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July 23, 2005:

FIDGETY

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, as I write these here notes I am out of Diet Coke. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, as I write these here notes I am out of Diet Coke. I had every intention of stopping at the market yesterday to replenish supplies, but I never had one minute to do so. Because I have no Diet Coke, I am fidgety. I do have some juice in the house, but juice is not Diet Coke and vice-versa and also versa-vice. So, these here notes will be fidgety from lack of Diet Coke. In fact, I shall hie my way through them because I find it difficult to be witty whilst I am fidgeting from lack of Diet Coke. Yesterday, I had quite a bit of Diet Coke, hence my current situation. That, and the fact that we’ve done two read-throughs of my play, and the actors all had Diet Coke. Speaking of yesterday, I had quite a long day and evening. In the morning I dealt with morning things. Then, at noon, I joined Vinnie to finish the last of Stages – the four songs that we still had to do from the already-mixed album master from 1978. We’d managed to make the title song sound okay the other day, but the last four were much more difficult, with distortion on the cymbals and strange balances throughout. I added some percussion instruments to three of them, which helped, and we did some sorcery and trickery and they sound as good as they’re going to sound. Hopefully, it won’t be too too jarring when it goes from our beautiful remixes to these other five tracks. Vinnie is now working on Together Again, which I’ll hear early next week. The work session, which I expected to take two hours, took four, so I had to rush home for the read-through. It was okay – I must say I don’t like readings, and I’m beginning to wish I hadn’t decided to do one. The actors simply don’t have the time to get the characters in their bodies and voices, and I spend all my time trying to get it to sound like I’d like it to sound. One decision I made was that we will have a bit of blocking, just because for the actors to sit all the time is lethargic and it’s hard for them to have energy. So, we’ll do some standing, some crossing, and that kind of thing. We’ve booked a rehearsal room for Sunday to do the blocking. As soon as the read-through was over, I had to teach the song we’re going to record next week to Jessica Rush’s duet partner. That took about twenty minutes and then Mr. Kevin Spirtas and I headed over to the M Bar on Vine to see our pal John Boswell do his very strange act, Cashino.

I’m not sure how to describe what I saw. First there was a twenty minute video about Cashino entertainers, Pepper Cole and Johnny Niagra. The video had to do with Warner Bros. deciding to make a movie about the duo. That was followed by Pepper and Johnny’s act. It was all very amusing, as they mixed show tunes with rock songs and did strange medleys. Apparently, they have quite a following here in LA, and they have four completely different shows, of which we saw number three, which is entitled, for reasons unknown to me, Middler on the Roof. Boswell, in a blonde wig, is very amusing and, of course, he plays a mean piano. You can check the whole thing out at www.cashinoonline.com. I came right home afterwards, where I discovered I was out of Diet Coke. I immediately became fidgety.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because I can barely type these here words on account of all the fidgeting going on.

Well, if it’s Satruday it must be the Unseemly Trivia Contest. Satruday? See what being fidgety does to you? In any case, it’s Satruday and time for our trivia contest. Here it is:

This flop play closed out of town and never made it to Broadway. Its star had appeared with one of the play’s co-stars in a film that is generally considered one of the greatest ever made. Its star was also married to one of the play’s other co-stars. Appearing in the play’s other central role, was an actor who had appeared in one of cinema’s most beloved holiday films. Now, here is where things get interesting. Years later, this flop play, done in another medium, would introduce to the world a character who would become legendary (played in the flop by the actor who’d appeared in one of cinema’s most beloved holiday films, but ultimately played by someone else who would make the character their own).

Name the flop play and who wrote it.

Name the star of the flop play, and name the co-star who’d appeared with the star in a film that is generally considered one of the greatest ever made, and name the film.

Name the star’s real-life spouse, who also appeared in the play.

Name the actor who appeared in the play’s other leading role, and name the famous holiday film in which the actor appeared.

Name the character in the play that would become legendary, and name the actor who made the character famous.

Remember: DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS TO THE SITE. Send them to me at bruce@haineshisway.com (and don’t worry if you get a bounced e-mail notice – I do get them). Good luck to one and all and also all and one. You have until midnight on Monday to submit your answers.

Shortly we shall be having a two-hour rehearsal for the play reading, and I’m hoping we can do some intensive work on the characters today.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, fidget, I must buy some Diet Coke as soon as I get up in the morning, I must do a rehearsal, and I must then do errands and catch up with things that need catching up. Today’s topic of discussion: What is the most amount of weight you have ever gained, and how did you come to gain it? What is the most amount of weight you have ever lost, and what did you do to lose it? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I fidget away until I get my new stash of Diet Coke.

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