Haines His Way
Archives => Archive 2 => Topic started by: bk on June 27, 2004, 12:04:17 AM
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Well, you've read the notes, the pundits have queried and now it's time to post and keep the home fries burning.
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Good Morning!
-Shouldn't I be in bed by now? Wasn't I planning on getting to bed early tonight so that I could get up early tomorrow? Well, at least earlier... Ah, well...
BK - I hope today is a better and busier day for you and everyone else at the Collector's Showcase. Yesterday seemed to be a slow day for a lot of people - I was talking with a friend who went to a big street festival which is usually packed, but not yesterday - and the weather was gorgeous! So, who knows? In any case, I'm sending out Good Attendance Vibes!
And since it's Free-For-All Day...
Has there even been a book you've read or a movie you've seen - or even a TV show - where you've said, "WOW! That could be me on the screen?" "That was/is my life up there?!?!"
And just to continue on a thread that was brought up in yesterday's posts...
Is there a classic musical that you would like to see done as a "gay musical"?
And/or:
Is there a musical that you think could truly work if the gender of one member of the central romantic couple was changed?
And/or:
What song key titles and/or lyrics would have to be changed? Or not changed? -And feel free to provide some examples.
-OK - I wanna make brunch tomorrow/today during brunch hours, so...
Goodnight.
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I'm pooped. I'm cookied out. I need to wussburger.
Sorry, 'nite all.
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I was very (and most) errant and truant all day Saturday. I helped my sister get some of her things out of my garage (I'm renting the house from her), then I went to a bar-be-q (lots of food was had by all), then I came home and worked a bit on cleaning up pops and things from a record that I had recorded onto my computer to make a CD out of it. I then took a nap for about an hour, when my sister called and woke me up (I was not happy). She needed to get more things out of my garage (no problem).
After that, I came home and finished cleaning up the album and burned it onto a CD. It's a show that I'm sure no one has ever heard of...Founder's Capers, written by Samuel F. Babbit and Natalie M. Babbitt in 1961. They were faculty at Vanderbilt University, and this Original Vanderbilt Faculty Club Production is comprised of faculty of the university. It only has one piano as the accompaniment, but the score is quite delightful. Not earth-shatteringly brilliant, but very enjoyable. A woman that I work with knows (knew) one of the writers or performers and thought that I might enjoy it, and I did. I also burned her a CD copy, which I don't think she will be expecting. Anyway, that was my day today. It's now approximately 1:50 a.m. on Sunday, and, just before I wrote this post, I finished reading ALL of Saturday's posts, of which none are mine. I hope this makes up for it!
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As for "Fahrenheit 9/11," several of my co-workers are going to see it tonight (Sunday) and have invited me. Another co-worker owes me a few dollars so she said that she would buy me a ticket and we would go with the group (we're also going to meet for dinner before the movie). Anyway, the group of co-workers already going have already gotten their tickets and I don't know if the woman who's getting MY ticket has gotten it yet, or if she will get it first chance on Sunday, or if she'll wait till after we have dinner. I may not actually get to see the movie...well, tonight, anyway. But it's possible that she has gotten the tickets.
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So, it's possible that I won't be at chat tonight. I hate to miss it, but I would really like to see "Fahrenheit 9/11."
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First, thanks to the 2 DRs who have contacted me about their "Submit KRITZER TIME for a Pulitzer" pledges of $10.00 each. Reminder to others who pledged - contact me and I'll tell you where to send the money. Only 2 more $10 contributions (plus mine) and we'll meet the goal.
I see that tomorrow will be Day 250 of the new notes format. It's a shame that they were originally made password protected to protect a former DR who has never used them and has requested that her name not even be mentioned at this here site. I guess BK could have saved his pennies and not changed the site.
BK - Maybe the reason attendance is so low at the Collector's Show is that they seem to have one every other month and people don't want to go that often. Cut them back to two or three a year and watch attendance rise.
The Broadway Channel on Music Choice is now playing a BK produced track - Liz Callaway doing "Standing on the Corner" from her Frank Loesser CD. I just noticed that in typical BK fashion, "nickle Coke®" has been changed to "Diet Coke®".
I'm off to NJ to see Karen Ziemba as Miss Adelaide in GUYS AND KAREN at Papermill.
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Now if instead of "THE PUNDITS QUERY" it were "THE QUEER PUNDIT" I could post for hours!
der Brucer (maybe François is correct and I should be a musical)
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Good morning all. Yesterday at 3pm it started raining. So it looked like the local Canada Day performance and fireworks might be cancelled. But when I went over at 5:30pm they said it would happen rain or shine.
Well by 6:30pm it had stopped raining. And by 7:30pm it was actually quite nice. And it stayed nice for the rest of the night.
So that was a surprise.
The performances/band and dancers and singers were just okay. But the fireworks were really nice. And it was so funny hearing the kids saying, "ooh wow" whenever special different would go off. I love fireworks!
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Oh and yesterday was dvd player gone mad day. I rented the dvd of 50 First Dates, but when I tried to play it my dvd player would not work. So dvd player is going to the doctor. So I brought the dvd back and they were really nice. They gave me a credit to take it out again. And gave me Paycheck for free (video). I'm 3/4 through it and I actually quite like it. More when I finish it.
Oh and TomFromOz said:
We have compulsory voting here in OZ.
Can you explain please, thanks.
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Good morning. Apologies for my E&T status last night. Don't know what happened. I watched a taped episode of SIX FEET UNDER WITH my DD (who leaves today)... and then suddenly got so tired I could barely stand up. I lay down for a 10 minute nap and that was it. Tried to get up, but couldn't. Not even to POST! Yikes! But now it's morning, I'm rested and all is well.
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DR MBarnum, about THE DESPERATE HOURS, I find the Dewey Martin character the really poignant story of the film. You can see that he's envious of the lifestyle these people enjoy. He doesn't hate them for it; he wants to be a part of it. The yearning in his eyes is devastating.
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Haven't quite decided what today's DVD delights will be. I will probably continue watching GONE WITH THE WIND that I started last night as I ate my afternoon meal, but after that, I'll find something else to enjoy.
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Yesterday BK noted:
Yes, the Gojira story sadly reflects the time we live in. Kids cannot just understand movies have context.
And the same is true of TV.
Watching films like "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951), or "When Worlds Collide (1951) it's difficult to keep in mind how advanced the special effects were for their time; things weren't too much better with "Forbidden Planet" (1956) or "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1959) and early TV entries like "Star Trek" (1965) and "Lost In Space" (1965) have a tough time passing the giggle test today - but those of us who saw these entries at the time they were made were captured by the experience.
The laughable (by today's standards) special effects of 1933's "King Kong" do not keep it from being a great film.
der Brucer (expecting The Scarlet Street gang to chime in with better examples - and I'm sure BK will reminisce about the "Metropolis" of his wasted youth)
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No one ever giggles at the special effects on Classic Star Trek. (We're all too busy giggling at William Shatner's acting! ;D)
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...And since it's Free-For-All Day...
Has there even been a book you've read or a movie you've seen - or even a TV show - where you've said, "WOW! That could be me on the screen?" "That was/is my life up there?!?!"
Uh...no.
Oh, there have been moments when I've found myself caught in what a character was saying and totally agreed. But no one has yet captured the real "me" on film.
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It's a generational thing. I giggle at much of what passes today for entertainment at the movies. Honestly, watching the endless previews of coming attractions before HARRY POTTER yesterday, I didn't see a single film that would really bounce me out of my house to buy a movie ticket. Lots of teen comedy stuff featuring actors without a hint of charisma or interest to me and a lousy looking computer animated Christmas film with Tom Hanks - THE POLAR EXPRESS.
The one movie I would watch on cable or DVD was the sequel to THE PRINCESS DIARIES, and that's because Julie Andrews still exudes more class, charisma, and joy than any ten young performers.
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(http://www.brucekimmel.com/images/anasastiaaffairerecording.jpg)
Seated are the composers Wright and Forrest. (not sure who is who)
Left to right
Nick Redman, George Lee Andrews, Willie Burke, Marcy DeGonge, Walter Willison, Judy Kaye, David Green, Len Cariou, the late Steve Barton, Bruce Kimmel, Seth Rudetsky, Albin Knopka
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Re: Australia's mandatory voting system:
http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa060100a.htm (http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa060100a.htm)
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Der Brucer and I were talking in the car yesterday. He was thinking about how much fun it would be to open a small movie theater and show old serials and such for a buck or two. Here in Rehoboth, he thought, it would be an interesting attraction, to bring people in for an hour or so, to entertain them when they want a break or when the weather isn't perfect. But then he had to stop. "None of the old serials were made in color, were they?" he asked. Well, no, by the time color became all-pervasive, the serials were no longer being made. But the conventional wisdom these days is that young people won't (or can't) sit still for a film shot in black and white.
And conventional wisdom might be right. I'd rather think that the "conventional wisdom" came from a pitch to sell the public on colorized versions of the old classics, but I could be wrong.
I can remember watching the old movies, like the Abbot and Costello films, or the old horror flicks (sometimes one and the same), every Saturday afternoon. They were shown in black and white, and I thought nothing was strange. The old films aren't shown on commercial television any more. They're passe, I guess. But damn, they were fun. And that fun is missing these days.
Instead, we get films like Pleasantville, where the gimmick is the special effect of turning a black and white world into color. Black and white is viewed as unrealistic, bizarre, constricted. Color is viewed as being liberated, fulfilling. But, if everything must be in color, isn't that just as restrictive as a world that is nothing but black and white?
(Yep, this is another "context" post.)
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...watching the endless previews of coming attractions before HARRY POTTER yesterday...a lousy looking computer animated Christmas film with Tom Hanks - THE POLAR EXPRESS.
The Polar Express is based on a book by Chris Van Allsburg, who also wrote the book Jumanji, the basis of another well-known film. Van Allsburg does his own illustrations, and the animation style of The Polar Express accurately imitates his illustrative style.
(Of course, part of the success of the film will have to come from how well the screenwriters have expanded the original story. Van Allsburg is not heavy on plot in his books. His original Jumanji was simply about two children playing the game, with all the animals invading their house as they played, drawing on the metaphor of playing a game/using one's imagination. The film of Jumanji dispensed with the metaphor entirely, becoming a charmless work in the process. If the writers of The Polar Express have done their work well, the charm of Val Allsburg's work will be apparent not only in the animation, but in the script as well. Personally, my hopes are good for this one.)
LINK (http://polarexpressmovie.warnerbros.com/)
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The Polar Express is based on a book by Chris Van Allsburg, who also wrote the book Jumanji, the basis of another well-known film. Van Allsburg does his own illustrations, and the animation style of The Polar Express accurately imitates his illustrative style.
(Of course, part of the success of the film will have to come from how well the screenwriters have expanded the original story. Van Allsburg is not heavy on plot in his books. His original Jumanji was simply about two children playing the game, with all the animals invading their house as they played, drawing on the metaphor of playing a game/using one's imagination. The film of Jumanji dispensed with the metaphor entirely, becoming a charmless work in the process. If the writers of The Polar Express have done their work well, the charm of Val Allsburg's work will be apparent not only in the animation, but in the script as well. Personally, my hopes are good for this one.)
I have to say the movie looked thoroughly uninteresting to me, and I'm always game for an animated movie.
The preview started with a close-up of a kid's face, and I thought when I saw it how far we've advanced from the human characters in TOY STORY (that spoiled what I thought was otherwise a perfect movie), but the long and medium shots looked awful. And the story looked really silly. Maybe kids will like it. Who's to predict what catches on. All I can say is that it interested me not at all.
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(http://www.brucekimmel.com/images/anasastiaaffairerecording.jpg)
Seated are the composers Wright and Forrest. (not sure who is who)
Left to right
Nick Redman, George Lee Andrews, Willie Burke, Marcy DeGonge, Walter Willison, Judy Kaye, David Green, Len Cariou, the late Steve Barton, Bruce Kimmel, Seth Rudetsky, Albin Knopka
Nope. Albin is on the left, and Nick, with his then flowing mane of hair, is on the right.
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Never mind the pundits
Goldie Hawn's a fun ditz
And her daughter's one ditz
I'd like to know
Sailing on the Hudson
Never mind the crud. Sun-
ny days will come not snow.
Please ignore the poo-bahs
Blowing on their tubas
Don't become a blue Bos-
tonian
It's not Back Bay
To be that way
So do not be stunned it's
Weede and Art Lund. It's
Something that the pundits
Knew so long ago
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I see that tomorrow will be Day 250 of the new notes format. It's a shame that they were originally made password protected to protect a former DR who has never used them and has requested that her name not even be mentioned at this here site. I guess BK could have saved his pennies and not changed the site.
BK - Maybe the reason attendance is so low at the Collector's Show is that they seem to have one every other month and people don't want to go that often. Cut them back to two or three a year and watch attendance rise.
The Broadway Channel on Music Choice is now playing a BK produced track - Liz Callaway doing "Standing on the Corner" from her Frank Loesser CD. I just noticed that in typical BK fashion, "nickle Coke®" has been changed to "Diet Coke®".
Yes, it is funny, isn't it? I originally went to this type of board at the behest of the above-alluded to dear reader, who assured me that's all it would take for said dear reader to feel safe so said dear reader could post whenever said dear reader felt like it. It was done to protect said dear reader from someone who was causing said dear reader lots of problems, both on and off the site. As soon as I spent my pennies and did this AS A FAVOR for said dear reader, said dear reader disappeared from the site forever, and decided it was better to be in contact with the person who was causing those problems than me or this site. Choices. Whatever works, say I. But I have no problems with the board as it is and like its features, which for me outweigh any negatives. Also, it DOES keep certain Uncouth Interlopers away.
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Has there even been a book you've read or a movie you've seen - or even a TV show - where you've said, "WOW! That could be me on the screen?" "That was/is my life up there?!?!"
How about at a musical?
The "Opening Doors" sequence in the second act of Merrily We Roll Along was worth the wait for its uncanny accuracy in depicting my life. I saw it with John Rubinstein and Chip Zien. Combine the two and you get . . . me.
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We must be off, for the older grandlad's birthday party. E and T we are, tra-la.
(And this will bring us one post closer to getting out of cinerama.)
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The Polar Express is based on a book by Chris Van Allsburg, who also wrote the book Jumanji, the basis of another well-known film. Van Allsburg does his own illustrations, and the animation style of The Polar Express accurately imitates his illustrative style.
(Of course, part of the success of the film will have to come from how well the screenwriters have expanded the original story. Van Allsburg is not heavy on plot in his books. His original Jumanji was simply about two children playing the game, with all the animals invading their house as they played, drawing on the metaphor of playing a game/using one's imagination. The film of Jumanji dispensed with the metaphor entirely, becoming a charmless work in the process. If the writers of The Polar Express have done their work well, the charm of Val Allsburg's work will be apparent not only in the animation, but in the script as well. Personally, my hopes are good for this one.)
When I first heard about this movie being made, I was quite puzzled. I still am. I'm just worried about how the story - which is told in a relatively few sentences - will be expanded for the big screen. Let's just say if the expected running time is over 90 minutes - well, even over 75 or 80 - I will be very wary of going to the theatre to see it. But as we know, and as they say, Anything is possible.
I bought a copy of the book for myself a few years ago just to see what all the "fuss" (but a good "fuss") and reviews were about. It really is a beautiful book. And every time I get to the end, I'm still caught slightly off guard.
I won't spoil it for you, but it is one of those books that you can read while standing or sitting in the bookstore for just a few minutes. Now, if you were to closely examine the illustrations, then that would take a little bit more time.
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How about at a musical?
The "Opening Doors" sequence in the second act of Merrily We Roll Along was worth the wait for its uncanny accuracy in depicting my life. I saw it with John Rubinstein and Chip Zien. Combine the two and you get . . . me.
OH! Sorry for my omission... Of course you can pick a musical or a musical sequence from a musical!
Musicals-wise, after living some more "life", I finally got the meaning of "Finishing the Hat" from Sunday In the Park with George. I had always liked the song, and I've always liked the show - both acts! - but the whole metaphor, the real metaphor of that song didn't really speak to me until two summers ago. I still am caught off guard when I remember how I found myself crying in the middle of the first act while sitting in the Kennedy Center Opera House. It all, for better or worse, finally made sense to me.
Movies-wise, "Madame Sousatzka" with Shirley MacLaine as an eccentric piano teacher had more than a few "close to home" moments in it for me. The whole "problem" of how to end that teacher-student relationship - when it really has become almost a familial relationship - is something I - and countless other music students - can identify with.
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From DR Michael Shayne
Seated are the composers Wright and Forrest. (not sure who is who)
Left to right
Nick Redman, George Lee Andrews, Willie Burke, Marcy DeGonge, Walter Willison, Judy Kaye, David Green, Len Cariou, the late Steve Barton, Bruce Kimmel, Seth Rudetsky, Albin Knopka
From BK
Nope. Albin is on the left, and Nick, with his then flowing mane of hair, is on the right.
Thank you both for the captions and clarifications. Great pic!
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And for whatever reason or reasons... I like the new site. I like the new features...
And where would we all be now without DR Jrand's "Allison Hayes Picture of the Week" and DR MBarnum's Current Bollywood Movie? ;)
Oh, and those wonderful, "When I was walking outside this morning, I saw this...." pics.
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...And one for Mothra!
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As long as I've got a minute before we leave
And as long as one of our TOD is "context"
Consider this:
Knowing the context of the film The Polar Express, I'm looking forward to it.
Coming to it blind, Matt is not.
Neither of us is right, neither of us is wrong. We have different vantage points.
Which, I hope, puts our discussion of "context" in...uh...context.
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When I took Wonderdog to the park this morning, the usual Sunday group was there. As the dogs played we spent a good 15 minutes discussing FAHRENHEIT 9/11. Whatever your politics, regardless of how you feel about the movie or Moore, there are not too many films these days which would bring about this kind of intense and much needed conversation about the state of this country - where it was, where it is, where it should be. And I'd bet my vast fortune that discussions of his type are going on all around the nation today.
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Hmmm... I guess everyone is at the Hollywood Collector's Showcase today... ;)
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I'm at home, listening to Donald's "June Moon" radio show and printing the poster for "The Polar Express" from the website that S. Woody posted...because I can. ::) I probably will go see TPE in the theater, because I'm sure it's the kind of movie that I would rather see on a big movie theater screen than up close on DVD (for the first time, at least). I've read the book and love it, but I don't own it (I did buy a copy for my niece). I will, however, go see it with an open mind.
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;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
NEWS FLASH!!
I just saw this on the local news...
Unexpected and unexplained surprisingly large crowds in Tarnation today.
Film at 11:00...
;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
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Hi all,
I just had my first Coca Cola C2. Not bad but I can't get used to it.
I can't really drink Coke or any cola drink. I've learned that people who are prone to having kidney stones should only drink clear drinks. Water, Sprite, 7-Up, etc. Which is strange because that's what I drink for the most part anyway.
Gotta run. It's buliding up to rain and I want to take the dogs for a walk.
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Had an interesting afternoon at the movies in my den. First came the Betty Grable DOWN ARGENTINE WAY. The movie as shown on the Fox Movie Channel is in great shape with no age-related blemishes or artifacts noticeable.
Then, on one of the HBO channels, I finally caught up to BASIC. This movie absolutely infuriated me. It's a combination of RASHOMON, COURAGE UNDER FIRE, and its own switch-the-story-around variation of THE STING. Only in THE STING, when the final surprise was revealed, one felt invigorated to have been had, impressed with the ingenuity of the masquerade. At the end of BASIC, I felt outraged and betrayed by the scam, as if I had wasted the previous 90 minutes of my life. Talk about turning off an audience!
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DRJOSE - well as I said in my review of KRITZER TIME - these are purloined memories. The cultural references and personal feelings of Benjamin are the same ones I had....LOL.
On tv THIRTYSOMETHING used to speak about a lot of things that were happening in my life to me and my friends.
A movie....hmmmm....although it is strange to admit....BILLIE all about gender confusion touched me in a nice way....the struggle to be who you are no matter what was a great subtext of that movie....
DR DANISE you are all dressed up for the holiday and it's great!
WEL you should have an email from me today, and an envelope this week.
I just came back from my family reunion....oh my...well we all have them and we all know what they are like...so...I will just say OH MY.
And while we did get a clothing description of one star - with generous endowments - was everyone else naked? What did Elke wear...what did Angela have on? What did MR BK and Penny Peyser wear. How do celebrities dress to meet the great unwashed?
What did Miss Beverly Garland, star & hotelier have on? And did you ask her about Allison?
DR PANNI - I know that that movie, you know the one I mean, is provoking discussion - but I always remember the TWILIGHT ZONE discussions at school on Monday....especially after a particularly good episode.....certain ones of us were always agog and abuzz!
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There was nearly a two hour gap between posts.
Not my idea of home fries.
I may have to post more doggerel
And this time, it'll be political...
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I have board meeting today so I won't be in chat...which after last week is probably a blessing.
Sorry to hear about TCB's computer problems....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Yesterday the Children's Workshop presentation went just okay. The young group (1st-4th grades) did THE TEMPEST. They were enthusiastic, but under rehearsed. The kids who knew their lines said them VERY quickly...and then there were lots of pauses while waiting for someone else to talk. One girl (who I nicknamed Miss Oblivious) was the narrator. She had her script but instead of following along, she looked around the audience and adjusted her hat....and then after several minutes she would try to figure out where she was in the script and then say a few lines. It was painful....and I am not sure, but I think I heard Prospero introduce his brother as "The king of Nipples."
The older group (5th-7th Grades) did a really nice short version of Twelfth Night - which is hilarious on its own. The costumes were fun, there was some nice music, including live flutes, and that play just makes me laugh...a very nice presentation...and they were having so much fun. They all spoke very quickly....but it was possible to follow the story, even if you didn't know it....
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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not politics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Didn't get out of the house fast enough. Before I could finish putting my shoes on I heard the first rumble of thunder.
Considering how bad the storms have been the past couple of days, I don't want to chance getting caught out in one. They come up very fast.
Thanks, JRand! I'm sorry the sparklers didn't turn out as nice as I wanted them to. They look better on a bigger picture.
I can type. Really I can. ::)
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I heard something on television last night that struck me....something that I hadn't realized before....when he shot Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth was only 26 years old!
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Yikes! Lightning strikes! Gotta sign off--see ya's!
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I heard something on television last night that struck me....something that I hadn't realized before....when he shot Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth was only 26 years old!
Lee Harvey Oswald was only 24 when he assassinated Kennedy.
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Have to go and do a qucik errand. but must say, JR, that the "King of Nipples" gave me my laugh of the week.
Back soon to help fry some homes.
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Will Kerry carry Kansas?
With balloting bonanzas?
He comes from Massachusetts where the gay and merry marry
But there ain't a lot of panzas
In Kansas.
Will Bush rope in Dakota?
Bamboozle-ing each voter?
He's caused them little trouble. You would think they'd cheer for W
Of rubes they have their quota
In North and South Dakota
Didja see what Michael Moore did?
The right wing says it's sordid
You may think he's a ham or a
King for turning his camera
On all the things that war did
Is more Moore in store?
Ignore Al Gore
Along the Allegheny
Do people like Dick Cheney?
And each time I see Rumsfeld
It seems to me my bum's felled
By something getting swolen:
My colon.
Powell
The end
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...I'll just leave "qucik errand" as a conversation piece. Definitions please..
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Qucik errand is an term that means an errand that should take five minutes, but instead takes five hours.
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Noel, ROTFLMAO!!
As for "Fahrenheit 9/11," several of my co-workers are going to see it tonight (Sunday) and have invited me. Another co-worker owes me a few dollars so she said that she would buy me a ticket and we would go with the group (we're also going to meet for dinner before the movie). Anyway, the group of co-workers already going have already gotten their tickets and I don't know if the woman who's getting MY ticket has gotten it yet, or if she will get it first chance on Sunday, or if she'll wait till after we have dinner. I may not actually get to see the movie...well, tonight, anyway. But it's possible that she has gotten the tickets.
Well, I just got a call from the woman who was supposed to buy my ticket for "Fahrenheit 9/11" for tonight, and it turns out that her kids and grandkids are coming over for dinner and she can't go. At first she said that she'd leave the money for the ticket at another friend's house (who's not home right now) but I said that she could buy me lunch later in the week. It'll be a lot easier that way. I'll go to the movie theater right after I post this and see if the showing is sold out. I've tried calling, but it's been busy each of the three times that I've called. If I can't get a ticket, I'll join the gang for dinner at 5:30 and come home...maybe in time for chat.
As for my day tomorrow, I have been summoned for jury duty! I've only had to call in once before, but I didn't have to go to the courthouse. Tomorrow I actually do! I told my supervisor that I have jury duty, but I didn't know until late Friday afternoon that I would actually have to report. The courthouse is close to the movie theater, so when I go to see if I can get tickets to the movie, I'm going to swing by and check out where the parking area is. I have no idea what to expect. Has anyone ever had to actually serve on a jury??
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Has anyone ever had to actually serve on a jury??
I have, several times. It's nothing like what you see on the television or in movies.
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I have received the call a couple of times as well DRGEORGE, but I didn't have to serve either. ;D
Off to my meeting. :'(
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No, I've never actually served on a jury (except for playing Juror #4 in TWELVE ANGRY MEN). I was called for duty once quite a few years ago, but I wasn't drawn for the jury pool. I was told that even if I were drawn, the odds on their taking a school teacher are minimal.
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I've enjoyed it all three times I was called, the last being about a dozen years ago.
One was a medical malpractice suit. A heart surgeon was accused of killing a patient by sawing open her chest bone too forcefully. To be able to decide the case, we jurors needed to learn exactly how to perform open heart surgery the right way. So now I know. I like to put that down on my resumé under "special skills"
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Just got back from TWO BROTHERS. Not a bad film. Beautiful photography and the tigers, both young and adult, were a sight to behold. The film is a might slow and not as entertaining as, say, BORN FREE. I am glad I went to it (as I suppose were the other 5 people in the audience. LOL), but I wouldn't rush out to see it again.
Next week I will try to catch TERMINAL or NOTEBOOK. Both look pretty good.
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Yes, I have served on a jury. My suggestion is this. When they question you, say:
For a criminal trial: He just looks guilty.
For a civil trial: I think juries today award too much money.
Either one ought to get you dismissed. Otherwise, expect to waste a lot of time downtown.
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Re: Australia's mandatory voting system:
http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa060100a.htm (http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa060100a.htm)
Thanks Emily.
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Well, the worst seems to be over. What a storm! Bear was (once again) a quivering mass at my feet. I couldn't leave the room without him following me. Brandi. Ahh, Brandi. She lays by the door like nothing is happening.
I served on Jury once last year. It wasn't a big deal but I will say I got see what crack looks like. I had never seen it before and don't really care to ever see it again. I thought it was white but it was a smokey brown color.
I'm afraid I am very drug dumb. I don't know what you would do with it--grind it up and eat it? Put it under your tongue and let it dissolve? Snort it? Smoke it? Drugs just don't make any sense to me.
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Not much to say today. Maybe later (in about 8 hours).
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Time for a "OOOHH, Tom!"! I wish I could have birds like that in my back yard.
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Fairly common in our garden and this type of bird (the King Parrot) is less flighty and less man-shy). Not all of them are so comfortable with "hand feeding". This one was certainly not camera-shy. The other types of parrot - crimson rosellas, eatern roseallas, sulpher crested cockatoos, yellow tailed black cockatoos and galahs - visit frequently but are not as approachable.
Maybe I'll have a digital camera next year. The smaller honey eaters that visit the garden may then be photgraphed too.
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DR Jennifer - hope you noticed the post from Emily. We do not vote directly for our leader here - he is just the leader of the party with the most votes. Politicians - even the top one - are not revered by the public and certainly given the reverence accorded to them in the USA. They are people paid for doing a job - just like the rest of us. They do it for the money and the power - very few are altruistic.
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Neat picture, DR Tomovoz. Those birds look perfectly exotic to me and yet they seem to be fairly common in your location. Amazing!
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Headed to the den for more movies/DVDs. Haven't decided yet what's on tap until SIX FEET UNDER tonight.
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Whatever your politics, regardless of how you feel about the movie or Moore, there are not too many films these days which would bring about this kind of intense and much needed conversation about the state of this country - where it was, where it is, where it should be. And I'd bet my vast fortune that discussions of his type are going on all around the nation today.
There's no risk in that bet, Panni m'dear.
But, let's face it, Michael Moore is preaching to the choir. Lefties (like me!) are going to be predisposed to agree with what he's saying, and Righties (who, in all likelihood, won't actually bother seeing the movie) have already decided that it's all a pack of lies and distortion.
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Most of today was spent at the annual Gay Pride festival...a splendid time was had by all. The Pride Parade was a whoppin' three hours long this year.
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Qucik errand is an term that means an errand that should take five minutes, but instead takes five hours.
Actually, almost correct in this case... My "quick/qucik errand" took longer than expected - and was then followed by a few other unexpected errands. Thus my lengthy absence.
Just saw off DD who is now on her way back to San Francisco. Now must feed the Wonderdog and take him for a walk. THEN I'll be back.
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DR Jennifer - hope you noticed the post from Emily. We do not vote directly for our leader here - he is just the leader of the party with the most votes. Politicians - even the top one - are not revered by the public and certainly given the reverence accorded to them in the USA. They are people paid for doing a job - just like the rest of us. They do it for the money and the power - very few are altruistic.
Tom the same holds true for Canadian politics. Thank God for colonial parliamentary systems!
In fact tomorrow is our federal election - one of the closest ones ever. I'm going to continue my volunteer work for my Liberal MP and cross my fingers that they win.
Jennifer and Dan-in-TO, I hope you manage to make it to the polls!!! :D
On another note, Noel I like the new political song even more than I did "I Slipped on a Banana Peel on the Champs d'Elysées" - which means I like it lots!
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I believe it was Jennifer who yesterday said this was impossible... (And notice that it opened in far fewer theaters than any of the others in the top ten.)
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE ESTIMATE (VARIETY)
June 25 - 27, 2004
Title - Engagements - Estimated Weekend Box Office (in millions of dollars)
1. Fahrenheit 9/11 (LIONSGATE) 868 $21.8
2. White Chicks (SONY) 2,726 $19.6
3. DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story (FOX) 3,020 $18.5
4. The Terminal (DREAMWORK) 2,914 $13.9
5. The Notebook (NEW LINE) 2,303 $13.0
6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (WB) 3,404 $11.4
7. Shrek 2 (DREAMWORK) 2,937 $10.5
8. Garfield: The Movie (FOX) 2,880 $7.0
9. Two Brothers (UNIV) 2,175 $6.2
10. The Stepford Wives (PAR) 2,437 $5.2
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I'm back, and to prove it I'm here. Much better show today - a few more folks and a much better vibe all around. Chat in a mere forty-five minutes, and I've got tons of stuff to do before, and then a meeting with my set designer. But I have some great photos I'll post in a bit - and speaking of posting, where in tarnation IS everyone? Let's get some postin' goin' on, shall we? Here's a photo of me and rockstar Tiffany.
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Not much to say today. Maybe later (in about 8 hours).
(http://www.haineshisway.com/community/attachments/Morning_Feed.jpg)
Please Sir I want some more?
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Belated Page 3 dance
It was supposed to dance.
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Yes, BK, I can see - a much better vibe all around.
And yes, DR Emily, I shall make it to the polls (which this year are in my building). My hunch (don't yawn everyone): the Liberals will do somewhat better than expected.
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Here I am with boxing legend Ken Norton.
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Sitting at the table in the distance, the legendary Miss Marilyn Chambers.
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Sitting at the table in the distance, the legendary Miss Marilyn Chambers.
Now if someone could find a box of Ivory Snow with her on the cover....................
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Now if someone could find a box of Ivory Snow with her on the cover....................
She had some displayed on her table.
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...I think those rather large people are covering the Ivory Snow boxes.
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The chat room appears to be open... seeing as I'm in it all alone :(
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Did a bomb drop or something. all alone in chat
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Still all alone :'(
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Chat is open but no one is home. Come in if you like. If not, we'll do a mid-week chat when some people are not being errant and truant.
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That's strange - because I was in chat at around the time bk posted the above (6:28) - and there were people there. The one who was NOT there - or so it seemed to everyone there - was bk.
Then bk's name appeared - but he did not speak - perhaps a technical glitch?
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Another hour-long lull. We may be headed to an all-time low
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...Has anyone ever had to actually serve on a jury??
Yes. Twice.
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This is rather nauseating, eighty-six posts at eight o'clock. Well, new low coming unless we get some frenzy going on.
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Here is Grant Geissman and Tiffany - Grant played on a couple of her albums.
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Here are the cuties who were sitting to my right - Tamarra Steele and her sister Lula, both actresses. Tamarra starred in some movie that also starred our very own Melissa Errico, and Lula, all of seven, will be starring in a new Jerry Bruckheimer series, something that looks like Alias for young girls.
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Chat is open but no one is home. Come in if you like. If not, we'll do a mid-week chat when some people are not being errant and truant.
I've been in chat; and i've had a full plate all week, but this weekend was the MONSTER BASH in Butler, PA. . .and despite rumors to the contrary, I was on good behavior:
here are the pictures to prove it:
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v305/minx_the_dog/
That's a fellow countryman of Tomovoz sitting using my computer earlier today. . .
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And, might I just ask where in tarnation IS everyone? Bitch-slapping aplenty shortly if we don't get some frenzy goin' on.
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I'd do a page four dance, but, my feet are killing me!
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If they're doing Alias for young girls, they should probably cast that star of 30 Going on 13
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And, might I just ask where in tarnation IS everyone? Bitch-slapping aplenty shortly if we don't get some frenzy goin' on.
If you go to the link in my message, you might see some Bitches who might need to be slapped. ;)
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My first run on jury duty, I was empaneled twice. At the time, it was mandatory to serve out the two weeks. If a trial ended before the two weeks were over, the jurists were sent back to the pool. Thus, I served once as an alternate (a theft case), and once on a civil case on the actual jury.
Civil cases are not fun. It isn't only necessary to determine whether nor not someone is guilty, but what the damages should be. In this case, a woman had been at a night club with her girlfriends when a fight broke out between two men at the club. She got caught in the fight, and was injured. However, the club's management did not get any information on the men, and just ejected them. The only people she could sue were the club's management.
On the other hand, she had been led down a merry path by her lawyer, who sent her away from her original medical treatment to doctors unqualified for the kind of injury she sustained. We, the jury, found the club neglegent, but also found her neglegent of her own physical well-being by not continuing with the original care. All right, we were pissed off at her lawyer. Which made us cut down the damages.
Like I say, not a fun case. She really shouldn't have been punished for her lawyer's actions. But he was the one doing her as much damage as the duo roughhousing in the nightclub, and far more intentionally.
I really don't like civil cases.
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Second jury run. Downtown Los Angeles. I was first assigned to LA County Criminal. Not assigned to any cases, but there was a need for jurors over at LA County Civil after a few days. Changed courthouses. No one wanted me on their panels. Hey, a few days later I was sent over to Traffic Court. Yep, traffic court. That's where the drunks who think they can get their tickets overturned call for juries.
We found the drunk guilty. (Danged if the fellow hadn't tried to blame everything on his wife. Sweetheart of a guy.)
I haven't been on a jury since.
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Being a woman without a country, I don't have to serve on juries.
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My biggest problem with being on a jury is that der Brucer wants to know everything that's happening...while it's happening. I, on the other hand, don't care to discuss a case while it's taking place. After all, it is I who am on the jury, and who must make the decisions. I think I am adult enough to do so without outside interference.
Der Brucer and I don't argue over a lot of things, but jury duty is never a good time for us. It's a good thing I've never been on a big case, because the lack of communication would have killed him.
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Being a woman without a country, I don't have to serve on juries.
So it is YOU Tom Hanks' performance in The Terminal is based upon!
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My posting frenzy continues...
We are, obviously, back from the grandlad's birthday party. First, what I brought to be served at the party went over very well. The Tollhouse cookies were appreciated by young and old alike. (The Grandmother of the grandlad apparently had liked what I'd made the first time; interesting how that hadn't been reported.)
Also, the potato salad went over quite well. Yes, they liked the salad that was nothing but boiled and diced potatoes and hard-boiled eggs (chopped), mixed together with mayo.
No one made any comment on my having laid a single sprig of parsley (fresh from our garden) atop the salad. They just scooped up servings from around the parsley sprig.
On the way back home, der Brucer told me he'd found the salad "insipid." And he was quite right. Fortunately, I'd armed myself with a bottle of Tobasco, to make my own cooking palatable.
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So it is YOU Tom Hanks' performance in The Terminal is based upon!
True.
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A word should be said about the other food that was served at the party.
The London Broil was very well done. Not burnt to a crisp, but certainly not medium rare.
The hamburgers were also very well done. I'm glad mine had a slice of cheese on top; I like things that have flavor.
There was a quiche, that was actually quite good, with big ham chunks and broccoli. Most of the guests weren't really sure of what the dish was supposed to be.
There was a dish of scalloped potatoes, sort of au gratin. Well, it had been put under a broiler, and the top layer of cheese had melted. Other than that, it tasted of potatoes that had been covered with milk, and then put in the oven to bake. My salad was butch in comparison.
The ultimate dish served was a "pretzel salad." Yes, a "pretzel salad." Der Brucer was brave enough. It is made of a layer of crushed pretzels, topped with a layer of cream cheese, which is then topped by a layer of strawberry preserves of some sort. The ladies at the party thought it was wonderful.
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Great pictures BK and TD! Bk, are you blushing in that picture of Tiffany and her, um, twin bobbies? I do believe you are.
No picture of Kim Richards?? Did you see her?? I must know!
I was E and T this evening, ashamedly so, as I was involved in another Bollywood film. It was a fairly fun one. SAJAN was the title and it started out as a frothy romantic comedy and turned into a murder mystery with 3 people confessing to the crime! I smell a cover-up!
It starred Asha Parekh, who is fast becoming one of my favorIte 1960s Indian actresses ( she was so cute in LOVE IN TOKYO).
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Notice how MBarnum doesn't ask if I am blushing!
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I am not a cat person. But the white cat who lives in the yard has decided that I'm to be her owner. I've been here since November... and for months she was stand-offish. Would run off when I came by. But things have changed, Dear Readers. She now runs up to me and meows whenever I step outside my little guest house. She rolls over in front of me as I walk, purrs, makes strange noises below my window at night. When I go out in the morning I find white hairs all over my front doormat -- so she's been sleeping there. True I feed her and have been scratching behind her ears. (She looks so pathetically lonely sleeping on the chaise by the pool.) Shouldn't have done that. (The scratching.) When I come inside after touching her and Wonderdog smells cat on me, he gives me guilt inducing looks. What is one to do?
(http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/tiere/animal-smiley-055.gif)
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Want to get rid of the cat? Play Cats - she'll bolt right out of there.
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What wonderful pictures! Thanks MR BK!
Marilyn Chambers AND Tiffany! Now that's a show!
Maybe because you are in LA and you are just as likely to see a celebrity like yourself or Angela Cartwright or even Marilyn Chambers at Dorr's Market as you are at a the Beverly Garland Motel....well okay, Marilyn at the motel....but maybe that's why attendance is not as great as it might be in the hinterlands out hyar in the countreeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
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Oh I don't know, DREMILY, I think "I Slipped on a Banana on the Champ DelEsseye" (sp) will be hard to top!
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Der Brucer and I were particularly thrilled with some of the family members at the party. None had any interest in introducing themselves to us. Neither did his daughter or son-in-law make the effort. There was an enclave of six that sat at one table, as far away from everything as they could get, who couldn't even lift a finger to help with watching the kids at the party, or with anything else. Nice.
On the other hand, the day care giver who recently gave birth to yet another child of her own, and her layabout husband, were there with their entire brood. Well, there was food involved, and they need help feeding that many kids (at last count, six). Apparently, the eldest boy is not the husband's child, but the mother's by a first marriage. His father was killed in an accident of some sort, and he receives a nice sum per month as compensation. Well, his mother and step-father get the money. They spend it all on whatever they want, from gold chains for him to tanning salons for her. None of it has been saved for the son, for when he becomes of age. And of course, at the age of eightteen the money stops coming in.
The kids were all...well, kids are kids. They argue, they push, they play and have fun and are completely unfeeling and totally feeling for each other.
A time was had by all.
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Silent version of Last Days of Pompeii is coming on TCM!
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Want to get rid of the cat? Play Cats - she'll bolt right out of there.
You could have played a Cats selection for the lovely Ms. Tiffany...
Mammaries.
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Driving back home with der Brucer from the party, we spotted a surprising number of fireflies. I like them. They are tiny, but magical.
Firefly Night would make a great title for a story. But I have no idea what the story is, as yet.
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Good news, DR MBarnum and others. Tonight was NOT the last night of Matt Battaglia's presence on QUEER AS FOLK. He was featured prominently in the previews for next week. Very happy about that.
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Mammaries
Peeking out in the moonlight
In the quiet and dull night
Oh so thrilling to see
If my mammaries
Are globes that show what happiness is
Just remember:
Triple D!
8)
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As I said earlier, I've never served on a real jury, but DR S. Woody, aren't you instructed not to discuss the case and jury deliberations with anyone outside the jury room? That's what they say on TV law shows.
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Rather than putting in a new DVD, I continued watching GONE WITH THE WIND tonight before my other programs came on. The transfer is still wonderfully clear, deeply saturated, and a pleasure to watch.
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As I said earlier, I've never served on a real jury, but DR S. Woody, aren't you instructed not to discuss the case and jury deliberations with anyone outside the jury room? That's what they say on TV law shows.
Absolutely. That doesn't stop der Brucer from pressing with questions. And press he does!
It's frustrating, because we normally enjoy talking with each other. And he doesn't like taking no for an answer.
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I'm frenzied out for the moment. I'll be back later.
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Driving back home with der Brucer from the party, we spotted a surprising number of fireflies. I like them. They are tiny, but magical.
Firefly Night would make a great title for a story. But I have no idea what the story is, as yet.
Joss Whedon (of BUFFY and ANGEL fame) had a series on Fox called FIREFLY two seasons ago. Fox only let it run half a season, but Whedon got the go-ahead to do a feature film version of the show. I think it's going to be called SERENDIPITY.
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Well, I think I'm going to have to call it a night. On much later than usual, and I'm tired now. Hope the West Coast will keep things hopping for the next few hours.
Good night.
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Driving back home with der Brucer from the party, we spotted a surprising number of fireflies. I like them. They are tiny, but magical.
I don't think that I will ever be
too old,
too busy,
too jaded,
too depressed or dispairing,
too into my self or too into someone else,
too drunk,
too angry,
too fearful or too lost
to ever not be amazed and awed
by a backyard full of lightning bugs.
And if I ever am
it will be because I am too dead.
And won't that be too bad?
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I believe it was Jennifer who yesterday said this was impossible... (And notice that it opened in far fewer theaters than any of the others in the top ten.)
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE ESTIMATE (VARIETY)
June 25 - 27, 2004
Title - Engagements - Estimated Weekend Box Office (in millions of dollars)
1. Fahrenheit 9/11 (LIONSGATE) 868 $21.8
That's over $25,000 per screen, an extraordinary achievement for a film of any genre.
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I've been errant and truant this weekend up till now. It's been a long one, not to mention wide.
I had such a nightmare Friday night! I went to bed much earlier than usual for me, and I had my first nuclear nightmare in years! It was about terrorists setting off a nuclear bomb 40 miles north of NYC. The dream seemed so real that when I woke up I had to turn on the radio to make sure that all was right with the world. Even then, I was still so shaken that I left a light on when I laid back down to sleep, something I haven't done since those horrible days followin 9/11.
P-tooh! on such dreams! P-tooh! P-tooh!
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That's over $25,000 per screen, an extraordinary achievement for a film of any genre.
My sister and I tried to go see F 911 both yesterday and today and all shows were sold out.
Of course, all bets are off starting on Wednesday, when Spider-Man 2 opens. But it will be interest to see how F 911 holds its own, especially when it inevitably opens on more screens.
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I have served on three juries in which the case made its way to decision, all of them criminal cases. First time (in Hollywood) it was a prostitution case. Second time (in Burbank) it was a case of vehicular manslaughter. Third time (in downtown L.A.) it was a case of domestic battery and child endangerment. I've been called other times, but not seated in the box to hear the trial.
I think jury service is interesting and educational if one is placed on a case. In each of the cases I was on, my fellow jury members were conscientious in examining the evidence that was presented and put great effort into coming to an appropriate verdict. On none of the three occasions was it 12-0 from the get go, so there was ample discussion and debate before we arrived at unanimous verdicts.
If left to wither in the jury assembly room, however, jury service can be dreary, indeed.
I also believe doing jury service is an important obligation, and I do not suffer lightly those who make a "game" of getting out of it.
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Want to get rid of the cat? Play Cats - she'll bolt right out of there.
I wonder if there are born-again cats that accost other cats outside of supermarkets, calling "Excuse me, but can I talk to you about the Heavyside-Layer?"
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Darn it all to H-E-double hockey sticks! I was just outbid on a set of Funny Face drink mugs on eBay. I shoulda played dirty and zoomed in during the last seconds. Only way to win if there's something you really want.
(Trying to do my part to prevent an all-time low from occurring here...)
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I was at the Knightsbridge Theatre this evening, Dear Readers, a tiny community theatre here in Los Angeles that operates on a shoestring budget. The show was The Fantasticks, which I have not seen in over thirty years.
Although the quality of the performance varied considerably from player to player, and the orchestra consisted solely of a very electronic sounding keyboard, the charm of the show itself shined through. The Fantasticks offers good argument that, as in architecture, when it comes to musical theatre, sometimes less is more.
I had forgotten (or never noticed in the first place) the parallels between The Fantasticks and Voltaire's Candide. And looking at the show now from the perspective of one in the prime of life (a term far superior to "middle age," in my humble opinion), as opposed to that of a teenager, which is what I was when I first saw it, the bittersweet aspect of the tale resonated much more strongly for me this time around.
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Joss Whedon (of BUFFY and ANGEL fame) had a series on Fox called FIREFLY two seasons ago. Fox only let it run half a season, but Whedon got the go-ahead to do a feature film version of the show. I think it's going to be called SERENDIPITY.
I tried watching an episode of that show. That would not be the sort of story I'd want to tell. It sure wasn't the sort of show I was interested in watching.
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Good Evening!
I actually checked into the chat (right as "Six Feet Under" was starting), but no one was in there, so... I think I may have just missed DR Michael Shayne. -Although, after reading some of the various reports tonight, I wonder if the chat room was having issues.
In any case...
I finally got out of the apartment this afternoon, and headed over to Sidewalk for lunch - since I missed brunch. I had a great bacon cheeseburger! And since the brunch rush was over, Edwina and I were able to do some good catching up. She'll be going in for her double knee replacement surgery at the end of July. Fortunately, they can do the procedure in a morning or afternoon now. And she'll only have to be in the hospital for three days, if even that. But then it's a few days of monitored recovery, and then weeks of physical therapy.
Unfortunately, she'll have to be off her feet - and knees - for anywhere from six weeks to six months depending upon how things heal and settle. So that means she'll have to be out of work for that time - definitely no waitressing for her during that time. She also has no real medical insurance, but something may be able to be worked out. Thankfully, she's been working for the same family and their family of restaurants for about 20 years, and, they, apparently, are kicking in a chunk of money to help her out. -And her daughter will be picking up some of her shifts when she's away. However, I'm thinking I may check around, and see if there's anyway some sort of collection can be taken up for her. Edwina has truly welcomed and served many, many people in Richmond over the years, and I'm sure her other regulars would be happy to contribute to the cause. *Today, she even asked how Steve, my ex, was doing. She remembers everyone. Hopefully, everyone remembers her too. Knowing the family she works for, they may already have something in the works, so I'll check in with them tomorrow and go from there.
-And I may actually help pick up some of her slack while she's away as a part-time job. We shall see.
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Quote from: Panni on Today at 05:09:35pm
I believe it was Jennifer who yesterday said this was impossible... (And notice that it opened in far fewer theaters than any of the others in the top ten.)
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE ESTIMATE (VARIETY)
June 25 - 27, 2004
Title - Engagements - Estimated Weekend Box Office (in millions of dollars)
1. Fahrenheit 9/11 (LIONSGATE) 868 $21.8
TO WHICH JAY REPLIED:
That's over $25,000 per screen, an extraordinary achievement for a film of any genre.
AND I JUMP IN:
At ten bucks a ticket, that comes to 2500 people seeing the film per screen.
The film is close to two hours long. Figure fifteen minutes between films, to clear the audience out, clean up the place, and fill the place up with a new audience. A theater opens at 12 noon, the next screening would be at 2:15, followed by 4:30, 6:45, and 9:00 pm. (Theaters don't like to keep their staff on for too long, it kicks into overtime if they aren't careful, so don't plan on midnight screenings.) And three days, makes for fifteen screenings. If you're lucky.
(Here in Rehoboth, one screen at the 16-plex, four showings daily. And they're in competition with the beach and shopping. Figure the figure in my town to be lower than the national average.)
That makes each screening, nationally, pulling in 167 people.
It's do-able.
But don't forget that the estimates are made by the studios that are releasing the films, or at least by the distributors. And they are known for inflating the figures in order to generate publicity, have done so in the past and will do so again.
We're also talking about an R-rated film, which seriously cuts into the audience. And this doesn't strike me as your typical date flick.
My guess is that the numbers involved in this film will prove to be greatly exaggerated.
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I don't think that I will ever be
too old,
too busy,
too jaded,
too depressed or dispairing,
too into my self or too into someone else,
too drunk,
too angry,
too fearful or too lost
to ever not be amazed and awed
by a backyard full of lightning bugs.
And if I ever am
it will be because I am too dead.
And won't that be too bad?
Thank-you, Dan-T-M!
You've exactly captured what the title Firefly Night should express.
I still don't have a story, of course, but you've helped express the tone.
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It was another beautiful early summer day here in Richmond. Not too hot, and just a touch of humidity in the air. It made for a nice walk up to school to practice.
Well, as soon as I opened the door to the studio, I thought I saw my music back on the piano. Alas, it was just the note I had left on the piano in place of my music. Ah, well...
I decided to take a break from the scales and arpreggios today, and I dove straight back into the Chopin I've been working on. I mainly did memory reinforcement today, as well as some wood-shedding of some particularly tricky spots. -There really are just some places where you have to "throw the hand" to make it work.
After about two hours, I heard the door to the studio open, and one of the other students was coming in. And, as he was placing his bag down, he asked, "Are you the one who left that note?" He had my music! It turns out he had seen the music on the piano for weeks, and just figured someone had left it there to be taken. (Hmmm.. I guess he didn't notice that the scores were rotated every now and then.) In any case, he brought them back, and all was forgiven. Well, there was really nothing to forgive. I knew someone in the studio had to have taken them, and that I would get them back eventually. But still... -Thanks for all the good vibes.
And of interest to DR JRand - He really didn't know what he had. He just thought they were nice editions since they were hardcover, and they stayed open. I didn't bring up just how "nice" they were, but I may have to have a talk with my piano teacher about not passing on information like that to her students. ;) -And from what I can tell, he's quite an accomplished pianist. We discussed the repertoire for his upcoming senior recital - quite impressive.
Oh, and he was cute too! Young, but cute. ;)
Since I'm not currently enrolled, I always let the current students have the studio when they come in - besides, I have keys to the general grand piano studio around the corner. So, since I got my books back, I figured I should at least do some work on the Bach I've been "poking" at. After some good finger work on that for about 30 minutes, I headed back home.
And I took all my music books with me. My hardcover music books. All six of them! Boy, did those books get heavy about halfway home! But I got my music back! YEAH!! ;D
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The denial in some Republicans about the extraordinary performance of F9/11 this weekend is very amusing.
But, Robin, you said it's preaching to the choir. Not too sure. Very interesting article in LA TIMES today said the film even performed well in strongly Republican areas and the articles talks about how it is affecting some Republicans...or as ex-Republicans, as one life-time GOP member referred to himself.
My favourite thing in the article was about a 70-yr. old woman who was outside the theatre with a placard that read: "Nobody died when Clinton lied."
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My guess is that the numbers involved in this film will prove to be greatly exaggerated.
I don't think so. Certainly not a scientific survey - but I've spoken to many people - all over the country and Canada - who were unable to get into sold out showings at all times of day and night.
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So glad to hear you got your music back, Jose. I love happy endings!
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I really didn't think we would tonight, but looks like we made it - oh, a Barry Manilow reference. I'm going to agree about inflated figures because it happens with just about every film these days. Not to say that its box office achievment isn't impressive, it is. But I don't think the numbers will prove accurate. It's mostly in smaller cineplex theaters which are easy to sell out. I'm sure it sold out in the bigger houses too, but not necessarily outside of the biggest cities. It's getting a ton of publicity and you could even hear it on the news all weekend that everyone was predicting it could actually open at number one. There was no way it wasn't going to open at number one, that was a given from the day it opened. It had no competition at all, at least from what I could see was against it. And the figures will not prove to be accurate, I'm pretty sure. Close, but not quite what they're saying. Again, it doesn't matter - its figures are still mighty impressive and its obviously touching a chord in people.
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The film is close to two hours long. Figure fifteen minutes between films, to clear the audience out, clean up the place, and fill the place up with a new audience. A theater opens at 12 noon, the next screening would be at 2:15, followed by 4:30, 6:45, and 9:00 pm. (Theaters don't like to keep their staff on for too long, it kicks into overtime if they aren't careful, so don't plan on midnight screenings.) And three days, makes for fifteen screenings. If you're lucky.
(Here in Rehoboth, one screen at the 16-plex, four showings daily. And they're in competition with the beach and shopping. Figure the figure in my town to be lower than the national average.)
That makes each screening, nationally, pulling in 167 people.
It's do-able.
But don't forget that the estimates are made by the studios that are releasing the films, or at least by the distributors. And they are known for inflating the figures in order to generate publicity, have done so in the past and will do so again.
We're also talking about an R-rated film, which seriously cuts into the audience. And this doesn't strike me as your typical date flick.
My guess is that the numbers involved in this film will prove to be greatly exaggerated.
Just some reports from my neck of the woods on the box office for this movie:
It's only being shown at one theatre here in Richmond. They had only planned to show it three times a day, but after the advance demand was bigger than expected, they added two shows each day this weekend: one at 10:30AM, and one at 11:30PM. All the showings since Friday, and going into Monday evening have been sold out. And for Richmond, that's saying something.
I had friends in DC who saw the movie last night also at added late showing of it. -And there was a report on the news that theatres in DC had added midnight showings of the movie.
As for the R-rating... -And this applies to any movie, not just this movie... Just how much does an R-rating really hurt a movie nowadays anyway? And I know that not all theatres truly enforce the age limitations. *However, I do find it appalling that parents will sometimes bring their very young children (4 to 9-year olds) into R-rated movies with them!
As for this movie, the only really big portion of the potential audience they are shutting out would be teenagers. And I'm not really sure just how many teenagers would want to see this movie anyway. -But I'd be very proud of any teenagers who do want to see this film.
And, as was pointed out, when "Spiderman 2" opens this weekend...
And in the bigger non-political picture, even if "F9/11" does truly finish first at the box office this weekend, the numbers are no where near a typical "blockbuster" opening. In fact, after looking at the Top Ten, it actually looks like it was a slow weekend at the multi-plexes.
*But, of course, I can already see the ads for "White Chicks" this week: "The Number One Comedy in America!"
But, then again, some people think "F-9/11" is a farce, so... But that's horse-racing!
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The denial in some Republicans about the extraordinary performance of F9/11 this weekend is very amusing.
My "denial" has nothing to do with my personal politics. Exaggerations about box office returns are commonplace, and have been noted quite often in news reports. They were even common back when I worked at the Alex Theater in Glendale, a quarter century ago. My comments are based on experience, not wishful thinking.
I have also seen Mr. Moore himself on talk shows, urging everyone to see the film and judge it for themselves. This being the case, I fully expect a segment of the audience to do exactly that. Seeing the film does not automatically mean agreeing with it. The critic for the New York Times, A. O. Scott, has written "It is worth seeing, debating and thinking about, regardless of your political allegiances." Similarly, Mark Keizer of Boxoffice Magazine writes "In pure filmic terms, Fahrenheit 911 is a second-rate documentary, but it is first-rate entertainment and top-notch muckraking."
I'm merely trying to be objective in my ascessments.
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Oh... And I actually received a mass e-mail earlier this evening from a stage manager I know. In it, he was urging everyone from both sides of the aisle to get out and see "Fahrenheit 9/11". He basically stated that whether or not you agree with the film and the filmmaker, there is no way you could walk out of the movie theatre and not want to talk about it. And, ultimately, the film would inspire and rekindle the sense of patriotism that has been lacking in this country of late.
-Any (more) thoughts?
In any case... His subject line was "A Must See". I thought he was going to plug the latest show he's been working on. ;)
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I need to do more research on fireflies. Other than that they are extraordinary, I know almost nothing about them.
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...In any case... His subject line was "A Must See". I thought he was going to plug the latest show he's been working on. ;)
Gee, I thought "A Must See" was how you were discribing that piano student...
::) ;D ;)
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Yes, fireflies are truly a fascinating creature. When I was about six or seven, the backyard of our house at the time seemed like firefly central during summer evenings. It was always quite magical. And boys being boys, my three brothers and I would get jars from the kitchen and go "hunting". -Which was very easy since there were so many. -The smell of fireflies is actually one of the true signs of summer for me - very subtle and base. Insecty. ;)
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Gee, I thought "A Must See" was how you were discribing that piano student...
::) ;D ;)
Well, I'll try to snap a pic sometime, and let you judge for yourself. ;)
-Actually, I think he may be Filipino too. Or at least part-Filipino based on his looks and his name. ???
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OH! OH! OH! OH!
It may turn out that the "bad news" e-mail I got last week, may not be the "bad news" I thought it was.
Another e-mail I got tonight was from the same person, and it was in response to another e-mail I had sent him a few weeks ago. One of the many I've sent over the past couple of weeks. However, the "answer" in this e-mail was to a question I had asked before the "ultimate" question. And after thinking about it, the "answer" I got last week, could have been an answer to a question I had asked earlier. So...
-Maybe he's just catching up on his e-mail - albeit slowly - and I'm just getting the responses crossed.
It may be a false hope, but it's definitely a cause for me to try to get some sort of final, definite, in-person answer this week. We shall see...
*However, that still doesn't excuse him - or explain - why he just hasn't called me in person in the first place. He's not getting off the hook for that.
And, actually, in other good news...
-I have a date Tuesday night.
-And then on Wednesday, my friend, Andy, will be taking me to the Wolf Trap Gala. Linda Ronstadt is the featured guest with the Baltimore Symphony. She'll also be performing some numbers with her band, as well as the Nelson Riddle arrangements which I've always liked.
-And I may be condo-sitting in SoHo come mid-July for a couple of weeks!
:D
*Right now, I'm reminded of that joke:
Q: What do you get when you play a country song backwards?
A: You get your dog back. You get your woman back. You get your woman back. You get your truck back...
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But, let's face it, Michael Moore is preaching to the choir. Lefties (like me!) are going to be predisposed to agree with what he's saying, and Righties (who, in all likelihood, won't actually bother seeing the movie) have already decided that it's all a pack of lies and distortion.
This is the feeling that I had coming out of the movie tonight. And that's exactly what was said by a couple of people who I went with. People applauded at the end of the movie. I haven't experienced that in quite a while. I saw a bit of a magazine show segment about Michael Moore this afternoon before I left and he said that he hired three fact checkers to check facts. After the fact checkers checked the facts, he hired a lawyer to check the facts that the fact checkers checked. He said that if anyone has any issue with his facts, he has the proof of what he's claimed in the movie.
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By the way, BK, earlier I forgot to say how, erm, inspirational I found the fotos you posted.
;)
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Talk about timing! As Ebert and Roeper were reviewing "Fahrenheit 9/11," ABC cut in to announce that the transfer of power in Iraq has just happened or is happening right now!
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I'm late! At least I arrived home in time to post.
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Let's see if we can make it to page 6 before midnight...
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Come back, Mahler!