Well, dear readers, I finished the Eugene Ormandy stereo box earlier this day – amazing stuff right through to the end of what is part one of his stereo complete output on Columbia – everyone is hoping that part two will come at the end of the year. So, now I am listening to Ormandy’s earliest recordings, done for RCA in the 1930s – a small box of eleven CDs, when he was leading the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. Sound is pretty great for recordings of this age. A great performance of Schoenberg’s Verklarte Nacht and an Honegger concertino for piano. Now playing are some delightful pieces by Fritz Kreisler. I will say the repertoire isn’t your usual greatest pieces ever written – yes, there’s a Beethoven symphony and a Schumann symphony, but there’s also John Alden Carpenter’s Adventures in a Perambulator coming up with some other American and English music. Anyway, so far it’s very enjoyable. That said, my butt cheeks are quite tired from sitting in this damn chair the entire evening. That’s due to the fact that I didn’t feel like watching a motion picture this evening, so instead I’ve been identifying a ton of LA photos in a Facebook group because the fellow whose group it is thinks it’s fun to just post photos with no information. I’m pretty good at it so far, although one photo really had me stumped and frustrated. I knew it was the Pix Theater in Hollywood, but you could only see a partial word on the marquee and then on the smaller marquee to the right you could see Starts Wednesday but really only the word Super followed by the letter “F”. The partial word on the main marquee ended in “rica” so that could have only been America or Africa. Pardon me, but before I finish this story I must get out of this chair for just a moment. Okay, I’m back and to prove it, I’m here. Anyway, I could find nothing that worked – I searched and searched. I finally figured out that the Super movie could be Super Fly but that wouldn’t have been centered under Starts Wednesday. However, Super Fly did play the Pix in 1972, but the week prior brought up nothing with America or Africa. Very frustrating. I finally found a Wikipedia page that had a long list of American movies starting with the letter S. So, I went right to “Super” and there it was – Super Fly had been so successful they made a sequel the following year, Super Fly T.N.T, which would center perfectly under Starts Wednesday. But the only way that would be it depended on what was there the week before, presuming the sequel even played there. Well, it did, opening on September 12, 1973. Bingo. I went to the day before to see what was playing at the Pix and bingo again and success at last – Shaft in Africa. Very satisfying to get, but it took two damn hours to get it. That was pretty much the evening.
Earlier, I’d gotten about seven hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, but had no calls or e-mails about either glasses or hardcover. I ordered Amy’s Grapefruit Salad from Stanley’s – haven’t had that one in quite a while – it’s little slices of grapefruit, avocado slices, shredded chicken, sesame seeds, and cashews. The dressing is the same light dressing as their Chinese chicken salad. It was excellent. Then I got an e-mail from the shipper that the publisher uses saying the hardcover had been shipped and would be here today. Hoo and ray. I had to do a Gelson’s run because she of the Evil Eye was out of stuff she needs, like Windex, 409, Clorox, and Lysol. Thankfully, I had some Lysol here (I’d bought a four pack a long time ago), so just had to get the three. I also got a little bit of chicken noodle soup for a snack. I came home and ate that and it was excellent and a nice low-cal snack. Then I watched some YouTube crap, then finished the stereo Ormandy and began the Minneapolis Ormandy.
Today, I’ll be up by eight and out the door by eight-thirty. I’ll have an omelet somewhere and then hopefully I’ll hear from the glasses people. If so, I’ll pick them up and I’m sure we’ll do the same thing of me trying them for a week – I’m hoping that the adjustment will work well. That means, however, that it will be too late to go to the new Kritzerland venue – that’ll have to happen tomorrow or the day after whenever I get the glasses. I’ll pick up the hardcover, of course, and then I have to order the books, which I can hopefully do tomorrow. Speaking of the new book, two more Amazon reviews have shown up. The first was from our very own Singdaw, who had this to say.
5.0 out of 5 stars BEHIND THE SCENES
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2024
Bruce Kimmel has done it all: actor, singer, dancer, writer, composer, director, producer – and in just about every media you can think of. In this engaging book, Kimmel brings the reader behind the curtain to see how a director puts things together, pulling the best out of each collaborator. Many interesting and entertaining anecdotes flesh out the narrative. Kimmel has worked with quite a few stars, and names are dropped. Especially interesting insights into the artistic process are presented, and the specific adjustments required for different media are discussed.
Even if you don’t plan to be a director, if you are interested in the arts, this is a book for you. Highly recommended.
And then the wonderful novelist, Bill Fitzhugh, who wrote the very funny and outre book, Pest Control, was kind enough to write a review. Here’s his.
5.0 out of 5 stars Joy, Energy, Fun.
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2024
I know nothing about directing. That’s not true. I KNEW nothing about directing. But after reading “Directed By” I now know something about the process. Still, you wouldn’t want to ask me to direct anything. You’d want to ask Bruce Kimmel. Because he knows what he’s doing. And he writes about what he’s done (and he’s done a LOT) in a clear, straightforward manner that made this a delightful read. Our paths crossed a few years ago when he agreed to direct and help develop the first play I wrote. And since then I’ve seen several of his complete projects, all of which he writes about in “Directed By.” The stories are wonderful and the writing is crisp and entertaining. Highly recommended!
Aren’t those nice reviews? Anyway, once I’ve done whatever it is that needs doing today, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow will depend on today and today will depend on tomorrow and next week will depend on this week, and so it goes. The rest of the week will depend on the rest of the week – meetings, meals, seeing a show on the weekend and doing whatever needs doing.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eight and out the door by eight-thirty, I must have a light breakfast, I’ll wait to hear if glasses will be ready, I’ll pick up a hardcover, and then I can watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: Did you have mono records before stereophonic records and, if so, when did you make the switch and what was your first stereophonic record player? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy that the hardcover is finally arriving and hoping it will be fine, and hoping the glasses will be ready.