Well, dear readers, first things first: It is Friday. And they say there’s never any worthwhile news here at haineshisway.com. I gotta tell you. Second things second, we went up to 65% in our Indiegogo campaign for the LA show and added several new perks, so check them out and please contribute if you can, you lurkers.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/l-a-now-and-then-a-new-musical-revue/x/9165600#/
Third things third, yesterday, despite one slightly irritating e-mail in the morning, was actually quite a pleasant day once I’d nuked it. I was up by ten with not quite eight hours of sleep. I printed out some more orders, added the perks to the Indiegogo campaign. Then I went and had a cup of soup and a sandwich, then came right back home. I do believe that Mr. Mailman decided to just not show up in our neighborhood today – at no time was there ever a mailman within three blocks of here.
Fourth things fourth, the galley and covers were approved and the book is off to the printer, so I should have both softcover and hardcover in the next week or so. Then I can order books, so we’ll have them sometime in mid-March.
Fifth things fifth, I had a surprise visit from our very own Mr. Nick Redman – those are always a treat, I must say. And he graciously donated 10 Twilight Time Blu-rays for a perk – mostly musicals, including one long out-of-print title, Bye Bye Birdie. The cheapest copy out there is close to fifty-five bucks, with some much higher than that. The package of ten discs saves you around $125, when you factor in shipping, which is free when you contribute to Indiegogo. We laughed and laughed and just when I thought we could laugh no more, we laughed again. Then he left and John Boswell arrived and we had a really fun work session, mostly doing the put-togethers, of which there are quite a few. We futzed with some endings and it all went very quickly and easily as it always does with John. And oh those songs.
Then I added the David Byrd original art perk, and that sold instantly, so that was great. I found a better ending for one of my new songs and I adjusted some of the final verse’s lyrics and I’m very happy with it now. In fact, I think it will be the second song in the show – it just feels like the perfect second song – charming and fun. Then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched one of the all-time kooky movies on a brand new Twilight Time Blu and Ray – it’s entitled La Bambola di Satana (Satan’s Doll), an Eyetalian film from Eyetaly that is kind of mind-bogglingly awful in a very entertaining way. It’s kind of thought of as a giallo but it really isn’t. It’s more like Gaslight and a who’s doing it – one of those films that exists solely because the producers were able to rent a kind of castle on a hill. The plot is fairly incomprehensible, other than some bad person wants to buy the castle and will stop at nothing to make that happen – I think that’s the plot. The whole show is post-synched so that the words issuing forth from the actors’ mouths rarely match what they’re actually saying and this gives the film a hallucinatory quality that’s mesmerizing and occasionally laugh out loud funny. Dario Argento this isn’t. In fact, it’s the director’s one and only film. It’s a spectacular debut if you want to see a director who never knows the correct place to put the camera and who has no idea how to direct an actor. And the cameraman is right there with him. The lighting in this film is the funniest you’ll ever see. My favorite is when the heroine of the film (I think she’s the heroine) turns off the light in her bedroom at night, and yet the bedroom basically stays fully lit only you don’t know where any of that light is coming from. That’s basically true of all the indoor scenes. And I think they couldn’t afford a focus-puller on this movie – frequently the camera will move in to a closer shot, which because no one’s adjusting the focus on the move renders the rest of the shot completely out of focus – and no, dear reviewers, that’s not a transfer problem. The transfer’s pretty good, actually, with nice, garish color. The musical score adds yet another element of high comedy, and I’m just here to tell you you need to see this movie – just buy it and thank me later.
I then watched the first forty minutes of another new Twilight Time title, this one entitled Cowboy, starring Glenn Ford and Jack Lemmon (and a host of great character actors), and directed by the always underrated and wonderful Delmer Daves. I’ve only seen it once before, quite some time ago, but this is a seriously great movie, with fantastic dialogue (apparently courtesy of Dalton Trumbo), great performances, gorgeous cinematography, and a brilliant score by composer George Duning. I’ll write more when I finished, but the transfer is spectacular. Highly recommended by the likes of me.
After that, I relaxed, worked at the piano, did a jog, and got the new eBook files from the great fellow who did the conversion and boy did he do a wonderful job. He sent two different files – one for Kindle (called a mobi file, which is what Kindle likes best), and one an ePub file, which is what Nook likes best. I uploaded to Kindle and that should be live by tomorrow at the very latest. Then I uploaded it to Nook, but had to fill out all sorts of vendor information, which now has to be confirmed. When it is, then the Nook will go live immediately.
Today, it’s back to the storage facility and going through the rest of the boxes. Then we’ll hire a U-Haul and get everything out of there and over to the other storage facility and I will never EVER have to pay that rental charge again, and that’s a good thing. At some point I’ll eat, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, do some banking (my first pension check – or two checks – should really be her before the end of the month), and then relax.
Tomorrow, I’m seeing another Barry Pearl youth production of 13, and that’s rather a long drive. Then I’m supping with Muse Margaret and her ever-lovin’ Richard and I cannot wait. I’ll also jog in the morning before heading out to the two o’clock matinee. Sunday there’s something going on but I can’t remember what. Monday is our first Kritzerland rehearsal, then the rest of the week is meetings and meals, our second Kritzerland rehearsal, the stumble-through, and then the following Tuesday, the show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, throw out more stuff and remove everything before Monday, I’ll eat, I’ll jog, I’ll bank, I’ll hopefully pick up packages, and then I’ll relax. 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, who knows? Blu and Ray, Cowboy, and then Support Your Local Sheriff. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have given you first things first through fifth things fifth.