Well, dear readers, I must hurry and write these here notes, because today is a very busy day. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, today is a very busy day. Hence, I must not dally nor tarry or even tarry nor dally. Hence, I must speed through these here notes like a gazelle with St. Vitus’s Dance, whatever the HELL that is. Ah, it’s an acute disturbance of the central nervous system, which is better, I suppose, than augly disturbance of the central nervous system (CNS, in Internet lingo). How many of you knew that St. Vitus’s Dance was an acute disturbance of the central nervous system? Frankly, I thought St. Vitus’s dance was the Lambada (The Forbidden Dance), but what do I know? In any case, I must write these here notes in a hurry, so I must stop going on about St. Vitus’s Dance. And yet, I cannot stop going on about St. Vitus’s Dance because it is just such a stupid name for an acute disturbance of the central nervous system. Where was I? Oh, yes, writing the notes in a hurry. Speaking of the central nervous system, yesterday was a day. Mostly I viewed videotapes, making lots of time code notes. At some point, I went and got something to eat, and I also picked up one errant and truant package (hopefully others will arrive today). I also did an errand or three, and had a lovely telephonic call with a voice from the past. Did you know that there is some online encyclopedia thing? I got sent a link to it via a google alert for Writer’s Block. There is an entry for me and it’s quite up-to-date. It mentions this here website, but whoever wrote it said that the notes are very interesting if you can get past my excruciatingly arch writing style. Excruciatingly arch? Frankly, I find that comment excruciatingly arch, don’t you? However, I am proud to have a writing style that is excruciatingly arch. For example, isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too? Is that excruciatingly arch? You tell me. Whoever did the entry is suffering from St. Vitus’s Dance, if you ask me (IYAM, in Internet lingo – oops, is that excruciatingly arch?).
Yesterday, I managed to watch a motion picture on DVD entitled Punishment Park, a faux documentary from the faux documentarian Peter Watkins. I am a huge fan of Mr. Watkins’ faux documentary entitled The War Game. Punishment Park is a powerful little film, released at the height of the Vietnam War, when the USA was in utter turmoil. In some alternate reality, Mr. Watkins posits that the US has invoked a real on-the-books law called the McCarren Act (if I remember correctly), in which political dissidents can be tried before a tribunal and then interred without recourse or civil liberties. The dissidents are given a choice – imprisonment for years in a federal penitentiary, or three days in a punishment park, where they have to go fifty miles in the desert until they reach an American flag. While one hates all the establishment figures, I also didn’t much care for the dissidents, either. But, it’s a fascinating film, and its eighty-eight minutes are tense, unbearable at times, and eminently watchable. The DVD has a twenty-five minute introduction to the film by Mr. Watkins, which is as fascinating as the film itself. I didn’t like this nearly as much as The War Game (a great film), but I’m glad I saw it.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? I’m sorry, was that excruciatingly arch? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below before we all get St. Vitus’s Dance. Let’s do the Hora instead.
As I said earlier (before I got waylaid by St. Vitus’s Dance and excruciatingly arch writing), I have a very busy day today. First, I have a meeting at Disney about the promo spot. That should take an hour, and I’ll be given even more videotapes to watch. I also have to make my deal and find out exactly how many days they expect this to take. I will then spend the rest of the day viewing the rest of the tapes and then going over my notes and starting the first draft of the script, which I hope to have finished by Friday afternoon. After that, I shall put on some nice clothing and I’ll be attending some show starring Jay Johnson.
Tomorrow, performances resume for the play. We’ll be meeting a couple of hours before to run lines and run a few bits which are sloppier than I care for. I have some people coming to the show this weekend, including my very own darling daughter.
And even though she isn’t an official dear reader, let us all wish our very own Juliana A. Hansen a very happy haineshisway.com birthday.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write some excruciatingly arch things, I must meet, I must eat, I must see a show, I must pick up a package or three, and I must start on the script, and also work on my new short story – I settled on the idea yesterday (which I love), and wrote the first line of the story last night. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like, and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions, and loads of lovely answers that are excruciatingly arch, and let’s also all do St. Vitus’s Dance.