Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to Toscanini do Elgar’s Enigma Variations, with its most famous variation playing as I’m typing these here notes – Nimrod, it’s called, and it’s a stunner. I feel we could call these here notes the Enigma Variations, since they’ve always been that since November 9, 2001 – variations on an enigma. I, myself, am something of an enigma and an enigma of something. I wish I could tell you WHAT but it’s an enigma. This entire paragraph is an enigma, but we won’t get to the variations until the second paragraph. But I don’t feel we have enough enigma in this paragraph yet. Here’s an enigma – why is the word enigma so close to the word enema? Or is an enema an enigma? When I was a child, enemas were a real thing that people did. Not me, oh, no, not me, there was no enigma about an enema with me. Now, you never really hear the word enema anymore unless you’re having a colonoscopy. What the HELL am I talking about. I may have to rename today’s notes, Enema Variations rather than Enigma Variations. Ah, well, perhaps a little Toscanini Mendelssohn Midsummer Night’s Dream will get us to the next paragraph and its variations.
Yesterday was a perfectly pleasant day, I suppose. I got just under eight hours of sleep, got up, did things that needed doing, had some telephonic calls in which we smoothed out a few tracks I needed to get for the group numbers and then I got those fixed tracks and sent them on their merry way.
Then I made myself a turkey sandwich on rye with coleslaw, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing, and I must say it was pretty great. I ate that all up, along with a pickle. After that, it was back to Kritzerland show stuff, lots of e-mails, and all that took most of the rest of the day. At some point, I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched two motion pictures of Brian de Palma, whilst I continue going through his films. The first was Blow Out, starring John Travolta and Nancy Allen. The de Palma FANatics LOVE this movie; they think it’s a masterpiece. It isn’t. It’s a bad movie with a plot ripped off from Blow Up, all style, no substance. De Palma wrote it himself – well, he does better with other writers. The opening sequence is fun, the acting is fine, the ending is, for me, ludicrous and the reason for the film tanking at the box-office. It looks good, the score is nice, but in the end it’s all sound and fury signifying nothing.
Then I watched Dressed to Kill, which everyone thinks is a masterpiece, too. I’ve always loathed this film – it’s Vertigo, it’s Psycho, and it’s tiresome. Anyone who doesn’t know the deal as soon as the first murder occurs hasn’t seen many movies. Some people say they were totally taken in by the film and I simply do not see how that’s possible. No fault of the actors, although I truly don’t like Dennis Franz in anything, and the music’s great and so is the photography. Paul Hirsch didn’t edit this one and it seems a little clunky in that regard. But one tires of the visual regurgitation and did we really need the Carrie ending again? So, for me not a masterpiece at all – a few okay sequences and that’s about it.
After that, I listened to some music, as you know, but realized I’d never left the home environment so as soon as these here notes are posted, I’ll go take a little drive, just to get some fresh air.
Today, I’ll be up by eleven at the latest, then I’ll do whatever needs doing, hopefully pick up some packages, eat, then we have the first two Zoom sessions from three to four. Then I have a break and I’ll do Kritzerland show stuff and hopefully get folks more tracks, and then I have the third Zoom session at seven. After that, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, she of the Evil Eye will be here, so I’ll have to go do stuff until noon. I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, and I’ll figure out what to eat and do Kritzerland show stuff, and then I can relax. Sunday can be a ME day, I think, and then next week we’ll try to get the two group numbers and the duet done.
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, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, eat, have two Zoom sessions back-to-back, do more stuff, have a third Zoom session, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – CD, a LOT of Toscanini. Blu-ray, more de Palma. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy we have the Enigma Variations rather than the alternate variations.