Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to a very good Japanese composer called Saburo Moroi, tonight’s discovery. I’m enjoying his symphonies. The most interesting things about all these wonderful Japanese composers I’ve recently discovered is how not very Japanese their music sounds. Well, that was fascinating, wasn’t it? About as fascinating as yesterday, i.e. not very much.
Yesterday, I managed to get ten hours of needed sleep, not arising until one-thirty. I was happy to get the sleep but not happy to get up that late, which, in the words of my close personal friend, Mr. Stephen Sondheim, is sorry/grateful. Once up, I had to catch up on a lot of e-mails, which I did. I’d been letting e-mail orders pile up, so I got all those sent to the helper, and we got some book orders and of course am hoping for more. I would like to think this book would be of interest not only to folks who like what I do, but to aspiring songwriters – the trick is to let them know it exists and that is harder said than done. It is also harder done than said, not necessarily in that order. I heard nothing from the publisher, which I figured I wouldn’t, and I never went to the mail place, after ascertaining the important envelope wasn’t there. I did hear back from the person I’d e-mailed about it and she said she’d check on it but that the mail was being especially slow.
The around four, I went to Gelson’s and got hamburger patties (they didn’t have any pre-wrapped, which was weird, so they made them for me, but unfortunately they were much thicker than I like, so I only had two rather than the three I normally do over the course of the day and evening. I came home and made the two burgers and other than them being too thick, they were excellently excellent. I also had some Cheetos and that was my food intake for the day and evening. Then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a Warner Archive DVD I never got around to watching, entitled The George Raft Story, a motion picture about the story of George Raft. I’ve always enjoyed Mr. Raft’s performances, none more so than his brilliant turn as Spats Columbo in Some Like it Hot. He had a distinctive look and VERY distinctive voice. This film is quite bad, however, mostly fiction, and, of course, Mr. Ray Danton neither looks nor sounds anything like Mr. George Raft, which is a bit of a problem in a movie called The George Raft Story. Mr. Danton isn’t bad, he just isn’t George Raft. The rest of the cast is either okay or amusing on some level, and includes Miss Jayne Mansfield, Barrie Chase, Neville Brand, Herschel Bernardi, Frank Gorshin, Pepper Davis and Tony Reece, and Jack Albertson. The dialogue is not so hot, and neither is the direction by Joseph M. Newman. But I always cut Mr. Newman some slack because he did direct one of the greatest one-hour TV shows in history for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour – An Unlocked Window. He also directed the curiously inert This Island Earth. Anyway, it only made me want to see some real George Raft movies.
After that, I had some telephonic conversations, listened to the symphonies (at least the available ones on the Tube of You) of Saburo Moroi and relaxed.
Today, I really need to be up by eleven at the latest, I’ll do the usual morning things, eat, hopefully pick up some packages and an important envelope, hopefully get more book orders, do work on the Kritzerland show, and then at some point perhaps I’ll be able to relax, watch something, and listen to more music.
The rest of the week is meetings and meals, hopefully approving the galley and cover proofs of the book, and going and doing and doing and going, and then we begin the final performances of the play, which ends on Sunday. Doug is having a partay on Saturday night, after the show, so that will be fun. The Pearls are coming to the final performance and we’ll be supping afterwards. Then the next week is very busy with stuff, including the Darling Daughter’s birthday and it’s a big one for her. Hard to believe, actually, and so I shan’t believe it.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven at the latest, do stuff, eat, hopefully get more book orders, hopefully pick up some packages and an important envelope, work on the Kritzerland show, and then relax, perhaps watch something, and listen to music. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of tough-guys George Raft and Edward G. Robinson? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, having had a not very fascinating day.