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July 3, 2025:

BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, it is late and so I’ll keep these here notes short and sweet with maybe a bit of sweet and sour thrown in just because of the large amount of gunk that apparently is still breaking up. I guess breaking up is hard to do sometimes. I did feel a bit better and there was only one short but potent coughing jag and between that the ones from from the day before, my voice, while not shot, is pretty hoarse, so I’m trying not to talk much. I did get over ten hours of good sleep, so that was nice. Once up, I did answer lots of e-mails, entered all the fixes from both proofers, then got everything ready to send to the designers. I’m waiting on the answer to one question before I send it in and hopefully the answer will be here by morning. I had a pastrami sub from Mr. Pickles – the first one I had I liked a lot, but after that I’ve liked it less each time, so I think I’m done with that. After that, I caught up on some other stuff – what up was doing on the other stuff I’ll never know. I didn’t leave the home environment. At five, I sat on my couch like so much gunky fish and began searching for a movie to watch. The next thing I knew it was eight o’clock. Say what? Another three hours of sleep? Too much sleep. Then in my Prime recommended list I found a movie on Tubi called The Third Alibi – I liked the title and I do enjoy Brit “thrillers” so I chose that. It’s from 1961, but you’d never know it – it looks like a C-movie from the 1950s. Part of that is due to its not being in its proper screen ratio of 1.85. It has a no-name cast save for two – its guest star, who sings a song five minutes into the film – one Cleo Laine – and her piano player, whose first film this was and who wasn’t a name at all, not even credited, but who became a major motion picture star – one Dudley Moore. Anyway, it’s based on a play by a husband-and-wife team known mostly for their TV writing on Dr. Who – Pip and Jane Baker. It’s rather Dial ‘M’ for Murder-like in its tricky plotting – not as good, of course, but it’s only sixty-seven minutes long so who cares. It’s about a kind of jerk composer of musicals who is unhappily married and having an affair with his wife’s half-sister, who he’s made pregnant (IF it’s him – apparently, she’s a bit of a wild one). When he tells his wife, she tells him she will never grant him a divorce. She has enough problems, with a recently diagnosed heart condition that she hasn’t told hubby about. Meanwhile, hubby has sudden inspiration on how to do away with the meddlesome wife and half-sis is ready, willing, and able to along with it. And it’s such a good plan that they’ll both have perfect alibis. I’ll stop there but will only say there’s a twist that I, who am not easy to fool, did not see coming and it’s really good. Competently directed by Montgomery Tully, but obviously really low-budget, and it has a nice score by Aussie Don Banks, who also did several Hammer horror films. I’d recommend this just for Dudley Moore, Cleo Laine, and the fun of it.

That was pretty much it and then it was time to start writing these here notes, albeit a bit late, since they should have been posted two minutes ago.

Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll send the designer all the book interior files, so all that is moving along handily – it usually takes five or six days to get a galley back and then that will be proofed and finalized. I’ll choose the last two songs and then get everyone their music, depending on how I’m feeling I may try for a short drive, I’ll eat, and then at some point I’ll watch, listen, and relax.

The rest of the week is hopefully getting ungunkified completely so that I can have a nice meal out somewhere on the weekend.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, send the designer the book files, choose the last two songs and get people music, maybe take a drive, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite intricately plotted mysteries/thrillers – books, plays, movies. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, hoping the breaking up of the gunk is nearly through.

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