Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to another wonderful Joe Hisaishi score to a Miyazaki movie, this one for Howl’s Moving Castle. I haven’t heard this since I bought it – it’s really lovely. Looking forward to revisiting the film, too. And I finished watching Castle in the Sky, which was, according to what I read, the first Studio Ghibli film and the third Miyazaki full-length feature. It’s very good, entertaining, but not quite the polished masterpiece that his subsequent films would be. Again, I watch in Japanese with subtitles and, for me, that’s the only way to watch, although this is one where you could possibly check out the Disney dub. When they first released it to DVD, they had Hisaishi completely rescore the film and instead of the synth/orchestra score of the original, he did a symphonic score with much more music and, of course, it changes the entire feel of the film. There was so much pushback that they ultimately restored the original score and all the blessed silence for those sequences that played that way. But on this Blu and Ray they do give you the option of watching with the symphonic score, so I might watch just a bit of that. I’m so happy that I was smart enough to buy all these soundtracks when they first came out – some of them are quite pricey now, as you might imagine. I haven’t quite found them all yet, especially Spirited Away, which came out in the US, released by the label Milan. I know I have it somewhere. I also listened to a Malcolm Arnold CD that I didn’t have – on Chandos, conducted by Richard Hickox, and it’s of very high quality musically. The voting continues for the Broadway World awards but I’m afraid, as always, that the writing is on the wall. Way ahead now in several categories is a production of Rent, from a theater company called Jaxx. Only, they’re not really a theatre company, they’re more of a pay to play youth theater academy or camp or whatever you’d call it, where parents are charged four-hundred to six-hundred dollars for their kids to be in a show. So, of course, they have the ability to e-mail every single parent who’s ever had a kid in their shows, plus their cast’s parents and then the parents e-mail all their relatives and up their percentage goes. I find it completely ridiculous that they don’t have a special category for that kind of thing and that they compete against, I don’t know, professionals who don’t have the ability to gather friend votes to the extent that this thing has. It would be like having high school and middle schoolers compete for the late Ovation Awards and then having the people have all their friends voting. So, if you haven’t voted, still do, but, as I said, you simply can’t combat that kind of nonsense and it IS nonsense. In fact, I wrote the owner of Broadway World and told him it just makes the awards more of a joke than they already are.
Yesterday was an okay day – best part being no stress for the first time in quite a while. I got about seven hours of sleep, or maybe not even that much – can’t remember now. Once up, I answered e-mails and chose another song – just two left to go now – then I did some work on the computer. After that, I got ready for my two o’clock lunch and moseyed on over the hill to a little Eyetalian jernt on Beverly Blvd. near La Brea – in fact, almost directly across the street from the famous Mexican eatery, El Cayote. I was shown to the table of the person I was meeting – a nice fellow who’d ordered all thirty of our Ben Bagley titles and thought it would be nice to meet and for him to save the postage. There were two others with him, and I was surprised to see that they’d all eaten. So, they left and he asked me if I wanted to order – his treat – but I wasn’t interested in being the only one eating. We chatted for about an hour – many friends in common. He’s had a radio show for over thirty years, a book lovers show of some sort on KPFK if memory serves. But he loves musicals. I think he’s interested in coming to see one of our Kritzerland shows, so that will be nice.
At three, I headed back to the Valley, taking my secret Nichols Canyon route – unfortunately, there were three rather slow motor cars in front of me, but they all eventually turned onto other streets, leaving me able to zoom right along. Once over the hill, I went to the mail place and picked up some packages, then came right home. I had a discount thing for Door Dash, so for the first time in ages I ordered in from Lucille’s Barbecue, which has opened a branch somewhere on Lankershim, I gather. Instead of barbecue, I ordered their fried chicken in country gravy – really just two small chicken breasts and gravy, a side of mac-and-cheese, a small side salad, and they threw in two biscuits. It took about forty-five minutes to arrive, and the chicken was quite good, the mac-and-cheese was fairly ordinary, the side salad wasn’t of interest, and I didn’t care for the biscuits, which had some sort of sugar granules on them – not for me. But I’d certainly have the chicken again.
Then I did some more work on the computer and then sat on my couch like so much fish and finished up Castle in the Sky. And then I listened to music. Oh, and the motor car behaved, so that was good.
Today is a ME day and I don’t care who knows it. I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll write on the project with David Wechter, I’ll choose the last two songs, we’ll get the flyer for the show done, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, I’ll eat – I have to cut back the calories now, no two ways about it – so perhaps a turkey sandwich and coleslaw from Art’s. I really liked the one I had two days ago and it’s very reasonable, calorie-wise and laying off the fries will be helpful as well as laying off the sweets and snacks in the evening. I must be strong about it from now through the end of the year. Then I can watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, I’m seeing the matinee of a youth theater production of Fiddler on the Roof – this youth theater isn’t trying to win awards, just to do the shows. Robert Yacko is coming with, so after the show we’ll go somewhere fun and get some food. Don’t know what’s going on on Sunday, but the week is busy with Kritzerland stuff.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a ME day, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, write, choose the final two songs, get a flyer done, hopefully pick up packages, eat, 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, more Hisaishi. Blu-ray, more Miyazaki. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have finally had a day without stress because a day without stress is a good day.