Well, dear readers, is Saturn in Mars or something? Is Jupiter having sport with Uranus? Is Pluto doing something untoward with Venus? Clearly something is going on because I have never seen such stupid driving in all my life. People pulling in front of people and then slowing down to five miles an hour. People changing lanes with no signal. People blatantly ignoring the law and yakking on their cell phones while driving erratically. Of course, the police are not enforcing the law and I think someone should file a class action lawsuit against them for ignoring it. People feel totally comfortable breaking this law because no one in this city is being pulled over and ticketed for it. Why even bother having the law? This whole thing gives defensive driving a whole new meaning. You simply never know what anyone is going to do because they have their heads up their rectal cavities rather than having their minds on their driving. I honked at so many people today and I’m here to tell you they don’t even notice. They don’t care. They’re in their own little cell phone worlds and they simply cannot be bothered to pay attention. These people have CHILDREN in their cars. What a world. In any case, I hope Uranus starts getting along with Jupiter, and Venus and Pluto have a same-sex marriage, and Mars runs rings around Saturn, and maybe then these drivers will start paying attention and being less selfish. My goodness, what a way to start off the notes. Do they call that hitting the ground running? Speaking of ground running (is that like ground round?), yesterday was a day. I got up, did the long jog, and then did some work on the computer. I took all the packages to the postal office and dropped them off, I did a whole slew of errands, got no mail or packages, and then did more work on the computer. I then got ready and moseyed on over to Stanley’s, where I supped with Mr. Barry Pearl. We started off with their chicken drumettes appetizer – basically Buffalo Wings but drumettes. They were great. I then had the roast chicken – I had a double order of vegetables with it, instead of the mashed potatoes. I felt totally stuffed, but I think with the four-mile run, I was okay, diet-wise. The food was excellent, as was the conversation. After dinner, I drove us to UCLA, we parked, and moseyed on over to the theater.
Last night, I saw Once Upon This Island. I’d seen the national tour here in LA and liked but didn’t love the show. I think the score is terrific, and certainly that production, directed by Graciela Daniele was excellent, but the show itself just didn’t do anything for me. The show still doesn’t do anything for me, I still like the score a lot, and this outing, while certainly fine, didn’t do anything to convince me to like the show better. The cast was fine, and the show played at ninety minutes sans intermission. The band played well (the Brain’s second keyboardist is now the associate conductor of all Reprise shows), and Billy Porter, the director, kept it all moving along. Reprise has now given up all pretence of these evenings being a concert presentation of a show – it’s fully staged and choreographed, no one is on book, there’s a semblance of a set, and complicated show lighting. And yet, it’s not quite a production. It falls somewhere in between, and it’s not something I’ve been able to get used to. My big and large complaint has to do with the sound – it actually infuriated me and I wanted to go speak to the sound person. They had so much reverb on the actors it was a joke. This isn’t a recording, this is a stage show. This isn’t American Idol, it’s actors acting and singing. It’s all too loud, and the bloody reverb was totally annoying and harmful, making it difficult to hear the lyrics and dialogue and making everything seem like it was in a tunnel. My advice? Stop it. This isn’t a rock concert, it’s a stage musical. They’re doing no service to the actors, the piece, or the audience. At the end of the show it was comical to watch portions of the audience race to their feet, all trying to be first in the usual and pointless standing ovation. Stephen Flaherty’s music is quite infectious, and Lynn Ahrens’ lyrics are very good indeed.
After the show, we talked to a few people we knew, including Jason Alexander, Billy Porter (I asked him to be in the Bacharach benefit and he said he’d be glad to), and a few others. I then came home and sat at my computer like so much fish, still full from all that chicken. All That Chicken – that’s the title of my next novel.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because it’s time for the planets to align themselves and shower us with good things and drivers who are not ignoramuses.
Today, I shall do the long jog, and then I have to have what will be an annoying telephonic call, which I hope will be brief and to the point, and then I have errands and whatnot to do, after which, I’ll have a one-hour rehearsal with Sean McDermott and John Boswell to do a new arrangment of one of Sean’s solo songs. I’m looking forward to that.
Tomorrow, it will be more of the same, and then I’ll be having a dinner meeting with Mr. David Wechter to discuss a bunch of stuff, including his notes on Nudie Musical. We’ll have to figure out somewhere fun and diet-friendly to eat.
I think we’d all better put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, I think we’d all better break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, I think we’d all better dance the Hora and the Texas Two-Step, because today is the birthday of Mr. Blu-Ray himself, MattH. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to Mr. Blu-Ray himself, dear reader MattH. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO MR. BLU-RAY HIMSELF, DEAR READER MATTH!!!
And a very happy birthday to occasional dear reader Joy, and non-existent dear reader Sigerson Holmes.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a long jog, have a telephonic conversation or three, hopefully get some overdue mail and packages, do errands and whatnot, and have a work session. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst the planets sort themselves out and give us mere mortals a break.