Well, dear readers, it is Friday. I say that because there was an epidemic going on around these here parts yesterday, especially on our beautiful handy-dandy discussion board, the epidemic being everyone feeling like yesterday was Friday when yesterday was Thursday. Even I, BK, succumbed to the malady. The malady, in case you were wondering, lingered on and was in Bb. So, to set the record straight, for there is nothing worse than a crooked record, today is, in fact, Friday and yesterday was, in fact, Thursday. What the HELL am I talking about?
I was going through some old photographs in my iPhoto library and I realized I had never put up any photographs from the production of Lost and Unsung that we did at LACC, so I’ve chosen three to whet your appetite a year and a half later. We did have fun doing that show, and perhaps one of these fine days we’ll just do the damn thing again. In any case, here is our very own Alet Taylor along with Damon Kirsche performing the title song from Sherry.
And here is my very own self and Alet Taylor – we’re singing the title song from A Wonderful Life, the musical version of It’s a Wonderful Life by Joe Raposo and Sheldon Harnick.
And here is Damon, the young, focused Melody Hollis, and the three LACC gals – Sarah, Alexis and Tara – the number is the title song from Smile.
Aren’t those lovely photographs – they were taken by Daniel Lam, a very nice chap. Thus ends the photographic section of today’s notes, today being Friday.
Yesterday (being Thursday), was a weird little day, with some highlights and some lowlights and some medium lights, not necessarily in that order. I got up around ten after eight hours of sleep. Getting up, of course, is always a highlight. I had a telephonic conversation with the tech guy about spam registrations creeping up in number every day despite captcha being on extreme. We both went into the admin panel and enabled questions – which means that not only do you have to put in the captcha letters, you also have to answer three questions of my choosing – random questions. We are hoping that that finally solves this problem, because if it doesn’t then registration will be disabled and people will have to send an admin e-mail and I will register each legit registration. But, here we are fourteen hours later and there haven’t been any spam registrations – so, knocking wood that the questions have done the trick and that the trick has done the questions.
After that, I realized it was too darn hot to jog at 100 degrees, so instead I finished the liner notes and got them off for proofing. Then I went and had some bacon and eggs and toast, oh my, after which I gave the motor car a well deserved and much needed bath. Then I picked up no packages and then I came home. I did a three-mile jog an hour later and thankfully it had cooled down just a bit, but still I sweated like a gazelle in a whorehouse. Then the medium lights occurred, with that busy work to be done – what a pain, but I began doing it nonetheless and also lessthenone. Then I had a telephonic call that was irritating (not the call, just the information), so I have to figure out what that was all about because it makes no sense on any level – it will require a visit somewhere at some point this day. After all that, I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture entitled Shanks, the final film of producer/director William Castle, starring Marcel Marceau in a dual role and cute as a button Cindy Eilbacher. WEHT Cindy Eilbacher. We occasionally hear of sister Lisa but never Cindy. I wonder how she’s doing and why she never calls and never writes. Of course I don’t know her from Adam and, for that matter, I don’t even know Adam. But I always liked her performances and therefore I feel she should at least drop me an e-mail sometime. As to the film, it is certainly a terrible movie and certainly one of the oddest films ever made. It has something to do with a deaf mute who is good at mime going to work for an elderly scientist or something and bringing dead things back to life by turning some buttons on a remote control. The dead also move like mimes thanks to the choreography of Mr. Marceau, who plays both the deaf mute and the old scientist. There is a title card early on calling the film a Grim Fairy Tale. There’s no real plot, I don’t actually know what Miss Eilbacher’s role is other than a kid that hangs with the deaf mute. Since she’s all of about twelve or thirteen there is a rather disgusting scene of a biker trying to have his way with her, which it looks like he does given her fate. But it’s hard to know if it IS her fate, if any of it is real, or what the HELL is going on. It’s all accompanied by outré Alex North music. One Internet wag gave this transfer four stars saying the elements used were in almost pristine shape. Note to wag: The plethora of white negative dirt and scratches would seem to belie the elements being in almost pristine shape. They’re not. The transfer is taken off a fading element, probably a CRI internegative. I’m sure the film never looked too good, but it certainly could look better than it does here. The movie was a huge box-office failure, but for some peculiar reason Roger Ebert almost gives it a pass from his review at the time. A curio at best, but I was happy to finally catch up with it. I’ll now just await my e-mail or telephonic call from Miss Eilbacher.
Then I had a fun little message volley with Miss Monique Vermont, Amaryllis from the movie of The Music Man. Those who’ve read Kritzer Time (and all the best people have) know that at fourteen years of age I was in a summer acting class with Miss Vermont (just before I started high school) – she was thirteen at the time. We became friends and had some really fun telephonic conversations that I remember with some fondness, until her mother shut those conversations down since I was “older” – one whole year. I had not heard hide nor hair of her until about eight years ago where in these very notes I asked the same question I just asked about Cindy Eilbacher and the next thing I knew I got an e-mail from a nice gent who was in touch with Miss Vermont. And the next thing I knew, she called me and we had the loveliest couple of chats and I sent her Kritzer Time so she could read all about our little time together. She remembered the phone conversations and her mother putting a stop to them. She’s in Virginia now, teaching kids to do what she did so well back in the day. Had I realized her school was in Virginia I might have tried to have a get-together. But the purpose of the message volley last night was to see if there was any way she could get out here for the August Kritzerland show, which is a Meredith Willson/Gene de Paul evening. She said she’s going to try to work out her schedule so she can – it would be so much fun to have her there so I could tell our little story and introduce her. We’re keeping all digits crossed and you can send excellent vibes and xylophones that it all happen.
After that, I went and got a foot-long Subway Club as I’d only netted out at 650 calories. It was quite good and I ate it all up.
Today, I have a work session with Shelly Markham – we’ll do our arranging work and figure out the put-togethers – it shouldn’t take more than about ninety minutes, then I’ll have something to eat. I’ll try to be up early enough to jog before the work session and before it’s too darn hot. Then I’m seeing a play and probably going out after.
Tomorrow, she of the Evil Eye will be here, and I’ll just do errands and whatnot, eat something light but amusing, and then relax. Sunday will be more of the same, and then Monday begins an extremely busy week, starting with announcing the new Kritzerland title Monday morning, then the rehearsals, meetings and meals, stumble-through and sound check and show, plus finishing all the busy work I have to do, and doing a new set of liner notes.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, jog, have a work session, eat, and see a show. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – CD, a bootleg of Meredith Willson’s 1491. Blu and Ray – not sure what’s next on the pile o’ discs. Your turn. Also, what are your favorite Meredith Willson and Gene de Paul songs? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland at the end of the confusing day that thought it was a Friday when it was a Thursday.