Well, dear readers, it’s been a long day. Oh, a How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying reference. Or is it a Frank Loesser reference. And speaking of references, we have been remiss in our references, have we not? We have. References all around, I say. Where was I? Oh, yes, I gotta tell you yesterday was a very long day and I can’t even remember why. Well, I did get up at around six, but then I went back to bed and slept until ten-thirty. Then I had to work for a few hours with the new helper, and so far she’s really good at this stuff and very focused. She doesn’t rush, she double checks, and that gives me a good comfort zone. We dealt with the disaster box of invoices but it turned out to be much less problematic than we’d first thought, only really involving about two invoices. So, we sorted that out and I think we’re fine now. After our work was done, she flitted off to the postal office, and I flitted off to the mail place where I picked up four count them four packages and no important envelope – hopefully, that will arrive today. Then I had a sandwich and onion rings, which hit the spot. The spot got very angry and promptly hit the sandwich and onion rings back. Then I finally came home, answered a plethora of e-mails, had a few telephonic conversations with various and sundried people, and then did some work on the computer. After all that and more, I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled You Only Live Once, a film by Fritz Lang, starring Sylvia Sidney and Henry Fonda. Mr. Lang has always been one of my favorite directors and he’s made several movies that I truly love, i.e. Woman In The Window, Scarlet Street, The Big Heat, Metropolis, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, and many others. This was Mr. Lang’s second American film. His first was Fury, and that was quite powerful and still plays very well today. Somehow, I don’t think I’d ever seen You Only Live Once all the way through. Like Fury, it, too, is quite powerful, with terrific performances from Fonda and Sidney, along with a really great performance by William Gargan. This movie has never looked very good in its home video incarnations, which is, I think, one of the reasons I’d never gotten through it. So, I was quite surprised to see this released on Blu and Ray and in Italy of all places. So, I took a chance and got one and I’m quite happy I did – the transfer is excellent – very sharp with nice contrast. It plays in English, but occasionally Eyetalian subtitles would pop up for no reason – very odd. It may be a player problem because I read several reviews of the disc and no one mentioned the problem. The oddest things are coming out overseas on Blu and Ray – I mean American movies. I found out the two 1960s McHale’s Navy films are on Blu-Ray in Australia of all places. Of course, I had to have it and it will be here next week. The three Clint Eastwood/Leone movies came out in Italy on Blu-Ray – in completely different and much superior transfers and they blow away the MGM set here. Unfortunately, except for the first film, the other two only have Eyetalian language – no English, no subtitles. But the image quality is really great and it’s a shame those restorations aren’t made available here in English because For A Few Dollars More is a bit longer in that cut. In any case, I really enjoyed You Only Live Once and it just makes me want to revisit all the other Lang films I have.
After that, I did a little reorganizing of the book room, listened to music, and nuked over 1000 e-mails in my AOL inbox (there were over 2200 there). And it was then that I realized that it had been a long day. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’m quite tired and quite need my beauty sleep.
Today, I shall try to jog, I shall hopefully pick up an important envelope and maybe even a package, I shall do some errands and whatnot, and then I shall be supping at Genghis Cohen at around five-thirty, which I’m very much looking forward to.
Tomorrow, I’m going to the opening of a new store, so that should be fun. Then Monday we ship out Audrey Rose CDs, which will take most of that day, and then the rest of the week there are meetings and meals and I’m sure some rehearsals with The Singer, as well as finishing casting the Gardenia show, pulling music, and figuring all that out. I’ve chosen half the songs already.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, try to jog, hopefully pick up an important envelope and a package or three, and then sup at Genghis Cohen. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite performances by Mr. Henry Fonda? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland because frankly it’s been a long day.