Frankenstein's Rainbow

            On Sunday morning it was so dark when I got up that it felt like I was still deep in winter time. Even though the sun wouldn't be up for another half an hour there is usually some light at 5:00 but since the sky was overcast it was pitch black. 

            I memorized the second verse of "Le java des chaussettes à clous" (The Dance of the Studded Stockings) by Boris Vian. 

            I memorized the second verse of "Des laids des laids" (The Ugly The Ugly) by Serge Gainsbourg and most of the last verse. I should have it nailed down on Monday. 

            During song practice I was looking out and saw a sparrow almost manage to knock a squirrel off the power line it was crossing towards my place just as it got to my side of Queen. For a split second it was hanging on by its front claws and when it got back on it headed back to the other side. I think the sparrow has a nest on the front of my building. 

            I weighed 89 kilos before breakfast. 

            In the late morning I tried to glue the last part of the handle onto the "Troll" mug that my late friend William "Scooter" Baker made in art school. I must have glued the bottom part at a slightly wrong angle because the last part wouldn't fit. I put the construction glue on and tried to force the piece in but ended up breaking off the top part that I'd glued. I tried to glue the two pieces onto the mug at the same time but the result was not as seamless as my previous efforts. After half an hour I had the handle all together on the mug but it didn't look as great as I'd hoped. I left it to set but I'm not sure if it will be functional rather than just somewhat decorative and sentimentally ornamental. 

            I finished "upholstering" my concrete bock to create my Frankenstein's Rainbow doorstop. With all the gluing and sewing done I can go back to finishing cleaning my oven. 

            I weighed 88.8 kilos before lunch. I had saltines and old cheddar with a glass of lemonade. 

            I took a bike ride to Yonge and Bloor. During the pandemic, with people ordering a lot more food by delivery there has been a dramatic increase in electric bicycles on the streets. I weighed 89.1 kilos when I got back. 

            I worked on my poem series "My Blood In A Bug." 

            I decided to try to shoot a video showing a bouquet of several black cords with the female ends sticking up and moving somehow. At first I thought I would show them growing out of a planter but there wasn't one available with the right look. There's one big enough and sort of the right shape on the deck but it's plastic. I changed my vision and opted instead to use a rusted iron pipe 33 cm long and 10 cm in diameter. I set it up in the corner of my living room in the waning light of the day in the corner, on the bookshelf with the old wall as the background. The female ends were above the rim and the rest of the cords were hanging down out of sight. I shot the video with the Nikon on the tripod and manipulated the cords so the female ends were moving slightly. Then I reached in with a leather gloved hand and took one of the cords, pulling it out slowly and toward the camera. Then I set my rusted "Pipe Dream" sculpture in the same place and shot another video of my hand plugging the female end into the round hole on the side of the sculpture. I'll upload the video tomorrow and see how it looks. 

            To set up the tripod at the proper angle I needed to pull my couch out. There was a lot of dust accumulated behind there and I've felt itchy ever since. 

            I weighed 88.8 kilos at 19:15. 

            I colourized a bit more of the brick wall behind the skateboarder in my black and white photo. 

            I digitally repaired more of the photo of my late friend Michael Copping's son Noah from 1987.

            I made pizza on naan with sauce, a cut up burger and old cheddar. I had it with a beer while watching two episodes of Andy Griffith. 

            In the first story Andy starts planning for Opie to go to college and learns that it would cost $15,000 to send him to a private college for four years. He doesn't have that kind of money and can't make it as a sheriff. A state college would cost half that but one needs at least a B average and Opie's grades aren't that high. This is inconsistent with previous stories in which Opie is shown to be an A student. Opie tells Andy that he's considering studying to be a dentist, which would take an extra four years. Andy decides to open a coin operated laundry because he's been given the impression that such businesses are low maintenance. But after a week he finds that it is intruding on his duties as sheriff. The state police inspector visits Andy and advises him that running a laundry is not a good fit for a sheriff. Opie happens to be outside the window of the courthouse while they are discussing why Andy started the business. Andy sells the laundromat and Opie announces that he's going to study hard to improve his grades because he wants to go to the University of North Carolina instead of a private college. 

            One of Andy's customers was played by Canadian actor Jesslyn Fax, who was born in Toronto. She played Miss Hearing Aid in Rear Window, Avis Grubb in The Music Man, Miss Hemphill in The Man Who Died Twice and an airline passenger in The Family Jewels. 

            In the second story Howard asks Millie to marry him and she happily accepts. Millie's parents in Wheeling, West Virginia want the wedding to happen there. Howard asks Andy to be his best man and Millie wants Helen to be her maid of honour. Howard invites them to ride the train to Wheeling with himself and Millie. Before they leave Goober comments to Andy that Howard and Millie are opposites and says, "When I get married I want to marry exactly the same kind of woman I am." On the way there Howard starts to worry about money. He and Millie conflict on their honeymoon plans as he wants to explore caves while she wants to go to Vegas. Millie also asks Howard to shave off his moustache and he refuses. By the time they get to Wheeling they are having serious questions about their compatibility. Millie's parents and Aunt Hannah are there to greet them but Millie and Howard stand off together to have a discussion. When they are finished they decide that the best thing for their relationship is to call off ther wedding. Howard says he's considering shaving his moustache but Millie says she's starting to like it.