Well, dear readers, I have eaten four pieces of rye toast. I ask you, where else on all the Internet can you read such a sentence? Nowhere, that’s where. The rye toast was very amusing, so instead of calling it rye toast, I called it wry toast. As you can clearly see, it is very late and my brain has ceased to function. In fact, my brain has turned into wry toast. I’d like all these toast references to be toast, frankly and even williamly. What the HELL am I talking about? Why am I going on about toast? Don’t I have notes to write? Don’t I have a beauty sleep to get? Speaking of a beauty sleep, yesterday was yet another non-stop day of non-stop things to do, which, by the way (BTW, in Internet lingo), I did non-stop. I got up early, and had to deal with our hacked website. The software tech person was very kind and dealt with our problem very swiftly, which he didn’t have to do since hacking is not covered in my membership. He also gave me some information to send to our host, which I did. The host then realized their culpability in what happened and cleaned up some stuff on their end. The result, we should now be very secure – all passwords have been changed, and no one else who we share space with on our server can do anything as regards our site. I then had to dash over to rehearsal. We began by reviewing a few things, then we began a full run-through. Even though I asked for no stops, there were still a couple, and I said very strongly that for our last run-throughs absolutely no stopping no matter what happens. The show was much better today, and it’s starting to get its shape and fun back. Our MD is doing a terrific job, and the boys really do sound great – the few things we’ve adjusted and changed are working well, so now it’s just drilling it as many times as we can before Monday’s show. After rehearsal, I headed home, where I was met by my pal Jon Burlingame, who brought me a bunch of research items on the Bernard Herrmann scores we’re issuing. He left, and then I did the long jog, then shipped all but one of the remaining packages. I then made some eggs and wry toast, which was just what I was craving. I had four pieces of chocolate licorice for dessert. I then began writing the booklet notes – it took me about two and a half hours, but I finished them. I then listened to some CDs, then came back to the notes and rewrote some, fixed some, and finessed everything, then sent them to the booklet designer. So, now all I have to do are the track titles (not easy for this CD), and the CD credits, and then a blurb for the release. This should be officially announced on Wednesday. And I’m hoping it moves as fast as the Bernstein title. I then sat on my couch like so much fish, with a snack of tomatoes and cucumber slices in vinegar (with about two ounces of leftover sandwich meat) – it, too, was yummilicious.
Last night, I watched a motion picture I’d TIVOd entitled Cloudburst, a British film adapted from a play by Leo Marks, about a man who runs a codebreaking organization for the British government. Mr. Marks did that for a living during the war, and he also wrote another film, this in the 1960s, in which the lead character also ran a codebreaking organization – Sebastian, starring Dirk Bogarde. Mr. Marks also wrote the brilliant and controversial screenplay to Michael Powell’s masterpiece, Peeping Tom. I knew nothing of Cloudburst at all. The cast was interesting, with American Robert Preston, Elizabeth Sellars, and, in a blink and you’ll miss him role, a young Stanley Baker. The story is compelling, Mr. Preston’s character has a surprising amount of complexity, and the story really holds one’s interest. I enjoyed the film a lot. It was very well directed by Francis Searle, a director I’d never heard of, with a really terrific score by Frank Spencer, a composer I’d never heard of.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below whilst I think wryly about my wry toast. Or, I suppose, I could think ryely about my rye toast.
Today, I think I’ll attempt to do the long jog prior to our noon rehearsal, but I also have to make a quick trip to the post office, plus I have to drop off some materials to my booklet designer at 11:15, so I may hold the jog until I get home at four-fifteen. We shall see. Two of our four hours today will be a sitzprobe with the band, and then a full run-through with the band. I’m invited to a film music concert this evening, but it’s way out in San Pedro and I’m just not sure I’ll be able to have the energy to drive out there. We shall see.
Tomorrow, we have our final four-hour rehearsal – we’ll try to get in two run-throughs. And then Monday it’s show time. We’ll get to the theater around one, and it will be a crazy, busy, and hectic day and night.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, go to the postal office, drop off materials, have a four-hour rehearsal, and then decide whether to trek out to San Pedro for a film music concert. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite film scores? And if you could only take one film music CD to a desert island, which would it be? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we all ponder the wryness of wry toast.