Well, dear readers, the holiday weekend has come to an end and it is already Tuesday even though it seems like Monday. Hence, this week is flying by, like a gazelle playing an Autoharp. I wonder why Word decided to capitalize the word the “A” in “autoharp?” Is Autoharp a trademarked name? And it didn’t capitalize the “A” the second time I wrote Autoharp. But it did the third. This is most confusing. The fact is, I don’t even know how the spelling of Autoharp became bastardized over the eons. I’m sure most of you know that the Autoharp was invented by Otto Harp, a German cheese maker who weighed three hundred pounds and was known as The Big Cheese. One day, Mr. Otto Harp was thinking that it would be fun to invent string cheese, and whilst he was thinking that thought he also was thinking it would be nice to have a little instrument to play whilst being the Big Cheese. So, instead of pursuing string cheese, he put some strings on some wood and called his new device the Otto Harp. One year later, Otto Harp would die of too much Brie. But his invention, the Otto Harp, would become quite popular. At some point, someone said I can play this Otto Harp automatically, just because I’m adept at such things. And from that day forward the Otto Harp was known as the Autoharp. You know, can someone please tell me what the HELL I’m talking about? Don’t I have notes to write? I had a perfectly pleasant final day of the holiday weekend. I got up very early and announced our new release, printed out orders as they came in and then went back to bed for a couple of hours. I got up, and dear reader Jeanne called, feeling a bit under the weather and asking if we could eat closer to her home environment. So, we made our lunchtime earlier and I drove to the Wood of West and we ate at Louise’s, where I had a small salad, and my favorite pasta, papardalle with spicy sausage. The food was good, the company was fun, and we caught up on various and sundried things. Then I came back to the San Fernando Valley, came home, printed out all the postage for tomorrow’s shipping, attached all the postage to the packages, and then I was finally ready to sit on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture entitled The Echelon Conspiracy, one of these nouveau thrillers (like Eagle Eye) with few thrills and nothing nouveau. This one is strictly by the numbers, had a one-week small release to give the home video release a little cache (it didn’t), and then it went straight to home video and Blu and Ray. It’s no better and no worse than any other – they all use the same paint by numbers plot, with the Evil Government doing Evil Things – in this case it’s like a nouveau Colossus: The Forbin Project, with a computer running amok. It’s directed by some guy who’s seen a lot of other current movies and just lifts shots and effects from each – since they don’t work in the other movies, they work even less when they are so blatantly ripped off. The actors are serviceable, and Martin Sheen did what seems like a one-day role and he’s fine. The music is strictly from temp tracksville – like a Chinese food menu – one from column a, one from column b, and on and on. The transfer is excellent and the sound is robust but the film is a stinker, but somehow it kind of holds one’s interest.
I also watched two DVDs – one a compilation of Carpenters TV performances and one the story of the Carpenters, a PBS Special. I watched them because I’m in the middle of reading a new book about the Carpenters – not a very well written book, but I find the story fascinating. But I’ll have much more to say about all this once I finish the book.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below whilst we lift a glass to Mr. Otto Harp and his marvelous invention.
Today, I shall be up both bright and early and early and bright, not necessarily in that order. Then CDs will hopefully arrive on time as well as the new helper. We’ll then package up all the CDs and the bigger dealer orders, and then we’ll get them to the postal office and the UPS Store. I’m hoping we can get it all done in ninety minutes so that I can use our remaining time to show her The Way Things Work, so that she can begin thinking about how to migrate everything to the computer. She’ll also take home the big box o’ invoices and do tallies for the last six months, along with some other work we need done. After that, I’ll do some errands and whatnot, eat something light but amusing, and then watch a motion picture or three.
Tomorrow will be a writing day – David and I will both write our next scenes and that will put us almost two-thirds of the way through what the wags call act one. I also have a few other things to attend to, including getting the CDRs for what I hope will be our next Kritzerland project. Thursday I have a lunch, and Friday and the weekend are pretty full, I think.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, package and ship CDs, show the new helper The Way Things Work, eat, and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: If you could be a virtuoso on any instrument, which would it be and why that instrument? And of that instrument, who are your favorite players? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we all get out our Otto Harps and play a fugue in B minor.