Well, dear readers, I spent a wonderful several hours with Mr. Grant Geissman yesterday, as he worked his magic creating a cover and back cover for the new novel. It’s still a work in progress, but even now I love it large. He’s still futzing with the title treatment and layout, but I was very pleased with the reaction from our dear readers, and from Facebook, as well. We didn’t really get to the book itself, although he’s already done some of that work prior to today’s session – it’s all in the template we’ve used for all the Hofstetter books, so it’s just conforming the layout correctly (chapter beginnings on right side pages – that sort of thing) and then I’ll be able to proof for bad breaks and widows and orphans and anything we may have missed in the proofing phase. This part of the process is really exciting for me and Grant is so creative and clever, it’s just fun to sit there and watch and make with the occasional comments. Prior to our session, I’d done the two-mile jog, and after our session we toddled off to the Hamburger Hamlet, where we split their yummilicious nachos and I had a smallish turkey reuben sandwich. He gave me some sage advice regarding what was going through my head, and that was much appreciated. Sometimes one needs perspective and a calm, clear voice and his was that. I then came home, answered some e-mails, had a couple of telephonic calls, and then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled The Untouchables. I think I’ve only seen the film once all the way through, when it first came out. I thought it was okay – it wasn’t one of my favorites, and occasionally seeing scenes on cable didn’t make me feel any differently. But watching the Blu-Ray I was surprised at how enjoyable I found it, so I think time has been kind to the film and certainly compared to a lot of the drivel I see today, it’s really quite good. It’s very entertaining, occasionally very funny (the Charlie Martin Smith character), and the acting is terrific straight down the line. De Palma, who is not one of my favorite directors, does quite a good job here, save for his one truly excessive and De Palmaesque scene, the Odessa Steps recreation, which here is labored and forced and, for me, just doesn’t work – I thought that when I first saw the film (and where it got unintentional laughter) and I think it now. On the other hand, the Canadian border sequence is a great sequence. But what really lifts this film and turns it into something out of the ordinary isn’t De Palma or Mr. Mamet’s excellent script – it’s the score by Ennio Morricone, which just takes the film to a whole different level. It’s one of his greats and his scoring of the above-mentioned Canadian border sequence is genius. The Blu-Ray is quite pleasing to gaze upon, and it was quite a nice evening’s entertainment.
I watched all the little featurettes, which were ported over from the DVD in standard definition. They were the usual Laurent Bouzeareau snoozefest.
I had a couple more telephonic conversations and then it was time to write these here notes, which I am in the throes of doing. Not the throws of doing, mind you, but the throes of doing. The Throes of Doing – that’s the title of my next novel, a fantasy set in the mythical land of Doing, wherein a society of people called the Throes make merry, make hay, and make dragons. It’s quite exciting and there is merriment and mirth and laughter and legs, quaint elf-like denizens, monsters, and goodness does triumph over evil.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get back to writing The Throes of Doing, Book One in a nine book series.
Today, I shall be doing quite a bit of work here in the home environment, plus I have a lot of errands and whatnot to attend to, and many telephonic calls to return. I’ll also be doing the long jog, eating something amusing, and, in the evening, watching a motion picture or two.
Tomorrow, I have a meeting with the composer and lyricist of the long musical – we’ll be going over the four or five or six songs they’ve been working on. I’m also working on a new Nudie song, the one song spot that’s been an endless problem for me, which I now think I’ve finally figured out – so I’m trying to craft a good and funny lyric for the catchy little tune I’ve written.
On Wednesday, I see the dentist for a teeth cleaning and X-rays, and you can probably imagine I’m not really looking forward to that very much.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, I must do work here in the home environment, including starting the liner notes for the next Kritzerland release, and I must do many errands and whatnots. Today’s topic of discussion: Everybody always loves to give advice – but in your lifetime, what is the best advice you’ve ever gotten from someone? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I continue to write my new fantasy novel, The Throes of Doing, a story of mystery, adventure, romance, intrigue and fantasy, all revolving around the story of a unicorn who wanted a pair of corduroy pants.