Well, dear readers, last night I had an early dinner with some film music fans that were all going to the Hollywood Bowl Ennio Morricone concert that was quite suddenly cancelled. Since several of them had flown in from out of town specifically to see the concert, I suggested that we have a get-together, just a fun dinner so that their Sunday without the concert wouldn’t be a complete waste. I recommended, of course, Genghis Cohen, which is where we all gathered at five yesterday. It turned out to be quite a lovely gathering with a disparate group of people, which included my pal Marshall Harvey (he helped organize it), who is an editor I’ve worked with (and a terrific one – he cuts all Joe Dante’s films and has for years), our very own Nick Redman and his pal Julie Kirgo, a collector gal I’ve known for years named Jeannie Jones (she brought along some signed Morricone 45 sleeves to show us), author and film historian Preston Neal Jones (he wrote a terrific book on the film Night Of The Hunter), and several denizens of the Film Score Monthly message board. There were lots o’ laughs, and the food was as amazing as always. In fact, the orange chicken was about the best its ever been, and that’s really saying something. We had three orders of it, too, and every plate was clean. We also ordered the steamed sole and the green beans, and someone ordered the kung pao chicken, which I tasted and was the best I’ve ever had. There were several other dishes, too. We were at a very large table (well, two very large tables – there were eighteen of us) with one of those swivel serving things in the middle, so we shared all the food. I ate an obscene amount of orange chicken (not really, but it seemed that way) and reasonable helpings of the sole and the green beans. It was a lovelier than lovely two hours and I think everyone appreciated the get-together. We laughed and laughed and just when we thought we could laugh no more, we laughed again.
The rest of my Sunday was reasonably fine. I spent the first part of the morning dealing with – wait for it – a little long musical e-mail drama – what else is new? I did what I had to do with that, and then I did the long jog, which, for some reason, seemed REALLY long. I got home and then Mr. Cason Murphy and our other board member, Joanna Erdos, came by and we had a one-hour LACCTAA meeting – it’s the first we’ve had in a while, so we covered a lot of topics and it was a good meeting. I then read the first act of the new draft of the long musical – it’s gotten more streamlined, which is a good thing, but there are still some things that aren’t working but I don’t know that we’ll do anything about them until we hear it read aloud at the table reading. Then it was dinner.
After dinner, I came back home and read the second act of the long musical, also streamlined, but also with some things that are still clunky and not working. Then I watched the latest episode of Mad Men – we finally got the scene we knew was coming between Don and Betty, but it didn’t really go the way I thought it would – no big drama, so screaming. It was an interesting way to go, and the whole episode was very good, although I think it’s time for more Peggy – she’s really been used way too little in the last four or five shows – same with Pete, who wasn’t in last night’s episode at all. And then my mastering guy dropped me an e-mail telling me that part one of our Holy Grail release is done and up for my listening pleasure. Part one of the two-fer is the actual Holy Grail (for me), so I can’t wait to hear it – I’ll be downloading it as soon as I finish writing these here notes.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’m quite full of orange chicken and I am so full and feeling so bloated that I seem to have lost my pithiness. One must have one’s pithiness for to be sans pith is to be pithless and we cannot have no pith. So, in the next section I promise you pith but not a rose garden.
Ah, pith. Pith has returned. We are now pithy and feeling full of pith and even some vinegar. I feel so pithy that I just ate a bite-sized Big Hunk. That in itself was pithy for reasons that are eluding me.
Today, I shall be very pithy. I shall do the long jog (I’d better after all that orange chicken), and then I have a work session with the composer and lyricist of the long musical, after which I shall eat a little something amusing or, better yet, something pithy. Perhaps I’ll even wear a pith helmet when I dine. Tuesday I have another work session, and same on Wednesday. Wednesday night I shall return to Genghis Cohen for dinner with Mr. BIG himself, Bert I. Gordon. I haven’t seen him in over a year, so it will be very nice to catch up.
Thursday and Friday are meetings and meals and, conversely, meals and meetings. Not sure what’s happening on the weekend, and then it’s Halloween and then, shockingly, it’s November.
I forgot to mention that Mr. David Wechter sent me the Nudie Musical fixes that he was doing, and they’re all just great – really funny, and really solving a couple of problems that I couldn’t figure out on my own. His biggest addition was adding a really good prop to Eunice’s song – it will make staging it really fun.
Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora and the horse, because today is the birthday of dear reader and daddy Jed. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to dear reader and daddy Jed. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO DEAR READER AND DADDY JED!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, I must have a work session, I must eat a pithy meal, I must do errands and whatnot, and I must watch a DVD or two. Today’s topic of discussion: Of all the things you’ve collected and/or acquired over the years, what is the piece that means the most to you – that holds the most special value (not monetary)? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and please keep them filled with pith.