Sunday February 26 2006
Walked early with the dogs, then made an omelet and read a new yorker article about omelet chefs. Leslie got called in to work so I dozed on the couch for a minute, until Jack Silverman called and we went to the Golden Coast chinese buffett. They had so many things to eat! We both kind of overdid it. Before I realized what was happening, I was pitching Jack on a column…”Daniel Tashian’s Nashville”, sort of based on that idea that Peter Cook had but never did, called “Peter Cook’s London” where it’s all about stuff that happens between his front door and his mailbox! Jack said he has no power at the paper which is a nice way of saying he didn’t think it was a good idea. It’s like an A&R guy telling you they can’t sign anything. I said “bullshit! yes you do!” he laughed and he finally said “write a sample of it.” Now I have to figure out what to write. I told my dad about it and he said “That’s not a very good name. Daniel Tashian doesn’t sound like a Nashville-type name. ‘Peter Cook’ sounds so English…” He didn’t think it was a good idea. “There goes your free time.”
I should run things by my dad that I DON’T want to do, and he could just re-inforce and validate those feelings. Then he told me all the people who came to his high school to perform for the kids:
Thelonius Monk, Andre Segovia, Bo Diddley, Marcel Marceau! He said they were famous then, but not yet icons. I told him we had Garth Brooks. When I got home I got the idea to organize the kitchen which I didn’t want to do at first but there were a lot of things that needed to be tossed. I threw out like 75 pounds of stuff. Then I made some basmati rice in the rice cooker. Leslie called her parents and her sister and I called Greta Gaines. She said she’s producing a movie and wants me to be a consultant. I said sure. Garrsion Star called and asked me to go on the road and I was flattered because she’s a fabulous singer but I don’t think I can go. We watched some of Etre tu Avoir about that french school teacher and fell asleep.