Well, dear readers, this week is already flying by, like a gazelle in a mustard plaster. Wait a minute – how can this week be flying by when it’s just begun? Okay, perhaps I’m projecting. That must be it, I’m projecting. But, really, how about the month of April, how about that? How about the month of April flying by like a gazelle in tap shoes? How about that. Really, how about that? Tomorrow is May, how about that? Tomorrow, April will be, April will be, how about that? April will be done and it will be, it will be, April will be done and it will be May, how about that? What am I, writing a Pinter play here? These here notes are so Pinteresque. Oh, well – a matinee, a Pinter play, perhaps a piece of Mahler’s – I’ll drink to that! And one for Mahler. Where was I? Oh, yes, here we are in the final day of April. I, for one, will welcome May with open arms and closed toes. I will embrace May and hug May to my throbbing breast. And that will make May HAPPY, let me tell you that. If there’s anything May likes, it’s a throbbing breast. I say let’s all send our excellent vibes and xylophones for a happy, healthy, prosperous May. May we? Oui mai. Wasn’t there a magazine called Oui once? Wasn’t it a Playboy wannabe? WEHT Oui? Speaking of Oui, yesterday was a most pleasantly pleasant day. For example, I got up. That was pleasant. I then toddled quite far and had lunch with former dear reader Hisaka, who is, once again, in Los Angeles, California, USA, going to school. We supped at Genghis Cohen, simply because it was the only restaurant we could actually get into. Sundays in LA are nuts, restaurant-wise. You have people going to early breakfasts, then early brunches, then late brunches, then early dinners, then late dinners. It’s quite annoying. After lunch, I came home and entered the rest of my corrections into the manuscript, and I am now done until there’s a galley to proof. After that, I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched two count them two motion pictures on DVD. The first motion picture on DVD was entitled Lonely Are The Brave, starring a pretty faboo cast of players – Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, George Kennedy, Walter Matthau, William Schallert, Carroll O’Connor and a very young Bill Bixby. The script by Dalton Trumbo is a little haphazard, especially in the beginning, but the film means well, and it’s beautifully directed by David C. Miller, and I’ve always liked it quite a bit. Jerry Goldsmith’s score is a major plus, and the whole thing moves right along at a steady clip. Douglas’ performance at the end of the film is extraordinary – no dialogue, just all in his eyes. The DVD is a region 2 from France and sadly (and surprisingly in this day and age) the English version has forced French subtitles. It’s a shame because it’s quite distracting, and because the transfer is stunning. I then watched the second motion picture on DVD, which was entitled The List Of Adrian Messenger, a film of John Huston, starring George C. Scott, Kirk Douglas, Dana Wynter, and guest turns by Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, and Robert Mitchum. I rather liked this film when I saw it at the Picwood Theater back when it was released, but I’m afraid that I find it a trial now. In fact, I’d say it was pretty bad (you wouldn’t know that from the imdb where, of course, it’s a MASTERPIECE). Part of the problem is the incredible cheating that goes on with the guest stars. Mr. Douglas appears in many disguises, but it’s only Douglas about half the time – the other times it’s another actor (even vocally). Only Mr. Mitchum actually appears in the film proper in his makeup. Mr. Curtis, Mr. Sinatra, and Mr. Lancaster are all other actors in makeup and none of the voices belong to the actors. It’s harder to tell with Curtis and Sinatra (although freeze-framing makes it easier), but the man who’s playing Lancaster (as a woman) doesn’t look anything like Lancaster and no amount of makeup could create a look like that. It becomes painfully obvious when you see Lancaster in the makeup during the “reveal” after the film is over. Suddenly, he looks like Lancaster in makeup and nothing like the person doing it in the film proper. The film was obviously shot in Hollywood (with many actors putting on bad English accents), with the hunt scenes filmed in the UK. The only thing that really works is the score by Jerry Goldsmith. The transfer on the DVDR I was watching was very nice. I did start watching a third motion picture on DVD but am only halfway through – I will say that I’m enjoying it very much – Jack Clayton’s film, The Pumpkin Eater, with a screenplay by – wait for it – Harold Pinter. No wonder the beginning of the notes was so Pinteresque.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly button below because I have quite the busy day ahead of me, the day being the final day of April.
This morning I have a breakfast meeting. That will be followed by a work session with Miss Joan Ryan and John Boswell, with a guest visit by Mr. Kirby Tepper. I’ll then do some errands and whatnot, then I have an alumni association meeting at six.
The rest of the week will be filled with rehearsals and meetings and lions and tigers and bears, oh my. And May. Let’s not forget about May. I, for one, welcome May to my throbbing breast. I shall also be quite lusty. In fact, I shall go around each day singing, “Tra la, tra la, the lusty month of May” in the original key.
I’m hoping and praying that May will be a wonderful month – I could sure use it, and I’m sure all of our dear readers could use it, so let us make it so. So it is written, so it shall be done.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, jog, meet, eat, have a work session, meet, eat, and then relax and smell the roses or the coffee or the mincemeat. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s art day – who are your favorite artists and what works by them are your favorites? And which of said works have you seen in person? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and let’s do make them like a Pinter play.