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February 18, 2011:

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I am on an aeroplane on my way back to Los Angeles, California after a lovelier than lovely whirlwind stay in Naples, Florida, the city that always sleeps. I am very tired but cannot sleep on an aeroplane. We were almost late in leaving Houston thanks to five idiots who barely made the flight. Note to idiots: get to the damn airport on time, you selfish, entitled wits, both dim and nit. I’ve had two breakfast meals so far – one on flight one, and one on flight two. I am filled with Afrin nose spray and Mucinex and writing these here notes in Pages on an iPad. I believe I can then send them as a Word document to my very own self. We shall see. To be continued from the home environment.

You see, you see, I was able to send them as a Word document. And now I have a jump on the notes. The two flights were long but on time and I do wish I hadn’t eaten one of the breakfasts. We got in just a little late, maybe about seven minutes (LA does like to keep planes in the sky), and I was whisked home. And my heart really is in LA and the home environment, and home, after all, is where the heart is. The home environment was fifty-seven degrees when I entered it. Of course, I put on the heat and left on my coat. I went through mail and packages that the helper had picked up, and I began the arduous task of answering e-mails and returning telephonic calls, which took quite some time. Then I had to leave and do errands and whatnot, after which, just for a change of pace, I did whatnot and errands. I picked up no mail and one package. I then listened to seven tracks that I’d asked to be redone on an upcoming release – they were fine, so I’m sending that CD off for approval, which will probably take two or three weeks with this particular studio.

Then, since I’d finished proofing the book, I entered all my corrections and fixes, save for a handful that I want to run by Muse Margaret. Then I entered the obvious fixes from proofer number one, but the majority of suggestions I will run by Muse Margaret because I want to discuss before making them. And actually, the majority of what there is to discuss centers around the overuse of one word – I must use it a hundred times and it really is too much. I’ve changed a couple and deleted a couple, but for the rest we’ll go on a case-by-case basis. The best thing was that I really liked reading it. I’m now divorced from the process of writing it, so I just enjoyed myself and some of it was actually surprising to me, and I found myself anxious to remember how I’d done certain things – I was, in fact, feeling like Adriana Hofstetter herself.

After that, I went to Gelson’s and got a couple of chicken tenders and some potato salad for dinner, and then I finally sat on my couch like so much exhausted fish.

Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled All The President’s Men. I’ve written about it several times, so suffice it to say it’s just a great motion picture, with an extraordinary cast (the supporting cast is utterly amazing – the kinds of actors we simply don’t have anymore), the script by William Goldman is fantastic, making a story that most were familiar with going in, exciting and nail-biting, like a classic thriller. The direction of Alan Pakula is simple yet masterful as is the camerawork of Gordon Willis. And the short but great score is by David Shire. The transfer really replicates what the release prints looked like – whether that’s a good thing is a question – because it really doesn’t look like they went from the camera negative. But it does look like what we saw in the theaters, so there’s nothing wrong with that – and it’s miles better than any other home video incarnation we’ve had.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because even though I should be sleeping in I have to be up VERY early so that the helper and I can ship a humungous number of CDs. It will consume several hours, and then I’m relaxing, and I don’t care who knows it.

One of the things that was especially pleasing about the Linda and Gregory show was a piece of special material. When I was putting together Linda’s solo show, I felt we should create a piece of special material about all her Movie Of The Weeks that she’d done (she’s the Queen of the MOW). So, we commissioned Kirby Tepper to do it, with Ron Abel providing the music. When we got it, both Linda and I felt that several things didn’t feel right or land right. So, we kept what we liked and asked for changes to the rest. But the opening verse, the set-up, was never right, and Kirby finally asked me to just tell him exactly what it needed to be – so, I wrote a lyric for it and told him that was the idea. He liked it so much, as did Linda and Ron, that they just kept it (and that’s why I’m one of the credited lyricists on the song). So, for this show, since Gregory is one of the Kings of the MOW, I suggested we split the song in half – she’d do her first half, and the Gregory would do the second half, and they’d join together for the last verse. I’ve always felt the second half of Linda’s version is not quite as funny as the first half, so I was very keen to make the second half really funny. Gregory sent me a two-page list of his TV movies, a one-liner about the plot of each, and who he played. I just could not get it – I felt constricted by what Ron and Kirby had done, and they’d cheated like crazy, adding notes or changing a musical phrase to suit their needs. I made several attempts to start it and always crashed. So, I finally asked our very own FJL to just come up with a few verses, even if they were bad, just to kick start my brain. Happily, he was very up for it. I gave him a couple of the ideas I was trying to develop. He sent me some stuff right away – I didn’t feel it was quite what we wanted, so we had a few telephonic conversations about the point of it, and then he sent me some more stuff – rough, but more in the right direction, but with a couple of really great lines that I knew we could keep. And exactly as I thought, once I saw it, I was able to jump in and get the first two verses right and get them funny. Then I futzed with some of the FJL stuff, and kept a couple of the lines in their entirety. I sent it to Gregory and he loved it – there was just one awkward thing in one of FJL’s lines, and Gregory came up with a great fix for it. So, to hear it in Florida and hear every one of Gregory’s lines get big laughs was so much fun, so a big thanks to FJL for his contributions and helping get me back on track.

Today, we’ll be shipping out a humungous number of CDs, after which I’ll eat something light and then relax for the rest of the day and evening. Nothing will sway me from said relaxation – NOTHING.

Tomorrow, I have a work session with the twelve-year-old and then we’ll go get something to eat, and then Sunday I’m working with the musical director of the Gardenia show. I also have to make an event page pronto. Next week I announce the new Kritzerland release, and we have rehearsals.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, ship CDs and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, new Kritzerland stuff. Blu and Ray, Network, Moonstruck, and the new Woody Allen movie. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I get these here notes posted early so I can get a decent night’s sleep.

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