Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry for she of the Evil Eye will be here all too soon and I only got five hours of sleep the night before so need to get some kind of sleep this night. So, as I write these here notes I’m listening to some wonderful monophonic recordings from Andre Kostelanetz. He, like Percy Faith, Don Costa, and others like that, made albums I loved as a kid. Kostelanetz was a marvelous conductor and his albums were all very popular, especially in the 1950s. I recently got a few of those on CD and they’re quite a treat. I love the suites from shows that he did, so we get Showboat, South Pacific, Porgy and Bess, and then terrific versions of An American in Paris and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue. I believe all those are on one handy-dandy CD from Collector’s Choice. I suppose those would have been called easy listening albums, but those kinds of LPs were real treats for me, and I learned a great deal from hearing them – it’s how I discovered a lot of stuff. Kostelanetz also did a fantastic album of Villa-Lobos music in stereo and that’s worth seeking out on CD. I also got a Kostelanetz does Gershwin CD – that one wasn’t as much to my liking, mostly because I found the arrangements a bit lackluster, but it was still fun to listen to. He did a nifty cover of The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and quite a few albums comprised of current hits of the day in the 60s and 70s – most of those included lots of then-current movie themes.
Yesterday, I must tell you, began badly before morning ever hit. I just happened to open the new, fixed hardcover sitting on my worktable, just glancing through it. And I got to Part Two and the page did not say Part Two – that’s page 119, for those who have the book – it said Part One again. I couldn’t believe it. It was correct in the first printing of the book, but when they fixed the minor problem, they somehow, and believe me no one has been able to explain this to me, put a second Part One where Part Two should be? First of all, the PDF we send is LOCKED, cannot be changed, and yet, it was changed. I was so furious I could barely sleep and barely did – five hours. I’d written a very long e-mail and included photos so no one could question that it had been correct in the first batch and I asked my gal to call me in the morning. Instead I got a call at nine from the head of production telling me they were fixing it and it would be resubmitted on Monday and a new test book would be sent. I’m afraid I went off on her a bit – asking how this could possibly happen, telling her they had to replace all twenty books that just arrived, for free and with overnight shipping, and that I wanted my gal to call me within fifteen minutes, as she’s the only one I trust and she also has the great ability to calm me down. I did not get that call – she was on other calls or in a meeting, so I immediately got the sales rep on the phone and he got his boss and they both commiserated and no one in this entire company can explain why this crap has happened – these inane errors that supposedly cannot happen. I reiterated again that I wanted my gal to call and that I also wanted the production gal to call. The latter did and I told her that in fixing THIS issue it better not introduce any others, and I suggested she might just want to look and use the damn PDF we sent, which of course was perfect.
Then I got ready to leave for my noon o’clock meeting, but still hadn’t heard from my gal, so I just wrote everyone an e-mail saying that if that call did not come I would pull all eighteen books and give them to another publisher instantly. I left that same message for my gal. That got me the call. She apologized but said she didn’t want to call until she had information – I told her better to call with no information, just to calm me down so I don’t have a terrible day worrying about this stuff. She will do that from here on in and she’s on top of this. I also think she’s completely embarrassed for the company’s ineptitude. And who can blame her. So, once again I am waiting to have the book I should have had originally. I’m sure I’ll have the test book by the end of next week and then the twenty books the week after. What a pain in the butt cheeks.
Then I had a nice lunch meeting regarding the Richard Sherman event I’m directing. It was productive and we all had some nice food – I had a bacon and cheese omelet, fruit, and a bagel. After that, I went to the mail place and picked up one package, then came home. I did some work at the piano and on the computer, printed out a few orders (not as many today as I’d hoped for), then finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I finished watching the silly but entertaining Roy Rogers oater, Trigger, Jr. I was very pleased with the transfer. Then I watched another episode of The Outer Limits, this one called The Man Who Was Never Born, and it was, I must say, terrific. Incredible photography by Conrad Hall, expertly directed by Leonard Horn, with wonderful performances by Shirley Knight and Martin Landau. So far, that’s my favorite of the six I’ve watched now. Then I watched a weird movie on the Flix of Net, called Una, starring Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn. Not great, but with some interesting scenes, based on a play by David Harrower that played twice on Broadway – both times with Jeff Daniels – in the first production Alison Pill and in the revival, Michelle Williams. It’s complicated material and I’m guessing it works better as a two=person play.
Then I listened to some music and relaxed.
Today I’ll be up early, go have a light breakfast, do errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up some packages, then I’ll come home, do the show order and start writing commentary, try to finish the song I’m working on (bridge and final verse to come), and then I’m relaxing and zoning out.
Tomorrow, I’ll relax until I mosey on over to The Federal for sound check for Kay’s show, then I’ll sup, and then it’s show time. Next week is super busy with all the usual stuff, and prepping two new releases.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a light breakfast, hopefully pick up packages, do a show order, work at the piano, write commentary, and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite really controversial books, plays, and movies? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall hear the lovely stylings of Kostelanetz.