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September 23, 2004:

THE RELAXED NOTES

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I had a marvelously marvelous massage last evening – after the craziness of moving day, and then a week’s worth of unboxing and putting away thousands of books and CDs, I really needed it. Prior to the massage I took a swim for the first time in my pool and it was lovely, although the pool is quite small. The pool man came yesterday and showed me the basics of heating both pool and spa. After my marvelously marvelous massage a had a relaxing sit in the Jacuzzi – it took about a half-hour to get the temperature into the nineties, so I can see I need to start that happening sooner. Today I shall finish unpacking the rest of the CDs, I shall finish hanging the pictures and then I shall relax and smell the roses or the coffee or the Diet Coke. Then I will slowly, and I do mean slowly, start going through the other thirty or forty boxes in the garage, only taking in what I absolutely need in the house. There are some important things I need but unfortunately the way the boxes are labeled I have no idea where they might be.

In my relaxed state (CA) I watched the rest of The General with Buster Keaton, without the unseemly hum. I must say, the film is astonishing – breathtaking really, and just about perfection. With all the CGI and pyrotechnics and cranes and this camera and that camera, movies today don’t come anywhere close to the perfection of The General. Every shot in the film is great; the direction is really unbelievable, especially when you consider when the film was made. Keaton was a true original, the equal of Chaplin (although entirely different) and a visionary. The gags in The General are carefully constructed and hilarious and the playing never seems dated at all. Some of Keaton’s stunts put Jackie Chan to shame. As I said in yesterday’s notes, this new transfer from M2K in France is spectacular. I doubt the film has looked this good since it came out. No sepia wash or tinting, and best of all a really terrific new score by Joe Hisaishi, which helps make the film seem fresh as a daisy. Afterwards I sampled a little of the Robert Israel score (which I think is on the Image Entertainment disc) and, while it’s perfectly okay, it doesn’t come close to the new Hisaishi. There’s a second disc chockfull of extras, all in English (the disc is from France). If you have an all-region player, this release is the best present you could give yourself. If you don’t have an all-region player, this disc is reason to get one. Available immediately from amazon France.

What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because frankly I’m so relaxed I can barely type a straight line.

Has anyone noticed how relaxed I am? In fact, the whole tenor of these notes is relaxed, too. Also, the whole baritone of these notes is relaxed. The alto and soprano of these notes could use some relaxation, frankly or even samly.

Well, that was a very relaxed paragraph, wasn’t it? Yes, I’m so relaxed that
I
can

barely

type a
straight

line.

That looks quite artistic, doesn’t it? And relaxed. Above all, relaxed.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must do a few errands, unbox and hang, and then be on my way to the theater for tonight’s performance. I have to be there two hours early because I’m changing the light cues for one number. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite silent films – both drama and comedy? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and even though we’re talkin’ about silent films, let’s have no silence (or silents) here at haineshisway.com.

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