Well, dear readers, I am writing these here notes early so I can get them scheduled to post just after midnight (presuming that function works as it did when I tested it last week), then get to bed by ten or ten-thirty, as I must be up very early in the morning to go to the airport and then fly to Washington DC to work with the East Coast singer for a couple of days. So, please send your strongest most excellent vibes and xylophones for a safe, secure, and on-time flight.
Yesterday, she of the Evil Eye arrived at nine and I did a three-mile jog, after which I did some banking. I then moseyed on over to the Sherman Oaks Hamburger Hamlet, where I had their Market Salad, which I’m very fond of. I also had a piece of garlic toast. I was with the Staitman clan and it was quite fun. Then I picked up a package that turned out to not be for me at all – it was in my box, looked like something that I would have gotten, but upon opening it I found a book about China. So, I looked at the packing slip and saw it was for a different person who has a box number that’s mine inverted. So, the helper will return that on Monday.
Once home, I began writing the contextual commentary for the next Kritzerland show. I got about half of it done and then had to take a break. I packed, put some things on a flash drive and then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I finished watching The Only Game in Town, the last film of George Stevens. I didn’t see the film when it came out (it was a huge flop and wasn’t around long) but it was one of the first 16mm prints I ever bought and I kind of really liked it a lot – it just had this whole weird feeling about it, and I was a fan of anything to do with gambling, and also a fan of star Warren Beatty. I thought Elizabeth Taylor was miscast even back then – she just didn’t understand that there was some actual humor in the script and story and she subverts all of that. One can only imagine how good Tammy Grimes must have been in the short-lived play version. Beatty gets it fine. I’m not always a fan of composer Maurice Jarre, but I really like his score for The Only Game in Town. Over the years, I found out why the film has such a weird, disconnected feel to it (which I like) – it’s because Miss Taylor had the clout to have the film shot in Paris, France because her husband, Richard Burton, was making a film there. So, you’ve got a backdrop of Vegas that’s quite weird looking – a combo platter of models and backdrop. But after the shoot in France they did end up having to do a few weeks of shooting in Vegas – the real Vegas, the desert Vegas, not the overcrowded theme park that it is today. This is the first time I’ve seen the film all the way through since I owned my print and I found it very enjoyable to revisit, despite the wrongness of Miss Taylor’s performance (not all of it – she does wounded very well). There is some very good dialogue, and I love the gambling scenes at the craps table. We really wanted to put out the score in conjunction with the Twilight Time Blu and Ray – that was the intention, but sadly it really only existed as a music and effects track (as you’ll hear on the isolated score track), so sadly it wasn’t possible. The transfer is fantastic – beautiful and perfect color, and looking splendid. Some will probably complain of some occasional softness, due to the diffusion filters used on Miss Taylor, and there are a couple of grainy opticals that get blamed as if that were a transfer problem. I recommend the Blu-ray highly. For most, it will be a very pleasant discovery, I think.
After that, I buckled down Winsocki and finished the commentary. The first go at the commentary is all about the facts and figures, then I always go back, several times in fact, and put the humor in – mostly that is absent on the first go-through. So, I’m bringing it with me, although I don’t know that I’ll actually finesse on this trip.
Then I just frittered away the rest of the evening – had a nice telephonic conversation with Mr. Nick Redman, got caught up on e-mails and such and that was that.
Today, I shall be up very early, then I shall be on my way to the airport, and then I shall be on my way to Washington DC for a brief trip. I guess I’m on my own for dinner once I arrive as the East Coast Singer has a performance. I’ll probably mosey on over to the Capitol Grill, unless the hotel has a nice jernt, in which case I may try that instead.
Tomorrow, I shall have a work session and then I’m sure we’ll all go dine somewhere fun. Tuesday will be another work session, then we’re all going to see the Signature Theater production of Company, in which the East Coast Singer is appearing. I believe dear reader Kevin Hall is joining us for that. Wednesday I’m not sure if we’ll work at all – if not, I’ll just head to the airport at around three and then will be on my way back to LA and then the home environment.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be on my way to Washington DC, I must get settled and on the Internet in the hotel, and I must dine somewhere fun on my own. I’ll probably also use the treadmill, at least we hope they have one to use. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics of discussion 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, after which I shall be on my way to the airport and then on my way to Washington DC. Don’t forget to send your strongest most excellent vibes and xylophones for a safe, secure, and on-time trip.