Hawley Pratt

            On Sunday morning I finished posting my translation of “Juif et Dieu” (Jews and God) by Serge Gainsbourg. I listened once to his song “Shush Shush Charlotte” that he wrote for his daughter. I’ll start memorizing it tomorrow. 

            I video-recorded most of my song practice and audio-recorded all of it. I’ve been using Audacity for the audio recordings but starting tomorrow I’ll try Ableton for the rest of June. 

            I weighed 85.7 kilos before breakfast. 

            Around midday I washed and scrubbed the area of the south side of the kitchen floor between the credenza and the big filing cabinet, and between the fridge and the wall. I got it a lot cleaner than it was but I think I’ll go over it again on Monday.

            I weighed 85.3 kilos before lunch. I also weighed 85.9. I got both numbers twice but figured the lower one was more logical. 

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride downtown and back. It was a little warmer than on Saturday. Bloor Street was closed off between Avenue Rd and Bay St because there was a religious event for car worshippers. 

            I weighed 85 kilos at 17:30. 

            I finished updating my journal at 18:15. 

            I uploaded the videos that I shot of my song practice this morning and skimmed through some of the songs. I think there are some renditions that might be worth sharing with the public. 

            I opened Ableton to make sure I know how to use it enough to record tomorrow’s song practice. It took a few minutes for me to figure it out because it seems there are two “record” buttons that need to be clicked. There’s one for each track and then the main one. I think I’ll be able to do it. 

            I noticed the heat was on even though it was 20 degrees outside. Maybe there’s something wrong with the thermostat. I checked and saw that it was off but it must have been on a few minutes before and that’s crazy. I've just kept the heat switched on on the thermostat throughout the spring because when the temperature was above 10 it didn't come on, but now I've switched it off. 

            I searched again for videos that show bed restraints. I found some but they aren’t the kind I want. There’s got to be something somewhere so I’ll keep looking. 

            I watched the rest of the animated series “The Ant and the Aardvark”. 

            In story nine a tiger owes Charlie the ant a favour because he pulled a thorn from his foot, so he keeps beating up the aardvark whenever he tries to eat Charlie. But then he gets another thorn and the aardvark pulls it out. The end shows the tiger helping the aardvark chase Charlie. This is the only episode that went the aardvark’s way. 

            In story ten the aardvark finds a can of chocolate covered ones that has fallen off a truck. But then the green aardvark wants the can as well and so they keep tricking each other to get it. While each one has it he also tries to find ways to open it, including dynamite. Finally, an ant finds the can and pulls the easy tab on top to open it. Inside, Charlie is alive and covered in chocolate. 

            In story eleven the aardvark cleverly eavesdrops on an exterminator’s office to intercept phone calls about ant infestations. Once he has the address he goes to the location, calls the exterminator to cancel and then tries to catch the ant, unsuccessfully of course.

            In story twelve a scientist captures Charlie and does some harmless studies. Meanwhile, the aardvark keeps sneaking in to grab the ant but the scientist protects him.

            In story thirteen the ant belongs to a lodge of forest creatures that defend their lodge brother from the aardvark. Tiny the elephant is especially protective. 

            In story fourteen a sudden snowfall is the obstacle the aardvark must overcome to catch the ant, but unsuccessfully of course. 

            In story fifteen the ant finds a jar of vitamin pills and takes ten, turning him into a super strong ant that can overpower the aardvark. Eventually the vitamins wear off and Charlie goes back to normal. The aardvark tries to stop him from getting more vitamins but he escapes on a vitamin truck. 

            In episode sixteen a termite helps Charlie fight the aardvark with his wood-eating abilities, such as chewing trees down on top of him. 

            The last story begins with the aardvark finally catching the ant but he’s in the middle of the road and they both get run over by a truck. Both the aardvark and the ant end up in hospital beds wearing casts with a vicious bulldog in a cast in the bed between them. The aardvark keeps trying to catch the ant but either the bulldog stops him or the elderly nurse does. After the casts come off the aardvark resumes chasing Charlie and catches him, only to be hit by a truck again. 

            The tiger and exterminator stories were written by Hawley Pratt, who first worked for Disney but moved to Warner Brothers after the 1941 Disney animators’ strike. With Friz Freling he co-created the Pink Panther, although some say it was entirely Pratt’s creation. He directed or co-directed all of the episodes of the Pink Panther Show. His “The Pink Blueprint” was nominated for an Oscar. He directed the TV movie The Cat in the Hat. He was the associate director and animator of the 1964 film The Incredible Mr. Limpet. He also served as an illustrator for several Little Golden Books. 

            Before bed, I searched for bedbugs and killed two babies on the wall near the foot of my bed.