Well, dear readers, it’s Christmas past and I must say it was a perfectly perfect Christmas day doing just what I felt like doing (which did include some work that I felt like doing). Thanks to our wonderful Christmas Eve Do I was really in the Christmas spirit on Christmas Day, feeling all warm and cozy as well as all cozy and warm. I was so exhausted from all my doings for the Do that I slept until eleven. I then got up, answered e-mails, had a lovely telephonic message from Mr. Richard Sherman and wife Elizabeth, then I decided to get the cleaning of the pots out of the way. The spaghetti pot is always difficult because as it simmers for hours the very bottom of the sauce gets crusty and hard in the center of the pot. So, once I get all the leftover sauce out, I let that blackened crusty mess sit in water overnight, although it doesn’t really help. It took three Brillo pads to finally get it all off, and then I washed the entire thing and that was that. Then I did the pasta pot, which was much easier. Then there were just a few other things to wash and everything was clean as a whistle. Then I opened my presents – several interesting CDs, a six-pack of Gold Star Chili and a DVD of a musical version of The Comedy of Errors directed by Trevor Nunn from the Pogues, and that was that. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I watched the first thirty minutes of a new German Blu and Ray of the David Cronenberg film, Scanners, a film I’m very fond of, mostly due to Patrick McGoohan’s performance, the wonderful art direction of Carol Spier, and the moody score by Howard Shore. I had the previously released Blu and Ray from overseas and it was a travesty – it actually looked like a VHS video release. I’m happy to say that this new disc looks pretty terrific, so I’ll look forward to watching the rest of it. It was actually my intention to watch it all, but I kept getting distracted by other things.
To tide me over until the Christmas partay, I had a sliver of peanut butter pie, one donut, and a couple of pieces of See’s candy. Then I decided to view the footage from episode five of this season’s Outside the Box and do the editor notes. My notes to the editor for most episodes aren’t very many – just some notes about things he should look for that I like – sometimes I tell him to use a particular take, sometimes I call out a line reading I want used, that kind of thing. But I don’t do too much because I don’t like to constrict his creativity in any way. He always likes to have the notes, because then he does use the few things I like for sure and it saves time later. But episode five is a little different as the set-up scene, which is usually an actor getting a call to do whatever the new musical is, is different in this episode. This one is the auditions for the new musical, so that’s a fun new thing for us. If it works, we may do it again if we have the right musical. So, I watched each of the “auditions” and while I’m not telling the editor which order to sequence them in, I did tell him what the first and last ones were and where Barry Pearl’s little audition scene goes. Most of these audition scenes were shot in one take, so that part is easy. Where we had a lot of funny stuff from one person, like Johnny Dark, I just called out the specific lines I wanted. That all took a while, and then I moved on to the musical numbers. I watched all that footage, chose the takes for the master shots, and I always leave him to choose the coverage. All that took me right up until the time I had to be on my way to Cissy Wechter’s Christmas party.
Last night, I attended Cissy Wechter’s Christmas party. It was, as always, very festive and fun. By now, I know almost everyone who attends and it’s always fun to see them. I did meet some very nice new folks this year, and that’s always fun, too. I hung out with David Wechter and his ever-lovin’ Barbara, and had nice conversations with any number of others. The food was great – and I was very good about not overdoing it as I normally do. I had a little bit of turkey, a little ham, a tiny piece of sweet potato, a tiny bit of stuffing, and some cranberries – no bread or butter, and the only thing I really had two nice-sized helpings of were the kugel, which was made especially for me and which was spectacular. I brought gifts for Cissy and David and family, and David gave me a rather huge bag filled with all kinds of wacky foodstuffs – a huge jar of pickles, caviar, crackers, steamed pudding (I don’t know what that is but I’ll definitely find out), candies, an Eyetalian salami, chocolate mints, a key lime soda pop, and other goodies. I love this kind of thing and shall be trying out everything. I stayed there about three hours – Cissy and her boyfriend just bought a new house together and it’s quite lovely and quite huge. All in all, a wonderful night.
I then drove home, printed out some orders, and that was my Christmas Day. I hope all of you dear readers had an equally nice day. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must get a good night’s beauty sleep.
Today, my only plan is to spend some time with the Darling Daughter. She’s coming around eleven-thirty. The only other thing I may do is go to the editing room with the hard drive so we can get episode four on there properly – last time the entire folder with ALL our compressed and uncompressed season two episodes thus far completely disappeared. If it doesn’t happen today, we’ll probably do it on Friday. I’ll also hopefully pick up some packages and hopefully receive an e-mail that I need to receive.
Tomorrow I have a meeting at eleven and a meeting at three, both about the same thing. I’m sure we’ll lunch in between meetings – I do wish they were a little closer together. After lunch, I’ll probably do some errands and whatnot before the second meeting. Friday I have a one-hour work session with the musical director of the Kritzerland show – other than that my days and nights are mine all mine, and that especially includes the weekend. I’m hoping for a few more screeners to arrive, because voting is open and I need to get them watched so I can turn in my ballot. That’s the danger in this whole Fed Ex disaster – telling them they could wait until after Christmas to deliver was just stupid and harmful. But hopefully they’ll get us what they need to get us soon. I’m especially looking forward to hopefully getting Django Unchained and Hitchcock.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, spend time with the Darling Daughter, I must eat, I must maybe go to the editing room, I must hopefully receive an important e-mail, I must hopefully receive some screeners and packages, 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 and loads of lovely answers, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland after my lovely Christmas Day.