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December 7, 2007:

THE WORD POLICE

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, it’s sort of raining in the City of Studio as I type this rainy sentence. Of course, we were told a HUGE storm would be upon us earlier this evening – as usual the Los Angeles weather people have no clew. What we’ve got is some dripping more than raining, and frankly I’d rather have some raining more than dripping. In any case, in case you haven’t noticed it’s Friday, the end of the workweek. Did you know that I typed work week as two words but then the Word Police told me I should change it to one word, which I did. Who knew work week was workweek? Not I, certainly, but the Word Police did and they put a little squiggly green line under work week. The Squiggly Green Line – that’s the title of my next novel, a story of the fighting Irish and their hell bent for leather colleens. Speaking of hell bent for leather (and who wasn’t), yesterday was a very busy little day for the likes of me. I got up very early and made the long trek to the City of Culver, where I had a meeting with the head of the LA Festival of New Musicals, and an EQUITY go-between. It was a good meeting, and the EQUITY guy was terrific and very helpful. Only time will tell how successful the meeting will have been, and right now time’s not talking. The meeting lasted ninety minutes, and then I came home and immediately had to leave for the lunch meeting with Mr. Kevin Spirtas and Miss Linda Purl. We met at CafĂ© Marmalade, a jernt I’m not that fond of. I had the Seafood Louis with Louis dressing and it was not that good. But the meeting was fun and productive and the three of us are embarking on a new project that we’ve put into the fast lane. I think it’s going to be fun. I then got some mail from the mail place (and yes, Virginia, there was another birthday card from dear reader singdaw), and then came back home. I then did some work, and then finally sat on my couch like so much fish.

I didn’t sit for long. Instead, I drove over to Amoeba with some trade stuff that’s been piling up. I got good credit, and I looked around but only ended up getting three very inexpensive CDs, so I’ve still got quite a bit of credit left. The streets of LA have been really crowded this week, and I really haven’t been able to figure out why. You’ll be stuck in a long line of cars, not moving, and then three blocks later you’ll finally start to move, but there’s no accidents and no problems so I’m always at a loss to describe that phenomenon. After that, I came home and once again sat on my couch like so much fish. I didn’t have time to watch a complete motion picture on DVD, so instead I began a motion picture I TIVOd, entitled The Manhattan Project. I saw it back in 1986 and didn’t think much of it, although I loved the Phillipe Sarde score. Since it’s not on DVD, I decided to give it another whirl. I still don’t think much of it – in fact, it’s preposterous, but John Lithgow is terrific and the other actors are all good, and there’s some funny one-liners (courtesy of writer/director Marshall Brickman), but the plot itself is so unbelievable that you wonder how the film ever got green-lit. But, I still love that Phillipe Sarde score. If they made this same film today, it would have wall to wall music and not a tune to be heard. This has whole sequences that last twenty minutes that go unscored, and it’s so refreshing and nice not to be bombarded with thumping loud music every second.

What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below before the word police make more squiggly green lines.

If they make a film of The Squiggly Green Line, they can play it on a triple bill with The Thin Red Line and The Long Gray Line. I’ll be first in Line.

Today, I have almost nothing planned, which I’m happy about. Oh, I’ll do some work, and I’ll do some errands, and hopefully some packages will arrive, and I’ll also pick up my dry cleaning. But, I wanted a relaxing day before Ye Olde Birthday day, which is going to be filled with merriment and mirth and laughter and legs. And no, Virginia, I still have not chosen my selections to read from Murder At Hollywood High. I cannot procrastinate or even anticrastinate any longer. Ooh, the Word Police did not like the word anticrastinate and it put a squiggly RED line under it as if to say, knock it off you big wazoo. I’m looking forward to my birthday day, mainly because of the signing, but also because I’m told a big birthday dinner is happening at Genghis Cohen and I believe about twenty-three people will be in attendance, including my very own darling daughter. Won’t that be fun?

I think we’d just all better put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, I think we’d all better just break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, I think we’d all better dance the Hora and the Monkey, because today is the birthday of our beloved dear reader and someone I’ve known and adored since she was fifteen or so, Jane. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our beloved dear reader and someone I’ve known and adored since she was fifteen or so, Jane. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR BELOVED DEAR READER AND SOMEONE I’VE KNOWN AND ADORED SINCE SHE WAS FIFTEEN OR SO, JANE!!!

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a little work, do a few errands, eat a few foodstuffs, and that’s about it. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, the new re-recordings of two Bernard Herrmann scores, Fahrenheit 451 and Mysterious Island, both of which are very nice, and an Deodato CD of Jobim music. DVD, The Mill Of The Stone Woman, a strange film from the early 60s. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hope we have no further interruptions or squiggly lines from the Word Police.

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