haines his way

09/19/2002:
"FOOLS RUSH IN"

Well, dear readers, they were excellent questions. They are always excellent questions. But rather than give half-buttcheek answers here is what we’re going to do. I shall post the answers on Saturday, when I will have time to do them justice without rushing through them. After all, fools rush in, they say, and why should I be a fool. Why, if I were a fool then I’d have to ask the eternal question, “What kind of fool am I” and the next thing you know I’d be doing my Anthony Newley/Joel Grey version of the song, which I call Duelling Fools. So, here is what we’ll do from now on: Ask BK Day will move to Fridays for the duration of my working on this series. I do hate change, but as the robber said to the lady whose purse he stole – “I thought the change would do me good.” Do forgive me, but I’m simply too too too (that is three toos, for a total of six) exhausted to even think about it.
I started viewing tapes today. This is very different for me – much straighter than what I’m used to and they do have their way of doing things, which will take me a few days to get with. For the bit I’m working on, there are forty count them forty tapes to go through. But I really like the people I’m with, and it’s always a pleasure working with Mr. David Wechter. Plus, we eat lunch together and have a grand time doing so. We’re both on a Fit for Life diet – eating lots of bushes and shrubs and things. If I am to appear on camera (and I am) I must be svelte and trim with abs and buns of steel. Luckily and thankfully, they pushed our trip one week, so I don’t have to leave town this weekend, which will be heaven.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below before fools rush in and spoil the broth. “Before fools rush in and spoil the broth?” What in tarnation is that supposed to mean. Next I’ll be saying fools rush in with a slotted spoon.

Fools rush in with a slotted spoon. You see, you see, I knew I’d say it. Damn them, damn them all to hell.
There was some mighty fine bitch-slapping going on over at rec.arts.theatre.musicals. My, oh my. There was bitch-slapping from here to eternity, and it was well-deserved in my book (Chapter 8 – Bitch-Slapping is Well-Deserved So By All Means Go to It).
Last night (and tonight) I watched Woody Allen’s latest motion picture, Hollywood Ending. I must tell you that I have really detested most of Mr. Allen’s output in recent years (with the notable exception of Sweet and Lowdown, Mr. Allen’s version of Mr. Fellini’s La Strada). And his last, Curse of the Jade Scorpion, was so bad in every way that I thought Mr. Allen should just call it a day. We often call “it” a “day” around here, just for the fun of it. And sometimes we call “day” an “it” but that seems like less fun, somehow. What the hell am I talking about? Oh, yes, Hollywood Dreams. Well, it’s not a great movie, but it has several huge laughs in it (one of them had me on the floor for five minutes) and the casting was really good, I thought. Tea Leoni grew on me and by the end of it I liked her. Treat Williams, who I normally cannot stand, was very good here. Mr. Allen has a new cameraman, so gone is the yellow hue of all his films done with the Chinese cameraman he’s used for his last few pictures. In fact, in the film within the film, the director Mr. Allen plays uses a Chinese cameraman. Anyway, this new cameraman is all candy colors and soft edges and it suits this film really well. It’s too long by ten minutes, but still, any film that hands me a few big laughs is okay by me.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden?
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must view endless tapes, I must eat bushes and shrubs and be Fit for Life because fools rush in with wild gooseberry jam. Who here remember what the Thursday topic of discussion is? It is what’s currently in your DVD or video player, and what is in your various and sundried CD players? I’ll start: DVD – Woody’s movie, VHS, the first episode of this season’s The Sopranos. CD player – Mr. Tommy Krasker was kind enough to send me Mr. Phillip Chaffin’s CD, which I’ve been enjoying. I mean, he sings one of my all-time favorite songs, At Last, so I was predisposed to like it. Plus, some of the orchestrations are by our very own Larry Moore. Your turn.

Replies: 21 Unseemly Comments

Well well well (that's 3 wells). Today is a sort of celebration btw (by the way in internet lingo) and IMHO (in my honest opinion). You may be asking yourself why.. so without further ado (and let's face it, ado never gets to go anywhere) let me tell you..
I was reading a news story on the internet and it would seem that on today, September 19th, 1982, something intriguing happened to change the world as we now know it. Yes, dear readers, 20 years ago today, the VERY FIRST emoticon was created.
That's right - if you had posted a message 20 years and one day ago, you would never have thought to you :) ;) :-0 or anything of the like.
So.. today I think we should all thank Scott Fahlman for his wonderous invention.
No dear readers.. I am not making this up. Here is the very link to the very story where I read this very interesting piece of information.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/09/19/offbeat.smiley.reut/index.html
It's pointy hats and pantaloons time ;) - it's dance the hora and eat cheese slices and ham chunks :) We LOVE celebrating here at HainesHisWay.com and I encourage everyone to find holidays we can celebrate here!
More later...
Posted by Craig @ 09/19/2002 07:52 AM PST

How unseemly of me to adjust the column size with that lengthy link. I have alerted Mr. Bitchslappin' Mark Bakalor in hopes he will fix it. Thanks :)
oh look.. I emoticonned again!
Posted by Craig @ 09/19/2002 07:58 AM PST

House cd player: Pete N Keely (this one is a hoot.)
Car cd player: Grand Night for Singing
VCR: still not hooked up.
Posted by Laura @ 09/19/2002 08:32 AM PST

Speaking of emoticons, does anyone remember that shortlived mid-70s or so push for a new punctuation mark called the interrobang (is that unseemly? yes, I believe it is). It was a ? combined with a !, and was supposed to be used in such startled questioning ejaculations (oh my) as "Oh?!" and "What?!"
In my CD player: Happiest Girl in the World, but soon to be Road Side, which I can't wait to hear. Has this been a banner year for OCR reissues or what?
In my DVD player: the Branagh telepic "Shackleton," though we started with the A&E Bio of the real Shackleton.
Posted by JMK @ 09/19/2002 09:27 AM PST

Speaking of celebrations -- and dear reader Craig was doing just that -- don't forget to click on the link below and let us know if you're planning to attend the first East Coast Hainsies and Kimlets Party with our own Bruce Kimmel right here in New York City on Sunday, October 6, 2002. Details to follow and, yes, pointy party hats are in order.
Posted by Susan Gordon @ 09/19/2002 09:53 AM PST

The slotted spoon can hold the potato.
S Sondheim INTO THE WOODS
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/19/2002 09:58 AM PST

On my DVD player: "Funny Girl"
In my CD player: "The Fury" -- John Williams' magnificent Herrmanesque score to an early DePalma misfire; and Jason Howard!
In my VCR: 2002 Winter Olympics Ladies Final, Figure Skating (one of THE great Gold Medal performances in Olympic History).
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/19/2002 10:29 AM PST

Most recent DVD: Sweeney Todd in Concert
VHS: Mighty Aphrodite
CDs: I Do, I Do; 110 in the Shade; Sweeney Todd (all OBC, of course)
Posted by Jed @ 09/19/2002 10:50 AM PST

In my CD player: Ruthie Henshall's "Pilgrim." It's so different from anything that I'd expect from a theatre performer. I LOVE it!
In my DVD player: disc 1 of the TV show "24" with Kiefer Sutherland. I only saw the first four episodes when they were originally broadcast and never got the chance to see the rest, not even a couple of weeks ago when there was the "24" 24-hour marathon. Now I can see them all!
In my VCR: a tape to tape (and watch on the weekend) the episodes of The Caroline Rhea Show.
Posted by George @ 09/19/2002 10:53 AM PST

Oh -- and I tried to leave a message on "The Thread" but the site was down for maintenance and I couldn't respond.
Posted by Laura @ 09/19/2002 10:57 AM PST

Cd player: Best of Art Garfunkel. "Imagination" Billy Eckstine, and "Make Believe" Jason Howard (Welsh Baritone). Turntable: Sting's "Brimstone & Treacle" 45rpm single "Spread A Little Happiness".
Video/DVD have not been is use this week.
Posted by Tom from OZ @ 09/19/2002 03:03 PM PST

DVD
The first six volumes of the Britcom: Are You Being Served? which add up to the first six series (as they call their seasons in England) of the show. All these episodes have Arthur Brough who past away after the end of the series six.
And in my cd players
I am listening two releases from Lee Lessack's label LML Maureen Christine: The Very Thought of You and Rondi Charleston: Love Letters. Both cd showcase very accomplished singers and they are very enjoyable to listen to. A good barometer how much I like a cd or not is if I listen to multiple times after I first open them. Right now I am on my fifth time for both of them.
Another cd that I bought but did not make it through even one complete listening was Thomas Hampson: Leading Man....The Best of Broadway. Mr. Hampson is better known as an opera singer. He doesn't have the style in my opinion to pull off a Broadway style song. He even bored me with Bring Me Home from Les Miz
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 09/19/2002 04:56 PM PST

Also like to say that the threads on rec.arts.theatre.musicals continue. I'd like to share a very nice posting from Mr. Nick Redman (His name sounds familar to me but can't place him at the moment) (The first part of the posting refers to whether JBB used the correct word or not.
No, I think our pal JonBrianBlake means acquit (where is he by the way?), as he has now on numerous occasions been acquitted by a jury for attempted crimes against the English language. And, as anyone who visits the Fynsworth Alley website knows, this is a company that prides itself on its regular triumphs at demolishing coherent sentences, while peddling its shoddy new web "exclusives" that may or may not be that exclusive. In fact, maybe it's JonBrianBlake writing those merry press releases
himself--gleefully chopping and hacking his way through a tattered Roget's as the tortured and maimed words and phrases lie screaming and bleeding in the dust behind him. But no, surely not. Fynsworth Alley of course couldn't be the kind of company, so vindictive and punitive, as to seek to blacken Mr Kimmel's name at every opportunity, especially after it was his talent and standing in the business that gave them their start in the first place--could it? I refuse to believe such a thing. After all, what kind of
world would it be if people actually hired someone to start a company based on their talent and reputation, then waited until they had well and truly got the ball rolling before trumping up a situation to ruthlessly get rid of them, subsequently claiming the company and its good will as their own? I mean, no-one could be that despicable....could they?
Good posting!
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 09/19/2002 05:04 PM PST

CD PLAYER:
By Jeeves (OCR)
D.C. Anderson's "Blue Summer Day"
Frank Sinatra's "Moonlight Sinatra"
VIDEO PLAYER:
Two videotapes my brother made containing all (and only) the musical numbers in the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers series of films.
Posted by Donna - Cabaret West @ 09/19/2002 05:09 PM PST

Hey, where in tarnation IS everybody? I'm slaving away over a hot video monitor and every now and then I sneak away to read your posts only there ain't no posts. So, let's have some posts so I can sneak away and read them.
Posted by bk @ 09/19/2002 06:02 PM PST

In the car: Parker Scott "The Company of Strangers"
At home: Restless Eyes, Night Rains, Stars, Miracle Row, and Janis Ian 2 - all by Janis Ian; Nancy LaMott's Just in Time for Christmas and Listen to My Heart; that same Seattle Follies I've been listening to; OBC The Producers; Jay Records' Man of La Mancha.
DVD Player: Monsters, Inc,; Aqua, Jet Set Diary, Hard as Rock.
VCR: The Glass Bottom Boat from TCM Sunday night.
Posted by td @ 09/19/2002 06:20 PM PST

Hey now. I've posted twice. You will lower my self esteeem if you say there are no posts!
Note to Kerry -- put out a tape for me.
Posted by Laura @ 09/19/2002 06:54 PM PST

Laura - you tell him! Besides.. I've been busy celebrating with
:)
;)
:-0
and so on...!!!
Posted by Craig @ 09/19/2002 07:11 PM PST

Currently in the DVD player: Monsters, Inc. I'm having a wonderful time going through all the extras. I may even get around to watching the feature itself some day!
Der Brucer and I, in fact, bought two copies, one for us and one for the grandbrats, who he flies to see on Saturday. They love this kind of thing. One problem, however, of the sort that happens to us all the time: der Brucer's daughter had insisted on our pre-ordering copies some time back, which she's now been notified are coming her way. So we'll just have to send the extra two copies back. Someday, we'll get an accounting of what's on order and what's not. And someday we'll get that copy of First Nudie Musical back from her, again sent her way. If we can get it away from her hubby. ;-)
I've also been watching the Good Eats DVD collection, by Alton Brown. Very yummy.
Posted by S. Woody White @ 09/19/2002 07:54 PM PST

This is for you Craig :>P
Is there an emoticon for cake?
Car CD: Liz Callaway's "The Story Goes On"
Den CD: Alain Souchon's "Ultra Moderne Solitude" (I must have heard one of the songs years ago because the title was on the corner of an envelope floating around my desk for some time, so I finally bought the CD to figure out why I had bothered to write this down. I like the one selection I had written down, and the others are kind of French dancey/new age-y but nice)
Also on den CD- a two album on one CD collection of Polly Bergen (Bergen Sings Morgan and The Party's Over)
A new CD by Lyn Larsen titled, "Stairway to Paradise"
On den VCR: "The Importance of Being Earnest" (the lovely 1950's souffle with Michael Redgrave, Margaret Rutherford and Edith Evans. It is crisp, clever and captures Oscar Wilde's comedy of manners perfectly (unlike the very pretty but dry and stuffy recent remake).
Bedroom VCR: Episodes of "The Boys" (a great show from the 80's on Showtime about a club-very much like the Friar's Club)
That's all for now. ;>)
:>) :>O
Posted by Kerry @ 09/19/2002 10:03 PM PST

Kerry -- what a coincidence. I also have a CD by Lyn Larson. It's the only CD my husband will allow to be played when we are in the car together! I hope you'll let me know where I can buy a copy of this new CD.
Posted by Laura @ 09/19/2002 10:33 PM PST

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