haines his way

09/04/2003:
"WHAT, NO PARTY?"

Well, dear readers, it is already Thursday. Yesterday, someone said “Hello” nicely to me at work, so that was nice. However, it was short-lived, and then things got weird again, and I simply cannot figure it out. I am rarely at a loss, dear readers, but I am at a loss at this job. But, as my beloved Dodo Day always says, What Will Be, Will Be. I think that Friday will tell the tale. If no one says anything then I guess I’m safe for another week. I’m sort of beyond caring at this point.
Last night I finished watching the motion picture entitled A Double Life. I thought it was a most peculiar movie, but entertaining in its own weird way. Not one of Mr. Cukor’s best in my opinion (IMO, in Internet lingo) but an interesting performance from Ronald Colman, and a very early appearance by Shelly Winters. I also watched five early short films by Roman Polanski. They were all quite strange but in them one can see the seeds of his later films. He appears in several of them, and in one of them, interestingly, there is a shot where he approaches the camera to do some harm to someone that is exactly the same shot he ended up using in Chinatown when he approaches the camera to do some harm to Mr. Jack Nicholson.
I’m having birthday withdrawal right now. Doesn’t anyone have a birthday today? I need my pointy party hat and my cheese slices and ham chunks, I need my colored tights and pantaloons, I need to dance the hora and the frug. Someone must have a birthday. Isn’t there some lurker out there having a birthday? Oh, well, birthdays tomorrow, comedy tonight – oh, a Stephen Sondheim reference.
We had a brief power outage at work yesterday. It was very peculiar and I am happy that I was not in the elevator at the time. The entire building went out and it was quite strange but only added to the overall strangeness inherent in this jernt.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below so we can see if anyone is having a birthday in the next section.

Nope, no one is owning up to a birthday in this section. Damn them, damn them all to hell. Yesterday, on another message board (you know the one – with all the anonymous twerps who think we don’t know who they are – we do, and someday they are going to have a rude awakening), they were dissing our very own Kerry Butler. Two or three of these nincompoops said their “sources” had informed them that Miss Butler was of a certain age. They insisted their “sources” were correct. Our very own Mr. Craig Brockman went in and posted that he and Miss Butler had gone to school together and therefore informed them that they were, in fact, incorrect. And they would not stop. I responded to Craig’s message only, suggesting that just because he knows Kerry and went to school with her doesn’t make him right – and that anonymous people who post information from anonymous sources are much more believable. I did this with humor, naturally. Then our usual suspects came in and dissed me of all people, and quite nastily, too, but I held to my promise and did not respond to these nincompoops. One of these nincompoops is a columnist of sorts, and a pretty bad one at that. And he obviously has a bug up his bottom about me – I wonder whyeth. Yes, Virginia, I wonder wyeth he hath a buggeth up his bottom about little old meeth. He inferred that you, dear readers, kiss my “ass”. I racked my brain and I wracked my brain and I racqued my brain and I do not remember any dear reader ever having kissed my “ass” and believe me, I would remember such a thing as having my very own butt cheeks kissed by various and sundried dear readers. So, as always, we say phut to these nincompoops and if anyone is going to kiss my “ass” it can be them or they, not necessarily in that order.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, whatever they may be, I must go to work (I think), I must get through another day of weirdness (or maybe it won’t be weird and things will be better), I must eat lunch meats, I must drink liquids, I must, in short, get crackin’. Today’s topic of discussion: We’ve all dealt with bullies in our lives, both personal and professional. Tell about your worst bullies, personal and professional, and how you dealt with them. If it involves hurling vile epithets or hurling sauteed onions, so much the better.

Replies: 208 Unseemly Comments

Birthday's today include:
Kitty Carlisle, Eileen Brennan and Alan Ladd!
Posted by Craig @ 09/04/2003 07:39 AM PST

Bruce the Great (there is a kiss on the butt cheeks to satisfy the naysayers from the other board) I did that search you recommended and found your lengthy discussion of NAKED SPACE. What a story, and what frustration that must have been! Armed with this new info I might need to watch that movie over again. I have to say, however, that the part of the film that most stands out for me is the "I want to Eat Your Face" number...that one just cracked me up! Regardless of the misery you went through with the film I honestly did enjoy it, but I would very much want to see your "cut" of the film to know how you had intended it to be.
Posted by MBarnum @ 09/04/2003 07:47 AM PST

HOOOYAAA!!!! First post - haven't had that in awhile..
And yes, as Bruce has written, it was quite the battle yesterday and this morning on that other site - but integrity and honesty prevailed.. at least for now...
Posted by Craig @ 09/04/2003 07:48 AM PST

Has anyone asked Kerry her age? If she isn't Ann Miller or the late Charles Bronson she should know the answer.
Besides... age is only a number. You're only as old or young as you feel/act.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/04/2003 07:53 AM PST

William - age IS only a number.. people can play older, people can play younger.. it matters not..
As for asking Kerry her age - I don't have to, I know it - and she knows her age as well.
The posters on the other board just like to stir the pot. Well I am here to say, that there will be no stirring!
Posted by Craig @ 09/04/2003 07:56 AM PST

Thanks, Michael. Making the film was a joy, the people were great and we all had a blast. It was the recutting of it by people who got scared because of Airplane! They thought that's what it had to be - a series of randomly thrown together gags (of course Airplane isn't that at all), but the film simply wasn't designed to BE that and therefore couldn't be that. In the original cut (which has survived the years well - it's better now than it was then), which was not as funny as I'd hoped (we really needed a different editor), when it wasn't getting a laugh people were tense because you never knew where we were going exactly. Lots of darkness and shadows which are all printed way too brightly in the DVD version - in that version there is simply no tension so when it's not funny it's nothing. BUT, people have come to like it over the years so that's nice. I would say that I Want to Eat Your Face is exactly as I shot and edited it, about the only scene that is, save for the Bachelor Bills number. And that horrid voice of the computer they got (rewriting all those lines badly, too) is just too harmful. How do you cut Broderick Crawford, an Academy Award winner out of the film?
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 07:56 AM PST

It seems that Broderick Crawford has stolen our last names!
Posted by Matthew Michaels @ 09/04/2003 07:58 AM PST

Once you've had the best, you can't go back to the rest, I say. So of course one feels a let-down after celebrating DR Joy's birthday.
I think it was George yesterday who asked about musicals with pre-existing scores. I feel quite strongly about this, but shall try not to scream:
When a good musical is created (and I'll be the first to admit this happens all too rarely) it's because all the creative team is all on the same page, working towards the same purpose. You've got a director, trying to shape things, a choreographer, trying to make things dance, a librettist, trying to tell a story and a songwriter, trying to tell a story through song. Except when you don't, and then things get really bad.
If your songwriter wrote his score as pop songs some decades earlier (as is the case with Mamma Mia, Moving Out, We Will Rock You and, I think, this season's Taboo and The Boy From Oz) you've really shot yourself in the foot. You're missing a rather essential component: a living breathing songwriter who's there to tell the same story that the librettist (and hopefully the whole creative team) wants to tell. Why create a musical without a songwriter on the team? Seems stupid.
I guess producers are trying to save money. Some studio owns the rights to, say, Cole Porter songs and says "Gee, wouldn't it be great to make a movie out of these" and produces such a well-regarded piece of cinema as At Long Last Love, (Does anyone love Love's Labor's Lost?) Coming to Broadway is Never Gonna Dance, which utitilizes the talents of the long-dead Jerome Kern. Can't say I'm rooting for that to be a big hit.
Which is not to say I don't love Porter and Kern.
Posted by Noel @ 09/04/2003 08:04 AM PST

By and large I agree with Noel, but I will offer an exception. It has long been said that Frank Loesser had already written all of the songs for GUYS AND DOLLS before Abe Burrows ever was signed to write the book. Yet, few would argue with the notion that GUYS & DOLLS is one of the best-constructed musicals ever.
And unless I am mistaken, TABOO does not use the pre-existing catalogue of Boy George/Culture Club songs. I was under the impression that it is an original score. Can anyone confirm this?
Posted by Dave @ 09/04/2003 08:13 AM PST

As I understand it, Frank Loesser and Jo Swerling set out to make a musical of "The Idyll of Sarah Brown" and other Damon Runyon stories. Loesser did a great job of musicalizing Runyon; Swerling, not so good. So Dr. Burrows was called in. Now with two living collaborators with their eyes on the prize, Guys and Dolls became the masterpiece we all know and love. At one odd point, "If I Were a Bell" was sung by Miss Adelaide, on the telephone!
Posted by Noel @ 09/04/2003 08:21 AM PST

Good morning, all.
Bullies. Hmm. Probably the boss who had a problem understanding that neat animals means cows. I'm sure this makes no sense to anyone.
Posted by Old Laura @ 09/04/2003 08:36 AM PST

Hahahaha.
Can't they find anything else to do?
Bullies....hmmmmm...I have tried to put those experiences aside and away, but maybe they will come back as the day goes by....
Thursday...no blackout here, just lots of flood water around town, and people moving barricades to drive through it, and then getting on their cell phones to call 911 because they can't get through the water!
Yes, the barricades were there for a reason!
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/04/2003 08:54 AM PST

Yes, just when you thought I had been swallowed up forever in that great internet void, I have returned! With funeral services scheduled for my home PC this weekend, and our work computer working slower than molasses(has anyone ever seen molasses work?), life has been like living back in the 50s. No, the 1950s, not my 50s.
Happy Birthday to Beyonce Knowles, and my very special personal birthday wishes to Mike Piazza.
Posted by TCB @ 09/04/2003 09:15 AM PST

Where is dear reader Ron
Pulliam? I know he'll have
some good Internet bully
stories for us.
I want my bully stories or I
shall bully until I get them, and
then you can all say, "Bully for
you, you bully." And then we
shall dance the Wooly Booly.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 09:19 AM PST

Good afternoon everyone! How nice to get out of class to read all the lovely posts...brain candy, I call it.
Re: Doing a musical with preexisting songs. Hey, sometimes the books are putrid and don't advance the story, but there have been some good musicals I think that just put together an anthology of standards and built a book around them...My One and Only, Crazy for You, Me and My Girl. Granted, none of those shows were masterpieces, but they did what they intended to do...let the audience rejoice in lovely familiar songs while having a fun night out at the theatre. I'm quite looking forward to Never Gonna Dance (not so much Taboo) even if Jerome Kern has been sleeping underground for over 50 years.
As for bullies, my middle school days were rife with them. Then again, I think most people get teased like crazy during those years if they don't listen to the same music as everyone else, or wear the same clothes, or speak the same inanities. When I got to high school, the bullies went away and left me to be my weird little self. :)
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 09:38 AM PST

TCB:
Is that Mike Piazza the baseball player or Mike Piazza the gay minister of the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas?
Posted by William F. Orr @ 09/04/2003 09:39 AM PST

WFO, you mean they aren't the same guy?
Posted by Dave @ 09/04/2003 09:46 AM PST

If Mike Piazza gets a bright
idea is it a light in the Piazza?
Just asking.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 09:47 AM PST

I don't see the need for musicals with pre-existing scores or worse yet musicals that are part revivals and part new. For instance, the producers of CRAZY FOR YOU started out producing a revival of GIRL CRAZY, announced "the book is unplayable" and then used half the original score, half other Gershwin songs and a new book to make a hybred musical that wasn't quite new but not quite a revival. Meanwhile Musicals Tonight presented GIRL CRAZY with the original book and complete score and proved it was still a viable show.
ANYTHING GOES has been a "best of Cole Porter" show since the 60s. No production uses the complete original score... they all add a few other Porter songs and there are various books floating around. And a hit Porter film, HIGH SOCIETY, was turned into a flop Porter Broadway show because songs that did not fit were shoehorned in with the actual songs from the score.
I do not object to a songwriter compilation revue (like SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM or OH! COWARD). It's just when they try to write a book musical around existing songs that get upset. Sometimes the results are entertaining, but that still does not make it right.
By the way, I find one of the faults of THOROUGHLY MODERN SUTTON is that the score mixes standards and new songs. Since there were only two usable songs from the film, they should have written a totally new score instead of writing half a score and filling it out with pop songs of the period.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/04/2003 09:52 AM PST

Maya-
ME AND MY GIRL used the original score from the 1930s show with only a couple of additions as opposed to CRAZY FOR YOU, MY ONE AND ONLY, et. al. which were much more of a mixture of songs from different sources.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/04/2003 09:54 AM PST

DR Laura II: I was not happy that Robert won HOH. But I was happy that Alison didn't.
Although I wonder if she lost it on purpose.
I really hope that Robert will team up with Erika.
Jennifer
Posted by Jennifer @ 09/04/2003 09:56 AM PST

I really didn't like Crazy For You
when I first saw it, but I've
enjoyed it when I've seen it
subsequently.
I love some of the staging of
My One and Only, but I found it
a bit of a trial to sit through.
High Society simply wasn't
good. But, then again, I don't
think the film is all that good
either.
I've never seen Anything Goes
on stage.
I would like to see a
production of Showboat that
uses the score of Hello, Dolly.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 09:59 AM PST

I am happy to say that so far I have avoided any internet bullies...whew!
Posted by MBarnum @ 09/04/2003 10:00 AM PST

Jennifer and Laure Cus,
I was actually glad that Robert won HOH. Not that I want him to win or anything, I just think it made things a bit more interesting. Curious to see who he nominates for eviction!
Posted by MBarnum @ 09/04/2003 10:02 AM PST

Laure=Laura, unless you want to change your name again! LOL!
Posted by MBarnum @ 09/04/2003 10:03 AM PST

Don't even get my mom started on the neat animal thing.
If you want to celebrate a birthday today, BK, it's my grandma's birthday. We could throw her a party. Wouldn't that just be too too?
Posted by Sandra @ 09/04/2003 10:10 AM PST

I don't like to talk about my bully stories, but I will tantalizingly let slip that when I was a wee sprig of a twig of a tad of a youth, I was bullied by Kitty Carlisle Hart.
She would corner me in the girls' cloakroom and regale me with stories of the Broadway Greats - Jerome Kern, husband Moss Hart, et al. - and no matter how much I struggled and begged, she would yammer on and on and on. Finally, when I'd reached the breaking point, she would burst out with Miserere and if I didn't pretend to be Allan Jones and join her in a duet, she'd box me on the ears with her ocarina. The final humiliation was her insistence on my performing the solo number Cosi Cosa, again as Allan Jones. The rest of the kids were gathered in a circle around us, jeering and throwing their licorice whips and penny whistles at me...oh, it was horrible, HORRIBLE! Must I go on...?!?
Posted by Lulu @ 09/04/2003 10:10 AM PST

I would like to see a new
production of Li'l Abner using
the songs of Michael John
LaChiusa.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 10:10 AM PST

Well, if only Grandma Miller
would come and post here we
could throw her a birthday
bash ala haineshisway.com.
By the way (BTW, in Internet
lingo), did Grandma Miller ever
have the marijuana? If she
did, was she living Miller's
High Life?
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 10:13 AM PST

CRAZY FOR YOU is the only show I have ever seen on Broadway where the final replacement leads were far superior to the original leads.
In regards to a topic of discussion yesterday, someone must have talked to Rosie. She had a press conference yesterday and announced that TABOO was for everyone, not just gays as she had originally said. Boy George was with her although I don't know why he was dressed as a clown.
And I just read that Janet Jackson will star in the ABC/Disney Lena Horne biography. Does that mean Victor Garber will play her husband?
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/04/2003 10:15 AM PST

Thank goodness there's a rule against groaning here.
Posted by Jay @ 09/04/2003 10:16 AM PST

I would like to see a production of THE PAJAMA GAME using the score of HIGH BUTTON SHOES.
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/04/2003 10:16 AM PST

DR William E. Lurie, I find it difficult to understand why “Thoroughly Modern Millie” offends you so. It certainly can’t be because the Broadway production has somehow ruined a great film classic, since the film also combined original songs with old standards. And it certainly can’t be that TMM’s presence on Broadway has denied some great original musical an available house. It would be far better for you to lament the dare I say dearth of creative and original musicals than to continually insult a bright, clever, and very entertaining evening of theater that has managed to succeed where so many others have failed. I find the appearance of a fresh and lively vehicle like TMM to be a far superior choice to yet one more revival of, say, Oklahoma.
Posted by TCB @ 09/04/2003 10:16 AM PST

Throughout elementary school, I was picked on, hit and spat at by bullies who thrived on making me cry. They called me "faggot" a lot and had me outnumbered and outsized at all times. Frequently, I marched right into the principal's office to complain. Now, Dr. Rowen had a secretary guarding his door, but I was the only one who could walk straight in. When these bullies were in their final year, he threatened to not let them graduate if they continued tormenting me. That stopped them until the very last day of school, when they came back with a vengeance.
Flash forward many years to a couple of internet bullies. I was again persistantly called a "fag" and a "jew" by a chat room monster, Jerry Tellier, who, at the time, was in the Broadway company of 42nd Street. He sent me incredibly abusive e-mails on more than a daily basis, until I put a block on. And the man who rules ratm, Stephen Newport, often snipes at me over there, making the newsgroup devoted to musical theatre an exceedingly unpleasant place (as others can attest). Once I posted a lyric I wrote about restaurants serving various breeds of dogs, kind of a canine A Little Priest. Newport was so outraged he re-posted the lyric to a couple of animal rights newsgroups under the title "Noel Katz wrote this disgusting song."
Posted by Noel @ 09/04/2003 10:20 AM PST

Miss Miller loves her hair just so...and on the tour of SUGAR BABIES she had a wig made of very fine wire so that her 'do would remain in its pristine condition from curtain up to curtain call.
Posted by Her Hairdresser @ 09/04/2003 10:20 AM PST

Amen, TCB! Preach it, brother!
Posted by Dave @ 09/04/2003 10:21 AM PST

I think my favorite internet bullies are over at All That Crap....err, I mean Chat....I got fed up with the bullying and deleted the site from my favorites list
we have an interesting Broadway Radio Show coming up this weekend....I'll be interviewing an author about his biography of an unusual person from the 1920's and 1930's who circulated amongst the theatre crowd in New York...should be fun and very different from what we normally do on the show
Posted by Donald Feltham @ 09/04/2003 10:23 AM PST

Mr Feltham my interest is piqued!
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/04/2003 10:28 AM PST

(Don't mind BK, folks. The job is getting to him, and he is developing a profound case of the sillies. The best we can do is just to join in.)
Well, since you are hijacking the Hello, Dolly! score, my new production of Hello, Dolly! will interpolate various songs from Carmen Jones and Passion.
We will have Carol Channing singing "I Wish I Could Forget You, Horace" and Horace (played by Victor Garber, of course) emoting, "I Love Dolly!" A rousing chorus of "Beat Out Dat Rhythm on the Train".
Carol's Habañera will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 09/04/2003 10:28 AM PST

It's okay not to like Millie. It's
okay to like Millie. That's what
makes Millie racing. I actually
like when there's passion on
both sides - as long as its
presented passionately but
not derisively to those who
disagree. Like here. That's
why we like this jernt.
It's bagel day today - I'm
stuffing one down my gaping
maw as I type this.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 10:29 AM PST

Yes, Bill, it will, but for whom?
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/04/2003 10:31 AM PST

So, what are you typing with?
Posted by Curious @ 09/04/2003 10:32 AM PST

Re: birthdays--well it is my son Zach's birthday tomorrow, but as a pending 5 year old, he is not quite reading HHW on a daily basis yet!
Re: message boards--count me officially out of the loop (not unusual), but to which one are you referring? I can find nothing on RATM or ATC or Broadway.com. Am I missing something (obviously).
Posted by JMK @ 09/04/2003 10:33 AM PST

I would like to see a production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF set in a laundromat.
Do I bleach these?
Do you bleach THESE?
Posted by The MayTag Man @ 09/04/2003 10:38 AM PST

I was bullied enough in high school that I'd rather not bring that out today... seeing as though I'm about to drive up to the area in which I grew up in to attend a retreat for the next 2 days.
DR Dave, on the London cast recording of "Taboo", the only exisiting Boy George song I can tell is "Do you really want to hurt me" everything else seems new.
I'll be E&T till Saturday. See you all then.
Posted by Matthew @ 09/04/2003 10:40 AM PST

Let me start the ball rolling on this one:
And then there's Putting It Together...
Posted by William F. Orr @ 09/04/2003 10:41 AM PST

Miss Miller had that wig long before her run in Sugar Babies. In college many many years ago, a young freshman running the sound board for a show I was stage managing (he is now known as director/choreographer Jeff Calhoun) had just finished working with Annie at Kenley Players and reported the same thing.
I want to see a production of La Cage Aux Folles using the songs from Passion.
Posted by Philip Crosby @ 09/04/2003 10:41 AM PST

JMK, the rants in question are on BroadwayWorld.com, which can be found by clicking the link on the HHW homepage.
It's actually quite hilarious.
The post that BK was referring to comes from the dreaded FindingNamo, who writes:
"Can't the Bruce ass-kissing be confined to his own site that seems to have ample space dedicated for just such endeavors? You know, the site named after one of his PSEUDONYMS. Like that label he started that was also named after one of his other ANONYMOUS INTERNET PSEUDONYMS?"
Posted by Dave @ 09/04/2003 10:51 AM PST

Well, Phil, I think Passion would benefit greatly if the score were replaced by the songs from La Cage. It just might cheer Fosca up a bit to put a little more mascara on.
And on to a serious note: tomorrow Joe and I have to deal once again with our Unpleasant Business, which may (or may not) continue through next week--or be delayed another month. Vibes would be nice.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 09/04/2003 10:55 AM PST

WFO: ~~Good vibes~~ headed your way!
Posted by Lulu @ 09/04/2003 11:01 AM PST

MBarnum wrote:
Jennifer and Laura Cus,
I was actually glad that Robert won HOH. Not that I want him to win or anything, I just think it made things a bit more interesting. Curious to see who he nominates for eviction!
Well I will agree with you that Robert winning will make things more interesting. He has said that he despises Alison and told her he would put her up. He told Erika he wanted her gone. But I'm really not sure what he will do. As long as he doesn't ditch Erika I will be happy.
Jennifer
Posted by Jennifer @ 09/04/2003 11:03 AM PST

I certainly found it amusing
DAVE, which is why I wrote
about it. You reposting the
exact message from the
dreaded FindingNamo is even
more amusing, on certain
levels anyway.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 11:06 AM PST

And, of course, DAVE, you
make it seem like the thread
was about me, which it most
certainly was not. Someone
happened to think the post that
I made in support of Craig and
Kerry was funny, to which
Namo (who you seem to have
much in common with)
responded as you have
quoted. Just to keep
everything in perspective, of
course. Those who don't like
to keep things in perspective,
of course, can, of course, kiss
my nether regions.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 11:08 AM PST

I am not anti-MILLIE. As I said in my post the other night I enjoyed it, but it was an easily forgettable show. The way some people have been posting here they make it sound like the greatest musical ever written. It's not. It's very similar to dozens of shows during the golden years which were enjoyable but hardly classics. They played a year or so, sometimes toured, were done in stock the first few summers they were available and then they dropped out of sight except for an occasional concert performance at Encores, Mffti, Reprise, etc. Since there is no competition, MILLIE's run is longer than these shows, but otherwise it falls into the same category as shows like TENDERLOIN, THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN, BAJOUR and dozens more: entertaining but not memorable. I enjoyed MILLIE once but unlike many shows, I have no desire to see it a second time. In its favor, it was better than CATS.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/04/2003 11:10 AM PST

I have to respectfully disagree with DR Noel about there being no need for musicals with pre-existing scores.
Your points are good ones. And I think that it is great if the composer, lyricist, book writer, director ... all work together with the same vision. But I think that good musicals can exist with pre-existing scores as well. I absolutely loved MAMMA MIA and thought it was fun and wonderful.
I don't know if producers think they can save money. I suspect the reason for using pre-existing scores is because the public likes familiarity. And it's great to know the songs in the show. Although that is also why I think revivals are so popular.
Posted by Jennifer @ 09/04/2003 11:10 AM PST

Speaking of Molly Brown
(about which I have written
quite a bit for the new book), I
was thinking that if you got the
right folks it wouldn't make for
a bad thing to revive, even if it
is old fashioned and corny. I
remember thinking it would be
fun to see our very own Brent
B. as Leadville Johnny Brown,
and his very own co-star Reba
McIntyre as Molly. Now, who
knows who was Miss Tammy
Grimes' understudy on the
road?
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 11:15 AM PST

Good vibes to DRs Joe and WFO. My prayers will be with you tomorrow.
Posted by The Den Mother @ 09/04/2003 11:22 AM PST

Actually Dave, what I found funny was that the entire thread is not about Bruce, Kerry, myself or any ONE person - it's about people who simply say that black is white and whit is black - even when there is solid evidence to the contrary.
I'm not sure why you found that one post in the long thread most amusing - it was quite random actually..
Posted by Craig @ 09/04/2003 11:27 AM PST

Whit Bissell is black? I did not
know that.
Dave doesn't care what the
point of the thread was. It's
fairly obvious (at least to moi)
what Dave cares about. It is
sad that in order to post to
people he obviously enjoys he
has to come to this
ass-kissing site. Ain't it a
shame.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 11:32 AM PST

WEL, I think by now you've made it absolutely crystal clear what you think about Thoroughly Modern Millie. Therefore, it really isn't necessary for you to continue to refute other people every time they post their own personal, positive response to viewing the show. We're all quite well acquainted with your convictions about its mediocrity and general unmemorableness. I'm sure that those people who have seen TMM and thoroughly enjoyed it will still remember the experience decades from now regardless of whether or not you believe it is wrong of them to do so.
Posted by Lulu @ 09/04/2003 11:35 AM PST

Here Here! Well thought out and expressed, Lulu. We are ALL entitled to our opinions here at HainesHisWay and no ONE person's opinion is worth any more than another. That is what makes this site different from the others. Oh! A Sesame Street reference.
Posted by LuLu's Fan @ 09/04/2003 11:41 AM PST

Hmmm. Methinks a little air clearing is in order here. Let's all sit in a circle and sing "Kumbayah" (or however you spell the name of the song.)
Posted by The Peace Maker @ 09/04/2003 11:47 AM PST

BK What a brilliant idea for a revival, and what a terrific idea for casting. I think that Reba and Brent would make a great team in Molly Brown. And, even better, I am finally the right age to audition for the role of Moll's father.
Posted by TCB @ 09/04/2003 11:51 AM PST

Lulu---
Excluding when I mentioned TMM in posts about several shows, I've posted exactally twice on the subject... once the other night after another post proclaiming it the greatest musical ever and once today when someone accused me of MILLIE-bashing. It's funny that I have never been accused of CATS-bashing although I have never had a kind word to say about that show over the years, but because I mentioned why I thought TMM was good but not great I have people coming down on me.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/04/2003 11:56 AM PST

DOUBLE LIFE...curious and iinteresting are the words for it. Neither Cukor's best, nor Colman's best, though he won an academy award for it...Certainly not on a par with IF I WERE KING, THE LIGHT THAT FAILED, PRISONER OF ZENDA, TALK OF THE TOWN, or RANDOM HARVEST. The guy had the most beautiful speaking voice in the world.
What's with the question marks substituting for apostrophes?
Posted by Charles Pogue @ 09/04/2003 11:59 AM PST

Actually, WEL, I wish you could have done a lot more CATS-bashing, maybe we could have done away with about 6,137 of that show's performances
Posted by TCB @ 09/04/2003 12:09 PM PST

Meow.
Posted by Jay @ 09/04/2003 12:10 PM PST

WEL, it has nothing to do with your thinking Millie is "good" but not "great." I haven't even seen the show, so I have no opinion one way or the other about that.
It is not your opinion, per se, but the method you oftentimes choose of expressing your opinion that sometimes rubs some of us the wrong way. This applies to other things, too...not just TMM. Someone posts that he loves the movie ET; you immediately post that ET is kind of cute, but overrated. Someone posts that she just had a marvelous experience seeing TMM and she loves loves loves it; you immediately post that Millie is unmemorable and mediocre.
If you just read or saw something and posted your opinion here it would be fine - whether the opinion was positive or negative. But usually we are presented with your opinion in the following way: someone, out of the blue, posts about something that they LOVE. They detail for us the reasons that they have such a deeply personal positive response to this book, movie, show...whatever. Then you come back with a strongly worded refutation of their opinion - the thing in question is not worthwhile, not entertaining, nothing special, etc. Essentially, you're telling the person that they're wrong to have enjoyed themselves so much! Worse, the implication is that the person who has enjoyed the thing in question (that is so obviously unworthy) possesses inferior intelligence, taste, etc.
Nobody likes to be belittled, and decent people don't relish seeing others belittled. That's why there is a negative feeling in some quarters towards many of your statements of opinion.
Posted by Lulu @ 09/04/2003 12:12 PM PST

Allegedly, Encores has narrowed down it's season to six shows from which the final 3 would be chosen:
PARDON MY ENGLISH (The Gershwins)
BYE BYE BIRDIE (Adams & Strouse)
CAN-CAN (Cole Porter)
PAINT YOUR WAGON (Lerner & Loewe)
FLORA THE RED MENACE (Kander & Ebb)
70 GIRLS 70 (Kander & Ebb)
Considering that they will not do two shows by the same composers in the same season, what 3 shows from this list do you DRs think they should do?
***
Reba would be wonderful in MOLLY BROWN, but I'm sure she would only be able to do a very limited run due to her other commitments. I would like to see BB do the show opposite Karen Ziemba once he is done in CHICAGO and she is done in the Jerome Kern show.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/04/2003 12:17 PM PST

DR Charles Pogue -don't forget Mr Colman in MY favorite, LOST HORIZON!
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/04/2003 12:21 PM PST

Dave, I just read the exchange above. Why do you find it necessary to do this sort of thing? It's inappropriate and unseemly.
Posted by The Den Mother @ 09/04/2003 12:24 PM PST

BK writes:
"You make it seem like the thread was about me"
I defy anyone to point out what I wrote that implied any such meaning.
One of the DRs asked which message board included the thread referenced in today's notes, and I answered. I pointed out that I found the thread "hilarious", which I did. It's hilarious that these non-entities even care about the age of Ms. Butler, but even more hilarious that they would claim to possess the facts when they are obviously completely clueless.
Since BK had mentioned "ass kissing", I included the single post that mentioned it, and gave credit for it, for the benefit of those who remember similar posts from the same person on that board. It does help put things in perspective to know to whom we can attribute these comments.
For those who are new to this site, BK has accused me of baiting him for months, which is patently untrue. This is yet another example.
To make matters worse, BK suggests (again!) that I may be FindingNamo, despite my protestations to the contrary, and despite his claim to know who FindingNamo is. I have never made a secret of my identity. I have even posted photos of myself to this site, for crying out loud.
Honestly, Bruce, don't you think this nonsense has gone on long enough?
Posted by Dave @ 09/04/2003 12:34 PM PST

Why, yes I do Dave. I do think
this nonsense has gone on
long enough. What does it say
to you, dear boy, when others
see the same things I see?
I'm not the only one who sees
it, you see, therefore you are
either blissfully unaware of
what you are doing or you are
blissfully aware of what you
are doing. I, dear boy, am not
a paranoid person. For
example, when I watch a
football game and the players
get in a huddle I don't think
they're talking about me. It
would have been one thing to
point out which board had the
posts in question. It would
have been one thing to say "I
found the THREAD hilarious".
You did neither. You followed
your "It's hilarious" line with
one excerpted post about me.
So, to reiterate, yes, I do think
this nonsense has gone on
long enough.
I, of course, do know you are
not FindingNamo - I said you
had things in common with
him. FindingNamo is a
columnist, and a rather inane
one at that.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 12:42 PM PST

Lulu---
If everybody who posted on this site had the same opinion of every show, book, movie, etc. it would not be nearly as interesting a site as it is. I post about something either after I have seen it or after someone else has posted about it. I wouldn't post out of the blue about a show (good or bad) just because I felt like posting, but if there was already a topic being posted about I'll put my two cents in. I agree that my taste in plays, television and films (particularly of recent vintage) differs from many critics and many DRs. I recently read a list of about 100 movies being released over the next few months and found only one I would even consider seeing, yet I know that some will be big hits either critically or at the box office (or both). The new television season has only a couple of shows I even want to sample and I'll probably end up adding only one or two to my weekly viewing. There are some Broadway shows I want to see, but not necessarily the "hot tickets". I will post my opinions here and other DRs are free to post theirs either agreeing or disagreeing with me.
In the same way, if I disagree with someone's opinion posted here, I'll make my opinion known. As you know, I've also posted that I agreed with another DRs post. I am not trying to make anyone feel their opinion is wrong. How can an opinion be wrong? I'm just offering another point of view, and isn't that what makes for a lively conversation either on line or in person? And I don't know how other people feel about this, but if I don't like something it is often easier to point out what is wrong than it is to point out what is good about something I really like. And also, I usually have mixed feelings about shows, films. etc. I see.
There are few things that have been 100% perfect or 100% bad. Even CATS had about ten entertaining minutes.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/04/2003 12:42 PM PST

Now, let's all have a group hug
and let us dance the hokey
pokey and whilst doing so I
feel everyone should KISS MY
ASS.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 12:43 PM PST

By the way (BTW, in Internet
lingo) I just heard that Penn
and Teller's Bullshit has been
picked up for another season.
Perhaps I shall receive a call
to come back to the show. It
wouldn't start up again until
mid-November, so I will keep
you posted.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 12:44 PM PST

One other thing: Sometimes
what makes posting opinions
on the Internet difficult is that
you can't see "tone" or hear the
person, and words can
sometimes be dry and not
express the feeling behind
them properly. I love seeing
the diversity of opinions here,
from people of all ages, all
walks of life - that's why this
here site is so interesting. So,
have opinions, express them
as well as you can, and then
debate if it's necessary, but
with humor and niceness. Or,
simply say, KISS MY ASS.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 12:48 PM PST

Just a quick question for anyone with a little more computer savvy than myself: When I hit the Refresh button on my computer to see the newest posts, does that count as another Hit on the daily total?
Posted by TCB @ 09/04/2003 12:53 PM PST

*Extends a massive group hug to everyone*
Come on, all, let's just make like a bunch of hippies and get along. After all, isn't that what sets us aside from the other theatre websites/forums?
WEL--thanks for the correction. I had forgotten that Me and My Girl was a book show from the 30's.
I would love to see Brent and Reba do Molly Brown! Or Brent and Karen Ziemba! Or Brent and anyone! And furthermore, they should replace it with the score to On the Town for a bit of contrast.
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 12:55 PM PST

Hmmm...re-reading that, maybe I should be more careful with my phrasing. Brent and Reba perform in the musical the Unsinkable Molly Brown ;)
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 12:56 PM PST

TCB---
I don't know if Refresh counts as a hit, but if you hit the back arrow and then the forward arrow it should do the same thing and I'm sure that counts as a hit.
BK---
Have you asked your ass how he feels about all those strangers kissing him? Maybe we should kiss your mule or your donkey instead.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/04/2003 12:58 PM PST

BK, the fact that other people on this site will jump to your defense is not surprising, considering whose site it is. It does not, however, prove that you are right. That would be akin to saying that because more than one person posts an opinion to the BroadwayWorld message board, or to AllThatChat, that must make it fact. And neither of us would agree with that.
By your own admission, you automatically assume that I post to get a rise out of you. Let me assure you (once again!) that this is not the case.
I have already explained the contents of my post, but your mind is obviously made up.
I would only ask that you read my posts with an open mind, or not at all. I think we would both be happier that way...
Posted by Dave @ 09/04/2003 01:01 PM PST

Although, DR Maya, it made me think of the article in which Miss Joanne Woodward was quoted as saying she would like to tackle Shakespeare onstage.
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/04/2003 01:02 PM PST

Don't feed the animals.
Posted by The Zookeeper @ 09/04/2003 01:02 PM PST

You know it is not easy to ignore mail that is delivered to your own house.
Posted by John Galt @ 09/04/2003 01:06 PM PST

Dave, dearest, you really must
give it a rest. I will read your
posts because I often enjoy
your posts - I will read your
posts because they happen to
appear on my website. It's not
about proving I'm right, it's
about others seeing the same
things I see. I have gotten
many e-mails about this, Dave
- I'm not makin' it up. Anyway,
this topic is done for the day.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 01:07 PM PST

Jrand--lol! But would Shakespeare have wanted her to tackle him? ;)
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 01:10 PM PST

And, of course, Miss Woodward is one of the few actresses old enough to have actually tackled Shakespeare.
Posted by TCB @ 09/04/2003 01:12 PM PST

LOL TCB and Maya.
Woodward - 6
Shakespeare - 0
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/04/2003 01:13 PM PST

I'm thinkin' we might just get to
100 posts. Anyone who
doesn't think that can KISS MY
ASS.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 01:19 PM PST

Just to make things clear, I did not post what I did earlier out of anger or because I'm cranky today, or anything like that. So there's no need for me to calm down or to participate in any group hugs. I posted it after a good deal of thought, because I think - no, make that I know - that some DRs here have had their feelings hurt in the recent past because of certain "opinions" given in a very blunt fashion as a rebuttal to posts that the DRs had merely meant as a means to share the joy they had experienced with us. I thought it was possible that if WEL knew he had caused bruised feelings, he would be more circumspect in his future postings. Not that he - or anyone - should be encouraged to toe a party line. But when posting a negative opinion of something that others have already responded positively to, I think we should all endeavor to do so in a tactful, thoughtful, and respectful manner. BK insists that is always the case here at HHW, but unfortunately, I don't think it has been the case here for the last little while.
And that's the last on this subject from me.
Posted by Lulu @ 09/04/2003 01:22 PM PST

BK,I am glad you enjoy my posts. I enjoy making them. But if there are some that cause you offense, I would ask you to re-read them before jumping to conclusions, as you have in the past. I don't know how many more ways I can say it, but if anyone infers intended injury from my posts, they are misreading them.
As BK rightly points out, it is difficult to see or hear "tone" in posts, so it is easy to misunderstand the intent.
We've been over this 100 times, so maybe there is no point in saying it once more, but I'll try:
BK, I DO NOT post to this board to offend you, or anyone else. I - like almost everyone else - post here for my own amusement and (hopefully) the enjoyment of the other DRs.
If you have been offended by anything I have posted, then I apologize - to you and to ALL the dear readers.
I hope that in future, people will give me the benefit of the doubt and try to read my posts in the spirit in which they are intended.
Posted by Dave @ 09/04/2003 01:23 PM PST

Here, here, Lulu!
Posted by One Who has Been Bruised @ 09/04/2003 01:25 PM PST

I know Dave and Bruce seem to have some issues. I have read the posts today. I have no idea if Dave meant to antagonize anyone. But some DRs did ask which message board BK was talking about. And while I have not seen the Kerry Butler age thingie ... I knew which site it was on ... and was going to post it. I didn't take Dave's comments negatively. But that is just me.
Posted by Jennifer @ 09/04/2003 01:26 PM PST

DR JRand53, I've never much cared for LOST HORIZON, book or movie. I think I'm like the younger brother and find it a rather dull place to spend eternity. And, of course, Hilton's ending more or less ripped off the ending of my favourite book of all time, SHE by Rider Haggard.
Posted by Charles Pogue @ 09/04/2003 01:32 PM PST

Lulu, I don't think I've EVER
said we have respectful posts
and responses all the time. In
fact, I know I've never said it.
What I have said is that we
have it a lot of the time, more
than any other board on the
Internet, and it is always
always what I strive for. I don't
know that it's possible to
achieve it 100% ever, but if we
try we will mostly succeed.
And anyone who don't agree
can KISS MY ASS.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 01:33 PM PST

Charles Pogue - those who
don't like Shangri-La shall be
forced to spend eternity there
watching the remake of Lost
Horizon.
I'll bet Charles Pogue has said
KISS MY ASS to people at one
time or another. Own up, Mr.
Pogue, we want details and
bully boy stories.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 01:35 PM PST

I must be wearing rose-colored glasses when I view the comments here at HHW. But rose-colored glasses can be a beautiful thing.
I see no one belittling anyone else's opinions. I see no one seeking to get a rise out of anyone else. I saw a well-articulated assessment of one thoroughly unmodern show that didn't put down anyone who feels differently (I feel the same). I see people correcting others' mistakes and expressing gratitude that others have corrected them. Earlier today, I was wrong about Taboo: Boy George has written 19 new songs, to support this script and story, and was happy to discover this. Now I'm rooting for Taboo.
So all's right with the world, if not the BroadwayWorld, as far as I can see. But then maybe I can't see, as my glasses are rose
Posted by Noel @ 09/04/2003 01:35 PM PST

Puuuuuuuuuush.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 01:36 PM PST

I'd just like to make a quick comment: Since it is QUITE obvious that DR WEL is talking about my feelings about TMM, I'd like to just say that I do NOT think Millie is the -to quote WEL- "greatest musical ever. Sure, it's entertaining, the songs are cute, the characters lovable, but like every other musical ever created, it has it's "iffy" spots. When I came home from seeing it, I posted a small but positive review of it, because I had a great time. It was my birthday, I got to see a show that I really love, I was in a gleeful mood, and I felt like sharing my experience with HHW. Please don't put words into my mouth.
I'm sorry if this is just provoking the argument, but since it dealt with me, I felt that I had a small bit of right to say something.
Bullies? I don't think I've ever been bullied. Unless my brother counts. He's evil.
Posted by Sarah @ 09/04/2003 01:37 PM PST

Is Bernadette Peters wearing
Rose colored glasses? Yes
or no? Puuuuush.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 01:37 PM PST

Here I come to save the day!
Posted by Laura II @ 09/04/2003 01:38 PM PST

100?
Posted by Noel @ 09/04/2003 01:38 PM PST

or not :)
Posted by Laura II @ 09/04/2003 01:38 PM PST

OK, everything else aside, the really really important thing today is...I FINALLY saw the last episode of the Dynasty spin-off, "The Colbys," where Fallon went on board the UFO!!! Hallelujah, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition! I almost missed it because I was in here, but came out just in time for the swelling, majestic music and the lots of light spilling out of the opening hydraulic door and the shadowy figure beckoning. Whew! What an ending! I am emotionally drained.
Posted by Lulu @ 09/04/2003 01:43 PM PST

BTW (By The Way in internet lingo), today was a good post day! Over 100 before 4:45!
We got a cute song in choir today called "Bidi Bom" which is VERY fun to sing. The soprano part is quick. And I have barely any HW, so I shall be around most of the day.
Posted by Sarah @ 09/04/2003 01:46 PM PST

As someone who started dance lessons at age 6 and continued them throughout high school, I can assure you I met more than my share of bullies through my entire growing up years. What I did was develop a REALLY thick skin and a stone face. Those guys who called me names NEVER saw how deeply their words wounded me. I walked around as if I were deaf. However, kids are a lot more aggressive today in their loves and hates, and ignoring trouble often won't work because they would take it to the next level. How glad I am that I have all that in my past.
Posted by Matt H. @ 09/04/2003 01:48 PM PST

Ahhh...to put my rose-colored glasses on right now, let me just say that I LOVE my new tutor job. Why do I love my new tutor job? Because I can sit here and peruse HHW and post to my heart's content and eat chocolate chip cookies why I do so. Not a single person has come in to ask for writing help at the tutoring center today! It won't last, but for now, it's quite blissful.
Let us all eat chocolate cookies and then do the Lambeth Walk!
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 01:49 PM PST

Okay, I cheated, and Google led me to ... our own WFO @ HHW. And the answer is Karen Morrow. (TG's u/s for UMB on the road.) For me, KM is the quintessential Broadway belter. "I've Got Everything I Want" (including an independent cat) and "Almost" make it worth anyone's while to listen to I Had A Ball.
Posted by Dan-in-Toronto @ 09/04/2003 01:51 PM PST

Sarah---
It was not just your post. There had been several and you were the straw tht broke the camel's back (or Bruce's Ass). It was in no way meant to hurt you or bring you down.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/04/2003 01:55 PM PST

Speaking of that particular "nameless" newsgroup, I used to post there a lot, and I loved corresponding with the few reasonable people I did meet there, (including BK and a few others around here); the reason I don't go there much anymore is that is was simply too much time and work to argue with the irrational and dogmatic idiots of the group that always post more than at least 25 messages a day. You know who you all are. Get a life and Kiss MY Ass.
Posted by Dave in the Valley (Not "Dave") @ 09/04/2003 01:58 PM PST

Does that mean that HHW = Her Home Work?
Posted by TCB @ 09/04/2003 02:01 PM PST

Welcome to Dave in the Valley! Can we call you ValleyDave?
I'm sooo excited! I just read on Playbill.com that Charles Shaughnessy is going to be replacing John Cullum in Urinetown. Mr. freakin' Sheffield! I had a huuge crush on him on The Nanny. Now I'm really going to have to get up to NYC...John Stamos in Nine and Mr. Sheffield in Urinetown.
Sorry, had to have my little boy-crazy rave ;)
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 02:02 PM PST

TCB--haha...sure...my homework...right...
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 02:03 PM PST

Maya - If you hurry up to Broadway before the end of September, you can even catch the very adorable Brent Barrett in "Chicago." (Okay, you also get Melanie Griffith)
Posted by TCB @ 09/04/2003 02:06 PM PST

I saw Ann Miller's Mame in 1969. And whether she was 50 or merely 46, she gave a splendid performance.
One thing I'll never forget is that when she started to dance, you could hear a collective gasp:
"Ohmygodshehashertapshoeson."
Helen Gallagher as Vera was the best in the cast, and the audience knew it. But every time they cheered her during the curtain calls, she graciously let it be known through her body language that Ann Miller was the star.
Posted by Dan-in-Toronto @ 09/04/2003 02:07 PM PST

TCB--be assured that Mr. Brent Barrett would make seeing Chicago again worthwhile for me, with or without Lina La--I mean Melanie Griffith.
Just kidding. No hard feelings to Mrs. B.
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 02:08 PM PST

Swishy Sarah, are you doing
the complete unexpurgated
version of Bidi Bom? Make
sure you are. Here are the
real lyrics:
Bidi bom, bidi bom
You can KISS MY ASS
Bidi bom, bidi bom
'Cause you give me gas
Bidi bom, bidi bom
You can eat my shoe
Bidi bom, bidi bom
Yes, I do mean you!
With a little bidi bom
Bidi bidi bidi bom
I will spit right in your face
For you're really bidi dumb
Bidi bom, bidi bom
You can just drop dead
Bidi bom, bidi bom
Pox upon your head
Bidi bom, bidi bom
You're a dirty rat
Bidi bum, bidi bum
And that, you bidi bum, is that.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 02:08 PM PST

Dear Reader Maya--
You never, ever have to apologize for a boy-crazy rave. Many dear readers, in fact, are quite partial to such behavior.
Posted by Jay @ 09/04/2003 02:10 PM PST

Welcome back François.
If only they had rescued Grisabella by helicopter on stage then "Cats" would have had a successful run indeed.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/04/2003 02:13 PM PST

Thanks, Jay ;) I take it back...let the unabashed boy-crazy raving begin!
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 02:13 PM PST

Or was she Gooch? Or was it Elaine May in the role? Can somebody help me?
Posted by Dan-in-Toronto @ 09/04/2003 02:13 PM PST

BK: I unfortunately am not. I'm singing the version with boring lyrics. I'll mention that one to my show choir teacher, it'd sure make for an interesting dance.
DR WEL: Good. Thats settled then, moving on. :)
Posted by Sarah @ 09/04/2003 02:14 PM PST

BK--I think I can speak for both Sarah and I in that we would LOVE to hear Guy Haines sing that song!
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 02:16 PM PST

Yes, I can talk about Internet bullies -- bully boys -- snivelling bully boys who can't keep up with the intelligence level on some interesting threads and start trying to bully those who seem to know more than they do (which goes without saying, even if they don't understand it).
I've encountered them almost everywhere I've been -- filmus-l discussion group (a group that has seen participation drop drastically during CY 2003). They used to have more posts in a month than they've accumulated all year.
rec.music.movies -- the great bastion of lowlife film music discussion -- a true potpourri of the dregs of international drooling fandom. One name -- Thomas Muething -- can produce instant rage in some rather prolific producers of film music CDs.
MovieMusic Messageboard -- not uninteresting, but decidedly odd in its management and just a tad too young for my tastes in its active participants. There are exceptions, and I've been surprised by the intelligence of younger fans there more than anywhere else. But the good are always outnumbered by the....
One contributor has gone by many names and keeps getting bounced out every time he is exposed. He loves to send private e-mails to folks he has been mean to -- cajoling them into thinking he is just trying to make life interesting for them. (He was first banished from FilmScoreMonthly Messageboard..the first of several who migrated over to MovieMusic Messageboard where they would lie about why they were banished and badmouth the moderators at FSM.
FilmScoreMonthly MessageBoard: Don't ask my why I love it, but I do. We've been through some s-p-e-c-t-a-c-u-l-a-r flame wars. A thread on Bernstein's "Magnificent Seven" devolved into a no-holds-barred crap-flinging free-for-all over religion and politics. Both subjects are now taboo. One warning is all anyone gets. After that, it's banishment. There is one soul there who is a teacher at Wheaton, has produced some "revisionist" literature on various political events, spouts utra-extreme-right propaganda as though it were fresh from the peaks of Ararat and inscribed on smoldering tablets, denounces DVD versions of film he has not seen on DVD and which he vows he will NEVER watch on DVD. He believes Fox News is the only network with TRUE journalists working and that "fair and balanced" is a national mandate for their fodder rather than an egocentricity they applied to themselves (which IS the case). His name is Eric. Various contributors have private e-mail exchanges about Eric. We laugh a whole lot.
Much of the bullying I've encountered has been one particular individual who has posted at all those sites and has been banned, at least for a while, from a couple of them. This individual has incited the rage of some of the most significant film composers, film music CD producers and nearly an entire fan base that he would, otherwise, rely upon for his livelihood, which is producing CDs of film music. He also has an internet radio show on film music. He can claim, among other atrocities, to have made an enemy of the producer/creator of "Babylon 5" who has devoted much internet space to denouncing this bully. He is a particular favorite of BK. I will not name him here.
My tact with him is to be sweetness itself; to thank him for his bullying challenges to explain myself when he doesn't like an opinion I've expressed about a movie or a score or a composer. I meet his challenge and thank him for taking such an interest in my POV. During this Calendar Year, he and I have not exchanged cross words, and I've actually found him "AGREEING" with things I've written.
Either I'm changing...or he is...or something odd is going on.
But, oh! my! yes! There are bullies out there...and they're mostly insecure, overknowledgeable about one thing and undereducated in most other areas. They have no tolerance for opinions they don't share because they've never learned to be openminded or aware of the rights of other people to be different, in general.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/04/2003 02:17 PM PST

DR Ron Pulliam: Have I told you lately that you crack me up? I think you should be told more often. You have a great outlook on the way things should be said, so that your opinions are clear, unharmful, and funny! I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts :)
Today is a good day for compliments. See, I just complimented the day.
Posted by Sarah @ 09/04/2003 02:21 PM PST

I tried to come in earlier, but there was so much fur flying around I couldn't see! But I'm here now, to say
Nam myoho renge kyo Nam myoho renge kyo Nam myoho renge kyooooooooo *ding*
Nam myoho renge kyo Nam myoho renge kyo Nam myoho renge kyooooooooo *ding*
Nam myoho renge kyo Nam myoho renge kyo Nam myoho renge kyooooooooo *ding*
There, that's better. The evil site full of failed bitter theatre-hating trolls can be found easily on Google groups. You type rec.arts.theatre.musicals and click on "Groups" and you're there. Don't forget to read (thoroughly) the four-part, 50-page FAQ, or God help you.
Posted by Joy @ 09/04/2003 02:25 PM PST

François! Is that vous? Is that really vous?
Vous've been missed, yes vous have!
Je hope vous have read all the posts vous've missed in votre absence.
Vickie says "Bonjour"!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/04/2003 02:27 PM PST

Sarah! I'm glad to provide you with smiles.
Every time I see your name, I hear a rewrite of a song in "Fiddler on the Roof" -- it's the one about Tevye's dream, and instead of Vroomah (???SP???) Sarah, I hear "Swishy Sarah! Swishy Sarah! SWISHY SARAH! WOO-O-O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o)!
I don't know why....
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/04/2003 02:33 PM PST

Laugh if you want, but my lives have been hell since my show closed.
Posted by Rum Tum Tugger @ 09/04/2003 02:33 PM PST

"I studied piano and played several concerts during my high school senior year with the American University Orchestra....I also studied acting at Catholic University...my great desire is to one day play Joan of Arc onstage...."
Allison Hayes, Filmgoers Weekly October 2, 1954
Click on my name to puruse the photo that accompanied this article.
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/04/2003 02:42 PM PST

Perhaps she meant...in a badminton match.
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/04/2003 02:43 PM PST

Oh. DR Charles Pogue, yes SHE was ripped off my LOST HORIZON, but Isabel Jewell, Edward Everett Horton, Colman, Thomas Mitchell, HB Warner, Sam Jaffe, John Howard, and Margo are all so good - and Jane Wyatt (her double anyway) has a nifty nude swimming scene.
LOST HORIZON is capped by my favorite Dimitri Tiomkin score - so I am sorry you are bored...and yes life there might get monotonous after a couple of hundred years.
My TITANIC and WHERE EAGLES DARE dvd's arrived today! Double feature night!!!
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/04/2003 02:48 PM PST

I would like to play Andre Agassi, although it wouldn't be in tennis. However, love is involved.
Posted by TCB @ 09/04/2003 02:50 PM PST

I was picked on terribly when I was in school. I remember one particular event in middle school. I was never an athletic kid (I wanted to be in choir...not P.E.), and one day in gym class I was sitting on the bleachers, trying to avoid the evil eye of the gym teacher. Two boys walked up to me and started talking about me like I wasn't even in the room and walked up to the top of the bleachers, right behind me. The next thing I knew, one of them had spit in my hair. I don't know why he did it--because he could, I suppose. I was horrified, but I think I handled it with as much dignity as one can muster when one has a big loogey on one's head...I went to the locker room and washed it out of my hair.
That's just one example of the bullying I endured while I was in school. Most of it stopped once I got to college, but there will always be one or two people that rub you the wrong way--and that's true even in everyday, out-of-school life.
The emotional impact of being bullied never fully goes away for anyone, I think. I suppose I get very defensive for even the smallest things sometimes, but my biggest peeve is belittling. I feel like that's the grown-ups version of spitting in someone's hair. Its socially unacceptable to beat someone up, but its fine to make someone feel bad about their thoughts, beliefs or opinions, which are essentially the fibers that make a person who they are...just as long as you do it in an intelligent way.
This is my one post for today on this subject and then I'm done with it... I don't know that WEL posts things to make people feel badly about themselves...I don't know that Dave does, either...but there is a time and a place for everything. I found it tacky that one DR posted about how much fun she had seeing a show and without missing a beat, another DR felt it was appropriate to list all the things that were wrong with said show. We all have the right to share our opinions, but at what point can we just let things be and allow people to be happy with their particular experiences? Perhaps you may not have agreed with her about the show, but she enjoyed it...it was her birthday...let her have that much.
Dave...I have no way of knowing what your intentions are when you post things. Heck, I don't know what anyone's intent is just by reading these posts. You say you're not making jabs at BK. OK...I'll take your word on that. I have no reason not to. But if I may offer up a suggestion...if you don't want BK to think that you're trying to push his buttons, perhaps you should make a brief rebuttal and then let the subject go. We are all guilty of over-analyzing and over-talking subjects on this board from time to time. Dragging conversations out only makes things more tense.
A few weeks ago, DR MusicGuy quite accurately related this site to being BK's living room. We may not have been personally invited into this living room, but BK graciously allows us to stay nonetheless. I know that there have been times that I have behaved in a fashion that would make my mother ashamed...she didn't raise me to behave that way in front of company...and I know I'm not the only one.
This website is an escape for me. Its a place where I can discuss all the things I love so much with intelligent, humorous, and most of all, loving people who share my interests. Let's not lose sight of that. The minute this site becomes another ATC is the minute that I will stop reading it. BK won't allow that to happen, and I hope that we won't, either.
Posted by Jason @ 09/04/2003 02:55 PM PST

Helps Jason down from the soapbox and nods in agreement.
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/04/2003 02:58 PM PST

I haven't read the rest of the posts, but I just had to answer BK.
Tammy Grimes' understudy on the road was Karen Morrow. I remember, because the Tams was out one night in Denver, and I read that Karen was faboo.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 09/04/2003 03:00 PM PST

Jason, what a beautifully written post. I think you said what you had to say without finger pointing or name calling. Even more importantly, you reminded us why we all come here in the first place.
Thank you, Jason. It is nice to have you home.
Posted by TCB @ 09/04/2003 03:02 PM PST

Hello, Kimlets!
Well, hello Hainsies!
It's so nice to be back home
where I belong!.....
Thanks, Tom; thanks, Ron for
the greetings!
NO, I haven't had the TIME to
read the posts I've missed
since August 10th!
Not yet!
Being away from Paris has
been quite REFRESHING!
I was in my hometown which
is 45 minutes from the small
city of Cognac!
BK, "Miller's High Life" was the
title of her biography published
in the seventies, if memory
serves me right, or left.....
Posted by François @ 09/04/2003 03:05 PM PST

Francois - KISS MY ASS
Jason - KISS MY ASS
It's good to have two of my
favorite people back where
they belong. And, if I haven't
made it clear - KISS MY ASS.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 03:18 PM PST

Keep tapping your troubles away François. But who shall marry the miller's son? A toast to Mahler and Cognac. Now to my toast. It is time for mon petit dejeuner.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/04/2003 03:19 PM PST

Is Tom from Oz allowed to say things like that on the internet?
Posted by TCB @ 09/04/2003 03:27 PM PST

The truth is hard to handle.
Posted by Someone @ 09/04/2003 03:30 PM PST

Just imagine what I write in private emails TCB. A regular pumpkin patch dweller am I.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/04/2003 03:31 PM PST

Don't feed the animals. And,
by the way (BTW, in Internet
lingo) the animals can KISS
MY ASS.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 03:31 PM PST

Quick, a chorus of Bidi Bom.
Quick, Watson, the needle.
Quick, end the lull.
Quick, let's get to two hundred
posts.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 03:46 PM PST

Did breaking my fast cause the lull?
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/04/2003 03:48 PM PST

Please don't feed the animal.
Posted by The Zookeeper @ 09/04/2003 03:50 PM PST

Yes, folks, that's right. Unthinkable but true, when I saw Molly Brown as a wee sprig of a twig of a high school lad, I was one of the Beautiful People of Denver.
I understand some in the cast used to call her "Grimey Tams" due to her slovenly habits.
In any case, BK's idea for Reba and the SMA to do the revival is inspired. Only they should reinstate "Colorado My Home". The more songs BB gets to sing, the better.
Oh, and BK, may I kiss your @SS--uh, butt cheeks? Pretty please!
Posted by William F. Orr @ 09/04/2003 03:53 PM PST

Holiday is here,
It's a happy time of year.
Bidi Bom, Bidi Bidi Bidi Bom
Once more the time,
Sung in melody and rhyme.
Bidi Bom, Bidi Bidi Bidi Bom
Candles alight, and their flame is so bright,
Reflecting in little childrens eyes!
Come and dance to the tune
'Neath the holidaying moon.
Bidi Bom, Bidi Bidi Bidi Bom!
There's your chorus of Bidi Bom. I actually have "Can't Stop The Beat" from Hairspray stuck in my head, but that would be an exceptionally long post, wouldn't it?
Posted by Sarah @ 09/04/2003 03:53 PM PST

BK, is it true that you're
working on a new musical, the
title of which is KISS MY ASS?
Is it me -- it HAS to be me --
but I find so much "bitterness"
on the site tonight..... why let
things unspoken for so long
and then "blast off"?.....
Posted by François @ 09/04/2003 03:54 PM PST

Ya know, Dear Reader Swishy Sarah, I could be mistaken, but I think your "Bidi Bom" is an English version of an old Yiddish song that my Grandmother used to sing to me.
Posted by Jay @ 09/04/2003 03:58 PM PST

Oh, and bienvenue to DR François! We missed you here at HHW!
Posted by Sarah @ 09/04/2003 03:58 PM PST

Oh, these things happen
sometimes and we move on.
And we don't feed the animal.
Yes, Mr. William F. Orr, you
may KISS MY ASS.
Swishy, I like the unexpurgated
lyrics better. They have more
oomph. Anyone who
disagrees can KISS MY ASS.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 03:59 PM PST

Y'all can just KISS MY GRITS!
Posted by Flo @ 09/04/2003 04:00 PM PST

Just thought you'd like to know that the Kerry Butler age thing is starting on another site. SHOW PEOPLE magazine --- the magazine which is more interested in star's houses than their careers and that had Hilary Swank in the new hit revival of MIRACLE WORKER on the cover a month after it was cancelled --- has just started a chat board and someone named "Stafford" has started the "is Kerry older than she looks" thread on that site.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/04/2003 04:09 PM PST

"Idle hands is the devil's workshop" proved true again, eh? Think what could be if all that energy were applied to productive pursuit. Like coming up with the worst cast scenario for the allegedly upcoming Broadway revival of MAME or something like that.
Posted by Jay @ 09/04/2003 04:21 PM PST

Oh, BK...many is the time and many is the way I have told people to kiss my ass. I'm an old bridge burner from way back. I'll even burn new bridges sometimes.
Most of the bullies I have met in my life have been directors who have tried to ruin my scripts. I have the honour and distinction of having had Dick Donner call me the most disrespectful writer he's ever met. It happened this way: I was resistant to doing notes that made no sense. Finally, he said to me: "Are you going to write what we tell you or not?" To which I cheekily (in the best kiss-my-ass fashion) replied: "You don't need me for that, Dick, you can get a secretary to take dictation." At which point he called me the most disrespectful writer he had ever met and hung up the phone on me. Needless to say, that film never got made.
Posted by Charles Pogue @ 09/04/2003 04:22 PM PST

I knew you'd have a good story
or two, Charles Pogue. We
are cut from the same
terrycloth, you and I. I have
burned bridges and
occasionally bridges have
burned me. Did Beau Bridges
ever burn bridges? Did Jeff
Bridges ever burn Beau
Bridges? Bridges? We don't
need no stinking bridges.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 04:28 PM PST

What is the "agenda" of such superfluities as "FindingNama" who consistently tears down either BK or this site or things associated with this site.
Perhaps if we posted our adoration of all things "FindingNamo" (whom I have affectionately dubbed as "Numbo"), he would begin tearing himself to pieces, too.
Folks like "Numbo" are not bullies...they're miserable little pishers without anything positive in their lives and who thrive on spreading misery.
As some have suggested, they can be ignored. Perhaps they should be ignored.
But to my mind, they soil everywhere they post, and because of that, they should be ridiculed, heckled, spat at and called out.
And their little dogs, too!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/04/2003 04:32 PM PST

The bully question.
The summer before college started, upcoming freshmen were given an extensive psychology test to determine their most compatible roommates.
And that's how I wound up sharing space with two anti-semitic homophobes.
It took awhile, but between getting myself a life outside the dorm and enjoying my private world (a Comden and Green reference), I survived.
Posted by Dan-in-Toronto @ 09/04/2003 04:37 PM PST

Hilary Swank? - thanks WEL
for mentioning her name! --
whatever happened to that
wonderfully promising
actress????????????????
Posted by François @ 09/04/2003 04:39 PM PST

Thanks, Sarah, for the kind
words...
.... as BK would say -- sorry,
i'm quotting... --
you can.... embrasser mon
derrière, since it seems to be
the thing today here!
Posted by François @ 09/04/2003 04:45 PM PST

This should "please" Mr
Pogue:
Today's expression in Irish;
Póg mo thóin.
Posted by François @ 09/04/2003 04:49 PM PST

Scamper! Prance! Dash!
Do whatever it takes, but get to 200 posts.
That "Show People" forum is easy to join...you just have to promise to be nice and not say mean things to or about people.
I don't know if I was mean or not, but I said it was classless to ask a lady's age...and if one professes to having enjoyed her performances, then asking her age is plain rude.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/04/2003 04:58 PM PST

This might be of some interest
to Hainsies and Kimlets living
in L.A.:
Disney Imagineer Alice Davis
To Make Guest Appearance at
the Historic Walt Disney Barn
The public is invited to meet
Alice Davis, artist, costume
designer and retired Disney
Imagineer, who will be the
Special Guests of the
Carolwood Pacific Historical
Society at Walt Disney’s Barn
in Griffith Park on Sunday,
September 21.
Alice is the widow of legendary
animator/Imagineer Marc
Davis. In 1954 she started free
lance for the Walt Disney
Company developing the
gowns for the live action
model for Sleeping Beauty.
Her gowns were studied for
motion to animate the sway of
the skirts while the character
danced. Alice also worked on
the film Toby Tyler, designing
costumes, although she did
not receive film credit. Later
Alice designed, researched,
and directed construction for
clothing for the dolls in the “It’s
a Small World” attraction for
the 1964-1965 New York
World’s Fair. Later the
attraction was brought to
Disneyland in California. Alice
stayed on with Disney to
design the wardrobes for the
“Pirates of the Caribbean,”
“Carousel of Progress,” and
“Flight to the Moon” attractions
before retiring. Recently Alice
Davis has shared her designs
with David Pacheco for a
series of porcelain figurines
from “It’s a Small World.”
Guests visiting Walt’s Barn on
Sunday, September 21, will
have the opportunity to
personally meet Alice Davis,
who will be available for
reminiscing and autographs
from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Visitors are encouraged to
arrive early and bring their
cameras & autograph books.
Admission and parking to this
special event are free.
About Walt’s Barn
In July 1999 the quaint red
1900 era barn, which was the
centerpiece of Walt Disney’ s
miniature live steam
Carolwood Pacific Railroad
and served as his personal
workshop, was relocated from
the family's Holmby Hills
property to its new home in
Griffith Park. The Barn is now a
living showcase of Walt’s
railroad legacy and is filled
with his personal railroad
memorabilia, plus other scale
model railroad displays
belonging to Disney Animator
Ollie Johnston, the late
bandleader, David Rose, and
members of the Carolwood
Pacific Historical Society.
Walt’s Barn is open for free
public tours the third Sunday of
each month from 11:00 a.m. to
3:00 p.m. The Barn is
operated by volunteers from
the Carolwood Pacific
Historical Society (CPHS) on
behalf of the Walt Disney
Family Foundation. The Barn
is located in the Los Angeles
Live Steamers facility at 5202
Zoo Drive in Griffith Park, about
one-quarter mile east of Travel
Town. Entrance to the Barn is
located at the east gate of the
Los Angeles Live Steamers
facility. Admission and parking
are free.
For information about
Carolwood Pacific Historical
Society visit
www.carolwood.com. For
more information about Los
Angeles Live Steamers visit
www.lals.org.
--Posted September 3, 2003
Source: Carolwood Pacific
Historical Society
Posted by François @ 09/04/2003 05:00 PM PST

Kuschn mein tuchus?
How very unseemly.
Posted by Jay @ 09/04/2003 05:00 PM PST

Dear BK: I'd kiss your ass, but what with everyone crowding around it right now I'll just have to wait my turn.
Re: Bullies. Has anyone besides myself found that they usually have less imagination than the people around them?
On to a subject DR Noel brought up yesterday, whether or not new musical theater can be written and produced outside of New York City. I've found that there are several cities nationwide where new theater is actively encouraged. Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Toronto (if you don't mind crossing borders and saying "Eh?" every once in a while), Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington D. C., all have thriving theater communities, and there are probably several others I haven't mentioned.
If there is a problem, it lies more with getting new shows recorded, which can be a key element in getting further productions launched in other cities. We unfortunately still live in a world where most cast recordings are made in NYC. This limits the shows being recorded to those that are playing in that city. A lot of good talent is not getting recognized because of this sad detail.
Posted by S. Woody White @ 09/04/2003 05:42 PM PST

I don't recall being bullied by any one person in particular. Sandra, however, has some stories to tell. Which may explain why she is now involved in fencing.
Posted by Old Laura @ 09/04/2003 05:44 PM PST

Will someone please tell me what it is with all these damned question marks substituting for apostrophes?! I find it all very disconcerting! And I could not make heads nor tails of the supposed Irish expression. Nor front nor back either...
Posted by Charles Pogue @ 09/04/2003 05:44 PM PST

Back from drama club!
Well, we are definitely doing Where's Charley? in the spring and Macbeth is looking very probable for this fall!
Out, damned spot, out I say....
Okay, so maybe I won't get Lady Macbeth...but playing one of the Witches could be a lot of fun too!
Re: Show People. I subscribed about two months ago and I still haven't gotten an issue! Maybe I'll get the fall one. I miss Show Music.
Welcome back, btw, to Chers Lecteurs Jason and François!
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 05:52 PM PST

I just had a revelation--it will be I now, and not Joanne Woodward, tackling Shakespeare! ;)
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 05:53 PM PST

From the looks of things today, all I really should say is (and this might work better if we all did it collectively - en masse - as it were: KISS MY LILY WHITE ASS!
There.
Now don't we all feel a whole lot better?
Posted by td @ 09/04/2003 05:57 PM PST

Let the sun shine...
Let the sun shine in....
..and maybe it will put a tan on td's lily white ass!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/04/2003 06:02 PM PST

Maya - that is GOOD news...Bill Shakespeare should be pleased.
And who would have thought...Candice Bergen's mother played a role in the 1953 TITANIC!!! And when it was mentioned, of course...there she is!
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/04/2003 06:08 PM PST

Jrand, you are too sweet! *Blushes*
I just wish my buttocks could be as lily-white as TD's! ;)
Posted by Maya @ 09/04/2003 06:19 PM PST

I am disappointed in you Mr
Pogue.... unless your pulling
my leg...
Well, guess!
It's the Irish equivalent to Kiss
My Ass of course!
You yourself told us that your
name meant TO KISS, right?
Posted by François @ 09/04/2003 06:24 PM PST

You, too, can have lily white buttcheeks IF you wash with. . .
> > >we interrupt this commercial for a commercial break< < <
. . .and now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Posted by td @ 09/04/2003 06:30 PM PST

Oh.... and sorry if I offended
your eyes with question marks
(?).... they are to emphasize a
question. Granted, that looks
quite dull and silly but I can't
type apostrophes (') which
would look even more silly!
Am I that wrong, Mr Pogue' ' ' ' '
Posted by François @ 09/04/2003 06:32 PM PST

I was just listening to "Haines His Way", and the song Maria came on. I must not have been paying a great deal of attention when I last listened to it, because THIS time, the song "Marie" was on it, and it most certainly wasn't last time. It brought back a HUGE chain of memories. When I was little, my mom had a book called "I Loved You The First Time I Saw You" that she used to read to me, and it was about this mother who used to sing it to her son, substituting "Marie" for "Baby". It was the cutest book, and I wish I still had it, but I did remember the melody. That brought back a LOT of memories from when I was little...it's like smelling my mom's old perfume too.
Has anyone heard of this book?
Posted by Sarah @ 09/04/2003 06:42 PM PST

Why are we talking about Lilias White's butt cheeks?
Posted by D - i - T @ 09/04/2003 06:43 PM PST

Wow! We just had a nice jolting earthquake.
Each channel is saying something different...3.9...4.1...5.0. The epicenter was about 3 miles northeast of me.
If anyone has ever gone through a quake, this was not a rolling one...it was an upthrust. Interesting.
No damage here...but TV reports show different results. I'm sure it depends on how your building or home was constructed and I feel fortunate to be in a newer complex.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/04/2003 06:53 PM PST

DR Ron, I'm glad you're doing well. I hope everyone else is okay, too.
Posted by Laura II @ 09/04/2003 06:56 PM PST

DR FrancOs (as it's appearing here, actually the O is a square which I do not know how to make), It's just not you with the ??? instead of ''', Kimmel's been doing it too. Is this some sort of computerspeak of which I do not know. I do know that POGUE MA HONE means "kiss my ass" in gaelic, however the letters above appear "plo thl". Is everyone seeing the same character formations on their computer screen or is it just me? Am I missing something? Is this a trap? Am I going crazy? Have I entered the Twilight Zone?
Posted by Charles Pogue @ 09/04/2003 06:58 PM PST

I saw "Póg mo thóin." when Francois posted. I didn't see Pouge anywhere. But I always see question marks, never apostrophes.
Posted by Sarah @ 09/04/2003 07:10 PM PST

I found this following info on
two sites through Google:
póg mo thón
kiss my ass
On some sites, "thon" is
spelled "thoin" or "toin" and
www.nycwebstore.com offers
T shirts with that phrase
printed on...
Now, ain't that informative or
what? -- NOTE: one question
mark only! --
Posted by François @ 09/04/2003 07:42 PM PST

Never be disappointed in Mr. Pogue because like me he has been known to say KISS MY ASS.
It's weird if some people see the posts one way and some another. Does that have to do with one's browser? For example, do you see the "quote marks" around quote marks or are they question marks? Do you see the ?question mark? around question marks or are they quote marks? Do you see the Groucho Marx around Groucho or is it Karl Marx? All I have to say is, if you want to emphasize something do it my way: KISS MY ASS. You see how emphatic that is?
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 07:45 PM PST

Puuuush! If you don't puuuush, you can KISS MY ASS.
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 07:48 PM PST

I know the sign for "to give birth." C'mon push!
Re: bullies. I've never really been bullied by anyone physically or emotionally. Well, unless you count my younger brother, who once jumped off the couch and kneed me in the eye. He didn't mean it, though.
Posted by Laura II @ 09/04/2003 07:56 PM PST

You can kiss my ass, and I'll belt a High B-flat.
Posted by Lily Garland @ 09/04/2003 08:01 PM PST

You know, since my automobile accident, my high C is higher than it's ever been.
Posted by Florence Foster Jenkins @ 09/04/2003 08:08 PM PST

Wow.. this is the most action I have seen in years and I am jiggy with it. Not as jiggy as I used to be though - because Bruce as BUNS OF STEEL!
Posted by Bruce's Ass @ 09/04/2003 08:18 PM PST

"Never Be Disappointed In Mr
Pogue"
sounds like a song Rosie
could have sung!
Speaking of Rosie - who, i'm
sure, must have said KISS MY
ASS to a few people in her life
-- here are some neafty infos:
"The Clooney-Crosby
Connection" offers fans an
opportunity to ask Mrs. Crosby
about her life with Bing and
her nearly 50 years of
friendship with Rosemary
Clooney. She will read
excerpts from her new book,
"My Last Years With Bing,"
and, with members of
Rosemary's family, offer
insight into one of the most
legendary friendships in
Hollywood.
Mr. Bob DeFlores, world
renowned film archivist, will
present vintage and rare video
clips featuring Rosemary and
Bing. Clips include: The
Clooney Sisters with Tony
Pastor Band (1947); Betty
Clooney Snader Telescription
(circa 1951); Christmas Seals
(1953); Bing & Rosemary at
radio recording session
(1960); selections from early tv
shows like "The Bing Crosby
Show," "The Rosemary
Clooney Show," "Hollywood
Palace," "Ed Sullivan" and The
Dean Martin Show"; scenes
from "The Stars are Singing,"
and "White Christmas," plus
much more.
Nick Clooney will serve as
Master of Ceremonies for this
celebration.
The event is just one of many
events planned for The
Rosemary Clooney Music
Festival in Maysville, Kentucky,
on September 20, 2003. "The
Clooney-Crosby Connection"
will begin at 10 AM at the
Opera Theatre, 114 W. Second
Street in downtown Maysville.
Tickets are $20 at the door.
Posted by François @ 09/04/2003 08:27 PM PST

I have just started reading Rosie's Autobography François.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/04/2003 08:37 PM PST

I saw Ann Miller in MAME as well, and she was simply grand, one hundred times better than Janis Paige had been when I saw her in it a year or two before. That was a role she was born to play.
Posted by Matt H. @ 09/04/2003 08:43 PM PST

I like the post from Bruce's Ass. It sounds like BK is playing a new role: Bruce AS Buns of Steel. ;-)
Posted by td @ 09/04/2003 08:48 PM PST

oops. I meant Bruce HAS buns of steel.
Us asses can't type like the masses
Posted by Bruce's Ass @ 09/04/2003 09:19 PM PST

Puuuush!
Posted by bk @ 09/04/2003 09:52 PM PST

Oooooooof!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/04/2003 10:30 PM PST

---Tah~!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/04/2003 10:30 PM PST

Hooray! I did it! I put my shoulder to the wheel and shoved us over the hump!
Now kiss my ass!
Or bessame mucho!
Or whatever!
The only ? marks I see are the ones people type to say that's what they're seeing when some other mark should be seen.
Could this be the difference between html and rich text? A vulgar mishap that occurs when Apple meets MS?
Denny Dillon IS Roseanne Barr Arnold! Who'd a thunk it!
Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. I don't know how many more days I could have tolerated having to work this week.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/04/2003 10:35 PM PST

Who is Denny Dillon?
Posted by Tom Arnold @ 09/04/2003 10:46 PM PST

Until this made-for-TV movie, I'd never heard of Tom Arnold.
Posted by Denny Dillon @ 09/04/2003 10:53 PM PST

Speaking of Clooney, Nick's Rosie's brother, is something of a chum of mine. We did a panel together back in Kentucky a few years back and have kept up a sporadic, friendly correspondence. He mentions me in his column in the Cincinnati Enquirer upon occasion.
Posted by Charles Pogue @ 09/04/2003 10:58 PM PST

I met Mr Clooney as well (George's father, you know) at a Society of Professional Journalists convention in the 1990's! Very pleasant man and was a very good host back when AMC really meant American Classic Movies.
Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/05/2003 03:51 AM PST

On the earlier conversations about the musical Taboo...in the London production, there were 4 songs that were not completely new. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me was in the show - but in the context that the character Boy George was singing it at the recording studio. Il Adore was given to a minor character to give a little more heart to the story. A Hari Krishna (sp?) song made it into the end, and there was an encore of Karma Chameleon which was really just to appeal to the audience who thought they were going to the usual pop compilation show. All the other songs were written for the production and really fit the situation. Hope the Broadway production does the same!
Posted by Wee Stevie @ 09/05/2003 04:37 AM PST

Denny Dillon was a regular on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE during one of the "transition" seasons. She played a supporting role on Broadway in MY ONE AND ONLY. And she could easily pass for Pamela Meyer's (COMPANY, television's Sha Na Na) twin sister.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/05/2003 06:15 AM PST

If you are up to visit a fanpage about "Mr. Sheffield" from "The Nanny", who's getting to play "Urinetown" from September, 9 on.
Thanks,
Kerstin from Germany
PS: I would like to talk to fans of Charles Shaughnessy!
Posted by Kerstin @ 09/05/2003 02:52 PM PST

Ask BK: Got a question? Ask Bruce Kimmel...

© Copyright 2001-2003 Bruce Kimmel.
All Rights Reserved. Site design by hijinks design.