Well, dear readers, I think in a mere two days I will be older, older than I already am and even though I am younger than springtime, I’m old enough to know better than I’m younger than springtime. But I shall retain my youthful spirit even though getting up from the couch would belie whatever youthful spirit I have. But age is merely a number – and as numbers go, mine will hopefully be an audience pleaser like Hello, Dolly. I’m just rambling here, which, I suppose, is better than rambling there. Sometimes I’m rambling here, there, and everywhere. Sometimes I’m a ramblin’ rose. But I think rambling is part of being old enough to know that one is rambling but young enough not to give a flying Wallenda. But let’s not jump the gun – I’m still my current age and no one can say different. Otherwise, I’m sitting here like so much fish, listening to all the Schreker operas a second time, and thus far my favorite is, by far, Die Gezeitchneten, which translates to The Time Counted – at least that’s the literal translation, but on Wikipedia it also has The Branded and The Stigmatized, which is also the title of my next novel, an homage to Norman Mailer, which is no mean feat since I’ve read not a Mailer word. Die Gezeitchneten is filled with wonderful melodies and beautiful orchestrations and I felt neither branded nor stigmatized as I listened to it again, but I did count the time, just to be literal. Die Gezeitchneten is based on the play Hidalla by Frank Wedekind, who more modern audiences might know as the author of Fruhlings Erwachen, which became a little musical called Spring Awakening. Die Gezeitchneten has had quite a few performances in the past decade as people discover just how good it is, and one of them was right here with the LA Opera, with James Conlon conducting, which got raves. That was recorded and I found a copy for eight bucks, so I’ll hear that performance, as I like that conductor very much. The most amazing thing, I suppose, is that it now has ten count them ten recordings. I bought the one on Decca in their Entarte music series and I can’t imagine a better version, but we’ll see how the Conlon is. What the HELL am I talking about? Aren’t I about to be older and wiser in a mere two days?
Yesterday, I was still my current age. I arose at eight-thirty after seven hours of sleep and was out of the house by nine-twenty. Just before leaving, I called Hugo’s and ordered pasta papa to go. I drove over there and they brought it to the car and so that was a way to kill time even though I wasn’t seated at a table. It was excellent, as always. I brought my own salt and Diet Coke. I spent about eighty minutes eating and playing on the phone, then I drove to the mail place and picked up what turned out to be two packages from the day before. Then I came home and relaxed for about ninety minutes, after which I moseyed on over to the Group Rep to reshoot a close-up.
I arrived at two and the stage had been reset for the shot, but that was easy because we had a still frame from an earlier close-up, so we got the same exact angle and size and all you really see of the set is a bit of the window unit. Hartley and Harley arrived (Harley to give Hartley her off-camera lines) and Hartley was already in costume and her older age makeup. The sound guy, Sammy, got her miked, and just as I predicted, it took exactly two minutes to get the shot and that was running the five lines twice.
They put sound and video files on a little thumb drive I brought, and then I drove over to Marshall Harvey’s house and gave it to him. After that, I came directly home.
I did a little work on project two, went through a chart with Richard Allen (the only chart he did – all the others were done by my friend Joanie, who goes by other names now), got everything fixed, and he’ll finish orchestrating that one. I think by the end of today he’ll have four songs fully orchestrated, which will leave him six to go. I’m so curious to find out exactly what this project one thing actually is, aren’t you?
Around five, I had a very low-calorie Healthy Choice frozen dinner thing – it was pretty good. I also had a bagel with cream cheese. Then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I finished the last twenty minutes of Nights of Cabiria, which I enjoyed. I still don’t love it like I love other Fellini films. The transfer is excellent. Then I watched a new Japanese Blu-ray of La Jetee, which I basically got for free by using points I’d accumulated over the years at a Japanese site. The Criterion Blu-ray came out in 2011 and was an older master with a huge amount of gate weave. But there was a major restoration of the film two years later, and this is the first home video release based on that restoration – it’s rock solid and much more detailed – fantastic visually. The only downside is there are no English subtitles, but I know the film well enough to not need them. But it also includes the English dub of the film, and that’s how I first saw the film and I’m quite partial to the English narrator, who’s really excellent. So, I watched it that way, too, and was just bowled over by how good it looked and sounded.
Then I watched the first thirty minutes of Fellini’s Il Bidone, starring Mr. Broderick Crawford and Mr. Richard Basehart, along with Giulietta Masina. This is never rated very high in the Fellini canon – in fact, it’s rarely even mentioned. I’ve never seen it all the way through – I had a UK Blu-ray from about four or five years ago and had never watched anything but the opening two or three minutes. Well, I’m really enjoying it and it’s very much of a piece with the Fellini oeuvre of that period. I’ll finish it up tonight, but I can tell you that the transfer is fantastic. The film was cut for its initial release, but this is Fellini’s original version.
After that, I listened to music and realized that in a mere two days I will be a New Age me, but I will not feel either branded or stigmatized. No, I will not.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, then at two o’clock I’ll be at Marshall’s to see his cut of Doug’s playlet. I think it’s funny that that’s what I’ve called his play for weeks – no one else was calling it or any of these playlets but now they all are. Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing it and I can’t imagine I’ll have many notes. After that, I’ll come home, perhaps stopping and picking up some food or other, maybe a Wolfgang Puck Caesar salad, or maybe a burger from somewhere. I’m not going to have anything delivered, that’s all I know. Then I’ll do some work on project two, hopefully do fixes on the second to last chart, then I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
This coming week is all project two, fixing the last of the charts, but mostly the Kritzerland show, which is next Sunday on Facebook and YouTube Live. I also have to send out an eBlast to my people.
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, see a cut of Doug’s playlet and make any adjustments, if there are any to make, I’ll eat, I’ll hopefully do fixes on a chart, work on project two, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy not to feel branded or stigmatized, or to put it differently, Die Gezeitchneten.