Well, dear readers, this week is flying by, like a gazelle trying to explain nuclear fission to an aardvark. The aardvark, on the other hand, is still trying to figure out why it has two “aa’s” in its name and therefore cannot process any information about nuclear fission. This is called The Aardvark Conundrum. Are we really heading towards the end of this month already?
Yesterday was not an unpleasant day but there were a couple of times when it was close to tipping over into unpleasant territory, but I put the kibosh on that, baby, I put the damn kibosh on that. We’re not tipping those scales, baby, we are not tipping those scales, we are putting the kibosh on that. I was up a little earlier than I cared to be, thanks to the noisy builders who were building noisily. That was unpleasant but I put the kibosh on it. I got out of bed around nine-thirty, answered some e-mails, and had some telephonic calls. I did other things but I don’t remember what.
Then I went and had a Chinese chicken salad and a bagel, whilst doing my read-through/proofing of the new book. I did about fifty pages there, picked up a package, then came home and did another twenty-five pages. Then I decided to call Muse Margaret and run by her anything that I needed her to sign off on – I sometimes will change something that shouldn’t be changed and she’s very good about stopping me from being my own worst enemy. I thought it was a good idea to do that as I go, rather than in one long session when I’m done. So I ran by her all the little things I’d flagged except for the typos and things like that – and she was fine with about 90% of my little adjustments, which are mostly little deletions or small word additions, and 10% we left alone. That all took up most of the afternoon. I then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Wait Until Dark. First of all, I absolutely love Wait Until Dark. I saw it on its opening day at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood with a full matinee audience. During the finale, in which the theater’s exit lights were all turned off, there is “that” moment and the audience literally all jumped several inches off their seats and screamed as one. It was a genius moment that never fails to “get” me – over the years and many viewings I have figured out why and the why is because it doesn’t happen exactly when you think it will – it’s off rhythm and that is the genius of that moment and the staging, and it is helped immeasurably by Henry Mancini’s brilliant musical cue. Audrey Hepburn is great, Alan Arkin is so creepy and weird, Richard Crenna is also great as is Jack Weston. The young girl who plays Julie is the only person from the Broadway cast to do the film. Poor Efram Zimbalist, Jr. has the only thankless role – he’s not bad, but he’s asked to be fairly insufferable, under the guise of being a loving husband who wants his blind wife to be self-sufficient. It works for most of the movie, but not in the film’s final two minutes, when you just want to say, “Stop being a jerk – she was almost just killed.” The Mancini score is one of his all-time greats – just perfect. The transfer is MUCH better than the DVD but the color, while better, is still a little brownish for my taste. The detail is excellent as is the contrast, but just a bit less brown and it would be much closer to what the Technicolor prints looked like. Highly recommended by the likes of me.
After that, I had a little dinner with adorable Hayley Shukiar and her mom. It was back to Jerry’s Deli. This time I had the “senior” chicken tenders – not that the chicken tenders were old, but rather their eater is of that age. They give you less from that column, and it came with just a few fries – it was good and not too much. We had fun, and as we were finishing up, old pal Ira Heffler and singer Lori Donato came in, so we chatted with them for a bit.
After that I came home and decided to enter all the fixes that were approved and done, so that’s out of the way. I’m going to do that, as it will be nice to not have to do that all in one fell swoop. I put the kibosh on THAT, baby.
Today will be a reading/proofing day. I’ll eat, hopefully pick up some pacakges, and then keep on proofing. I’ll run however much I finish by Muse Margaret and then enter those fixes. I’m sure I’ll watch a motion picture, too.
Tomorrow I’ll proof, and then we have our first Kritzerland rehearsal, which I’m very much looking forward to. I’m hoping to be done proofing by Friday so I can print out the book for the local proofer, and get the other two proofers the book via e-mail. I haven’t a clew as to what is happening on the weekend.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, read/proof, eat, hopefully pick up packages, run the fixes by Muse Margaret, enter fixes, and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I will but the kibosh on any hint of unpleasantness, baby, any hint of unpleasantness.