Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry, for she of the Evil Eye will be here all too soon. So, let us not dip our big toe in the water, let’s put all them toes in the water and get this done in record time or, at the very least, CD time or streaming time. Hey, maybe we should stream these notes, what do you think? Streamed notes. I like it. Or how about steamed notes? That’s even better. These here notes could use a little steam, frankly, because shouldn’t notes have a little, I don’t know, steam heat? As I write these here notes, I’m listening to some Wagner done by Ormandy. Wagner’s music is so relentlessly relentless and thick and rife with lushness, that it’s like having two main courses followed by three desserts, not necessarily in that order. But let’s not by waylaid by such thoughts when we’re trying to write these here notes, let’s just cut to the chase and mention the best thing that happened yesterday – the arrival of the test books, both soft and hardcover editions. That’s the first time that both have ever arrived on the same day – usually the hardcover takes two weeks longer. They looked pretty great to me, so that was good. In fact, this time around, there really weren’t any glitches in the process – the turnaround was very fast, the galley got here fast, I approved it fast, and the books were printed fast. Because the hardcover had arrived, I was able to call my gal at the publisher and place my book order. She always does the best she can for me, and she gave me free expedited shipping and rather than the free softcovers I usually get, she gave me a few free hardcovers instead. So, with luck, those could be here within two weeks, which is very exciting. Here is actual proof of the book’s arrival – the hardcover being held by my very own actual hand while I selfied it on the iPhone.
Isn’t that lovelier than lovely? Even though this is book number twenty-one, it never gets old holding the very first copy of the book. It’s just magical.
Yesterday turned out to be a pretty nice day all around. I got a little over eight hours of sleep, answered a lot of e-mails, got all the tracks where they needed to go, did all the Zoom invites for today’s rehearsals, chose the final song and got that track done. Then I went to the mail place and retrieved the book and got an important envelope I forgot was coming and that was very helpful in covering yet another huge bill I had to pay yesterday. I went to the bank and did my thing, and then came home. Robert Yacko and I had already decided on where we’d be eating, so I did some work on the computer, and then got ready for our early dinner.
We convened at our very own Vitello’s at four, which is when they open these days. We dined inside – we were, in fact, the only diners inside. It was so nice to sit and catch up in person. I haven’t seen Robert in over a year, which is really hard to believe, when you think about it or even when you don’t think about it, whichever comes first. Dish was dished, gab was gabbed, and we were there for ninety minutes or more. I had a Keto friendly meal – a small Caesar, salmon on a bed of spinach in a light cream sauce that was out of this world, and there were also some small tomatoes and a few asparagus stalks. Robert had his favorite pasta dish.
Then we went to my motor car and he took possession of all his Indiegogo items, save for the Tonight’s the Night Blu-ray and the new book. So, that’s two people I don’t have to worry about anymore. Then I came home, answered more e-mails, found out there’s a good shot that I may have a check disc by the end of this coming week. If that happens, it will take me three or four days to go through it all, checking each and every video, every menu item, listening to all the commentaries – the good news is that I can do check video while also checking the commentaries – I have to be VERY thorough and make sure every single thing is working and what it should be and looks good. The print for the packaging is already in the works and depending on how long the replication part takes, I could have discs perhaps in three weeks, which would be really great. But we won’t know any of that until I approve the check disc. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled The Vanishing, the original Dutch film, rather than it’s U.S. remake, which I now have to dig out and watch again, just for fun. The Vanishing, which I saw when the DVD came out, I liked very much, although its ending was way too unsettling for me. I haven’t seen it since, mostly due to that unsettling ending. Well, it’s been about twenty years now. I still enjoyed it, but it’s kind of really flabby for a bit of the final third of the film – just a little too much gabbing. The ending is still unsettling, I must say. But it does hold one’s interest and the transfer seemed very fine to my eyeballs.
After that, I had a few nutty nuts, and then it was back to Mr. Ormandy and some Brahms, some Rimsky-Korsakov, some Wagner, and some Hindemith.
Today, I’ll be up by eight-thirty and out the door soon after nine. I’ll go have a light breakfast – most likely an omelet or perhaps sausage and eggs – we’ll see how I’m feeling. I think the omelet is the safest bet. I’ll pick up package that arrived late yesterday, and then after a while, I’ll come home, relax, start to make a show order, and then we have our three Zoom rehearsals on Zoom, which I find is the best place to have a Zoom rehearsal. After that, the evening is mine and I’m not at all certain as to what I’ll be watching, oh, no, I’m not at all certain as to what I’ll be watching. And I’ll have to begin uploading the next sixty Ormandy CDs, since by the time I finish writing these here notes I’ll be all caught up on the first sixty. We’re getting into the final three years of mono discs, 1954-1957, so that’s fun and there are some great and rare things ahead, which I’m very much looking forward to.
Tomorrow, I think I may be going somewhere nearby to sign someone’s Nudie Musical LP, which I’m happy to do. Once that’s done, it’s a ME day save for perhaps starting to write some commentary. This coming week is all Kritzerland show stuff, perhaps going back to the storage facility to organize the excess CD boxes and perhaps for me to nose around the unit that has my personal stuff, to see if I can find a couple of things. We should be getting in videos, and I hope to have the check disc by week’s end, if all goes according to Hoyle. But big boy bills are coming due this week, so we do need some pretty major miracles around these here parts.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eight-thirty, have a light breakfast, pick up a package, then come home, make a show order, have three Zoom rehearsals on Zoom, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite ways to have salmon. I’m going to start eating more of it and I need some fun variety. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy that the test books arrived so quickly and that they look great.