New Sign

            On Tuesday morning I finished working out the chords for the verses of "Bourrée de complexes" (Buried in Complexes) by Boris Vian and I started figuring them out for the chorus.

I continued to work on my revised translation of “Variations sur Marilou” by Serge Gainsbourg.

            During song practice, when I played "The Time of Yeah Yeah Yeah" I paid special attention to the Gm7 chord that I fumbled on all seventeen recordings that I made this summer. I found that I can play the chord better when I’m conscious of it. I put all my fingers in the right place but when I’m not paying attention I don’t press hard enough and so it plays dull and buzzy.

            Around midday I gathered my clothes and bedding and took them to the laundromat. Besides the attendant I was the only person there. He was sitting and watching Korean cartoons on his laptop. He didn't bother to wear a mask until he got up to do some work.

            For lunch I had a can of lentils with salsa and a half a bowl of potato chips.

            In the afternoon I did my exercises while listening to Amos and Andy. This was another story that’s been redone a few times. Andy has a date for a fancy New Years Eve party and he's looking for a tuxedo. Kingfish talks him into renting his twenty year old moth eaten tux but then someone else comes along and wants to rent the tuxedo from him. Since the guy says he’ll be bringing it back early Kingfish rents it to him, figuring it'll be there when Andy comes for it. But the guy calls and says he’ll be wearing it all night after all. Andy has to break his date and so she breaks up with him. In order to make it up to Andy Kingfish convinces Consuela that Andy is so broken up about her breaking up with him that he’s joining the French Foreign Legion. The Legion is so tough that if you survive they shoot you for being  a traitor. When Consuela hears of this she makes up with Andy.

            I took a bike ride downtown and back. It was quite cool for July in my apartment all day but it was warm on my bike. I guess it’s because my apartment faces the lake.

            Some workmen spent all day putting up the Popeye’s sign on my building but they still didn’t put the coloured cover over it.

            I watched and listened to about half of the video recordings I made of “Vilaines filles, mauvaise garçons” and my translation, "Bad Girls and Naughty Boys". I think some of each are good enough to upload to YouTube although there's a buzz sometimes on the final chord.

            I had a potato, a chicken leg and some gravy while watching two episodes of “The Adventures of Robin Hood".

            In the first story there is a drought in Sherwood Forest and Robin’s men are all looking for water. While Little John and Derwent are searching together they are spotted by the sheriff’s men and escape to a cave. The captain decides to smoke them out by throwing bundles of brush at the mouth of the cave and setting them on fire with an arrow. But the wind catches some of the sparks and the forest catches fire. The sheriff and all of his men come to put out the flames but it’s getting stronger. Robin and his men come to help and the sheriff is forced to recognize a truce. As the wind is blowing towards Nottingham Robin proposes they start a counter fire on a certain ridge in the fire's path. When the Fire reaches the ridge there is nothing to burn for it to advance and it fizzles out. 

            In the second story it is time for Robin and Little John to travel to Lincoln to replenish their supply of Lincoln green from the tailor Master David. But before they leave David’s assistant Shanks comes to sell them some cloth. He says that he and David have parted ways and he is offering Lincoln green cloth at half price. Marian advises Robin to test the bolts from the bottom of the pile. The bolt is thrown over a tree limb and Little John tests it by trying to climb it but it rips, thus proving that it’s a lower quality of cloth than that which they buy from David. Robin sends Shanks away before he, Marian and Little John begin their journey to Lincoln. Shanks goes to the sheriff of Nottingham to inform him that Robin is on his way to Lincoln and he tells him that he can be found at Master David’s shop. The sheriff goes there with his men and captures Robin and Little John. David’s fabrics and his money are confiscated and given to Shanks and Robin and Little John are imprisoned in the tower of Lincoln Castle. When David mentions that he used to be pretty good with a sling, Marian draws an analogy between David and Goliath and Master David and Lincoln Castle as she formulates a plan. She has David use his sling to throw a spindle of thread through the window of the Lincoln Tower. The thread is used to hoist into their cell a pair of sheers which they use to cut their bonds. The thread is used again to draw an unravelled bolt of Lincoln green fabric up to the tower. The sheriff has given orders to his guards that under no circumstances is the cell door to be opened until morning and so Robin takes advantage of this by banging on the door and calling for the sheriff while Little John uses the sheers to chisel around the loosest of the bars on the window. Once the bar is pulled out Robin and Little John climb down the fabric to freedom.