Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, back to listening to the 17-CD Carmen Dragon box, all this recordings for Capitol. The transfers in this set, none of which was actually licensed from Capitol (they take advantage of the EU rule), are not nearly as good as those in the Felix Slatkin box – some are really good, some are shrill, some don’t even pretend they’re not from LP with all the attendant ticks and pops, and some stereo stuff is mono. But the music is fascinating – it’s all warhorse kinds of music, just excerpts, in some really weird arrangements, the kind of thing that Stokowski would sometimes do, but Mr. Dragon is not Stokowski. But I have to admit they’re fun in a certain way. It’s mostly the Hollywood Bowl symphony orchestra and I had several of the LPs growing up. It’s worth having because it’s incredibly cheap and the stuff that sounds good does sound very good. I’m currently on CD 5, American music but much of that is traditional stuff with a small amount of Copland, Gould, and Grofe thrown in, and I do mean thrown in. Prior to that, I did my damndest to watch something but ended up not watching anything. I did watch episode one of a limited series called Collateral but realized I’d seen half that episode already a few months ago and written about it – I’d meant to finish it but didn’t. I like Carey Milligan, the star, but when I wrote about it before I mentioned strongly that the direction was absolutely horrendous – and guess what? Same awful director that did Anatomy of a Murder – sorry, Scandal. And I can see that this is her thing, to make it all show off stuff and all about her, never serving the material. She does the same exact stuff here that she did there and vice versa and therefore I shan’t be finishing Collateral. This “director” is called S.J. Clarkson. I can’t even remember what else I tried to watch – I should have watched the Blu-ray of The Day the World Ended, which is what I meant to watch. I did take a close to two-hour nap, though, actually laying down on the bed and falling asleep immediately. For my evening snack I got chicken nuggets from Popeye’s – big mistake – they’re horrible – I ordered twenty-four and I think they gave me double that amount – I could barely eat twelve. They’re chicken tenders are equally bad and I just don’t understand why these things don’t taste like their actual chicken tastes – you know, a breast, a leg. An enigma, to be sure, and to be sure, an enigma. I was also told that last night’s performance was great and that the audience loved it and it got the best reaction it’s gotten, so that was nice. I think it was a decent-sized house – not huge, but not tiny. One sound screw-up but it wasn’t our regular gal.
Yesterday was okay. I got almost eight hours of sleep, answered e-mails, then I moseyed on over to the mail place for the first time in a week – no packages, and only two envelopes, one of which contained a big residual check of six dollars. Very exciting stuff. Then I went to Gelson’s and got a chicken Caesar salad, a couple of egg rolls, and then some hot dogs and buns for today’s food. I came home and ate that stuff, then sat on my couch like so much fish and the rest you know because you are alert dear readers. And now, Mr. Dragon is having his weird way with Stephen Foster songs. It’s almost like Spike Jones came into the studio and took over.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll decide whether to attend the matinee, but I doubt it, I’ll celebrate Easter in the same way I celebrated Good Friday and Passover, not at all. I’ll have hot dogs for food and I’ll try to leave it at that because so much of what I’ve ordered recently has not been to my liking. Then I’ll see if I’m up to some writing, I’m hoping Grant will come by and hang a few things that need hanging, then I can watch, listen, and relax.
This week is more of the same, we’ll get the book up for pre-orders, I’ll figure out the next two Kritzerland releases, I’ll definitely return to writing, and of course I’ll do whatever needs doing. Then as we head into our fourth week of shows, I’ll attend at least two of the shows, if not all three, and we have our second talkback, too.
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, decide whether to attend the matinee, but doubt I will, not celebrate Easter, eat, hope that Grant will come hang some stuff, 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, enjoying some but not all of Carmen and the Dragon.