Well, dear readers, I, for one, am glad it’s Saturday. Friday was entirely too wacky for my taste. I like a nice Friday and yesterday was a wacky Friday. I had very odd dreams and frankly I am getting a little tired of the odd dreams and would like some fun dreams. The odd dreams are not bad dreams, per se, but they are odd and sometimes a little unsettling. In any case, I was awakened from an odd dream by an odder telephonic call from Mr. Gregory Harrison, informing me Miss Linda Purl had broken her ankle and was on her way to surgery. Before you say anything, no, I did not say break a leg to her. Needless to say, rehearsal was cancelled. That sort of threw my day into disarray, not that it was bad or anything. But there were other things I could have booked and instead I was left to my own devices, but, I like my devices so that was fine. I went and had some bacon and eggs and began proofing my book. Right off the bat in chapter one I read an amusing package involving a gift, a first-time item that Adriana receives. And I realized I’d used that very same item in the first Adriana book, so I knew I had to change it in this book. The problem is, I didn’t want to lose any of the lines about the item, but I could not think of one thing that could replace it that would allow me not to have to change much of anything besides the name of the item. I tabled it for the time being. Then I came home and answered some e-mails and printed out some of the advance orders that came in. I then picked up no important envelope and no packages. I did some errands and whatnot, then came back home and did an edit road map on an upcoming project. Then I got the master for Gone With The Wind and approved that. There were a few irritants to deal with but nothing major. Then I talked to Muse Margaret and in the course of that conversation we figured out a good item to replace the item I’d already used – that turned out to be even better, and I rewrote the four paragraphs involved (just a few lines, actually) in about five minutes. Then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled The Thomas Crown Affair – not the wretched remake, mind you, but the original version. It has, in fact, snuck out on Blu and Ray as a Best Buy exclusive along with The Manchurian Candidate – not the wretched remake, mind you, but the original version. I’ve always enjoyed The Thomas Crown Affair but, for me, like most of Norman Jewison’s films, it stops short of being great or anywhere near a classic. Steve McQueen is great as is Faye Dunaway and the rest of the cast and the one classic thing about the film is its score by Michel Legrand. The transfer is very nice – this film never really looked good in its original release because there are numerous opticals on opticals due to extensive use of split-screen. One “reviewer” on the Internet complained about how soft the opening shot of Jack Weston was, but then was surprised that in the following shot everything was very sharp. And that’s the problem with these “reviewers” – they just don’t get it – the opening shot of the film is coming off an optical with about seven effects in it, i.e. many generations away from the production photography – of course the shot is soft – it’s a dupe of a dupe of a dupe. Color is fine, too. No, it doesn’t look like a film made today, and had they gone off the actual camera negative rather than an internegative or positive, the results would, of course, have been a little better.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I am done with this wacky day and ready for a nice, calm, fun, Saturday filled with nice, calm, fun things.
Today, I shall sleep till nine, then get up, do a few things, then go to the Dena of Pasa to attend a book fair. I’ll probably hang out there for three hours (about all I can take at one time), then I’ll meet the interim helper and give her some orders that came in yesterday, and then I’ll come home and continue proofing the book. Then I’m meeting a dealer pal for dinner – I’m actually going to try and have that take place in Glendale so I don’t have to schlep all the way back to Pasadena.
Tomorrow, I have a work session with a twelve-year-old girl and her folks and then we’ll probably all go for a bite to eat. Monday and Tuesday have suddenly become Linda and Gregory rehearsal days – I now have to adjust everything in the show so that Linda can sit on a stool. I’ll try to make some of that fun, and I’m sure we’ll add some lines about her foot so the audience knows they don’t have to be concerned. I also have a Tuesday work session with The Singer, so the first part of the week will be VERY busy.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, attend a book fair, meet with the interim helper, hopefully pick up a package or three and an important envelope, and then sup. Today’s topic of discussion: What broken bones, if any, have you had and how did you get them? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland where I shall hopefully have no odd dreams and awaken to a non-wacky day.