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March 19, 2003:

THE BEAUTIFUL LAND IS IN YOUR HEART

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, it is interesting. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, it is interesting. What is interesting you might ask and I might tell you because I’m feeling gregarious this fine morning. What is interesting is that sometimes people will be searching for things via Google and, because I’ve mentioned something in these here notes, they will end up here at haineshisway.com. Then they will e-mail me and we end up having a lovely conversation and all I can say is it’s a small world – oh, a Sherman Brothers reference. For example, someone was searching “Penny Peyser” the other day, and saw several of my references to her, and he wrote me because she’s his favorite actress. I saw Penny yesterday and gave her his e-mail and she’s going to send him a requested photo. Two weeks ago I got a wonderful e-mail from someone who was searching “Edith Fellows”. I had written glowingly about Ms. Fellows’ performance in Pennies from Heaven in which she held her own against Mr. Bing Crosby. Well, this fellow who wrote about Edith Fellows told me he is very good friends with her and that he was passing along my comments to her. I love that. So, while I think there are many negative things about the Internet, there are also many positive things about the Internet. Funnily, the merry searchers never write.

Last night I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Fear Strikes Out starring Mr. Anthony Perkins as baseball star Jim Piersall. It’s a gorgeous black-and-white transfer, and I like the film very much. It’s directed by Robert Mulligan (produced by Alan Pakula), also stars Karl Malden and has a score by Elmer Bernstein. Watching Mr. Perkins battle mental illness was a lesson in great screen acting. Some of it is almost a dress rehearsal for Psycho, which he would film two years later. Mr. Perkins is so disarming, so fresh, so subtle and real, and Mr. Malden matches him every step of the way.

What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button because frankly or even louisly, I am feeling gregarious this fine day.

For days I have had the song Beautiful Land from Roar of the Greasepaint, Smell of the Crowd, in my head and it will not go away. I sing it all the livelong day and I sing it all the livelong night. Yes, Virginia, night and day I sing this song, I say to this song, “I’ve got you under my skin, song”, and then I say, “I get a kick out of you, song”. When I sing this song I feel that anything goes, I feel like I’m ridin’ high, so in love am I with this song. This song is too darn hot, frankly, yet people have told me to shut up with the song already, but I say to those people, “Don’t fence me in.” I mean, I love Paris in the springtime but I love Beautiful Land right now and frankly it’s all right with me. Ah, well, I suppose it’s just one of those things. What am I, Cole Porter all of a sudden?

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must go hither and thither and today I shall also go yon. I have phone calls to make, people to meet, places to go. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask your excellent questions, but don’t let that stop you from conversing about other things as well. I’ll check back in to see how we’re progressing, excellent question-wise.

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