Well, dear readers, as Tchaikovsky’s fourth symphony conducted by Mitropoulos plays, I write another iteration of these here notes, one of many iterations of these here notes, about twenty-one YEARS’ worth of iterations of these here notes. Yes, our anniversary is coming up in six days so someone write it down in case I forget – November 9. And whilst I’m sitting here like so much fish, let me mention the motion picture I watched, entitled Danika, about a woman who thinks she’s going mad due to hallucinations and weird stuff happening with her kids and hubby. It’s not hard to figure out what’s going on as it’s been a staple of movies like this for the past two decades. Happily, if you don’t count the end credits, the film runs seventy-five minutes. And I do like Marisa Tomei, who stars, along with Craig Bierko. In the end, it’s a movie without a point and one that made back not a single cent of its five-million-dollar budget. I watched it on Freevee with commercial interruptions every few minutes. Now, I’ve been seeing these commercials on Freevee and Tubi for some months now. They run the same ones over and over again. And as with most things today, I sit and wonder what has happened to commercials? They all look and sound the same. The ones that are supposed to have some element of humor don’t have any, the dramatic ones are overly dramatic, and the actors are chosen by who is the least appealing person you can get. I mean, in an effort to be with it and appeal to I don’t know who, we get nose and eyebrow and lip rings, we get men with four days of beard, and in some cases we get commercials that are so incoherent that you don’t even know what they’re selling. In my day of doing commercials, the funny ones were genuinely clever and funny (and I was lucky to do many of them), some had genuine star power, some had great music, and most of all, they all sold the product they were supposed to be selling. But it’s really like that in most creative arenas and I don’t think I think that just because I’m an old curmudgeon fogey. But baby, the old curmudgeon fogey calls it like he sees it and speaks his mind.
Yesterday was another day, certainly. I did get nine-and-a-half-hours of sleep, so that was good. I was up for thirty minutes around four but fell back asleep at four-thirty. I got the news that the three errant and truant CDs would be ready today, so that’s a big relief. We’ll get them all shipped out by early next week. I got the helper a bunch of supplies she needed so she can begin shipping immediately. I did some banking, then had my small pepperoni pizza for food and it was good, although I think I have to not order it for a few weeks now.
I spent quite a bit of time trying to look at options for the Kritzerland show after December – nothing yet, but talking to several folks. I also spent way too much time on the phone with Go Daddy, trying to get old e-mail addresses and phone numbers off there, since I couldn’t log in, despite having the right username and password, because for security they send a code to the e-mail address on file, which unfortunately wasn’t mine. This began last week when I had to send my driver’s license to them so they could verify. Then late Tuesday I got an e-mail saying that wasn’t good enough and that they needed a selfie with my face next to the license. That was too much – I did it, but also included a scathing note with the threat of legal action if I wasn’t logged into the site within twenty-four hours. That part worked – when I went to the site, I was, in fact, logged in. Then I got some guy who didn’t know what he was doing, and that was a waste of way too much time. I finally asked him for a supervisor and was on hold for fifteen minutes waiting for Godot. I hung up, called back, and finally got someone on the phone who knew what they were doing. From there, it took about ten minutes to get everything updated. Then I watched the movie and the rest you know, other than I ate some peanuts for a snack, along with a couple of fruity fruit bars – grape and pineapple, in case you were wondering, which, let’s face it, you were.
Today, I’ll be up by eleven at the latest, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll definitely update the commentary for the Elmer Bernstein thing, I’ll also revise the three things that need revising in the screenplay and get that out of the way, I’ll eat, I’ll check with the mail place about mail, and then at some point, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow is maybe a lunch, maybe not, and getting everyone their songs, setting a show order, and whatever else needs doing. Saturday has to be a ME day – relaxing and taking care of my voice. Then Sunday we meet at three and rehearse stuff and then we do the concert at seven and I will beat a hasty retreat out of there pronto.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven at the latest, do whatever needs doing, update commentary, revise three things for the screenplay and then we are done with it for now, eat, check with the mail place, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What do you think of today’s commercials and what are some of your favorite commercials from the Golden Age of commercials, which I’d put between 1965 and 1985. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to be the old curmudgeon who speaks his mind.