Well, dear readers, it was yet more writing yesterday – I think it’s just about all I did. Words, words, and more words, endless words that made sentences and sentences that made paragraphs and paragraphs that made me want to go out and kick a raccoon. But, I got one set of liner notes completely done and the second set two-thirds done so it was a very productive day, writing-wise. Otherwise, I got up late, I did a three-mile jog, I had a patty melt for my meal o’ the day, and then it was just words, words, and more words.
The only respite from the words was a couple of telephonic calls and watching most of a motion picture on DVD entitled The Fountainhead. I’ve had this for ages but never watched it, and, in fact, I’ve only seen the movie once before. It’s a bit heavy-handed, a polemic disguised as screenplay, with characters speechifying and laying on the philosophy with a trowel in classic Ayn Rand style (she wrote the book, she wrote the screenplay). And yet, like the Atlas Shrugged recent films I found myself loving every minute of it. First of all, the cast is fantastic, with Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, and Raymond Massey and a bunch of great character actors. The direction of King Vidor is wonderfully visual, and, of course, I do like the essential themes and philosophies of the film, themes and philosophies that would find full flower in Atlas Shrugged. Cooper was one of the most unique screen presences in the history of cinema. He was just one-of-a-kind and there has never been anyone quite like him before or since. Miss Neal is positively feral in her role and Raymond Massey gives what I think is his best performance, certainly right up there with his work in Woman in the Window. It’s all beautifully photographed with great art direction and a nice, noisy score from Max Steiner. The quality of the DVD transfer is actually quite nice.
I also watched the latest episode of Mad Men. It wasn’t quite as blah as the previous week, but I found it just pushed its weirdness way over the top, with the basic through-line of a Dr. Feelgood giving everyone speed injections and the resulting crazy behavior just feeling forced and not sustaining over the course of an entire episode. The cast, as always, was excellent and it was well directed, but it certainly didn’t grab me as this show’s best episodes have done. But it’s always been erratic in that way.
After that, I listened to some music, updated my Goodreads pages, posted a blog there, started a giveaway (I’ve done this for several books – I probably shouldn’t but I like to get them out to people who ordinarily wouldn’t buy them – and I only send the softcovers, which I get for free), and did some other work on the computer. Then I noticed it was already way after midnight and so had to buckle down, Winsocki and write these here notes. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get a good night’s sleep. That said, do you know that someone actually said to me they didn’t realize the Unseemly Button actually did anything and therefore they’ve never actually read the second half of the notes – I found THAT rather astonishing.
Today, I shall jog, I shall finish the second set of liner notes and get them on their way, then those two packages can go in for approval, I hope to hear about some tapes I have to pick up, I also hope to get the new version of our site so I can begin to play with it and make sure it’s all working the way I want it to – that’s supposed to come at some point now that they have the design completed and all the subsidiary pages. I will eat, I will hopefully pick up some packages, and then I may actually try to relax.
The rest of the week is meetings and meals, a work session with our musical director, a video shoot at the home environment with Nick Redman and the director of an upcoming Twilight Time release, and then I’m seeing a production of Parade, a musical I don’t really care for very much, but it features our very own Jenna Rosen, so I’m going for her. I also hope to hear some more thoughts on the new book. Jrand posted his really lovely review on amazon, so now we have two (Vixmom’s was posted on Saturday). The more the merrier say I.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, finish liner notes, maybe pick up some tapes, hopefully receive the working link to the staging site of the new version of haineshisway.com for me to begin playing, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: I can’t remember if we did Gary Cooper recently, but what are your favorite films of Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall dream many lovely dreams – the more the merrier say I.