Well, dear readers, it is a mere day until our Rockin’ New Year’s Eve Bash and I, for one, will be right here at haineshisway.com to watch various and sundried balls drop on both coasts, so I do hope you’ll all join us for the merriment and mirth and laughter and legs. As for now, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to the Bernard Herrmann album, The Impressionists, a Phase 4 stereophonic album that I bought the day it came out and played to death and then some. With the exception of Clair the Loon, every piece on this album was new to me and what discoveries they were, too – Satie’s Gymnopedies one and three, Faure’s Pavane, Ravel’s Five O’Clock Foxtrot, Honegger’s Pastorale d’ete, and Debussy’s La Plus Que Lente, all in gorgeous renditions and glorious Phase 4 stereophonic sound. It’s never been issued on CD, but someone has put a copy on YouTube, which is obviously taken from a commercially released reel-to-reel tape, so quality isn’t too bad. I’m hoping that a box set of these Herrmann classical recordings will surface – they released one for his film music albums, so it would be a natural. I know of six – The Impressionists, The Planets, Great Tone Poems for Orchestra, Charles Ives Symphony 2, Eric Satie and his Friend Darius Milhaud, and Four Faces of Jazz. Here’s hoping and hoping here’s. I did watch a motion picture I’d never seen before, one of the few Spielberg films I’d missed, entitled Munich. I must say I didn’t love it and have said it. It’s okay, I stuck with it for all of its almost three hours, but in the end, it just felt overlong and repetitious. The actors are all excellent, but the script just didn’t do it for me – Tony Kushner strikes again. I also thought it was one of John Williams’ lesser efforts. But glad I finally saw it.
Yesterday was thankfully a bit quieter and that was much appreciated by the likes of me. I got about nine hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, had several telephonic conversations, tried to ascertain if the was any mail to pick up but they were too busy with Amazon returns to tell me – infuriating – so, I then ordered my little pepperoni pizza, which came with its own drama – they ended up sending the order to Marco’s Pizza but not the one a few blocks from here – nooooo, in all their brilliance they sent it to the one that’s ten MILES from here. I called my Marco’s and told them, because they should castigate DoorDash. I tried to castigate DoorDash, but their customer service folks in India don’t really understand English, nor can they speak it so that you can actually understand it. Thankfully, the pizza was still hot when it arrived, and while it wasn’t quite as tasty as my local Marco’s, it hit the spot.
After that, I did a few things on the computer – for the new book I have to compile some lists so that I have them when I begin writing in earnest on January 1. And then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish and watched the almost three-hour Munich. I’m a bit surprised that Mr. Spielberg in all these years and films hasn’t realized that his biggest grossing film ever, ET, is because I’m in it. Wouldn’t you think he’d want me in every film so lightning could strike over and over again? I did have a few snacks but nothing major – just some caramels made by the Darling Daughter, a piece of her pumpkin bread, and that was it.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I guess I’ll mosey on over to the mail place and see what’s there and hopefully pick up some packages and important envelopes, I’ll eat (I have a 50% off coupon from a sandwich jernt I like, so I’ll probably do that, then in the early evening I’ll go to Gelson’s and get the stuff I’ll need for New Year’s Day. Then I can watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, I’ll just hang out and relax until it’s time for our Annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Bash, which I’m looking forward to. We’ll ball drop at nine CA time for our east coasters, and then at midnight we’ll shout Happy New Year and I’ll have my one sip of champagne and go to bed. Prior to midnight I will, of course, do my usual contemplation thing for about twenty minutes. On New Year’s Day, I’ll get up around ten and begin writing a new book as soon as I’m coherent. Then at four, a few people will come by for food and fun. That will end around seven, and then I’ll relax. Then next week is very busy – writing, reading a play I may direct a workshop of, and preparing our new releases.
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 whatever needs doing, go to the mail place and hopefully pick up packages and important envelopes, eat, do a Gelson’s run, 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 – I have no idea. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, as we have one day more until our Annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Bash.