Well, dear readers, yesterday the rains came. And they came with a vengeance. They came in buckets and did not abate until late in the evening. It was one of the hardest rains I’ve ever seen in all my years of living in my hometown of Los Angeles, California, USA. The streets were flooding like crazy, with some of them so deep that they went over the top of the tires of cars. And it was relentless, the rain was. It was like the Energizer Bunny – it just kept going. I must say, that when it rains I sleep like a baby, albeit a baby with awfully peculiar dreams. Then I toddled off to have breakfast with dear lurker and occasional poster VinTek and his lovelier than lovely wife. We went to a jernt called More Than Waffles. My favorite waffles are Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles waffles, so I was trepidatious. So, to hedge my bets, I ordered a bacon and cheese omelet and that came with a small waffle (which they proudly proclaim only has 140 calories). The jernt was jumping, with every table occupied and a steady stream of people waiting to get in. The omelet and waffle arrived and I poured the melted butter over it and added syrup. It’s what they call a Belgium waffle, and it was quite yummilicious – very light and airy and not filling at all. I should have stopped there. Apparently the chef thought the bacon would cook by putting it inside the omelet with the cheese. So, what was inside this omelet was gooey cheddar cheese and barely-cooked bacon. I ended up picking out most of the bacon and just eating some of the egg and cheese. I’d go back for the waffle but never for the omelet. We had a good time and talked about this and that and also that and this. I’ll see them again at the next Kritzerland at the Gardenia show.
Then I came home, amazed at how hard the rain was coming down. It sounded like the Rockettes were dancing on my car. I drove very carefully and avoided the nutcases around me. I got home and answered e-mails and did some work on the computer and got everything ready for the new Kritzerland release announcement, which will be live just as these here notes are going up. After that, I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I watched a motion picture that I TIVOd entitled Meteor. I had never seen the motion picture entitled Meteor before. It was directed by a director I quite like, Ronald Neame, and was written by two good screenwriters, Edmund H. North and Stanley Mann. So, how do we explain the unmitigated disaster that I watched? Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, Meteor is an unmitigated disaster of a disaster movie. The first clew as to how awful it’s probably going to be is the first credit on the widescreen: Samuel Z. Arkoff Presents. How American International Pictures and Mr. Arkoff managed to have a budget that would enable them to have the likes of Mr. Sean Connery, Miss Natalie Wood, Mr. Karl Malden, Mr. Martin Landau, Mr. Henry Fonda, Mr. Brian Keith and others is anyone’s guess. The film is so inept on every level – some of Mr. Arkoff’s 1960s D-movies had better special effects than this film, which features some of the most awful effects work ever put on the screen. There are a few scenes that take place in the snow and they actually have optically added snow flurries that look like someone drew them with a crayon. The dialogue is horrible, but somehow the actors give their all and Mr. Keith is quite enjoyable, and I’ve never really seen Mr. Connery give a bum performance. Mr. Landau gives a little too much of his all – certainly it’s one of the hammiest performances he’s ever given. Miss Wood has nothing to do but translate Russian, but she looks fetching doing it. The score is by Laurence Rosenthal, normally one of my favorite film composers, who’s written a couple of my all-time favorite film scores. This is not his finest hour. But it’s no one’s finest hour. It came at the end of the disaster film cycle (ironically, Mr. Neame was there at the beginning of it, with The Poseidon Adventure), and it certainly ended with a big thud – the film was lambasted by critics and ignored by audiences. Naturally, at the imdb you will find several “reviews” by people trying to convince everyone that it’s an forgotten gem and a great film. But that’s the name of the game at the imdb, as we all know.
I then watched half of a motion picture on DVD entitled On The Double, one of Danny Kaye’s 1960s comedies. It’s pretty forced and not that funny, but I just love Mr. Kaye so I will finish it. There are some musical numbers by Sylvia Fine coming up, and hopefully those will be fun.
After that, I did some more work on the computer, and actually managed to listen to six CDs, so the huge pile o’ CDs is now six CDs shorter. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below and hope that the rains came and have now gone elsewhere.
Today, I shall be up by eight and hopefully printing out a LOT of orders – we really need this title to do well. Then CDs and helper will arrive and we’ll ship out CDs. I’m hoping that because everything is prepared that we’ll be done in a couple of hours. Then I have to do some errands and whatnot, and I’m hoping some overdue packages arrive. And then I have a partay to attend in the Wood of Holly. I may go down there early and go to Amoeba, as I’ve built up a ton of trade stuff that’s just sitting in the garage like so much fish.
Tomorrow and the rest of the week will be filled with meetings and meals and some work sessions. I’m seeing some show on Wednesday night and there are a couple of other things I think I have to attend. I’m also doing a book signing over the weekend, so that will be fun.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, print out a LOT of orders, I must ship CDs, I must do errands and whatnot, I must hopefully pick up some overdue packages, and I must eat something light but amusing, and then attend a partay. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite disaster movies – the good, the bad, and the ugly? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I get ready to announce our new title and then hit the road to dreamland with hopefully no more rain, at least until we’re finished shipping.