Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to a very interesting composer, Russian, named Rodion Schedrin. I’ve been a fan of his for over thirty years now – some of his stuff is a bit too modern and atonal for my taste, but other works are just fantastic and quite beautiful. His musical voice is his own – he’s written ballets, piano concertos – currently playing is a chamber suite for twenty violins, accordion, harp, and two double basses – based on a film score he wrote. It’s about thirteen minutes of wonderful music and now I’m sure I’ll have to listen to the rest of his stuff that I have on the computer, and I have a lot. I did watch a motion picture last night, one I’ve seen heaven knows how many times – The Court Jester, starring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Angela Lansbury, Basil Rathbone, Mildred Natwick, Cecil Parker, written and directed by Panama and Frank. As many times as I’ve seen it, it makes me laugh out loud. And, of course, in a way it made me want to be a comic actor. I knew all the songs by heart back when I saw it in 1956 – I went to see it over and over again. I was eight and I could perform The Maladjusted Jester flawlessly, both then and now. The physical humor is brilliant and equally brilliant is the verbal humor. There are so many quotable lines that are simply comic classics – “Get it, got it, good.” “What did the doge do?” The famous, “Vessel with the pestle” sequence, “If he dies, you die,” Grizelda, “She of the Evil Eye” (yes), all of it. I would so love to see this again with a full house, because that’s how comedies should be experienced. Anyway, I loved it all over again, as I always do. I owned both 16mm and 35mm IB Technicolor prints, both stunners, and the movie itself was, of course, a total life changer for me. And now, Rodion Schedrin’s ballet, The Little Humpbacked Horse is playing – really delightful and orchestrated brilliantly. I also watched The Angry Red Planet, a pretty bad sci-fi movie from 1959 in Cinemagic – the one and thankfully only film in that “process.” I saw it at the Four Star Theater on my birthday in 1959 – for some reason that’s what I wanted to see when I turned twelve. The allure of whatever Cinemagic was was indeed alluring but even back then I knew I’d been had. There were much better movies to be seen on that birthday, including Porgy and Bess in ToddAO, Pillow Talk, Ben-Hur – but noooo, I had to see The Angry Red Planet in Cinemagic. Go know.
Yesterday was okay. I got almost eight hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, got some penne pasta in pink sauce with one meat ball from Maria’s Kitchen, that arrived and was very good, but the pasta portion is now ridiculously small, maybe four or five ounces. After that, I began writing the commentary. A lot of this greatest hits show are things we’ve done, but the Spotlight search thing on the Mac is ridiculous. It literally finds nothing, or I have to search in a completely weird and random way and then it comes up, but everything I searched first is right there, plain as day. It’s completely frustrating and sometimes it’s just easier to write it over again. I didn’t get very far because of it. Then I did some other work on the computer, then I watched the movie and here we are, listening to Rodion Schedrin.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll hopefully pick up some important envelopes, perhaps a package, I’ll eat something fun from somewhere fun, I’ll continue doing the commentary and hope things are easier to find, and then I can watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, I’m seeing a play at four and I may have a lunch thing before – if not, I’ll eat afterwards, then commentary and hopefully finish it. Sunday is a ME day and a new month, and then next week is busy with Kritzerland show stuff, including a work session with our musical director.
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, do whatever needs doing, hopefully pick up two important envelopes and perhaps a package, eat, write, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray/streaming player. I’ll start – CD, Rodion Schedrin. Blu-ray, Flower Drum Song. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have once again seen my favorite childhood movie and secure in the knowledge that the flagon with the dragon has the pellet with the poison while the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true. Or was it the vessel with the pestle?