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August 7, 2014:

THE DAILY GRIND

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I feel I should write an opening sentence and yet I’ve just been sitting here like so much fish, staring at a white Word document for ten minutes.  There, finally, an opening sentence.  Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to kick-start something.  Sometimes you just have to go with the flow or, at the very least, flow with the go.  Once one is flowing and going then the rest comes naturally.  For example, the rest is now coming naturally.  Of course, I haven’t a clew as to what the HELL I’m talking about, but that’s another story for another day at another time in another place with another suitcase in another hall.  What am I, Evita all of a sudden?

Yesterday was a day – I’m sure it was a day, I have a vague memory of it being a day.  First of all, I was up too damn early again, thanks to the idiot neighbors and bigger thanks to the damn tree people who decided that today was the tree-trimming day in front of my house.  They were loud as can be until I was up – then they were quiet.  I did go back to sleep for about two hours, so that was helpful.  Then I answered e-mails, after which I went and had some lunch.  Lunch consisted of a cup of chicken corn chowder and a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich, neither of which were as good as usual.  You know, who gives a flying Wallenda what the HELL I ate, anyway?  Who cares about that ephemera?  And yet, it is part of the daily grind and we’re all about the daily grind here at haineshisway.com.  After lunch, I picked up some packages.  Oh, and we got Won Ton Ton and Centennial Summer all shipped out.

Once back home, I did some work on the computer, chose a couple more songs, but still have three or four to go, but we’re still an entire month ahead so I’ve got a bit o’ time to make the final choices.  Then I had a long telephonic conversation, listened to some music, and then finally sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I watched a motion picture entitled The Sicilian Clan, which many people seem to think is some kind of classic.  I’d only seen it once before, quite some time ago, in its dubbed American version (Alain Delon did his own dubbing and, of course, Sydney Chaplin did his).  They shot the film two ways – with the actors speaking French and then speaking English so that while most of the voices are dubbed by other actors, the mouth movements match.  It’s an okay film – no real pace to it, and the heist is really perfunctory and then it ends.  But it does have a great trio of leads – Jean Gabin, Alain Delon and Lino Ventura.  And it does have a great Ennio Morricone score.  The Blu and Ray includes both versions of the film – the original French with American subtitles, and the American dub.  One reviewer thinks that the film didn’t do well here because it was dubbed and seven minutes shorter than the French version.  I suppose it’s too hard to actually look at your player and see exactly what’s what with the running time, because the fact is it’s less than three minutes shorter – the additional four minute discrepancy is music that plays for that amount of time over a black screen – not really part of the running time of the actual MOVIE, is it?  No.  As to what’s been cut, who knows?  I thought it might be some of the nudity that’s in two little scenes, but that seemed to be there – maybe the shots are shorter, although it wouldn’t result in three minutes.  I certainly wasn’t that interested in watching the dubbed version all the way through to find out.  The transfer is a little on the brown side, but decent enough.

After that, I went to Gelson’s and got a few things to have in the house, then I ate a couple of low-cal no-fat hot dog things on low-cal buns as my evening snack.  And that was that, the daily grind’s minutiae.

Today, I shall hopefully arise after a good night’s beauty sleep – hopefully the tree trimmers have finished their loud work and will be far away from here, like Tustin or Azusa.  I have two projects to do edit road maps for, and then I may even write some liner notes.  I’ll really try to finish choosing the songs, I’ll eat, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, and then I may or may not see a play at the Colony Theater.

Tomorrow, I have a lunch, and I was going to try and see a play in the evening, but I’m scotching that idea, or, at the very least, bourboning that idea because we have our pick-up recording session the following morning and I need to relax tomorrow night, not be out.  Saturday, we have our session, then we’ll eat, then I’m going out to Redondo Beach to see Damn Yankees in the evening.  Sunday, I think we will attempt to finish the mix, then if I’m able I’ll try to see the closing matinee of a play that features one of our Li’l Abner cast members.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do road maps, choose songs, maybe write, eat, hopefully pick up some packages and maybe see a play.  Today’s topic of discussion: As you all know, I have never EVER understood the appeal of liquor – of any kind.  I have taken various sips of wine and loathed the taste.  I have had a Tom Collins once and it tasted like bitter 7-Up.  I can’t even get near scotch or bourbon or hard liquor because the smell makes me want to vomit on the ground.  So, for those dear readers who do imbibe, what are your favorite drinks and what is it about them that appeals to you?  Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall continue with the daily grind and I don’t mean doing my burlesque act.

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