Roy Roberts

            On Tuesday morning I worked out the chords for lines 2 to 4 of the first verse of "Vieille Canaille" (Old Rascal) by Serge Gainsbourg. There are two lines left in the verse and I'm pretty sure all of the verses have the same chords. I can't spend as much time on this Gainsbourg project when I'm recording my song practice because I have to spend an extra fifteen minutes getting the camera, the interface, Ableton, the microphone and my guitar ready, as well as clearing any clutter that would be in view of the camera. I would normally also have an extra fifteen minutes of time for it after song practice but all the retakes that I do cut that time away and then some. 

            I played the electric guitar this time and there were no technical glitches, and only playing glitches. As usual I did a lot of retakes of "Megaphor" and "Sixteen Tons of Dogma" and for most of the other songs I had to do shortened versions. Some of the songs sound good with the Kramer and some with the acoustic, but I need to be able to play them all on both guitars just for my own development as a guitarist. 

            I weighed 86.3 kilos before breakfast. 

            In the late morning I packed up my Martin again and rode my bike out to Danforth and Woodbine. As usual on that trip I stopped around Logan at The Second Cup to pee. I stole a roll of toilet paper because I was out and it would be too time consuming to stop and buy some on the way back. I'd rather do that on Thursday when I'm shopping at Freshco. If I ride out that far again I could bring a roll to replace it. 

            At The Twelfth Fret Brian looked at my guitar but he didn't think there was anything wrong with the pickup. He said he learned from the repair people upstairs that some electric guitar cables that companies claim are universal instrument cables don't fit as well in acoustic guitars. He was so sure that's my problem that he convinced me to buy a Yorkville cable and said if it doesn't work he'd reimburse me. I didn't remember what kind of cable I bought last week but it turns out that it's also made by Yorkville but a different model. My receipt from Long and McQuade says "Deluxe" while this cable is called "Studio One". When I compare the two, the Studio One jack is gold coloured compared to the other being chrome coloured. The Studio One appears slightly longer, so I guess that might help. He said the jack is supposed to click when it goes in but they both click. I'll try it on Thursday. 

            The air was very smoky smelling in the east end because of the wildfires many kilometers away. On the ride home it was getting into my eyes and giving me a headache. 

            I weighed 84.6 kilos at 14:30, which is the lightest I've been at that time since thirteen days ago when I last rode out to Danforth and Woodbine and back. 

            I took a late siesta and got up at 16:45. 

            I weighed 85.7 kilos at 17:15. 

            I was caught up on my journal at 18:36. 

            I reviewed the video I shot this morning. As usual I did several takes of both "Megaphor" and "Sixteen Tons of Dogma". "La bas c'est naturelle" sounds pretty good with the electric. 

            I reviewed the videos of me performing "Like a Boomerang" and "Boomerang" from June 20 to June 28 of last year. For "Like a Boomerang", June 20 was the best of the English ones so far. On June 22 the battery timed out before I could play this song. On June 24 and 28 there was a little too much traffic noise. On June 26 I screwed up one chord near the end. For "Boomerang", on June 21 it was pretty good and the light was good but there was too much traffic noise. June 23 and 25 was pretty good. On June 27 I was cut off by the battery timing out. 

            I started downloading a YouTube video of the 1926 German silent film "Faust". It was taking a long time and so I just let it run while I had dinner. 

            I had a potato with gravy and a chicken leg while watching season 1, episodes 4 and 5 of Petticoat Junction. In the first story Kate, her three daughters, and Joe are getting ready for the annual jamboree which will be held as usual at The Shady Rest. Norman Curtis is still staying at the hotel and everyone continues to think he's a hobo. Floyd and Charlie let Norman drive the Cannonball but he breaks the throttle and so now the train is stranded and it can't transport guests to the jamboree. Everyone is disappointed and so Norman decides to finally confess that he is really the president of the C & FW Railroad and he can fix the train, but nobody believes him. He takes the hand car to Hooterville, borrows a dime from an old lady and calls his friend the general. Next Joe sees Norman back with what he thinks are three more hoboes. He tells Kate they are taking apart the Cannonball and probably going to sell it for junk. Kate goes to ask Norman what he's doing and he says they are fixing the train. He introduces Kate to retired General Frank Newton who is now chairman of the board of the Michigan and Southwest Railroad; George Prentiss, president of Worldwide Airways; and Dave LaSalle, president of Intercontinental Telephone. Kate is not sure if she believes they are who they say they are. Dave sets up a field telephone and Frank uses it to order the throttle removed from one of the antique engines in his train museum. George orders the throttle to be parachuted in. Uncle Joe thinks they are all delusional. When Joe sees the parachute drop he changes his mind and thinks that instead of hoboes they are spies. The Cannonball is fixed better than ever and the guests are delivered to the jamboree. But then bad news arrives when Floyd announces he burned his hand on the firebox door, which hasn't worked in twenty years until Norman and his friends fixed it. So now Floyd can't play the fiddle for the jamboree. Fortunately Norman can play fiddle and the jamboree happens. 

            I checked the download of "Faust" but it had failed. I reset the download and it was a success in a much shorter time than it failed. 

            In the second story Floyd has been corresponding with a woman through a lonely hearts club. He's sent her his picture and is waiting for a response. But she sends his picture back. He's very depressed and so Kate tries to cheer him up by pretending to be mad at Floyd on behalf of all the women of the valley who will resent Floyd seeking a mate from outside. She makes Floyd feel desirable and it gives him confidence. But then Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo try to add to Floyd's self assurance by telling him that their mother is especially smitten with him. That causes Floyd to aggressively pursue Kate. Kate plots to scare Floyd away by having her daughters ask him to tell them about the birds and the bees. But Floyd thinks they aren't being metaphorical and begins to imitate bird and bee sounds to explain about them. Kate decides the only way to finally put Floyd off is to tell him that if they get married he'll have to help her run the hotel and give up the Cannonball. He chooses the train. 

            Norman Curtis was played by Roy Roberts, who gave 900 performances in 40 years. Throughout the 1930s he appeared on Broadway and then in 1943 he started working in film, first appearing in a supporting role in Guadalcanal Diary. In the 1950s he began acting on television. He never became famous but he was in demand as an executive, officer, or other type of stern leader. He played Captain Huxley on the sitcom Oh Susanna. He played Milton Drysdale's banking rival John Cushing on The Beverly Hillbillies, among many other roles.