Well, dear readers, I just cracked my toes, my neck, and my back. I am now fully cracked. Did you know that my cracking my toes inspired a big movie epic called Crackyourtoes, East of Java? Those who’ve read my various and sundried novels know that cracking is something I’ve had certain characters do. I believe the first thing I ever cracked, like most people, were my knuckles. But even before that, my cousin Donny once lifted me up when I was about six years old and my entire back cracked and you could have heard it for a mile. My parents reacted with horror, Donny’s mother and father reacted with horror, but I, BK, did not react with horror – I loved it. It felt so good. But the episode never repeated itself, but I would often think about that sound and the way it felt. Then a couple of years later I began cracking my knuckles, probably picked up from my brother, who was quite the knuckle cracker. I loved cracking my knuckles, loved the sound, and loved that feeling of tension being released – at least that’s what it felt like. And that was the extent of the cracking for many years. Flash forward and I’m about seventeen. I’m at Wallichs Music City, Sunset and Vine, in one of the listening booths, listening to some cast album or other. I happen to move my head all the way to the side – I don’t really remember why I moved my head all the way to the side, but as soon as I did so the neck crack was like a jackhammer on the sidewalk and it kept on cracking – it felt extraordinary. I then did the same thing to the other side and the same thing happened there. I was then hooked on the cracking of the neck and would do it whenever I could. I could be heard far and wide walking down the halls of the theater arts building at LACC cracking loudly. Then I moved in with a family, where I lived for a few months. I’d met the fourteen-year-old daughter of this family when she’d come to a play at LACC and hung around to meet me. She then began coming down there all the time and we became very friendly and I met her mother and she liked me very much and I needed a place to live and they lived in a very big house not too far from LACC. I remember coming home after a very long day and an evening rehearsal, and I was so tense and overtired and Robbie (the daughter) came into the room in which I was staying and gave me a back rub. I was zoning out and starting to feel very relaxed when she just pushed on my back with her firm hands. Suddenly the entire back cracked from the very bottom to the very top and it was like heaven on Earth – every bit of tension was suddenly gone. I could not believe how much cracking went on. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, she sort of gently lifted my upper torso and twisted me to the right – more cracking. Then to the left – more cracking. It was amazing. From then on, I made her do that every night before bed. When I got married, my now ex-wife, who was a tiny little thing, used to stand on my back and that would work well, although it was cracking less and less and never like it used to. And so it’s gone through the years. At some point, someone was rubbing my feet and cracked my toes, and that became my new favorite thing that I couldn’t get enough of. These days, I still crack anything that will crack, but it’s not like the old days, although there are certain times when my toes and ankles will suddenly give forth with an extraordinarily wonderful crack and that’s always heavenly. And there you have the story of my being cracked.
Yesterday was a sort of nice little day. I got up around nine, got some packages ready for shipping, had a couple of telephonic conversations, then took said packages to the postal office. I then had some bacon and eggs, then came home and began thinking about the new liner notes, and I also got all the photo and poster material from MGM via e-mail. The cover will be out of this world. I’ve told the designer to let his imagination go absolutely crazy on this title, so we’ll see what he comes up with. I then made a decision on a potential project, said decision being to go ahead with it – it was already released on CD once, but in a not-too-pleasing presentation, either sound-wise or packaging-wise, and I’ll be adding about ten or fifteen minutes of material that’s never been on CD before – the album on this title was a re-recording, so for our CD I’ll be putting about four of the actual film tracks on, and they have a much bigger orchestra and sound much different. Because it’s a beloved film I think we’ll do okay with it. I then spent a couple of hours putting labels on boxes, then went and picked up 2000 more labels, which should hold me for three months, I should think. After all that, I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Eagles Over London, a WWII potboiler from Italy, what they call the macaroni combat genre. Made in 1969, the film stars Frederick Stafford (he of Topaz) and Van Johnson. It’s directed by Enzo Castellari, the director of Inglorious Bastards, the film that inspired Quentin Tarantino’s latest. Eagles Over London was originally titled Battle of Britain in Italy, but there was already a Battle of Britain, so they changed it, although, that said, the film was never released in the United States and was only seen when it finally showed up on television in syndication movie packages. In Italy, it was a big hit. I actually found myself really enjoying its low-budget charms – the plot is fun, the post-synching of the dialogue is horrible and therefore fun, the musical score by Francesco di Masi is fun and it all moves along at a good clip. The Blu-Ray looks, I imagine, as it should and probably did. It’s reasonably sharp, the color veers from shot to shot which, in this case, I’m guessing is exactly the way it was in the release prints. Sound is muddy and takes some getting used to as it’s a little difficult at times to understand what people are saying. I had a very good time watching it – it was rather like being back at the World Theater on Hollywood Boulevard (three movies for $1.50 or something).
After that, I took a nice hot shower, cracked anything that would crack, and then it was time to write these here notes, which, if you haven’t noticed, is exactly what I’ve been doing.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button before I become completely cracked.
Today, I may go to the tape transfer place if the tape transfer guy has time for me. If not, I’ve got lots of errands and whatnot to do, and I really will try to jog. I’ll start the liner notes, too, and maybe even try to finish them.
Tomorrow I’m going to a book fair in the Dena of Pasa, and Sunday Cason is coming over to address a lot of packages. I may start on that today if I have time.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, maybe go to the tape transfer place, do errands and whatnot, and do some writing. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player, and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, the Red Cliff soundtrack and various and sundried Kritzerland projects. DVD/Blu-Ray, Finding Neverland (can’t remember if I’ve actually seen the thing), and a few other things. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I toddle off to the bedroom environment in hopes of a few more cracks.