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February 11, 2007:

ZEN

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, once again it’s a Sunday, a day of rest and relaxation, not necessarily in that order. Only I won’t be resting and/or relaxing in any order. I’ll be attending some comic book and memorabilia show they do every month at the Shrine Auditorium, then I’ll be writing, then I potentially will be supping with a friend. Perhaps this evening I’ll be able to sit on my couch like so much fish and there I shall meditate and be in a Zen-like state. Have you ever been in a Zen-like state or, better yet, a Zen state. I was in Colorado once – that was a very Zen-like State. I have never achieved a Zen or Zen-like state. I don’t even know what Zen is (other than nez, spelled backwards). Is Zen like Est? I never did Est either. Est to me was always Eastern Standard Time. What the HELL am I talking about? Zen. Est. Next thing you know I’ll start doing Yoga and a fifty-nine-year-old Jew doing Yoga is not a pretty sight. This, however, IS a pretty site, don’t you think? Speaking of a pretty site, yesterday was a very interesting day. For example, I woke up. That was interesting. I then toddled over to the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Pico and Beverly, where I sat on a panel of directors, speaking to a lot of aspiring screenwriters. I was not that comfortable up there, as I haven’t been a film director for many years, but after a while I spoke up, and I had things to say that came from a completely different perspective, that of a writer/director, and I know some people found that interesting. The panel, too, was made of some interesting folks, all seasoned pros (I was the least seasoned – I could have used some salt and pepper, frankly). After, they asked us to attend a lunch in the room next door, which a few of us did. That, too, was fun. After that, I came home and was joined by Mr. Cason Murphy, and he and I signed CD booklets. After that, I finished watching a motion picture on DVD, and then I picked up Miss Barbara Deutsch and we went over to see a play at the Matrix Theater.

I can’t remember the title of the play, but it was by Elliot Shoenman, who introduced it. Mr. Shoenman has a lot of television to his credit, including The Cosby Show and Home Improvement, as well as the last pilot I did when I was an actor – Never Say Never, with George Kennedy (I played his son). I saw Mr. Shoenman at intermission and he remembered me instantly and we had a really nice chat. The play was hit and miss – some of it was quite amusing, other parts were a bit herky-jerky in structure, but it was better than most waiver theater I see. The cast was mostly very good, and my pal Penny Peyser, playing a Jewish mother (she’s not Jewish) did very well (she sported an accent). The direction was a bit problematic for me – just no style at all, and no flow or pace, which the piece really needed.

What am I, Ben Brantley all of a sudden? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’m suddenly feeling in a very Zen-like state.

Yesterday, I finished watching a motion picture on DVD entitled The Appaloosa. I’d actually never seen it before. It was a critical and box-office bomb, sort of a one-two bomb punch for Marlon Brando that year (the other film, also from Universal, was Night Of The Following Day). I actually enjoyed The Appaloosa – I found it quirky and strange. It’s not really that good, but it’s interestingly directed by Sidney Furie (in a style that’s a cross between a spaghetti western and The Ipcress File), and Brando, whatever one thinks of him, is fascinating to watch. Pauline Kael said this about the film: “A dog of a film about a horse.” The transfer is very nice with excellent color. Unfortunately, it’s only available in a Brando box set, and the other three films in the set have already been out on DVD for years.

Today I’ll be attending the comic book show, which I’m looking forward to. Then I’ll write a couple of pages, and then if things work out, I’ll sup with a friend, after which I shall definitely watch a motion picture on DVD entitled The Heiress.

I’m not quite sure what’s happening this week, other than working with Miss Joan Ryan and Miss Merissa Haddad and maybe even Miss Alet Taylor, and, of course, writing away. At some point this week, I’ll deliver the first forty pages of the book to my muse Margaret to see what she thinks.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write, go to a show, perhaps sup with a friend, and whatever else needs doing. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, and let’s see if we can all achieve a Zen-like and/or Zen state.

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