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March 31, 2014:

BEFUDDLED WITH INSUFFICIENT CHILI

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I’m more than a little befuddled that this is the final day of March.  Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, this is the final day of March.  How did that happen?  Last I knew it was the final day of February.  These months are flying by, like a gazelle wearing a garter belt.  In any case, tomorrow is a brand new month I like to call April, and may I just say that it is my fervent hope and prayer that April will be a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful.

Yesterday was a kind of relaxing day in which I kind of relaxed.  I was awakened at nine by my idiot neighbors, who either have guests or a new child, but why they feel the need to come out every morning at nine, talk for fifteen minutes and then go in the house never to be heard from again is befuddling to me.  I am befuddled by it.  I am a befuddled BK.  I stayed in bed and I suppose I fell back asleep at some point as the next thing I knew it was around ten-thirty or thereabouts.  Once up, I answered e-mails, did some work on the computer, and then I had a lunch meeting.  That was fun.  I had a chili, cheese and onion hot dog (grilled) and some french fries.  When it arrived there were no onions, so she took it back and got some put on.  But I have to say, there was almost no chili at all – it was weird and not like the other two times I’ve had it.  If I have it again, I shall make sure there is sufficient chili involved because a chili dog without sufficient chili is like a chili dog without sufficient chili, which may seem redundant but isn’t redundant as I find redundancy redundant.  Where was I?  Oh, yes, befuddled with insufficient chili.  After the lunch meeting, I came back home and sat on my couch like so much fish.

Yesterday, I watched the season three finale of Sherlock.  It was mostly a very good episode with a creepy antagonist (played by one of the lead actors from the Swedish series one of The Killing).  But I knew before I’d even read online how it ended how it would end.  It became obvious in watching this season’s three episodes that the writers were struggling and changing things up a bit from seasons one and two.  I don’t usually care that much, but they did take a lot of season three into odd territory, especially in terms of Sherlock himself.  The first two seasons’ six episodes kept a really good balance between the personal stuff and the mystery stuff.  This season, not so much.  But it’s still enjoyable and I hope they find their footing and that they’re not on the road to Alias-ville.  Because that’s what the ending cliffhanger felt like.  Just doing something easy that they knew would get people to talk and keep the waiting for series four filled with guessing.  But it seemed cheap and obvious and more than a little irritating, in much the same way as Alias’s eventual season cliffhangers got sillier with each season, resurrecting dead people (Lost was guilty of that, too – like crazy) who may or may not have really been resurrected (depending on the season) – these writers just seemed smarter than going that obvious way.

Then I headed over to a private home to see a private advance performance of a one-woman tribute show about Doris Day.  I’m not going to say much, other than these tribute shows leave me befuddled, as well as bothered and bewildered but not so much bewitched.  The performer has talent, certainly, but the show’s structure, in my opinion, is off, the patter is too repetitive and too long, and the performer has not found her comfort level yet with the material.  The arrangements could certainly be better, too.  But it was an all friends audience of support and therefore much woo-hooing and stomping of feet, rather than the performer and her husband, who wrote and directed it, getting the feedback they should have, which is kind of the point of doing an advance peek.  Fixing it would be easy as pie, but you have to know how to do it and I’m not sure they’re looking to fix anything or thinking it even needs fixing.  Who knows?  The songs, of course, were great.

There were some fun people there – Karen Morrow, our own Adryan Russ, the musical director for the sneak peek was Shelly Markham, Andrea Marcovicci was there, as was Peisha McPhee (mom of Katherine), Christina Saffron, my pal Jon Burlingame and his ever-lovin’ Marilee Bradford, and the performer’s dad, an actor I always liked, Peter Mark Richman.  After that, I came back home and once again sat on my couch like so much fish.

I watched the unaired pilot of Sherlock just for fun.  They were wise to have reshot it because it just was bland and no fun at all.  It was thirty minutes shorter, too.  But it had none of the style and flourish as the redone ninety-minute version – watching both back-to-back should be required viewing for creative people.

Today, I shall eat something light, I shall hopefully pick up the rest of the Red Gold books and I’m hoping Grant can pop by to put in the limitation page thing – he said he’d be able to.  Then the helper can get them and they’ll all ship out Tuesday morning.  We then have our first Kritzerland rehearsal.  We may or may not go out for a meal after.

Tomorrow is our meet and greet, which I’m very much looking forward to, then I’m sure some of us will grab a bite to eat, then I may or may not have an evening meeting.  Wednesday is meetings and meals, Thursday is our second Kritzerland rehearsal, not sure what Friday is, then we have our stumble-through and then sound check and show.

Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora or the Pachanga, because today is the birthday of occasional but longtime dear reader Ann.  So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to occasional but longtime dear reader Ann.  On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OCCASIONAL BUT LONGTIME DEAR READER ANN!!!

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, eat, hopefully pick up books, get books shipped, have our first Kritzerland rehearsal and perhaps eat again.  Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films and songs of Miss Doris Day?  Let’s have loads of lovely posting, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall hopefully arise with no befuddlement and no insufficient chili.

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