Well, dear readers, may we just get the obvious out of the way right here and now as well as now and here? I think we should, just because the obvious is so obvious. It is October. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, it is October and the obvious reason it is October is because it is no longer September. So, welcome to October and it is my fervent hope and prayer that October will be a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful. And whilst writing these meandering but obvious thoughts, I am sitting here like so much fish listening to Herbert Von Karajan conduct opera intermezzi. Did you know that when there’s more than one intermezzo it becomes intermezzi? So, my question is this: When there are a grouping of mezzo-sopranos, do they become mezzi-sopranos or just messy-sopranos? I’m not sure, at this point, that I have any clew as to what the HELL I’m talking about. And I’m good with that, truly I am. We’ve already had one intermezzo from Verdi’s La Traviata, and now we have one of the most famous of them all, Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rustacana. It’s very beautiful and, of course, has been used in several motion pictures of note. I have little microwavable plastic bowls – I think that was a segue – I put one on my head and it looks very cute. I think this could become a thing; microwavable little bowls worn as hats. Does anyone still wear a hat?
Isn’t that, well, something? If you have a little microwavable bowl, put it on your head and take a photograph and post it – I think we might just start a trend – not bowler hats but bowl hats. I’m down with it and, frankly, I’m also up with it. The intermezzi are continuing – we’ve had some Puccini and some Leoncavallo. Prior to the intermezzi, I did manage to watch a motion picture on the Firestick thing on the Amazon Prime thing, a motion picture just released this very year, entitled The Courier, one of those Cold War spy pictures. Like most films I see these days, this one looks the same, sounds the same, and I remember a wonderful time in decades past when not every movie looked the same and sounded the same. They all had different looks and feels and sound. But now? No, not so much, and it’s one of the reasons I really don’t care for much now filmmaking. Anyway, The Courier stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Rachel Brosnahan and it’s “based on true events” – and yes, it begins with that line. It’s not exactly a unique story, but I don’t mind this kind of film and it didn’t overstay its welcome. It just isn’t ever better than middling but middling is better than boring or awful.
Yesterday, the last of September, was okay. I did get nine hours of sleep, so that was good. Once up, I had to answer e-mails and then shave and shower and be on my way to my three-fifteen meeting/meal with a mom and her twelve-year-old daughter. I’ve worked with the kid’s sister in our all-young people show, but the young one is cute as a button and has spunk, so she’ll do the holiday Kritzerland show. I ate a sky-high pastrami with coleslaw and Russian dressing, and it was pretty good. It came with fries, and they were good, too. The girl had a waffle and mom had a pastry. When I got to the restaurant, Uncle Bernie’s Deli, I ran into Larry Blank who was lunching with Lawrence Guittard, so that was fun. Larry, for those who might not know, is an orchestrator (The Drowsy Chaperone) and conductor. I’d conversed with Larry Guittard on Facebook, but we’d never actually met, so that was nice.
Afterwards, I went to the mail place and picked up one package and two important envelopes and then came right home. I had quite a few e-mails that needed answering, and then I had a telephonic conversation and then I realized that it was Thursday, not Friday, which was a good thing to realize. I was quite discombobulated in that regard, which is why I said it was Friday in the Thursday topic of the day. At some point after the movie, I had a couple of tortillas with cheese as my snack. Then it was on to the intermezzi and now playing is Massenet’s beautiful Thais.
Today, I’ll be up by ten-thirty, and I’ll go right to the bank to cash the pension check then right to the other bank to deposit it. I’m hoping that all that can happen quickly and effortlessly. After that, I’ll come home and do some work on the computer and relax, hopefully pick up some packages, and then I’m having a belated birthday dinner with the belated birthday boy, Marshall Harvey, and after that we’ll second act London Suite to see friend Diane Linder go on (she’s covering another actress who couldn’t do the show this weekend).
Tomorrow, she of the Evil Eye comes, so I’ll go have a light breakfast somewhere and then I might go to the used CD store and use up the rest of my credit. I might take a few things in for further trading. At three, I’ll Zoom with David Wechter for our little writing project. He’s in the middle of reading Some Days Are Murder and told me he loves the banter between Harry and Bernice, always nice to hear. Sunday, the singer comes at noon and we’ll work for a couple of hours, then I can have the rest of the day and evening to myself, which will be nice after this oh so busy week we’ve just had. Then next week we’ll be shipping out the last two CDs and I have several meetings and meals, and we’ll cast the reading of Doug’s play and I also have to finish reading another play that he wants to a do a reading of – written by novelist Bill Fitzhugh, who wrote a funny little book called Pest Control. Now playing, Wolf-Ferrari’s Der Schmuck der Madonna (The Schmuck and Madonna), which I gather is an opera about a schmuck and the singer Madonna.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by ten-thirty, do banking, do stuff on the computer, hopefully pick up packages, have a belated birthday dinner and then second act London Suite. Today’s topic of discussion: Not to be a broken record, but it’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I already listed mine so, your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, as I hit the road to dreamland, happy that it is obviously October and, of course, it is my fervent hope and prayer that October will be a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful.