Well, dear readers, it is quite late and I’m quite tired but there are notes to write and I’m feeling the Christmas spirit whilst writing them. Have you ever felt the Christmas spirit? If so, what did the Christmas spirit have to say about being felt? Did the Christmas spirit slap your face? In any case, I’m feeling the Christmas spirit and I really don’t care how the Christmas spirit feels about it. Being LA, it doesn’t really seem all the Christmas like, save for the few houses in the neighborhood that are all lit up prettily for Christmas. My true love hasn’t given me squat this Christmas – not a damn partridge or a pear tree, not a turtle dove in sight, no French hens, although someone tried to slip me an Armenian hen, no calling birds, although I did get a text from a bird, no gold rings, no geese a laying (thank goodness), no swimming swans, no maids a milking (gross), no ladies dancing, no leaping Lords, no pipers piping, and no damn drummers drumming. What is WITH my true love anyway? Oh, that’s right – I don’t have a true love so therein lies the problem and the problem lies therein, not necessarily in that order. What the HELL am I talking about? But for the holidays, here’s a sweet little video treat – Jenna Lea Rosen performing at the Kritzerland holiday show – this was the show’s final number – and Jenna just keeps getting better and better.
Yesterday was an ordinary Saturday. Nothing much to report. I got up, did my morning ablutions, had a visit with reporter and author Jon Burlingame, took clothes to the dry cleaners, picked up two little packages, did some banking, and then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I watched a motion picture entitled American Hustle. I sort of enjoyed the director’s last film, Silver Linings Playbook, but I couldn’t even watch the film he made prior to that, The Fighter. I knew little about this film. I can’t say I thought it was stellar, but the time passes reasonably well (although at over two hours and ten minutes it’s ten minutes too long), some of it is trying for the magic of Silver Linings Playbook in rather obvious ways, due to the casting of Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. The tone of the film wavers quite a bit, but there are some nice moments, including an unbilled Robert De Niro in an amusing little cameo. There’s also a lot of whispery acting going on, some so low that you just can’t even begin to understand what the characters are saying. Amy Adams is here usual good self, and Christian Bale is doing yet another of his American characters and he’s okay. There are some other good character actors in one-scene roles, like Anthony Zerbe and Barry Primus. The score is purportedly by Danny Elfman, but if there was an original score I must have missed it, because of being bombarded with one song after another. So, certainly enjoyable on some levels, but, for me, not a home run.
After that, I did stuff on the computer, began cleaning up for the Christmas Eve Do, and then it was time to mosey on over to the theater. It was a full house and while not the most demonstrative audience we’ve had they certainly seemed to enjoy the show and gave healthy applause throughout. The show itself went very well. After, Sami, her mom, and I went to a nearby jernt. I hadn’t eaten anything but an English muffin and some almonds, so I was really hungry, but this isn’t a jernt for really hungry – so I had something called a flatbread, with a little cheese, onions and pancetta on top, kind of like a pizza cracker – I don’t think there could have been more than three hundred calories in all of it. We all shared some quite good french fries, too.
Then I decided to go to Gelson’s to complete the shopping for the Christmas Eve Do, just so I don’t have to deal with any crowds today or tomorrow. It took about thirty minutes, but I got everything I needed and I’m all set. I think we could end up with quite a lot of people this year, but I never really know in advance. Once home, I had a few more almonds, and some cheese and crackers, as I was still rather hungry.
Today, I shall hopefully arise after a good night’s beauty sleep, I will try to jog, and then I’ve decided I don’t really need to be at the matinee. I’ll continue the clean up, I’ll relax, I’ll eat, I’ll watch and I’ll get ready to do our announcement at six in the morning.
Tomorrow, I’ll be up at six to announce the last release of 2013, after which I hope to print out a LOT of orders. Other than that, and a possible telephonic conversation, there’s nothing but relaxing and enjoying. In the evening I will do all my slicing and dicing for the food. Tuesday, I’ll begin cooking around noon, I’ll definitely jog, and then it’s the annual Christmas Eve Do, which we have been doing non-stop since 1988. Then it’s Christmas, and I’ll be going to Cissy Wechter’s house to celebrate – she’s making kugel especially for the likes of me. Thursday I see the Darling Daughter, and at some point I’ll have a one hour work session with the musical director of the Kritzerland show. Then it’s ME time until our Kritzerland rehearsals.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, jog, clean up, relax, watch a few motion pictures, and slice and dice what needs slicing and dicing. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall continue to wantonly feel the Christmas spirit.