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March 10, 2018:

SPEAKING OF THIS AND THAT

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry because she of the Evil Eye will be here all too soon and I must get some semblance of a beauty sleep. Speaking of beauty sleep, I did get eight hours of sleep – didn’t fall asleep until four and was up just before noon o’clock. Speaking of noon o’clock, don’t forget that tonight is Spring Forward night, which I find patently absurd – what is Daylight Savings Time now, eight months a year? It’s meaningless, helps nothing other that perhaps retail sales and I didn’t mind it so much when it was evenly split at six and six, but I do NOT like it now. There I’ve said it and I’m glad.

Speaking of I said it and I’m glad, yesterday went very quickly due to the late awakening. I answered e-mails, did a few things on the computer, ascertained there was an envelope, picked it up, did some banking, came home and did a few things, then went over to Islands and had a bacon cheeseburger (excellent) and bottomless fries (two smallish helpings – excellent) – I really do enjoy Islands every few weeks. I couldn’t do it more frequently, however. After that, I came back home, did some work at the piano and on the computer, then sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I finished watching the Maigret film – not as good as the first one, but enjoyable. A little too histrionic at the end for my taste, and some of the acting in this one was a bit sketchy. Then I watched a motion picture entitled Never Take Sweets from a Stranger, a Hammer film, somewhat horrific but not a horror film in their usual manner. This is, in fact, a hard-hitting, still potent (perhaps even more potent today) social drama about an older man who is a child molester. People in the town look the other way, as he’s never really harmed anyone, but he and his family are rich and responsible for the town being a town so no one wants to fight him or cause trouble.

The film opens with two girls playing and one of them tells the other that she knows where they can get some candy, so they go to this horrid man’s house. We later find out what happened when the daughter of the new principal of the high school (he and his family are newcomers to the town) tells her parents that the old man promised them candy if they’d take off their clothes and dance for him, which they did. The kid really doesn’t seem fazed by it, which is interesting, but her parents are and the mom goes to the police. No one is thrilled about doing anything since thankfully nothing happened to the girls, but the mom is insistent. The old man’s son warns them that it will not end well for them and he’s right. When the old man is brought to trial, his disgusting lawyer puts the child through hell on the stand (the other girl conveniently will not testify or corroborate). What happens from there I shan’t tell. I’ll just say it’s a terrific movie, well directed and photographed (Freddie Francis, just before he shot The Innocents) in black-and-white scope, and the acting is pretty excellent, especially the girl, her parents, and the prosecuting and defense attorneys. The venerable Felix Aylmer plays the molester and he’s great – not one word of dialogue for him in the entire film. Transfer is excellent, and even though I hate extras, I did watch them and they were interesting, especially a fun interview with the woman who played the little girl. More interesting is that it began life in the mid-1950s as an off-Broadway play by Roger Garis, based on something his young daughter told him a friend of hers was involved in. The show received good notices save for the New York Times’ Brooks Atkinson, who basically killed it. It was also done on the stage in London. I’d like to read the play, but I don’t believe it was ever published. This is part of a four Blu-ray set of Hammer crime thrillers and I’m looking forward to the other three.

After that, I had a Nutrageous bar for my snack, and relaxed, listened to music, and that was that.

Today I must be up early, I’ll go have a light breakfast, do some errands and whatnot, then get everything ready for the stumble-through, which isn’t until five. After that, some of us will probably go have a bite, and if that happens I will eat very lightly, perhaps just a sandwich or some kind of salad. Then I’ll watch stuff in the evening and conserve my voice.

Tomorrow I’ll relax and rest my voice until it’s time to mosey on over to The Federal for our sound check and then show. I’m sure some of us will go out after for a little bitelet.

Then this upcoming week I have a lot to do, including planning the Kritzerland April show and casting it, hopefully getting my test books so I can place the book order and just trying to survive and hoping I’ll get some news about upcoming projects, which we desperately need to do and announce.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up early, have a light breakfast, do stuff, then get ready for the stumble-through, do the stumble-through, eat, and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What big flop theater shows and films do you think got a bum rap and should have been hits? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall hopefully have pleasant dreams. Speaking of pleasant dreams, I wish everyone here pleasant dreams just because I can.

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