographer and he’s offered me a pass anytime I’d like to go. I haven’t been to Disneyland since they opened Space Mountain (sometime around 1980, I’d guess), so I’m thinking it would be grand fun to go and spend a day or three down there. Where was I? Oh, yes, another week has flown by like a gazelle in a lobster bib. Speaking of a lobster bib, yesterday was a beautiful day here in the City of Studio. I got up at eight-thirty, answered some e-mails, then packaged up a few things for shipping. You know, I’ve got my iPod on whilst I’m writing these here notes and my mood shifts every time a new song comes on. For example, right now Petula Clark is singing My Love, and I’m finding it difficult to remember anything I did yesterday, because I’m bopping up and down on my chair. Oh, well, I’ll just have to concentrate. I spent most of the morning sending mp3s of seven Brain songs to our web designer, who tells me that our new titles may be up for preorder this very day. I will, of course, keep you posted, and you will be the first to know. Now Burt Bacharach’s This Guy’s In Love With You is playing and I’m feeling all mellow and laid back and now I just want to write about Love Power and flowers and hippies. Where was I? Oh, yes, mp3s. After that, I jogged, and then I did some errands. Finally, at around two-thirty I opened the new book, went over what I’d already written, made a few fixes, and then wrote just under three new pages. It was fun to get back to it, and I’m starting to get the sense of what it is and where it will go and how it will go there. Of course, I’m not sure it’s any good, but I’ll mush on until I have fifty pages and then give it to my muse, Margaret, and see what she thinks. I’m also going to begin work on two new short stories that seem to want to burst from my cranium. One of them was one of the ideas I had for the new novel, but it’s not a novel-length idea, I don’t think, and I think it will work as a short story. The other idea is also something I was toying with when trying to settle on an idea for the new book, but again, it will work better as a short story. When I’m in this mode, it’s just best for me to do as much as I can, because I really have fun and I get very productive. After writing, I went to sup at The Cheesecake Factory, which was, as always, excellent. I then came home, where I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Angel Face, a film of Otto Preminger. As most here know, I’m a fan of Mr. Preminger’s films. Angel Face is one of his strangest, and it’s not one of his best or one of my favorites. It never seems to make up its mind as to what it wants to be – noir, melodrama, soap opera – and it’s never enough of any of those to make any kind of impact. It does have a few really excellent scenes and the performances are all fine, especially Mr. Robert Mitchum, Miss Jean Simmons, and Mr. Leon Ames. The film is part of the Robert Mitchum box set, and the transfer is fine. Now I might have to go on a Preminger binge – perhaps start with Laura, then do Anatomy Of A Murder.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below whilst the iPod music continues to shift my mood to and fro and also fro and to.
Now we have some movie action music, and I feel like getting my Uzi out and shooting up the jernt. I’m feeling like Joanne Woodward in The Three Faces of Eve or Sally Field in Sybil.
Today, I shall do as much writing as possible – I really have no other plans, unless I have to do some last-minute shipping. I should be getting the revised Brain mastered CD and my CD lady will come and pick that up and take it to the pressing plant. And I’m always hoping for a package or three. Tonight, I’ll just sup and then watch a few DVDs.
Tomorrow, Mr. Grant Geissman and I will be going to a book dealer’s house – Mr. Geissman is on a Kurt Vonnegut binge, buying up first editions, and he’s purchased some from this dealer, so we thought it would be fun to just drive over there. While we’re on that side of the hill (in Santa Monica), we’ll probably grab a bite to eat somewhere interesting. Now there’s some pastoral music and I feel like a fawn romping through the forest with shafts of gaily-colored light coming through the trees.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write, jog, sup, and watch DVDs. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player, and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, the soundtrack to The Creature Wasn’t Nice, and a lovely Margaret Whiting sings Jerome Kern CD. DVD, next up is probably the new transfer of Yojimbo, followed by the new transfer of Sanjuro. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and be sure you’re listening to music whilst you write your posts. Right now, I’m hearing the Entr’Acte from the Goddard Lieberson recording of On Your Toes, one of my favorite albums of all-time. I feel like going to a Small Hotel now – or, up on my toes, or going down to Tenth Avenue for a little slaughter.