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April 7, 2015:

DAMN NOTES

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I suppose it is time to write some damn notes.  Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, the time is nigh to write some damn notes.  So, here I go.  I am now writing some damn notes in case you didn’t notice.

Yesterday was a damn day.  I did manage to get almost eight hours of sleep.  I awoke to the galley proof of the new book, along with the covers and stuff.  I approved the galley instantly, but the covers were not good and Grant got really irritated at them – but it was I who figured out the stupid thing they’d done.  We always send them two PDFs of the front and back covers – one with bleed and one with trim to show them how it should look when cropped correctly.  Instead of having a brain and using the one they were supposed to, the one with bleed, they used the trim and of course they had to monkey with it because – it had no bleed.  I mean, one just scratches one’s head.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get back in time to get them that information until after they were gone, but they should be able to get the redone covers to me by end of today or tomorrow and once that happens I should have my test book in a week and that means I should have books to ship in three weeks or less.

Then I had my lunch with Tammy Minoff.  It was nice to catch up with her – she looks good and seems happy and is trying to raise money to direct and star in a movie she wrote based on a play she wrote.  We ate at Genghis Cohen and we ordered a LOT of food but I ate less than I’ve ever eaten there, just because we were gabbing so much.  I let her take home all the leftovers.  Then I came home, got all the pertinent information to the designer at the publishers and then did some work at the piano.  Then I did some work on the computer, had some telephonic calls, then went and got a Subway Club and picked up one package.  I came home and sat on my couch like so much fish and ate my sandwich.

Last night, I watched a motion picture entitled Imitation of Life on a newly released Blu and Ray.  I’ve always thought Imitation of Live was a wonderful sudser, filmed in high style by Douglas Sirk, with fun performances from Lana Turner, John Gavin, Robert Alda and Sandra Dee.  But the film belongs to actress Juanita Moore, who is superb, as is Susan Kohner as her daughter.  There was no director better than Sirk at this kind of high melodrama – he was the king of that domain and his films are luscious to look at and filled with all of that Ross Hunter artifice and gaudiness that Universal did so well.  The transfer has nice color, but it’s a real mixed bag – some of it looks amazing, some of it looks weird – I know when there’s heavy diffusion on Miss Turner, which is the entirety of the film, but there are other softness anomalies (not the opticals, which I also understand) that make no sense.  It’s also in the 2.1 aspect ratio – while Universal did use that ratio I’m not sure they used it in 1959 – I think it should be 1.85 and according to most sources I’ve seen, was indeed at that ratio.  The disc also comes with the first version of the film, and there are some extras on the disc that I was interested in viewing but I simply could not find a menu to get to them.  I’ll investigate further later today.

Then I relaxed, did more work on the computer and that was that.

Today, I have some writing to do, I have to finish casting our next Kritzerland show so that I can then choose the songs, then Jenna Lea Rosen and her mom are coming and we’ll work a bit on Climb Every Mountain, which she’s singing at the ALS benefit.  Then Sami and mom are coming and we’ll have a two-hour work session then we’ll have some dinner.

The rest of the week is meetings and meals, ALS rehearsals, two other Sami work sessions, maybe a dinner with Sandy Bainum and lots of writing.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, maybe do a jog, finish casting, work with Jenna, work with Sami, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, write and relax.  Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite movie sudsers – soap operas, weepies, melodramas of a florid nature?  Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland having written the damn notes.

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