Well, dear readers, June is flying by, like a gazelle reading its signed copy of Simply – A Lifetime of Lyrics. Yes, before we go one minute more, the books did arrive yesterday, yes I picked them up (and kept asking if there were any other packages – no was the answer, even though I found out later there was – and I even called when the mail was done and went back to pick up two important envelopes and was still told no – well, yes, there was and now I have to go get it tomorrow – yes, I got them all signed over the course of about two hours. I had to do about six at a time and then take a break because my writing would get sloppy if I didn’t – doing the musical quote also took time. Yes, I got them ready for the helper to get today and I’ve told said helper that they really need to go out today if at all possible. She already has the boxes, so it’s just getting the shipping labels printed and calling the USPS to come get them. I’m so glad they finally got here – kind of outrageous they took a month.
Yesterday was an okay day except for the turmoil that everyone is aware of and I don’t mean the peaceful demonstrations, I mean the organized, disruptive looters who are doing everything they can to cause chaos and I hate these outside interlopers and they are exactly that. I’ll just leave it at that and pray that they start arresting them in droves, which they finally seem to be doing – that’s the only way to stop them. I only got six hours of sleep, got up, did stuff on the computer and answered e-mails, then went to get the books and a big box of Tide from Target, but unfortunately not the other package that was there.
I came right home, ordered pasta papa from Hugo’s, and began signing the books. Food arrived about twenty minutes later and it was really great, and I ate every bite of it. Hugo’s is the poster child for how to pack things to go – the bag is actually sealed shut, everything is placed carefully within it, and it’s always hot when it arrives.
In between signing, it was Kritzerland show stuff, telephonic conversations, and I even laid down on the bed and fell asleep for fifteen minutes. Grant came by and picked up a book, and then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish, still very tired.
Last night, I watched one of my favorites, the French movie from France called Les Yeux Sans Visage or Eyes Without a Face. In 1960, there were four horror film masterpieces and all of them were shocking and pushed many envelopes. The most shocking, of course, was Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, but right up there was Eyes Without a Face, and then there was Mario Bava’s Black Sunday and Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom. But Eyes Without a Face is the most poetic of these horror films, if you can equate poetry with horror. Georges Franju was a wonderful director and the cast is virtually perfect – Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, and most especially the brilliant Edith Scob, whose performance is one of the greats, even though she spends most of the film behind a mask. Her eyes are unbelievable. There is one scene that even now is so revolting it’s kind of amazing it wasn’t cut for the US – where this was shown on a double bill with The Manster – called The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus, an amusing title since there is no horror chamber or Dr. Faustus – and some of the worst dubbing you’ve ever heard, in addition to being about eight minutes shorter with some of its music gone. It’s simply a brilliant film with a unique score by Maurice Jarre and beautiful black-and-white photography by Eugen Shuftan. I never tire of seeing it and one could not ask for a better transfer – it’s stunning. Highly recommended by the likes of me.
After that, I listened to music, I had a little pizza thing for my snack (I mean little), and that was about it.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll retrieve the package I should have had yesterday and hopefully pick up some others, I’ll eat something, do Kritzerland show stuff, and we were originally going to do the first live test on Facebook Live tonight, but I think we’ll push that until tomorrow night, maybe even Thursday night. Then I’m sure I’ll watch, listen, and relax, not necessarily in that order.
The rest of the week is more of the same, with our tests and then she of the Evil Eye mercifully comes on Saturday, and then we do our Kritzerland show on Sunday, although if things haven’t calmed down we may push it, although I do NOT want to do that. Then I begin planning the July show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, retrieve the package from yesterday and hopefully pick up others, I’ll eat, do Kritzerland show stuff, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite horror movies – old and new? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy that the books arrived and will get shipped out shortly.