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March 11, 2017:

NOCTURNAL CHIRPING

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry for she of the Evil Eye will be here all too soon and I also have an early production meeting for the new musical I’ll be directing and I must be coherent or, at the very least, herent. Happily, yesterday was just a day, neither great nor bad, but just – there. At two-thirty in the morning after one hour of sleep I was awakened by the stupid chirping noise coming from the smoke alarm. I was so in a sleep state and annoyed, I got up, assumed it was the thing in the hall way, which I opened – unfortunately that wasn’t the smoke detector and opening it set off the fire alarm – I went to the alarm panel and stopped that, then got a phone call from the fire department – I told them not to come. Then the alarm company called and I told them it was just the stupid smoke detector. It was the one in the book room, so I opened it and found a nine-volt battery in a drawer and swapped it out, but that didn’t help so I’m sure that I’d kept that bad nine-volt battery as an example of what a nine-volt battery looked like. I simply couldn’t understand any of it, since the smoke detector is wired and the battery is just for backup.

I put the old battery back in, shut the door to the book room and the door to my bedroom and could still hear the damn thing. So, I put some Kleenex in my ears and that did the trick and eventually I fell asleep. Interestingly, it was the first night that I’d had the heat off in ages – I turned it back on before falling asleep. I got up at ten-thirty and the chirping was not happening, so that was weird. I then did some research and read that the chirping always happens at two in the morning because the house temperature, if one doesn’t have the heat on, is lowering and if there’s a battery at the end of its life, then chirping you’ll get, but when the house heats up, it stops. Most irritating.

I answered e-mails, my book order gal, who I really like, called and so I placed my order and it really shouldn’t be longer than seven days until they’re here, so that’s exciting. Anxious for folks to read it already. Then I moseyed on over to Jerry’s Deli and had one of their tiny pepperoni pizzas, which was very good. Then I picked up no packages and came home.

I read through the new musical, but mostly concentrated on the opening sequence and the long scene that follows it, because if I can convey what I want to do with those scenes I think the set and lighting persons will have at least an idea of what I want the style of the show to be. Those sequences, especially the scene and second song were written very confusingly as to locale, so I e-mailed the writer and even he hadn’t really realized that it was written confusingly – I gave him my suggestion as to how best to clarify and he liked it and that’s what we’ll do. After all that, I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Edge of Eternity, a programmer from 1959 and film of Don Siegel, starring Cornell Wilde. It’s an interesting little movie with spectacular location scenery (the Grand Canyon) and an absolutely great transfer with brilliant and perfect color – the scope photography looks just great. Certainly it’s not one of Siegel’s best, but his films are always worth a look and I recommend it. It’s from Twilight Time.

Then I watched another new Twilight Time Blu-ray, this one entitled Kiss of Death, starring Victor Mature, Brian Donleavy, and Richard Widmark. I’ve always liked this film very much and am happy to say I still do, and am even happier to say that the transfer is great. I also have to say that I am a huge Victor Mature fan and he’s really great in this film. The direction by Henry Hathaway is aces.

After that, I went over to Von’s and did a big shopping that should keep me in meals for the next two weeks so that my eating out visits will only be sporadically sporadic. I got lots of pasta, tortillas, cheeses, ingredients for tuna sandwiches and tuna pasta salad, burritos, Wacky Noodles, and pasta with red sauce. And with my Von’s Card I saved twenty-six bucks. After that, I listened to music, showered and shaved, and then just relaxed.

Today, I have a production meeting at ten that I hope won’t last more than two hours. Then I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, eat a meal at home, and then there’s a chance I might attend an opening night with a friend, but that’s an off chance and it’s fine if it doesn’t happen.

Tomorrow can be a ME day, I think. Next week is all stuff for the Kritzerland show – I have the cast and am choosing the songs, but lack a musical director, always a pain in the butt cheeks. My usual choices can’t do it – I have one more ask out and hopefully he’ll say yes, otherwise I’ll put this out on Facebook and see who responds.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a production meeting, hopefully pick up packages, eat, and perhaps attend an opening night – or not. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films starring Victor Mature and Richard Widmark? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, hoping that the nocturnal chirping of the smoke detector does not occur again, as I have put a brand new nine-volt battery in there and it hasn’t chirped since.

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