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July 17, 2010:

ROMANTIC COMEDY

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry because she of the Evil Eye will be here all too soon and soon too all and I shall have to be on my merry way quite early in the morning. Therefore I shall dispense with all frivolities and tangents and just post the particulars, not that they’re that interesting. But when has that ever stopped me. Actually, that stopped me the other day and I asked that just why I was being stopped and that had no response other than to say “that’s the way it is.” That is pithy, I’ll give that that. In any case, yesterday was a day in which I was stood up. But prior to that event, I’d had a good night’s sleep, done the long jog (very difficult), done work on the computer, printed out a few orders (actually we got several Promises orders, which leads me to believe it was being talked about somewhere online), had a few telephonic conversations, and then toddled off to have lunch with a photographer I haven’t seen since the early 1980s. Only the photographer forgot we were having lunch. Luckily I had her number with me – she was mortified she forgot (I do think she’s a little scatterbrained) and we rescheduled for tomorrow at one. One of the reasons I was meeting with her was to ask if she’d take some photos of me because I loathe all recent photos of me, and this gal is really well known and a fabulous photographer (she took my favorite headshot, the one on the back of my book). Well, she felt so bad that she brought up taking a free photograph – and I’m takin’ her up on it, let me tell you that. So, hopefully she won’t forget about tomorrow. Since I was already seated, I ordered a grilled artichoke and ate it – very low calorie and no fat grams, so that was good. I then picked up a couple of packages but not the envelope I was hoping would be there. I then came home, listened to the new Kritzerland master, and had just a couple of tiny fixes – otherwise it sounded great. It’s my favorite kind of score – a romantic comedy score. The packaging was approved, so everything is ready to go. By the time I’d finished everything, it was already time to mosey on over to the Studio CafĂ© for dinner. Since I’d eaten almost nothing earlier, I had my beloved drumettes, and my equally beloved bacon, mushroom, and cheddar scramble. I had no toast, and instead of potatoes I had a side salad. So, even though I got really full from the drumettes, I think I did well, calorie-wise. I came back, relaxed a little, but had no time to watch a motion picture on any format, as I had to listen to the fixes on the master, and then write the blurb for our press release.

However, I have been watching the Criterion DVDs of Silent Ozu films every night before bed. The first one I watched was the charming 1931 film Tokyo Chorus. Even way back then you could see Ozu finding his footing, and the film has a surprising amount of really funny stuff in it. The source material on this film is very rough, but it was fun to see it. What was not fun was the incidental piano score. One has the option to watch without it, but I find watching silent films silently with no score a trial. But the piano score is so wrongheaded it just doesn’t belong married to this film. It’s all jaunty, ragtime type music mixed with Gershwin and you’d think you were watching a jazz age comedy. It ruins all the rueful, bittersweet scenes, too. Now I’m in the midst of the popular Ozu classic, I Was Born, But… which he later remade as Good Morning. It’s also really funny, and here the piano score isn’t quite as offensive as Tokyo Chorus – it’s not great, but it’s not really hurting anything. And the source material for this film is in great shape. I do love Ozu and next week three of his classic 50s films come out in the UK on Blu and Ray – I have them all ordered and can’t wait to get them.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get my beauty sleep and perhaps dream a romantic comedy dream.

Today, I shall do an early jog, then trek up to Westlake for a lunch with a film composer who’s moving to New York. He’s giving me all his reel-to-reel tapes and I’m going to have them transferred. There may be a score or two I can license and I’ll send him CDs of everything so he has digital copies of all of it. After the lunch, I shall do some errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up several packages and the important envelope, and then do stuff around the home environment. Around six-thirty I do the radio show interview on KFWB, which should take between fifteen and thirty minutes. After that, I’m supping with a friend – I have to figure out where exactly we might get in on a busy Saturday night. I may make a reservation for Hugo’s but parking there is sometimes a real trial. We shall see.

Tomorrow, our very own Mr. Nick Redman is coming over in the morning to pick up some stuff, then I’ll hopefully be lunching with the photographer at one and working out getting a new photograph taken – one I’ll be happy with. If anyone can make me look good, it’s this photographer. My idea is to set a date for an afternoon shoot, and see Teddy that morning so he can make my do look splendiferous.

This coming week is filled with meetings and meals, our new release announcement, addressing packages, printing orders, getting the packaging done on our next release (which is a corker, as they say), and lots of errands and whatnot.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, have a lunch, pick up packages and hopefully the envelope I need, do a radio interview, and sup. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite romantic comedies?

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