January 17, 1995: I gave myself a feature at my open stage to make up for not performing the week before

Thirty years ago today

            On Tuesday I posed at the Ontario College of Art from 9:00 to 16:00. That night I hosted my Orgasmic Alphabet Orgy writers open stage in the Art Bar of the Gladstone Hotel. Tom Smarda came. I gave myself a little feature at 23:30 since I’d been cut off from performing by distractions the week before.

Maurice Evans

            On Wednesday morning my right knee was considerably improved after slipping in the shower on Monday and having pain while bending my knee. It looks like I’m on the mend and dodged another bullet. 

            I finished revising my translation of Rue Traversière” (Traversière Street) by Boris Vian. Tomorrow I’ll run through singing and playing it and then upload it to my Christian’s Translations blog.

            I transcribed the chords for “White and Black Blues” by Serge Gainsbourg from the set I found on Ultimate Guitar and then another on Boite a chanson (Song Box). Those seem to be the only two sets that have been posted. Tomorrow I start working them out and find out if either of the posted sets work for me. 

            I played my Gibson Les Paul Studio electric guitar during song practice and it sounded good. 

            I weighed 86.5 kilos before breakfast. 

            I continued trying to get caught up on my journal. 

            I weighed 86.3 kilos before lunch. I had saltines with five-year-old cheddar and a glass of homemade iced tea. 

            When I got up from my siesta I put too much weight on my right knee and so it was a bit sore. Because of that I felt a little more uncomfortable during my bike ride than I did the day before but I went downtown anyway. I stopped at Metro on the way home to take advantage of the last day of grapes for $5.38 a kilo. 

            When I got home there was a note outside the building to all tenants that they had to call the tenant in unit 1 to get in. I stood outside and punched the number in the freezing cold but the guy came down fairly quickly. He said one of the tenants broke their key in the lock. Later the landlord brought me a key for the new lock. 

            I weighed 86.35. kilos at 18:30. 

            I worked on my journal but was still behind at dinnertime. 

            I made pizza on a slice of multigrain sandwich bread with Italian sausage sauce, two slices of ham and five-year-old cheddar. I had it with a beer while watching season 2, episode 31 of Batman.

            This story introduces a very annoying made for TV Batman villain called The Puzzler. His obsessions are a strange mishmash of disparate behaviours. His puzzles are non distinguishable from Riddler’s riddles; most of his speech consists of quotations from Shakespeare; and on top of that his crimes always follow an aviation theme. Any one of those by itself would have been fine but mixed together they were like avocado and jam on pizza. He has his men shoot a model plane trailing smoke into Commissioner Gordon’s office. The message attached to the plane reads, “The puzzles are coming” and “I know a bank where the wild time blows. Inside out the puzzle goes.” As usual the Puzzler is treated like someone they all know even though he’s never appeared on the series before. Gordon calls Batman. Batman says the Puzzler uses reverse logic. He then concludes that the word “bank” should be read backwards. Artemus Knab is one of the richest men in the world. Batman thinks Puzzler’s target is Knab and heads for Knab’s hotel. Meanwhile Knab is playing Monopoly with Puzzler. Batman and Robin arrive and it is clear that they have never previously met Puzzler. Batman explains to Knab that he came because he thought he’d be in trouble from Puzzler, but Knab says he’s just made a deal with Puzzler that is worth millions. He’s backing Puzzler in the manufacture of puzzle balloons. Puzzler gives Robin a sample, which later Batman blows up to read the puzzle “If you knew a hawk from a handsaw would you know a parrot from a plane?” Batman says “a hawk from a handsaw” is a phrase from Hamlet. Batman concludes that the plane is Knab’s new counter insurgency reconnaissance jet plane, the Retsoor. The plane is being christened today with the richest people attending, making it a perfect situation for a Puzzler robbery. They head for the airport. Meanwhile Knab has just christened his plane and left when Puzzler arrives with his moll Rocket, who at the age of 37 is the oldest moll on the series so far. She wants Knab to make her a movie star. Puzzler’s men carry lots of balloons into the hanger to give away to the crowd. Once everyone has a balloon the men put on gas masks and begin popping them. An invisible gas puts everyone into suspension and then they are easily robbed. Batman and Robin arrive but inflated balloons are deflated in their direction and the dynamic duo is suspended as well. Later after Batman and Robin can move again they unravel another puzzle: “What letter is n’er perceived in the alphabet?” Robin says it’s the one you find in your mailbox. Inside the balloon is a piece of paper with another puzzle: “The answer is a fence in this world’s glove”. Batman says the hammer spring of a gun lock is called a fence. Robin says “fence” is also a synonym for “jump”. They reason that fences have posts and fences separate one yard from another. The railroad yard is adjacent to the main post office. The Old Globe Balloon Factory is also in that area. They go there and as Rocket is the receptionist she warns Puzzler they are coming in. Puzzler’s men attack. But when Batman and Robin are winning, Puzzler throws two airplane shaped darts with drugged tips that hit the heroes and knock them out. They wake up tied up in the basket of a hot air balloon. When the balloon reaches six kilometers a mechanism tuned to the altimeter will release the basket. The balloon begins to rise. That’s the cliffhanger. 

            Puzzler was played by Maurice Evans, who I thought I already covered in my blog from when he played Samantha’s father on Bewitched, but there’s no record. He was a tenor in a London boys choir. His father wrote plays based on Thomas Hardy in which the young Maurice would appear. He made his professional stage debut at the age of 25. His first triumph was three years later in Journey’s End. In British film he co-starred in White Cargo, Raise the Roof, and Bypass to Happiness. He starred in The Path of Glory. In the mid 1930s he moved to the US and proceeded to conquer Broadway, beginning with Romeo and Juliet. He came to be considered a master of interpreting both Shakespeare and Shaw. In Hollywood he co-starred in Kind Lady, The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan, Planet of the Apes and Beneath the Planet of the Apes. He won an Emmy for his portrayal of Macbeth in a TV adaptation. Orson Welles was one of the few theatrical professionals who did not consider him a good actor. He played Beaumarchais in the fourth season of Daniel Boone. Although he became a US citizen he retired to England and died there. His character of the warlock patriarch Maurice on Bewitched was a scene stealing delight. That character would have made a great villain for the Batman TV series but in his role as The Puzzler in Batman he just seemed bored. 

           

            I dozed off again and hit my head on the monitor and the desk. I went to bed without being caught up on my journal.

January 16, 1995: There was no work so I wrote

Thirty years ago today

            On Monday I didn’t work and so I probably just cleaned up and did some writing.

Chad and Jeremy

            On Tuesday morning my right knee was still as sore while bending as the day before but I was able to do my yoga without much difficulty. 

            I revised my translation of the first three verses of “Rue Traversière” (Traversière Street) by Boris Vian. 

            I finished memorizing “White and Black Blues” by Serge Gainsbourg. I searched for the chords and found a set on Ultimate Guitar. Tomorrow I’ll transcribe them. 

            I played my Martin acoustic guitar for the second of two sessions and it stayed in tune for the first four songs and a couple of times in the middle. That’s the most it’s stayed in tune since early December. I still haven’t put any of the new strings on. 

            Just before 11:00 I rode to Parkdale Community legal for my appointment with Cicilia. She showed my notice of rent increase to her lawyer supervisor and confirmed that my rent increase is legal. It’s still under $700 a month. 

            I weighed 85.95 kilos before a late breakfast at 11:22. 

            I worked on catching up on my journal. 

            I weighed 87 kilos before lunch, which is the heaviest I’ve been in the early afternoon since January 6. 

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride and it didn’t hurt as much to pedal as it did the day before. There was no ache at all on the level and only a bit going up the hills. To play it safe I only went as far as Bloor and Ossington but I’m feeling like it might be okay to go all the way downtown and back tomorrow. 

            I weighed 86.55 kilos at 17:45. 

            I was caught up on my journal at 19:35. 

            In the Movie Maker project to create a video for the studio recording of my song “Seven Shades of Blues” I finished editing the second rainbow wave animation frames that I’d uploaded and cut them so they would fit the main beats. I need to make about nine more to complete the video for the instrumental in rhythm with those beats. But it still looks choppy at that speed. The first rainbow wave animation frames are about half a second apart and they flow a lot better, so I may need to shorten the frames of the second wave as well.

            I made a new batch of gravy with last night’s roast beef drippings. I had some with a potato and a slice of roast beef while watching season 2, episodes 29 and 30 of Batman. 

            In episode 29, Harry Upps is interviewing Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson on his morning show when he pauses for a word from the sponsor, Stay Dry Umbrellas. An unseen, veiled woman enters the studio. Upps opens a Stay Dry Umbrella and continues to talk when the woman points an instrument at him and he loses his voice. Out of the umbrella scatters cards that hold a riddle: “What’s black and white and full of fuzz?” Dick says it’s a police car. They’re guessing either the Penguin or the Riddler might be back and so they call Commissioner Gordon. Batman asks Gordon to check the whereabouts of Joker, Riddler and Penguin. He finds they are all in prison. After Batman and Robin leave, Catwoman and her new band comes to visit Gordon. He is happy to see her because he thinks she’s reformed. She introduces Eenie her first female gang member. The men are Meanie, Miney and Moe. They call themselves Catwoman and the Kittens. Gordon asks that they perform at the Police Benevolent Society Ball. When Catwoman leaves she blows Gordon a kiss and says, “Here’s a kiss to build a dream on”, then she back-kicks her tambourine and leaves. Chief O’Hara is suspicious but Gordon says he can tell a reformed woman when he sees one and Catwoman is a reformed woman. Catwoman learns that Chad and Jeremy will also be playing at the Police Ball but their accommodations are being kept a secret. She calls Gordon and coaxes him to tell her where Chad and Jeremy are staying with the argument that she doesn’t want to sing the same songs as the British group. He tells her they are staying at Wayne Manor. Then she steals Gordon’s voice over the phone. After that she calls up Dick Grayson under the pretense of representing the Duncan Dance Studio. She tells him if he can answer a question he will win a free lesson. Dick says he’s not interested in dance lessons but Bruce tells him dancing is very important for every teenager’s education. So Dick accepts and answers her question, “Who painted Whistler’s Mother?” He says “Whistler”. Catwoman comes to Wayne Manor under the guise of Miss Klutz the dance instructor. But there is bouquet of dogwood in a vase to which Catwoman is allergic. She sneezes her disguise off and is recognized. She drops a knockout bomb and runs out the door. Meanwhile Chad and Jeremy arrive at the airport. An interview is set up and they are asked their favourite group. They say “the chamber of commerce” and the “PTA”. After Robin recovers he is surprised how easily Gordon was taken in by Catwoman. Batman says she is a very beautiful and enthralling woman and when he is older he will see how easy it is to be lured by the female of the species. They head for the Duncan Dance Studio. Meanwhile Chad and Jeremy are having tea with Aunt Harriet. Jeremy says, “Chad was a medical student and I was reading for the law when our first record came out.” They plan to finish their schooling. Chad says every record their fans buy brings him a notch closer to becoming a brain surgeon. None of that background is true though. Back at the dance studio Eenie asks Catwoman why she doesn’t steal Batman’s voice. She answers, “Never! One of the few joys I have in life is when his rich manly baritone caresses my ears with ‘Catwoman, you’re under arrest’. Ooooh it makes everything worthwhile!” Is Adam West’s voice a baritone? Batman and Robin arrive at the studio and Catwoman has her guys attack them. They defeat the men and come to arrest Catwoman and Eenie. Catwoman asks if she can powder her nose first. She opens her compact, puts some powder on the claws of her gloves, then gently scratches Batman and Robin, who become groggy, slurred and collapse. They wake up in a transparent echo chamber that amplifies every sound 10 million times. A faucet above them is turned on to drip on a drum, with each drip sounding to Batman and Robin like crashing thunder. Catwoman tells them their brains will be turned into yuck. Then Batman will be hers forever, without an intellect, but with a build like that who cares. Catwoman and her crew leave them to their torture.

            In episode 30, as the thunderous dripping continues to torture Batman and Robin, Batman gets an idea. He tells Robin that every room has its sympathetic vibration and a note that will shatter glass. He says the note for the echo chamber should be F sharp above high C. Batman hums a note that is supposed to be one that will shatter glass. Robin joins in and then the wall shatters. The wall would have to be made of delicate crystal for that to work so obviously a shatterable glass wall would not serve as the wall of a prison that is also an echo chamber that amplifies sounds 10 million times. If the wall was shatterable the dripping sounds or any other would have shattered it. Meanwhile Chad and Jeremy begin their concert, singing “Distant Shores”. Catwoman steps onto the stage and steals their voices. Batman and Robin arrive but Eenie cuts the lights and Catwoman and her crew all have see-in-the-dark glasses. The next day Batman and Robin are interviewed by Allan Stevens (played by Steve Allen) when Catwoman and her gang step into the studio. She says she wants 8 million Pounds for the return of Chad and Jeremy’s voices, which in US dollars at the time was $22,400,000. She thinks England will pay because Chad and Jeremy pay so much income tax that if it were to stop it would break the empire. If she doesn’t have the money by the next day at noon she’ll turn her voice eraser loose on everyone. Allan tries to argue with her and loses his voice too. Batman and Robin to the British consul general. He gets a call from the prime minister just after they arrive and is told that England will not pay the ransom. Batman and Robin leave by climbing down the side of the building and there is a cameo from the famous Hawaiian crooner Don Ho. Later Batman hears a recording of a phone call from Catwoman and he analyzes the background noise to find that it’s from three hair dryers. Then Chad and Jeremy write a note saying they want to get their hair done at Mr. Oceanbring’s. His men’s salon has three dryers. Catwoman says she can return everyone’s voices with her spray compound of sweet basil, garlic salt and goat’s milk. Batman arrives at the salon. She tells him that if he could just come down off his high horse for a moment they could make such beautiful music together. Robin says she’ll play a different tune when they’re through. Catwoman tells him teenagers should be seen and not heard. Her men attack while Catwoman puts on her lipstick. Batman and Robin defeat the gang but Catwoman escapes. Batman goes after her and outside she jumps him from above. When he rises she has him covered with both her sonic beam gun and her voice eraser. But she hesitates to kill him and says, “Can’t you see how I feel about you? How I want you by my side?” She can’t kill him and gives up. She says, “It was a good plot while it lasted”. Batman agrees that it was one of her very best. She asks if he’ll take her on a date when she gets out of prison. He says they’ll have plenty of time to think about it. She asks, “If I were to kiss you would you think I was a bad girl?” He says, “No, of course not. Kissing is one of the most natural things in the world. Some people kiss almost every day I’m told”. They are about to kiss when much to Catwoman’s annoyance Robin calls for Batman. Batman asks to take a raincheck on that kiss. They walk arm in arm to the waiting police. Chad and Jeremy get their voices back and we see them in concert again singing, “Teenage Failure” by Jeremy Clyde. Bruce, Dick, Alfred and Harriet are in a balcony box together and Gordon arrives. He says his grandchildren insisted he see Chad and Jeremy. In thirty episodes we meet his only daughter Barbara who has just graduated from college and who becomes Batgirl, so there’s a bit of a conflict for him to have grandchildren. 

            Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde played themselves. They met while attending the Central School of Speech and Drama and Chad taught Jeremy how to play guitar. By 1962 they were a performing folk duo, with the side project of a rock and roll band called The Jerks. They were discovered while performing in a London coffeehouse called Tina’s and signed to a recording contract. Their first single was Yesterday’s Gone, written by Chad and it was their only hit in the UK, but it was bigger in the states. Jeremy would sing the melody while Chad would do the high harmonies. Their second single “Summer Song” was an even bigger hit in the US. Up until 1965 they released four albums, with songs that charted but not in the top 10. Clyde went back to acting for a year. Chad formed a duo with his wife Jill, performing Chad and Jeremy songs. They got back together in 1966. Distant Shores, their last top 40 hit was composed by James Guercio who produced the first twelve Chicago albums. They worked in the States where they were most successful but didn’t become US citizens because then they might have to go to Vietnam. They made appearances on several popular TV series of the 60s. Their appearance on the western series Laredo was meant to be a back door pilot for a western themed Chad and Jeremy TV series called Paleface, that was never picked up. Their psychedelic albums Of Cabbages and Kings and The Ark were well received by critics but commercial failures. They wrote the soundtrack for the movie Three in the Attic. After that they broke up and Clyde returned to the theatre and was a success. Stuart became musical director for the Smothers Brothers variety show. They reunited from time to time as a duo and as part of a British invasion reunion tour. I fell asleep again and fell behind on my journal. Clearly my sleep patterns have changed again as I age and I get sleepy earlier. Trying to catch up all the time is cutting into a lot of my projects. Short of taking drugs to stay awake, I’ve decided the only solution is to opt for watching only one half hour show at suppertime rather than two. It will take be twice as long to get through a series but what the hell. Maybe later on I’ll start staying awake.

January 15, 1995: My daughter had refused to sleep in my place since before Christmas

Thirty years ago today

            On Sunday I had my daughter with me for a while but she didn’t stay overnight. She hadn’t slept in my apartment since before Christmas and the only way I could see her was to either go all the way up to Nancy’s parent’s house in Scarborough or meet with my daughter and Nancy somewhere. She really didn’t want to stay at my place.

Grace Gaynor

            On Monday morning I ran through singing and playing “Rue Traversière” (Traversière Street) by Boris Vian in French. Tomorrow I’ll start revising my translation. 

            I memorized the second verse of “White and Black Blues” by Serge Gainsbourg. There are three choruses left with some lines that are different from the first chorus but I should have the whole song nailed down tomorrow. 

            I had a telephone appointment with Parkdale Community Legal for 11:00 but Cecilia didn’t call until 11:15. She told me she didn’t have a copy of my notice of rent increase. I said the receptionist copied it on Thursday morning. She said she’d call me back. She called at 11:30 and said the only copy she had was from 2023. I assured her I dropped off the 2024 notice for an increase on February 1, 2025. She said the receptionist wasn’t there. I said this wouldn’t have been a problem if they’d given me an in-person appointment in the first place as they have for years. She asked if I could come in tomorrow at 11:00 and I said yes. 

            I weighed 86.6 kilos before breakfast, which is the heaviest I’ve been in the morning since January 5. 

            I took a shower and for the first time in memory I slipped and fell. I landed on my left hand on the bathroom floor with my feet still in the bathtub. I’m guessing that maybe the edge of the tub also broke my fall when my butt hit it. I didn’t feel injured and finished my shower but afterward my good right knee was sore when bending. I know I didn’t hit my knee on anything and so I must have wrenched it while trying to catch my balance or when I fell. The corner of the nail on my left thumb was also sore. 

            I weighed 86.85 kilos before lunch. That’s the most I’ve tipped the scales in the early afternoon since last Monday. 

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride but my knee was sore while pedaling. It was also snowing and so I only went to Dundas and Gladstone and then south to Freshco where I bought four bags of grapes. Most of the grapes were soft and so I picked through several bags and took only the firm ones. I did a price match with the Metro price of $5.38 a kilo. 

            I weighed 86.8 kilos at 17:30. 

            I was caught up on my journal at 19:43. 

            In the Movie Maker project to create a video for the studio recording of my song “Seven Shades of Blues” I started editing the frames for my second rainbow wave animation to make them fit the rhythm of part two of the instrumental. Following the main beats may be too slow because I’m not getting the flow of motion I wanted but I’ll finish at this pace and then see whether I want to make the changes quicker. 

            I roasted a whole eye of round and had an end with a potato and the rest of my gravy while watching season 2, episodes 27 and 28 of Batman. 

            In episode 27, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Aunt Harriet, Commissioner Gordon, and Chief O’Hara are guests at the gala opening of the exclusive Penguin’s Nest restaurant. The food is excellent and everyone is having a great time despite knowing that the restaurant owner is The Penguin. He has apparently served his time and learned the restaurant trade in prison. Parole must work very differently in the Batman TV universe because in our world someone with multiple charges of attempted murder, prison breaks, assaults, armed robberies, and kidnappings would not come up for parole again only a few weeks after being placed in prison no matter how good their behaviour, if ever. Penguin’s establishment has a unique way for guests to place their orders. They are required to handwrite and sign them. Penguin comes to Bruce’s table and kisses Harriet’s hand only to lift her diamond bracelet. O’Hara nabs him and is about to arrest him when Bruce suggests there is something strange and perhaps Batman should be consulted. Penguin says to forget about Batman and just take him to prison. But now Gordon is suspicious as well and agrees to call Batman. Bruce calls Alfred from another phone booth and has Alfred patch the Batphone through to his booth number, then he answers Gordon’s call. Batman says he’ll be right there and then Bruce takes Harriet home only to return as Batman. He learns that Penguin’s restaurant has been doing grand business, worth far more than Harriet’s bracelet and so it is curious why he would be so willing to throw it all away. Penguin introduces his staff: Cordy Blue, his chef; Matey Dee the head water; and Chickadee, his hatcheck and cigarette girl. Batman tells Gordon that it’s obvious Penguin wants to be arrested. They decide not to arrest him and it makes him angry. Penguin assaults Gordon with a cream pie in the face. O’Hara definitely wants to arrest him now but Batman stops him. Penguin needs to stay free so they can find out what he is planning. They leave Penguin disappointed and then Batman and Robin climb the side of the building to access his secret headquarters. On the way up there is a cameo from Lurch of the Addams Family. When Batman and Robin get to Penguin’s window they witness him assassinating Cordy. They crash through the window but Batman discovers Cordy is alive because Penguin was shooting blanks. Penguin knew Batman was climbing the wall. Batman does arrest Penguin but takes him to jail for the night instead of prison because the charge is merely discharging a firearm in the kitchen of a licensed restaurant. Batman and Robin return to the Batcave to look at the layout of the Gotham State penitentiary. There is a special cell reserved for Penguin that has an adjoining door to that of Ballpoint Baxter. That explains why Penguin wants to go to prison. He is in possession of hundreds of hand written orders and so he will get Baxter to forge cheques with the signatures of the richest people in Gotham. Penguin’s gang arrives at the jail with a meal for him but the guard uses a metal detector on it only to be shocked into unconsciousness because the meal is a high voltage battery pie. They get the keys and unlock Penguin’s cell. Batman and Robin arrive and the first big fight occurs. Then O’Hara arrives but Chickadee trips him and holds a gun on him, causing Batman and Robin to stop fighting. They leave with O’Hara as a hostage. Later Penguin calls Batman through Gordon and tells him they will be at the old abandoned Navy recreation centre and so the heroes head there. Meanwhile Penguin is ready to electrify the pool, Chickadee is ready to push a metal box containing Chief O’Hara down a slide into the pool; and Cordy and Matey are ready to open fire on Batman and Robin. That’s the cliffhanger. 

            In episode 28, Batman and Robin arrive. The metal box is pushed into the pool, the guns open fire and Penguin moves to electrify the pool. Batman and Robin are behind the bulletproof Batshield. Batman throws a Bat Pellet at Penguin and the explosion knocks him away from the switch. Batman and Robin advance towards the electrical cables and uses his Bat Inverter to reverse the polarity so when Penguin flicks the switch the whole pool turns into a gigantic anti-magnet. Sure it would! This causes the metal box to levitate out of the pool and land on the ground. Penguin and his gang are arrested and O’Hara is freed. Next we see Penguin’s criminal trial. Penguin accuses Batman and Robin and the Gotham police with conspiracy to deprive him of his lawful right to go to prison. He cites his theft of Harriet’s bracelet and how Batman let him go. Batman tries to explain why and says “I felt…” but Penguin asks, “”Do we live under a code of law or a costumed madman’s feelings?” The judge thinks Penguin has a good point. He says the acts of which Penguin is accused were merely a reaction to an illegal police conspiracy. Batman withdraws his case. The judge tells Penguin that his eloquence has gained his freedom and so Penguin is once again disappointed. Later Batman gives Alfred fake fingerprints so he can impersonate the infamous forger Quill Pen. Alfred says it’s fortunate that the criminal classes don’t realize the possibilities. Batman says they are too addicted to tobacco and alcohol to have the nerve control for this sort of work. Batman sends Alfred to the Penguin’s Nest. In the restaurant O’Hara draws attention to Alfred by hassling him and calling him by the name of Quill-Pen. O’Hara leaves and Chickadee gets Quill’s fingerprints. They check out. Penguin goes to sit with Quill-Pen. But then when he puts on his glasses Penguin recognizes him as Alfred. He knocks him out with gas from his umbrella and then tells all of the dinner guests to leave because the place has been infected with food poisoning. Back at the Batcave Alfred is late reporting in and so Batman and Robin head for the Penguin’s Nest. Meanwhile Penguin decides to put Alfred in a giant pie. Batman and Robin search the abandoned kitchen but only find Alfred’s bowler hat dusted with pastry flour. Penguin and his gang deliver the giant pie to Wayne manor. Dick calls Harriet and Penguin grabs the phone to tell him Bruce Wayne had better hurry home to see Alfred alive. Bruce and Dick arrive and Penguin has Cordy light the burner under the pie. He tells Bruce that inside the pie is Quill-Pen the forger and he will be cooked unless he pays $1 million cash. Bruce says he has that amount in the small wall safe in his study, so he and Dick leave, then head down the Batpoles to the Batcave to change into Batman and Robin, then switch off the costume change mechanism when they go back up. They run back into the living room and the final fight takes place. Chickadee threatens to shoot Harriet but Alfred pops out of the pie and distracts her enough for Harriet to knock her over the head with a vase before fainting. Penguin and his gang are defeated. Later in Gordon’s office Penguin and his gang are happy they are about to finally be sent to prison. But then Ballpoint Baxter is brought into the room. Bruce has just secured Baxter a parole to teach penmanship to underprivileged children in a Wayne Foundation camp. So Penguin will no longer have Baxter to forge the cheques and his efforts to return to prison were for nothing.

            Chickadee was played by Grace Gaynor who played Joey’s friend Judith in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. She played Mrs. Underhill in Fletch and Fletch Lives. She played a lot of gun molls on TV series. On Batman she plays a female criminal accomplice who has no problem with killing, unlike a lot of the villain molls in that series who tend to become repentant later on or love Batman more than the bad guy. What’s great about Gaynor as a bad girl is that she doesn’t look fierce even while being threatening and actually seems somewhat childlike and happy in her role. I went to bed half a day behind on my journal again because I still keep falling asleep.

January 14, 1995: I got paid in cash and bought groceries

Thirty years ago today

            On Saturday I posed at Artists 25 from 10:00 to 16:00 and since they paid cash I bought some groceries on the way home.