Well, dear readers, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are inching closer and closer, until they will be upon us like a gazelle with heartburn. Names like Donner and Blitzen and Vixen and Dasher and Dancer, not to mention Prancer and Comet and Cupid. Who made up these names, anyway? I like to call my reindeer Joe, and Billy Bob, and Goober. I just don’t understand why reindeer have to be named after famous people like Richard Donner and Marc Blitzen (he wrote Juno, you know), or cleansers like Comet. In any case, out countdown to Christmas continues unabated. It tried to continue abated, but that didn’t work at all, so it is continuing unabated. Wait – I thought I just heard a creature stirring. I’ll be back in a moment. No, there was no creature stirring, not that there is anything in the house for a creature to stir, not even pudding. No, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse in the house. Sometimes, though, I do love to stir. Perhaps I’ll buy some pudding tomorrow and stir with diabolical glee. Yes, I’ll be stir crazy, damn it all. I want to do everything with diabolical glee. Can we just pause for a moment and contemplate the word “glee”? That word looks like it’s missing a letter or two, doesn’t it? It looks like a squished word, doesn’t it? Where was I? Oh, yes, I want to do everything with diabolical glee, and so I shall, and those who try to stop me shall be stopped with diabolical glee. Well, I’ve grown weary of this paragraph and shall now move on to the next paragraph, that is if on wants to be moved to the next paragraph. Frankly, on is very comfortable in this paragraph and has threatened to hit me in the armpit if I should try any funny business.
I have left on in the paragraph above – if that makes on happy who am I to say nay? Yesterday, I watched yet another von Sternberg/Dietrich film on DVD, this one entitled Dishonored. It’s the one film in their canon that I hadn’t seen. Dishonored is generally thought of as a lesser effort, but I quite enjoyed it. Like all their films, it’s gorgeously photographed (by Lee Garmes), with beautiful sets and costumes. Again, the style of the film is completely unique, and Dietrich is wonderful as a prostitute spy. The region 2 DVD sports an excellent transfer, really excellent considering the film was made in 1931. I must say that Universal France has done a great job with these DVDs.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below and let us do so with diabolical glee, shall we?
Yesterday, I had a long production meeting for the play and we got all sorts of details ironed out, so that’s good. I then had a long lunch meeting with the head of the theatre arts department at LACC, and we have solidified the deal for me to teach a musical theatre workshop come February. We discussed how it would work, the meeting time of the twice-weekly class, and what the endgame will be for the end of the semester (some sort of show). If it works and is fun, I may do it regularly, with the goal being to have the department doing musicals once again. Only second year students will be allowed to take the class, but many of the kids who were in the benefit are in that class, so that’s good. A few alums have asked if they could sign up for the class as well, and they’ve agreed to let them. So, come February, I’ll start this little journey – I’m looking forward to it, it doesn’t take up much of my time, and I think I will have a good deal of fun. Lunch took place at Cassell’s, a very famous LA hamburger joint. I hadn’t been there in thirty years, but it tasted exactly as I remembered it – absolutely delicious. After that, I came home to no packages whatsoever – very annoying. I had an amazon package ship on Friday – I’m a Prime member, so I get free two-day shipping. Well, it still hasn’t arrived, and it looks like it may not arrive until Thursday, even though it’s been in California since yesterday, and is supposedly in transit to Van Nuys for the last fourteen hours. According to the UPS site, the package was sent ground, which is not the deal, and I’ve written amazon a strong note about it – we’ll see how they respond.
I then went off to rehearsal, some of which went swimmingly, and some of which didn’t. Tonight I’m going to be working extensively on the first twenty minutes of act two and trying to bring one of the actors closer to what he’ll need to be doing in the show. We had a long chat about his character, and I think he’s beginning to understand what the character’s needs are and what my needs are for the play and his performance. The special effects lady didn’t show, but sent stuff so we could try things. That was really unacceptable to me, and I’ve given an ultimatum that she either shows up tonight, shows us how everything works, or we find someone else who can come in and do the job she’s been promising to do for the last six weeks. Very frustrating.
Today, I must ship some packages (unless the little mini-post office is too crowded), and I must hopefully pick up some packages, and I must shop for the Christmas Eve do, and then I must be on my way to rehearsal.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, blurt out the names Blitzen and Donner and Vixen and Dasher and Prancer and Comet and Cupid with diabolical glee, and I must do any number of other various and sundried things. Today’s topic of discussion: I know that one should never look a gift horse in the mouth, but what are the lamest Christmas presents you’ve ever received – ones where your mouth just hit the floor? And, if you have no answer to the topic, then you can ask me or any other dear reader any old question you like and we can give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we?