Tuesday, February 29, 2000

Where does longing start and missing end? 2/29/2000 08:45:07 PM .:. | Discuss

This leap year thing is all fine and dandy but I'm wondering when we get a sleep year, when all we have to do during the year is make up for lost sleep. It could happen. I'll vote for whichever presidential candidate promises a sleep year. God Bless America. 2/29/2000 08:49:58 AM .:. | Discuss

Monday, February 28, 2000

I was a "performer" long before I learned the word "nervous" (which was about the time I learned the location of my "pelvis" - never mind, another time). I looked forward to giving book reports in front of the class; preferred to do shows for thousands if given the option between that and a group of just a few, and didn't understand why everyone else didn't feel the same way. I was never nervous. The butterflies I felt before shows were always, and remain to this day, an odd sort of rearing to go readiness. Even so, I'm sure now that these alternative butterflies I feel are what others think of as nervousness. I simply never learned to react to them the way most others do. So, when I say I'm not nervous I'm not dodging a thing... I'm simply rearing to go. :) 2/28/2000 09:56:58 PM .:. | Discuss

Sunday, February 27, 2000

Dax came over today to give me sheet music (Myths and Hyms/Saturn Returns, A New Brain, Songs for a New Word, Parade, etc.) to learn for his cabaret/recital in April. I'm so looking forward to performing, especially with Dax and friends, after so long out of the spotlight. The last time I've been on stage was early August.

Two nights in a row... two sleepily, happily sighful conversations. :)

It's been interesting over the past few days to hear more from people who were involved in the Sweeney production and/or past productions produced by the Sweeney producer. It's amazing how many people have gone through errily similar situations. 2/27/2000 10:20:13 PM .:. | Discuss

:) 2/27/2000 01:44:32 AM .:. | Discuss

Friday, February 25, 2000

Modification to previous entry...

Good things come to those who wait. It takes two to tango.

To do list:

1. Wait.
2. Find dance partner. 2/25/2000 11:27:29 PM .:. | Discuss

Good things come to those who wait.

To do list:

1. Wait.
2. See #1
3. Good things? 2/25/2000 04:10:11 PM .:. | Discuss

Wednesday, February 23, 2000

Who Wants to Marry a Webmaster"?

You may have noticed, or not, that I've been much happier for the past week or so. Many of you know why. Someone knows for sure. The point is that I am happy. And that is what matters. To that person, I say:

1o2i3s4e5f6i7o8fve9m

To everyone else, don't be a stranger! 2/23/2000 11:29:28 PM .:. | Discuss

Monday, February 21, 2000

You know you need to find time to work on your own projects when you've registered a bunch of domains (eg., eBlog.com) and have no time to work on them. I worked at Planet Weather HQ for about 20 hours this weekend ramping up for the redesign which ended up not going up today. Tomorrow? We'll see.

Note to Emily... give me back Jennifer's socks, please. 2/21/2000 08:09:58 PM .:. | Discuss

Today's London Evening Standard has an article on Sweeney producer, Doug Mayo. Fool me once, shame on you. Let's hope nobody else is fooled. 2/21/2000 11:21:45 AM .:. | Discuss

Saturday, February 19, 2000

For those of you looking for my original post on the Sweeney situation, click here... 2/19/2000 11:52:12 PM .:. | Discuss

Thursday, February 17, 2000

James Marino is in London and has been even more in the middle of the Sweeney Todd situation than I have. He discussed the situation in today's entry of his own online journal. 2/17/2000 08:38:50 AM .:. | Discuss

Wednesday, February 16, 2000

For those of you following the Sweeney Todd fiasco soap opera, today's Evening Standard article discusses the latest. 2/16/2000 01:13:22 AM .:. | Discuss

Tuesday, February 15, 2000

Over the past several days, I have received an unbelievable amount of support as far people concerned and outraged over the Sweeney Todd fiasco. People have conveyed their anger, sadness, willingness to have helped to pay for my flight and tickets, etc... and I thank them all for their kind words.

It all comes down to the fact that at the moment it looks as if there are a great amount of people who will not be paid for their services. There are an awful lot of people who have already received checks that proceed to bounce upon cashing. There are many people, friends of mine, who have paid out of pocket to see that the production made it through the final curtain and they will likely never be repaid.

The old saying that "you get what you pay for" could not be farther from the truth, in this situation. Many of us have gotten nothing (actually lost money) in return for for over three months of hard work.

The other big loser is Crusaid, a non profit AIDS organization in London that this production was intended to benefit. 2/15/2000 07:15:52 PM .:. | Discuss

Okay, folks... some big Oscar surprises. To make a long story short, I came out two for three with my predictions. I'm most pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of South Park in the Best Song category, though "Blame Canada" was not its best song. Most unpleasant surprise is Jim Carrey missing from the Best Actor category. He didn't deserve a nomination for Truman Show but did for Man on the Moon. Oh well.

Interestingly enough, last year I predicted the nominations and picked two out of three. At least my odds aren't decreasing.

Here are this year's results...

Color Code:
Correcty Predicted Nomination
Incorrecty Predicted Nomination
Nomination

PICTURE
American Beauty
The Insider
The Sixth Sense
The Cider House Rules
The Green Mile

Being John Malkovich
The Straight Story

ACTOR
Russel Crowe
Richard Farnsworth
Kevin Spacey
Denzel Washington
Sean Penn

Jim Carrey

ACTRESS
Annete Bening
Janet McTeer
Julianne Moore
Hillary Swank
Meryl Streep

Sigourney Weaver

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Caine
Tom Cruise
Haley Joel Osment
Michael Clark Duncan
Jude Law

John Malkovich
Christopher Plummer

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Angelina Jolie
Catherine Keener
Samantha Morton
Chloe Sevigny
Toni Collette

Julianne Moore

DIRECTOR
Michael Mann
Sam Mendes
Spike Jonze
Lasse Halstrom
M. Night Shyamalan

Norman Jewison
Mike Leigh
David Lynch

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
American Beauty
Being John Malkovich
Magnolia
The Sixth Sense
Topsy-Turvy

Three Kings

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Cider House Rules
Election
The Insider
The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Green Mile

The End of the Affair

FOREIGN FILM
All About My Mother
East-West
Caravan
Solomon and Gaenor
Under the Sun

The Cup
Rosetta
Three Seasons

ORIGINAL SONG
"Music of My Heart" - Music of the Heart
"Save Me" - Magnolia
"When She Loved Me" - Toy Story 2
"You'll Be In My Heart" - Tarzan
"Blame Canada" - South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut

"Beautiful Stranger" - Austin Powers

ORIGINAL SCORE
American Beauty
The Cider House Rules
The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Cider House Rules
The Red Violin

The End of the Affair
Sleepy Hollow

EDITING
American Beauty
The Insider
The Matrix
The Sixth Sense
The Cider House Rules

The Talented Mr. Ripley

CINEMATOGRAPHY
American Beauty
The Insider
Sleepy Hollow
Snow Falling on Cedars
The End of the Affair

The Talented Mr. Ripley

COSTUME DESIGN
Sleepy Hollow
Titus
Topsy-Turvy
The End of the Affair
Star Wars: Episode I

ART DIRECTION
Anna and the King
Sleepy Hollow
Topsy-Turvy
The Cider House Rules
The Talented Mr. Ripley

American Beauty
Titus

SOUND
The Matrix
The Mummy
Star Wars: Episode I
The Green Mile
The Insider

The Sixth Sense
Sleepy Hollow

MAKEUP
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Life
Topsy-Turvy
Bicentenial Man

VISUAL EFFECTS
The Matrix
Star Wars: Episode I
Stuart Little

The Mummy

SOUND EFFECTS EDITING
The Matrix
Star Wars: Episode I
Fight Club

The Mummy
2/15/2000 10:18:45 AM .:. | Discuss

Monday, February 14, 2000

It's days like this that make me wonder if Prozac might be something to look into... 2/14/2000 10:14:03 PM .:. | Discuss

Sunday, February 13, 2000

Oscar nominations come out on Tuesday morning so here are my final nomination predictions...

PICTURE
1. American Beauty
2. The Insider
3. Being John Malkovich
4. The Straight Story
5. The Sixth Sense

ACTOR
1. Denzel Washington
2. Kevin Spacey
3. Russel Crowe
4. Richard Farnsworth
5. Jim Carrey

ACTRESS
1. Hillary Swank
2. Annete Bening
3. Julianne Moore
4. Sigourney Weaver
5. Janet McTeer

SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Tom Cruise
2. Christopher Plummer
3. Haley Joel Osment
4. John Malkovich
5. Michael Caine

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Julianne Moore
2. Chloe Sevigny
3. Angelina Jolie
4. Catherine Keener
5. Samantha Morton

DIRECTOR
1. Sam Mendes
2. Michael Mann
3. Mike Lee
4. David Lynch
5. Norman Jewison

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. American Beauty
2. Being John Malkovich
3. The Sixth Sense
4. Magnolia
5. Three Kings

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. The Insider
2. The Cider House Rules
3. Election
4. The Talented Mr. Ripley
5. The End of the Affair

FOREIGN FILM
1. All About My Mother - Spain
2. The Cup - Bhutan
3. East-West - France
4. Rosetta - Belgium
5. Three Seasons - Vietnam

ORIGINAL SONG
1. "When She Loved Me" - Toy Story 2
2. "You'll Be In My Heart" - Tarzan
3. "Beautiful Stranger" - Austen Powers
4. "Save Me" - Magnolia
5. "Music of My Heart" - Music of the Heart

ORIGINAL SCORE
1. Sleepy Hollow
2. American Beauty
3. The Cider House Rules
4. The End of the Affair
5. The Talented Mr. Ripley

EDITING
1. American Beauty
2. The Insider
3. The Matrix
4. The Sixth Sense
5. The Talented Mr. Ripley

CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. American Beauty
2. The Insider
3. Sleepy Hollow
4. Snow Falling on Cedars
5. The Talented Mr. Ripley

COSTUME DESIGN
1. End of the Affair
2. Sleepy Hollow
3. Star Wars: Episode I
4. Titus
5. Topsy-Turvy

ART/SET DIRECTION
1. American Beauty
2. Sleepy Hollow
3. Anna and the King
4. Titus
5. Topsy-Turvy

SOUND
1. Star Wars: Episode I
2. The Matrix
3. The Mummy
4. The Sixth Sense
5. Sleepy Hollow

MAKEUP
1. Topsy-Turvy
2. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
3. Life

VISUAL EFFECTS
1. Star Wars: Episode I
2. The Matrix
3. The Mummy

SOUND EFFECTS EDITING
1. Star Wars: Episode I
2. The Matrix
3. The Mummy 2/13/2000 01:48:13 PM .:. | Discuss

No Place Like London? I Wouldn't Know.

It's been quite an interesting couple of days... days I wish could have been enjoying in London. Needless to say, I'm not writing this from London. Instead, I'm in California, never having been in London, and not attending the Sweeney Todd concert.

I refrained from writing about my not being in London to attempt to keep the news as quiet as possible that the concert itself was in jeopardy. Now that it's curtain time for the gala evening performance, my words will do little to threaten anything from happening.

I began working on the production staff of the 20th anniversary London concert production of Sweeney Todd three months ago. I became the production's graphic designer. I would produce the logo, advertising/marketing material, website, etc. In return I would receive round trip plane tickets to London, hotel accommodations, and theatre tickets for two. This "payment", was requested instead of monetary compensation simply because the concert was, after all, a benefit and the budget was tight. Little did I know how tight it would soon become. In addition to fulfilling all of my originally agreed upon responsibilities, I did much more to see that the production would be as successful as possible.

It then came time for my "payment" though it wasn't until about a week ago that reservations were ever made. My need for them to be made was brought up on many occasions only to be brushed aside with assurance that they would be made. Eventually they were, as were hotel reservations, less than one week ago.

The reservations were made for both yet said bookings were not paid for. I was assured again that they would be paid for in time and all would be well. Cut to Thursday at 11:30am, checking into United Airlines for our 1pm flight. Our reservations were indeed in the airline's database. We were greeted with a smile and the question, "How will you be paying for these tickets, Mr. Bakalor?"

Minutes later I was on the phone calling the London producer. Messages were left and I was on my way back home to hear what the next step would be in getting over to London. By the time I got in touch with the producer, it was late in the evening London time and he would have to wait until the morning to discuss the matter with the travel agent who he assumed had simply not paid the airline. Hmmm. And so I waited to hear from the producer who was going to call early in the morning London time, as soon as he was able to book us the next flight out of the States for London.

I did not receive word from London until the next day when I was told that I would not be going to London after all. Apparently the production was/is in danger of not happening at all. Money was virtually nonexistent, checks were bouncing, reservations were never paid for, and cost cutting and emergency fundraising was being implemented. A number of production insiders, including myself have gone above and beyond the call of duty and have put money into this production out of pocket that will likely not be seen in the near future, if at all.

For the past couple of days I was told from another inside source that the production might not happen in the first place for these monetary reasons. The latest word is that the show will indeed go on but a lot of money will be lost. In addition to this, it has recently become evident that a lot of work that went into this production will have been put in with little return recognition.

So here I sit, like most of you, jealous of the select few who are in London witnessing an anniversary concert production. One that I worked three months on and am now unable to attend.

And now you know.

On a related and happier note... thanks to all of you who wished me a fond farewell on my intended way to London. It was nice to be missed while "away". ;-)

Please click here for the latest journal entries which will have updated information on this situation.... 2/13/2000 11:50:54 AM .:. | Discuss

Wednesday, February 09, 2000

Well I'm off for London in half a day. I leave Thursday early afternoon and get back Monday evening. Talk to you soon! :) 2/9/2000 10:08:39 PM .:. | Discuss

Monday, February 07, 2000

I thought this was cute. A bit blown away by #10. But cute, nonetheless. 2/7/2000 04:47:38 PM .:. | Discuss

Saturday, February 05, 2000

Planet Weather Version 2.0 opens on the 21st!

What a difference a year makes... 2/5/2000 07:49:48 PM .:. | Discuss

Tuesday, February 01, 2000

Big things happening over at Planet Weather...

About a week and a half until I'm off to London for Sweeney. I got my passport last week but am still waiting on plane and hotel details from the producer of the production in London. 2/1/2000 08:46:48 PM .:. | Discuss