Well, dear readers, sometimes I feel like my head is going to explode. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, sometimes I feel like my head is going to explode because there is just so much stuff in there, a jumble of things I need to do, things I need to keep track of, projects, details, names, dates, all of it rolling around in the windmills of my mind. Sometimes this translates into my thinking that everything is weird, even though it probably isn’t. Yesterday was a day that I thought was weird, and yet I cannot put my finger on why I felt it was weird. I got up at ten after eight hours of sleep and felt weird. I felt so weird that I did not jog. I did answer e-mails and I had a long telephonic conversation with a composer friend of mine that resulted in what will be a really good upcoming Kritzerland soundtrack project. Then I had a lunch meeting with Juliana Hansen – that wasn’t weird and yet I felt weird. Weird. Then I came home for a bit, was happy to find out that the packaging of our next release had finally gone in for approval, which will hopefully come sooner than later. Then I went to the mail place. As I was getting out of my motor car I heard a voice say, “Hey, curmudgeon!” I turned around and who did I see, but my old partner in musical crime, Vini Cirilli. It was great to see him and we had a really nice chat and I told him about the new book and we caught up and will be having a meal on Thursday. But the weird part was realizing I hadn’t seen him in five years – that’s just shocking to me. And weird. Then I picked up some packages, but the one VERY errant and truant package, supposedly shipped from the UK on April 30, five days AFTER it was supposed to have originally been shipped, still isn’t here. I wrote the person two days ago to tell him it hadn’t arrived, to no response, and I wrote him again today. If there’s no package tomorrow and no response tomorrow, I will then report this to the ABE, the online book dealer emporium from whence I made this purchase. I have some sort of protection there, and used Paypal, so I’m protected there, too. It’s irritating.
But the main weirdness of the day was the inability to cast two men in the next Kritzerland show. I got really annoyed by it and maybe that’s why everything seemed so weird. But, thanks to Juliana, we are now cast – she recommended two people she’s worked with, and they were both available and we just went with them. It’s flying blind, of course, but hopefully it will turn out fine. I was then finally able to spend the rest of the day finishing choosing the songs, assigning them, and now I can gather up the sheet music and make CDRs. One idea I thought might be funny was having Melody do Randy’s famous Political Science song. It’s always been done by a man, and I just thought having a girl who’s in school do it might be different and funny. I sent them the song, and I don’t think they saw what I saw. At least that’s the vibe I got – not that they said she wouldn’t try it, but there was no real enthusiasm – and that weirds me out, too, because I’m of the mind that even if it ends up being a bad idea that it’s fun to at least try it – because it could end up really working. That’s happened with several pieces of material that seemed quite odd to give to her – they ended up working wonderfully. But I immediately reassigned the song to one of the guys and gave Melody a ballad from the second Babe movie. Then I got annoyed with myself for doing that so quickly and wrote them a note saying I still think we should try the other song just to see how it sounds. I’ll sleep on it tonight, and maybe I’ll feel differently in the morning. Either way, it will all work out fine in the end. After all that weirdness that wasn’t all that weird, I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I finished watching the Blu and Ray of John Cassavetes’ film, Shadows. As I said yesterday, it’s a true independent low-budget film in a way films never are anymore. Back then, it was pretty groundbreaking, actually. It’s not very good, in truth, but it is interesting and the location shots of New York are just great. As the credit at the end of the film informs us: This film was an improvisation. And that’s what you get – no real story of any consequence, but some decent actors having interplay with each other and trying to be “real.” The transfer from the original 16mm negative, plus bits from two 35mm blow-up sources, looks pretty good.
I then began watching a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled DOA, based on the 1950 film noir minor classic. That earlier film is really very good – the story was completely unique back then (the film begins with Edmond O’Brien stumbling into a police station to report a murder – his own). The remake stars Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan and features a screenplay by none other than Mr. Charles Edward Pogue. I only got through the first forty minutes, so I’ll hold off with further comments until I finish it. Mr. Pogue is supplying me with some background details that I’ll include in my report.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must get a good night’s beauty sleep.
Today, I shall decide on which song Melody will do. Then the tape transfer guy is coming to pick up five reels of tape for an upcoming Kritzerland project that we’re very excited about. Then I’ll gather up all the sheet music – I’m hoping to get most of it via e-mail but I haven’t heard back from the gal who usually does that for me. If not, then I have to take what I have to the Xerox place, which I don’t really want to do but will if I have to. I’ll eat, hopefully pick up some packages, and then make everyone’s CDRs.
Tomorrow, I have errands and whatnot, and I may try to see if I can get to Teddy for a haircut, then I’ll be having a meal with Vini and I’ll give him his very own inscribed copy of the new book. Friday is more of the same, Saturday I’m having dinner and then seeing a play, and Sunday I have no idea what’s happening, but it’s something.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog if possible, decide on a song, gather sheet music, eat, hopefully pick up packages, make CDRs and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland where I shall divest myself of any and all weird feelings.