Well, dear readers, once again another week has flown by, like a gazelle on a boogie board. I gotta tell you. It was quite a busy week, and frankly, I’m looking forward to the long weekend (it is a long weekend, isn’t it?). I heard something on the news yesterday that made my blood boil. It had to do with something that rhymes with boil and, in fact, IS boil without the “B” – yes, you heard it here, dear readers, what my blood boil was oil. Some oil wag went on the news and made a dire prediction of things to come – like gas costing twelve to fifteen dollars a gallon AND despite that cost, rationing, too. Of course, another analyst came on and said it was a load of hooey and that this guy specializes in dire predictions that really have no basis in reality. Then again, who ever would have thought that gas would be approaching five dollars a gallon. It makes my blood boil, because the oil industry owns this country and its government, so despite the fact that every year the government makes its little show of threatening the oil industry, the oil industry knows that nothing is going to happen because the people doing the threatening are weak sisters and people above them eventually shut them up. At some point, someone is going to stand up to these awful oil people, who are shoveling in billions upon billions of dollars IN PROFIT every year, thanks to a public that will simply not stand up to it because we are so dependent on our cars. Yes, I am not an activist or an anarchist, but I do wish there would be a revolt in this country – where everyone just said “enough, already.” People have power when they band together in great numbers – only people are like little sheep and they do what they’re told and the world goes round and continues to spin completely out of control. It won’t be getting better until someone with guts and resolve finally takes these oil companies on and does something they’ll understand – like taxing them thirty percent on all profits. THAT they’d understand. And let me tell you that if that were the threat and someone could carry it out, gas prices would drop by a dollar in minutes. And rationing? I don’t think so. I was around for the two times this happened in the 70s – the excuse was there was a shortage of oil. Only guess what? Both times it was finally proven that not only was there no shortage of oil, but there was a surplus of oil. And still, nothing happens to these oil companies. I think the people responsible for the continued ruination of this planet and people’s lives should, in fact, be boiled in their own oil. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. End of rant.
Speaking of oil, yesterday was a busy little day. I got up, proofed for a couple of hours, worked at the piano for a couple of hours, shipped some packages, and then toddled off to the Wilshire Ebell Theatre for a walk-through. I haven’t been to the Ebell in years – the last time I was on the premises was about ten or twelve years ago, when they used to have movie poster auctions regularly. It’s a classic old jernt, with lots of big rooms and nooks and crannies, in addition to their large theater, which I haven’t been in since the early 60s. Our event is using various rooms but not the big theater. I checked out the little stage we’re using, told the lighting guy what we needed, gave him our sound needs and that was that. There was a ridiculous amount of traffic getting there, but I managed to do my little BK route going home, and that was much better. The weather yesterday was completely wacky – rain, wind, thunder, sunshine, heat, the whole weather gamut. I then returned home and had a work session with Miss Jenna Green and Miss Emily Rozek, both late of Wicked here in LA. We chose the material (four songs from Wicked, and then as an encore my arrangement of Beautiful City/Day by Day, as done on The Stephen Schwartz Album), sang through everything, and it’s going to be really good. Both Jenna and Emily are terrific singers and sweet people – I hadn’t seen Emily in way too long, and it was nice to finally meet Jenna. Richard Berent is musical directing, and I hadn’t seen him since he played a rehearsal for The Brain. After that, I got some chicken and finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because it’s late and time is flying by like a gazelle in edible underpants.
Last night, I watched another Charlie Chan motion picture on DVD, this one entitled Charlie Chan on Treasure Island, starring Mr. Sidney Toler. This was one of my favorite Chans – just a delight from start to finish, although I have low tolerance for the fellow who plays his son. The excellent Norman Foster directed this entry in the series, with a lot of style on an obviously low budget. Transfer is excellent. There are a couple of featurettes – one on the 1939 San Francisco Treasure Island Fair, and one of the stupidest featurettes I’ve ever seen, the absolute rock bottom. It’s called Charlie Chan and the Zodiac (the bad guy in the film is called Dr. Zodiac), and in it they talk about San Francisco’s Zodiac killer and posit that he probably saw this film and stole his identity from it. Riiiiight.
Today, I shall finish proofing, I shall print out Nudie Musical and begin going through that, and I shall give the Brain another go-through. I also have to ship some packages and begin going through elmore’s cleaned up scores for the Brain, checking lyrics and cues carefully. I also have a lot of errands to do and it should be a nice but busy day, save for some merde I’m going to have to deal with over the weekend.
Tonight, performances resume for The Brain From Planet X. I think I’ll probably go tomorrow night or Sunday matinee – just not sure yet. Since the Wechter clan is going Sunday, that might be the one, because I’m sure the cast would like to meet him. We shall see.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, proof, proof, and proof, ship packages, do errands, and then watch a motion picture on DVD. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, Laurence Rosenthal’s brilliant score to The Miracle Worker. DVD, more Chan movies coming up, along with more episodes of The Mod Squad. The one I’m currently watching guest-stars Mr. Sammy Davis, Jr.