Well, dear readers, once again I am late in beginning these here notes, but I shan’t be late from here on in because from here on in I shall be on time but for now these here notes are late because from here on in hasn’t quite occurred yet. I’ve just returned home from a fun evening of Judaism and motion pictures. I was invited to a Jew dinner at Melody and folks’ home environment. Melody’s mom made a splendid Yom Kippur feast – brisket, potato kugel, tsimis (spelling?), vegetables and, for dessert, apple pie. The food was wonderful and there was quite a bit of laughter all during the meal. I also brought over the three episodes of the web series, one of which Melody appears in – those got lots o’ laughs. Since Melody’s mom has been having some health issues, she’d asked me to bring over some comedy movies, which I did. Melody wanted to watch one with me there, so we chose The Court Jester, which no one but me had ever seen. Well, everyone loved it – it’s such a wonderfully funny motion picture, and Danny Kaye is just brilliant in it. But the supporting players are all equally excellent farceurs, and you just won’t see better performances than those of Cecil Parker, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, Glynis Johns, Mildred Natwick and the rest of the large cast. The sets are sumptuous, the costumes gorgeous, and one hopes and prays that the people responsible for the Blu and Rays of The Ten Commandments, White Christmas, and Breakfast At Tiffany’s, get their hands on this because if handled lovingly it will look spectacular. It was a grand evening and then I finally came home.
Prior to that, I’d gotten up early, done the four-mile jog early, and then toddled off to the Hollywood Show. I really wish I hadn’t had to go, but I do like to be supportive of my friends, so I dutifully paid my twenty bucks but instantly wish I hadn’t. I loathe the two idiots who have ruined this show. It’s just a circus, with no class. Say what you will about these shows, but when Ray Courts was doing them, it was funky and fun and had a weird sort of class. Ray truly likes the celebrities – these idiots are just idiots and care only about money. I’d basically gone just to hang with Mr. Barry Pearl and to see Susan Buckner, who plays the first hooker who sings in Honey What’cha Doin’ Tonight – she plays Patty Simcox in the film of Grease – I hadn’t seen her in thirty-five years and she looks great and it was great to see her again. She’s been writing me every now and then on Facebook. I brought her a Blu and Ray of Nudie, and since she’ll be in town for a couple of weeks, we made tentative plans to sup and catch up. I did a walk around of the room – there were less celebrities than I’ve ever seen there, and none of the really big draws of the past. Carol Channing was there, sitting with a befuddled expression on her face and looking completely out to lunch. Lee Meriwether and Julie Newmar were there – one of them looked great and the other looks so odd from so much plastic surgery that it’s frightening. Adam West was there, as was Frankie Avalon along with a bunch of the Grease folks. Rex Smith was there – I said hi to him, but he really seems not ever aware of who I am, which is truly odd since he just did a Gardenia show – but Rex is all about Rex and he kind of gave me the willies. I hadn’t heard of several of the folks sitting there, which should give you an idea of the caliber of celebrity they had. Oh, folks like Ron Ely were there (I’d just been with him in Chicago), and Lesley Ann Warren was there, looking a little miserable, but mostly it was lackluster and that’s mostly due to the two idiots who simply don’t know how to put on a show. I saw a few dealer chums, but I was out of there in an hour and I really never want to go back.
After that, I picked up no packages and an important envelope from the mail place, came home, did some work on the computer, wrote my cameraman a strong e-mail – this guy simply does not understand the art of communication – I’ve already told him once that he must communicate in a timely fashion, but I wrote him on Thursday with several important questions and I have yet to hear back from him. This makes me very uneasy about his reliability and even whether he’ll show up for the shoot, which is only five days away. If I don’t have an e-mail from him tomorrow, then I’ll call him and leave him a strong message, but I’ll also try to contact some other camera people. I just don’t get these younger people today and their lack of professionalism and simple courtesy. You’d think they’d want to make a good impression and do well so that the gig could continue, but I guess that’s not the world we live in anymore.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must get these here notes posted and then I must get my beauty sleep.
Today, it will be a lot of busy work, typing in the commentary and beginning the task of typing in lyrics to our LACC show script. I hate this kind of stuff, but there’s simply no one else to do it. I’m sure that will take hours of the day and I’m sure I won’t be anywhere near finishing. I’ll do the four-mile jog, eat very lightly, and definitely try to relax and watch a motion picture or three.
Tomorrow, I’m supposed to get together with this camera person, but since he doesn’t respond I have no idea whether that’s happening or not. I want him to see an episode of the show, so that he gets the vibe, and I want to feel comfortable that I can rely on him to do his job. I have lots of errands and whatnot to do this week, I’ve got to gather all the music for the November show, I’ve got to do an edit road map and liner notes for our next release, and I have several meetings and meals. Then on Thursday we do our first day of shooting, after which we have a rehearsal for the Friday shoot. Then we do that, and then all the season one episodes will be shot. So, a VERY busy week.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, get a good night’s beauty sleep, do the four-mile jog, type in lyrics and commentary, and relax. 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 I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall probably dream of the chalice from the palace and the pellet with the poison and the vessel with the pestle and the brew that is true, not to mention the flagon with the dragon.