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February 13, 2007:

THE DODO BIRD

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, did you know the dodo bird was extinct? I don’t know why, but yesterday I thought about the dodo bird and I suddenly wanted one, but the fershluganah dodo bird has been extinct since 1681. That makes it very hard to get one today. I hate when that happens, don’t you? Well, we can thank the Portuguese. I don’t normally have a problem with the Portuguese but when they arrived on the island of Mauritius in 1598, discovered a gentle species of bird that they thought was very stupid, and dubbed it dodo, they sealed its doom by killing off many of them, and then bringing dogs and pigs to the island. The dogs and pigs became feral where the gentle dodo bird was concerned and by 1681 the dodo was kaput. So, when a Jew such as myself gets it into his head that he wants a dodo bird he cannot have one, thanks to the Portuguese – not the modern Portuguese, but the Portuguese of centuries ago. I have nothing against the Portuguese of today except that they killed the damn dodo bird and I will never speak to a Portuguese again. You know, if anyone has a clew as to why the HELL I’m writing about the dodo bird, please do let us know because I certainly haven’t a clew as to why I’m writing about the dodo bird. However, I would venture to say that nowhere else on all the Internet on this day is anyone else writing notes and talking about the dodo bird. Speaking of the dodo bird, yesterday was a day in which I did not feel up to par. I didn’t feel bad, really, but my stomach continued to bother me (that started the night before) and I find an upset stomach to be annoying – I would, in fact, like the upset stomach to be as extinct as the dodo bird. Someone call the Portuguese. Where was I? Oh, yes, yesterday. I arose, answered some e-mails, and then toddled off to work with Miss Joan Ryan. We spent most of our two-hour session putting together the large piece of special material I wrote – setting keys, doing the layout, and figuring out how we’d get from song to song. It’s very funny and came out very well. We also sang through some Anthony Newley songs, but as much as I love them, I’m not sure it’s a good fit. I’m going to attempt to put together a medley, but I don’t think it’s going to work for us. After our work session, I did a couple of errands, came home, and began my writing for the day. I got about three pages done, finished the chapter I was on (still fleshing it out and making additions), then wrote the first line of the new chapter – and now, I’ll print out these pages and take them to my muse Margaret so she can read them. After that, my stomach was just annoying me, so I sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled The Heiress, a film of William Wyler, from the novel Washington Square by Henry James. I’d actually never seen the film all the way through, and I was entranced by it, I must say. Wyler was a wonderful director, and this film is a perfect example of why – he tells the story simply and effortlessly. He doesn’t show off, he doesn’t say “Hey, look at my brilliant direction,” he just puts the camera where it belongs and lets the actors speak their excellent dialogue. And what actors. I’m not a huge Olivia de Havilland fan, but she’s very good in this film, although I suspect I would have liked her sister, Joan Fontaine, better. Montgomery Clift is impossibly good looking as her suitor, and he turns in his customary excellent performance. Miriam Hopkins is terrific, but the film really belongs to Ralph Richardson as Miss de Havilland’s overbearing father. His is a brilliant performance. He was nominated for an Oscar but lost to Dean Jagger for Twelve O’Clock High. The film has a beautiful score by Aaron Copland (who won an Oscar for it), even though he practically disowned it since Wyler removed his main title music and replaced it with something more conventional. The transfer is lovely. After that, I had the pleasure of watching act one of The Brain From Planet X, as edited by our very own edisaurus. What fun it was to see it again. It’s peculiar watching it on video because you don’t get a sense of the energy of the production, but I think when we fix the sound and smooth a few things out, it will be better. Right now, it’s just very dead sounding and you can barely hear the audience reaction at all. The editing works very well, and I only have a handful of notes, most of which have to do with the larger musical numbers – very easy fixes, really.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because this section is about to be as extinct as the dodo bird. Blame the Portuguese. Or Jose.

Today is a writing day – not much planned beyond that, except for Mr. Kevin Spirtas and Miss Lauren Rubin coming over this morning to sign CDs. I’ll be shipping those out today, along with a new amazon order, a CD Baby order, and a few stray orders. I do have a few errands, but mostly I’ll be home slaving over a hot keyboard, then printing out pages, then delivering them.

Tomorrow, of course, is a very special day here at haineshisway.com and elsewhere. It’s Valentine’s Day, so get ready to have a wonderful romantic day and evening here at haineshisway.com, since everyone who frequents this site is a sweetheart. I also have a meeting with Miss Alet Taylor in the morning, then shall probably sup.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, sign CDs, ship CDs, write, and maybe, just maybe, if I’m feeling better I shall attempt to jog, weather permitting. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite Valentine’s Day memories – the most special cards, dinners, romantic getaways. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and let us think of the dodo bird and keep its memory alive.

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