Well, dear readers, we did have a bit of a life saving modern major miracle and that particular modern major miracle could lead to another modern major miracle this week, one that would be a real stress reliever, so please send your strongest and most excellent vibes and xylophones that the potential modern major miracle this week can happen. Anyway, grateful for the one that happened, for sure. Otherwise, I did have a ME day – somewhat frustrating as I could not fall asleep until after six in the morning. I hate when that happens. I got up at twelve-thirty after six and a half hours of sleep, but it was a bumpy night getting there. Once up, I answered e-mails. Food arrived around two – four slices of pizza from Pizza Wagon of Brooklyn, which is now on DoorDash. Slices were good and the four added up to just over 1000 calories and that’s all I had for food – no sweets, no snacks. After that, I watched some YouTube videos – a very funny David Letterman stupid pet tricks thing, a couple of amusing Johnny Carson bits, then I sat on my couch like so much fish and instantly fell asleep for two hours. Once back up, I found a new YouTube channel comprised of old kinescopes and what a treasure trove it is. I chose a Philco Playhouse called Here’s Father, written by Robert Alan Aurthur, who wrote and directed quite a few interesting films and who won a posthumous Oscar for writing Bob Fosse’s film, All That Jazz – he’d just died soon after its release at fifty-six. It starred two legendary musical theater folks – Cyril Ritchard and Elaine Stritch, and a child actor who’d go on to have a majorly successful career in the music industry in the late 1960s as a writer, producer, arranger – Van Dyke Parks, and what a charmer he was. It contains a song written by Adler and Ross prior to The Pajama Game (the story’s about a divorced father who’s a composer and revue guy on Broadway – think Noel Coward-like), and it was produced by someone who’d become a successful Broadway and film producer, Fred Coe, and a director who’d direct a couple of classic plays on Broadway, one of which was turned into a classic film, a big Broadway musical, and who’d soon thereafter win an Oscar for a game-changing motion picture – Arthur Penn. I didn’t know Mr. Ritchard played the piano (he plays live as does Van Dyke Parks, who also plays the ukulele), and here’s a link to it in case you’d like to see it. Miss Stritch also has a song to sing in a dream sequence.
https://youtu.be/2uSd4PjbcVE?si=8MvrR21GgMswbgNa
I also found an old Eyetalian TV presentation of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, which I’m looking forward to watching, as it looks quite charming. It’s directed by Vittorio Cottafavi, who’d go on to give the world several Peplum movies, including Hercules and the Captive Women, Goliath and the Dragon (original title was The Revenge of Hercules), Amazons of Rome, and Messalina. And I’ll be watching more of those kinescopes, several of which feature the first performances of James Dean. I had a long telephonic conversation and here were are.
Today, I’ll try to be up by ten, maybe even earlier, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll hopefully hear about the glasses and if they’re ready I’ll go pick them up and hope they work well. I’ll go to Gelson’s and get some Passover-like food – gefilte fish, chopped liver, matzo, and we’ll see what else they might have that looks interesting. I’ll eat my faux Passover meal, and then at some point I can watch, listen, and relax.
The rest of the week will be writing, meetings and meals, and nail-biting until we know about the potential and really necessary modern major miracle.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, try to be up by ten or even earlier, do whatever needs doing, hopefully hear about the glasses, go to Gelson’s for some Passover foodstuffs, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What episodes of Letterman and Carson do you remember vividly? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, thankful for the modern major miracle, hopeful this week will provide the modern major miracle that will be truly helpful in a major way, and wishing all our Jewish friends a lovely Passover even if it’s faux.