The woman at the top of the world - from David Stafford

[Marie Wintzer]

Just when my mailbox was on the verge of despair about not seeing a David Stafford for too long, I get this wonderful card. A very dreamy, soft and hazy picture, a beautiful woman and the entrance of a mysterious tunnel. It's a dream, for sure. And such a well written dream as well. Please take a moment to read it, you will see what I mean. David says the story is based on a real dream he had. He woke up in the middle of it, then went back to sleep and the dream resumed! Now how do you do that? I never had ANY dream resumed, ever, no matter how hard I tried. David, please give me the recipe for this. Only for very advanced dreamers, I imagine :-)) anyway.... he also added the following lines to it, which I liked a lot: "The distance between her rocky world and civilization seemed so far, the daunting path to it so treacherous and yet when we descended, the three in the dream and the she of the rocky townhouse, it turned out to be a comparatively short distance with shuttle buses waiting." It then occurred to him that the cave might stand for... the internet world? That is very possible, yes. Maybe David will soon have another dream, The Woman at the top of the world, part II, and we will know more about it? David, this is masterfully written and complements the picture to perfection, thank you for this piece of dream!

[Nancy Bell Scott]

So you understand, then. Anthony Perkins gave me just a small bite when he showed up, but the shark stabbed me to death 7 different times. I am a fake shell of my former self. 

Now I have to go look up those other guys you listed. One of my very favorites in our era was Michael Nyman's music for "The Piano."

[David Stafford]

Nancy, I've lost several friends to the Shower Shark but only two to Anthony Perkins. I like those old movie composers like Miklos Rosza, Dimitri Tiomkin and Bronislau Kaper. Emotions in modern movies are so puny they can't stand up to that sort of bombast.

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Whether it's studio music is a good question. I liked all those movies, though Psycho wrecked shower relaxation forever. Sometimes you wonder if a toothy shark is waiting for you outside the curtain, you know? Never mind Anthony Perkins. But I'm still going to check Herrman out. Studio music here is sometimes Last of the Mohicans, sometimes Philadelphia, sometimes The Hours ... ya never know.

[David Stafford]

Yeah, I'm not sure Herrman is good studio music...he's the guy that wrote the music for the shower sequence in Psycho. And he's also the guy who wrote the Tristan and Isoldesque love theme in Vertigo. Also the infamous Saul Bass credits for North by Northwest. Also Journey to the Center of the Earth....remember the scene where Pat Boone slips from the dark cavern into an enormous geode, gems a-sparklin'...cue the harps...I love movie music but it is an acquired taste.

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Trying to stop laughing. Yes, that's it, David--for some reason I hope you read that in Wiki and didn't have it memorized. I saw it and have no recollection of the music, but will look up Bernard Herrman, thank you ... always like new music, especially for the studio.

[David Stafford]

Yes, I'd be interested to know how she combines her realtor/anthropologist skill sets. In my mind's eye I see an attractive matron stalking the streets of Malibu with pith helmet and clipboard, scribbling furiously: "The natives are rootless."

[Marie Wintzer]

That makes for a very successful blend :-))

[David Stafford]

"Yvette Carmen Mimieux was born in Los Angeles, California, to a French father and Mexican mother." From her Wikipedia site....

[Marie Wintzer]

Is that her real name or a stage name? It sounds so... French.

[David Stafford]

DVS, Actually I think of myself more like a Normal Mailer...Nancy, Joy in the Morning! Never seen it but it has soundtrack by Bernard Herrman, one of my faves...