Well, dear readers, it is Saturday and I am scrambling to get prepared for my trip to New York, New York, for which I leave very early tomorrow morning (the flight is at seven in the morning). I have a lot of little things to do today and then I’m going to try and just relax, pack, and watch a DVD or three. Tomorrow’s notes will go up fairly early, as I must get my beauty sleep. The only thing I’m a bit nervous about is the Internet at this place I’m staying at – there’s no cable modem or DSL, but the lady from whom I’m renting said that many people stay there and they’re able to glom onto a wireless signal. I think dear reader Jose mentioned that if I couldn’t, that I could get day passes from some online wireless thing, so if he or anyone else could repeat that information in a post today, I’d be most grateful. I don’t think I need to buy anything prior to the flight, for I’ll get all the travel toiletries when I arrive in the city. I’m staying on 55th Street and there’s a Gristede’s within seconds of the building I’m in. Speaking of the building I’m in, yesterday was quite an interesting day. I’d had long time plans to attend an auction with my pal, Mr. Nick Redman, and attend we did. He was very keen on a couple of items and he likes me to actually do the bidding for him. So, we arrived way out in Agoura Hills, and found an auction room with only about twenty bidders in it. Sadly, that seems to be the way these days, with most bids coming from telephone bidders and online eBay bidders, which, for me, robs the auctions of any fun. I used to attend movie poster auctions regularly about fifteen years ago, long before the Internet was a thing that mattered, and it was so much fun to be in the room with two hundred bidders – now, it’s just sad, really. I was astonished at some of the prices that really silly stuff got – black-and-white stills were going for huge money. I’m talking about stills you can usually get for ten or twenty bucks going for two and three hundred bucks, sometimes much more. I’m seriously thinking of consigning some items to their December auction. There were quite a few scripts, and most of them went for unheard of prices – a Laura script brought over $5,000 (a dealer bought it). Even uninteresting scripts were fetching thousands. A script I happen to own fetched $600. Nick wanted a script pouch that belonged to his favorite director, Mr. Sam Peckinpah. It was a beautiful leather pouch with Mr. Peckinpah’s initials like a brand. When it finally came time to bid, there were no others in the room bidding, so I knew he’d get it – the question was how much? He only had one online bidder in competition with him, and unbelievably, they dropped out and Mr. Redman got it for an fantastic price, probably the best deal of the day. Later in the day, the really pricey stuff came up – an Elvis belt went for $60,000 (it was valued at $4,000 – $6,000), and an Elvis karate outfit that he’d worn went for $20,000. A few Gone With The Wind items fetched similar amounts and if you saw the people with the winning bids you’d scratch your head and wonder how they were ever going to pay for it. We finally left at about three-fifteen.
After that, we got some dinner, and then I finally came home and sat on my couch like so much fish. Well, not exactly – I first had to create some invoices for our fundraiser, which I did, and which I sent off via e-mail. We’ll see what happens, but I’m ever hopeful it will all work out.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because I must get a good night’s sleep and then do many little things that need doing. And if anyone tries to stop me I shall hit them with a ball peen hammer.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Charley Varrick. I haven’t seen the film since it first came out, so I was curious about how it would hold up. The fact is, when I originally saw it, I wasn’t that impressed and merely thought it okay. But time has been kind to Charley Varrick and it’s actually a terrific little film. It was Don Siegel’s first picture after making Dirty Harry, and I guess following that film it did seem like a bit of a let-down. It isn’t – it’s a crackerjack film from start to finish, with several classic Siegel moments. Walter Matthau is wonderful as a wily bank robber who’s much smarter than he looks, and it’s a real Siegel-fest of supporting actors, including John Vernon, Joe Don Baker, William Schallert, and Andy Robinson. The film has a great score by Lalo Schifrin. The current region 1 DVD is, shamefully, full frame. The DVD I watched, sent to me by a friend, is anamorphic and looks terrific in its original ratio.
I’m happy to say that our very own Mr. Donald Feltham has returned from vacation, and will be on a new kind of schedule for our radio show – he will now do a new show once every two weeks, and in-between he’ll repeat one of his older shows. That will give folks who haven’t heard some of his classic earlier shows to give them a listen.
As I said, today I will do several errands early on, including picking up my dry cleaning, getting mail, printing out my boarding pass, and doing various and sundried other things. I may even buy a ball peen hammer. What IS a ball peen hammer anyway? That is just the stupidest name for a hammer that I’ve ever seen.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a bunch of stuff. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite Walter Matthau performances? I never saw him give a bad one, even when he’s in a turkey. I’ll start – Mirage, Lonely Are The Brave, The Fortune Cookie, The Odd Couple, Charley Varrick. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, or else I shall wield a mighty ball peen hammer.