Well, dear readers, it is late and therefore I must write these here notes in a hurry because they should have been up thirty minutes ago and yet they weren’t. This has been a pattern for the entirety of yesterday so I’m just going to dive right in. First of all, until someone pointed out to me that there was no Ask BK Day topic, I thought it was Tuesday. This is what happens when you are in the home environment day in and day out for over five weeks now. You lost track of time and time loses track of you and everything is discombobulated and askew, not necessarily in that order. I gotta tell you. I awoke at eleven-thirty after not quite seven hours of sleep, but normally I start doing stuff and then I feel fine. But yesterday I started doing stuff, did stuff, and just felt like I had to get back in bed. Prior to that, I got a few tracks, most of which were fine and then went to the singers – a couple needed finessing and that got done, too. I had to deal with some e-mails and texts, if you get my drift about “had to deal.” And then, I just plopped back into bed and slept for another couple of hours, arising at three.
Once arosen, which is the Jewish arisen, I plopped down in front of the computer, answered more e-mails, heard revised tracks, and then did other work that needed doing. Grant came by and set up a tripod and a ring light and a thing in which one puts their iPhone. They also included short sticks, which is what I’ll end up using for the Kritzerland show. The ring light and phone thing fit on that, too. I had a nice telephonic conversation with Hartley Powers, whose doing all the technical coordination for the show. Then I set up the short sticks, light ring, and phone, and did a test and I don’t look too horrendous thanks to the ring light, which softens what needs to be softened, like my entire self.
Then I made a Red Baron pepperoni pizza, regular crust. While they look huge on the photo gracing the box, they’re not really huge, really about three normal size slices, I’m guessing or maybe four. Now, I had never turned on the oven on this stove because I’m a Jew and was positive I’d blow up the house. That’s a shame because I could have been broiling a steak or baking what is it, fish all this time, but that’s neither here nor there nor there nor here. I figured it out just fine, got the thing heated to 400 and put the pizza, as suggested, right on one of the racks. Then I went off to do some stuff and, of course, forgot what time it was supposed to be ready and let it cook ten minutes longer than it should have, resulting in a lovely black pizza. So, in the trash that went, but happily I had another Red Baron, same size, just a different kind of crust – this called brick oven crust. I put that in and took it out at the right time and ate it all up and I must say, having had nothing but awful frozen pizza in the past, this was actually pretty tasty. So, that’s good to know. Other than that, I had some assorted sweets for my sweet, nothing too caloric. I think I escaped around 1400 calories all in.
After the adventure of the two pizzas, I did some work at the piano with the tripod and phone camera – trying to get an angle where I could shoot video of my hands playing because when Richard Allen does charts that’s very helpful to him, to see my chord voicings. I got it close but not quite, so I’ll be adjusting until it’s good enough for him. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched Winnetou 2, which was basically the same as Winnetou 1 – same basic why can’t the Indians and white men be friends and live in peace. And then there’s the renegade band of bad men to screw it all up for everyone, but in the end the good white men and the Indians win the day. This one was shorter and better and all in English. The color is pretty vivid on these (they’re in scope, too), and this one had beautiful Karin Dor, who’d been in the very first sauerkraut western, which featured these characters but wasn’t part of this trilogy – I have that Blu-ray and went looking for it but haven’t found it yet. Of course, just a few short years after Winnetou 2, Miss Karin Dor would star in Alfred Hitchcock’s Topaz, in which she plays a Cuban woman named Juanita. I’m wondering if she’s dubbed in that film since she’s German. I might be ready to watch Topaz again, but I hate the transfer because the color is dreary and brown.
After that, I did more work on the computer and then completely lost track of time. I was grabbing a bunch of wonderful Nelson Riddle instrumental albums from the Tube of You, none of which have had CD releases. They’re all really fun and Riddle was one of the greats, no riddle about that. He was also a terrific composer and did a handful of great scores, including our own release of Paris When it Sizzles, plus his great score to Stanley Kubrick’s film of Lolita, which I’m actually listening to now. And you know what’s funny about it – like several soundtracks from the early 1960s it had both a mono and stereo LP release – Tom Jones was another example of this and there were more – but the actual tracks are mono on both versions. And yet, I always bought the stereo and I guess we were all just lulled into thinking it was bad stereo or something.
Today, I think for a change I’ll get up whenever I get up, then hopefully there will be more tracks to approve. I’m going to definitely write the entire commentary today to get that off my plate. Then I’ll hopefully pick up some packages and mail, I’ll eat something that’s here, either more frozen things or maybe some egg and cheese burritos – we shall see. If I can hold out till six, I have some groceries from Ralph’s being delivered and there’s stuff in that that I could eat. I’m sure I’ll watch and listen, too.
Not sure what’s up for the weekend, other than listening to and approving tracks and having rehearsal Skype or Zoom sessions with the singers. I’d like to do those sooner than later, but until they all have their tracks there’s no reason. And then we gear up for the show all next week and of course we’re heading into a new month, the merry month of May and may May actually be merry.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, get up whenever I get up, hopefully approve more tracks, write commentary, hopefully pick up packages, eat, get a Ralph’s delivery, and then watch, listen, and 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 – yes, a day late, but better late than never, as the old saw goes. 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, having burned one pizza but found success with another.