Well, dear readers, it is quite late and I am quite behind on starting these here notes and I am quite tired and it seems like there’s a motorcycle convention nearby, with the unseemly sound of motorcycles loudly revving at 11:45 at night. Ah, quiet has come back to the City of Studio. My brain is not functioning right now, due to having written twenty book pages and, additionally, two-thirds of the contextual commentary for the Kritzerland show. I don’t know if I’m coming or going, frankly, and I don’t even know if I’m going or coming. My eyes are bleary and weary although I’m feeling quite cheery dearie. Wow, I was a rhyming fool there for a minute. I’m also extremely hungry and may have to have something small to eat before I sleep.
Yesterday was a real writing day in which I did real writing. I have no idea anymore if this is interesting or not, but I’m having fun. If I were to continue the way I’m going this would be a 1200 page book, but I think I’m seeing the structure more clearly now and will know what to do once I get past this initial section. Since somebody guessed yesterday, I may as well say that the new book is what I suppose is the follow-up to There’s Mel, There’s Woody, and There’s You. This one begins in 1993 and goes up to 2005 and the formation of Kritzerland. I’m spending a lot of pages on the first three albums because that’s where I basically learned everything that I’d do for all the other albums. But I’m thinking that once I’m past this, I won’t be so much about chronology as I will be about the different types of albums, grouping them together – I haven’t really made any decisions about it and we’ll see how the book wants to be written, which is what always happens – I don’t write the book, the book writes me. Anyway, I’m having a lot of fun so far.
Other than writing, I got up, didn’t do any jog (I just dove into finessing the previous day’s twenty pages), then had to take a break to go pick up a Blu and Ray. After that, I stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall deli in Valley Village called Marv’s. I hadn’t been there since 1977. I used to live five minutes away and discovered it was one of the best delis in the city. Marv owned it and he’d been a fan of mine from TV. I went quite often. In 1977 he sold it and I never went back – until yesterday. I had a pastrami on rye with Russian dressing and cole slaw. Sad to say, it really wasn’t very good – not tender, too fatty, lousy Russian dressing, and okay cole slaw. I ran into an actor friend, though, and that was fun – Harrison White, the fellow who played Dick Davis in the staged reading of The First Nudie Musical.
After that, I picked up no packages, then came home and wrote for several hours. Then I had a telephonic conversation with the East Coast singer, then I wrote a bit more, then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a Blu and Ray entitled The Roots Of Heaven, which I got an advance copy of from our very own Mr. Nick Redman. I’d never seen the film and only knew its rather pedestrian reputation. It wasn’t a hit, and I don’t believe it was well reviewed when it came out. So, I really knew nothing about it at all, save for the fact that I’d had the soundtrack LP when I was young. Well, it’s terrific. It’s about a man who is trying to stop the slaughter of elephants and other animals in Africa. It was actually a very prescient film for the 1950s, with talk about ruining the planet and endangering our animals for human fun and sport. The cast is fantastic, with a wonderful performance by Trevor Howard, a really colorful turn by Orson Welles, and a great performance from Errol Flynn, looking haggard and old, playing a drunk all too well. There’s also good work from Paul Lukas, Juliette Greco, and Herbert Lom. The direction by John Huston is terrific, as is the script based on the novel by Romain Gary (who also co-wrote the film). The score by Malcolm Arnold is also a big plus. I was just completely taken with the film and the Cinemascope color transfer provided by Fox is perfect. Highly recommended by the likes of me – a film ripe for rediscovery.
After that, I wrote a few more pages, then got to work on the contextual commentary for the Kritzerland show, which I got two-thirds of the way through, so I can easily wrap that up tomorrow. I won’t get to the two sets of liner notes till next week – that’s the soonest I’ll have time to do so, but they shouldn’t be hard to write.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get some beauty sleep and be up early to write more words.
Today, I shall be up early, finesse yesterday’s writing, write new pages, do some sort of jog, write, eat, hopefully pick up packages, write, have our second Kritzerland rehearsal, finish the contextual commentary and maybe a few more book pages, then relax by watching a motion picture.
Tomorrow will be an all writing day, and I’ll have partial writing days on Saturday and Sunday as well as our stumble-through, sound check and first show at our new venue on Sunday evening. Then early next week, must Margaret will get quite a few pages to read so she can let me know if I’ve done okay and if it all holds her interest.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, finesse, write, do a jog of some sort, write, eat, hopefully pick up packages, write, finish the commentary, then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of John Huston, Errol Flynn, and Orson Welles? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland where I shall dream of The Roots of BK or, when I’m traveling, The Routes of BK.