Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
I am back at Pearl's, back on regular schedule and thus writing a little earlier than I was. Not much to report for me today, I was just getting situated mostly, and also re-alicecooperating from all the mileage I put in over the past week. My knees are a tad sore, but other than that, everything is good.
Tonight's movie was from the Warner Archive Collection. I actually put those search terms into the library's website, and it came back with a couple dozen movies, so I ordered a few. Three of those came in today, so the one I watched tonight was called "Dying Room Only". It was actually a Made-For-TV Movie, a format that was popular in the early 1970s on ABC. The movies were 90 minutes (74 without commercials in dvd form), and they usually were thrillers or psychological dramas. The quality was high, because the scripts were good, and original, and they always used excellent actors. I used to watch the Movie Of The Week, as it was called, every week!
But I somehow missed "Dying Room Only", and never saw it until tonight. It's a small classic in the way of a TV Movie, set in a roadside diner/motel in the middle of the desert. Clorox Bleachman and her husband Dabney Coleman stop there for a bite to eat, and he soon disappears. "Chef" Ross Martin and redneck patron Ned Beatty are surly and unhelpful - not to mention suspicious - so she finally calls the local Sheriff, and goes searching the darkened premises herself while waiting for him to arrive. So begins the suspenseful hijinks, and the viewer is rivited.
A great cast (which was the norm for these TV Movies) and taut direction made for a great little movie that came off like a stage play, with the desert as it's set.
I trust everything is going well for you. I didn't see any posts today, so you are probably working.
Post tomorrow if you get a chance.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Nine More + Coyote + "45 Years"
Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
Well, my last post from home for a few weeks. Tomorrow morning I go back to work, but it's been a good week off. Today my sister and I were originally gonna go to Downtown Los Angeles to visit the San Antonio Winery, which I think I mentioned in an earlier post. I was gonna take the train down to Union Station and meet her there. She was gonna take the brand new Expo Line, an above-ground "light rail" electric car system that runs from Santa Monica to Downtown. As it turned out, however, Vickie was not aware that the Expo Line does not run all the way to Union Station, and that she would have had to transfer to another line a few stops beforehand. She was a bit skittish about doing that, since she is not a veteran of the Metrorail subway transit system (which I am, so it's easy for me), but long story short, we decided to cancel the winery visit today and reschedule to have Vickie simply drive over to Northridge and take the train with me. So we will go sometime soon.
Instead it was a quiet day for me, just playing Beatle chords (which I am hooked on) and singing along (softly cause I live in a Tiny Apartment).
I did my - wait for it! - Nine Miles Again, for the fifth day in a row. I told you I created a Monster. But it was the last day I could do it, for now anyway, and I have been inspired by my friend Jon S., the distance runner who I've known since 1973, and who hasn't missed a day of running since May 1969. I think he's in the Guinness Book for that, and certainly has been officially recognised by Runner's World and other magazines and organisations. I started doing my Daily Walk in 1999, to lose weight. It's always been five miles a day, and over the past 17 years I've probably averaged about 355 days a year of doing it, maybe more. I'm no Jon, not by a longshot (cause for one thing, I walk instead of run), but I still hardly ever miss a day. He was my original inspiration to do it, and to stick with it every day. I guess once I started hiking in 2013, my endurance increased, and on my days off I wanted to see if I could do hikes and also do my usual nightly CSUN walk. So that's how the 9 Miles came about.
Why nine and not ten?
That's just how the numbers worked out this week, with Aliso Hikes, CSUN walks, and Walks Down To The Store Or Libe.
Also, I have to give myself an Out. As I said, I am no Jon, and even though I'm in pretty good shape, I don't wanna create something I can't get out of, and my personality is of the type that if I start a Discipline Oriented Habit, my mind will focus on it and make me feel the need to do it every day.
So, nine instead of ten, just so it doesn't get out of hand, and now I will be back to my normal five per day, plus a few short Hour Hikes per week.
I've been seeing Critters lately, as you know, and last night I saw the CSUN Bunny, as reported.
Tonight, I saw the Aliso Coyote for the second time. This time he wasn't in the bushes but right on the trail, about 80 feet in front of me. I came around a curve and saw him, and your mind goes : "dog" (German Shepherd), except it's too skinny and there is no person with it. So a second later, your mind says "coyote".
I didn't bring my camera or I could have got a picture because he held still for a little bit. So did I, but I wasn't scared because he was far enough away and also it is said that coyotes do not attack humans. And indeed, when I resumed my forward progress, he trotted off into the brush. But that was my first Full On Coyote Sighting, right there on the trail.
This evening I watched an excellent, low key film called "45 Years", about an aging English couple about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary with a big party for their friends, but an incident from the past intrudes and causes them a lot of introspection and some second guessing. It's a subtle film, anything but a blockbuster, and it focuses on aging in a relationship, so on first glance it could sound depressing, but because it has two excellent actors, Charlotte Rampling (who was nominated for an Oscar) and the legendary Tom Courtenay, it turns out to be an affecting film that involves you every step of the way, through conversational dialogue and small emotional gestures.
Well, that was my day. I hope yours was good as well. I did see one post that said "Quiet On The Set" a showed a camera screen and lighting setup, involving one of your friends. She also said "glad to be working", so maybe that means you are working on that shoot as well. I also saw a couple of pics of your friend Morgin, so perhaps you guys are working on something. :)
Post an update if you can! :)
I will be back at Pearl's in the morn by 9am or so, and then back on Usual Work Schedule after that.
See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Well, my last post from home for a few weeks. Tomorrow morning I go back to work, but it's been a good week off. Today my sister and I were originally gonna go to Downtown Los Angeles to visit the San Antonio Winery, which I think I mentioned in an earlier post. I was gonna take the train down to Union Station and meet her there. She was gonna take the brand new Expo Line, an above-ground "light rail" electric car system that runs from Santa Monica to Downtown. As it turned out, however, Vickie was not aware that the Expo Line does not run all the way to Union Station, and that she would have had to transfer to another line a few stops beforehand. She was a bit skittish about doing that, since she is not a veteran of the Metrorail subway transit system (which I am, so it's easy for me), but long story short, we decided to cancel the winery visit today and reschedule to have Vickie simply drive over to Northridge and take the train with me. So we will go sometime soon.
Instead it was a quiet day for me, just playing Beatle chords (which I am hooked on) and singing along (softly cause I live in a Tiny Apartment).
I did my - wait for it! - Nine Miles Again, for the fifth day in a row. I told you I created a Monster. But it was the last day I could do it, for now anyway, and I have been inspired by my friend Jon S., the distance runner who I've known since 1973, and who hasn't missed a day of running since May 1969. I think he's in the Guinness Book for that, and certainly has been officially recognised by Runner's World and other magazines and organisations. I started doing my Daily Walk in 1999, to lose weight. It's always been five miles a day, and over the past 17 years I've probably averaged about 355 days a year of doing it, maybe more. I'm no Jon, not by a longshot (cause for one thing, I walk instead of run), but I still hardly ever miss a day. He was my original inspiration to do it, and to stick with it every day. I guess once I started hiking in 2013, my endurance increased, and on my days off I wanted to see if I could do hikes and also do my usual nightly CSUN walk. So that's how the 9 Miles came about.
Why nine and not ten?
That's just how the numbers worked out this week, with Aliso Hikes, CSUN walks, and Walks Down To The Store Or Libe.
Also, I have to give myself an Out. As I said, I am no Jon, and even though I'm in pretty good shape, I don't wanna create something I can't get out of, and my personality is of the type that if I start a Discipline Oriented Habit, my mind will focus on it and make me feel the need to do it every day.
So, nine instead of ten, just so it doesn't get out of hand, and now I will be back to my normal five per day, plus a few short Hour Hikes per week.
I've been seeing Critters lately, as you know, and last night I saw the CSUN Bunny, as reported.
Tonight, I saw the Aliso Coyote for the second time. This time he wasn't in the bushes but right on the trail, about 80 feet in front of me. I came around a curve and saw him, and your mind goes : "dog" (German Shepherd), except it's too skinny and there is no person with it. So a second later, your mind says "coyote".
I didn't bring my camera or I could have got a picture because he held still for a little bit. So did I, but I wasn't scared because he was far enough away and also it is said that coyotes do not attack humans. And indeed, when I resumed my forward progress, he trotted off into the brush. But that was my first Full On Coyote Sighting, right there on the trail.
This evening I watched an excellent, low key film called "45 Years", about an aging English couple about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary with a big party for their friends, but an incident from the past intrudes and causes them a lot of introspection and some second guessing. It's a subtle film, anything but a blockbuster, and it focuses on aging in a relationship, so on first glance it could sound depressing, but because it has two excellent actors, Charlotte Rampling (who was nominated for an Oscar) and the legendary Tom Courtenay, it turns out to be an affecting film that involves you every step of the way, through conversational dialogue and small emotional gestures.
Well, that was my day. I hope yours was good as well. I did see one post that said "Quiet On The Set" a showed a camera screen and lighting setup, involving one of your friends. She also said "glad to be working", so maybe that means you are working on that shoot as well. I also saw a couple of pics of your friend Morgin, so perhaps you guys are working on something. :)
Post an update if you can! :)
I will be back at Pearl's in the morn by 9am or so, and then back on Usual Work Schedule after that.
See you in the morning. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Awesome 4th : Picnic, Beatles, Aliso, Fireworks, 9 Total, and.......A Sign.
Happy Super Late Night, my Darling,
I hope you had a nice 4th of July, and that you got to see some fireworks, and maybe a concert too. I hope you had a blast overall! :)
I had a good day myself. This morning I went with Pearl and Helen and The Kobester out to Malibu Canyon. We tried Tapia Park, but because of the years-long drought, the picnic area was pretty dried out, and so the overall look of the place was more rustic and rugged, similar to the dry yellow straw grass in the "colors of Summer" photos I sometimes post. There is a grove of oak trees that I remembered, and it does look like a great place for trails and hikes, but not so much for a picnic. So, after some driving around and consultations with Siri, we found a nice green city park in Calabasas - Kardashian Country! - that was nestled in the Agoura Hills, which as described yesterday create the border between Malibu and the southwest San Fernando Valley. It was quiet and peaceful at the park - no Kardashians were there, just some kids playing ball - and our picnic was a success despite not winding up at our original destination.
When I got back home, at about 2:30, I chilled for awhile, then learned another Beatles song : "I Am The Walrus". In the John Lennon book I am reading, it says that he was always thinking of chord changes, even when The Beatles were in India visiting the Maharishi during their famous trip in 1968. He was always trying to top himself, and even though the chords themselves are simple (though they often used complex or multiple chordings for transitions), the end result of the song is astounding because of the order in which they are arranged. That, and the overlaying of the vocal melodies, as usual.
When you sit down and Google a Beatles song, and especially some of the masterpieces like "Lovely Rita" or "I Am The Walrus", when you start to play them you notice two things : 1) how relatively easy they are to play in stripped down form, as they were most likely written with just an acoustic guitar (the layers of genius sound design came later with the finished product by Sir George Martin), and the second thing you notice is : 2) That no one but Lennon or McCartney would have ever thought up these particular chord changes.
It's all in the arrangement, coupled with the melody and meter of the vocal line on top.
So easy to play and sing in rudimentary version on guitar. So hard to write and arrange to begin with.
Which is why those guys were musical geniuses.
At 7pm, I went up to Aliso yet again and did a full walk in twilight. Then I drove just down Rinaldi a couple miles to the Shepherd Of The Hills megachurch. I actually always park about a mile away, to avoid a traffic jam, but I walked to the site just in time for the fireworks. This was one of the best shows they've ever had, the whole sky was lit up with color and sparkle. The fireworks are accompanied by patriotic music, John Phillip Sousa and such, which adds to the feeling. It's always a huge crowd, but a good vibe with no drunk people or rowdies.
So that was my day, and I did another 9 miles total! That has been my standard for the last four days.
My God, what have I done? I may have created a Frankenstein. Now it will have a life of it's own, and it will expect me to continue to do nine miles, even on workdays......
Or not, haha. But I am glad I was able to do it for four days in a row.
This last part will sound like I am making it up, but I'm not. Tonight, at around 11pm, I needed to do a quick, short CSUN walk, just to make my nine miles. I only needed a mile and a quarter, so I walked down to the gym and back. 20 minutes.
There is a lawn just north of the gym, which lines the end of my street where it meets a dead end, That part of the campus is darker and less traveled than my usual route, but anyhow, as I passed that lawn I noticed a small, rounded and hunched shape not far off. As I got closer, I thought "hmmm..., it could be", and then as I got within about 15 feet I thought, "It's gotta be".
So I stopped, and it was : a Bunny, just like at Aliso Canyon, except this one was right there on the CSUN campus, three miles south.
I've seen raccoons on campus, and possums, and all kinds of geese and ducks, and even an owl or two.
But I've never before seen a Bunny. Tonight was my first.
It's gotta be a sign.
See you in the morn, SB. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I hope you had a nice 4th of July, and that you got to see some fireworks, and maybe a concert too. I hope you had a blast overall! :)
I had a good day myself. This morning I went with Pearl and Helen and The Kobester out to Malibu Canyon. We tried Tapia Park, but because of the years-long drought, the picnic area was pretty dried out, and so the overall look of the place was more rustic and rugged, similar to the dry yellow straw grass in the "colors of Summer" photos I sometimes post. There is a grove of oak trees that I remembered, and it does look like a great place for trails and hikes, but not so much for a picnic. So, after some driving around and consultations with Siri, we found a nice green city park in Calabasas - Kardashian Country! - that was nestled in the Agoura Hills, which as described yesterday create the border between Malibu and the southwest San Fernando Valley. It was quiet and peaceful at the park - no Kardashians were there, just some kids playing ball - and our picnic was a success despite not winding up at our original destination.
When I got back home, at about 2:30, I chilled for awhile, then learned another Beatles song : "I Am The Walrus". In the John Lennon book I am reading, it says that he was always thinking of chord changes, even when The Beatles were in India visiting the Maharishi during their famous trip in 1968. He was always trying to top himself, and even though the chords themselves are simple (though they often used complex or multiple chordings for transitions), the end result of the song is astounding because of the order in which they are arranged. That, and the overlaying of the vocal melodies, as usual.
When you sit down and Google a Beatles song, and especially some of the masterpieces like "Lovely Rita" or "I Am The Walrus", when you start to play them you notice two things : 1) how relatively easy they are to play in stripped down form, as they were most likely written with just an acoustic guitar (the layers of genius sound design came later with the finished product by Sir George Martin), and the second thing you notice is : 2) That no one but Lennon or McCartney would have ever thought up these particular chord changes.
It's all in the arrangement, coupled with the melody and meter of the vocal line on top.
So easy to play and sing in rudimentary version on guitar. So hard to write and arrange to begin with.
Which is why those guys were musical geniuses.
At 7pm, I went up to Aliso yet again and did a full walk in twilight. Then I drove just down Rinaldi a couple miles to the Shepherd Of The Hills megachurch. I actually always park about a mile away, to avoid a traffic jam, but I walked to the site just in time for the fireworks. This was one of the best shows they've ever had, the whole sky was lit up with color and sparkle. The fireworks are accompanied by patriotic music, John Phillip Sousa and such, which adds to the feeling. It's always a huge crowd, but a good vibe with no drunk people or rowdies.
So that was my day, and I did another 9 miles total! That has been my standard for the last four days.
My God, what have I done? I may have created a Frankenstein. Now it will have a life of it's own, and it will expect me to continue to do nine miles, even on workdays......
Or not, haha. But I am glad I was able to do it for four days in a row.
This last part will sound like I am making it up, but I'm not. Tonight, at around 11pm, I needed to do a quick, short CSUN walk, just to make my nine miles. I only needed a mile and a quarter, so I walked down to the gym and back. 20 minutes.
There is a lawn just north of the gym, which lines the end of my street where it meets a dead end, That part of the campus is darker and less traveled than my usual route, but anyhow, as I passed that lawn I noticed a small, rounded and hunched shape not far off. As I got closer, I thought "hmmm..., it could be", and then as I got within about 15 feet I thought, "It's gotta be".
So I stopped, and it was : a Bunny, just like at Aliso Canyon, except this one was right there on the CSUN campus, three miles south.
I've seen raccoons on campus, and possums, and all kinds of geese and ducks, and even an owl or two.
But I've never before seen a Bunny. Tonight was my first.
It's gotta be a sign.
See you in the morn, SB. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Monday, July 4, 2016
Tapia Park Tomorrow + Good Song By Sarah + Happy 4th + 9 More
Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
I am writing relatively early once again (as opposed to 2am, haha) because I will be once again getting up relatively early. Tomorrow morning I am gonna go with Pearl and her daughter Helen to a place called Tapia Park, which is located in Las Virgenes Canyon on the way to Malibu. In fact, Malibu Creek State Park is located in the same canyon. I haven't been to Tapia Park since about 1968 or so, when I was a kid in YMCA camp. Anyway, it should be fun. We are gonna bring food and have a picnic, and the Kobedog is gonna come too, so maybe he and I can scope out a trail or two for future hikes. I've never driven in that direction - Southwest - for parks and trails, because it seems like it's too far for quickie hikes. There's also more traffic, cause you've gotta take the 101 Freeway. But, we'll see. For visual reference, picture Santa Susana at the very northwest corner of the Valley. Now, if you drove about 8 miles south, you'd be going into Topanga Canyon, at the very southwest corner of the Valley. Las Virgenes Canyon is in the Agoura Hills, about 4 or 5 miles due West of Topanga Canyon. The Valley is surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains, and those are the hills to the southwest. The trails I usually go to are northwest or northeast.
Something new, at any rate. It will be fun, and then tomorrow night the fireworks. I love the 4th of July. You are probably busy this weekend too. Did to go to that concert in Chicago? I saw a post from one of your friends about a road trip. If you went I hope you had a blast!
I also saw your post of Sarah's new video & song. I don't know if you shot it or not, and it was a stationary vid, just of her playing and singing, not a produced video, so maybe you didn't do it, I dunno. But I must say, she has really developed her music, with a lot of color and subtlety. And she added a nice vocal line with a slightly off-kilter harmony. Good stuff, cause it's always all about The Song. She will get noticed for her music in this way, to take her technique and use it to further the melodic inventiveness.
Well, another 9 miles today. I figure I might as well do it while I've got the time off, and I just like doing it anyway. I went up to Aliso and saw a bunch of Bunnies. They like to dart across the trail at dusk, and you can tell they are almost half-tame. They are used to people being there, and aren't scared, unless you get too close. But it's kind of their way of playing, too, I think. The place is full of Bunnies, but they only come out at dusk; you won't see 'em in the daytime.
So, a full Aliso walk (3.75), and earlier a walk down to the store and back (2 miles), and finally at 10:30pm, an abbreviated CSUN walk of 3.25, just to get to 9 miles.
Choir was good today, good singing as predicted.
See you in the morn. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I am writing relatively early once again (as opposed to 2am, haha) because I will be once again getting up relatively early. Tomorrow morning I am gonna go with Pearl and her daughter Helen to a place called Tapia Park, which is located in Las Virgenes Canyon on the way to Malibu. In fact, Malibu Creek State Park is located in the same canyon. I haven't been to Tapia Park since about 1968 or so, when I was a kid in YMCA camp. Anyway, it should be fun. We are gonna bring food and have a picnic, and the Kobedog is gonna come too, so maybe he and I can scope out a trail or two for future hikes. I've never driven in that direction - Southwest - for parks and trails, because it seems like it's too far for quickie hikes. There's also more traffic, cause you've gotta take the 101 Freeway. But, we'll see. For visual reference, picture Santa Susana at the very northwest corner of the Valley. Now, if you drove about 8 miles south, you'd be going into Topanga Canyon, at the very southwest corner of the Valley. Las Virgenes Canyon is in the Agoura Hills, about 4 or 5 miles due West of Topanga Canyon. The Valley is surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains, and those are the hills to the southwest. The trails I usually go to are northwest or northeast.
Something new, at any rate. It will be fun, and then tomorrow night the fireworks. I love the 4th of July. You are probably busy this weekend too. Did to go to that concert in Chicago? I saw a post from one of your friends about a road trip. If you went I hope you had a blast!
I also saw your post of Sarah's new video & song. I don't know if you shot it or not, and it was a stationary vid, just of her playing and singing, not a produced video, so maybe you didn't do it, I dunno. But I must say, she has really developed her music, with a lot of color and subtlety. And she added a nice vocal line with a slightly off-kilter harmony. Good stuff, cause it's always all about The Song. She will get noticed for her music in this way, to take her technique and use it to further the melodic inventiveness.
Well, another 9 miles today. I figure I might as well do it while I've got the time off, and I just like doing it anyway. I went up to Aliso and saw a bunch of Bunnies. They like to dart across the trail at dusk, and you can tell they are almost half-tame. They are used to people being there, and aren't scared, unless you get too close. But it's kind of their way of playing, too, I think. The place is full of Bunnies, but they only come out at dusk; you won't see 'em in the daytime.
So, a full Aliso walk (3.75), and earlier a walk down to the store and back (2 miles), and finally at 10:30pm, an abbreviated CSUN walk of 3.25, just to get to 9 miles.
Choir was good today, good singing as predicted.
See you in the morn. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Sunday, July 3, 2016
9 More MIles + Pretty Picture + Perfect Diction + Use Real Mutants
Happy Regular Late Night, my Darling,
Tonight I can't stay up Super Late because of church in the morning, so I am starting at the Usual Time. Tomorrow we will be singing two songs instead of one : "Living Bread" (because it is a Communion Sunday) and "Blessed Is The Nation" (because of the 4th). Both are pretty easy, so it should go well.
That was a beautiful picture of yourself this morning. You look nice in that dress, even if you prefer all black, lol (and all black is of course very cool), but anyway, I'll bet you had fun in front of the camera this time, as a change of pace. You did not mention the name of the production, but I hope it will be posted when it is finished so we can see it!
Today, 9 miles total once again. A walk down to Northridge Libe this morning (2.25 miles round trip), then a full hike at Aliso at 7pm (3.75), then finally a CSUN loop at 10:30 (3 miles). So now I feel like I am getting into good shape, but of course when I go back to work I will only be able to do regular mileage of 5m per day.
I had fun learning two more Beatles songs : "Lovely Rita Meter Maid" and "Strawberry Fields Forever". "Rita" is easier, and fun to sing along to. I love Beatle harmonies, and I was just thinking tonight that it wasn't just the perfect high notes that made the harmonies so great, but also the diction. John Lennon especially sang his harmonies in a refined English accent, and his enunciation on songs like "Rita" really adds precision to each measure of a song. His vocal is a rhythm instrument.
No movie tonight, but another episode of the Stephen King miniseries that I don't remember if I mentioned last night : "Nightmares & Dreamscapes". I think I did mention it. The shows are good, but the CGI ruins the atmosphere. CGI looks shiny and fake; horror is supposed to look drab and dingy, and if a monster is too fantastic to be believable onscreen, then the audience should only be given fleeting glimpses, like in "Cloverfield" from a few years ago.
Do it right, filmmakers! All I know is that the coneheaded, partially cheesy but superscary giant mutant from "The Brain That Wouldn't Die" is still frightening after 60 years or so, even though it was a B-Movie. Why is it still scary? Because as cheesy as it is (and it really isn't all that cheesy), it looks like they got a real mutant to play the part. Yeah, they put a cone on his head to make him look like Zippy, and they used a few other really gross makeup effects, but the overall look was realistic.
So can the CGI, please. Go back to realistic makeup, and use Real Mutants or Weirdos for the parts.
Well, that is all for tonight, I am listening to an organ recital on Youtube. I will finish it and go to sleep.
See you in the morning, Sweet Baby, and then I will be back home after choir practice at about 1pm.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tonight I can't stay up Super Late because of church in the morning, so I am starting at the Usual Time. Tomorrow we will be singing two songs instead of one : "Living Bread" (because it is a Communion Sunday) and "Blessed Is The Nation" (because of the 4th). Both are pretty easy, so it should go well.
That was a beautiful picture of yourself this morning. You look nice in that dress, even if you prefer all black, lol (and all black is of course very cool), but anyway, I'll bet you had fun in front of the camera this time, as a change of pace. You did not mention the name of the production, but I hope it will be posted when it is finished so we can see it!
Today, 9 miles total once again. A walk down to Northridge Libe this morning (2.25 miles round trip), then a full hike at Aliso at 7pm (3.75), then finally a CSUN loop at 10:30 (3 miles). So now I feel like I am getting into good shape, but of course when I go back to work I will only be able to do regular mileage of 5m per day.
I had fun learning two more Beatles songs : "Lovely Rita Meter Maid" and "Strawberry Fields Forever". "Rita" is easier, and fun to sing along to. I love Beatle harmonies, and I was just thinking tonight that it wasn't just the perfect high notes that made the harmonies so great, but also the diction. John Lennon especially sang his harmonies in a refined English accent, and his enunciation on songs like "Rita" really adds precision to each measure of a song. His vocal is a rhythm instrument.
No movie tonight, but another episode of the Stephen King miniseries that I don't remember if I mentioned last night : "Nightmares & Dreamscapes". I think I did mention it. The shows are good, but the CGI ruins the atmosphere. CGI looks shiny and fake; horror is supposed to look drab and dingy, and if a monster is too fantastic to be believable onscreen, then the audience should only be given fleeting glimpses, like in "Cloverfield" from a few years ago.
Do it right, filmmakers! All I know is that the coneheaded, partially cheesy but superscary giant mutant from "The Brain That Wouldn't Die" is still frightening after 60 years or so, even though it was a B-Movie. Why is it still scary? Because as cheesy as it is (and it really isn't all that cheesy), it looks like they got a real mutant to play the part. Yeah, they put a cone on his head to make him look like Zippy, and they used a few other really gross makeup effects, but the overall look was realistic.
So can the CGI, please. Go back to realistic makeup, and use Real Mutants or Weirdos for the parts.
Well, that is all for tonight, I am listening to an organ recital on Youtube. I will finish it and go to sleep.
See you in the morning, Sweet Baby, and then I will be back home after choir practice at about 1pm.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Santa Su Hike to Lilac Lane + Spahn Ranch + 9 Miles Total + Love
Happy Super Late Night, Sweet Baby,
I hope your 4th Of July weekend is off to a good start. I didn't do much during the early part of the day, but at 3:30 I drove out to Santa Susana and went on a full-on hike all the way past the top of The Slide to where it comes out at a place called Lilac Lane, which is at the very top of the mountain. From there, the trail keeps going toward Spahn Ranch and I followed it for another quarter mile. I've done this "long version" of my Santa Su "Slide Hike" before, and I posted pics in 2014, the first time I did it. Back then I was nervous on the Spahn Ranch trail because it is narrow and has a double drop off - on either side - but back then I was hiking in worn down sneakers and wasn't used to the heights. Now I have good boots and am more used to it, even though I still don't like the "double drop off" trails. I think I will soon try for a separate Spahn Ranch hike, starting from the Lilac Lane part of the trail (there is a parking lot there), just because it's not as scary as it was, and also because I have got to see, sooner or later, if I can find the infamous Manson Family rock, a giant boulder that some of them posed under for Life magazine, before the murders happened.
That's what Spahn Ranch was known for : The Manson Family. Because I was here when it happened, and just a few miles away, I have always been fascinated with that case, and have read many books about it. I don't know if I've ever told you this, but from my late teens to my mid-30s, I read books about many serial murderers and mass killers, including John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, The Hillside Stranglers, Richard Ramirez aka "The Night Stalker", whose final victim's house I drive past every day on my way to Pearl's.
Yeah, that was one of my "things", a fascination with these types of demons, and I read everything I could get my hands on. I probably should have been an FBI profiler. But anyway, it all started because of The Manson Family. They were so weird, and so horrible, and the trial got so much publicity, that it was riveting as well as scary. Which is why Manson himself became infamous - America's most notorious prisoner.
When I was on that part of the trail today, the part that leads to Spahn, I thought "screw those people". I thought, "this land is all about the Indians who were here for thousands of years, and their Great Spirit". And also it's about the land itself, and the critters and plants that inhabit it.
You can feel all of this when you are there.
But the fascination remains, and so just for history's sake, I will try to do a Spahn hike soon.
On a lighter note, I liked your post about "blazing your own trail". That was perfect, and it's the only way I know how to be. You are the same way. :):)
I also saw your post of the I Prevail video, and I wondered if it was your work, but then I thought that you would have said as much, and I don't remember you mentioning working with them. But perhaps you will in the future. :)
I also saw your post of Katie's pic. Has she relocated to Los Angeles? It's a good place to be.
Later this eve I did my usual CSUN walk, too, so I did 9 miles for the day. Now I'm getting in shape!
No movie tonight, just reading and listening to music.
This is great having some days off. I am raring to go, and raring to sleep in.......and I will do both!
Starting tomorrow morn.
See you then, my Darling. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I hope your 4th Of July weekend is off to a good start. I didn't do much during the early part of the day, but at 3:30 I drove out to Santa Susana and went on a full-on hike all the way past the top of The Slide to where it comes out at a place called Lilac Lane, which is at the very top of the mountain. From there, the trail keeps going toward Spahn Ranch and I followed it for another quarter mile. I've done this "long version" of my Santa Su "Slide Hike" before, and I posted pics in 2014, the first time I did it. Back then I was nervous on the Spahn Ranch trail because it is narrow and has a double drop off - on either side - but back then I was hiking in worn down sneakers and wasn't used to the heights. Now I have good boots and am more used to it, even though I still don't like the "double drop off" trails. I think I will soon try for a separate Spahn Ranch hike, starting from the Lilac Lane part of the trail (there is a parking lot there), just because it's not as scary as it was, and also because I have got to see, sooner or later, if I can find the infamous Manson Family rock, a giant boulder that some of them posed under for Life magazine, before the murders happened.
That's what Spahn Ranch was known for : The Manson Family. Because I was here when it happened, and just a few miles away, I have always been fascinated with that case, and have read many books about it. I don't know if I've ever told you this, but from my late teens to my mid-30s, I read books about many serial murderers and mass killers, including John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, The Hillside Stranglers, Richard Ramirez aka "The Night Stalker", whose final victim's house I drive past every day on my way to Pearl's.
Yeah, that was one of my "things", a fascination with these types of demons, and I read everything I could get my hands on. I probably should have been an FBI profiler. But anyway, it all started because of The Manson Family. They were so weird, and so horrible, and the trial got so much publicity, that it was riveting as well as scary. Which is why Manson himself became infamous - America's most notorious prisoner.
When I was on that part of the trail today, the part that leads to Spahn, I thought "screw those people". I thought, "this land is all about the Indians who were here for thousands of years, and their Great Spirit". And also it's about the land itself, and the critters and plants that inhabit it.
You can feel all of this when you are there.
But the fascination remains, and so just for history's sake, I will try to do a Spahn hike soon.
On a lighter note, I liked your post about "blazing your own trail". That was perfect, and it's the only way I know how to be. You are the same way. :):)
I also saw your post of the I Prevail video, and I wondered if it was your work, but then I thought that you would have said as much, and I don't remember you mentioning working with them. But perhaps you will in the future. :)
I also saw your post of Katie's pic. Has she relocated to Los Angeles? It's a good place to be.
Later this eve I did my usual CSUN walk, too, so I did 9 miles for the day. Now I'm getting in shape!
No movie tonight, just reading and listening to music.
This is great having some days off. I am raring to go, and raring to sleep in.......and I will do both!
Starting tomorrow morn.
See you then, my Darling. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Friday, July 1, 2016
Upcoming Concerts Rule + Tiny Apartment Does Not Rule + Aliso + "Naked City" : A Crime Classic
Happy Super Late Night, my Darling,
Tonight certainly qualifies as such. You will probably not be awake by the time I post this (unless you are editing, haha), but I'll try to write faster to make up the difference. :)
I hope your day was good. I see you have another festival coming up later in the Summer : Taste Of Madison. Two of your bands are playing, 7SD and Stitched-Up Heart. That is super cool. And much more will happen between now and then, as the Summer is just getting started.
This morning, I hung around The Tiny Apartment, straightening the place up. It was much needed, and I have gotta get a bigger pad one of these years, because I just plain have Too Much Stuff to live in a unit as small as this one. With my job, I'm not here a lot anyway, but I just need more space for all my books, cds, and guitars so I don't have to constantly move stuff around when I wanna get into a closet or find a certain book or work on a drawing. I mean, I am in no way a pack rat, and my stuff would easily fit into a one bedroom with space to spare. And then I would be able to take all my old photo stuff out of the closet and digitize everything, put all my Meadows videotapes on dvd (a must, now that they are over 20 years old), and just generally go over what I have and see what's what.
Anyhow, all of these things will happen. I am tired of living by myself, and doing everything by myself, to be honest.
I did go for a full length hike at Aliso in the late afternoon, where I saw a silky spider web backlit against a tree. That was the pic I posted on FB. Actually, the one my brother fixed with added contrast is a better version because you can see the spider web in more detail. The spider himself (or herself) was only present for about 30 seconds. I saw the web, and was looking at the camera screen to take a photo, cause I love spider web photos as you know. Then all of a sudden a spider was in the frame. She must have come out to see what the commotion was about, crunching leaves and all. I had time to snap two quick pics before she scurried off again, and I only wish she had stayed in focus, too, but with macro photography, the auto focus tends to sharpen on what's closest, in this case the web. Still a good shot, though, and I am getting a lot of critters lately! :)
Tonight I watched an all-time crime classic : "Naked City", on Criterion and directed by Jules Dassin. I knew the title mainly from a TV show of the same name that was spun off from the movie and aired in reruns late at night when I was a kid. The title sounded racy, but the movie is a straight up detective story, almost a noir but more like a documentary starring the City itself. We have talked about screenwriting, and I have bemoaned and tiraded on the current inability of most writers to fill even 90 minutes with an interesting story, when that used to be the norm in the days of classic screenplays.
Well, "Naked City" packs so much "happening" into 96 minutes, you feel like you are experiencing the events in real time, over the six days the story takes place. The movie never drags for a second, however. It just fills every minute with plot, character and action. Add to that great actors (and characters) of that era like Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff and good guy Don Taylor, and the fact that it won the Academy Award in 1948 for Best Cinematography (for William Daniels), and you have a Five Star Classic, a great great movie.
Other than that, just reading my John Lennon bio and SK Bain's exceedingly weird "Most Dangerous", and listening to Charles Ives' "Concord" sonata. It's gotta be classical if I'm reading; I can't "rock & read" for some reason.....
I liked your post, the photo of the "full Rainbow".
You knew I'd like that one. :)
See you in the morning, SB. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tonight certainly qualifies as such. You will probably not be awake by the time I post this (unless you are editing, haha), but I'll try to write faster to make up the difference. :)
I hope your day was good. I see you have another festival coming up later in the Summer : Taste Of Madison. Two of your bands are playing, 7SD and Stitched-Up Heart. That is super cool. And much more will happen between now and then, as the Summer is just getting started.
This morning, I hung around The Tiny Apartment, straightening the place up. It was much needed, and I have gotta get a bigger pad one of these years, because I just plain have Too Much Stuff to live in a unit as small as this one. With my job, I'm not here a lot anyway, but I just need more space for all my books, cds, and guitars so I don't have to constantly move stuff around when I wanna get into a closet or find a certain book or work on a drawing. I mean, I am in no way a pack rat, and my stuff would easily fit into a one bedroom with space to spare. And then I would be able to take all my old photo stuff out of the closet and digitize everything, put all my Meadows videotapes on dvd (a must, now that they are over 20 years old), and just generally go over what I have and see what's what.
Anyhow, all of these things will happen. I am tired of living by myself, and doing everything by myself, to be honest.
I did go for a full length hike at Aliso in the late afternoon, where I saw a silky spider web backlit against a tree. That was the pic I posted on FB. Actually, the one my brother fixed with added contrast is a better version because you can see the spider web in more detail. The spider himself (or herself) was only present for about 30 seconds. I saw the web, and was looking at the camera screen to take a photo, cause I love spider web photos as you know. Then all of a sudden a spider was in the frame. She must have come out to see what the commotion was about, crunching leaves and all. I had time to snap two quick pics before she scurried off again, and I only wish she had stayed in focus, too, but with macro photography, the auto focus tends to sharpen on what's closest, in this case the web. Still a good shot, though, and I am getting a lot of critters lately! :)
Tonight I watched an all-time crime classic : "Naked City", on Criterion and directed by Jules Dassin. I knew the title mainly from a TV show of the same name that was spun off from the movie and aired in reruns late at night when I was a kid. The title sounded racy, but the movie is a straight up detective story, almost a noir but more like a documentary starring the City itself. We have talked about screenwriting, and I have bemoaned and tiraded on the current inability of most writers to fill even 90 minutes with an interesting story, when that used to be the norm in the days of classic screenplays.
Well, "Naked City" packs so much "happening" into 96 minutes, you feel like you are experiencing the events in real time, over the six days the story takes place. The movie never drags for a second, however. It just fills every minute with plot, character and action. Add to that great actors (and characters) of that era like Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff and good guy Don Taylor, and the fact that it won the Academy Award in 1948 for Best Cinematography (for William Daniels), and you have a Five Star Classic, a great great movie.
Other than that, just reading my John Lennon bio and SK Bain's exceedingly weird "Most Dangerous", and listening to Charles Ives' "Concord" sonata. It's gotta be classical if I'm reading; I can't "rock & read" for some reason.....
I liked your post, the photo of the "full Rainbow".
You knew I'd like that one. :)
See you in the morning, SB. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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