Haines Logo Text
Column Archive
February 23, 2016:

WTF

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, there are some days when you just say WTF. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, there are some days when you just say WTF because nothing else will suffice. Yesterday was such a day. I repeatedly said WTF. Of course, WTF can mean different things to different people. Where’s the Fresca? Who Tamed Fiona? Wednesday Thursday Friday. Why Try Fish? But I think we all know which WTF I speak of and I will not utter its unseemly full three words here. But before I tell you about the WTF aspects of the day, I’m thrilled to announce the new Kritzerland CD release – the original Broadway cast recording of Eubie! – its premiere on CD. It’s filled with the great music of Eubie Blake, and features Gregory and Maurice Hines, Alaina Reed, Terry Burrell and many others, with a fantastic band and great arrangements. You’ll be smiling and tapping your toes, I can assure you. Here’s the cover.

KL_Eubie_cov_72

So, now let’s talk about the WTF day. I got up after about eight hours of sleep. I didn’t go to bed until three, because my computer has been behaving so oddly for the past few days that I decided it was time to delete a lot of stuff that’s old and that I don’t need, and to transfer to a back-up drive a bunch of really large video folders, including both seasons of Outside the Box – all that raw footage. Once I was up, I continued doing that. It didn’t seem to be helping, frankly. The computer has been retarded – that annoying spinning beach ball thing coming up every two seconds while nothing would load properly. The computer always in loud “thinking” mode. It was really irritating and I must have said WTF at least thirty times.

Then I had a really good meeting with my choreographer for the LA show – that’s Cheryl Baxter-Ratliff, who did What If for me, and who did Sami’s tap choreography in Welcome to My World. She’s a great gal, very creative, and I know we’re going to have a great time. Her son is having incredible success as a member of a band that has become hugely popular – the band is called R5 and he is its drummer. They’re playing arenas, TV people are after them – what a fun ride that must be.

Then the helper came over and we moseyed on over to the City of Studio storage facility. I haven’t really been there since I moved lockers about six years ago. At that point I know we threw out a bunch of stuff. We spent four hours there, and threw out even more stuff. I found some great photos and stuff and I’ll start posting them tomorrow. I also found one of the Byrd paintings, from one of the Classical Hollywood Bay Cities CDs. I know I have the Anastasia Affaire somewhere and I’m pretty certain I have the Classical Broadway one – just have to find them. So, I will offer this one for sale – not as a perk, so if anyone is interested in it just message me and we can talk about what it might be worth. Here is the image as used on the CD. It’s really amazing, and the original art is even more so.

MI0001001228

Isn’t that lovely? By the time we were finished it was abundantly clear that we can take what’s left to the North Hollywood storage facility at the end of the week and I can give up this one and save probably $1,600 a year. So that was good news. I then had to go eat because I was ready to fall over. I had a Cobb Salad and a bagel, both good. Then I came home and I began nuking more videos and putting others on the hard-drive and the computer just got worse and worse, so much so that I couldn’t even open Safari or answer mail. So, I decided to restart the computer, but I couldn’t because Mail refused to quit and I couldn’t even force quite it. I mean, WTF. It was clear the computer was completely frozen. So, I got the laptop out and started a chat session with an Apple Support person. He had me shut down manually, then restart. It took quite a bit of time to reboot and load, and once I had the desktop up, it was just loudly “thinking” and it didn’t launch Word, which it’s supposed to do. He was then going to have me to some kind of reset, but just before we were about to do it, I launched Word manually, launched Safari, and launched Mail and it was all working quickly and normally and the “thinking” stopped. So, we let it alone and I have a case number if there are any more problems. This computer is now four years old, and at some point I’ll have to get a new one before this hard drive just goes kaput. That all took way too much time. Then I prepared the eBlast for the new release and then finally sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I finished watching Strangerland, starring Nicole Kidman and Joseph Fiennes. It is the poster child for arty independent “thriller,” meaning there are no thrills, it moves like molasses, and makes little sense. And then it just ends. You don’t really know why any of the characters behave like they do, and while the first third was interesting enough to continue with it, the final two-thirds just devolved into nothingness.

After that, I spent the rest of the evening scanning photographs.

Today, I have some writing to do, I’ll eat, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, I hope the book galley might be on its way via e-mail, and I’ll begin really tinkering with the LA show structure.

The rest of the week is meetings and meals and working on the LA show and finishing the two songs I’m working on and bugging the other errant and truant writers, and seeing a couple of shows.

Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the ham chunks and the cheese slices, let’s all dance the Hora or the Wah-wah-tusi, for today is the birthday of that dear reader known as Druxy.  So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to that dear reader known as Druxy.  On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO THAT DEAR READER KNOWN AS DRUXY!!!

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write, eat, hopefully pick up packages, tinker with the LA show and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: The African-American revue was quite a phenomenon in the 70s and 80s – Bubbling Brown Sugar, Eubie!, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Sophisticated Ladies and others. Which were your favorites? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, and hopefully I’m done have to say WTF, unless the meaning is Wire the Funds.

Search BK's Notes Archive:
 
© 2001 - 2024 by Bruce Kimmel. All Rights Reserved