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August 16, 2009:

CHUMP CHANGE

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, as a great wit once said, time heals all wounds and time wounds all heals – and that’s all I have to say about THAT. So, today’s question is do I feel nostalgic? Well, do I, punk? What am I, Dirty Harry all of a sudden? Yes, today’s question is do I feel nostalgic, because I have to make a decision whether to attend a little reunion of my sixth grade class. A member of said class had this idea ten or eleven years ago, and he put it together and, amazingly, got over eighty of us to show up. I went specifically because I reunited with a gal I was crazy about in sixth grade. That part was fun, other parts not so much, although it was nice to see certain people. This was prior to writing the Kritzer books, of course. Then, back in 2004 or 2005 he did it again, and I went to that one, too. It was less fun, but a lot of the people there had read and enjoyed the Kritzer books, so that was nice. And now he’s doing it again, because it’s the 50th anniversary of our graduation. Say what? I gather it’s not going to be a huge turnout, and I already know a couple of the people that I’d enjoy seeing won’t be there. But there’s one fellow I’d like to see, because I made him a character in Kritzerland, and I don’t know that he knows that. So, part of me doesn’t want to go at all, and part of me thinks I should make an appearance. It would be an easier decision if it were in the Valley and not Westwood. I shall ponder as I finish these here notes.

I had what turned out to be a really busy day yesterday. I hadn’t intended to do much of anything other than stew in my own juices, eat some worms, and marvel at what a chump I’ve been for the last year. But, that is over and I shall not be a chump ever again – we call that chump change. I had a somewhat sleepless night, but got up early and did the long jog, which made me feel a little better. I then had to do some errands and whatnot whilst she of the Evil Eye did her thing. I got home around twelve-thirty and had to watch a DVD that had just arrived – I’d never seen the film, and since it’s part of the two-fer CD were announcing this week, I really wanted to see it so I could write my liner notes having at least watched the thing. The film itself is quite bad, which is somewhat amazing given the good cast and good director, but it’s just loud, frenetic, and not well-written. But the score is delightful and that’s all that counts, CD-wise. After that, I spent two hours working on the act one finale with the lyricist of the long musical. I would tell her exactly what to do, she’d write it down, then she’d send me the pages and nothing was the way I wanted it. We’d speak again, and the same thing would happen. So, I finally adjusted it myself and I think it has the potential to be a really strong act-ender. I also spent an hour on the phone with Apple support trying to scope out why I wasn’t able to drag stuff from my iDisk into iTunes, which I’ve done a million times before. My helper had me do a few things, none of which helped, so she recommended I “chat” with a Mobile Me expert, which I did for the next thirty minutes. We tried several workarounds, none of which worked. Eventually, I unplugged the modem and router and re-plugged, to no avail. I then went off and had some lunch at Jerry’s Deli, and when I got back I was finally able to get the audio tracks into iTunes and I spent the next hour listening to our new master and making adjustments in the track order. It’s going to be quite a nice package. I then started the liner notes, after which I sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I finished watching a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled The Ninth Gate, starring Mr. Johnny Depp, Mr. Frank Langella, and Miss Emmanuelle Seigner, and directed by Miss Seigner’s ever-lovin’ Roman Polanski. When I saw this film upon its release, I thought it was a real return to form for Mr. Polanski. I still think so – the film is beautifully directed. But somehow it just misses being really good, mostly because of the script, which just peters out and then has a very enigmatic, abrupt ending. But up to that point, it’s sort of prime Polanski. The film is based on the excellent book, The Club Dumas. It’s a beautifully photographed film and boasts a terrific score. Langella is clearly having a wonderful time, and Depp is okay as a finder of rare books. That leads us to another problem, one that would drive any real book collector to distraction. Mr. Depp spends most of the film hauling around what is purportedly one of the rarest books in existence, a book about the devil from the 16th century. He carries this hugely rare book from the 16th century in his backpack for much of the film. When he has occasion to open it several times he bends the pages so far back that it would crack the spine of a book that old. He also smokes while he’s perusing the book. And the book itself looks like it was printed yesterday. The Blu-Ray is a mixed bag – at times it looks okay, but a lot of the time the detail in the medium and long shots is not as sharp as it should be (especially on Blu-Ray) – colors are perfect, though, and the sound is really good.

I then finished writing the liner notes, and then listened to the new master a couple more times. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below whilst I continue getting over having been a chump and being happy with the chump change.

This morning, I shall reread my liner notes, make any fixes I care to, and then get it to my designer so he can complete the booklet for our new release. Then, IF I go to the reunion, I’d leave around 12:30 and be back by 2:00, at which point a helper will come over and we’ll address packages for the How To Murder Your Wife/Lord Love A Duck CD. We’ll then affix postage and prepare the bigger packages and that will be that. After that, I’ll probably take said helper out for an early dinner. And then, the evening will be mine all mine, although I know I’ll fret about tomorrow morning’s dentist visit.

Tomorrow, I have the dentist visit, and then I’ve kept the rest o’ the day pretty free, just in case I’m numb for hours. I’m hoping that will not be the case. And then I have to do a lot of catching up and I have to begin preparing for my New York trip. Other than that, I have a few meetings and meals planned during the week. I’ll be announcing the new release tomorrow, probably, for you dear readers only.

Why don’t we all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, why don’t we all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, why don’t we all dance the Hora and the Swim, for today is the birthday of our wonderful dear reader Vixmom. So, let’s give a big haineshisway birthday cheer to our wonderful dear reader Vixmom. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR WONDERFUL DEAR READER VIXMOM!!!

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, perhaps attend a reunion, address packages, and sup. 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, whilst chump change continues to take effect.

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