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June 20, 2006:

MERRILY OLD MAN RIVER KEEPS ROLLIN’ ALONG

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, like Old Man River, I just keep rollin’ along. Also, like Merrily, I roll along. I don’t know what that means, but I couldn’t think how else to start the notes. But then I thought, like Old Man River the notes keep rollin’ along, day in day out, night and day, day by day, in the still of the night, the night we called it a day, and so forth and so on and also so on and so forth. Or, sew fourth, for that or any other matter. The one constant here at haineshisway.com is that there will always be notes. For example, today we have the following notes: Ab, Db, Eb, Gb – or, as we like to call it, an Ab sus 7. Yes, Virginia, today’s notes are an Ab sus 7. I no longer have a clew as to what the HELL I’m going on about, and yet on I go, like a gazelle with short-term memory and a heroin habit. Since I have short-term memory (but not a heroin habit), I may as well talk about yesterday before I completely forget it. I remember, for example, that I woke up at eight. I remember I did some writing, and then took an early jog at nine-thirty and went a good deal farther than I normally do. I remember making tuna pasta salad. I remember sitting at the piano getting frustrated that I could not complete more than three lines of the lyric I’m working on. I remember sky. It was blue as ink. Or, at least I think. I remember sky. I remember being dismayed that a very errant and truant package hadn’t arrived. I remember doing errands. I remember eating three helpings of tuna pasta salad over the course of the day and evening. I remember eating some cherries provided by my darling daughter. I remember taking a nice drive, I remember sitting on my couch like so much fish, and I remember watching a DVD. Say, I’ve just had a terrific idea! Since myspace.com is so damnably popular with the populace, why don’t I create a site called mycouchlikesomuchfish.com? Isn’t that a splendidly splendid idea?

Last night, I watched a movie I’d TIVOd, entitled Desperate. I’ve always wanted to see Desperate, in fact I was desperate to see Desperate, and so it was a treat to be able to finally view it with my very own actual eyeballs. Desperate is a terrific little low-budget film noir directed by the great Anthony Mann just prior to his breakout noirs for Eagle-Lion, T-Men and Raw Deal. Already you can see Mann’s visual style taking shape, with deep shadows, shafts of light and claustrophobic setups. Here he’s working with the excellent cameraman, George Diskant, but it would be his films with John Alton that would bring him fame as one of the best noir directors ever. The cast was terrific – Steve Brodie (I’ve always liked Mr. Brodie), Audrey Long, and a young but very nasty Raymond Burr. Maybe someday we’ll get a nice DVD of this film – it’s an RKO, so Warners owns it and could include it in a noir box. After that, I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Tokyo Twilight, yes, another masterful film by Yasujiro Ozu, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors of all-time. This film is more downbeat than the others I’ve seen, but like his other films it just sucks you in quietly for all of its 138 minutes. It’s a wonderful movie – beautifully acted – and, as always, it’s shot like all his movies – camera at a seated position, not too many close-ups, and everything shot with a 50mm lens. Watching these films is like comfort food – you know what you’re going to get and it’s always good. His camera positions are so simple, yet so perfect, yet so without a style that calls attention to itself. The camera is there as an onlooker, allowing us to sit in on what’s happening. I read that his films were never shown in the US because they were considered “too Japanese.” I just don’t get it, because for me they’re completely universal and easy-to-understand. I’m now intent on seeing all thirty-six Ozu films (he directed over fifty but apparently only thirty-six survive). I’ve seen nine of them now, and have a few more to watch over the next few days.

What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because like Old Man River, the notes must keep merrily rollin’ along.

I’ve now been running close to thirty days straight, and let me tell you I feel like Old Man River. I need a massage, I need TLC, I need my aching feet rubbed for hours.

Today, I must re-watch the Kevin Spirtas video and make notes. Kevin will call and give me his few notes, and then I’ll go in and do the final editing session. I also have a bunch of errands to do, and then this evening I’m going to the DGA with our very own Mr. Nick Redman to attend a tribute to TV movies, with lots of clips and directors in attendance, to be followed by a gala reception. I’m really looking forward to it and hope they have some clips from the great ABC Movie Of The Week series.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, keep rollin’ along like Old Man River, I must hopefully get my errant and truant package, I must do a spot of writing and I must finish this fershluganah song I’ve been working on for five count them five fershluganah days. Today’s topic of discussion: Donuts. I’ve been dreaming of donuts, yet I cannot really go there, unless I make three donuts my meal o’ the day, which I really shouldn’t do but may have to do to satisfy my craving. So, describe your all-time favorite donuts and muffins and pastries. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and like Old Man River let’s keep rollin’ along and not have any WUSSBURGERING.

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