Well, dear readers, I’m feeling like this is a Thursday kind of Thursday, as opposed to a Monday kind of Thursday or a Saturday kind of Thursday. A Thursday kind of Thursday is what this feels like even though I’m writing these here notes whilst it is still a Wednesday. So, yes, I’m projecting, which happens when you’re my age. One projects – it’s not pretty. If anyone has a clew as to what the HELL I’m talking about, please keep it to yourself because if you tell me I may start projecting even more.
Yesterday was a perfectly okay day – only one slight irritant that I had to deal with and we’re fine so it passed pretty quickly. Even one slight irritant is one slight irritant too many, so I’m hoping we an get through today and tomorrow with no further irritants of any kind. Damn them, damn them all to hell. I got almost eight hours of sleep, answered e-mails, did some work on the computer, then went and had a bacon and cheese omelet and a bagel for my meal o’ the day. I picked up one package, then came home.
I decided to put the new operating system, Sierra, on my laptop – that’s what I did with El Capitan and it enables me to make sure I like it and understand it. It’s also JUST been released so there’s no way I’ll put it on the big boy computer until all the bugs have been worked out. It took about an hour to get it on the laptop and I didn’t really spend much time with it, but the one fun thing it adds is Siri – so I tried that out and it really works well. I’m told that this new system really makes the Cloud work well. I don’t really know from the Cloud that much, but I’m sure I’ll play with the new system and find out all the goodies.
I did a two-and-a-half mile jog, added a friends and family discount code for The Brain from Planet X and sent out an eBlast – thus far resulting in not one sale, which I find both astonishing and astonishing, not necessarily in that order. People just love to wait until the last second, which makes things a little too scary for my taste, but you simply cannot change human nature. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night I finished watching Cat People, the new Criterion Blu and Ray of the Val Lewton classic. I enjoyed it more than I ever have. The direction is superb (Jacques Tourneur, one of my favorites), the writing is a little florid but good, it runs seventy-five minutes, and all the actors are very good. The transfer is really nice.
Then I watched the new Blu-ray of Carrie, the Brian De Palma film of the Stephen King book. As readers of my first memoir know, I had a meeting with Mr. De Palma and Mr. George Lucas in the dual casting sessions they had for Carrie and Star Wars. I saw the film the day it opened, at the ten o’clock show – I can’t remember if my then wife was with me, but I know Diana Canova was. I thought it was a really good movie with one of the greatest “scream” endings ever. I mean you could probably have heard the scream in Rancho Cucamonga. I’ve seen it many times since and it always surprises me how beautifully constructed and paced it is. It really moves along. Some of the writing is a little clichéd for the mean kids but somehow De Palma never lets the tone of the film get away from him. All that said, there are three things that make the film work so beautifully – the third thing is William Katt, who’s just so charming and natural and his scenes at the prom with Carrie are simply movie magic. The second thing is Piper Laurie, who gives an absolutely astonishing performance as Carrie’s wacky mum – she does so many unpredictable and fresh things with a role that could have gone off the rails had the actress not been perfect, which Ms. Laurie is. And the first thing is, of course, Sissy Spacek. She is so luminous, so touching, so the character – she is the heart and soul of the movie and gives it a heft and emotionality that none of the other versions have come close to. The new transfer, touted as a 4K transfer off the original camera negative, is very lovely. It’s much better than the older Blu-ray transfer, although the usual wags are saying that older transfer had a “red push” (these expressions kill me) – it was slightly redder, and the color in the new transfer is quite good, but one area in which the slightly redder older transfer works better is in Carrie’s prom dress – Carrie’s mom says “I should have known it would be red” and Carrie replies, “It’s pink, mama.” In the new transfer it’s basically white, in the older transfer it is a light pink. If you like the film you’ll be very happy with this new disc, and there’s a whole second disc of extras, most of which are new.
After that, I had a biscotti and a couple of pieces of chocolate licorice for a little snack, so a pretty low-calorie day, if you ask me. Then I relaxed and listened to music.
Today is, of course, a Thursday kind of Thursday, and I shall write, submit our next release for approval as soon as the last of the corrections are made, I’ll eat, I’ll jog, I’ll hopefully pick up packages, and I have a meeting either by phone or in person with the choreographer of The Brain concert. I want to complete casting of the ensemble so I can assign them the many roles they play throughout the show. I also have to find out what props they’re going to be able to do – I only really need four or five of the key things that are visual gags. Other than that, we’re all cast now – I’m using just one student, who’ll be playing Rod, the beatnik boyfriend.
Tomorrow is more of the same, and then I’m not sure what the weekend holds, although I would like to have a nice meal on one of the weekend nights or even tomorrow night. We shall see. Next week I have a lot of stuff to do, including auditioning about twenty kids from Calabasas High for our Richard Sherman evening, and then having one final work session with Kay Cole and John Boswell before we record her album that weekend at Capitol Records. Very excited to do that.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write, submit packaging, eat, jog, hopefully pick up packages, have a meeting, and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall have a Thursday kind of Thursday with hopefully no irritants whatsoever.