Semplica Girls

            On Sunday morning my knee was still bothering me. It seems to have been strained by a combination of the half wheel pose: standing on my knees and bending backwards and riding my bike too hard. 

            I memorized the sixth and seventh verses of “Arthur, où t'as mis le corps?” (Arthur, Where'd You Put The Corpse?”. I have three verses left to learn. 

            I finished posting my translation of “Mangos” by Serge Gainsbourg and started listening to his song “Bambou.” I'll begin memorizing it tomorrow. 

            I weighed 88 kilos before breakfast.

            I read Act 4 Scene 1 of Othello. Cassio gives the handkerchief that Iago planted in his chamber to his girlfriend Bianca, not knowing it's Desdemona's. Bianca gives it back to to him while he's talking to Iago and Othello is hiding nearby. When she is gone Cassio talks about not being serious about her because she is a sex trade worker. Othello is now convinced Cassio has been cuckolding him and wants him dead.

            I read the last chapter of Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. It's full of a lot of tedious descriptions of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It's interesting that I'd previously skimmed the whole novel by just reading the first sentence of each paragraph and got the whole story. The only thing that came from reading the whole book fully was all the descriptions and comparisons with Medea. 

            I read Act 4 Scene 2 of Othello. Othello has started to lose it and he's calling his wife a whore. She doesn't know what's going on. 

            I read the first few pages of “The Semplica Girl Diaries.” 

            I weighed 88.1 kilos before lunch. I had Breton crackers with five year old cheddar and a glass of blackberry drink mixed with limeade. 

            I took a bike ride but continued to hold back for the sake of my knee. I just rode slowly to Dovercourt and Bloor in the easiest middle gear. I weighed 87.7 kilos when I got home. 

            I finished reading Othello for I forget what numbered time. I know I read it in 2008 during Academic Bridging and I read it last year for British Literature, but I quite often read texts at least twice during a course. Shakespeare's plays are pretty complicated so several readings could still be insufficient for a full understanding. Anyway, all the main characters besides Cassio and Iago die in the end. Iago will probably be put to death and Cassio will be governor of Cyprus. 

            I finished reading “The Semplica Girl Diaries” by George Saunders. This is set in an alternative universe exactly like our own except that the rich there have lawn ornaments made out of beautiful living women from developing countries who sign themselves over for a time to be joined together by a microline running from one woman's brain to another. They pose together to beautify people's lawns, often in complementary conjunction with other more conventional types of landscaping. In this story a middle class family wins $10000 in the lottery and gets four Semplica Girls. But the youngest daughter sets them free and they wander off with their heads attached to each other. The family didn't read the contract and ended up owing almost their whole lottery win for the loss of the landscape company's property. 

            I made pizza on naan with Arrabiatta sauce and extra old cheddar. I had it with a beer while watching an episode of The Addams Family. 

            In this story the Addamses hear a crash outside their house and find that a young Hipster has wrecked his motorcycle and also sustained moderate injuries. At first Rocky is freaked out by the weird family but they grow on him and they as well begin to take on his lingo, saying things like “I dig him the most” and “Coolsville.” He calls Wednesday “Sawed Off” and Uncle Fester “Curly.” Gomez finds out from Rocky's motorcycle licence that he is Rockland Cartwright III the son of business tycoon Rockland Cartwright II. He also learns that Rocky's birthday is coming up and the family decides to throw him a surprise party. They invite Rocky's father but Rocky ran away from that life and his father's intention is to drag him back into it. After Rocky tells his dad that the Addamses have accepted him for who he is the father realizes he was wrong to be so controlling. Rocky leaves with his father but before going gives his leather cap to Pugsley, his leather jacket to Wednesday and his motorcycle to Fester.

            Rocky was played by Tom Lowell, who is now the theatre director for the Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills California.