Well, dear readers, The Raccoons will hopefully go elsewhere now that the roof has been cleaned of their bathroom exploits and treated with something they will not care for. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, The Raccoons of Studio City were using the roof as a loo (ool, spelled backwards). Damn them, damn them all to hell. Hopefully they’ve moved on to my neighbor’s roof. And that was how my morning began yesterday.
Once that was all taken care of, I got ready for our noon o’clock rehearsal. First up was Jill Marie Burke, since she can’t be with us today – you already know what she’s singing. Then came Laura Dickenson to run her three numbers. First up was More in Love With You, which is Previn’s beautiful theme for The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse with lyrics by the Bergmans – those lyrics were written fifty years after the fact for Barbra Streisand. Then she did her second song, which is quite wordy – Stage Struck from The Good Companions. And finally, it was the classic I’ll Plant My Own Tree – we played with different keys (rangy song) and finally settled on a good one. And Guy Haines came by and ran his number, The Faraway Part of Town – hopefully come show day he won’t BE in the faraway part of town. One never knows.
Then I went and had a bagel and some chicken tenders, then picked up a couple of packages and came home. I did some work on the computer, answered a bunch of e-mails and then finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a German motion picture on the Flix of Net entitled Eight Miles High, a bio-pic about a German model and groupie in the late 1960s named Uschi Obermaier. I had no clew as to who this woman was and after watching the 2007 film, I still really don’t know who she is. It’s not very well made, and frankly its subject matter – a beautiful young woman in Germany becomes political, becomes a model, goes to London, pals around and has sex with many people, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Jimi Hendrix, takes drugs, goes off with some wacko guy in a Mercedes bus – you know, everything I hate. I kept expecting that she would die from an overdose of something or other, but no, she’s actually alive and well and living right here in the San Fernando Valley (in Topanga Canyon) where she’s a successful jewelry designer. Having seen photos now of the real person, the actress really resembles her, and a few of the males resemble their real-life counterparts. However, when you cast German actors as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and they attempt, and horribly so, to do English accents, it gets ludicrous pretty quickly. I didn’t mind it, but it really is just kind of one-note all the way through its almost two hour running time.
After that, I did a jog – whilst doing the final stretch what did I see? No, not a raccoon, but even stranger – a coyote – what the HELL is going on here in the City of Studio? Then I had a couple of telephonic conversations, did more work on the computer, and then relaxed.
Today, I have a noon o’clock lunch, and that’s followed by our second Kritzerland rehearsal. After that, I’ll just relax.
Tomorrow I have lunch with a friend I haven’t seen in a while. I’ve also been invited by my pal Todd Ellison to see Spamalot at the Hollywood Bowl, either tomorrow night or Saturday night, but unless I’m in a box I just don’t enjoy it there, plus it’s just bad timing with the Kritzerland show. Saturday is our stumble-through and Sunday is sound check and show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a lunch meeting, have a rehearsal, jog, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What is your all-time most loathed reality show? And which is your favorite? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, wondering what rare critter I’ll see today.