I sent out an e-mail last night quitting my band, stating that I didn't really want to play bass anymore and am instead concentrating on learning piano - both true statements. It was fun for four years, but after last year's gig I got the impression that it's time to check that box and move on to something else.We did some more hardwood flooring work last night: Cari puttied nail holes, I did quarter-round molding. I am becoming adept at producing returns, a funny little process using small, precisely cut bits of wood to produce a finished end. I still don't consider myself much of a carpenter, but I am getting better at it.
My new section of baseboard molding now looks much better. We are very nearly finished with the hallway - all that remains is to fit wood to the top of some stairs and more nail hole filling work. This weekend we move furniture around and begin on the dreaded dining room.
Why dreaded? Because it presently has a tiled floor, which automatically means tile cutting - and tile dust. Also, the tiled floor is placed on an additional layer of plywood over the sub floor; they may or may not be glued together. Getting that up may be very difficult. We may even have to even replace the sub floor - a real job, by all accounts. But... we'll see what we're in for after we start.
Last night I became the recipient of another few boxes of Michael F. Keaney film noir VHSs - a hundred or so, I guess. WOW. I am now very well in stook. (Hang on a minute. I thought that phrase meant, "well supplied." That's how my Dad used to use it. Looking it up I see it's British slang for, "in trouble." Perhaps I misheard Dad.) Anyway - I have lots of tapes. It will take me years to get through these.
Last night I started watching another film noir I've heard of but have never seen: "Canon City" (1948), an amusing work about a prison break. It's amusing because the film interviews some actual convicts in the Colorado prison, and their warden! This film is also notable for appearances by two famous and interesting stars:
DeForest Kelley: Yes, Star Trek's "Bones." This is a very early appearance.
Jeff Corey: "Who?" I can hear you saying. He's a bit player in noirs - you see him turning up in them every now and then - but, as it turns out, he was one of the top acting teachers in America during the 1950's. He was also a Hollywood commie (there were a bunch - there still are) who ran into trouble with the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). He has a good role as a cop in a favorite noir, "Follow Me Quietly" (1949).
Before I leave film noir I should mention James Lileks' amusing 1940's black and white films page. Funny writer, that Lileks. Especially good is his look at the mother of all chicks-behind-bars films, "Caged." Seriously, check this site out. You will get a good idea of why I'm so enthusiastic about these great old films.
A Burbank girl pointed out these two interesting auction items: Lockheed blackout, and "Color City." All the time I lived in Burbank, we never called the NBC Studios "Color City." It was always, simply, "the NBC Studios." It's funny that given all that time it took me until 2008 to finally take the studio tour. (There are many people living in Manhattan who have never been up the Empire State Building.)
Johnny Carson broadcast the Tonight Show from 1972 to 1992 from the facility; I had the minor thrill of standing where his desk was located all that time. We also got to look at one of Jay Leno's cars, parked in the parking lot. Some exotic Audi - I forget what model. (My friend Mike also once spotted Leno driving a Stanley Steamer in Burbank.) The old Tonight Show set is now used for Access Hollywood, a production I have never seen with, without a doubt, bubbleheaded hosts highlighting the talent-deprived stars of today. Paugh.
And here's my usual Friday send-off: Have a great weekend!
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