Well, dear readers, this week is flying by, like a gazelle playing the autoharp. Does anyone still play the autoharp? I remember the autoharp from my childhood, and I know they’re still around and you can buy one, but do they actually get used in some way? I’ll be you think the autoharp has been around for a ‘coon’s age, but it really hasn’t. The patent for the autoharp was granted in 1926, for example, although an early version of the instrument was invented in the late 1880s. I want to play the autoharp now and yet I do not have an autoharp because I believe the autoharp has fallen out of favor. I feel these here notes would be very stylish if they were accompanied by a slightly out of tune autoharp, don’t you? I no longer have a clew as to what the HELL I’m talking about, which is a slight problem for the beginning of these here notes. One thing more about the autoharp – there is nothing really auto about it – it’s played manually so shouldn’t it be manualharp? Or maybe it was meant to be played in the car – then at least AUTOharp would make sense.
Well, then, that was a complete waste of a paragraph, wasn’t it? Yesterday was a day I don’t really have much memory of. It was Columbus Day so banks were closed and there was no mail, although, as it turns out, I had one piece of mail at the mail place, but it must have come in after I was there on Saturday or maybe I never went in on Saturday. They told me what it was when I called today and yes it fell under the category of annoying mail and hopefully it will be the last annoying mail for the next decade. I will, upon retrieval, promptly deposit it into the trash unopened. Where was I? Oh, yes, yesterday. I do remember getting up at six in the morning and announcing the two new Kritzerland titles. That always takes a while to post that information everywhere it needs to be posted. Then I went back to bed and fell asleep around eight and didn’t get up until eleven-thirty, so I did manage to get eight hours of sleep, although not consecutive hours. Then I got up and printed out a bunch of orders, then had to drive to the Bank of Bur to deliver the hard drive with the footage from the first two episodes of Outside The Box, season two to our assistant editor. He will now load everything into the computer and get the sound synched up with the video so that when our editor comes back in town (end of the week), he can start right in. Then I went and had a sandwich and no fries or onion rings, after which I came home. I now have a list of songs for the next Kritzerland show, but it’s too many and I’ll have to whittle it down as soon as our last cast member is confirmed. When you’re dealing with Rodgers and Hammerstein (and one or two Harts and one or two Sondheims) it is VERY difficult to whittle it down because one simply wants to do everything. But it will be subjective and personal to my likes, as these shows are, and I think that makes it at least interesting, choices-wise. Then I printed out more orders, had some telephonic conversations, did some work on the computer, went to Gelson’s for some snacks for the evening, and then came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I finished watching From Russia, With Love on Blu and Ray and I really do like most of it very much. Two of the reasons it works so well are Robert Shaw and Lotte Lenya. The latter is one of the great Bond villains, Rosa Klebb and her scenes are electrifying and brilliant. It’s too bad she didn’t do a lot, film-wise. Then I watched the first hour of Goldfinger, and as I’ve said before, that’s the Bond film where everything came together perfectly. In fact, I would argue the series never topped Goldfinger. It tried, failed, and then went off in such weird directions, but Goldfinger, for me, remains the apex, the acme, the top of the heap. Again, the cast is just so strong – Connery is in his element completely, Gert Frobe is the definitive Bond bad guy, Honor Blackman is a perfect Pussy Galore, and Shirley Eaton surely makes the most of her one scene role. Harold Sakata is fantastic as Odd Job. Of course, I knew Mr. Sakata immediately because I saw him time and time again when he wrestled at the Olympic Auditorium under the name Tosh Togo. It’s also the first Bond with what I consider to be a real score – not just a collection of assorted ladled on cues, but real movie music – and it’s a great John Barry score indeed. And a new director seems to have perked everyone up, and Guy Hamilton really does a masterful job. Every scene in the film works beautifully. The transfer on From Russia is now six years old and while it looks good, I do believe there was some Lowry processing going on and I think a new transfer would look amazingly better with what people are doing these days. Goldfinger looks better, but I feel the same about that one – and you know, since Mr. Bond’s film adventures are fifty years old it’s a shame they didn’t do all new transfers for the key films.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must get some beauty sleep.
Today, I shall hopefully print out more orders, I shall try to jog, then the piano tuner is coming to tune the piano. After that, I shall eat something light but amusing, I shall hopefully pick up some packages and no annoying mail, I shall finish casting the Kritzerland show and then finalize and assign the songs, get the sheet music and get everyone their material, and I shall continue to work on casting the next two Outside The Box episodes. Tonight I may or may not try a new foot massage place in the Oaks of Sherman – rave reviews on Yelp – because my foot massage place has closed up shop.
Tomorrow I’m having lunch with Miss Alet Taylor, Thursday I have a meeting of some sort and then I’m seeing Justin Love, a new musical Alet is in, and on Wednesday and Friday nights I’m finessing the mixes on the Christmas album. Not sure what all is happening on the weekend.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, maybe jog, hopefully print out a LOT more orders, have the piano tuned, eat, hopefully pick up some packages and no damn annoying mail, finish casting and maybe have a foot massage. Today’s topic of discussion: Because we’ve been having such fun reminiscing about the LA and Hollywood of old, I’d like to hear from all dear readers about where they grew up and how it was back then in their towns – so, what was your favorite movie theater, your favorite eateries, your favorite bookstores, shops, and places to go – and how has the town you grew up in changed? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where my dreams shall be accompanied by the autoharp manually.