Well, dear readers, today is going to be a smelly day, because at some point before one o’clock in the afternoon, Scent Of Mystery CDs will be arriving. Then it’s just a question on putting the CDs in the already-addressed packages, and then doing the postage for each. Of course, with no help I have no idea how long that will take. If there’s any way to get them over to the post office by the end of the day, you know I will. Otherwise, Friday morning. But why am I speaking of today when I have not spoken of yesterday? Aren’t I just jumping the gun? Have you ever jumped the gun? I did, and it was ever so much fun. Most people jump the shark – I jump the gun. One of those pursuits has teeth and one has more bang. Has anyone noticed that this week has sped by, like a gazelle playing Twister? And I, for one, am glad because the beginning of this week sucked gelatinous goo. Speaking of gelatinous goo, yesterday was a day that started off one way and ended another. I got up early, got a Fed Ex package I was expecting and then did some errands. I then did the long jog, which was very difficult since I’d run twice the day before. I barely made it home. I then weighed myself and was happy to see that I’d dropped another three pounds – that made me feel better. I was still feeling disappointment from the events of yesterday, mainly because of the way in which things were presented, but as the day went on I began to feel better about it all, began to pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again. All this stuff is just too boring, frankly, and I have better things to do than dwell on such things. I also got two small ASCAP checks, completely out of the blue, and unexpected dough, no matter what the amount, always makes me happy. I then toddled off to sup with Mr. Barry Pearl. He wanted to make sure I was feeling okay, which was very sweet of him. We went to Little Toni’s and had an excellent dinner of pizza and salad. And we chatted about everything and he was very supportive and a good pal. As we were about to leave, my old friend Linden Waddell stopped by our table. Linden, for those who have the Stages CD, was someone I discovered at LACC – she stopped the show nightly with The Girl That Men Go Mad For. I hadn’t met her kids before – they seemed like great kids, and they’d just come from some acting showcase of some sort. The girl is Eden and the boy is Dartanyan (I think I got the spelling right). That was fun, and then I came home and sat on my couch like so much fish, feeling much better about things.

Last night, I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled What Did You Do In The War, Daddy, a Blake Edwards film from 1966. It’s one of the few Blakes that I’ve never seen. I remember it didn’t get good reviews and it was a box-office disappointment. But, over on the imdb, the usual suspects declare it a ten-star great comedy. Since I’m a big fan of Mr. Edwards I couldn’t wait to pop in the DVD. Mr. Edwards is a very hit and miss director, and What Did You Do In The War, Daddy is one of his misses. It’s too long, too much falls flat or is overdone, and it just becomes wearying after about thirty minutes. That said, every now and then a gag happens that is pure Blake, and those few things made me laugh out loud. The cast is certainly good, with James Coburn, Dick Shawn, Sergio Fantoni, Carroll O’Connor, Harry Morgan, and Aldo Ray all turning in fun performances. The score by Henry Mancini was, for me, also a miss, one of his few misses. In fact, I’d have to say it’s my least favorite Mancini score ever. The transfer is decent.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because it’s time we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and get to the next section.