Well, dear readers, first things first, because second things first are unseemly: I had a wonderful dining adventure yesterday with friends Marshall Harvey and Henry Stanny. Marshall and I took the Metro down to MacArthur Park (yes, that MacArthur Park from the song of the same name), which just happens to be where the greatest deli ever is located – Langer’s. I don’t go there as often as I like or should because the drive is so terrible and difficult and because there are certain sweet spots in terms of when there’s no wait, if you go at two, as we did, to get that sweet spot, then you have horrific traffic on the way back. But the Metro is $1.75 down there and takes twenty minutes of no stress. And it lets you out about thirty steps from Langer’s, near the old Westlake Theatre. We, in fact, got there early, and got a great booth right away. While sitting there waiting for Henry Stanny to arrive (he lives not too far away), we perused the menu and were looking forward to our three-way power lunch. And then – the power went out. Say what? Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, the power went out. There were men working on the street (well, below the street) and it is our belief that they did something untoward, like eat a power cord or something). We could see the signals outside weren’t working and instantly traffic at that corner was a mess. I had to use the men’s room – completely dark, but thanks to my handy-dandy iPhone flashlight, the day was saved. Henry arrived and we blamed him for the power outage that was making us have an Un-power lunch.
We ordered – Henry had the classic #19 – pastrami on rye with Swiss cheese, cole slaw, and Russian dressing, not necessarily in that order. Marshall and I both had the #1, which is the #19 without the 9 – no Swiss cheese, otherwise the same. I always ask for extra lean and Marshall did, too. We also ordered some kishka and potato pancakes. We were told that the latter two items might not happen unless the power came back, but the sandwiches would be out in a short while.
We had a lot of fun chatter, and then our sandwiches arrived. Just as we began eating, the power came back, so our potato pancakes and kishka arrived not too long after. First off, the pastrami there is the best anywhere – and extra lean meant not a single ounce of fat anywhere. And their potato pancakes are heaven on Earth. I was so stuffed after the sandwich and one-and-a-half potato pancakes that I could only take one bite of kishka – but the one bite made me instantly remember that I don’t like the kishka there – it’s the one fail for Langer’s – don’t like the taste and hate the kind of gravy it comes with. But, oh that pastrami on the freshest, best rye bread and oh, those potato pancakes, or latkes as they’re really called.
After, Marshall and I got on the Metro home. The Metro works really well – there were a couple of crazy people on board each trip, but no one paid any attention, really. The trip back was also about twenty minutes. Then I headed to the mail place – I decided to chance the 134 freeway as it wasn’t quite four yet. That was a bad mistake. It was disgusting. I got off as soon as I could and went up to a street I like that took me all the way to the street that goes to the mail place. I picked up some packages, then came right home.
Once home, I had a lot of e-mails to catch up on, I had two long telephonic conversations, and then I just had to stop, so I watched the first twenty minutes or so of a motion picture on a German Blu and Ray entitled Waterloo, about someone named Napoleon Bonaparte, who is played by a rather intense Rod Steiger. It’s directed by that Russian fellow, Sergei Bondarchuk, who’d directed that hugely epic Soviet version of War and Peace. So, this has, as you might expect, a lot of grandeur and spectacle. The transfer, thus far, looks excellent. I’ll have more to say when I’ve finished the thing.
Then I decided to synch the iPod, since I’d added more than 10,000 songs since the last synch. I began that at six and so far it’s done almost 8,000, so this won’t be finished until noon tomorrow, most likely, but maybe a bit sooner than that. Then I just relaxed and listened to a whole slew of interesting music, especially a Latvian composer called Adolfs Skulte, who is brilliant, at least his fifth symphony is. I found him while searching other stuff on the Tube of You – after hearing the fifth, I grabbed all his other symphonies save for the second, which isn’t posted – I can’t get them into iTunes until the synch finishes, but I suspect I’ll have some good listening ahead. There seems to only be one CD available, and it’s actually not available anywhere that I can find. Thank heaven for Clip Grab.
Today, I have to be up by ten, then I’ll get ready for our eleven o’clock What If rehearsal. I’m not at all sure how long it will last – my goal is three hours, but it may go to four. I’m looking forward to it. Then I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, eat something fun, and then come back and relax, finish Waterloo, and write liner notes, although doing those tomorrow is the more likely bet.
Tomorrow, the more likely bet is I’ll write the liner notes, but other than that, I’m just taking it easy and getting ready for the hugely busy week ahead. Monday we have our second What If rehearsal, Tuesday we have our stumble-through, Wednesday I’ll go in early and do some basic lighting stuff, and then the cast will arrive and we’ll run whatever we need to, and then we do the show at eight. Same thing on Thursday, and then I immediately begin preparing for The Man Who Came to Dinner rehearsals, which start the following week.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a rehearsal, hopefully pick up packages, eat, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite historical motion pictures – about important events in history? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had a wonderful Un-Power Lunch at Langer’s.