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December 14, 2012:

THE JOY OF DISCOVERY

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, you know what I love? Well, I’ll tell you what I love because why should I keep such things from you dear readers? What I love is discovery – discovering a new thing or person’s work, that is what I love and I love that we live in a world where one can keep discovering things until one bites the dust. Have you ever bitten the dust. It’s not that pleasant, as the dust doesn’t taste all that good, but I’ll tell you this – the dust loves to bit one. One tastes much better than the dust. I no longer have a clew as to what the HELL I’m talking about as I’ve gone off on one of those tangential tangents. Tangential Tangents – that’s the title of my next novel. Where was I? Oh, yes, the thrill of discovery. And yesterday I had such a thrill and it was thrilling. I watched a screener entitled Hyde Park on Hudson, starring Mr. Bill Murray as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I’m happy they gave the film a real title rather than a “now” title, like Two or Three Things that Happened with Roosevelt” or “This is Roosevelt” or “Roosevelt Actually.” I liked the film pretty well and more about that in a moment. But the discovery was Mr. Jeremy Sams, the composer of the film. I had never heard of Mr. Sams even though he seems to have been around a while, done many interesting and varied things, and composed the music for a couple of other films by the director of Hyde Park on Hudson. As most know, I am not a fan of most film music today. For me, it just drones on, acts as pad, does nothing to enhance or get under the skin of the film, provides no subtext – in other words, does nothing that the classic film scores of even two decades ago did regularly. So, imagine my surprise and delight to find a film score that actually functions as a film score and does it beautifully? A score with actual themes and great themes at that. In style and feel, it’s very reminiscent to the best of Richard Rodney Bennett’s film scores, Mr. Bennett being a composer I dearly love. It’s a lush, gorgeous piece of work and it helped the film immeasurably and certainly more than the ham-fisted director did, visually. I just don’t get it, frankly. Here we have a period film. Check. We have lovely settings and automobiles and costumes. Check. We have some scenes that are shot in a classic way for a film set in that era. And then suddenly it’s all shaky cam for no reason whatsoever. Whatever one’s stylistic choices, there should be a reason – none here. And then there are just plain peculiar shots like the camera soaring over a field of flowers and then going down until it’s in the field of flowers, trampling them. Say what? Or racking focus back and forth on said flowers. But no matter, because the film is reasonably well written and the performances are excellent and so no matter what directorial oddities pop up he cannot kill what’s good about it. It took me a while to get used to Mr. Murray, but he did a fine job. Laura Linney is a wonderful actress and she gives a wonderful performance full of nuance and shading. I can’t remember the names of everyone else, but they are all terrific. The film is not too long and I enjoyed it a lot, and I’m telling you a lot of that enjoyment came because of the score by Mr. Jeremy Sams. In fact, I did something I rarely do – I went directly to Amazon and searched the soundtrack to find it is only available as a digital download – I immediately got it and listened and it’s as lovely away from the film as it is in the film. It also made me check out the director’s previous films, so soon I’ll be seeing Enduring Love and Persuasion, both of which have scores by Mr. Sams. I’ve already heard the score to Enduring Love, which I also got as a download, and it, too, is excellent.

So, the love of discovery. And now to the polar opposite – something I loathe. I awoke to an e-mail of concern because some unbridled twit (I’d call him worse, but this is a family site) who must have the emotional maturity of either a twelve-year-old school child or a plant – you decide – sent a note to someone I deal with telling them to check out yesterday’s notes, which were, as you might recall, about having the occasional Kritzerland struggle. There was nothing incendiary there, just a few little ramblings. That is what I do on my site. But this little twit wanted to do nothing but cause a problem. He failed to do so, like most twits, and not only that, it got some things discussed that were good to discuss. You see, I hide nothing from anyone – why should I? Again, nothing was said that was offensive or accusatory and the real fact is that the true point of the post had nothing to do with what the twit thought it had to do with – if he’d realized the real point, then he would have alerted others to the notes and not the party he alerted. Note to twit: Karma. It will take care of you, like it takes care of all twits. The only person who will have a problem with what you did is you, twit. Oh, and here’s the other thing. I know your e-mail address, twit, and it will be very easy for me to now know who you are, twit. My strong advice to the twit is for the twit to get a life. I know that will be a challenge for the twit, but in the end it will be a good thing for the twit. Just like I made a beautiful discovery yesterday, perhaps the twit can make a beautiful discovery, like actually learning how to behave as a human being rather than an immature, schoolyard tattle-tale twit. But enough about the twit, and I’m sure the twit is taking some twit-like enjoyment out of being talked about. That probably never happens to the twit and we understand that.

The rest of my yesterday was pretty lovely, I must say. Once past the twit, I did not jog because of the weather. Instead, I did some work on the computer, then went and had a fried chicken salad, which was wonderfully wonderful. After that, I picked up a couple of packages, then came home. I then made the final song choices, assigned all of them, got everything loaded into the computer, then gathered all the sheet music. Everyone will have their stuff this morning, save for our one missing cast member. I think it will be an excellent selection of Bock and Harnick. After that, I did a little work at the piano, then sat on my couch like so much fish.

After I watched Hyde Park on Hudson, I started watching the screener of Promised Land, this year’s socially conscious film – there’s one every year and it always arrives just in time to try for some Oscar nominations. The first half was enjoyable, as these things usually are. Nothing earth shattering here and it just ambles along, pleasantly directed by Gus Van Sant, with earnest performances by Matt Damon, Francis McDormand, a lovely actress named Rosemarie De Witt, and yet another good turn by Hal Holbrook, who I’d just seen in Lincoln. I had to stop halfway through and go to the engineer’s house, where we recorded all the voiceovers for episodes five and six for this season’s Outside the Box.

Then I came home and finished Promised Land. It’s really not a great movie, but it moves right along, and occasionally makes its points in an interesting way. After that, I did a little more work on the computer. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must get a good night’s beauty sleep.

Today, I have a pretty easy day, I think. I’ll send everyone their music and mp3s – that will probably take an hour. Then I’ll take some more book notes and redo the opening paragraph that I’d written a week or so ago. I’ll eat, hopefully pick up some packages and an important envelope, jog if it’s not too cold, and then relax and watch more screeners – we got Zero Dark Thirty yesterday so I’m interested to see that.

Tomorrow is a ME day, as is Sunday, save for a Face Time rehearsal with the East Coast Singer for her Monday show. For those in Manhattan and environs, she’s making the same offer she did last time she did a show at the Metropolitan Room – any friend of me or haineshisway.com can go to the show as her guest. Yes, you’ll be totally comped, both cover and drinks, so just drop me a private message or e-mail if you’d like to partake. Next week will be spent trying to get three projects approved and having all those release announcements prepped. I have a few meals and meetings to do, and then, towards the end of the week, I will finally begin what I hope will be a wonderful two-week vacation from all things except book notes and one work session with the musical director of the Kritzerland show, and perhaps seeing the first cut of episode five.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, get everyone their music and mp3s, do more book notes, write, eat, hopefully pick up some packages and an important envelope, maybe jog, and then relax and watch screeners. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/video player? I’ll start: CD, the new fifteen disc Star Trek set, which I’ll go through very slowly, and Kritzerland projects. Screeners, Zero Dark Thirty, Anna Karinina and Silver Linings Playbook. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to still be discovering things.

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