Well, dear readers, it is 2021. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, it is 2021 and not a moment too soon. And it is my fervent hope and prayer that 2021 will be a year filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful. It’s also January, and it is my fervent hope and prayer that January will be a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful. There, I’ve said it and I’m glad and as Mammy Yokum would so succinctly put it, “I has spoken!” And I has. Now, we cannot have unreasonable expectations at the start of 2021, as it was just 2020 one day ago and there’s much to clean up, air out, and make better, and that includes the light and sanity that will occur on January 20 and boy do we need light and sanity. Hopefully, the vaccine will be effective and gotten to everyone, as that will go a long way to assuaging some of the nervousness and fear that’s been all pervasive for the past nine or ten months. Light and sanity, baby, that’s what I’M talkin’ about.
Otherwise, I’m sitting here like so much fish, writing this section of the notes early, just prior to the start of our Annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Bash right here at haineshisway.com. I’m listening to music – what else is new? I heard another lovely disc of orchestral suites from Janacek operas (three volumes in total – I have the first two) and this one was even better than volume one. Such beautiful music Mr. Janacek gave us. I also listened to a French musical comedy entitled Eugene, La Mysterieux by a French composer from France that I love, Jean-Michel Damase. It was very tuneful and delightful. There were excerpts from two operettas by other composers included in this two-CD set – one by Maurice Yvain and one by Wal-Berg. I didn’t care for either too much. I have more music to listen to during the evening – more Janacek operas, a Kurt Atterberg Violin Concerto, an opera called La Wally, an opera called Thais, and other stuff – I doubt I’ll get through all of it, but it will be a musical evening whilst our Bash is going on. Music has been so important during this crazy time, and I’m sure it will continue to be important as we move into this New Year with hearts and hopes high.
Yesterday was just what you’d think the final day of the horrid 2020 would be: Some okay, but some really irritating sidebars throughout the day and in the case of one such sidebar, I’m afraid my patience ran out and I had to shut someone down because people have simply not learned when it is best to stop talking, especially during a pandemic. I wasn’t as horrible as I can be, but I stopped the conversation cold in the fastest way possible. I did get eight hours of sleep, I answered e-mails, I listened to project one stuff, gave some notes, but then Richard Allen had some last-minute stuff come up and we never finished our work or had our work session, which is going to have to happen today or we’re going to run out of time. We start filming project one on Tuesday, I think, if I’m remembering correctly. So, project one – here’s what I’m okay revealing: It’s an original musical, basically a cast of two, played by Eric Petersen and Hartley Powers, with a couple of appearances by ten-year-old Sophie Petersen. I got the idea for it and project two at the same time, but did project one first because it involved ten musical numbers. It took about two weeks to write the score, and then I wrote the script in a week. It will run about an hour. And it’s designed specifically for streaming on the Internet and you’ll understand what I mean when you see it. If all goes according to Hoyle, we’ll air it as a Kritzerland Special at the end of this month. Marshall Harvey is editing it, Richard Allen is the musical director, and I’m directing it. We’ve had many Zoom sessions about it – the piece itself, and the technical aspects of how we’re doing it. We’ve been pre-recording the songs for the past week, which is what all the listening has been about. I’ll reveal the title in a week or so when we have a logo, which Doug Haverty will be creating.
I picked up a couple of packages but no important envelopes – apparently the USPS wanted to go out of 2020 being as wretched as possible. I was told they brought almost no mail today. Hopefully, said important envelopes will arrive on Saturday. After that, I went to Gelson’s – parking lot completely full and people coming out of the store with three carts of food, which, to me, means some of these morons are having parties either on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. Anyway, I wasn’t having any of that nonsense, so I came home and ordered via Grubhub from the California Chicken Café – one chicken breast and wing, one chicken pasta salad as my side. It arrived about thirty minutes later and was just kind of perfect. After that, I had a telephonic conversation, listened to music, and got ready for our partay.
I had a Healthy Choice frozen thing for my evening snack – 240 calories and my least favorite of those frozen things I’ve had from that company. Our partay didn’t have as many attendees as I’d hoped, but the revelers who were there had a fine time and so did I. Still we had a healthy number of postings and this was our best posting month since last April. We first rang in the East Coast New Year, then I shaved and showered and washed the horrid 2020 down the drain, then I did my contemplation thing I do every year, and then some balls dropped and we rang in the New Year at midnight, so HAPPY NEW YEAR and HAPPY 2021!!!
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, but not too late, and I’ll begin what I hope will be my twenty-first book, a novel. I’m already a few pages in, so I’ll futz and finesse that stuff, then move on and write however many new pages I can. I’ll order in some food at some point. And then, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, she of the Evil Eye comes, so I’ll do a light breakfast thing and hopefully pick up some packages and two important envelopes, I have a Zoom thing at one, then it’s back to the new book. Sunday is more of the same, plus we’ll be listening to vocals and finessing that stuff and addressing any notes I might have. Then next week is super busy – shooting project one, writing pages for the new book, and doing whatever needs doing.
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, begin my new novel, hear some vocals, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – CD, lots o’ stuff, both operas and orchestral as well as a Peggy Lee CD. DVD, The Cunning Little Vixen. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, having had my New Year’s sip of champagne and a fabulous time at our partay. And once again, it is my fervent hope and prayer that 2021 will be a year filled with health, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful and that January will be a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful. And the light and sanity was all so desperately need. Happy New Year!