Well, dear readers, at two o’clock it will be three o’clock. Yes, Daylight Savings Time Returns, earlier and earlier. Too early, if you ask me, which you didn’t. So, we lose an hour of sleep. I, for one, do not like losing an hour of sleep, especially when I don’t get to sleep in as I thought I’d be able to. But noooo, the paperback book show, which I thought was next Sunday, is today and therefore I must be up by nine. Given the panic and hysteria that is running rampant and which also rampant is running, it will be interesting to see if it’s well attended. In any case, Daylight Savings Time Returns and we all get to lose an hour of sleep thanks to the Daylight Savings Time people.
Yesterday, I did sleep in and got nine hours of blessed sleep. Once up, it was the usual once up things – answering e-mails, having telephonic conversations, and then going to the mail place and picking up one package and no important envelope, which I then sent an e-mail about. I went to Ralph’s and actually saw someone wearing a surgical mask, something which people have specifically been asked NOT to do. I saw two people with only two items in their shopping carts, but huge numbers of each of the two items – toilet paper and water. If anyone is truly worried that if they get sick they might need a year’s supply of toilet paper, I recommend Amazon – they have plenty and it arrives very quickly. As to water, don’t most people have filters in their house or those big fancy refrigerators? Many do, and yet they’re still buying bulk plastic bottled waters. Go know. I got one huge crab leg thing and some shrimp cocktail shrimp, came home, cracked the many sections of this huge crab thing, even though I could not locate my cracker thing, which I know I bought at some point. I had to this cracking by hand and it was not easy, but I got all the crab meat out and made some cocktail sauce and ate it all up. I had some Cheetos extra crunchy things with it, as the crab itself is pretty much free calories.
I did some work at the piano, did some stuff on the computer, was told the book page would not be ready until today probably, and then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I went into the garage and looked at this huge pile of Warner Archive DVDs I’d gotten years ago, two-thirds of which I’ve never watched. So, I brought a few into the house. I chose The Crowded Sky, a movie I saw at the Wiltern Theater back when it came out in 1960. From the coming attractions and poster, it seemed like it was going to be something like The High and the Mighty, one of my favorite childhood movies. Well, even back then at twelve I knew it wasn’t The High and the Mighty or even close to it – one of the few movies I saw at that young age that I just didn’t like at all – maybe my expectations were expecting too much but I found it a total bore until ninety-five minutes in, when we finally get some drama with a plane crash.
The poor actors are saddled with cliched characters spouting cliched dialogue, frequently in voiceover, which lead to endless flashbacks of no interest. The actors are all okay – Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Anne Francis, Dana Andrews, John Kerr, Keenan Wynn, Rhonda Fleming, Troy Donahue, Joe Mantell, and many others. It was a flop back then and watching it again after all these years it’s still a flop. The most interesting thing about it was watching the actor called Don Gilson, playing a method actor, flying on the plane with his agent, played by an amusing Patsy Kelly. I was curious about Mr. Gilson, so I looked him up and found that he’d died VERY young, at twenty-eight. Then I read more and found out how he died. He’d married a Playboy playmate and aspiring actress named Saundra Edwards. They’d split up over domestic violence issues, and he, in a drunken rage, busted into her house, threatening her and she shot him to death. Yes, that was more interesting than anything in the film itself. And though the shooting was ruled justifiable homicide, Saundra Edwards’ career was basically over.
I then watched about fifteen minutes of a motion picture entitled Al Capone, which is about – Al Capone, played here by Rod Steiger. We also get Martin Balsam and lots of other character actors of that era – amusingly, I also saw this at the Wiltern Theater the same year I saw Li’l Abner there. It’s not very good, but Mr. Steiger is fun and the score by David Raksin is very good. I’ll finish it up, maybe this evening.
Then I relaxed, ate the shrimp cocktail shrimp, had a few more Cheetos, and listened to music.
Today, I must be up at nine, which will really be eight, and I’ll shave and shower and then mosey on over to the paperback show, where I’ll be signing from eleven to twelve. I’ll get there a bit early so I can look around the room. I’m hoping some folks I know show up to say hi. I’m bringing Nudie Blu-rays and Creature DVDs and a couple copies each of Thrill Ride, GEE, and Murder at the Magic Castle. I’ll try to be out of there by noon-thirty at the latest, and I’ll go directly to the theater to see our matinee. Kay Cole will be there, and I’ll sit with her, and then we’re supping afterwards, so it will be nice to catch up on things. Then I’ll come home and watch and listen.
This week is all book stuff, all Kritzerland show stuff, all meetings and meals, and whatever else needs doing. And staying on my diet.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, spring forward, I must do the paperback book show, I must see our matinee, I must sup, and then I must relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, as Daylight Savings Time Returns.