Well, dear readers, I’m quite tired and it’s quite late so I’d better quite start writing these here notes so I can get them up and posted and also posted and up – therefore I shall write these here notes at warp speed. I must say, my Sunday was exactly what I needed it to be – relaxing, with almost no work being done. It was just what the doctor ordered and I shall be rarin’ to go this very day and the whole week.
I got up around nine-twenty, answered a few e-mails and then did the long jog, which I did very lazily. After that, I plopped myself down on the couch like so much fish to make sure everything was working properly. I put on Wall-E, as that was one of the problem discs the night before during the spaz-out session. Well, it all worked beautifully. I’d only intended to watch a few minutes, but the image was so astonishingly beautiful and clear and sharp and colorful that the movie just sucked me right in again and I watched it all – it remains, for me, the finest of all the Pixar films, and one of the best motion pictures of the last twenty years – in fact, I put it in a class with the greats of animation. I thought the DVD was very good, but the Blu-Ray is something wholly other, both image-wise and sound-wise. DVD has always had lousy sound – I’ve never really understood why. But the Blu-Ray sound is spectacular – well-detailed, spacious, and full-bodied, with beautiful highs and mids and very punchy lows. I spent the rest of the afternoon having a sandwich, listening to about ten CDs of varying quality, and then finally heading over to the DGA to see the new Star Trek movie.
Last night, I headed over to the DGA to see the new Star Trek movie – I’ve read nothing but raves about it and I was really looking forward to it. I wish I could say I loved it – I sure wanted to, but it was the usual stuff – the relentless action-filled opening, all set to brain-numbing banal and clichéd action music, followed by the pretentious title card. I did enjoy some of the film – in fact, I enjoyed almost all the scenes of people just talking. You know, actual character development and good conversation. The action scenes were just typical action crap and that’s what ultimately did me in. I’m so bored of this kind of music scoring – where are the THEMES – I don’t mean chords and notes, I mean THEMES, THEMES that get under the skin of the characters and the drama. Listen and/or watch Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Jerry Goldsmith knew how to write THEMES and action music. The actors were a mixed bag – I didn’t like the Kirk, or, more to the point, I found what they did to the character really tiresome. I enjoyed the Spock, Scotty, and especially Bones, and Chekov and Sulu were both very good. And then came Leonard Nimoy, and that’s always a treat. The villain and that whole plot was nothing to write home about, so I didn’t write home. The film looked fine, the effects were nice, but in the end I just didn’t really care. Interestingly, the DGA was less than half full. None of the laughs landed, save for a small group of vocal Trekkies who were down front, laughing at everything and clapping, too – there were about five of them. Projection and sound at the DGA was, as always, exemplary.
I then went to the House Of Pies and had a salad and some peanut butter pie (I think I may have finally overdosed on the pie).
So, all in all, a lovelier than lovely day. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because it’s late and I must get my beauty sleep, for this is going to be a very busy week.
Today, I must get up early, do the long jog, and then buckle down Winsocki and write two sets of liner notes for two upcoming Kritzerland CDs. I’m sure that will take a few hours (have to do some research and also watch a movie so I can write about how the music functions). I’ll have to pick up some packages and mail, do some errands and whatnot, have something to eat, and then go to a walk-through of the Wilshire Ebell (where the charity event is happening), after which I’ll have a meeting with those folks, as they want me to look at their script and revise and give notes, if I think it should need help. I’m sure I won’t be home till around seven.
Tomorrow, of course, we will be shipping out Tom Jones, and then I’ll be dealing with casting matters for Nudie Musical. We’ve scheduled a casting session for Wednesday, and we’ll see how that goes. One way or another, we’ll be fully cast by Friday – we have to be, if only to set keys and get the music printed out in the correct keys. There are several other events happening this week, and I need to make certain that I’ve written them all down.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, write liner notes (two sets), do errands and whatnot, and then do a walk-through and have a meeting. Today’s topic of discussion: I didn’t ever watch Star Trek when it was on TV – in fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a full episode of the show (maybe I’ll buy it on Blu-Ray). I’ve seen almost all the films, though, at least the ones with the original players. I like some, really like number four, and really don’t like some. So, how many here were fans of the TV show, how many have seen the movies, the various spin-offs, and what are your favorites and least favorites, and favorite characters and episodes? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and given yesterday’s dearth of postings (probably our lowest day in over five years – thanks all you errant and truant people), let’s have them at warp speed.