Well, dear readers, there may be some breaking bombshell news around these here parts but I cannot impart it, not quite yet. It’s not earth-shattering news or even ear-shattering news, but it is news of a sort and I’m anxious to share it, perhaps even in tomorrow’s notes. What CAN I share with you? Well, I can say that I got the designed book and it looks great. The two proofers are going through it and will be done today, so I can get the fixes is by evening, I hope – they’ll be implemented quickly. They’ve already done the major one I caught, which is actually simple because it’s a global fix across the entire book – not part of the book itself, they inadvertently misspelled Harvey as Harway. I thought about changing the name to Preview Harway but it’s easier to fix it (laughing emoji goes here). So far, the two proofers haven’t come up with much – one real doozy on the first page of the actual book, one that I would never have caught and would have been mortified to have there. Otherwise, it’s just four or five small items, thus far. We should be able to get everything to the publisher by Monday of next week, I think, perhaps before. So, that was a good thing. Then I got word of the two things I can’t impart – not quite yet. That put me in a much happier mood than I’ve been in for a while, which was a pleasure. I had two tacos for food from the nearby Mexican jernt I like and they were very good. Then I shaved and showered and got ready for the podcast about Laurie Beechman.
The podcast was fun and everyone in attendance had fun stories to tell, me included, although I have to say at my age I do get emotional pretty easy. Our very own Sal Viviano was there, and the woman who made the documentary about Laurie was there. It’s a nice documentary but I, of course, felt she should have reached out to me, since I did produce her final two albums and was very close with her. But she didn’t. I didn’t know the others, save for the guy who keeps her page on Facebook – he’s very sweet and was very effusive in his praise about our albums. That lasted a little over an hour and there was a lot of love for dear Laurie, who’s seventieth birthday it would have been.
After that, I had a long telephonic conversation having to do with the things I can’t impart – not quite yet – and that was fun. Then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish and decided I should watch the final two Death Wish films, numbers 3 and 4. Three was directed by the helmer of the first two, Michael Winner, but in this one the prior, he really let his disgusting side be on full display with over the top sexual violence and retribution violence. There is plenty about his sick side to be found on something that I believe is called the internet. Death Wish 3 has Bronson back in New York, New York, battling a battalion of bad teen gang people who’ve been causing mayhem with the elderly who live there and with any young woman who crosses their path. When they kill Bronson’s friend, you can guess what happens. Ed Lauter plays the head police detective and his role is preposterous, so there’s not much he can do with it. As with the second film, they clearly had very little dough left for the supporting cast, so we get a lot of weak or cliched performances in three. But basically the film just turns into Rambo and gets more inane with every passing minute. The score is recycled from the previous film, and while some of it was shot in Brooklyn, a lot of it was actually shot in London. That’s Golan-Globus for you. Did you know that my Aunt Minnie was one of Globus’ teachers. She was.
Then I did a quick Gelson’s run and got stuff for sandwiches today, which is all I’m intending to eat. They’d run out of roast beef so I just got a half-pound of turkey. I have rye bread and cheese already. I also bought some macaroons with chocolate bottoms and some lightly salted popcorn. I came home, ate a couple of macaroons with chocolate bottoms, then watched the first hour of Death Wish 4, which is directed not by Michael Winner but by J. Lee Thompson. Therefore, it looks better than the previous two films, and Thompson did some fine work during his scattershot career. But the script, which has Bronson taking on the entire drug underworld, is again completely preposterous. I’ll watch the last half before I go to bed.
Then I made and ate some popcorn, began noting the fixes on a sheet of paper, and then it was time to write these here notes.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I hope I’ll have the pre-order the book page up for pre-ordering signed copies of the book, which will come with something really fun that I know everyone will love, I hope that I can share the breaking bombshell news but if not it will most certainly be Thursday. But I’m hoping for today. I’ll have two sandwiches on the rye bread, I’ll have a couple of macaroons with chocolate bottoms, and then at some point I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, I’ll hopefully have all the fixes in and I’ll get back the finished book design, at which point I’ll begin getting everything ready to send to the publisher. Friday, I have a work session with our pianist for the Kritzerland show, and then I can have a quiet weekend before the big Kritzerland show week.
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, hopefully get the book up for pre-orders, hoping I can share news, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you can 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, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, champing at the bit to tell you news but – not quite yet.