Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to a suite from Franz Waxman’s beautiful score to Sayonara (Japanese goodbye) which includes the tune Irving Berlin wrote for it. I haven’t seen the movie in ages and even then, not all the way through. I think the only time I’ve ever seen it all the way through was when it came out, at my beloved Stadium theater, which I would have seen on May 31 on a double bill with Paris Holiday. I stayed for both films. The Stadium was equipped for stereo sound, and we had that for Sayonara and most of the Fox films that played there. Franz Waxman was one of the greats and we’re happy we got to release a few scores by him on Kritzerland. I did watch a motion picture – only one – entitled Joy Ride, starring Steve Zahn, Paul Walker, and Leelee Sobieski. It’s one of those movies we’ve seen several times – big old truck after two two brothers who do a prank call on the CB radio. Thanks to good direction by John Dahl, it works okay. The script, co-written by J.J. Abrams is pretty dreadful, especially the Steve Zahn character, who is beyond obnoxious and let me tell you Mr. Zahn eats any and all scenery in view. Mr. Walker is fine, and I’ve always enjoyed Leelee Sobieski ever since seeing her in Eyes Wide Shut in a small role. It gets pretty stupid at the end and apparently, they shot five alternate endings – I mean, c’mon. And the chosen ending is so cliched. Wouldn’t it be fun if humans could have five different endings to choose from? Even though the fanboy who wrote the Wikipedia entry would have you believe it was a hit, it was a total bomb in the US and didn’t do that well overseas. And yet, the made two direct to video sequels seven years AFTER the movie came out. Headscratcher, certainly. Anyway, it passed the time and was semi-enjoyable. I wondered why I haven’t seen Leelee Sobieski in anything in ages – she really was on the rise, but apparently, she gave up acting in 2012. She got married to Bruce Kimmel – oops, sorry – Adam Kimmel, had two kids and is now a painter, whose had some successful gallery showings. Prior to the movie, I’d gotten about nine and a half hours of excellent sleep, got up, answered a plethora of e-mails, had some telephonic conversations, ordered two chicken breasts/wings from California Chicken Café, that arrived shortly thereafter – hadn’t had it in a while and it was very good and very calorie friendly. I also ordered a small side of their chicken pasta salad and saved that until just before watching the movie. I made a few more notes on the new book and was thinking about writing another page or two, but I’m at a perfect place to resume on January 1, where it will be easy to futz and finesse and jump right back into it, since I’ve already sketched out the next two sequences. Then I watched the movie and here we are.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll not go to storage – that’s going to have to wait until after the physical on Tuesday – I’ll just putter about, eat something light but fun, and then watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow is a ME day, just getting my mind in the right place for the first physical in thirty years on Tuesday. I’m sure they’ll take blood and do that kind of stuff. It’s supposed to take forty-five minutes. The appointment is at four, so I’ll leave here at two-thirty to give myself plenty of time, and if I get there early, I’ll just sit in the car until it’s time. If I’m taken in on time, I should be out by five and by then it will be dark, and I really don’t love driving back in the dark. I’ll either go to Farmer’s Market for food or Genghis Cohen – just a treat for enduring the physical. Then I’ll probably take either Laurel Canyon or Nichols Canyon, depending on what time it is. The rest of the week will include the trip to storage, meetings and meals. And doing whatever needs doing.
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, not go to storage, putter about, eat something light, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, as I begin to get my mind in the right place for the physical.