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September 15, 2010:

THE HUPMOBILE

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, this week is flying by, like a gazelle in a Hupmobile. Does anyone still drive a Hupmobile? Do people even know what a Hupmobile is anymore? I wonder if there are any Hupmobiles left? There probably are, with car collectors. I, for one, would like to take a drive in a 1924 Hupmobile Touring car or the 1929 Hupmobile De Luxe Century Opera Coupe. Those were motor cars. Those were automobiles. Did you know, for example, that in 1909 you could buy a brand new Hupmobile motor car for $750? Sadly, by 1940 it was over for Hupmobile – falling sales, hostile takeovers signaled the end of their fine automobiles. What am I, a Hupmobile history lesson? Damn that gazelle, always making me go off on tangents. However, for those who want to see the glorious Hupmobiles described above, I will post actual photographs on our actual discussion board. And speaking of our actual discussion board, why don’t some of you tinhorn lurkers mosey on by and register and join our insane merry troupe of posters and for piquant discussions of such topics as Hupmobiles. Perhaps we’ve had enough preamble and we should get to the actual amble. Yesterday, Uranus seems to have cleared up and it was a much more pleasant day, one that yielded three more Kritzerland projects – we now have projects to take us through March of next year, which gives us a lot of breathing room. I had a very good night’s sleep, got up, was lazy for a bit, then had an early lunch meeting with the Kritzerland designer – he’ll be putting together a brand new LACCTAA website in the next few weeks. The one we currently have is ugly and pointless and three years out of date and we’re basically starting over from scratch. We had a nice lunch to boot. We booted our lunch all over the restaurant, much to the delight and confusion of the other diners. After that, I picked up some packages and no mail. I then came home. Susanne Blakeslee came by and picked up her CDR and music – she’s such a sweetheart. I then did some sequencing work on a new project and sent off the editing road map. I then did a mile and a half jog, had a few telephonic conversations, and did more work on the computer. I then sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I watched the very first Twilight Zone ever aired – Where Is Everybody? – an auspicious debut for what would become one of my ten favorite TV series of all-time. The Twilight Zone has had many home video releases, each better than the last, but every time a new version comes along we all swear we’re never getting another. But having this on Blu and Ray is too wonderful to pass up, so off to the trade been went the complete DVD collection and into my hands came season one on Blu-Ray. The quality of Where Is Everybody is astounding – incredible clarity, wonderful contrast – in fact, it looks like it’s never looked before. If they’re all that good, then this is a must-have for anyone with a Blu-Ray player who’s a fan of the show. I do love this episode – it sets the tone for the show so perfectly, with its classic Rod Serling story, it’s Bernard Herrmann music, and the wonderful photography and direction. It looked and sounded like no other show on TV back then. And the performance of my nearby neighbor Earl Holliman is terrific. I’m looking forward to revisiting all the episodes of season one, which include some of my all-time favorites. I then watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Se7en. I hadn’t seen this motion picture since it first came out, and I must say it’s a classic thriller with great performances all around, even from Brad Pitt, an actor I normally have no interest in. Morgan Freeman gives one of his best performances, and the villain of the piece (I won’t say who the actor is in case we have some folks who haven’t seen the film), who finally makes an appearance towards the end of the film, gives a lesson in great screen acting and what you can do with a role with less than fifteen minutes of screen time. The writing is very good, and it’s not riddled with stupidity like so many of these things are today – this was a very influential film in terms of its look and style, but no one has come close to making it work like director David Fincher did. The transfer replicates the theatrical prints and is excellent, and the sound is really nuanced and terrific. If you’ve never seen the film, I recommend it highly – I’m not usually a fan of this sort of thing, but this one pretty much gets it all right.

After the movie, I went to Gelson’s and got some crab claws and shrimp cocktail shrimp, and that was my evening snack. Then I just played on the computer until I began thinking of the Hupmobile.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I have to get up really early and have a busy day ahead of me.

Today, the helper will be here at nine and she’ll put postage on the rest of the packages she’s addressed. That will take a while, then we have to go back to storage and find a chart for Miss Rebecca Luker – I’m just praying that the box with her charts aren’t buried at the bottom of a pile. I then have several errands and whatnot to do, and then our musical director is coming by to pick up his charts and CDR. After that, I mosey on down to the Music Center to have some dinner and then see The Glass Menagerie, which I’m very much looking forward to – it’s one of my favorite plays. I will, of course, have a complete report upon my returning.

Tomorrow, I’ll be back with Teddy getting newly beautified and somewhat blonde. After that, I think I have a couple of meetings, just can’t remember what they are. Friday we’ll be shipping out a LOT of Sugar CDs. The weekend has turned very busy – I have a lunch or dinner meeting with a singer on Saturday, and on Sunday I’ll be supping with our very own dear reader Jeanne.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, help the helper, go to storage (if there’s time – if not, we go on Friday), do a jog and then sup and see a play. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland in my Hupmobile.

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