Well, dear readers, we had us quite an anniversary party yesterday. It was so much fun reading all the posts and just from reading them you know what makes this here site unique. I spent our anniversary day doing quite a few things that needed doing. For example, I got up. That needed doing. I had a lot of e-mails to answer, which too most of the morning, and I took a big box o’ books to the UPS Store and shipped them to JMK so we’ll have them for the event on Saturday night. I really am looking forward to it. Then Mr. John Boswell arrived, followed by Mr. Greg Harrison, followed by Miss Linda Purl. We sang through some stuff, talked out some stuff, and made some decisions and by the end of our two hours, we had a pretty good list of songs – we’ll begin with those and see how they feel when sung together – then we can figure out if we need more variety or up tempos or whatever. But we have a very strong starting point. I love this beginning process – it’s always daunting, but then things start to come into focus and take shape and you start to achieve clarity and a point. After they left, I went back to the mail place and picked up two packages and no important envelope. I was pretty irked at the latter and fired off a very strong e-mail which, thus far, has had no response. It better be here tomorrow – if it isn’t, I told the person they’d have to stop payment on the contents and overnight me a new envelope – no discussion. And I said that this week’s envelope HAD to get here THIS week, not next week. They’d been arriving on time for a while, but the last few weeks have slipped back into the old, bad pattern. Then I got some low-cal, no-fat gram hot dogs, buns, a little righteous red potato salad, and made some lunch, after which I had a few telephonic calls. Then I did a two-and-a-half mile jog, then finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled The Peacemaker, a standard-issue late 90s action film about terrorists and nuclear bombs. Interestingly, this was the first film released by the then-new company called Dreamworks. Strictly by the Screenwriting 101 numbers, the film gets the job done and the thing moves along at a steady clip, with George Clooney and Nicole Kidman (when she still looked like Nicole Kidman) doing what they’re required to do, which isn’t much. The dialogue is the usual malarkey one gets in these films, and the pounding score by Hans Zimmer is like every other score that every one of these films has. The villain is a little more interesting than most in these types of films – he’s not a raving, drooling lunatic, or super cool, and while the film obviously doesn’t condone what he’s doing, he is presented somewhat sympathetically, which is interesting. Also interesting is that apparently in 1997 you could get a nuclear warhead on an airplane by just putting it into a case marked “Top Secret Papers” or something ludicrous like that. The transfer is fine and the film is nice and loud.
After the movie, I did some work on the computer, then decided to write these here notes early, get them posted and get to bed early, since I have a busy day tomorrow and must be up very early.
Today I will be doing something I’ve only done less than a handful of times – I will be attending a funeral for the late, beautiful Michelle Nicastro. The last funeral I attended was about ten or eleven years ago when my friend Esther passed away at fifty-two years of age. Before that, it was my father’s funeral in 1978. I really don’t like going to funerals but sometimes one must do things one doesn’t like, especially when it involves someone you really cared about. The funeral is in South Pasadena at ten in the morning, and my friend Marsha Kramer will be going with me. After that, I’ll bring Marsha back, and then I’ll be working with the helper – some shipping to do and some organizing to do and some music to Xerox. Once that’s done, then Juliana A. Hansen will be dropping by to pick up a CDR and her music. Hopefully, I can get the rest of the cast over here on Thursday to get theirs, before I leave for Portland on Friday.
Tomorrow, I’m having lunch with a gal I haven’t seen for about twelve years – I actually met her through Michelle – she worked for Michelle’s husband. So, that will be fun. Then I’ve got to pack and relax. Happily, I don’t have a super early flight – I leave at noon, so my ride to the airport will be here at about ten-fifteen.
I have no idea if I’m singing anything at Saturday’s event – if I am, then hopefully JMK and I can run through the song a few times, so I’m comfortable. I’m also hoping to visit Powell’s bookstore, and I’m also hoping we have some people for a little Friday night soiree. Then we do the event on Saturday night, and hopefully we can go out after for some food and fun. I come back to LA Sunday morning.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, attend a funeral, ship some packages, hopefully pick up some packages and the way overdue important envelope, do a jog, and then 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 I hit the road to dreamland so I can be ready to gird my loins and do something I don’t like to do because sometimes we need to do the things we need to do.