Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening Mr. Ormandy’s wonderful mono recording of The Moldau, the recording that introduced me to the wonders of classical music – and still my favorite recording of the piece and I don’t care who knows it. I did manage to watch a movie last night, the last Clint Eastwood film that I thought was great all the way through – Gran Torino. Classic curmudgeonly Clint, surprisingly moving, but delivers everything you’d want from a Clint movie that stars Clint. The only fail, as with most of his later films, is not having an actual composer, just Clint’s little noodles at the piano. Oh, for the days of Clint with Morricone, Lalo Schifrin, Jerry Fielding, and others. Anyway, I enjoyed it as I always do every few years. It was a choice between that and Panic Room, another movie I also enjoy every few years, so perhaps that will be tonight’s motion picture. Otherwise, it was a fairly uneventful day doing mostly uneventful things uneventfully. I got seven hours of sleep, which seemed like enough in that I slept very well. Amusingly, the noisy builders were nowhere to be heard. I’m hoping that’s the case this morning. Once up, I answered e-mails, caught up on a few things, wrote some e-mails, and then ordered food – a bacon cheeseburger from Tom’s, with a side of fries. Sometimes the burgers travel well and sometimes they don’t – a real crapshoot. Happily, this time it traveled well, and boy was it good. I wolfed that sucker down, let me tell you and I have told you. The fries were good, too. That was it for food, and my tummy has been grumbling, so a few minutes ago I ordered a bowl of clam chowder from BJ’s in Burbank. That should take care of hunger pangs and not do harm, calorie-wise. A burger and fries is not enough food for an entire day and evening. Where was I? Oh yes, the uneventful day. I’d written the set designer of What If and she got back to me and is VERY interested in talking about Drat! The Cat! I haven’t seen her in about eight years or so, so it will be fun to meet, catch up, and talk about the show. I sent her the album and script, so she can hopefully get some ideas. All I’ve told her is that the five-piece band will be onstage and that the show had to get from scene-to-scene seamlessly. She’s very talented. The sound guy I thought was going to do the holiday show thinks it would be cheaper to use someone who has their own equipment, so I wrote the guy he recommended, but I haven’t heard back. I think if push comes to shove, the original guy won’t let me down. I worked at the piano, Grant came over and hung the Court Jester costume design thing – it looks great – and that was pretty much it for the day. Then I watched the movie, ordered the soup, and here we are.
Today, I’ll hopefully have another good night’s beauty sleep and hopefully the noisy builders will be silent again, I’ll hopefully hear from the sound guy and the set designer, I’ll do a quick ATM run, I’ll eat something amusing, I’ll work at the piano – getting better playing the songs every day – and then at some point I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow will be more of the same and then I’m seeing a show in the evening. Not sure what’s happening on the weekend, other than continuing choosing songs for the holiday show – I’ve got five chosen so far, and I set a young person to open the show with our usual Be a Santa. Usually it’s a duet, but I’ll think about it as a solo. Or I’ll find another kid so we can do the usual version of the usual Be a Santa. And, of course, praying for a modern major miracle.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, hopefully get up after another good night’s beauty sleep, hopefully hear from sound guy and set gal, do a quick ATM run, eat, work at the piano, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite Clint Eastwood movies starring Clint, and your favorites he’s directed but not starred in? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, hoping for a fun and eventful day.