Well, dear readers, this week is flying by, like a gazelle tweeting on Twitter. Or should that be twitting on Tweeter? In any case, this week is flying by and soon I will be in New York, New York, working, seeing friends, having meals and it will be nice to have five days away, not exactly a vacation, but just a little pleasurable moment away from the craziness. But then I shall return and it’s going to be quite busy from here on till the end of the year and hopefully beyond, because I like busy and I’m having a grand time. Yesterday was a rather insane day, busy-wise, but I got everything done that needed to be done. I got up early, printed out a lot of orders, and then CDs arrived. I then packaged up all the Kritzerland orders – this is not quite as easy as it once was because the stupid STUPID USPS has, once again, changed their rules and where once you could send one or two CDs overseas without a customs declaration slip, now you must do one no matter how light the package. How bloody annoying is that? So, I got the US packages done pretty quickly, but then I had to stop and affix the customs declaration slip to every overseas package. How bloody annoying is that. Pretty bloody annoying if you ask me. I then took all those packages over to the post office. I then drove to the Dale of Glen where I returned a bunch of tapes and picked up tapes for a new Kritzerland release. I’m very anxious to hear these tapes, and it looks like there may be a track or two that wasn’t on the original release of this classic film score. I then came home, did the two-mile jog, and then began packaging up all the large orders, which took quite a while. Then Mr. Cason Murphy arrived and helped me lug all the boxes to the car. We then took the biggest shipment to the UPS Store, and then we dropped the rest off at the post office, where all the CDs I’d left three hours prior were still sitting there like so much fish. Then Cason and I went to Jerry’s Deli and had a meal and a meeting – we discussed the New York staged reading of Nudie Musical, which we’re planning on doing early next year, and we discussed upcoming events for LACCTAA, which I’m just starting to plan. Cason left, and I did a couple more errands, printed out more orders, and then I got to listen to the first version of our next Kritzerland release – and I was very pleased by how it all came together. I made one change and now that’s done and will be sent to the pressing plant. I’ll start on the liner notes while I’m flying to New York, New York, and get the packaging done when I return. The music is a lot of fun, and I’ll be talking to its composer sometime next week, and then e-mailing him questions for an interview for the Kritzerland site. And then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched two count them two episodes of Lost, Season Five. Episode five was the best I’ve seen of this particular season – quite loopy, and you know what you’re in for when the writers get all “clever” and name a character Hawking. Episode six wasn’t quite up to five, but it had its pleasures. I checked out the Blu and Ray of Playtime from Criterion. I know its heresy to say, but I have been disappointed in almost every Criterion transfer I’ve seen save for Wages of Fear. There’s just something weird they’re doing with them, that causes ugly grain, and not normal theatrical grain – this is just unnatural. It’s most present on The Seventh Seal, a film I’ve seen in pristine 35mm prints and which has never looked like what’s on view in the Criterion Blu-Ray. The main titles of Playtime are quite dirty and grainy, but they shouldn’t be as grainy as they are. Once it gets to the film proper it’s better, but still not quite up to the best of Blu-Rays. I then checked out a little of the Blu-Ray of The Last Starfighter, which looks decent. I’m going to try and watch that before I leave for New York, New York.
After that, I listened to the new master with the change and I was very pleased. Then I answered e-mails, ate some cucumber roll and lobster salad from Gelson’s, had some red and green grapes, and that was that.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must be up bright and early to do many things.
Today, I will not be able to do the jog unless I do it in the late afternoon, which I may well do. I have to be at the tape transfer jernt at ten to listen to a little of the tapes I picked up yesterday. That will take an hour or so, and then it’s on to a casting session for the private reading we’ll be doing of the long musical. We’re seeing five or six people, and then I’ll come right back to the Valley, where I have some errands and whatnot to do, and some travel-sized toiletries to buy. I’ll then be on my way to join Mr. Barry Pearl for a meal and then a screening of Plan Nine From Outer Space, which I believe features the people from Mystery Science Theater 3000. I’m sure it will be fun, and I haven’t seen Barry since we did our reading of Nudie.
Tomorrow, I’ll be having an early breakfast with our very own Juliana A. Hansen, and then I have to make sure I’m ready to leave on Sunday morning, because I don’t want to do much of anything on Saturday or Saturday night – I’m quite a nervous Nellie the night before I fly, so I’ll just be here relaxing, and I’ll try to get to bed by ten, since my transportation will be arriving at five in the morning.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, listen to tapes, have a casting session, try to jog, have a meal, and see a movie. Today’s topic of discussion: If someone were making a Hollywood motion picture based on your life, who would you cast as you, and who would you cast in other roles – using today’s actors and actresses? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland.