Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to the final symphony of Richard Arnell, which was unfinished at the time of his death and completed by conductor Martin Yates from his sketches. It’s quite good so far, very dramatic, and since I’m feeling very dramatic I suppose we’re in perfect sync. In other news, both proofers have the new book and I will be picking up my hard copy in the morning. I did read through the first thirty pages and since I was just finding the style of it I see a few things I’ll be fixing here and there, very minor stuff, just so it matches what comes a bit later when I was on surer ground with the style, in maybe another five or six pages. But so far I found it pretty enjoyable, which is a good thing. I did manage to watch a horrible “thriller” from 2010 called Abandoned, which is what I should have done after the first minute because I knew what I was in for right after the girl is running from some bad people and she hides and suddenly, yes, you guessed it, a title card comes on and says “Nine hours earlier.” At what point do idiot screenwriters and directors realize how cliched that is now and even back in 2010, the familiar J.J. Abrams device from Alias. This was young Brittany Murphy’s final film before she died at the age of thirty-two. Her character in Abandoned doesn’t make much sense and the writing is sub-middle school. Her boyfriend goes into the hospital to have minor orthopedic surgery on his knee, which is supposed to take an hour. When she goes back to his room to check on him – SHOCKING SURPRISE – he’s not there. No one at the hospital has heard of him, everyone says they haven’t seen him. Say WHAT? WHAT is going on here? Something is crazy. In time, we find out what but by that time it’s all a big who cares. Amateurishly directed and acted by most of the cast. Certain questions are never answered – is the head of the hospital in on it? As played by Mimi Rogers, who knows? Is the hospital psychiatrist in on it? As played by the absolutely terrible Peter Bogdanovich (yes, you read that right), well, we never know and are too busy looking at how horrid he looks and acts. Then suddenly she turns into some knowing tough gal who can handle a gun without a second thought, and says lines her character would never say, i.e. “Put down the weapon.” Yeah, we all say things like that when someone’s about to shoot at us. It’s 89-minutes, so that’s a plus. Highly not recommended by the likes of me and a sad exit for Miss Murphy.
Yesterday began poorly with a text, but the rest of the day was at least tolerable, with several telephonic conversations, getting the book to Staples, then having a very nice celebrating the finishing the book meal with Robert Yacko at Vitello’s. I had a chicken Caesar salad and some garlic bread, all very good. After that, I stopped at the mail place and picked up two inconsequential envelopes of no importance whatsoever, and then came home. I had more telephonic conversations, then watched that awful movie, which was awful and barely a movie. The rest you know.
Today, I’ll be up by eleven or thereabouts, I’ll do whatever needs doing, then I’ll go pick up the hard copy of the book for proofing and from there I’ll go to a restaurant and eat and proof or I may just get something to bring back here and proof. We shall see. Then at some point, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, at long last, I’ll be getting my hippie hair coiffed and shortened to a nice, reasonable length and boy do I need it. After that, I’ll continue proofing. Not sure if I’ll be seeing the first cut of episode nine on Friday but if not then I’m sure I’ll see it over the weekend. Otherwise, it’s really just proofing and then entering the corrections.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven or thereabouts, do whatever needs doing, pick up the hard copy of the book for proofing, then either go have a meal and proof or get food and bring it back here for proofing, and then at some point, watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy that the proofing begins.