Well, dear readers, the year is winding down, but you wouldn’t know it by me. Perhaps by Tuesday the year will be winding down, but for now it’s still going strong. But, it’s the weekend, I have few plans, and I shall relish the light days as much as I can. Have you ever relished the days? Normally I only like mustard on my days, but occasionally I’ll relish them, as well. What the HELL am I talking about? Yesterday was supposed to be a light day but you wouldn’t know it by me. I did get a lovelier than lovely night’s sleep, so that was very nice. I then got up and was out the door jogging thirty minutes later. It was like a beautiful summer day – warm, bright blue skies, and therefore I did the long jog and it felt really good to do it. I then did some errands and whatnot, then ordered my Christmas cards and were told they’d be ready in an hour or so. Of course, they’re never ready when they tell you, so I went home. Fifteen minutes later they called and told me the cards were ready. So, instead of driving back, I walked, because the City of Studio is in Christmas mode and that means an obscene amount of traffic and stupidity that I want no part of. I was already tired from the four-mile jog, so by the time I got home I was REALLY tired. I then read the new versions of the first five scenes of the long musical and I must say they are a vast improvement – I called the co-author and gave him a few notes plus told him some style things that needed to be adjusted. Then I addressed a bunch of Christmas card envelopes and put stamps on them. Then I packaged up a few orders. Then I did a little organizing and then it was time to toddle off for my dinner.
Last night, I supped at Barone’s, a local Eyetalian eatery that I’ve been going to since the early 1970s. At that time there were two Barone’s – one in Sherman Oaks (the original), and one in Burbank. In 1975 I moved two blocks north of the Sherman Oaks Barone’s and from then on I became a regular diner. Their pizza is really fantastic – square pies that are extremely yummilicious. I used to serve them at my then annual Oscar Bash. Early on, I also discovered their shrimp scampi, which was amazingly amazing and quite different than any I’d had or have had since. The Burbank location folded, I moved from Sherman Oaks to North Hollywood, and other than bringing home pizzas, I stopped going to Barone’s regularly – why, I don’t know. And then the Sherman Oaks location got very seedy-looking and, in fact, in the early 2000s I actually thought they’d closed – it looked closed. But then, around 2003, I think, I had dinner there for the first time in ages – it was open and crowded. I had the scampi, I think and it was as good as I remembered. I went a couple of other times, and then it did close. Happily, it wasn’t permanent, they simply moved about four miles north. Since the move, I’ve been twice and both times it was great – once I had spaghetti and meatballs, which was wonderful, and once I had the pizza, which, as always, was faboo (oobaf, spelled backwards). Last night, I had the scampi and a salad and it was terrific. I had a good time with my supper partner, and spent a nice, leisurely two hours. I was surprised that at seven it wasn’t full up, but by eight-thirty there wasn’t a table to be had. All in all, a lovely evening.
When I got home, it was too late to start a motion picture on DVD, although I got one today that I will watch this evening – the latest film from Francois Ozon, entitled Ricky. I’ve been watching the old DVD of Hatari in the bedroom, doing about twenty minutes a night before bedtime. It’s typical Howard Hawks of the 1960s – little plot, good scenes, way too long, but nice performances and luscious photography that doesn’t look that great on this DVD. If ever a film cried out for a wonderful Blu and Ray, Hatari is it. The best thing about the film, however, is Henry Mancini’s score, which is brilliant.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below whilst we do something Christmas like, such as getting a partridge, say Keith, for example, in a pear tree.
Today, she of the Evil Eye will be here early and I shall jog and then be on my way to do some errands and whatnot and even some whatnot and errands, after which I shall return to the home environment and send out the rest of my Christmas cards. That’s really all I have planned, actually, so the rest o’ the day and evening should be mine all mine.
Tomorrow, in the afternoon my darling daughter will be coming to visit and we’ll probably have an early supper. It will be nice to see her – I actually haven’t seen her since last Christmas and that is too damn long. Depending on what time she gets here and what time she leaves, I may try to go to the DGA to see Avatar in three-dimensions. We shall see.
Monday morning, we officially announce our last two titles of the year, which will be followed by more goodies coming in January. And then our very own Miss Juliana A. Hansen will be coming for dinner and perhaps a motion picture on Blu-Ray. The rest of the week should be completely mine, and the only thing I may have to do is pick up the booklets that will be signed for the first one hundred people who order one of the two new CDs. And, of course, we’ll be having our annual Christmas Eve Do.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, jog, do errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up some packages which are now very errant and truant, and then eat something amusing. Today’s topic of discussion: We continue our ten-best of 2009 – what were your ten favorite TV shows of 2009, and your ten specific best episodes? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst the year continues to wind down, although you wouldn’t know it by me.