Well, dear readers, for some reason it’s very silent tonight in the home environment. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, it’s kind of a Silent Night here at haineshisway.com. Therefore I shall write these here notes in a hushed tone. I shall gently whisper these here notes instead of making them BOMBASTIC and LOUD. Oops (spoo, spelled backwards), I just made the BOMBASTIC and LOUD, didn’t I? Oh, well, the best laid plans. How come the plans are always getting lucky? They’re always the best laid plans, and here I sit like so much fish? Go know. Where was I? Oh, yes, it’s a Silent Night, save for the gentle sound of the rain falling outside. On the few occasions when I fall it’s not so gentle as when the rain falls. I’m getting very excited about the 22nd Annual Kimmel Christmas Eve Do, but I shan’t shout about it, since these are gentle and whispery notes. What I can tell you is that yesterday was a day of this and that and also that and this. I got up, and then the helper came and we did some organizing, then went off to Costco. I got lots o’ stuff for the Do, plus some other things I needed, like cashew brittle, which I needed like a hole in the head, but boy was it good (they had samples). Then we went to Staples and got the least expensive little laptop PC to do all the Kritzerland shipping on – the helper has been bringing hers, but that’s very inconvenient. It was, I must say, REALLY inexpensive. Then we brought it all back home, put it away and the helper left. Then I went to the mail place where I picked up no mail and no packages. I hate when that happens. Then I was starving, so I went to the Studio Café and had their yummilicious chopped Eyetalian salad – turkey, onions, cheese, garbanzos, and lettuce. It was just what the doctor ordered, and I went up to the doctor and told him to order his own damn food and to stop copying me. I hate when that happens. After that, I took something to the framers. Then I came home and answered e-mails and had telephonic conversations, several of which had to do with the new shopping cart thing we’re trying to implement by mid-January. We think we’ve found one that will work for us. Then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture that I’d TIVOd some time ago entitled Arthur, starring Mr. Dudley Moore and Miss Liza Minnelli, along with Mr. John Gielgud and several wonderful character actors. I haven’t actually seen the film since it first came out. It was a big hit back then, but I didn’t quite love it like most people. Certainly Dudley Moore’s performance was stellar and Miss Minnelli was fine, and John Gielgud almost walked away with the film. Seeing it again, I still don’t quite love it and certainly Miss Minnelli wears a succession of some of the ugliest clothes ever worn on the screen. But the whole thing moves along quickly. My problems mostly stem from the caricature writing of the family of the gal Arthur’s family wants him to marry. It just doesn’t work for me at all. But I must call out the great and grand Geraldine Fitzgerald, whom I adore and who is wonderful. The score by Burt Bacharach is really nice, and I do love the song Arthur’s Theme (When You Get Lost Between The Moon and New York City).
Then I began watching the film Victor/Victor, which I’d also TIVOd. It looks quite good in high definitions and I just got sucked in and watched the first forty minutes. The recently deceased Blake Edwards was a master director when he was on and boy is he on in this film. It’s elegant to look at and no one shot comedy for widescreen better than Mr. Edwards. He had a real genius for doing the unexpected, which is most evident in my favorite shot in the film – the cockroach scene. As the cockroach climbs up the lady’s leg we’re just waiting for the reaction – any other director would have immediately cut to the patrons reacting in close-up or in groups, but Blake cuts across the street so you see all the pandemonium through the restaurant windows from afar – it’s brilliant directing. I’ll finish it up tonight.
I forgot to mention that Casino Royale sold out at eleven in the morning yesterday – one of the fastest sellouts we’ve ever had. I’m hoping Genghis Khan will be sold out by the weekend. I also heard from the darling daughter who told me she will not be coming to LA for Christmas, as she’s done for many years – all thanks to the weather. So, I’ll have to send her gift to her. Hopefully we’ll get to speak on the telephonic device. I also began cleaning the piles o’ stuff that have been accumulating in the living room, book room, and den. I got the living room pretty well finished, and next up is the book room, which is pretty easy. Then it’s on to the den. I’m hoping Mr. Grant Geissman can come by before the Do to hang a couple of things on the wall – I’ve come to depend on his eye for where things look best.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because it’s such a Silent Night that I think I’ll sleep very well.
Today, I shall be paying a REALLY obscene number of Kritzerland bills – thank goodness we sold out of Casino Royale and had healthy web orders. I mean, the number of bills is OBSCENE and so are the amounts, but once paid, I’ll be all caught up and can close out this year’s payments. And that is ALL I care to do today. Otherwise, it’s just organizing, getting the piles o’ stuff to the garage and on shelves, and then eating something light but amusing, just as I did yesterday. It would really be nice if I dropped a couple of pounds before the Do, because I’ll certainly be putting them on again.
Tomorrow is, I think, completely clear and I intend to keep it that way and only do the rest of the shopping (rolls, onions, mushrooms, and that kind of stuff) – otherwise the day and evening are mine all mine. I’ll probably make the tuna pasta salad tomorrow night so that will be one less thing to do on Friday. And, of course, Friday is the Do and I will be Doing from early in the morning right up to the start of the Do at six. I have, as always, no idea how many people will be here, but I’m hoping it’s a nice crowd.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, pay an OBSCENE number of Kritzerland bills, I must move piles from here to there and from there to here, I must eat something amusing, and I must 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, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland on this Silent Night.