haines his way

04/19/2003:
"CLIFF'S NOTES"

Well, dear readers, the Evil Eye will be here soon, so I must write like the wind (no mean feat) and remove myself from the premises before the cleaning lady arrives. The good news is that the constant sawers apparently are taking the weekend off as there is blessed silence except for the singing bird who is out back singing Ribbons Down my Back from Hello, Dolly! So, today's notes will be like Cliff's Notes, whoever the hell he is.
Last night I continued my anime journey with Mr. Miyazaki’s Porco Rosso (The Crimson Pig) which I really enjoyed. Again, it’s subtle, it’s touching, and it’s fun, and again features a great score by Joe Hisaishi. I then watched one of Miyazaki’s first films, The Castle of Cagliostro which, while not nearly as polished as his later films, is still a good deal of fun. It’s a caper comedy, much like a live action Philippe de Broca film from the 60s, and it has a sweet Saturday morning cartoon show feel about it. I’ve been online reading about Mr. Miyazaki and Mr. Hisaishi. Remember when I said that Disney had scored all the places that Miyazaki and Hisaishi had left gloriously silent in Kiki’s Delivery Service? Well, I read an interview with Hisaishi where Disney made him come in and add music to Castle in the Sky (at least they didn’t have another composer do it, ala Kiki’s). Their reasoning? They don’t think audiences can sit still without constant music in animated films. They don’t allow more than a minute or two of silence at any time. They feel that every emotion and action must be underscored to be understood by us, the stupid public. Needless to say, you know what this member of the stupid public thinks – this member of the stupid public thinks that the stupid ones are not the public but the studio that treats the public as if they were stupid. But, it’s the way American studios think now – every minute must have music telling you how to feel. This will remain until someone makes a hit film where there is no music – the critics will point it out, the stupid public won’t care one way or another and then the studios will scratch their collective heads and say, “Oh, well, let’s make some films without music.”
I know I’m going on and on about these anime films of Hayao Miyazaki, but they’re simply the best things I’ve seen in ages. Today I shall be picking up some Tuesday releases, such as the divoon The Carpetbaggers and Nevada Smith.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because I’m running out of time before the Evil Eye arrives.

Don’t forget, our Live Chat is on Monday this week, and it may start one hour earlier depending on my schedule. I’ll have complete details on Monday. Also, Donald has a brand spanking new radio show going up tomorrow, so do give it a listen. Has anyone noticed that today's notes are like Cliff's Notes, whoever the hell he is?
Late yesterday I received the final galley of Kritzerland, and I checked all the fixes and I do believe we’re going to put it to bed come Monday, which means I will start taking preorders in about two count them two weeks. Getting this to its final stage has been 100% easier than last time and took two months less time.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must drive to places, I must pass the time until I am allowed to come back to my home. I must pick up laundry, I must do errands, and then I shall write a bit, and then a friend is showing Panic Room which I’ve never seen and which I might be in attendance for. Or, I might stay home and watch the divoon The Carpetbaggers. Today’s topic of discussion: Since we always love talking about food – have you ever gone on a food binge, where you’ve literally eaten from early morning until late at night? Some holiday or special occasion or whatever. Tell us details and meals, please. I’ll start – I spent two days in New Orleans once, on business, and one of those days was spent eating from morning until midnight. I had about five beignets in the morning, I had a muffelata (or however you spell it – I didn’t have to spell it I had to eat it and it was delicious), I had a Po’Boy, I had blackened redfish, I had red beans and rice, I had hush puppies, I had sweet potato pie and pecan pie and by the end of the evening I was ready to explode, but what a great day it had been. Your turn.

Replies: 28 Unseemly Comments

Well. My cleaning lady won't be the ONLY one giving the Evil Eye. Not one post and it's already nine-thirty and on top of that we have a FOOD subject? Where in tarnation IS everyone, out enjoying the day? Well.
Posted by bk @ 04/19/2003 09:16 AM PST

I don't go on eating binges, I go on cooking binges. Sometimes I'll spend hours in the kitchen on a Sunday and end up with dinners for the whole week.
Yesterday and today I have been on a cooking binge since in a few hours the house will be invaded by 3 of Ray's sisters and their families. I am making or have already made ham and chicken plus all the trimmings and side dishes. I've made 10 dozen chocolate chip cookies and a pineapple upside down cake. As soon as I finish this post and check my e-mail (ie: block senders on a bunch of spam and read the few real items) it's back to the kitchen.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 04/19/2003 09:33 AM PST

ABOUT CLIFF
Click on this link and you'll find out http://www.cliffsnotes.com/aboutcliffs/aboutcliff.html
Posted by Donna - Cabaret West @ 04/19/2003 09:43 AM PST

Eating binges? Of course. And the preferred food is anything I can find.
Where have I been? Out taking photos on my handy digital camera. I was trying to find a cave to photograph for tomorrow's church service. Easier said than done in Phoenix.
Posted by Laura @ 04/19/2003 09:46 AM PST

I have already begun the day with an eating binge. It began with bread (not unleavened) shipped from Zingerman's in Ann Arbor Michigan. The problem with moving around so much is I just have to have my favorite foods, when possible, shipped to me.
Now I am continuing the binge with oatmeal cookies I just baked for a new neighbor. For the first time I added dried cherries, also from Michigan, into a few of the cookies. I devoured all of those.
William, how can you go on a cooking binge without eating? I use to go on baking binges, which would immediately become an eating binge as well. Now I rarely bake.
The worst part of binging, is not having time to walk. I need to leave soon to take my dog to the nursing home. At least I won't eat there.
Now on to various chocolates I have stashed away.
Posted by Jane @ 04/19/2003 10:58 AM PST

Nothing brings out the binge-beast in me like shopping for small portions -- a smallish roast, an even smaller smallish pork roast, a largish chicken breast, fresh garlic, fresh greens, olive oil, crushed tomatoes, onion, thyme, basil, sage, mushrooms and my super-duper 6-quart pressure cooker and I get down, get crazy, get all braise that and like it and I have this wonderful smorgasbord of delights in just a little over an hour -- mixed flavors, plus a side dish of cheddary potatoes roasting in the oven -- and YU-U-U-UM.
Of course, that wouldn't set well with a vegetarion. Nosirree! Vegans wouldn't enjoy my smorgasbord. But I could cater to vegans, yes I could, with delicious corn souffle and spinach a la casa, Italian-styled eggplant (think antipasti), peas, beans, bread....oof! I could go vegan just for now, yes I could!
One of the key ingredients in the divoon "The Carpetbaggers" is one of Elmer Bernstein's most luscious scores with a heartwrenching love them. It just goes to show you how much critics know about such things when they call Elmer's score a throwback to those 50s films, which had quite a bit of classical music interwoven into the soundtrack -- this is all pure Bernstein and it's from the mid-60s, not the mid-50s, and it's even more of an homage to that genre, especially considering the subplot between Peppard and Pleshette! A SCRUMPTIOUS love theme, this one has!
It's all divoonly trashy and wonderful! (And no one could be as divoonly trashy as Carroll Baker!).
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 04/19/2003 11:08 AM PST

Carroll... Baker ! Here's that
food theme again !!!!
Posted by François @ 04/19/2003 11:42 AM PST

I'd love to play "fléchettes" --
darts -- with Pleshette !
Posted by François @ 04/19/2003 11:43 AM PST

Except the subplot was with
Elizabeth Ashley and Peppard
(once Mr. & Mrs.). There's no
Suzanne sighting in
CARPETBAGGERS.
Posted by Ludlow29 @ 04/19/2003 12:13 PM PST

Ron, your vegan binge sounds delicious.
Speaking of binges-has anyone seen Marcel Marceau mime of the man who refuses all food at his party, then binges big time after the guest leave? I still don't think I have ever laughed harder.
Posted by Jane @ 04/19/2003 12:22 PM PST

Okay since it's passover and i'm literally starving, I cannot participate in a food thread today.
But I have a funny story. This morning, I was at the mall at 8am. Now normally you would never find me at the mall that early EVER. But they were giving presents to the first 500 people (Laura Secord Easter Cream eggs, $10 off coupons, and coffee).
So there I was at the store at 8am figuring nobody else would be stupid enough to be there. And guess what? There were hundreds of other stupid people there at exactly 8am.
Posted by Jennifer @ 04/19/2003 12:37 PM PST

Ron and I have the same problem today. I have been stuffing my face all day with the most horrendous combination of foods, and I can't help it. It's like a tapeworm just awoke in my stomach and needs attention.
I started with Little Debbie oatmeal cakes. Then came the rest of a package of Hershey miniatures. Then came lunch with spaghetti followed by honey barbecue potato chips.
I am invited to someone's home for dinner tonight, but I already feel guilty for having eaten all this junk today. This couple always sets a FULL table, so I know I shall soon be ever more stuffed with food in a few hours.
At this time of year comes onto the shelves of stores an addicting confection called Reece's Peanut Butter Eggs. Honestly, some sadistic devil must have invented these things because they have to be absolutely horrible for you, but never was something so awful for you packaged as such a sweet tasting, mouth watering temptation. I can go through an entire package of six eggs in a very few minutes.
Guess I'll be on a SERIOUS diet starting tomorrow.
Posted by Matt H. @ 04/19/2003 01:01 PM PST

Jane: I suppose you've sent me a few of the oatmeal cookies? I suppose they're on their way?
New dear reader Lyn: Let's be hearing about your meal at Musso and Frank - let's be hearing about the pounded steak with country gravy, my all-time favorite dish there.
Posted by bk @ 04/19/2003 01:28 PM PST

I have never gone on a food binge. Hmmmm...there have been a couple of times when I ate all of the ice cream in the house. But it didn't take all day.
I have been known to go on a Carroll Baker binge, however. SHE IS IN MY TOP FIVE FAVORITE ACTRESSES OF ALL TIME. And The Carpetbaggers was one of the first movies I saw her in on the Big DRIVEIN screen. The Carpetbaggers - This Is ADULT Entertainment - that's what the ads said.
Whew....I am waiting impatiently for TC on DVD...and hopefully Paramount will also give us HARLOW and SYLVIA (never released on VHS even). And who can forget BUT NOT FOR ME and MISTER MOSES and GIANT and THE MIRACLE. What fun!
Miss Carroll Baker - BABY DOLL herself. Her autobiography was a terrific read. She tells many stories about her co-workers and about herself. And she sometimes shows up at the Court Hollywood autograph shows where she is gracious and fun to talk with!
Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.....
"Rina Marlowe reporting for duty, as ordered. The Jonas Cord Collection Agency, we never sleep -- alone." 8-D
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/19/2003 02:02 PM PST

Quick post right now... Longer one after the closing show tonight.. :-(
I've been on a cooking binge since last night. Besides the cookies, brownies and cheesecakes I made last night, today I made some more brownies, a totally sinful pan of toffee-chocolate chip bars, and two dump cakes - had to get some classic white trash cooking in for the party tonight.
Well, I'm off to the theatre... Later.
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 04/19/2003 02:19 PM PST

I try not to binge but I do like to eat and when I do I do it big.
Just also want to let people know that I have added a rare photo of Meltz and Ernest at work composing the score for the aborted stage musical remake of the MGM classic film The Good Earth.
Click on my name Go to the welcome page and the scroll down to The Meltz and Ernet Composer's Page on the left collumn and click on the icon.
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 04/19/2003 02:20 PM PST

Wasn't Henry Fonda in "The Battle Of The Binge"?
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 04/19/2003 02:36 PM PST

Well, esteemed BK, where better for a food binge than that bastion of all things gastronomically true, correct, and unspoiled by "trend-of-the-day" mentality.......the yummy as ever Musso & Frank on glamorous Hollywood Boulevard.
This past week's visit was rather tame, so as not to burden the tummy at the enchanted "Elaine Stritch Soiree"....the sauerbrauten with potato pancakes.
However, long ago, one memorable meal at M & F would be nothing less than a binge;
First: a cold Dungeness crab cocktail with Dijon mayonnaise. Then, a house salad with added avocado chunks, crumbled bleu cheese, and a vinaigrette dressing. Next,the always decadent Pounded Steak with mashed potatoes and country gravy (extra gravy on the side), and because it was in season, a side order of fresh asparagus. Even though the potato accompaniment was already there (and yummy) I had to give in and also order possibly the best baked macaroni and cheese in Christiandom (and Jewdom, and Buddhadom for that matter)so that I could taste that baked, slightly burned top crust that forms from their rich white cheese sauce. I think that last course was an honest, unprententious strawberry short cake with vanilla ice cream. It was a mighty long evening...Chet and Eileen were nowhere in sight.....and best of all??? There wasn't a hint of a chipotle chile anywhere, and nothing felt compelled to sit on the ever-present "bed of arugula!"
So BK, care for a re-creation of that menu on "carb OK" day sometime? mmmmmmmm!
I guess tonight better be a lettuce leaf and water, to cleanse the guilt.
Posted by MusicGuy @ 04/19/2003 03:34 PM PST

I don't really go on eating binges. For too many years I was stretched out quite thinly on a very tall frame, and there simply wasn't space in that body to binge into. Even now, I find that binging isn't how I like to eat. A little nosh here, another nosh there, yes, but that isn't binging.
On the other hand, I do go through cooking phases. I went through one some time ago, where I had a craving for sweet and sour pork or chicken. My poor ever-lovin' der Brucer had to sit through several meals while I worked at getting the batter to correctly stick to the meat, and also at getting something enjoyable for the sauce together. This was all made much more difficult for him, because I kept serving it with rice, which he generally detests. I couldn't get him to understand that sweet and sour sauce on potatoes is a bad idea.
My current binge is with meatballs. I dug out a favorite recipe just last week for Meatballs Burgundy, a variation on the famous French stew, and while it required more effort that slapping hamburger meat in the skillet it was well worth the effort. (The leftovers were wonderful, as well.)
Last night Tyler Florence had a program on FoodTV about Italian meatballs in three variations. But I prepared chicken thighs in a similar sauce just a couple of days ago, so Italian might be redundant.
Instead, I'm thinking of branching over to something more Northerly, like a Meatball Stroganoff. With minced onion, mushrooms, and a rich beefy broth and sour cream, plus fresh dill (an absolute must!), this should taste pretty good!
And I'll bet the leftovers will make us happy, too!
Posted by S. Woody White @ 04/19/2003 05:08 PM PST

There are some days when the fingers get carried away as the mind races and all one's thoughts simply don't make it onto the page.
Ludlow29 is, of course, correct: There is no Suzanne Pleshette in "The Carpetbaggers" -- instead, it's Elizabeth Ashley.
Ms. Pleshette had the dubious distinction of playing opposite Mr. Steve McQueen in "Nevada Smith," a role that carried over into "The Carpetbaggers" -- played by an older, and Pleshette-less, Alan Ladd.
My remark re: the critics and Elmer Bernstein was meant to refer to his score for "Far and Away" and the critics' cheering about how you had to go back to the 50s to hear music like that (just as you had to go back to those Douglas Sirk movies for such plots). In point of fact, "The Carpetbaggers" was done very much in that vein -- oh, it was a whole lot trashier, but the "Jonas Cord-Husband&Father" subplot was very much Sirkish.
I bought two packages of those Reeses peanut butter Easter eggs and took them to work to share with co-workers. They lasted all over 15 minutes.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 04/19/2003 06:51 PM PST

Sorry I've been errant and truant lately...my home phone has been out since Weds. night (something about a cut cable in my neighborhood) and they just got it fixed today. I wasn't happy about that.
I saw GYPSY tonight. Oy. I don't like shows that make me nervous for the leading lady because I don't think she's going to be able to sing through the first song, let alone the whole dang show. Well...Ms. Peters was VERY obviously struggling from her first "Sing out, Louise!" to the very end of "Rose's Turn." I kept praying that she'd call in her standby, but she kept going. I guess when your name is plastered on the side of the theatre and its twice the size of the name of the show you feel a lot of pressure to go on. I just know she was changing pitches as she went along because she literally couldn't sing the high notes and quite often just mouthed the words in the group numbers. She also picked and chose what words she felt like singing in the "Small World" reprise--I'm assuming because she just didn't have a voice left. She also appeared very tired onstage...so much so that it seemed that she was phoning this performance in. There was no energy behind any of her scenes/numbers, and many times she didn't even enunciate well enough to understand the dialogue, let alone the lyrics. It really was pretty sad to see. If this is how it is NOW, what's she going to be like after trying to do six months of eight shows a week? I don't mean to be nasty, but its so pitiful to see a full-fledged Broadway star who is without question miscast in what should be a wonderfully-done role.
I think Sondheim summed it up best when he said, "We wouldn't have cast Ethel Merman in SUNDAY IN THE PARK..."
Posted by Jason @ 04/19/2003 10:24 PM PST

Just to be fair, I guess I should maybe consider that this is allergy season. Perhaps Bernadette is ill.
Posted by Jason @ 04/19/2003 10:31 PM PST

Well, I know I promised a longer post... but, since it's late.. and I should already be in bed...
Good closing show. Lots of fun things tonight, especially in the Trip. Oh, and the Claude from the first tour was there tonight - ?!?!?! He was very complimentary.
On a related note, two students from VCU won the Irene Ryan/ACTF competition at the Kennedy Center last night! And a design student came in runner up! Hip-Hip Hooray!
Well, I have to be up in six hours... and then drive three hours... and then play... then drive three hours back...
Gute Nacht.
Bon soir.
Goodnight.
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 04/19/2003 10:41 PM PST

Glad to see you are back, Jason. I was wondering what happened to you.
Posted by Laura @ 04/19/2003 10:45 PM PST

Doesn't feel like home to me (Randy Newman ref) without Jason here either. We are family - now that is sort of a Birdcage reference I guess!
Where is Mr Orr?
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 04/20/2003 01:14 AM PST

Tom: I thought "we are family" was a Sister Sledge reference! ;)
HAPPY BUNNY DAY, EVERYONE! :)
Posted by Lulu @ 04/20/2003 03:12 AM PST

Well...hmmm..Ethel Merman in Sunday in the Park With George. No, they would not even have attempted it.
Well....hopefully things will turn out all right for GYPSY - thanks for giving us a first-hand report, Jason!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/20/2003 07:35 AM PST

If you please send me cliff notes on Phoenix Rising cause I need to do a project thats due real soon so if you coul please help!!!
Posted by Lee Anna @ 04/26/2003 10:45 AM PST

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