Well, dear readers, this week is flying by, like a gazelle in a Hupmobile. Does anyone still drive a Hupmobile? What exactly IS a Hupmobile anyway, and why is that name in my cranium, sitting there like so much fish. Well, if you must know, the first Hupmobile, made by the Hupp Motor Company, came out in 1909 and cost a whopping $750. And Hupmobiles continued to be made right up through 1940. The final Hupmobile was called the Skylark. But rest easy – you can get a 1923 Hupmobile for only $49,000, which is apparently what the damn gazelle did and now the damn gazelle is zooming around in a beautiful Hupmobile motor car. Anyway, here is a classic Hupmobile for your viewing pleasure.
And here is an actual photograph from a few days ago – it’s musical director Lloyd Cooper, Jane Noseworthy, Sami Staitman and li’l ol me, taken at one of our rehearsals. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.
Yesterday, I did not a damn thing and I had a true day off from working, which I desperately needed. I did all the announcing for the new title before going to bed, so I didn’t have to get up at six. I was up by nine-thirty, having a telephonic conversation with Sandy Bainum, just going over some nitpicky notes for her show last evening. After that, I answered e-mails, monitored our website, which finally was working fine, the helper picked up some invoices and I went and ate a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich and a small thing of onion rings. Then I decided I needed a treat so I went to K’s Donuts (last time for this year – must stop doing it) and had one of their amazing chocolate donut with peanut butter things. As I got back to my car, I noticed I was parked in front of a car wash – in all these years I’ve never noticed it before. Since it was a hand wash and since there were no cars going in, I decided to give the motor car a bath – it was filthy with bird poop and dirt and really needed a cleansing. As I told them which wash I wanted (the full treatment) they said for another fifteen bucks they’d hand wax it, too. I said fine, and they did an amazing job. It took about thirty minutes and as long as there’s no line there, that’s going to be my new car wash of choice.
After that, I went and picked up some packages, then came home. I thought about maybe writing a bit, but in the end I just had to take the damn day off. I had a few telephonic conversations and then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture screener entitled Dallas Buyers Club, starring Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. It’s based on real-life events, about a hard-drinking, hard loving, hard drugging good ol’ boy in 1985 or thereabouts who finds he is HIV positive. Given just thirty days to live, he goes in search of non-FDA tested drugs, all over the world, eventually dealing them to people with AIDs. It’s one of those actor Oscar bait films – Focus Films makes sure you know that the two lead actors both lost forty pounds for the film, forty from their already-skinny selves. They both look like they weigh about 120. But both are very good, but the McConaughey character is really kind of a jerk for most of the movie, and there’s nothing here we haven’t seen already. The director is one of those guys who just likes to tart up a film with all sorts of “touches” and I find all that a bore, frankly. Not a bad film, but I didn’t find it all that wonderful, although I did enjoy the acting, and that includes Jennifer Garner in a kind of thankless role.
I then watched the first twenty minutes or so of a motion picture entitled The Place Behind the Pines – movie titles today have reached their nadir. And the first twenty minutes are so typical that you just sit there and wonder how these things get made. Hopefully it will get better, and since it’s a 144-minute film it certainly has time to. I’m not hopeful it will, however. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper – the latter has not made an appearance yet, but Mr. Gosling is an actor I just don’t get.
After that, I just hung out in the book room, did a little organizing and played on the Internet.
Today, I shall hopefully get up after a good night’s beauty sleep, and then I’ll write some liner notes, work on the commentary, and I still have one song to choose for the Christmas show. I’ll go out and look at the Christmas music that’s in the garage and find something that will work. I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, too. Then I may or may not have a little work session for an hour with Sami Staitman, just to work on interpretation of two songs – she’s almost there, but we just need to make it more natural and have it come from the heart. If we do, then we’ll grab a bite to eat before going to rehearsal and our first dress rehearsal – at least I think it will be our first dress rehearsal.
Tomorrow, I have a lunch meeting with a singer who wants to chat about putting together an act, then it’s another dress rehearsal, and then supposedly we begin having audiences on Thursday. I also have a work session on Thursday with the musical director of the Kritzerland show, and we have our first Kritzerland rehearsal on Friday – I have to bolt directly after to make that evening’s performance – I have no idea if I’ll get there on time, given Friday traffic, but I’ll do my best. We also preview on Saturday and Sunday.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, maybe do a jog, write, hopefully pick up packages, have a work session, eat, and rehearse. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite movies of 2013 so far? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall dream of driving a Hupmobile hither and thither and even yon.