Orphans of War

            On Friday morning I still felt under the weather, as if I had the flu, but it also felt milder than the day before. 

            I translated the third verse of “Valse Dingue” (Mad Waltz) by Boris Vian. 

            I memorized the second verse of “Oh Soliman” by Serge Gainsbourg and revised my translation. There’s only half a verse left to learn and so I should have that done on Saturday. 

            During song practice, I was still playing short of a high E string because I hadn’t had time to change it the day before. Hopefully I would later this day. 

            I weighed 84.4 kilos before breakfast. 

            Around midday I got caught up on yesterday’s journal. 

            I weighed 84.6 kilos before lunch. 

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride to Yonge and Bloor. I was feeling a lot better than I did in the morning, but I started to feel like sneezing, although it didn’t happen. 

            I weighed 84.4 kilos at 17:00. 

            I got caught up on my journal at 18:00. 

            I finally found time to change my high E string. 

            In my Movie Maker project I continued alternating one-second clips of the first instrumental in the concert footage of my song “Instructions for Electroshock Therapy” with one-second clips of the 1940s documentary video of shock therapy being administered. I have just a few seconds more to insert and then I’ll need to shorten each clip considerably until the audio of the next verse is synchronized with me singing in the video. 

            I worked on editing the first poem from “My Blood in a Bug.” 

            I had a potato with gravy and a slice of roast beef while watching two episodes of Astro Boy. 

            In the first story the country of Halvah has withdrawn from the World Peace League. Astro Boy is sent along with Mr. Pompus and Dr. Quad to investigate why. Halvah’s capital is surrounded by a wall and defended against visitors with planes and tanks. Even in the woods there are automatic weapons that attack. The only way in is a natural log bridge over a waterfall but they fall in the water and so Astro Boy takes them into the country through the falls. 

            On the other side is a desert where they are attacked by a boy shooting a homemade cannon. When Astro Boy confronts him the boy says his name is Vodka and he is an orphan of war. He says he’s declared war on the world for always making war. As Astro Boy and his companions disguise themselves as natives of Halvah, Vodka follows along. 

            In Halvah it is against the law to laugh and a woman gets arrested for inventing a clothes-pin. Our heroes are hiding and watching but Vodka decides to shoot a stinging propellor weapon at one of the soldiers. Also watching from a window is the soldiers’ leader General Ahmod, who is disguised as a barber and decides to add to the chaos by throwing a bomb so our heroes will be blamed. They escape and set up camp outside the city. Pompus guesses correctly that it was a high-ranking officer that threw the bomb because they survive on confusion. 

            Vodka asks Astro Boy if he can look inside him, then he memorizes the parts and starts collecting robot parts so he can build his own. 

            The soldiers come to arrest them again but a merchant named Ahmod intervenes and says he will take responsibility for them. They are taken to a palace where Astro Boy is suspicious and discovers that there are hidden soldiers there. They escape to the desert but are caught in some boobytrapped sand that sucks them down into a prison. Dr. Quad is sick and Ahmod tells them that Quad ate a slow-acting poison that can only be countered by sub-zero temperatures. Astro Boy breaks them all out and flies them to Mount Flurry where Quad is buried in the snow and cured. 

            Then they are attacked by planes and tanks. Astro Boy fights some off but then uses up all his energy. Suddenly Vodka introduces his robot and tells it to attack. It looks like a very awkward combination of Astro Boy and Pompus, but it’s clumsy and starts falling apart as it advances. The soldiers begin laughing but have to stop because laughing is against the law. Vodka’s robot is used to recharge Astro Boy. Astro Boy defeats the army and sends Ahmod running, and now Halvah is free. Vodka has already made several funny-looking robots out of the tanks that Astro Boy destroyed. 

            In the second story a planet named Planet Thirteen has entered our solar system and is probably on a collision course with Earth. Dr. Elefun wants his country to use an anti-proton bomb on the planet but the general says it’s the only anti-proton bomb in the world and they need it to keep the peace. He will need absolute proof that Planet 13 is headed for Earth before he agrees to use it. 

            Astro Boy has been sent with a crew of robots into space to investigate the menace. But his ship is damaged while orbiting the planet and it can’t leave. Meanwhile Elefun learns that Planet 13 is definitely on a collision course and so the general gives in and agrees to launch the bomb. Astro Boy tells Elefun they are in range of the bomb and can’t get away but to save Earth they must send the bomb. The bomb arrives and hits the planet but doesn’t explode. The general explains that the bomb was only experimental but that was top secret information. 

            Astro Boy lands a crew on the planet and they discover that the entire planet is made of ice. As it approaches the sun it will begin to melt into the shape of a convex lens, which will orbit the Earth and magnify sunlight to cause destruction all over the Earth. The only solution is to force the planet into the Earth’s atmosphere where it will evaporate before it reaches the Earth. For that they need hundreds of rockets and so Elefun goes to the World of Nations to ask all the countries of the world to donate rockets, but each country has an excuse not to do it. But as the lens begins to burn the Earth they give in and all launch rockets. As they approach Planet 13 Astro Boy collects the rockets and puts them nose down on one side of the planet. Then he wires all the rockets together so they respond to one firing mechanism and launches them with his last bit of strength. Astro Boy loses consciousness but wakes up in bed after having saved the Earth. Elefun says the World of Nations is shouting Astro Boy’s praises but when they tune in on TV the leaders are all arguing over which of their countries had the most effective rocket.