Well, dear readers, I am ready, willing, and able to ship CDs – that is, if they arrive by three o’clock as they’re supposed to. We have a 50/50 shot – last release the CDs arrived the next day, but I’ve been very vocal about wanting these on time, so I’m ever hopeful. I’ve got many boxes, all addressed and postaged just sitting on the floor like so much fish in various and sundried piles – domestic, overseas, and multiple copies. It’s all very organized. Plus, all the paperwork is filled out for the big packages. So, if the CDs arrive on time, I shall package them and take the whole kit and caboodle over to the postal office by five. What the HELL IS a kit and caboodle anyway? And why is it a kit and caboodle as opposed to a caboodle and kit? And did you realize that caboodle spelled backwards is eldoobac? Just asking? Speaking of eldoobac, yesterday was a relatively nice day. For example, I got up. That was relatively nice. I then did the long jog, then I had to do several errands, and then I came back home around one-thirty and made myself some eggs and an English muffin. I was actually in the mood for a Rumanian muffin but I only had the fershluganah English muffin. It’s turning quite chilly here in the City of Studio, so I had to turn on the heat for a little while. I did make a sojourn over to Amoeba as I had quite a few things on the trade pile – I got a good guy and he gave me really good credit on my items. So, I spent about ninety minutes browsing and finding interesting things. I got the complete season two DVD set of Route 66, I got a Spanish import region 2 DVD of Rene Clair’s I Married A Witch, starring my favorite, Veronica Lake. And I got several interesting CDs – a couple of import Paul Williams CDs, my very first Thelonious Monk CD, and a couple of others. I then took the whole kit and caboodle and came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I watched one short Jacques Demy film from 1957, one longer French TV movie by Mr. Demy, and one feature film directed by Mr. Demy. The short film was quite odd, basically a monologue for a woman, while she talks and talks to her lover, who never responds. The main titles play over a curtain, which then rises, and the whole thing is very stage-bound, which seems to be the point. It’s very interesting and doesn’t overstay its welcome. I then watched the French TV movie, based on a story by Colette. I didn’t really care for it much – too much narration, literally wall-to-wall, and while it was pretty to look at, it just never engaged me. I then watched the Jacques Demy feature film, Bay of Angels. I’ve seen it three or four times and I always enjoy its charms. It’s one of the best films ever made about compulsive gambling. Jeanne Moreau is great as the woman who can’t stop and who drags down a poor young man with her. It’s a nervous romance between the two of them, and even though they walk off together at the end it’s completely enigmatic. The Michel Legrand score is, as always, terrific, the cast is great, the casino sequences are beautifully done and, best of all, the whole thing runs seventy-nine minutes. I also managed to squeeze in the first episode of season two of Route 66. I never watched the show all that much back when it originally aired, so I have a feeling that this is going to be a fun rediscovery for me. The first episode, written by Stirling Silliphant and directed by Arthur Hiller, was quite somber, but very well done. The guest star was gorgeous Anne Francis, as a Broadway star who runs away from Broadway back to her roots for reasons that I won’t spoil. I was especially impressed with the dramatic score by the show’s composer, Nelson Riddle. The transfer is acceptable – a bit soft, but pretty clean.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I have the feeling that the whole kit and caboodle has moved to the next section.
Here we are in part two of these here notes. There will be on earth-shattering revelations in this section, just the facts, ma’am, nothing but the facts. And the facts are that today I will do the long jog, then hurry to a very early lunch or a late breakfast with my pal Lauren Rubin. We’ll be going to our regular haunt, Hugo’s. Since I lost another two pounds last week, I may even splurge and have Papa’s Eggs, scrambled eggs with bacon and sausage and scallions and stuff – or I may just have poached eggs on an English muffin. The one thing I won’t be having is Eggs Benedict, because I have discovered that Eggs Benedict is one of the most fattening things ever – two eggs, Canadian bacon, one English muffin and the Hollandaise sauce is a whopping 900 calories and about 100 grams of fat (I kid you not). No thanks to that. After the lunch, I shall come back home and await the arrival of the CDs. Should they arrive, I shall ship them all out, and then I’ll have to hie myself to the Dale of Glen to attend a staged thing (I don’t know what they call these one-night concert versions of musicals anymore – they’re fully staged, so it always falls between two worlds) of The Most Happy Fella at the Alex Theater, produced by the Musical Theatre Guild. My neighbor Carol Kline is in it, so it will be fun to see her and a few others that I know. I will, of course, have a full report for you, although I can tell you up front that I’m not thrilled their doing the two-piano version – I want the damn orchestra for this gloriously glorious score.
Tomorrow, I have a busy day – writing, delivering a couple of boxes of CDs, and a whole slew of errands and whatnot. And the rest of the week is the same.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, have an early lunch/late breakfast, hopefully ship CDs, do some errands, and then attend a performance of The Most Happy Fella. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite egg dishes – what do you love to make, what do you love when you go out – let’s hear all about eggs and what you like to do with them and how you like them prepared, and what you like to accompany them at breakfast time. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, a whole kit and caboodle of them.