Well, dear readers, it is late, my mind is a whirling dervish of thoughts and more thoughts and therefore I must write these here notes in a hurry but before I do just what the HELL is a whirling dervish anyway? Well, here’s one, just for reference.
But a whirling dervish is also a person whose behavior resembles a rapid, spinning object. It can result in fidgeting and incessant babbling. A whirling dervish can often be irritating and exhausting to people in the immediate vicinity. And we’re all about that here at haineshisway.com. Since I have been dealing with one particular whirling dervish for months I can tell you it is indeed exhausting, so much so that I may simply put an end to it this very day. If I do, you will, of course, get the full story. If I don’t you’ll still get the full story, not just right now. When you have the same conversation fifteen times something is not right. Someone is not having the ability to hear, listen and understand. And if that is never going to change then plugs must be pulled I’m afraid. And I have been at that point several times over the last twelve weeks, and I’m teetering on the edge at this very moment. And that’s all I’m saying about THAT.
Yesterday, prior to the teetering, which occurred late in the evening, I’d arisen at seven in the morning, written down some notes, then I finally fell asleep again at nine and slept until ten-thirty. Once up, I futzed and finessed and changed and fixed and added and subtracted. The idea of what I’d written the previous evening was all fine, but I didn’t like the execution of it so I got it to where I did like it. There are two back-to-back chapters that are absolutely critical and that have to work a certain way, and I have to get it just right. I think after the redo it was much closer. I then wrote three more pages before leaving for the theater.
It was our final matinee and performance in the theater where we’ve been doing the show. We now go dark for ten days or so, then reopen in their bigger space on February 1. We had a full house and they were a very happy and responsive audience and it was a very good show. I left right after and came back to the Valley. I went and had a ham and Swiss on rye and a small fries, then some rice pudding, all very good. Then I came home and futzed and finessed the morning’s writing, although I was pretty happy with it. I then wrote another three pages or so – I haven’t decided whether to end the chapter where I am (it would be a fairly short chapter if I do) or to just continue within this chapter, which is what I’ll probably end up doing. After that, I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I finished watching The Cassandra Crossing. I saw it when it came out, and I’ve seen it only a couple of times since. It stars Richard Harris, Sophia Loren, Burt Lancaster, Ann Turkel, Lee Strasberg, Ava Gardner, Martin Sheen and many others. You get the idea. It’s one of those Lew Grade things from the 70s. It’s not very good, but I’ve seen worse. The script is the real culprit, but the saving grace is a quite good Jerry Goldsmith score, and the transfer is very nice. It’s on a double-bill Blu and Ray with The Domino Principle, which I talked about last week.
After that, I finessed a bit more and that was that. I also made my first pass at a show order for the Kritzerland show. I then got the two whirling dervish messages on my telephonic device and I had to take a nice hot shower after hearing them, just to wash it all down the drain. I then responded – since they’d gone to sleep I left what can only be described as a terse message.
Today will be an all-writing day of all writing. I shall write in the morning, I shall write in the afternoon and I shall even write in the evening. My goal is to do at least six pages and maybe even get to seven or eight. My other goal is to get the Kritzerland commentary done or at least partially done. It’s also my goal to eat and hopefully pick up some packages. And we’ll have to see how the whirling dervish dervishes.
Tomorrow, I will, of course, write all morning, then I begin teaching a musical theatre workshop at LACC and that continues until Friday. It’s each afternoon, three to six and we’ll have Lloyd Cooper with us on Thursday and Friday. I’m very much looking forward to getting to know this new crop of young actors and to see who we’ll be using in Li’l Abner. Other than the workshop, I’ll be writing, prepping our next release, which is a really good one, and maybe having a couple of meetings and meals.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write all the livelong day and evening, both book and commentary, eat, hopefully pick up packages and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite all-star disaster films? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall put aside all thoughts of whirling dervishes.