Well, dear readers, this week is already flying by, like a gazelle with a cold sore. There is just so much to do and, baby, I’m doin’ it. I somehow got “enlisted” to write the script for this charity event – I don’t really know how that happened, but I was told I volunteered. While I agreed to help with the structure of the presentation I don’t recall ever volunteering to actually write a script. So, I now have to do that and there is virtually no time to do so. They’re getting me all the info tomorrow and I’ll just dive into it. I have to write stuff for the host, which shouldn’t be that hard since it’s just about two minutes of informational stuff about the charity and why we’re there. I have to write Susan Egan’s intro, a bit for Susan to say about the raffle, intros for the celebs who’ll then introduce the honorees (the celebs write their own intros to the honorees). Also, there will be a couple of speeches by the folks who run the charity, and they’ll write those. But, it’s a lot of work on top of a lot of work, especially as I’m trying to finish prepping two count them two Kritzerland releases, which I’d love to announce mid-next week. I will, of course, announce here at least a few days in advance of the official announcement. These two releases are really fun – one soundtrack, one cast album. Depending on my mastering engineer, I may announce together or a few days apart.
I spent the early part of the day writing the liner notes for the soundtrack release. They’re not that long, but they say what should be said – I may try to add another couple of paragraphs, but I’m basically done with it. I’ll start writing the cast album notes today. After the meeting with the charity folks, I went to Amoeba with a huge box of DVDs to trade in. I got a great gal and I was rather shocked at how much credit she gave me – almost thirty percent more than I thought I would get. That enabled me to mosey on upstairs and get quite a few Blu-Ray titles, along with one import standard DVD of Night Of The Eagle (called Burn, Witch, Burn in the US), a film I’m quite fond of in a very nice anamorphic transfer. On the way home, I stopped at the Studio Café and had a very good salad, and a little thing of chocolate ice cream for dessert (I’d eaten three small chicken tenders much earlier in the day). I didn’t end up doing the long jog as I’d just done four days in a row and my lower back was hurting me from lifting too many boxes recently.
I then sat on my couch like so much fish and put on a Blu-Ray disc of a motion picture entitled Mamma Mia, which I hadn’t seen. Like the show, it’s harmless fun – silly, fun songs, fun performances, and a lot of eye candy scenery that looked incredible on Blu-Ray (although with today’s usual extreme color shifts – from yellow to orange to blue, sometimes within the same sequence – a lot of digital manipulation in post production). The director, who also directed the show, shows no real talent behind the camera, but the whole thing moves along and the music’s the thing and the music is just so infectious and lively and the sound mix is great. Transfer is obviously perfection on Blu-Ray. Miss Streep seems like she’s having a supreme lark, and Julie Walters and Christine Baranski are fun and fine as her friends. The three potential fathers are not really singers but get the job done. And the lead gal, while a little too perky at times, does just fine, too. All in all, very entertaining for what it is.
I checked out various other transfers and it’s amazing how quality can vary. Sadly, Rio Bravo looks almost as bad as it did on regular DVD – uber grainy, not sharp enough and with weird color (well, it’s Warners – what else is new). Yes, it’s sharper than the standard DVD but it’s certainly no poster child for Blu-Ray. A Bridge Too Far and Thunderball both suffer from lousy, brown color, although both are reasonably sharp. The Final Countdown looks unbelievably great. I purposely got a black-and-white film, Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers, and I must say that aside from heavier than usual grain in the opticals (of which there are many), the black-and-white image is stunningly stunning. I’m looking forward to seeing Casablanca on Blu-Ray and really hope they get around to doing more black-and-white classics. Dr. No looked pretty fantastic, while Battle Of The Bulge (not the story of my attempts to diet) is very sharp and very brown. I think I’m going to start doing research and read some reviews and hopefully see screen caps so I can at least figure out if color is what it should be. But, so far I’m thoroughly impressed with the format – and think of all the songs I can sing – Blu Skies, I’d Rather Be Blu, Blu Velvet, I’ve Got A Right To Sing The Blus, and on and on.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must hit the road to dreamland, for I shall be getting up very early to do a lot of things.
Today, I’m hoping that the Tom Jones CDs will arrive first thing in the morning (I had no confirmation, naturally – par for the pressing plant) – if they don’t come first thing, then they won’t be here until about three or three-thirty, and if it’s the latter, then it’s the usual damn rush to get them packaged up and to the post office before they close, whereas if it’s the former then they go out in the morning and I don’t have to rush like crazy to get the big orders shipped – I can do those a little later in the afternoon. I suppose we will know first thing in the morning.
Then I’ll start the cast album liner notes, do a lunch, and then hopefully they’ll get me the info for the script and I can start in on that. It should be a very busy day.
Tomorrow, we’re supposedly having a casting session, but I think that depends on if we’ve got people showing up or not. I guess I’ll find out at some point today.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog (depending wholly on whether CDs arrive in the morning), I must package and ship CDs, I must write liner notes, I must lunch, and I must ship out big orders. Today’s topic of discussion: If you were stranded on a desert island and you could have one complete TV series with you, which would it be and why would you want your choice? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I go get my beauty sleep because today I’ll be busy as a beaver because there is just so much to do and, baby, I’m doin’ it.