Well, dear readers, it is today. I ask you, where else on all the Internet can you get such up to date information? Nowhere, that’s where. Yes, it’s today and that is quite a different matter than yesterday, although, that said, yesterday we could have also said it’s today and it would have been even though yesterday was yesterday. I speak of deep metaphysical things here, so deep that even I am confounded by the deepness and the metaphysicalness. If yesterday yesterday was today and today today is today then what is tomorrow tomorrow? Today. I am feeling so metaphysical right now that I want to vomit on the ground. Of course, that could also be the nachos I ate earlier. I find that nachos and things metaphysical are actually quite close. In fact, Nachos and the Metaphysical is the title of my next novel, in the vein of Freebie and the Bean and Chico and the Man. It has recently occurred to me that I have no clew as to what the HELL I’m going on about. And I’m jiggy with that. I’m down with that. I’m also up with that. In any case, when yesterday was today I had quite a fun little day. I woke up a little later than I’d planned, so I had to hurry and get ready for our noon LACCTAA event. I was very happy with the turnout – we had about fifty people there, including current students (not enough of them, frankly), alums, and just plain folks. Gordon Hunt was a wonderful guest, and we had so much fun doing our little Q&A. We segued directly into questions from the audience, and those were fun, too. Gordon is just delightful – witty, smart, and really knows his stuff. After the event, I found out that our book session was pushed to five, which gave me a chance to go through the latest layout and find any remaining bad breaks – I did find some, about thirty-five in all. We then had our book work session, which lasted until ten, although we did have a dinner break for nachos. We first fixed the thirty-five bad breaks, and I’m hoping and praying that we’ve now caught all of that stuff. Then we figured out where the sixteen-page photo spread was going to go, and then Grant began to figure out that layout. Since we’d already chosen the photos, I just had to give them to him in chronological order. He’s so good at this stuff, and I love the way the layout looks so far. Ultimately we got exactly half the pages done – so, what’s left is a lot of Nudie stuff, some TV stuff, a few Creature Wasn’t Nice photos, and some photos from my time at Playboy (no, I was not a playmate). I also received a blurb from our very own Pogue – this is a backup blurb in case I don’t get the blurb in time from the other person I asked. For this book, I wanted one person who’d never blurbed me before and one blurb from Rupert. Pogue was kind enough to be the backup, just in case, although his blurb will definitely appear on the book order page when that’s prepared. So, here is Pogue’s lovelier than lovely blurb, which, as you might imagine, made me a very happy BK:
Despite claims of a “life in the slow lane”, Bruce Kimmel’s warm and witty remembrance of his early days as an actor-writer-composer-director rolls down the road at a brisk, page-turning pace, but still leisurely enough to luxuriate in the fascinating adventures and entertaining characters he encounters along the way. With simple eloquence, wry perception, and engaging… often touching… honesty, he chronicles juggling ambitions and obligations, dreams and disappointments while trying to make his mark on the world and find meaning in his life.
But it is more than a memoir of one talented man’s personal journey; it is a paean to all those brave souls who are the backbone of show biz and daily plow through the trenches of a precarious profession, plying their trade often against impossible odds. I relished this ramble through Mr. Kimmel’s past right down to the last word of the last page and, in the best theatrical tradition, was left wanting more. Fortunately, Mr. Kimmel has more… much more… and will hopefully regale us with a sequel in the near future.
Charles Edward Pogue
Screenwriter of DRAGONHEART, DOA, & THE FLY
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because instead of a day of rest, I have a really busy day and evening ahead. And, of course, I must start writing Nachos and the Metaphysical.
Today, I must be up early and to the Paperback Collector’s Show by ten-thirty. I’m only bringing How To Write A Dirty Book and Other Stories to sign. Last year I sold one whole book, so I’m not sure why they wanted me back, but I enjoy the show and I like looking around at all the books. I’ll be signing from eleven to twelve – we’re at the Guest House Inn on Sepulveda Boulevard in Mission Hills, should any of our West Coast denizens want to come and say hello. After the signing, I go directly to North Hollywood for a three-hour recording session. After that, I’ll get something to eat, and then I have to spend an hour on the phone with the co-author of the long musical, popping the current set of lyrics into the script. It fell to me to supervise this because last time dialogue ended up disappearing because things were not clear and I just want to avoid any more screwups. I really need to not spend a lot of this week yammering with people about this show – I need to be on my own, prepping the blocking and exits and entrances, all of which I’ll do on paper before beginning. After that, I’ll finally have an hour or two to myself.
Tomorrow, I’m really hoping all I have to do is have a meeting with the stage manager of the long musical. I need either tomorrow or Tuesday almost completely free. Of course, I have to announce the new Kritzerland CD and keep sending addresses to the pressing plant, but other than that I have got to have just a little me time before the big onslaught of rehearsals begins for the long musical.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a book signing, I must do a recording session, I must have a one-hour telephonic conversation and I must eat. 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 I get ready to have Nachos and the Metaphysical enter the New York Times Best Seller list.