Well, dear readers, it was a lazy, hazy, crazy day of summer yesterday, meaning Saturday. I feel we are now past the dog days of summer and are approaching the cat days of fall. I don’t really have much to report, but since that’s never stopped me before I’m sure I can think of something. I do know that I had a good night’s sleep and that I got up. Yes, I’m fairly certain of those two things. Then I spent a lazy, hazy, crazy morning doing almost nothing – oh, I did a few things on the computer, I noted that the dog days of summer are behind us, then I did a two-mile jog, which is never easy in this kind of heat. I then took a drive to the Dale of Glen and visited the owners of Mystery and Imagination Books. They related a wonderful story about a young teen who was there with her parents for the 90th birthday party for Ray Bradbury. Apparently, this teen girl is a huge Adriana Hofstetter fan, and her parents bought her the third book and she was clutching it to her the whole time and asking the owners if they thought I was going to show up so I could sign it to her. Her father says that the daughter and her best friend read the books over and over again and are going on a tour of all the places mentioned in the books. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to know that the books are special to a young teen who is probably much like Adriana Hofstetter. Anyway, it warmed the cockles of my old Jew heart and one cannot have enough warmed cockles. In fact, I haven’t had any warmed or even chilled cockles in a ‘coon’s age. After that, I picked up the important envelope and no packages, and had to pay the yearly fee for the mail place. Then I came home, decided I was very hungry, and since I’ve had a craving for Dino’s pizza for about eight months I decided to satisfy it. I had a small pizza, which has six very small slices (nowhere near the size of the slices when you get their large pizza) – so it was really like eating my usual four slices. It was, as always, yummilicious and it did indeed satisfy my craving and, in its own sweet way, warmed my already warm cockles. Then I talked to a friend I haven’t talked to in about four months, and then I came home. I did another mile and a half jog (I’ve been enjoying the split jogs), and then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched one hour of a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, a peculiar film directed by Albert Lewin, and starring Ava Gardner and James Mason. It’s very slow, very fussy, but the Jack Cardiff photography is reason enough to watch. That said, this restoration, despite claims of its brilliance and luster, may look fine on screen or even a small TV, but the transfer, at least, is way too grainy for my taste – that is mostly because the camera negative is lost and this was taken from a positive. It’s not bad, but it probably doesn’t much look like it did back in the day – in other words, if you want to see primo Jack Cardiff in a primo transfer, look no further than Black Narcissus. I’ll finish the film this very day.
After that, I listened to our new master and it’s pretty spectacular. I actually only listened to disc 2, but heard four tracks of disc 1, so I know it’s fine. As soon as the stupid Time Machine finishes doing its stupid and way too slow back-up, which, at this time of night, is occurring every twenty minutes, which is infuriating, then I’ll download the rest of CD 1’s tracks. I also tested the new release page on the Kritzerland site, and thank goodness I did because two of the audio samples are completely screwy. Hopefully they’ll be fixed by morning.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’ve got to get my warm cockles into the bedroom environment so I can get my beauty sleep.
Today will, I hope, truly be a day off. I have a few things that need doing, but other than that, I shall jog, do a couple of errands and whatnot, and then maybe go have dinner with a friend. And I’m sure I’ll watch the new episode of Mad Men.
Tomorrow, we announce the new title at six in the morning, and then the helper comes and we’ll address all the Billy Barnes packages. I’m also starting to cast the second Gardenia show and am choosing its material – the second show will be based on Unsung Musicals.
The rest of the week will be quite busy, and then the following week is, of course, our first Gardenia show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, do a couple of errands and whatnot, relax, and maybe have dinner with a friend. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst me and my warm cockles hit the road to dreamland.