Well, dear readers, here I am, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. What does that mean exactly? Who made that up exactly? I know what bright-eyed means but bushy-tailed? That’s a little outré, isn’t it? Well, there is no expert testimony as to the derivation of this expression. Some say 19th century America, some cite its first use in the early 1950s, and some say it describes squirrels, due to their awareness of their surroundings and their bushy tales. Well, I know one squirrel who is neither bright-eyed nor bushy-tailed – that squirrel is currently laying dead in my Jacuzzi. No we cannot say that squirrel was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed due to his being dead as a doornail in a Jacuzzi. I, on the other hand, am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the truest definition sense, although not really because I’m overtired and bushy tails are not in fashion at this moment, although we can be ever hopeful that will change and the bushy tail will come back in favor. It has just this minute occurred to me that I haven’t a clew as to what the HELL I’m talking about.
Yesterday was a day in which I woke up after ninety minutes of sleep, fell back asleep about an hour later, then slept in fits and starts until around eleven-thirty. I also slept in start and fits, for those who are interested in that sort of thing. Then I got up, answered e-mails, did some work on the computer and at the piano. Then I think I watched something – oh yeah, some old Universal TV movie called The Questor Tapes. I only got twenty minutes into it – typical TV movie fare for the early 70s, but co-written by Gene Rodenberry. It stars Robert Foxworth, John Vernon, Mike Farrell and a bunch of easily recognizable 70s TV character people. I’ll finish it up at some point this evening.
Then Sami and her mom came and we moseyed on over to Dan Tana’s for our postmortem meal. After we ordered, the postmortem discussion only lasted about five minutes. I called it The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. I chose to accentuate the good because what was good was great and her growth and the strides she made as an actor were huge and I’m very proud of her. I really think she learned a lot about herself as a person and performer and that’s a really good thing. The bad and the ugly she was well aware of and I know she’s working hard to leave her day at the door and be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for rehearsals. But teens go through a lot in their day so one always knows that. We all had Caesar salads – they don’t seem to make it at the table anymore, which is a shame, but boy was it good – simply the best and most real Caesar salad anywhere in LA. Sami had the shrimp scampi over pasta and I think she really liked it. Her mom had veal Parmesan and she really liked it, and Sami tasted and liked it, too. I had my beloved spaghetti carbonara, but I was not at all as good as it usually is, which is the best in town. Something was awry in the flavor of it – in fact, it was kind of gross. Sami tasted it and said it tasted like dog food. While it wasn’t quite that, it was nowhere near what it has been in the past, and next time I go I’ll probably have a different pasta. But we all had a grand time, laughed a lot, and then I came home.
I tried watching something on the Flix of Net but as frequently happens they were hiccupping and it was just too irritating so I shut it off and did stuff on the computer.
Today, I have some errands and whatnot to do, but I believe it’s a holiday so I’ll just relax and enjoy it. At 7:45 we have three Kritzerland people rehearsing and that will be done at nine.
The rest of the week is Kritzerland rehearsals, I teach a musical theater workshop on Thursday (we have more than twenty people signed up for it, so that’s a good turnout), then we have our stumble-through, then sound check and show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog (if it’s not too hot), do some errands and whatnot, eat, and rehearse. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite TV movies from the Golden Age of TV movies? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall arise bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.