Well, dear readers, I’m beginning these here notes quite late so perhaps I’ll keep them quite short or at least write the quite quickly. After all, I’ve been up since six and therefore am quite tired. So, here are the high and medium points of yesterday (there were no low points, always a good thing). I got up at six and announced the new Kritzerland CD, James Horner’s wonderful score to the quirky thriller, Gorky Park. Because CDs and interim helper were arriving at nine I really saw no upside in going back to bed. So, I printed out orders as they came in, and futzed and fixed the ten pages I’d written the day before. Then CDs and helper arrived. We prepared the dealer orders, and then she took everything home to put labels and postage on the boxes and then put CDs inside. I took the big boy boxes over to the UPS Store. I managed to be done with everything (including banking) by 10:15, so that was great. I then wrote three pages, getting past a point I was struggling with a little, and I really was happy with those three pages and where they were heading. I then went and had some matzo brei and two bagels, after which I picked up two small packages and one big bill. Then I came home and wrote another three pages. I finished a chapter and began a new one. I then met with a potential new helper. It’s all going to depend on what happens by the end of this week – the old helper will finally know what’s going on by then and we’ll all have a clear picture of when she might be able to return. If it’s soon, that’s the route we’ll go. If it’s not, then I’ll hire the new gal. The old helper needs those excellent vibes and xylophones really strongly this week – she has been through hell and in a one in a million situation that has everyone baffled and yet nothing is being done – until yesterday, when some people decided to really step in to kick some necessary butt. I can’t really say more than that, but I’m just hoping her nightmare is over this week. After that, I began watching a motion picture on Blu and Ray, but paused about forty minutes in to go have a salad at the Studio Café. The interim helper came by again to pick up a few more invoices, and then I wrote two more pages and got to another point that I struggled to move past. Happily, just before I went back in to watch the rest of the movie, inspiration struck – I wrote down what it was, then watched the rest of the motion picture.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Broadcast News. I’d seen the film when it came out and really enjoyed it. It’s really surprising that James L. Brooks has had such an odd film career, because Terms of Endearment and Broadcast News are wonderful films, which I don’t think I can say about any of his other work, not that he’s made that many films. All these years later, Broadcast News is even better – a wonderfully literate and witty and sometimes moving script, with simple direction, and great performances from everyone, but most especially the three leads, William Hurt, Holly Hunter, and Albert Brooks. Miss Hunter is incandescent in her role. The wonderful score by Bill Conti keeps things moving along and the two hour and seven minute movie feels like a ninety-minute movie. The transfer is very nice, but not as good as others I’ve seen from this era. Highly recommended by the likes of me.
Then I went back to the book and wrote three more pages from that bit of inspiration that had struck and I must say it was just what the doctor ordered. So, a total of eleven pages – it’s exhilarating, exhausting, and grand fun, no matter whether I occasionally struggle or not. I also mapped out the final three chapters, have now settled on all the details and the reveal and am really looking forward to writing all that over the next few days. The orders for Gorky Park were very strong, so that was good.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must get my beauty sleep because it’s a very busy day today.
Today, I shall try to sleep until nine and then I’ll get up and futz and fix the eleven pages I just wrote. Then I’ll start the new pages – I’ll be finishing up a chapter and then I do the chapter where things finally begin coming clear to Adriana Hofstetter. I’ll probably get a snack at some point, and then at four we have two hours of rehearsals, which I’m really looking forward to, I must say. After that, I may go get something light to eat for dinner, and I’ll probably write some pages in the evening – the goal is, of course, eight to ten.
Tomorrow, I think I have a rehearsal with The Singer in the late afternoon, and I have a lunch at one, but otherwise it’s an all writing day. Same with Thursday and Friday. I do have a lunch meeting on Thursday and another rehearsal on Friday.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, futz and fix, write, snack, write, rehearse, eat, and write. Today’s topic of discussion: What do you think of today’s Oscar nominations? What do you think were the omissions and the surprises? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland. And since it always says “New Entry” in the form I create these here notes in, that seems like a good title for today’s notes.