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May 27, 2012:

THE SITTING OR STANDING ARROWHEAD WATER BOTTLE

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, here I sit, trying to begin these here notes and yet I have no ideas or anything interesting to say. Of course, that’s never stopped me before so I suppose I’ll trudge on and see what happens. There, I have kick started the notes. The notes had their own kick-starter campaign and now we’re in full swing, merrily writing away about nothing whatsoever. I have spent a very interesting three minutes staring at the Arrowhead water bottle sitting on the table – that is, if water bottles sit. Or should it be standing on the table. What IS it that water bottles do when they’re on tables? These are the questions that are roaming around in the windmills of my mind.

Yesterday was a day that was yesterday. I got up at nine-thirty but stayed in bed till eleven, for reasons that elude me. Once up, I printed out some orders, answered some e-mails and was going to jog, but it was kind of cold out and my lower back was a little sore, so I didn’t. Instead I went and had one half of a waffle, two eggs, bacon, and rye toast. That was most excellent. I sat there for quite some time, then left. And in leaving I did something I have never done before in my entire life – I walked out without paying. I’m so used to them bringing the check, paying, and then sitting there playing on the phone that I just assumed I’d done it. Someone came running after me and I came right back and my server and I had a good laugh about my senility – happily they know me so well at Jerry’s Deli that it was all fine. After that adventure, I went to the mail place and picked up two packages, one of which is the package that was supposedly shipped back on April 30th from the UK. Who knows when it was really sent and who cares? I’ve already received the refund and I’m glad I did because the book inside the package, aside from being ineptly packaged, was not in the condition stated and so I wouldn’t have kept it anyway. Most of the book dealers on the ABE are fine, but there are some who just don’t know what they’re doing, have no idea how to grade books and are completely dishonorable and deceptive, and I’d have to say this guy falls into that category. I wrote him an e-mail telling him the book would be posted back to him on Tuesday. It will probably get to him a heck of a lot faster than it got to me.

Then I came home and decided to buckle down Winsocki and write the commentary for the next Kritzerland show. Usually it’s time consuming because I give a little history of the shows, the history of the song, and little anecdotes. But this was even harder because lots of the songs we’re doing are just songs. But I did the research, came up with some nice stuff and some funny bits and though it took almost three hours to do, I was thrilled to get it done so I don’t have to worry about it next week. Then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I finished watching Paradiset. It’s not as good as the Wallander films or the Van Veeteren films, but I liked this one a lot better than The Bomber. In Paradiset, we learn the history of the leading character, a female journalist, seven years prior to the events in The Bomber. The ending is kind of a let down, but the acting was good and it was done very well. I then took a drive, then came home and watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled New York Stories, which I’d never seen. It’s an odd omnibus film, with three stories directed by Scorsese, Coppola, and Woody Allen. The first, Life Lessons, is the Scorsese – it’s not that interesting, although he’s clearly having a good time being a show-off director. Nick Nolte is always excellent, and I do love Roseanna Arquette. It’s not great, merely okay. The second story is called Life Without Zoe, and is one of the most insufferably bad films ever. I don’t even know what the point of it was and it was just mind-boggling that an artist of Coppola’s talent could have brought it forth. But by 1989 there wasn’t really much left of the artist that made The Conversation and The Godfather films. The screenplay was by Coppola and his daughter Sofia, who was then all of seventeen or eighteen and boy does it show in the awful writing. She also designed the costumes. She also designed the main title for that story. Poor Woody Allen had to follow that, unfortunately, so his part of this isn’t as funny as it should be because you’ve just sat through forty excruciating minutes of the Coppola. However, once the story gets going there are some very funny bits. Julie Kavner is wonderful, and Mae Questal is very funny as Woody’s mother. And I had no idea that a very young Larry David was in this and I’m happy to report that he’s just as obnoxious-sounding as he is now. The transfer is okay.

After that, I read a magazine, reorganized some books in the book room, and then sat staring at the Arrowhead water bottle that is either sitting or standing on the table. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I have a long day and evening tomorrow so I must get some beauty sleep.

Today, I shall be up by nine, I shall begin writing the story for Backstage magazine and then I shall meet dear reader FJL at the MTF (Mark Taper Forum) to see some show that is apparently written by Michael John LaChiusa and which features one of my favorite gals, Michele Pawk. After the show, a few people are supping and then I’ll have to leave by six to get to my old neighborhood to see another play that starts at seven. So, a day and evening of theatergoing.

Tomorrow, I’ll finish the article, and then we have our first Kritzerland rehearsal, which gives me the chance to hear all the material – that always gives me a pretty good idea whether the show order I’ve chosen is going to work. The rest of the week is filled with meetings, more rehearsals, more writing, and then our stumble-through and our show.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, try to do a quick jog if I’m really up by nine, begin an article, see a matinee, sup, and see an evening performance. 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 hit the road to dreamland where I shall continue to ponder whether the Arrowhead water bottle is sitting or standing.

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