Well, dear readers, the Shostakovich fourth is finishing up and I’m finishing up a fun day and evening. No one ever mentions this recording in a list of greats. Some of the ones they DO list, being the pseudo-intellectual, pretentious aesthetes that they are, are, in my estimation, terrible or boring. But they’ve always denigrated Ormandy because that was the thing to do. That began to change a few years ago and with these box sets suddenly some of these same people are, of course, changing their tune and seeing the light. It happens. I have so many full sets of the symphonies and this performance is up there with any of ‘em. I have the first recording made by Kondrashin and many, many others. There are many excellent versions, and several less than excellent versions. The Kondrashin, good as it is, has very tinny Melodiya sound so it’s not that pleasant to listen to. As to the symphony itself, it is completely weird and unlike any other symphony – it’s all over the place. Earlier, I finished watching Vice Squad, starring Mr. Edward G. Robinson. There are some nice but brief 1953 shots of LA, but nothing major. The film is episodic, following several different cases, so it never really engages as it should, but the cast is excellent, including nice turns from Edward Binns, Porter Hall, and Paulette Goddard, and it’s amusing to see what the cops get away with back in the day. Edward G. is always fun to watch, and there’s a nice bombastic score from Herschel Burke Gilbert. It runs eighty-eight minutes. Prior to that, of course, we had the visit from the Darling Daughter. I got about eight and a half hours of sleep, shaved and showered and then the Darling Daughter arrived and chose the Smokehouse as her birthday meal choice. They do a Sunday Brunch, so the earliest we could get in there was three-thirty. So, we gabbed for an hour and then we watched some wacky YouTube videos. Then we moseyed on over to the restaurant and got a nice booth. Since I raved about the fish and chips, that’s what she ordered and she absolutely loved it – the fish, the fries, the coleslaw (best ever, she proclaimed), and the tartar sauce (best ever, she proclaimed). We ordered a half-order of the garlic cheese bread. I was good and had only one piece. I had a cup of clam chowder (a bit thin this time), a shrimp cocktail (always great and the Darling Daughter had one shrimp and loved it and the cocktail sauce, and then for the main food I decided on a chicken Caesar salad. It was so filling I only could eat half and boxed up the rest for later. We gabbed a lot and then came back home. She took all three books she didn’t have, including the softcover of the new one – I think she’ll start with Kritzer World. I warned her about Preview Harvey’s style, but she read three pages of Harvey’s rambling, and she loved it, so I’m hoping she’ll enjoy that one, too. She left, I answered some e-mails, and then I watched the movie. And here we are.
Today, I’ll be up by ten-thirty, and I have a noon o’clock appointment for the eyeballs and whatever adjustment will be done to the right-side prism lens. I’m hoping they can do that adjustment in a timely manner. After that, I might get something from the nearby Gelson’s, maybe some ribs again. I’ll stop at the mail place, then come and eat. Of course, we’ll pray for a modern major miracle. Then I have to have several telephonic calls, and then at some point I can watch, listen, and relax.
The rest of the week is more stuff, some writing, some meetings and meals, including a dinner with some Partridge Family fans on Friday night, so that should be fun.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by ten-thirty, have an eyeball appointment, get something for food, go to the mail place, come home and eat, pray for a modern major miracle, have several telephonic conversations, then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of Edward G. Robinson? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy that the Darling Daughter paid a visit.