Well, dear readers, let me just begin by saying that yesterday was BK’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It began with a thud as soon as I left the house and despite several nice moments, it could not recover. Some of it is my own damn fault, but some of it isn’t. I shan’t go into unnecessary detail because I hate whiners and complainers and I just don’t do that. I drove around seething for an hour, then parked and played on my phone until she of the Evil Eye was finished. Our stumble-through was early so I got home just fifteen minutes before its start.
I was in a foul mood, but just seeing our wonderful cast and having all that wonderful, positive energy in the house made me forget the travails (better still, the entrails) of the morning. So, we had our stumble-through – I always worry about certain shows we do but it’s always for naught – I was worried how a bunch of disparate songs would all play out in the structure I’d created, but it really worked out great. This cast is terrific and perfectly suited to their material. We had only a few lyric fumfers but I’m assured they will not happen today. Other than that, I had some tempo notes, a few things to smooth out, but basically it went swimmingly and was a good antidote to the earlier entrails.
After everyone left, I had to deal with the entrails again, which I did as well as I could. It required a quick trip to Hollywood and back, and then I was just so disgusted by that point that I went and had a patty melt and a cup of chili and then I came home and stayed home, trying to just stay happy and positive in the face of entrails. In the Face of Entrails – that’s the title of my next novel.
So, I printed out my commentary and got everything ready for tomorrow (it’s unusual, but I have some visual aids for this show) and put all that stuff in the motor car. I did a jog, did some work on the computer and then finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched another powerful documentary about the failure of our lovely justice system, this one entitled The Central Park Five, about the five young people arrested and convicted of the horrible beating and rape of a jogger in Central Park. I remember it all very well – the rage, the fury, the media, the questions. The media tried and convicted these fellows, just as the police, prosecutors and the mayor. The damning part for the jurors were there videotaped confessions. But once you hear these five people tell how they were badgered endlessly, lied to, and then coerced and/or coached by the detectives, you start to understand. The detectives, I’m sure, don’t feel they did that, but when you watch the confession tapes, and the disparity between them, well, you can draw your own conclusions. Apparently the fact that none of their confessions matched at all in any details, didn’t seem to matter. The fact that there was NO physical evidence anywhere didn’t seem to matter. The fact that there was NO DNA evidence didn’t seem to matter. They were guilty, convicted, and sent to prison, and the prosecutors and detectives celebrated. Most of them got out within seven years, with one serving longer prison time. Eventually they were all released from prison. And then a funny thing happened – someone else, a convicted rapist from THAT neighborhood, who’d never even been considered a suspect, despite the similar MOs of the cases, confessed, and HE provided the details that the convicted never did or could because – they were not there and they didn’t do it. The confessed person’s DNA matched and that was that, only guess what, it wasn’t. No, do we think the prosecutor apologized? No, the prosecutor said she stood by the conviction because of the confessions. Uh huh. Shame on her. The media gave the overturned convictions not a tenth of the coverage they gave the trial, and some of them also said they believed the convictions were correct, because the one thing we’ve learned is that no one will admit they were wrong. What does that say about this country? One journalist who’s interviewed throughout admits he feels guilt over the whole thing – he’s apparently the only journalist with a heart and mind. The police were wrong, the prosecutors were wrong and the media was wrong. The End. While many people are interviewed, guess who wouldn’t take part? Yep, the police and the prosecutors. This film was made in 2012 and we learn that a lawsuit filed by the five men has yet to be settled – after a DECADE. Well, it was settled last year to the tune of $41 million dollars. But the city admitted no wrongdoing whatsoever. It’s a very well made film and worth catching if you happen to have the Flix of Net.
Today, I shall hopefully arise after a good night’s beauty sleep and I shall relax and rest my voice until it’s time for sound check. So, please send a few more excellent vibes and xylophones for no sickness and a healthy and strong orotund voice. Then we do the show and I will, of course, have a full report for you.
This week, well, who knows what this week will be like? Hopefully, the entrails of yesterday will go away so send some excellent vibes and xylophones for a better week. We need a better week. I’ve got some meetings and meals, Tuesday night Greer Geissman is coming over and we’re conforming the script to Welcome to My World to reflect whatever changes I made in rehearsal and during the run. I know there are other things – events and whatnot, but I’ve written none of them down and must do so as I remember what they are.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, relax, rest my voice, then do a sound check and show. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics 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, hoping that we’ve seen the last of the damn entrails.