Well, dear readers, I’m just sitting here like so much fish, literally, since I ate linguini with seafood just a few hours ago. It was pretty tasty but filled with garlic and now I am paying the price ($3.43) because I reek of garlic. I Reek Of Garlic – that’s the title of my next novel. I’m quite exhausted from what was a quite exhausting week, and I’m hoping that the new week is easier and better, because frankly this last week sucked large rancid egg yolks. Speaking of large rancid egg yolks, yesterday was an okay day. For example, I got up early. That was okay. I then did the long jog, then left to do various and sundried errands and whatnot, which included picking up a large Parisienne cake from Gelson’s. I then came home, shaved and showered, and then former dear reader Hisaka came by and off we went to do the book signing/reading. Prior to leaving, I’d had yet two more phone calls from people saying they wouldn’t be there. I really had no idea if anyone was going to show up, and I was not hopeful when I arrived to find a bookstore without one single customer. But soon people began arriving and we ended up with about ten people. So, I did do the reading, which I always enjoy, and we did have cake, and even I had a small piece because it was my splurge day, and I’d had an especially brisk run. If you want to know who was in attendance, see yesterday’s posts. After the signing, I dropped off Hisaka, did a couple more errands, and then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I began watching the new Special Edition of An American In Paris. I only got about forty minutes in before I had to leave, but I can tell you that every time Warners does a new special edition I cower in fear over the color. And unfortunately, nine times out of ten that fear is completely justified, just as it is here with this new transfer. Yes, it’s had the Lowry treatment, working from the three-strip Technicolor negatives, and yes, it’s nice and sharp. It’s also nice and brown. You know, it just doesn’t matter that they do all this major work using original elements and then whoever is responsible for the color timing doesn’t bother to use a reference IB Technicolor print – even if they didn’t have one, there are many people who would be happy to lend one. But, since I owned an IB Tech print of this film for many years I can tell you unequivocally that it was not brown and lifeless. One numbskull on a DVD site went so far as to say he thought it was one of the best upgrades in transfers that he’d ever seen, and another thought the color might be TOO saturated. All that means is that they have no idea what three-strip Technicolor of that era looked like, nor what IB Tech prints look like. There is no saturation at all in this brown transfer. All it needs is some blue and a little more red in the skin tones and you’d have something that was at least closer to what it should look like. But this is what we’re going to now have for the next however many years. I’m sorry, but whoever is making these color decisions needs to be fired – no other studio doing transfers gets it wrong so often, color-wise. I shudder to think what Gigi will look like.
I then toddled off to some cabaret room on Sunset Blvd. and Gower to a fundraiser for Hollywood Sheet Music. When I arrived at seven, the room was already pretty crowded. I knew several people there – pianist Richard Berent, composer/pianist Shelley Markham, Andrea Marcovicci, pianist Tom Griep, pianist/composer Brad Ellis and a few others. After this rather horrendous week, I decided to really have a nice meal. I ordered the linguini with seafood, which came with a light tomato cream sauce and plenty of garlic. It was pretty good. Then the entertainment started. It was rather like an open mic night, but with some A talent intersperced – not really my kind of thing, but my darling Jason Graae was there and I hadn’t seen him in some time. He was the best of the ten or so singers I saw. With it already nine-thirty and about thirty-three singers to go, I called it quits and went home. Once there, I was greeted by a really annoying e-mail, which I answered swiftly. And then it was time to write these here notes.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because frankly I Reek Of Garlic and I must brush each and every tooth right this very minute.
Today, I shall get up and do the long jog, then toddle off to the Hollywood Collector’s Show to visit with friends and dealers. I’m looking forward to it. I was told that yesterday was actually not that well attended, which I found rather shocking, given some of the A list celebs there, many of whom haven’t ever done one of these shows. I’m sure I’ll stay there for a couple of hours, then I’ll come home, eat something very reasonable, and then finish An American In Paris and probably Gigi and the extras on both films.
There’s a lot of stuff happening this week, although some of it is up in the air and needs to be locked down. I have to do some writing, some meetings, and must prepare for our next LACCTAA event this coming Saturday. Plus there is much work to be done for the Bacharach benefit, plus I’m prepping the video shoot for the Kevin and Sean show. There are also some other major things to deal with, so I’d appreciate any and all excellent vibes and xylophones for a good and stress-free week.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, attend the Hollywood Collector’s Show, eat something reasonable, and watch motion pictures on DVD. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall dream that I Reek Of Garlic.