Screen Monster

            On Tuesday morning I had almost half of  “Le complainte du progres" by Boris Vian memorized.

            I finished posting “La noyée” by Serge Gainsbourg on my Christian’s Translations blog.

            I took an early siesta because I had to work in the afternoon and I wanted to be fresh so I wouldn’t doze off while posing. When I got up I still had time before leaving to do the dishes and have a lunch of lentil soup with potato chips.

            I worked for Surendra Lawoti in the photography department at OCADU. Previously he’s always taught Saturday continuing education photography classes but this time he seems to be the instructor for a regular course. I usually work for David Scopick once or twice a year and this one seemed very much like his, so I wonder if he’s retired and Surendra has replaced him.

            I’d brought with me my laptop and my big French-English dictionary because I wanted to translate “Les petites vieilles” by Charles Baudelaire. Usually there is a long wait before I start posing for Surendra as he looks over homework with his students. In this case the room didn’t seem conducive to me plugging something in and so I just worked with the dictionary and pen and paper. I managed to bang out something for the first two verses:

The Little Crones

In the sinuous folds of the oldest cities
where enchantment blossoms from fear of harm
obeying my fatal humour I study
decrepit beings of remarkable charm

These disjointed monsters were one time young women,
Éponine or Laïs! Now bent and weary monsters
Come love them! As they are still souls although broken
beneath the cold fabric of their skirts in tatters

            I posed as Surendra demonstrated the lighting of a model from the simplest up to more complex lighting. I was done almost half an hour early and was home five minutes after the class would have officially ended.

            It was too late for my afternoon exercises and so I just worked on my journal until it was time to start dinner.

            I had a potato, two drumsticks and some gravy while watching an episode of Wanted Dead or Alive, starring Steve McQueen.

            In this story Josh runs into an old friend named Sam who happens to be a sheriff. Sam needs someone to escort a prisoner on a three-day journey to stand trial for a triple murder and so Josh volunteers. The prisoner turns out to be a beautiful, good natured and well-spoken woman named Jackie Harris. As they travel and camp together, and especially after he gets thrown from his horse and she chases it to bring it back, Josh is more and more convinced that Jackie is innocent. He is even falling for her and considers helping her escape. He tells her to give him the last night of the trek to think it over. The next day when he tells her he’s taking her in she grabs his gun and tries to shoot him but he has already removed the bullets for this test and he takes her in to probably hang.