George N. Neise

            On Monday morning I memorized the first verse of “Bambou” by Serge Gainsbourg and made some adjustments to my translation of the song. There's still more of that to work out. Bambou is an African woman and she is being compared to the atmosphere created by forests of bamboo. 

            I weighed 88.7 kilos before breakfast. 

            At 9:00 I logged onto Zoom for the second last Shakespeare lecture. I'm still trying to get caught up on expanding the shorthand of past lecture notes. This lecture was mostly about the difference in how the characters talk in Othello. Desdemona for the most part is the only character who uses plain talk without beating around the bush or trying to cover something up or lie. 

            Professor Lopez asked for questions about the exam and I raised my hand but it seems he lowered my hand and then said: “Your silence indicates there are no questions so we'll move on.” What an asshole! 

            I downloaded the test and looked at it. It seems fairly easy. I'll prepare until Friday and then spend the early part of the day on it. 

            I weighed 87.6 kilos before lunch. 

            I laid down for a siesta at 14:00 but couldn't sleep so I just rested for an hour and then took an early bike ride. My knee was still bothering me but not as much as the day before. I weighed 87.2 kilos when I got back. My knee bothered me after the ride. 

            I expanded the shorthand typing of my November 22 Shakespeare lecture notes. It took about two and a half hours. I started working on my US Literature notes for November 23 but when I tried to download the slides they'd already been taken down. I was able to find some of the quotes online that had been in the slides that I'd remembered. 

            I had a potato with gravy and two chicken drumsticks while watching an episode of the Addams family. 

            In this story, Pugsley is a HAM radio operator and is communicating with people all over the world. But the CIA has been listening and thinking that the things he says are coded messages for foreign powers. Agent Hollister is parked outside of the house and he enlists Postman Briggs to go inside and investigate. The Addamses are happy to let Briggs read all their mail but he becomes freaked out by his surroundings and leaves. Next Hollister gets Conkey the plumber to go in. The Addamses want him to fix Kitty Kat the lion's drinking fountain but they become suspicious when they keep catching him sneaking around elsewhere in the house. They decide to call the CIA and end up talking to Hollister. They invite him in but when he admits that he hired Briggs and Conkey they place him under citizens' arrest. They lock him in a pillory in the room where Pugsley has the radio. He realizes that the coded messages are just children playing. 

            Briggs was played by Rolfe Sedan, who performed on Vaudeville with Al Jolson. He had a recurring role on “Andy's Gang” and “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.” He played the hotel manager in “Ninotchka”. 

            Mr. Conkey was played by Norman Leavitt, who costarred on the western series “Trackdown.”

            Hollister was played by George N Neise, who played the villain in a couple of Three Stooges movies. He played two parts in The Three Stooges meet Hercules.