Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry, for she of the Evil Eye will be here all too soon and I must get some semblance of beauty sleep. So, let me just say that I am sitting here like so much fish, finishing listening to Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana, which is very enjoyable, I must say. Before that, I listened to Britten conducting some of his warhorses – A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Four Sea Interludes (but not quite the usual versions), Simple Symphony (a wonderful work), and the Frank Bridge Variations. These are simply the finest performances of these pieces and it’s a very pleasurable greatest hits compilation. And prior to that, I listened to an opera by Alexander Von Zemlinsky called Der Zwerg (The Zwerg aka The Dwarf), conducted by James Conlon with singers I’ve never heard of. But no matter, it’s really good and I want to hear it again right away. And, of course, we are sitting on pins and needles as well as needles and pins waiting to see if part three of the major miracle will arrive. We need the most excellent vibes and xylophones we can get, so send ‘em along.
Yesterday was kind of a Friday kind of a day. I got seven hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, did some work on the computer, did things that needed doing, then I went to the mail place and picked up a few packages. I came home, ordered the usual thing from the California Chicken Café, and that arrived twenty minutes later. I ate it all up and was of high quality. After that, I began proofing and that continued sporadically throughout the day and evening – I did a bit over fifty pages. Then I saw the effects sequence for project one aka Tonight’s the Night, and it came out great, so that’s done and this weekend we’ll have the end titles and get those cut in, then all that will remain is whether we use the smoothed-out sound or what we already have. Hopefully, that will happen this weekend, as well. After that, I got an invite to stream this movie that’s gotten great reviews, called Promising Young Woman, starring Carey Milligan. It’s another in the series of all men are jerks movies, wherein the heroine gets even – in this case, it’s all very au courant in its storyline so of course critics are falling all over themselves about it – interestingly, the few bad reviews it’s gotten were by women reviewers – the men are giving drooling raves – brownie points, perhaps is the goal. I ended up enjoying some of it, but it took half the movie for that to happen and the film would work better if it were fifteen minutes shorter. And there is not a single male character that escapes unscathed, except for a lawyer character who begs forgiveness on his knees yet. Even the one male you think is a good guy, has a bad past. Carey Mulligan is very good in the lead role. Alfred Molina was the only other actor I knew and his performance in the film goes completely unbilled. It’s a revenge piece and takes a couple of unexpected turns toward the end, but the end works in its own way, I suppose. Certainly not a great movie, but it was okay, mostly due to Mulligan’s skill in fleshing out her character.
After that, I finished watching The Pajama Game. I really don’t care for the film that much – it’s not as good as the Damn Yankees film that followed. But oh, the transfer is fantastic. Then it was listening, which you already know about, so I shan’t repeat myself, oh, no, I shan’t repeat myself.
Today, I’ll be up at eight-thirty, then I’ll go have a light breakfast, I suppose – outdoor dining is open again, so I may find somewhere to sit, have a bite to eat, and proof. I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, I’ll wait to hear what’s what with the final stages of project one aka Tonight’s the Night, and of course proofing will happen throughout the day and evening, and at some point, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow is more of the same and I’m hoping to finish proofing and begin entering the fixes and get all that done. Once that’s done, then I get the book to the proofers. Next week is all Kritzerland show stuff, locking project one aka Tonight’s the Night and getting that ready for its February 10 premiere showing, plus we’ll be in a new month and it will be a good one if the major miracle completes itself as I’m praying it will.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things, I do, I must, for example, be up at eight-thirty, have a light breakfast whilst proofing more pages, hopefully pick up packages and maybe an important envelope, wait to hear what’s what with project one aka Tonight’s the Night, proof some more, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of Miss Doris Day? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, hoping the miracle of miracles comes to pass sooner than later, with the help of your most excellent vibes and xylophones.