Well, dear readers, roll out the turkey, pull out the stuffing, candy the yams, do the Mash with the mashed potatoes, string out the string beans, and serve up the pumpkin pie because today is a little day I like to call Thanksgiving. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, today is a little day I like to call Thanksgiving. Of course, those of us who are single persons are spending it alone and sans turkey, stuffing, gravy, string beans, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie because I could find not a single restaurant from whom to order a dinner for one. And Gelson’s was Gelson’s – at four-thirty, they were jammed, with everyone buying everything in sight, especially from the deli, that was basically out of everything you’d actually want to eat. The carving person was long gone and I walked out of there as soon as I saw the madness. I did go back before closing time and managed to get some fresh made ham slices, so at least I have that, and I got some honey mustard for it. And they had a pumpkin chocolate chip loaf and that sounded pretty okay so I got that. I also got hot dogs and buns, bagels, tuna, and a few other things, so I can go in several directions, meal-wise, but I’ll miss the turkey and stuffing and may try for some on Friday, when Marie Callender’s delivers again. They have a full course turkey dinner that looks excellent. I’m most thankful that we will hopefully have light and sanity all too soon and the too soon cannot come fast enough, because at this point what’s going on with the sore losers is simply bad theater that should close before it opens. I am looking forward to hearing about all the details and meals you dear readers are having for Thanksgiving, which will allow me some vicarious thrills. Otherwise, I’m sitting here like so much fish, listening to Herbert von Karajan’s rather sublime recording of the Mahler 5, perhaps the best I’ve heard, as I try to put together my personal Mahler cycle. I’m through with operas for now until the next batch of Schreker operas arrive.
Yesterday was okay, I suppose. I got a little over seven hours of sleep, answered e-mails, found an error in a chart I thought we’d finalized (well, Richard found it) – these stupid computer music programs apparently have minds of their own, and when you fix one thing it screws up something else, in this case moving an entire set of lyrics two bars early over a vamp. Anyway, we got it right and are moving right along. The gal who’s doing the lead sheets is great and one of the treats I get is hearing her sing the songs to me so I can make sure all the rhythms are correct – she has a very sweet voice. I moseyed over to the mail place and picked up a little package that of course should have been here two days ago. One of the items in said package was the Met Hansel and Gretel, so I saved that one for today’s viewing. The other was a movie I’ve never heard of and I’ll get to that in a minute.
I had one major thing to take care of during the day and take care of it I did – it took a while and used up most of the afternoon, but all’s well and then I wanted food immediately. I did the simplest thing – Togo’s – a regular pastrami (the size of a six-inch Subway) and a mini salami and provolone for later (the minis are very small; two or three bites and you’re done). That arrived and I ate the pastrami. You never know with Togo’s – one day it’s great, the next, not so much. This was a not so much day – it was edible and that’s about it. After that, I had work to do on the computer, so I did it, and that was pretty much the day, that and the aborted Gelson’s run number one. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture that I’d not only never seen but never even heard of. I was living in New York when it came out and was pretty aware of what movies were coming out, but this one must have been the bottom half of a double bill or something. It was a complete flop. The reasons for that are clearly because they had no idea how to sell the film, beginning with its awful title: I Start Counting. It’s also a very weird picture, a “thriller” without real thrills until the very end and even then it’s not really a “thriller.” It’s about a fourteen-year-old girl who thinks she’s in love with her much older stepbrother, but starts noticing strange things, like his blood-stained sweater and scratches on his back. Strange because there’s a serial killer loose killing young girls. It’s just odd, but I kind of enjoyed it mostly because the girl is played by Jenny Agutter, then sixteen, and she’s just wonderful in it. The other actors are all okay, including a very young Simon Ward. There’s an odd score by Basil Kirchin but also a lot of flower-power kind of songs that come along a bit too often. The director was David Greene, a director I was fond of from his film Sebastian. He does a fine job here. The transfer is quite nice, save for some weird color fluctuations a couple of times. It’s always fun to see something you’ve never even heard of, and Jenny Agutter does an interview in the extras and I have to say she looks great and I would be available to date her if she’d just call. Oh, she’s married.
After that, I did the second Gelson’s run, got what I got, came home and began my listening and relaxing.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’m not doing any work unless I do a little bit on project two, I’ll eat whatever I eat (certainly the ham), I’ll watch the Met Hansel and Gretel for sure, and then whatever else takes my fancy that’s sitting on the couch like so much fish. Mostly, I want to relax.
Tomorrow, I’ll really press on with project two, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, but I’m determined to get a lot of relaxing in because I need it with all that’s coming up in the next two weeks, where things are really busy. The weekend will be more of that and then it looks like we’re shooting Doug’s playlet on Monday rather than Tuesday. Once that’s in the can, we’ll get the footage to our wonderful Marshall Harvey for editing.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do no work, pick up no packages, eat, watch stuff, and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: I want to hear all about your Thanksgiving meals. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after writing these here notes with stuffing.