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May 15, 2005:

CONDIMENTS AND GARNISHES

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, it’s been very hot in the City of Studio and the rest of the Valley and Los Angeles. Thankfully, the home environment stays very cool without aid of the air conditioning, although I will turn it on if necessary. Everyone I know who suffers from allergies is suffering right now. The rain, I’m afraid, has brought with it what is likely to be the worst allergy season in years. But, I shall not let it get me down. I shall take my Actifeds, and I shall weather the storm, I tell you, I shall weather the storm, allergy-wise. Damn them, damn them all to hell. It was so hot yesterday that I took a lovely swim to cool off. I also did a bit of writing, did some errands (no packages, though), and tried to relax a bit, for the upcoming week shall be quite a busy one. And, of course, I had a splendidly splendid dinner at Musso and Frank, where I took the Pogues to celebrate Pogue’s ever-lovin’ Julieanne’s birthday. The food was excellent, and the company, as always, was grand. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?

Yesterday, I managed to watch two count them two motion pictures on DVD. The first motion picture on DVD was entitled Trapeze, a film of Carol Reed, starring Mr. Burt Lancaster, Mr. Tony Curtis, Miss Gina Lollobrigida, Miss Katy Jurado, and Mr. Thomas Gomez. I was quite taken with this film when I saw it on its original release at the Wilshire Theater in glorious Cinemascope. The trapeze footage is still thrilling to this day – taut, suspenseful, and mesmerizing to watch. The story is a bit tiresome, and it’s not all that well written, but Mr. Reed moves it along, and with Lancaster and Curtis, you can’t go wrong. Miss Lollobrigida is lovely to look at, but not a very good actress. Interestingly, her character is completely loathsome and yet, by the end of the film, we’re supposed to care about her. We don’t. And I do love Miss Katy Jurado and Mr. Thomas Gomez, both of whom are excellent. The film features a score by Malcolm Arnold that is very strange, but, despite its oddness (it includes a theremin occasionally), it works well. In fact, the whole film has a slightly hallucinogenic quality to it. The DVD is from MGM/UA in region 2. It’s very much like the Billion Dollar Brain transfer – anamorphic, slightly faded (but only about 10%), reasonably sharp, but not very lustrous. I then watched the second motion picture on DVD entitled Hour of the Gun. I have been in quite the western mode because of a plethora of them being released on DVD. Hour of the Gun was pretty much dismissed by critics and audiences when it came out. Today it looks like a minor classic. It’s a somber and well written film about the aftermath of the gunfight at the OK corral. The film of Gunfight At OK Corral was directed by Mr. John Sturges, as is this film. His direction and the camerawork of Lucien Ballard are impeccable. The cast is wonderful – James Garner, Jason Robards, Jr., Robert Ryan, and just about every great character actor who was working back then. It also includes a very young Jon Voight. One of the film’s best assets is the great score by Jerry Goldsmith. The DVD, which comes out soon, is from MGM/UA and is their usual frustrating transfer. The element is excellent, the color is excellent, it’s anamorphic, and yet the whole thing is slightly soft from start to finish. As I’ve said in the past, this is something I just don’t understand in any way. The source material has to be in focus – it can’t be any other way. So, it should be sharp as a tack. But, something is happening in the transfer process and you’d think that someone there would notice and do something about it. But, MGM/UA (recently bought by Sony, so maybe things will change) is just about the worst of the major studio DVD companies. They do occasionally come up with the unexpected miracle, but, more often than not, their transfers are shoddy and amateurish. I picked up an early copy of What’s New, Pussycat today, which I’ve really been looking forward to. I ran a bit of it and it is a complete and utter travesty. It’s in the ratio of 1:66, which is incorrect (it should be 1:85), it’s non-anamorphic, and it is dreary-looking beyond belief. The film has wonderful, colorful photography, but you wouldn’t know it from this DVD. Shame on them and I hope that everyone responsible for doing a poor job is replaced by people who are quality conscious and who actually know something about what they’re doing.

What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because I have things to do, places to go, people to see.

I’m going to try and get up at a reasonable hour so that I can get in some good writing time. I’m sure I shall write and write and when I look at the page count I’m sure it will be two pages worth. I have a few errands that must be done, and I must send several important e-mails and make several important telephone calls. Then I must attend a baby shower for men only. I shall, of course, have a full report for you.

I also must begin to write the liner notes for the Guy Haines album, and prepare all the information for the packaging, which I want to turn in before leaving for New York, New York. I also want to get back to writing another short story. At least there the pages go very fast and I feel like I’m actually accomplishing something. The play page count goes so slowly it’s like molasses. I’m getting there, but it just seems like it’s taking forever, even though I’ve only really been working on it for three weeks. I can also get quite a bit of writing and rewriting done on the plane rides.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must write, I must eat, I must do everything I spoke of above, and I must even try to watch a DVD or three. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day – however, I hereby am abolishing free-for-all day, since I can’t remember the last time a dear reader did what they were actually supposed to do, which is come up with a topic. I guess I have to do all the work in that regard. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it and I suppose that someone is me. So, what are your favorite condiments and garnishes? I’ll start – I do love me my ketchup, but only Heinz 57. I like mustard okay on certain things. I love a good seafood cocktail sauce, although, for some reason, many places just can’t seem to get it right. It’s quite simple, really, so it baffles me. I like light mayo on certain sandwiches, but only Best Foods. I love pickles, both sweet and sour, I love black olives (yes, I still put them on my fingertips before eating them), and I love onions on just about any sandwich. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we? We shall. Condiments and garnishes, that’s the ticket, baby.

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