Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to the last bits of the mighty Miaskovsky as I contemplate my navel. Prior to contemplating my navel I was contemplating my naval, which is a whole other story. I have to vamp now because I don’t really have all that much to tell you about yesterday other than I had my first Freshly yucky experience with their rigatoni Bolognese. I simply think they had the wrong microwave instructions because the pasta was cold and the taste off-putting. I gave it another minute, but by then I knew it was going into the trash and that is exactly where the damn thing went. But more about that after I vamp (pmav, spelled backwards). Right now I’m vamping in a bouncy C, in 2/4, like a Jerry Herman show tune. Prior to that, I was vamping in the key of Cb, which isn’t all that easy and certainly not as easy as vamping in the key of B. Well, perhaps I’ve vamped enough – what am I, the Theda Bara of haineshisway.com?
Yesterday was slightly peculiar but not all that bad. I didn’t fall asleep until four in the morning, so I slept right through to noon for a total of eight hours, thank goodness. Once up, I answered e-mails, did some work on the computer and at the piano, and then around one-thirty had my first Freshly meal – a three-bean turkey chili thing that was pretty good, actually. After that, I went and picked up one little package and came right back home. Since this was planned as a ME day because the next two weeks will not have any time for such days, I then sat on my couch like so much fish.
I continued watching the Alfred Hitchcock hours – but I’m just skipping any episodes directed by Alf Kjellin, who is just terrible, and any that just don’t catch my fancy. I’ve done the final two discs of season two, and went back and began at disc one of season two, and thankfully the first episode of season two was pretty good – Ray Milland, Beatrice Kay, and many others, in a story by Robert Bloch, and well directed by Herschel Daugherty. But the reason I was so taken with it was the young actress who had the leading part – I’d neither seen nor even heard of her before. Her name is Claire Griswold – so adorable and really good performance she gave. So, I immediately had to know everything about her. First of all, she passed away just a few years ago at seventy-two. Second of all, and most interestingly, at the time she did her first Hitchcock hour, which was in the first part of season one, Hitchcock put her under personal contract at the same time he put Tippi Hedren under personal contract. And for Marnie it was between the two of them – and I can’t help thinking how interesting she would have been as Marnie, as she’s certainly a better actress than Tippi, and I’m taking nothing away from Tippi. So, why didn’t this woman have a career. She was literally done by 1965. Well, I’ll tell you why – she got married and had kids and retired from acting. And who did she marry? Mr. Sidney Pollack and they remained married until he passed away. She had a real Natalie Wood quality to her and it’s a shame she gave it all up. None of the other episodes I watched in full were too good, even the ones that had decent casts and directors. So, patiently waiting for the next great one to appear and I’m on the final two discs of that season – isn’t that amazing – a season fits on six DVDs, four episodes per DVD.
Then I had a call from she of the Evil Eye who told me she had a minor car accident and could she come next week – of course I said yes and she’ll be here next Friday, and I’m kind of glad I don’t have to be up early or kill time. Then I did a two-and-a-half mile jog and thankfully it was easier than the previous day’s jog. Then I watched a bit more Hitchock hours whilst eating the second Freshly meal after having tossed the rigatoni in the trash – the chicken risotto, which was fine. Then I listened to music and relaxed.
Today, I do have to go over the commentary and adjust the order of a couple of things and make sure I’m happy with it all. I’m going to skip the final Freshly meal until tomorrow, I think – it will still be good, and tonight I’m meeting Kay and her ever-lovin’ Michael for dinner. They’re going to see Dial ‘M’ for Murder, so I thought I’d eat with them and then perhaps see the show. If I do, then I’ll just go to the theater for the talkback tomorrow.
Tomorrow we have our final talkback – otherwise I’m pretty much just relaxing. Monday we have our first Kritzerland rehearsal, albeit a short one, since two of our cast members can’t be there – their first rehearsal will happen on Wednesday. I have a lunch meeting on Tuesday, then our rehearsal on Wednesday, our second Kritzerland rehearsal on Thursday, stuff on Friday, stumble-through on Saturday, and then sound check and show on Sunday.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, go over the commentary, have dinner, and see our show. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite classic vamps – the opening music of a song – an example would be New York, New York’s famous opening vamp, or Together, Wherever We Go’s Jule Styne vamp. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have vamped and been the Theda Bara of haineshisway.com.