Woody Strode

            On Saturday morning I worked out the chords for verses three to six of “Rue Traversière” (Traversière Street) by Boris Vian. There are three verses left and so I’ll probably have it finished tomorrow. 

            I memorized the first verse and the chorus of “White and Black Blues” by Serge Gainsbourg. There is only one verse left but the remaining two choruses are slightly different. 

            I played my Kramer electric guitar during song practice for the first of two sessions. It stayed in tune the whole time. 

            I weighed 86.kilos before breakfast.   

            Around midday I went to Vina Pharmacy to pick up a prescription and then to No Frills. At the supermarket I bought three bags of green grapes, two bags of cherries, two packs of raspberries, bananas, a pack of four chicken legs, a loaf of cinnamon-raisin bread, mouthwash, inter-dental picks, olive oil with a spout, sweet chili sauce, two containers of skyr, a bag of Miss Vickie’s sweet chili chips and another of the original kind. I did a price match on the grapes with the Metro price but lost the flyer from my phone so the cashier just believed me on the price of $5.38 a kilo. I don’t know why I often lose the flyers when I get to the cashier even after checking several times while shopping to see if it’s still on my phone. I guess I just don’t know how to do it. 

            I weighed 86.3 kilos at 14:21. I had saltines with five-year-old cheddar and a glass of low sugar iced tea for lunch. I didn’t buy iced tea at No Frills because I thought I had lots. I’m going to try to make some. 

            I took a siesta from 15:00 to 16:30. 

            I didn’t take a bike ride because I anticipated the Bloor bike lane being slippery. 

            I weighed 86.7 kilos at 16:30. 

            I was caught up on my journal at 18:08. 

            I finished frames 23 to 25 for my second rainbow wave animation and started on number 26. 

            I reviewed the videos of my song practice performances of “Les Sucettes” and “Annie C’s Aniseed Suckers” from September 3 to 8 (I forgot to do the song on September 9). On September 3 and 5 I played “Les Sucettes” on my Martin acoustic guitar. On September 3 there was at least one wrong chord. On September 5 I fumbled on the second verse but didn’t do a retake. On September 7 I played it on my Gibson Les Paul Studio electric guitar but the take had wrong chords. On September 6 I played “Annie C’s Aniseed Suckers” on my Martin and the take at 17:15 was the best one so far but there was traffic noise. On September 4 and 8 I played it on the Gibson. On September 4 the take at 17:00 had a lot of wrong chords and the Gibson didn’t sound good. On September 8 the take at 25:00 didn’t sound great because of low action and wrong chords. 

            I made pizza on a slice of multigrain sandwich bread, with Italian sausage sauce, two slices of Black Forest ham and five-year-old cheddar. I had it with a beer while watching season 2, episodes 23 and 24 of Batman. 

            In episode 23, the Gotham police under the command of Chief O’Hara are protecting the Pretzel Diamond from Marsha Queen of Diamonds. But O’Hara arrives with Marsha, walks in and orders the diamond handed to him and then he gives it to Marsha. O’Hara has become a slave to Marsha and she keeps him in a cage in a room full of cages, each holding a man enthralled with Marsha. Commissioner Gordon goes to Marsha demanding to see O’Hara but a statue of Cupid shoots a love dart and soon Gordon is also a devoted servant of Marsha. But what Marsha wants now is the giant Bat diamond that powers the Batcomputer. It’s artificial but far more pure than a real diamond. It’s well over 10,000 carats in size. She needs to gain power over Batman to get access to the Batcave so she goes to her Aunt Hilda in the basement for a special potion. Hilda was a chemistry professor at Vassar for twenty years until she was fired When Batman and Robin come looking for Gordon and O’Hara, Batman is struck by a dart. He is on the verge of falling on his knees in worship of Marsha but suddenly straightens up and assumes self control again. She has her men attack and during the fight hits Robin with a love dart. He now bends to her will and fights Batman. Rather than hurt Robin, Batman stops fighting. He agrees to give her the Bat diamond but she wants it to be given to her in the Bat Cave, which Batman refuses. He says he took a solemn vow that no stranger shall ever enter the Bat Cave. Marsha has a solution for that problem. If Batman marries her she will no longer be a stranger. She promises to release Robin from her control once she has the diamond and so Batman agrees. The wedding is arranged and Marsha is there in her ornate wedding gown. She answers the priest’s question with an “I do” and Batman is asked the same. W e see him hesitate and that is the cliffhanger. 

            In episode 24, Batman is being asked to make his wedding vow when Alfred walks in with a dark veiled Harriet Cooper and shouts, “Stop the wedding!” Alfred claims to be Ethelbert Soames the lawyer for the former Miss Henrietta Tillitson who for the last seven years has been Mrs. Batman. He shows the wedding certificate and the priest angrily tells Batman he is not in the practice of marrying bigamists and storms away. Marsha tells Batman, “How dare you leave a poor bride at the altar”!” Alfred says, “Not poor I hope. We are suing you for $1 million”. Marsha leaves with her servant the Mogul. Alfred has brought along a kit of Bat antidotes and Batman heads back to Marsha’s lair to save Robin. Marsha is about to do what she should have done in the first place. She tells Mogul to give Robin another dose so he will take her to the Bat cave. But the alarm sounds and so they leave Robin just before Batman arrives to save him. Antidotes are administered and Marsha’s victims are saved. Marsha goes back to Hilda to get a more powerful potion. Batman and Robin go there too. Hilda throws a potion at them that has no effect. Marsha has the Mogul and her men attack Batman and Robin. The heroes are winning and so Marsha throws a sleep bomb. Hilda throws a bucket of a potion on Batman and Robin that she says will turn them into toads. Later in Gordon’s office Marsha arrives with her Mogul and her cat Circe. She is carrying a cage containing two toads wearing Batman and Robin costumes. The voices of Batman and Robin come from the amphibians. She says she will feed the toads to her cat if Gordon doesn’t pick up the Bat Phone to find out the location of the Bat Cave. But suddenly the real Batman and Robin arrive. They say the Grand Mogul was using ventriloquism to imitate and project their voices. Marsha had locked Batman and Robin in a cell but they had used the Bat diamond and the Bat computer to find the combination for the lock. Marsha is about to be arrested and Batman tells her he hopes this has taught her that diamond’s are not necessarily a girl’s best friend. She rolls her eyes and tells him he’s square. 

            Marsha was played by the always enchanting Carolyn Jones who of course is best known for playing Morticia Addams in the Addams Family. 

            The Grand Mogul was played by Woody Strode, who was a star decathlete and football player at UCLA. He played for the LA Rams at a time when only a handful of black men were allowed to play with white athletes and was also a professional wrestler. He played for the 1948 season in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders who won the Grey Cup that year. He was married to a Hawaiian princess. His film debut was in Sundown in 1941. He co-starred in Sergeant Rutledge, The Lion Hunters, 7 Women, The Professionals, Boot Hill, The Unholy Four, The Revengers, The Italian Connection, We Are No Angels, Winter Hawk, and La collina degli stivali. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his supporting performance in Spartacus. He starred in Black Jesus.