John Cale

            On Wednesday morning I ended my search for chords for "La java des chaussettes à clous" (The Dance of the Studded Stockings) by Boris Vian. Next I'll see if the ones I found fit for me. 

            I ran through "Manu Manuréva" by Serge Gainsbourg in French and English and then uploaded it to Christian's Translations to begin editing it before blog publication. 

            In the late morning I put away all the extra bedding that I'd washed yesterday back under the couch. I put the bookshelf and desk back in place and returned the books to the shelves and the papers to the drawers. I put all the guitars where they were before, including the Washburn and its stand, which I'd been keeping in the kitchen for the last week. It's now back in the bedroom. I'm hopeful that there won't be any more bedbugs and that everything can stay where it is. 

           While I was working I listened to John Cale's alnums "Paris 1919", "Fear" and "Music For a New Society." Some of his stuff is pretty good or at least interesting. These are albums he made after Lou Reed got him kicked out of The Velvet Underground for being weird. When Cale wanted them to record their next album with the amplifiers underwater Reed said it was too much and that Cale had to go. 

            I weighed 88.2 kilos before lunch. I had a warmed up slice of pizza with added unmelted four year old cheddar. 

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride to Yonge and Bloor. I wore a pair of shorts with a hole on the left thigh that gets bigger every day so that now the white pocket can't help but hang out on the outside. I was cool though. I weighed 88.2 kilos when I got home. 

            I went into my CRA account and my Service Canada account and downloaded pdfs of proof of income and proofs of payment from Canada Pension and Old Age Security. I think that's all I need to apply for the Noah Meltz Grant. I checked but the grant application isn't up yet. 

            I reworked some of the first poem in my poem series "My Blood In A Bug." 

            I spent about an hour searching for footage from movies of patients being strapped down for shock therapy. I also downloaded season 2, episode 2 of American Horror Story, which I think has an ECT scene. I'm hoping it doesn't have an annoying FX watermark on it, otherwise I can't use it. 

            I colourized another damage spot on my photo of the skateboarder. 

            On Monday my upstairs neighbour David knocked on my door to give me a pizza he'd just bought at Pizza Pizza. Maybe he'd bought more food than he needed and only realized it later because he indicated that he had other takeout in a bag he was carrying. For dinner tonight I made pizza on three slices of that pizza. I added extra sauce, a cut up pork burger and a few slices of extra old cheddar. I had it with a beer while watching two episodes of "Gomer Pyle USMC." 

            In the first story Private Harry Phillips is transferred into Carter's platoon and immediately shows himself to be an asshole. Carter knows he's a problem recruit but figures his platoon will straighten him out. But Phillips immediately picks Gomer to be his patsy. He takes his bunk, tricks him into doing his chores, and when confronted about it says somebody's got to be the patsy. After Phillips lays on Gomer's bunk and gets him in trouble for messing up a bunk during the day, Gomer asks him to step outside. Everyone thinks there's going to be a fight but Gomer asks him outside because he wants to give him a serious talking to without embarrassing him in front of the other men. But it does no good and so later when they pick opponents during padded bayonet practice Gomer insists on being Harry's opponent and Gomer outmanoeuvers Phillips and knocks him down every time until he's out. Then when Gomer faces little Joey Lombardi it takes Joey one hit to knock down Gomer. Carter asks him why and Gomer says Joey didn't need to be taught a lesson. Later Phillips is transferred out. 

            In the second story Carter catches Gomer playing tic tac toe on a window he's supposed to be washing and accuses him of stealing money from the taxpayer. He tells him some taxpayer won't be able to buy his kid roller skates because of his laziness. Gomer feels so bad about it that when payday for two weeks comes, he gives back half. The paynmaster has never encountered anything like this before. The problem keeps being passed up in rank until it arrives at the Pentagon. The general there says Gomer is either an actor after publicity or he's a nut. He says to send the money back down and to get a signed receipt. But when Carter tries to get Gomer to take the money back and sign, he refuses because he didn't earn it. Carter tries to get Gomer to sign in his sleep. He whispers to him, "Sign your name" but Gomer writes "Your name." Finally Carter gets called to the general's office at the base and thinks he's in trouble. He sees Gomer scrubbing the floor and wonders why he's being punished. The general says it was Gomer's idea to earn back the money. The general praises Carter for instilling such dedication.