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March 24, 2019:

DIVOON

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry as I must be up early to do an eleven o’clock signing at the paperback book show.  I’ve chosen two copies each of four books to bring with me.  I’m hoping at least a few folks will come and visit – it’s in the Glendale Civic Auditorium in Glendale in an auditorium.

Yesterday was a neither here nor there day.  I was up early, had a conversation with my gal at the publishers – nothing to be done because the printing place was closed, but she promised me that come hell or high or low water she will get the order in on Monday.  Plus, I’ve already sent a missive to my high-up guy and he tends to be proactive. Once she of the Evil Eye arrived I went and had some matzoh brei, fruit, and a side order of bacon, all good. Then I went and picked up but one package, then came home.  I did some work on the computer and answered e-mails, then I sat on my couch like so much fish.

Yesterday, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter, starring Tony Randall and Jayne Mansfield, along with Henry Jones, John Williams, and Joan Blondell.  I saw it at my beloved Stadium when it came out and loved it – I loved that it made fun of movie titles and TV and everything else. I thought Tony Randall was droll and funny, and Jayne Mansfield, with her squeal and “divoon” was brilliant. The director, Frank Tashlin, was from the world of cartoons, so everything is huge, brilliantly stylish and colorful, and larger than life.  I’ve seen the film many times and I always laugh.  I had the UK Blu-ray and knew it was an older transfer.  The new Twilight Time Blu-ray is a brand new transfer and you can see that immediately, with deep, saturated, gorgeous colors – and yes, a LOT of blue – I’m sure the “blue brigade” will be all over this, criticizing it, but all these nincompoops have to do is look at the other colors in the scene – everyone is accurate and none have a whit of blue.  And you can actually see it’s the way the film is lit – but it’s ALL bold reds and yellows and blues (no teal, but they’ll call it that), and greens, and perfectly accurate skin tones.  I put in the UK Blu and did a side-by-side and the UK is brown – pasty brown flesh tones and colors that simply don’t pop in that very specific Tashlin way.  The new transfer trounces it in every way.  Highly recommended by the likes of me – in fact, I found it divoon.

After that, I put on the Flix of Net and the first thing recommended I decided to watch – a film from last year entitled Durante La Tormenta, but on Netflix it’s called Mirage.  It’s a Spanish film from Spain and a sort of time travel thing with a compelling story that brings to mind a few other films like La Jetee and a few 80s films.  It’s a little too convoluted for its own good, and one of the “surprise” revelations is blatantly obvious a good hour before the revelation, but I really enjoyed it. The actors were all superb, and so was the direction and score.  After I finished, I looked up the director and it turns out I was already a big fan – I’d watched two of his other movies in the past couple of years, Contratiempo (The Invisible Guest), which I just adored, and The Body, which I also really enjoyed.  His name is Oriol Paulo.  Give it a look-see if you’ve got Netflix.

Then I began one of those limited series things, a Brit crime drama from 2016 called Paranoid.  It’s not great (four episodes in out of eight), but it’s certainly enjoyable and the actors are all fine.  Definitely worth finishing, which I will, perhaps this evening.  Then I listened to some music, shaved (so I don’t have to in the morning), and that was that.

Today, I’ll be up early, shower, and then be on my way to do the signing at the paperback book show.  I know Grant will be there, and I’ll certainly visit with some dealer chums, so it will be fun.  Any dear readers in the area (you know who you are) do come by and say hi.  After the hour I sign, I’ll look around and see what goodies people are hawking, then I’m thinking Grant and I will probably go eat. Then I’ll come home and relax.

Tomorrow, I’m definitely taking the car in for a lube and oil and smog check, and I’ll go have a bite to eat while that’s being done. And hopefully I’ll have the news I want about the book’s order being placed.  The rest of the week is meetings and meals, a work session, I have to do a little filmed interview about David Cassidy plus write a little something for some book on him, and also I’ll attend an opening night.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up early, do a book signing, eat, relax, and watch stuff.  Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them.  So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, hoping that the paperback show is divoon.

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