4th of July weekend

4th of July weekend, and there are too many parties.

Getting through the last days of the L.A. Film Fest.
I finally got to see my old partner, Lance Weiler’s movie, Head Trauma. Cool movie. Check it out when it hits video. Or if you’re lucky, check it out if it hits a screen in your town.

Had a friend in town who co-wrote the afore mentioned movie. I spent the last week showing him the town. Lots of driving on hot days. But always lots of fun.
In addition to all the tar-pits, signs, roads, and views, we went to a party at the Chateau Marmont. The Penthouse. Yeah baby. Didn’t do Speedballs or anything life threatening, just a lot of gawking, and a fair amount of drinking. The place is pretty much everything it’s cracked up to be. Up the hill, off the Sunset Strip, it’s Ground Zero for cool in Hollywood. Also, Magic Castle, Yamashiro. Just another average week in L.A.

Now, more driving as we head to San Diego for a couple days. It never ends, I tell you.

Okay, so it does end. This entry is no longer the 4th of July. It’s a week later.
I didn’t publish the above lame-ass-entry cause because – well, it was lame-ass.

So – July 10th and I just got back from the Hollywood Bowl, where Tosca was performed. Great Opera, obviously. This was more a “theater of the mind” experience, as it was a “concert” performance, not a “stage” performance. It’s interesting to see how far they will take the ‘acting’ in a situation like this.
How do you execute the guy? Okay, bring out a firing squad like the stage play, but does he fall to the ground or is that going to far?

Being Puccini, you can’t go wrong. Solid voices, great orchestra and chorus. Wonderful.
Still, it belongs in an opera house. The costumes, the sets, etc. Gotta have it.
I’ve seen this opera more than any other; know it backwards and forwards. At some points, like a lot of music, I’m affected not by the music, but by the memories it evokes. What song does that for you? You ever wonder why music (without lyrics) has any affect on you? How and why does that work?

For those of you who live in Los Angeles. Go to the Hollywood Bowl, if you haven’t already. Great orchestra playing great music. Essentially all the concerts are standards, unlike the Disney Hall concerts where you hear more ‘difficult’ stuff.
Plus, it’s cheap. Park at the zoo for free, take the bus roundtrip for $3.00, pay 8 to 12 dollars and see a great concert. Bring food and drink, have a great time.

Next concert for me: The Planets by Gustav Holst and Sibelius’s violin concerto. How’s that for a double bill?

Oh Yeah, work:
I have four different versions of four different flow charts and meta essays all over the place about the damned script. However, I also have a Final Draft File open too. There will finally be a new script in the next couple weeks. Marianne is leaving for the Adirondacks for a month, so I’ll be going into “monk” mode starting the day after tomorrow. It’ll be a great time to finish this damned play and move onto something else.
I can finally catch up on some screenplays that I’ve been promising to read too.

Okay, still a Lame-o entry, but at least it’s something. Man, this blog thing is getting to be high pressure.

I’ll close this entry with one useful, important thing.
If you haven’t already seen it, see An Inconvenient Truth.
I believe it’s one of the most important movies ever made.

SEE IT!