Hello out there in "blogland" This be yer ole buddy "Steveo" Just thought i would fill you in on some things I have been doing, since i haven't blogged for quite awhile...
Felt good this morning walking around in our "fair" weather here in Southern Ca...it has been pretty chilly, but today is a beautiful day..very little or no smog, and the temps are nice right now...
One of the things I've been doing is taking a few supplements(note:check with your doctor before taking any vitamins or supplements)
Had a test awhile back saying that I was low on Vitamin "D" so been taking some D3, about 2000 IU's a day..It is helping me and I feel  a lot better.Also felt a bit of congestion coming on last night, and took a zinc...it helped me a great deal, so yes, I am taking certain supplements, but trying not to over do it...
 Recently I have discoverered a national treaure in the music and show biz department...his name is Oscar Levant(deceased)...the guy was a brilliant wit, and a great musician..trying to see what i can find on youtube
with him....He was a self professed neurotic, and shared this side of him with the public...nevertheless, his performances of his friend George Gershwin's music are brilliant. I enjoy his quirky personality...Looking around from some memorabilia on him, bu found only one thing..an autographed pic of him that was pretty pricey.
Let's see, what else do i know?
Been catching some of the presidential candidates on TV and this is also quirky...Im wondering how this is going to turn out and who will be our next "president"
Been getting into a little "stamp" collecting..but not "majorly"..I ordered a few "plate blocks" of a some stamps that I admire...A plate block is at least 4 stamps that are connected together with perforations around the edges, and have the "plate block" number above...The stamps I have purchased are not by any means rare, or even expensive, but its nice to have a few that I like. Ordered the 1941 30c Airmail Stamp showing a C-30(Lockheed Constellation aeroplane), a plate block of 4 1952 NATO stamps, and also a plate block of 4 7c airmail stamps showing the figure (underbelly outline) of an early jet..this stamp in the red varitey..the earlier one which was identical but with the color "blue" came out in 1958.
 NOw a bit of a gripe...when phoning certain places lke CVS pharmacy, and being put on hold, the music that is played while waiting is SUPER loud...blowing my ear out, and also filling the room with a lot of noise...I wonder what genius thought of that! lol
The holiday season has come on so quickly, I am caught by surprise, and am trying to "Get ready" for the eventualities that come along with this...buying a few cards, sending some gifts,
making a reservation at a restaurant, etc....all in the last 7 days! I remember readng abot Ed McMahon JOhnny Carson's announcer...he waited till the last 24 hours before doing anything.
 Sent a package out to Columbia City Indiana, but it went straight to Dallas...this annoyed me, and i got on the horn with USPS..af first they said it was a mistake they would correct...later they said that during the heavy holiday season...there is an overflow of mail that is routed to what we call "way stations" Dallas was one of them...then after that the item showed up in Michigan, and then finally Columbia City, Indiana...I had no idea that this was one of the things that happens...
WEll anyway, I want to wish you all a good holiday and perhaps will blog again before New Years, but if I dont, Happy New Year to all of you out there...
Best,
Steveo










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Hey Y'all....
Thought I'd chime in a bit...Gf tells me she is getting tired of certain "cooking shows" that are turning into about 80% gossip/talk and very little concentration on cooking....these are on the "regular channels"....
I guess the almighty "Ratings" require them to act part time like a female Johnny Carson...
Was sitting in the eye doctors office the other day, and the big screen TV was playing some old episodes
of Green Acres...I never realized how good the writing was...excellent, fun show!
The weather in this section of suburbia Los Angeles has been horrendous this week! lots of humidity and unstable weather...with only sprinkles of the very thing we need..RAIN!
Thinking of Disneyland right now, and how the new or current management has decided they no longer "need" the Disneyland Band anymore...I mean I thought Main Street and that area was about nostalgia and the turn of the century....oh well, just another "Screwed up thing" about that park, which has been out of whack for years, and of course its costs an arm and a leg to go there...about 100.00 per pop....I would like to go there, just to see some of the things that have been there time immemorial.. The Castle, parts of Main St. etc.
..Was reading about some "dumb laws" that were enacted in certain states way back in the day...for example It is illegal to sing out of tune in a nightclub in I believe the state is North Carolina...and in Idaho  a man going with hi fiance is not allowed to buy her over 50 pounds of chocolate...I dont think theres any danger of me dong that, as the expense of chocolates are pretty high..just walk into a "See's candy store and try to buy a box...$$$$$
I never understood why may parents and grandparents were up in arms back in the day over escalating
prices, while as a kid I only knew the current price and scoffed at them....now I completely understand...
To go to a fast food place you are going to burn a 10.00 bill just to get one meal!

I get nervous dealing with some of the young folk who give me my change for a larger bill offered to them
although I should relax. The amount of change is shown on the cash register...HOWEVER counting it back is another matter! lol
Have I been giving you a piece of my mind? I hope so..lol just offering up my thoughts on certain things..Gonna run along...plant ya now, dig ya later!

Steveo

Hello Again

Hello y'all Gonna be posting again..its been awhile look for my new post very soon!

                                                                They Only Take Cash

Hi,
Blogging today about this wonderful place near where I live. It is a good "burger joint"...I will not use the name, but after going there and running through the specials list with the cashier(I wanted a "to go" order)
I ordered, and then pulled out one of my "credit cards"...She said "we only accept cash!"(I had forgotten)
Well, I am surprised, as all of the other businesses around here on the same block take cards...but not this place!
My question is this...how would you feel about this? Would you go in there and patronize the place?

Tutti who?

Tutti who? Did what? lol Im talking about a guy who was active in the
music biz in the 60's and back...He was a producer and arranger for
Walt Disney Productions and did some versions of Disney songs. Right
now, Im focusing on "For NOw, For Always"...the love theme from the
original 1960 "Parent Trap".
Tutti Camarata(May 11, 1913 - April 13, 2005) Arranged and conducted a wonderful choral/orchestra version of this tune in the early 60's realeased on Buena Vista Records, Walt's recording arm.
Hey, the guy could write an arrangement! Here he gives that elite Disney sound with Strings, Horns, Woodwinds, and the great Disney Chorus sound. To say he was a genius in music would be very accurate!
I can hear some of the Disney alumni singers in there, NAmely Thurl Ravenscropft singing bass...Lets see, Im especially enamored of the instruemtal opening...with midrange strings starting out plaintively, that repeating the melody an octave higher in the 2nd bar....(they go high...)then some 4 dramatic chord progressions that lead into the main vocal. The whole thing is first rate from the opening note to the last part ending with that Snow White sound orchestrally...Acknowledgement goes to the unknown orchestrator that fleshed out Tutti's sketch...probably Bobby Hammack or Walter Sheets.
This is a "lost" sound..but Im glad I found it on youtube, and you can hear it also...
here's the link...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyWUgTJ1kqc
Warning....The song is very adult sounding and romantic...if you like old time love ballads you will love it, otherwise skip it!

William Lava TV and Film Composer(1911-1971)

William Lava TV and Film Composer(1911-1971)

Today I want to rap about one of my favorite tv backround composers of yesteryear..
HIs name was William Lava....A creative, yet true name..I first became familiar with the name William Lava when I started watching television programs produced by WB for ABC-TV in the early 60's.
His name most often popped up on the Television program Cheyenne, a beautiful tv western starring Clint Walker.
MAny an afternoon on rerun when televeion was mainly black and white, and didnt mind showing reruns of non color tv shows, I would get installments of preveiously aired programs of Cheyenne...so for an hour I'd sit and watch as "Cheyenne Bodie" drifted through various towns and situations often taking temporary jobs - sometimes as a lawman, sometimes as a bonty hunter, whatever he could find unusally involving
interaction with people. During the action, or tense parts of the programs Mister Lava's score graced my 12" audio speaker located directly below this humongous 27" television set, and provided some fat, turgid brass and string chords, most often utilizing a low piano chord to meld the dissonance together...
Often during a chase, his real "b" like fast moving violin figures rhapsodized over indians attacking a fort, or bad guys riding horses shooting at each other...wonderful stuff!
Not only did he score the episodes, but at the beginning and end we got to hear his wonderful theme song sung by the Disney bunch, Thurl Ravenscroft, Bill Lee and company.(4 or 5 guys intoning in unison "Cheyenne, Cheyenne"...)

Later on having become a composer myself, and trying to investigate the backround of Bill Lava, it is seen that not much is found on the web about him...just the sketchiest of information which I will present here.
Willam B. LAva was born on Mar 18, 1911 in St.PAul, Minn.and attended Northwestern University, probably in the late 20's...Arriving in Hollywood in about 1936, Bill proceeded to score many westerns at Republic, and later did much composing, often uncredited at WB. Bill also worked in radio. One of the partial scores he worked for at WB was "Action In The North Atlantic"...
In the mid fifties Disney hired him to write music for the Mickey MOuse Club action series, such as The Hardy Boys, as well as some scores for Zorro.
During the period of the late fifties, thru the mid 60's he became inundated scoring many tv shows for WB including the Theme and scores for Cheyenne and F Troop, while at the same time taking over the composing chores for the WB Cartoons. Not only THAT, but also working for Paramount as a music supervisor for BOnanza!
When mentioning him to various luminaries at the WB music dept, it was told to me that he was not a great composer in the sense of a luminary such as Erik Korngold, but was a great technician and good "b" film man..well I agree that he was a great "b" film man, and if you love the sound of these old scores, I dont think one would want someone like Korngold or Steiner scoring them The music suits me just fine in this genre.
In his personal life, William Lava was a portly man who was a staunch anti-communist. Lava became known as an outspoken critic of the Cuban Revolution. He spoke in favor of direct military action against the Castro regime, continuing to protest in this manner from 1959 until his death.
Bill lava died on Feb 20 1971, leaving, in my opinion a big hole in the art of creating great blowout "b" music for tv....A few of the films he also worked on was
action in The North Atlantic, PT 109, and The Chamber of Horrors(House of Wax II)Creature From The Black Lagoon,etc
I never knew Bill Lava, but I miss him! I knew him through the character of his music.