Well, dear readers, I hope everyone had a safe and fun fourth of July. I actually dozed off just before it got dark and I obviously slept right through the nearby City of Studio fireworks. Otherwise, I slept eight hours, I did a whole lot of nothing for most of the day. Oh, I watched a motion picture entitled The Gift, starring Cate Blanchett, a not uninteresting “thriller” made in the year 2000 – a little too long and a little too arty for its own good, but then again when the screenplay is co-written by Billy Bob Thornton you can pretty much know what you’re in for. Miss Blanchett is terrific as someone who can read cards and tell people’s futures. While the plot isn’t much, it does hold one’s interest, at least it held mine – fifteen minutes shorter would have been better, and while I’m a big fan of composer Christopher Young, this score is just not my cup of tea. Other players included Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes and some good character actors.
I did some listening to upcoming projects, did a little bit of work on the computer, and then got ready to go to neighbor Tony Slide and Bob Gitt’s fourth of July partay. As always, it was an eclectic group of people, most of them regulars, but a few new faces, too, like actor James Karen, who I have always liked. I had a nice chat with Bob Gitt about a project he’s working on covering sound in films from the 30s to now. And I chatted with cousin Dee Dee and Alan and Dee Dee’s mom and her friend from far away England, who’s coming to our show on Sunday. I stayed about ninety minutes, but didn’t eat anything, as I’m really trying to be good and lose this fifteen pounds I’ve gained back mostly at the beginning of the year when I was writing Red Gold.
So, I just had a few different foodstuffs, all of them very light and probably totaling no more than 1200 calories. After eating the various light foodstuffs, I watched another motion picture, this one entitled Following, director Christopher Nolan’s first feature, an extremely low-budget affair. People really like this movie, but, for me, Nolan’s beloved non-linear storytelling, where he just puts scenes in any old order, gives me a headache and just irritates me. While I enjoyed his second film, Memento, I basically felt the same about that one. Apparently, the Blu and Ray of Following has an option for you to watch the film in chronological order, but it wasn’t that interesting to me that I feel like doing so.
After my viewing, I just played on the computer and relaxed and did some Google searching for various scams that are going on – telephone scams (I got one of those calls the other day) and the usual Facebook nonsense.
Today, I shall hopefully arise after a good night’s beauty sleep, and then I’ll do some errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up some packages, then we’ll have our stumble-through, after which a few of us will go out and dine. We always end up going to one of the same three places, so tomorrow I’d like to go somewhere we haven’t been before, or just to Jerry’s so I can have something light there. The other places we tend to go – Hugo’s, Casa Vega, Stanley’s – I just eat way too much food.
Tomorrow we have our sound check and show and then we’ll go out after the show and have our usual fun meal. We usually end up at Little Toni’s and that’s fine by me.
Monday, I have to finish casting the August show, then finish choosing songs and gathering music. The rest of the week is meetings and meals, I’m going to see a screening of a newly-restored film (no one knows it’s been restored and it’s going to make some people very happy), and lots of other stuff.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up packages, have a stumble-through, eat, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: If you could see a one-person show based on a famous person, a show that hasn’t been done before, what person would it be and what actor do you think would best do the role? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall arise and get ready for our stumble-through, for this is the Day of the Stumble-Through.