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November 6, 2009:

THE MOUSE WITH NO BALLS

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, my ball died. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, my ball died. To be more specific, for those of you whose minds are in the gutter, the little scrolling ball on my Apple Mouse died. The damn thing would not scroll. I had never used the damn scrolling ball until getting my desktop computer and I’d gotten quite used to the damn thing. But then the damn thing died. Just like that, without even a warning. I’d had a problem with it one other time but I unplugged it, blew into it, and that seemed to make it work. And it’s worked ever since until last night, when the damn thing died. Just like that. No more scrolling – just a useless ball. I don’t know about you, dear readers, but I find a useless ball mostly very annoying. So, I had two choices – just go back to scrolling the old-fashioned way, which is no fun at all, or buy the brand new, exciting Apple Magic Mouse, a wireless mouse with no balls. A mouse with no balls was very intriguing to me. Apparently all you had to do was move your finger up and down and it scrolled just like the scrolling ball did. Well, I opted for that choice, due to the friendly price. I went to the Sherman Oaks Apple Store to get the Magic Mouse. However, as per usual at the Sherman Oaks Apple Store, they were out of the Magic Mouse and the uppity people there just couldn’t tell me when they might be getting more in. So, I called the Apple Store at The Grove and they had one left – I told them to hold it for me, and I drove right over and bought it and then drove right home and tried to hook it up. I got it to work, but I couldn’t find it in preferences to set up the scrolling – in fact, I could find no trace of it. It was a little maddening. I then went out to eat with the composer of the long musical, and whilst there I read the little mini-booklet that came with the Magic Mouse, and I discovered that one had to have the latest and greatest mouse software upgrade. When I got home, I checked and voila, there was the latest and greatest mouse software update waiting to be installed, which I then did. I then restarted the computer, kept the USB mouse plugged in, turned on the Magic Mouse, and went to preferences, where there was a brand new icon for “mouse” – I clicked it and paired the new Magic Mouse with the computer, unplugged the USB mouse, and set my preferences. And then it worked beautifully, and it’s really fantastic, like no other mouse you’ve ever seen. It’s very intuitive – it knows when you’re just resting your hand on it, if you move your finger down it scrolls down, if you move your finger up it scrolls up. If you move your finger sideways in either direction it scrolls that way. I set it up to right click, and if you do the new two-finger swipe it actually toggles you between the last pages you looked at – very nifty. The only thing I haven’t figured out how to set yet is how to get it to do “spaces” – maybe it doesn’t do that in the way the old USB mouse did, where there was a thing in preferences to make the little tracking ball get you to spaces when you clicked on it. In any case, I love my Magic Mouse.

Yesterday was not quite so busy for me, so I actually managed to get three whole hours all to myself, which was really nice. I got up at nine, did the two-mile jog, and then went to the tape transfer place, where I did some listening. Then I came back to the Valley and grabbed a quick sandwich and fries. I then picked up some packages (quite a few arrived today), then I came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.

Yesterday, I finished watching the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123. Forget the fact that the original version is a wonderful movie with wonderful performances and a wonderful screenplay by Peter Stone. This remake is dreadful on every level imaginable, from its awful hyperkinetic “direction” by Tony Scott, to its horrid Screenplay 101 script by Brian Helgeland – you know, with “arcs” and “journeys” every two seconds and completely unnecessary ones at that. I wonder if Peter Stone sat at his typewriter and thought “Hmmm, maybe this character needs an arc and a journey.” No. He did not. But Helgeland can’t stop, and he just shovels this manure in big steaming heaps. John Travolta, in the Robert Shaw role, is awful. Posturing, over-the-top, you never ever take him seriously. He plays the role as a raving psychotic from frame one – he has nowhere to go, whereas Shaw was subtle and menacing and therefore far scarier and more dangerous. Denzel Washington is fine but has been saddled with Helgeland’s “character” – nothing to be done about that, I’m afraid. The best performance in the film comes from James Gandolfini as the mayor. He’s rather like Charles Durning was in the 1970s – a fine character actor with a good sense of humor about himself. The other actors stand no chance with their cardboard characters. The score by Harry Gregson-Williams is the usual thumping crap followed by a few Windham Hill-like pretty cues. All one need do is listen to David Shire’s absolutely unique and brilliant score to the original to know exactly what is wrong with film music today. The chases and action sequences are laughable. The Blu-Ray is the one area in which everything succeeds – a great transfer and disc, sharp as a tack, with punchy sound. It’s too bad the movie has to be such an awful waste of time. Buy the original, you can’t go wrong.

After that, we had a short rehearsal at my house with a few singers. It only lasted about ninety minutes, then, as stated, I grabbed a bite with the composer. We went to the Studio CafĂ©, where we split some wings, and I had something called a scramble – with bacon, onions, mushrooms, and cheese – it was really quite yummilicious but it was too much to eat that late at night. Still, I jogged and I’d eaten a fairly light lunch, so hopefully it didn’t do much damage and I’ll be a very good boy today.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button whilst I use my Magic Mouse sans balls to get us to the next page.

Today, I have to do the long jog, do some banking, and then I have a rehearsal to go to, after which we’ll probably dine in the Dale of Glen. After that, it’s home, James, and I shall watch some motion picture or other.

Tomorrow, I’m having a late luncheon with dear reader Jeanne, and then I’ll start writing new liner notes. Sunday is free and I’m not doing a damn thing other than what I feel like doing. Oops (spoo, spelled backwards), I just realized that is not true – I have another rehearsal, but it’s a short one. But other than that the day is mine all mine.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do some sort of jog, do errands and whatnot, attend a rehearsal, and then watch a motion picture or three. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – Blu-Ray, It’s A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, and Wings of Desire. CD, various and sundried upcoming Kritzerland releases. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I play with my new mouse without balls.

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