Well, dear readers, Black Friday has come and gone and now it is Chartreuse Saturday. Of course, as I do every Black Friday, I avoided shopping like the plague and, conversely, I avoided the plague like shopping. Instead, I slept late, I got up and lounged around the home environment not doing much of anything and then went out and had the ubiquitous Cobb salad and a bagel. After that, I picked up three packages and an important envelope, did some banking, and then came home. I’d left little signed notes on the door for Fed Ex, UPS, and USPS, and wouldn’t you know Fed Ex had some just thirty minutes after I’d left. And not taken the signed paper, instead leaving a door tag for me to sign should I not be here when they come back to deliver. I was quite irritated as I have the entire weekend to watch movies and the package definitely contains screeners from one of the studios. So, I called Fed Ex and told them I’d like to come pick up the package. I give them the door tag number and they have no record of such a number, which means he hasn’t scanned it in. So, she asks me for the tracking number. I tell her I have no idea WHO the package is from and therefore no idea what the tracking number would be nor would I have any way to find out. I finally got so irritated with her, I asked to speak to someone else, and they tried finding it via my address, but apparently they couldn’t find it that way and can only find it with a tracking number – Catch 22 anyone? So, supposedly they’ll come back Monday to deliver what was a Fed Ex Express package. After I got off the phone, I saw that the Fed Ex guy had actually called, which means my number was on the Waybill. I called back that number but you can’t call back that number as it just says it’s not a working number despite someone having just used it. I may call Fed Ex again this morning to see if they can figure out which driver it was or maybe find my package via the phone number. If not, I guess it will be Monday. But I did receive one screener via regular mail that didn’t need to be signed for, said screener being Flight, the new Robert Zemeckis film starring Denzel Washington. I’d heard very good things about it, but had no idea what it was and so I sat on my couch likes so much fish and watched it.
Had I but known that it was going to be another dreary film about an alcoholic and drug user I would have skipped it. There is not one original thing in this film save for how the pilot of the airplane lands the plane. Once the big moment happens, then the film settles into what it’s really about – let’s all bring out our Screenwriting 101 books by Syd Field and Robert McKee – a man who has to hit rock bottom to find redemption. That, of course, translates into an Oscar-baiting role for the leading man and I have no doubt Mr. Washington will be up for that prize, for he is an excellent actor – that said, I saw nothing that I haven’t seen in his other excellent performances. The amusing thing is that the film kind of decries the alcoholism and drug use, but absolutely glorifies smoking cigarettes and let me tell you that is, to me, as reprehensible as the alcohol and drugs. So, while I watched it all the way through, there was no question how it was all going to turn out and it’s two hours and twenty minutes to get there. We never know the cause of the drinking and drugging – we never really know anything. The performances are all good, Zemeckis is a competent director (although he succumbs to some “now” movie crap), and the score by Alan Silvestri is the best thing about the film. The writer, who is also an actor, has not written anything of note and the writing here is strictly by the book. And John Goodman’s character, as fun as Mr. Goodman always is, seems like it’s from another movie. The critics, of course, have fallen all over themselves about it, and the imdb kiddies all give it the best ratings – until you get to the last two pages, which are nothing but bad reviews. That’s now been the case with quite a few films I’ve looked up recently.
Aside from that, I got an unexpected residual check from the DGA for, of all things, The Creature Wasn’t Nice. Go know. I still haven’t received my new driver’s license, which is a little weird, but hopefully it will be here any day now – and I pray that the replacement ATM card will be here, too, or it’s going to wreak havoc on the auto pays I do. I also had to renew the web hosting and domain name for this here site, which is not cheap but I don’t have to worry about it again until five years hence – to do the five years saved me 25% so I suppose I did do that one bit of shopping on Black Friday.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get another good night’s beauty sleep.
Today, I shall call Fed Ex but not expect any miracles, Fed Ex-wise, although it would be nice if I could just go gather up the package, I shall eat, I shall hopefully pick up some packages, I shall watch motion pictures, I shall write, I shall cast, but mostly I shall relax.
Tomorrow is more of the same and I have to decide whether I’m going to this party thing or not – I’m thinking or not. Then Monday begins a crazy week of rehearsals, meetings, meals, rehearsals, rehearsals, stumble-through, sound check and show. The good news was we definitely have Bill Hayes as our guest star.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, call Fed Ex, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, write, cast, and watch motion pictures. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your craziest Black Friday and/or shopping experiences? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall wake up to a lovely Chartreuse Saturday.