Happy New Year

The big holiday wrap-up:

Christmas Eve was awesome. We had a house filled with friends, family, fondue and fun. In the past my Christmas parties were big events and I spent so much time dashing between the caterers, entertainers and valets that I had no time to enjoy my guests. This time Misty and I scaled it way, way down and I had a great time. Everyone brought something wonderful and appreciated, from original Xmas CD mixes to pot roast and turkey lasagne to extra-deadly chocolate peanut butter candies (thanks, Marlene).

Rashy got his tank for those of you who were still wondering. He has not blown holes in the house just yet as we have hidden the BBs from him. He's looking for them, though.

Santa was good to me this year as well. I received several sweet new pieces for my Lionel train set including an automated zoo and a Simpsons animated car. Other surprises included a year's supply of Maypo (the king of hot cereals), Huckleberry Hound Season One on DVD, a street slang flashcards set from Rashy (so I can figure out what he's saying) a custom made Detroit Tigers jersey with my name and lucky number (32) on the back, and that insanely wonderful new Bob Wills Bear Family CD collection "Faded Love" that I drooled over in secret but never thought I'd get in a zillion years. A world of thanks and many kisses to my marvelous Misty for making this Christmas truly magical.

We had so much fun playing with our toys that we pushed our departure for London back a day. Our friends John and Bonnie Cacavas had given us a week's stay at their London flat as a wedding gift and we decided to use it for our belated honeymoon.

London was a good time. Some days we dashed like crazy through the city seeing the sights, others we spent lounging in the flat watching "Basil Brush." I took Misty to the British Natural History Museum to see the dinosaur hall, the thylacine and her favorite critter, the southern pudu. We saw three shows in the West End, a rousing version of "Scrooge", the surprisingly dismal "Mary Poppins" and the high camp pantomime "Aladdin" starring Sir Ian McKellan in drag as the outrageous Widow Twankey.

Unlike "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King", which basically retell the movie stories on stage, "Mary Poppins" is a strange hybrid that takes the classic Disney songs and forces them into a new book based on elements of P. L. Travers' original Mary Poppins stories that were not used in the movie. A stage version of "Poppins" is not a bad idea, but they should have either translated the movie directly to the stage, or tossed out the Sherman Bros. score and written a completely new one. Disney, as always wanting the best of both worlds, tries without success to marry the old songs like "Jolly Holiday" and "Supercalifragilisticexpalidocious" with confusing new plot elements. They further gum things up with the introduction of a bad nanny for Poppins to fight in the middle of act two (essentially a throwaway sequence for all the build up it gets) and introduces a new character (presumably from the original books) a lonely statue of a Greek water spirit brought to life by Poppins' magic. This version may have been truer to the letter of Travers' stories, but it suffers that it did not have the magic Walt Disney and his early 60's-era writers and artists brought to the original film.

The Old Vic's version of "Aladdin" is nothing like the Disney version either, but it was certainly moore enjoyable than "Mary Poppins." Sir Ian camped it up in grand style as Aladdin's mother, much to the delight of the kids and grown-ups in the holiday audience. The audience is encouraged to cheer the hero, hiss the villain and shout along at points in the show, though my cries of "Oi, Magneto! Put on your pants!" were mostly stiffled by digs from Misty's elbow.

Afterwards as we waited by the stage door to say hello, I was distracted by a pair of red foxes that just happened to be prowling the neighborhood near the theatre. I had heard more and more foxes were coming into the city, kind of like the way raccoons and coyotes are seen here in LA. I followed them into a tiny park and while these seemed perfectly tame and friendly, I kept a respectable distance as Mr. Brush came close, perhaps to offer some vulpine wisdom or simply beg treats. Back at the Old Vice, Sir Ian was once again in men's clothes and ready to receive visitors. We congratulated him on his fabulous performance, took a picture and then took our leave.

Flew home yesterday. Found ourselves in a long airport security line with Kate Beckinsale and her daughter Lily. Misty engaged Lily with some magic tricks while I chatted with Kate. Seems she was on her way to New York to start promoting her new film. Nice girls, the two of them. Followed an 11 hour flight with screamers (babies) in the seat right behind us. Ow. Picked up at the airport by Dad and Nancy, then home to almost immediately pass out.

Now it's back to life as usual. Taking down the tree today and finishing up a few projects left dangling from before Christmas. I'm always sorry to see the holidays go, but the year ahead looks like fun. I hope it is for you, too.