Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to the Ray Heindorf recording of Spellbound, with its wailing theremin, and I’m thinking a wailing theremin is the perfect sound for this crazy time we’re all living in. I am also happy to report that yesterday it was 91 degrees, but actually felt hotter due to bad air quality. And tomorrow is supposed to be even a little less – let us hope temperatures are on the downward curve now. It’s currently 72 degrees outside as I write these here notes, whilst it is currently 80 degrees in the house, something I will never understand after cooling the house down twice during the day. So, I’m cooling it down yet again. What else can I tell you? I can tell you I love the music of Ruth Gipps is what I can tell you. I finished listening to all that I have – just delightful. But as I said, I have enjoyed every female composer I’ve heard from the mid-twentieth century – folks like Grace Williams, Doreen Carwithen, Dora Pejacevic, Germaine Tailleferre, Florence Price, Lili Boulanger, and lots o’ others. If you have spare time, find ‘em on the Tube of You and give ‘em a listen. And tell them Bruce-O sent you. What else can I tell you? I can tell you how excited I am about next Sunday’s show, I can tell you that. In fact, everyone involved is excited, as we gear up for the big day. Most of the heavy lifting is done, thankfully, with only a little light lifting left. The theremin is wailing away and it makes me want to get a razor and slash some unsuspecting rutabaga. The Unsuspecting Rutabaga – that’s the title of my next novel, a root vegetable mystery, the very first of its kind. What else can I tell you? Well, I can tell you that I don’t know what the HELL I’m talking about.
Yesterday, I actually managed to have a bit of a ME day. I slept eight hours, arising at noon o’clock. Once up, I didn’t have many e-mails, there wasn’t much that needed doing, so I dove in and wrote the day’s two cast stories on Facebook. Then I called in an order for three beef tacos to Casa Vega and ten minutes later I picked them up, came directly home, and ate those suckers all up, one after another and boy were they great. They gave me chips and salsa, too, so I saved those for a snack, since the calorie count of the three tacos was around 750. After that, I did a little bit of work on the computer, after which I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I finished watching The Big Heat, a film of Fritz Lang, and one of the best film noir movies ever made. The script is terrific, the characters are terrific, the actors are terrific, and Mr. Lang’s direction is perfection. There are two scenes that still shock all these years later. One can’t say enough about Gloria Grahame’s performance, which is simply perfect. And would you like to know how many Oscar nominations this classic had? Zero. Never underestimate the stupidity of Hollywood. If you’ve never seen The Big Heat I cannot recommend it highly enough and the transfer on the Twilight Time Blu-ray is superb.
After that, I fell asleep before the next movie even got past its opening logo and astonishingly, I slept for an hour. The I watched the movie, Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound, which I had a hankering to see, since I hadn’t actually watched the Blu-ray I got quite a few years ago. I’ve always liked Spellbound, although I do recognize its weaknesses. It’s Hitchcock, so of course it’s well directed, and Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman are wonderful, as is Leo G. Carroll and the rest of the large cast. And I like the story. As a kid, seeing it on TV, my favorite bits were the dream sequence designed by Salvador Dali and the flashback to the childhood accident that has traumatized the lead character his whole life, which is still shocking in how graphic it is. The Miklos Rozsa score was a knockout then and it still is today and it really made the theremin popular and the score was oft imitated. The transfer is surprisingly good – lots of opticals, but the non-optical stuff is sharp and clean.
After that, I did a short Gelson’s run and got tomorrow’s food – an 8 oz top sirloin steak – I’ve never broiled in this oven so it’s high time I did – and some lettuce and scallions for a salad with Good Seasons Eyetalian dressing, along with some mushrooms and onions for the steak. And all very calorie friendly – the steak’s less than 600. Once back home, I listened to music and relaxed.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll write two more cast stories on Facebook, I’ll eat the steak and salad, presuming everything is up to snuff with the broiler, which I assume it will be, then I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, and after I’m done with everything, then I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow will be the final two cast stories, plus one for Doug Haverty, and then on Thursday I’ll begin the day with the huge shoutout for past Kritzerland performers and then at 6:00 PDT and 9:00 EDT we do our one and only Facebook and YouTube Live test, and we do hope you dear readers will join in the fun – I’ll be answering all the questions that were asked on Facebook and having fun. And then it’s straight ahead to show day on Sunday, for our tenth anniversary show at 5:00 PDT and 8:00 EDT on Facebook and YouTube Live, and again I’m going to recommend watching it live, as I haven’t decided whether I’m going to keep this one up or not after it airs. And believe me, live is the way to go on this one, for the surprises.
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, do whatever needs doing, write two cast stories, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of Mr. Glenn Ford and Miss Gloria Grahame? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, as I continue to devise the clever plot to The Unsuspecting Rutabaga.