Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to Respighi’s marvelously marvelous Rome duo, The Fountains of Rome and The Pines of Rome, with Mr. Ormandy and his Philadelphia Orchestra in a great performance from 1968, really showing off the band and in great Columbia stereo sound. I gather these pieces and, in fact, most of Respighi, has fallen out of favor with today’s conductors, which is why I don’t care for most of today’s conductors. This music should never fall out of favor. I has spoken. In other news, the computer is in persnickety mode and may well be preparing for its ubiquitous every two weeks freeze job. It is beyond irritating. It is beyond the valley of the dolls. Well, now we’ve gone from Rome to Merry Olde England and a CD of Mr. Elgar and Mr. Ralph Vaughn Williams – warhorses, yes, but oh those Philadelphia strings. We get the enigma of the Enigma Variations, we get the Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, and we get the Cockaigne Overture. Earlier in the evening, I did manage to watch a motion picture entitled Police Python 357, advertised as a crime thriller although there are few thrills. There is, however, a crime. I’ve always wanted to see it and now I have. It features wonderful performances from Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, and, briefly, Stefania Sandrelli. A spare but effective score by Georges Delerue works well, it’s well directed in a very simple way that is fine, and the transfer looks exactly like what a 1976 release print would look like, and I like that look. The film is a little slow for its own good, coming in at just under two hours. It’s not a whodunit – we know that fairly early on. It’s will the wrong person be blamed for it, will things finally work themselves out in the end, and how will it get there. I enjoyed it and I look forward to the other two “crime thrillers” by this director in this set. Earlier, I only got about four hours of sleep. I kept meaning to go back to sleep, but I never got around to it. I did doze off for a bit in the afternoon. For food, I had one chicken breast and some chicken pasta salad from California Chicken Café. Later, mid-evening, I went for Panda Express again – it’s quick and I enjoy it, but I don’t need to have it again for a few weeks. The morning began with a completely unnecessary and irritating text, which made me want to commit a homicide, so it went without response, then I found a nice review of our show that no one knew about and I put quotes from it on the discussion board, and here we are as the midnight hour approacheth.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll finally finish readying the books for shipping so that the helper can come get them and get them shipped. I’ll eat something light, perhaps of my own making, and I’ll eventually watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, I’ll do whatever needs doing, and then we resume our performances of Drat! The Cat! I’ll probably attend the performance, and I’ll attend on Sunday, but Saturday may be one I miss. And then the following weekend we play our last three performances. I will really miss this show.
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, finish readying the books for shipping, get them to the helper, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What were your all-time favorite songs from the 1960s, a rather extraordinary decade for songs. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have visited Rome and England, musically speaking.