Well, dear readers, this week is flying by, like a gazelle watching Pink Flamingos. And that is only fitting as the entire year has flown by in a way that, in my experience, no year before has flown by. This year was just breezin’ along with the breeze. It was, for me, a very interesting year in many ways, with some frustrations, some annoyances, but they were, in fact, minor compared to all the good stuff that happened for me this year. And in tomorrow’s notes I shall ruminate, oh, yes, I shall ruminate aplenty, but tonight I’m breezin’ along with the breeze. I had an almost relaxing day yesterday. I got up, answered e-mails and did some organizing around the home environment, after which I drove over to the car dealer so he could take the garage door remote and pair it with the car – so now I can open my garage door with the push of a button just below the car mirror. I then had a couple of telephonic conversations, and then I toddled off to a very belated birthday luncheon with dear reader Jeanne. We went to my beloved Genghis Cohen, and there we feasted on orange chicken (extra crispy – most of which I ate, since dear reader Jeanne doesn’t really do chicken), green beans, and their yummilicious steamed sole. Dear reader Jeanne also had veggie moo-shoo. It was a very nice luncheon, and dear reader Jeanne professed to like my new motor car very much. I then came back to the San Fernando Valley, did a few errands and whatnot, picked up one count them one package, and then came home. I emptied a few more things out of the old motor car – a lot of junk has accumulated in the trunk and the glove box – funnily, the one thing that’s never accumulated in the glove box are gloves. I did some work on the computer, wrote all my online dealers to say CDs would be shipping today, and then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I finished watching a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Mission Impossible II. I’d only seen it once before, at the DGA, and I’d sort of forgotten just how horrible a film it is. Usually John Woo can transcend anything with his wacky, bravura style, but not this giant fetid turd. Everything about this film is terrible, starting with Mr. Tom Cruise, who is so bad it’s actually a little mind-boggling, and the gal, Thandie Newton, whose short career I simply did or do not understand. The villains are terrible actors, the music thumps relentlessly, the action scenes are beyond stupid, and not because of Mr. Woo, but courtesy of the completely inept screenwriters. This is bottom of the barrel scrapings. The Blu-Ray looks fine most of the time. I then watched a motion picture on Blu-Ray entitled Inglorious Basterds, a film of Quentin Tarantino (along with all the other directors he enjoys borrowing from, although I’d say there’s less of it in this film than usual). The first thing I’ll say is that I have stayed away from this film because all of the reviews and comments I’ve read said the violence was large and over-the-top. I should learn never to believe these people – this movie is NOTHING compared to other violent movies – yes, there’s some but it’s nothing we haven’t seen many times before and none of it is so off-putting that you have to look away. I just wonder if these dopes have ever actually seen a really violent film. I thought Mr. Tarantino’s half of Grindhouse was horrible (and a film that actually does have really sickening violence). But I kind of liked Kill Bill Volume One (volume two not so much), so I was hoping this film would be as entertaining as that. Well, Mr. Tarantino, despite his inability to completely curb some of his most irritating “cinematic” traits, hits his stride here and it’s a very entertaining film with only a couple of missteps, although one of them, for me, is major. It’s a very long film that never really feels long, and it’s cast really well (with one exception, and that is the major misstep I referred to). Christoph Waltz is just great, constantly doing inventive and unexpected things – a wonderful actor, and one who doesn’t whisper his lines like so many of today’s “real” non-actors. And Melanie Laurent is equally wonderful. But the whole cast shines, except… Now maybe this is just me, but I thought Brad Pitt was terrible. I’ve never found him a very compelling actor, and in this he’s just annoying instead of memorable. I kept thinking, boy, what would Lee Marvin be doing with these lines? His performance seems to be all about his good ol’ boy accent, but that’s not really a performance. He looks constipated most of the time, and other times he looks like he’s about to break into an impression of Marlon Brando in The Godfather. The only other thing I found annoying was the little handwritten notes that would occasionally appear on the screen with little arrows to identify a character – a “hip” film school-looking device that completely takes you out of the movie, that and two instances of narration by a voice who is not a character in the film. Other than that, I found the dialogue excellent, and even though Mr. Tarantino is quite audaciously rewriting history, I went along with it. Certain sequences (or chapters) are wonderfully done, especially the opening sequence. So, all in all I rather liked it and will watch it again soon. From all I’ve read, I was expecting a reference quality Blu-Ray visually, and I didn’t quite find it to be so – it’s excellent, but doesn’t quite reach reference quality for me.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because we’re just breezin’ along with the breeze and I must get my beauty sleep.
Today, as mentioned, I’ll be packing up lots of CDs and getting them shipped, and hopefully my helper will be able to pick up tapes before she gets here, thereby saving me a big drive I’d much rather not do. She’s not getting here till after noon, so I’ll pack up all the domestic boxes and leave the overseas stuff for her. The extra time will allow me to pack up all the larger priority boxes for the online dealer orders, and then once she’s here, we’ll get everything over to both the postal office and the UPS Store. I’m hoping we’ll be done by two or three at the latest, and then I’ll be able to relax, eat something amusing, and watch a motion picture.
Tomorrow, Mr. Handy Man is coming at ten, then I have a short meeting with a producer, then that’s it and the rest of the day will be typing up the last of my notes for the new book and then it’s on to our fabulously fabulous New Year’s Rockin’ Eve partay right here at haineshisway.com. I do hope everyone will be here to ring in the New Year with good friends, and some good haineshisway.com vibes and xylophones.
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 or the Twist, for today is the birthday of dear reader Dakota Celt. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to dear reader Dakota Celt. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO DEAR READER DAKOTA CELT!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, pack up CDs, ship CDs, eat something amusing, and relax. 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 we continue breezin’ along with the breeze right into the final day and evening of 2009.