Well, dear readers, welcome to the first of what will hopefully be thirty-one glorious days of October. I am decreeing October Octoberfest around these here parts – a month long festival of merriment and mirth and laughter and legs. One amazing thing is that at some point this month we’re going to achieve our new plateau and it’s a doozy (yzood, spelled backwards). We’ll be shipping books shortly, we’ll be taking preorders for The Last Starfighter, we’ll be putting up Kevin Spirtas’ one-man show at the El Portal, and we’ll be doing many, many things during this marvy Octoberfest. And, of course, we will pay our respects to the day that caused this site’s existence – what was one of the blackest days I’ve ever known, birthed the most wondrous site on all the Internet, so good can definitely be born from evil. The final day of September was a good deal of fun. I started out the day with not enough sleep, but I found my energy and got crackin’. I shipped all outstanding orders, and then had lunch with Mr. David Wechter. It was fun to catch up with him, and now he’s off to do a new season of Cowboy U. I then came back to the home environment, did some things that needed doing, then showered and went on my way to pick up the newly-arrived dear reader Hisaka. She had a lovely flight, and sends her love to everyone here (she didn’t bring her iBook, and so won’t be posting until her return). I brought her back to the home environment, and we had a lovely chat, and I even showed her some video she hadn’t seen. Then we were on our way to sup at The Smoke House. The dinner was superb – I was actually a very good boy, except for the three pieces of garlic cheese bread, and even those are very thinly sliced. I had the combo Louis, but instead of eating two bowls-full of 1000 Island dressing, I used mostly cocktail sauce on the shrimp and crab, thereby rendering the meal completely non-caloric. Hisaka had a steak, and she professed it yummilicious. I must say that Hisaka’s English has gotten much, much better from last year. In any case, the evening was a delight, and I returned her to her hotel room about nine-thirty.
Last night I watched the season premiere of Alias. As most of you know, I was rather put off by most of last season’s episodes, and by the end I was basically saying to just shoot the beast and put it out of its misery. But, the season finale’s final scene was a good one, and so I tuned in to the premiere (via TIVO). Well, I’m afraid if this is the caliber of show we’ll be seeing, I may as well just forget the rest of the season. One of the reasons the show was so much fun was seeing Jennifer Garner in all her little guises – she was sexy, beguiling, and fun. As she became popular, I started to notice a little change in the attitude of the show, and not one for the better. Last season, of course, she became Jennifer Garner, director, just because she had the clout to do so. This year, she’s Jennifer Garner, producer. For me, that’s the kiss of death for the show. She really should just do the job she was hired to do, because she’s simply not as good as she was. Hiding her pregnancy in the first episode was a joke. Whether it was her purse and a sweater strategically placed, or a train going by, conveniently hiding her stomach, or the muu-muu she was wearing, well, let’s just say that a pregnant Sydney Bristow is not going to help make Alias must-see TV. As soon as she announced her pregnancy, CBS should have pulled the plug. Then we have the Michael Vartan business. Some people are saying that Miss Garner is responsible for the turn of events. I have no idea if that’s true or not, but my wild guess is that it has as much to do with Mr. Ben Affleck as it does with Miss Garner. The “style” of the show also hit a new low with all that digitally manipulated sped up camerawork. It’s awful and should be put to pasture as soon as possible. I know Alias has fans on this here site, and I’m glad the show is still working for people. It isn’t working for me anymore, and, believe me, I wish it was, since it and The Sopranos are the only shows I’ve watched in the last fifteen years.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because shortly I must hie myself to the Hollywood Collector’s Show, where I’ll be meeting up with Hisaka, Pogue, and Pogue’s friend.
Here is our quickie Unseemly Trivia Contest question:
There was a time when straight plays could actually have a cast as large as a musical. Those days are gone. This particular straight play had a cast as large as a musical. It was, in fact, directed by someone who’d done a musical or two. The play’s star would go on to become an iconic TV star. However, he would not repeat his role in the film version of the play and neither would his leading lady. Interestingly, the play’s title was used to comment (unfavorably) on another show that season. Our contest’s bonus question: There was a cast member in a small role that would later go on to appear on an album produced by yours truly. So –
Name the straight play.
Name the director.
Name the show’s star and his leading lady and name the two actors who played those roles in the film version.
Name the show that was commented on (unfavorably) by using a reference to this play’s title, and tell us the comment.
Name the cast member who would go on to appear on an album produced by yours truly.
Remember: DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS TO THE SITE. Send them to me at bruce@haineshisway.com (and don’t worry if you get a bounced e-mail notice – I do get them). Good luck to one and all and also all and one.
Tonight we’ll be having our special Hisaka dinner at Musso and Frank. In attendance will be yours truly, Hisaka, Pogue and his ever-lovin’ Julieanne, Nick Redman and his pal Julie Kirgo. I’m thinkin’ it’s goin’ to be a load of fun and I will, of course, have a full report.
Well, ear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must – now wait just a darned minute. “Well, ear readers???” What in tarnation is an ear reader? I hate when “d”s go missing, don’t you? I o hope we on’t have any more missing “d”s, or I on’t know what I’ll o. You know what I’ll be doing today, so I see no need to reiterate it. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite ridiculous sayings? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we? We shall, ear reaers. amn those missing “d”s, amn them all to hell.