July 3, 1994: My daughter and I played with and in the water

Thirty years ago today 

            On Saturday I think I had my daughter with me. It was a warm day so we would have spent it playing outside either with or in water. She stayed overnight.

Whispering Ghost

            On Monday it was Canada Day. 

            In the morning I worked out the chords for the first verse of “Litanie en Lituanie” (Litany in Lithuania) by Serge Gainsbourg. I think the other verses and the instrumental just repeat that pattern.

            Yesterday I bought the Boss FS6 foot switch but when I connected the battery the power light didn’t come on and so I assumed the battery was dead. But this morning on a whim I plugged a cable into one of the jacks and the light came on even without the amp being on. I played my Kramer electric guitar during song practice and used both the FV-50 H volume pedal and the FS6 switch. It was fun being able to switch to reverb or distortion in the middle of certain songs I’ve been feeling might work with more than one effect but couldn’t do it without stopping the song to walk over to the amp and change it. It’s going to take a while though for me to get quick enough with my feet to use the effects without screwing up the rhythm of a song. I think progress was made even during today’s practice. 

            I weighed 88.5 kilos before breakfast. 

            I washed a pair of shorts and a couple of pairs of socks to dry out on the deck in the sun but when I went outside the deck was gone. It was there yesterday but since the landlord tore it up and it’s all sitting in a pile at the back edge of the roof. The mountain bike that Nick Cushing gave me was lying there as well so I moved it elsewhere on the roof just in case Raja or someone else decides to toss it over.

            I moved another seventy photos from my main hard drive to the Samsung SSD. 

            I weighed 88.25 kilos before lunch. 

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride downtown and back. 

            I weighed 88.05 kilos at 17:00. 

            I was caught up on my journal at 17:45. 

            I went out to look for characters to pretend to sing lines from my song “The Next State of Grace” for the video I’m making. David, the guy who panhandles in front of my building had said he’d be available to do a video this evening. He was around earlier when the light was too harsh but I saw him walking up O’Hara and I assume home when I was heading for my bike ride. He does leave and come back a few times during the day, but meanwhile I walked west to see who else I could find. At West Lodge I saw the guy I’ve been really wanting to put on video, the guy I’ve been calling the “Animal Man” since I didn’t know his name and because he has a tail, antlers and parts from other animals that he wears. He greeted me with “Happy Canada Day!” before I could even ask. We bumped fists then I asked him if he’d like to be in a video and he was all for it even before I told him I’d give him $10. He asked if he could wear his mask and I said “Yes!” We went across the street where the light was and he stood by a tree. He very enthusiastically followed my directions and sang, “Sit here and wait for the next state of grace” and “Line up and wait for the next state of grace” a few times while gesturing with his tomahawk and his other hand. It was a video dream come true and hopefully the end result will be as well. He says his name is “Whispering Ghost with Wings of Silver” but everyone calls him Silver Wing because it’s easier. He says he’s down here from Sault Ste. Marie with his partner and their Ukrainian son who is seven. They left the Sault during Covid and decided to explore. He’s Ojibway of the Bear Clan. He’s very creative and made his mask himself. I’ll upload and convert the video tomorrow. Hopefully it’ll turn out but right now I’m pretty happy about the accomplishment of capturing this guy for my video. When we said goodbye we gripped each other’s right forearms and pulled in to press our right shoulders together.

            I went to the Queen Fresh Market to buy some raspberries because I wanted to break a $20 in case I saw David and he was willing to shoot the video tonight. I noticed when I got home that the rubber washer that I use for my tripod mount was gone. I went back to Queen Fresh to see if it had fallen off when I laid my tripod on the counter but the owner said it didn’t. Fortunately it came in a pack of two but I’ll have to be more careful from now on when I shoot videos with the tripod so I don’t lose the second one. They’re not that expensive anyway but I expected to have them both forever. 

            I reviewed the song practice videos of my performances of “The Wooden Leg” and “La jambe de bois” from September 7 to 14 of last year. On September 7 and 11 I played “The Wooden leg” on my Martin acoustic guitar. On September 7 the take at 14:00 in part B was not bad. On September 11 the take at 11:00 in part B was not bad and looked good. This session is already a project in Movie Maker. I played “La jambe de bois” with the Martin on September 10 and 12. On September 10 the take at 8:30 in part B was pretty good but the light wasn’t great. On September 12 the take at 3:30 in part B was okay but the light was bad. On September 14 I played it on the Kramer but the take at 8:10 in part B wasn’t great and the guitar didn’t sound good. I’ve finished reviewing the videos for these songs and so now I have twenty two videos to re-review. I have six acoustic sets of “La jambe de bois” to compare and three electric sets. Then nine acoustic sets of “The Wooden Leg” and four electric sets.

            I had a potato with gravy and two chicken drumsticks while watching season 4, episodes 8 and 9 of Bewitched. 

            In the first story, on the night before Halloween Samantha reads Tabitha a bedtime story about a gremlin, a goblin, and a jack-o'-lantern. After Samantha thinks Tabitha is asleep and leaves, Tabitha brings the creatures to life and plays with them. The next night is Tabitha’s first time trick or treating. The three creatures climb out of the nursery window and join them. Samantha thinks they are just kids and so she invites them to trick or treat with them. But they like playing tricks more than getting treats. One woman giving treats is given a beard and Samantha thinks it’s Tabitha who did it. One man gives them candy from a basket and then tells them to scat. They levitate the basket from his hand and into Tabitha’s. Then Samantha punishes Tabitha and takes her home. It is only there that Samantha looks at the storybook and sees that the creatures are missing from the cover. She goes out looking for them so Tabitha can put them back in the book. Meanwhile Gladys Kravitz has dressed her nephew Tommy as a jack-o'-lantern and taken him trick or treating. The three creatures hide behind a bush and Tommy gets away from his aunt to join them. Then the real jack-o'-lantern emerges and Gladys, thinking it is Tommy, takes it to continue trick or treating. A woman invites them in for chocolate cream pie but it ends up all over her face. Gladys angrily drags what she thinks is Tommy home where it levitates its head around the room and then escapes through the window. Samantha finds two spooks and Tommy behind the bush, thinking they are all Tabitha’s wishes and teleports them home. At the same time Darrin is home with Larry and Louise who have come over for dinner. Tommy takes off his head covering and Samantha realizes she is missing one spook. She puts them all in the kitchen where Tommy complains he’s not a spook but a kid. So the spooks turn Tommy into a baby goat. Gladys comes for Tommy and thinks correctly that he’s been turned into a goat. Gladys leaves the kitchen to tell everyone that Samantha has turned Tommy into a goat and while she is gone Samantha turns him back to normal. Gladys takes him home and says she’s going to take her medicine. Tabatha puts the spooks back in the book. Later there is a creature missing from the cover of Tabitha’s book Zobo the Friendly Grizzly Bear and then Zobo comes out of the closet to wave at Tabitha. 

            In the second story Darrin’s mother shows up at his door and says she’s leaving his father because she found lipstick on his collar. Frank said a waiter dropped lingonberry pie on him but she says lingonberries are out of season. Then Aunt Clara arrives through the chimney. Darrin shows them some home movies of Tabitha but the sound is out of sync with the picture. Clara tries to fix it with a spell and it works on the movie but causes Samantha to talk out of synch with her mouth. Now Clara can’t remember her incantation in order to reverse it. Dr. Bombay is called. He mixes a potion for Samantha to drink and it cures the problem but causes her face to have vertical green stripes. Darrin’s mother sees Frank arrive and she is happy to see something normal. Her mistrust is forgotten and she willingly and with great relief leaves with him. Bombay fixes the stripes but Samantha’s voice goes out of synch again. Finally Clara remembers her spell and reverses it. But Darrin’s voice goes out of synch.

            I looked at my camera later and realized that I didn’t get the recording. I had pressed record at first but then forgotten that I’d pressed it, then when I pressed the button again it actually stopped recording and only recorded again after we were done and I pressed it again for what I thought was stopping the recording. What an idiot I am! But he’s a nice guy so I’m pretty sure he’ll be willing to do it again. He didn’t screw up and so I’ll pay him again. He seems to be around that area a lot. It’s a learning curve for me with a new camera and I’ll be more careful next time if I get the chance. Plus I know how to watch the playback now and so if we reshoot I can make sure then and there if I got it right.

July 2, 1994: I went lawn saleing with Tom Philips and bought "Mother Night"

Thirty years ago today

            On Saturday I worked for Artists 25 from 10:00 to 16:00. During our lunch break I went lawn saleing in the Annex with Tom Philips. He was always looking for electronic components to tinker with. He walked so fast from sale to sale it was hard to keep up with him. I remember buying a paperback of the novel Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut.

Mala Powers

            On Sunday morning I memorized the sixth verse of “S'il pleauvait des larmes” (If it Rained in Tears) by Boris Vian. There are just two verses left to nail down. 

            I finished memorizing “Litanie en Lituanie” (Litany in Lithuania) by Serge Gainsbourg. I searched for the chords but no one has posted them and so I worked them out for the first line.

            I played my Gibson Les Paul Studio during song practice. Yesterday evening I changed the A string and today it stayed in tune but some of the other strings went out from time to time.

            I weighed 88.2 kilos before breakfast, which is the lightest I’ve been in the morning since last Sunday. 

            Around midday I took an early bike ride because I wanted to buy the Boss FS6 foot switch at Long and McQuade. It was cheaper than I remember from when I asked about it there a month or so ago. After tax I paid $125.30. 

           I used their washroom and then finished my bike ride. On Yonge they were preparing for the Pride parade and there were already cops and roadblocks. I was able to ride down Yonge with no traffic until Dundas and then it was blocked off. I rode west to University where the construction is winding down. For the last several months there is been only a single lane for all traffic and a lot of delays, but now there’s a bike lane. 

           When I got back to Parkdale I saw the big guy who looks like Santa Clause sitting with his big wooden begging bowl in front of the Dollarama. I approached to ask him about appearing in my video for $10 and he’s interested. He suggested that we do it on Canada Day when foot traffic will be low and I said it would need to be in the late afternoon light, so I might get my first clip of someone pretending to sing “sit here and wait for the next state of grace” tomorrow. I found out his name is David.

            I weighed 88.55 kilos before lunch. I had saltines with five-year-old cheddar and a glass of low sugar iced tea.

            I unpacked the Boss FS6 and saw that it requires a nine volt battery. It came with one but the light didn’t come on when I connected it. I went to the hardware store to get a rechargeable but they had just closed at 16:00 and of course won’t be open on the holiday Monday. I won’t be able to use it then until Wednesday. 

            I weighed 88.1 kilos at 16:15. 

            I was caught up on my journal at 17:30. 

            I reviewed the song practice videos of my performances of “The Wooden Leg” and “La jambe de bois” from September 1 to 6. On September 1 I played “The Wooden Leg” on my Martin acoustic guitar and the take at 12:45 in part B was okay and looked good. On September 5 I played it on my Kramer electric guitar and the take at 12:15 in part B was okay but there was traffic noise. On September 4 I played “La jambe de bois” on the Kramer and the take at 9:15 in part B was okay and looked good. On September 6 I played it on the Martin and the take at 9:15 in part B was pretty good and this session is already synchronized in Movie Maker. 

            I imported to Audacity the MP3 file of the second cassette that I converted. This tape contained a few different recordings. There was an interview with me on the Howl radio show; a rehearsal with Donna Bartkiw of her song; my rehearsal with Brian Haddon of “Sixteen Tons of Dogma”; Brian playing while I fumble; and a conversation with Donna. 

            I made pizza on a broken naan with Basilica sauce, chicken kebabs and five-year-old cheddar. I had it with a beer while watching season 4, episodes 6 and 7 of Bewitched. 

            In the first story Samantha has lost her powers. Endora calls Dr. Bombay and he concludes that they aren’t lost but rather dammed up from lack of use. He prescribes her resting in a state of levitation until she is cured. Meanwhile Darrin doesn’t know anything about this. He’s focused on a brilliant campaign he designed for Carter Brothers which is about to earn him a big bonus. But then Darrin learns that the final assessment of the contract is being done by a lawyer named MJ Nilesmunster. MJ stands for Mary Jane and Darrin went to school with her. She swore she would get him for jilting her. Darrin and Larry go to her hotel room. Mary jane has yet to enter from the other room and Darrin calls Samantha. Endora tells him she can’t talk because she is flying. Then Darrin sees a fly and thinks it’s Samantha come to influence his deal. Mary Jane walks into the room and acts like she doesn’t know Darrin, then looks over the contract and signs it. Darrin is so sure that Samantha was the cause that he is depressed and goes to a bar. He comes home late and drunk. Samantha tries to assure him that she’s been home all day and that her powers aren’t working but suddenly the dam bursts and they are out of control. When Darrin doesn’t believe her she tells him to go back to the bar and suddenly he is there. Later he goes to talk to Mary Jane and finds that she did recognize him but she has grown up and bears no grudge. Darrin once again has to apologize to Samantha for not trusting her. This has happened on many occasions and it doesn’t seem like their partnership is really based on trust. 

            Mary Jane was played by Mala Powers, who fell in love with acting upon attending a Max Reinhardt junior workshop as a child. Her first film role was a small part in Tough As They Come at the age of 11. But she chose to finish school and not to become a child actor. She worked on radio where she met and became close friends with Ida Lupino who cast her as the star of her film Outrage. She co-starred as Roxane in Cyrano de Bergerac (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe). She co-starred in The Yellow Mountain, Rose of Cimarron, City Beneath the Sea, City That Never Sleeps, Rage at Dawn, The Storm Rider, The Unknown Terror, The Colossus of New York, Flight of the Lost Balloon, The Doomsday Machine, and Man on the Prowl. She played Mona on the final season of Hazel. She played Marian Crane on The Man and the City. She became a teacher of the Michael Chekhov acting technique. 

            In the second story Darrin is trying to hone up on his golf skills in order to impress a potential client. Endora wants to prove her point that humans are never satisfied so she casts a spell to make Darrin as good a golfer as he was in college. Baxter won’t sign the contract until he has played golf with Darrin. Samantha comes for lunch before the game and meets Joe’s wife Margaret Baxter who says the best thing that could happen is for Joe to lose. Larry thinks the best thing that could happen for his company is for Darrin to lose and so he keeps on trying to sabotage Darrin’s game, by for example kicking his ball inside of a can. But with Samantha’s help Darrin hits the can and where it lands the ball rolls out into the hole. Joe loses and says he’s going to cancel the contract but Margaret reminds him that although he is president she owns the company. Joe accepts defeat and everything is fine. Later Darrin tells Samantha he’s going pro. She tells him she helped him with magic and he says he was just kidding and knew it all along, especially after sinking a thirty meter shot out of a can.

July 1, 1994: We took my daughter to see the fireworks on the beach

Thirty years ago today 

            On Friday it was Canada Day and I think I had my daughter with me but not overnight. Nancy might have come down so we could take her to see the fireworks from the beach. After she took her home I think I went to a performance party.