Well, dear readers, as Christmas inches ever closer it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Not really. It’s been raining on and off – not much, but actual rain. What a concept. But I don’t really see much in the way of Christmas décor on the streets. When I was a kid all my neighborhood streets had Christmas décor, and when we’d visit Beverly Hills or Hollywood the décor there was amazing. But out here in the San Fernando Valley you just don’t see much evidence that it’s Christmas. And yet, it’s Christmas, or inching towards it. Well, that shan’t deter me from feeling the Christmas spirit. I shall just feel the damn Christmas spirit and no one can say boo about it, although someone earlier today did say boo. I just looked at that person with haughty disdain and said, “Oh, really, well all I can say to that is oob.” They looked at me with quiet confusion until I explained that oob is boo spelled backwards. That shut them right up.
Yesterday was a bit of a day. I slept only seven hours again, arising just before ten. I answered e-mails, did a little work at the piano, chose some songs, and then took all the stuff that’s been accumulating everywhere in the home environment and either put it away (mostly in the garage) or threw out the junk. So, everything is clean as a whistle now, although frankly I haven’t seen to many clean whistles in my life and times. Anyway, everything is neat and orderly and ready for the big Christmas Eve Do.
I then had two brief meetings. After, I went and picked up a couple of packages that had things in them, including the soundtrack of The Hateful Eight by Ennio Morricone. Then I came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I watched the first forty minutes of a new DVD of the movie Farewell, My Lovely, the 70s version starring Robert Mitchum, John Ireland, Charlotte Rampling, Harry Dean Stanton and lots of others. I’m rather fond of this adaptation – it has real style and an affection for Raymond Chandler and Mitchum is a really good Marlowe. The period settings are lovely and the score by David Shire is one for the ages. I saw it many times when it was released. The previous DVD was a joke – open matte and ugly as can be. This is at least in its proper screen ratio, but it’s too dark and many generations away from a camera negative.
After that, I did a bit of writing, then got ready to go sup with Barry Pearl and the soon-to-be Mrs. Pearl, his ever-lovin’ Cindy. We went to Spumonte, a really good little Eyetalian jernt just a block from the El Portal Theater. I’ve been there a couple of times. I had what I always do – the penne Spumonte (penne with sausage) and a Caesar salad (theirs is quite good). The penne portion is not very big and that was fine by me. For dessert I had the black raspberry sorbet dipped in chocolate – very good.
We then moseyed on over to the El Portal Theater to see a concert, some holiday music, some tribute to Frank Sinatra music. The gal doing the concert is very talented with a very good voice (she’s done a Kritzerland show not too long ago), but she really needs to trust someone other than herself to be a pair of eyes for her, at least in my opinion she does. I’m quite sure she doesn’t think she does. But as good as she is and as good as her band is, there’s absolutely not an iota of structure or point and therefore things simply don’t land as they should. I’m not sure she knows who she is as a live performer and that’s something that’s very important to figure it out. It ain’t easy and it’s even harder when you simply think you can do it all by your lonesome. I don’t think anyone can, unless they’re already a huge star. She had a pretty full house of appreciative folks and we all had a good time, but two hours and fifteen minutes is just way too long for an unstructured show.
After that, I came directly home and directly to the computer to directly write these here notes.
Today, I’ll choose songs (I’m trying to book one more young fellow), and then I’ll eat, hopefully pick up packages, and then relax. In the evening I’ll go over to Gelson’s and do my shopping for the items I didn’t get at Costco. Then I’ll do all my chopping and mincing and also prepare the tuna pasta salad.
Tomorrow, at noon I begin cooking the spaghetti sauce. That takes about twenty minutes initially, and then I just let it simmer all the livelong day, adding whatever spices I feel it still needs. At six, people arrive and then we have our Christmas Eve Do. I will have a full report for you and yes, there will be photographs to accompany it. Then it’s Christmas Day, Cissy Wechter’s partay, and then the weekend is mine all mine.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, choose songs, eat, hopefully pick up packages, relax, shop, prepare food, and watch motion pictures. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall hope to see more Christmas Décor.