Charles Nichols

            On Saturday morning I memorized the sixth verse of “A tous les enfants” (To All the Children) by Boris Vian. There is only one verse left to learn. 

            I memorized the chorus of “Qui lira ces mots” (Whoever Reads These Words) by Serge Gainsbourg and finished translating the song. There are only two verses left to nail down. 

            I played my Kramer electric guitar during song practice for the first of two sessions and it was in tune before I started. 

            I weighed 86.4 kilos before breakfast. 

            Around midday I rode to No Frills where the grapes were all too soft. I bought two packs of raspberries, two bags of navel oranges, a pack of four-year-old Canadian cheddar, three bags of skim milk, a carton of spoon sized shredded wheat, a bag of cayenne powder, a bag of paprika, a jar of mango and lime salsa, a jug of low sugar iced tea, a jug of orange juice, two containers of skyr, and a bag of Miss Vickie’s chips. 

            I weighed 87.05 kilos at 14:30. I had saltines with five-year-old cheddar and a glass of low sugar iced tea. 

            I took a siesta and got up at 16:35. It was too late for a downtown bike ride. I could have taken a short one to Ossington and Bloor but I was behind on my journal so decided to stay in. 

            I weighed 87.2 kilos at 17:00, which is the heaviest I’ve been in the evening since last Saturday.

            I was caught up on my journal at 18:39. 

            I finished adding seven shades of blue to the sepia copy of frame 16 of my rainbow wave animation. I started on frame 17 and with each one the amount of blue is increased and so it takes a little more time for each one. There are 12 frames left to make. 

            I made pizza on a slice of Bavarian sandwich bread with marinara sauce, Genoa salami, and five-year-old cheddar. I had it with a beer while watching episode 10 of Birdman and the Galaxy Trio.

            In the first Birdman story a truck carrying priceless works of art is blocked by a log on the road. The driver and his helper get out to move it but it turns into a crocodile. The men run down the road as the crocodile starts after them on two legs but then it becomes human. It’s the Chameleon who has developed a formula that allows him to change into any shape. Birdman hears of this and then reads that the legendary Kaybar diamond will be exhibited at a private charity affair. He guesses that the Chameleon will try to snatch the diamond and so he goes there and watches from a balcony. Sure enough the Chameleon grabs the diamond and then turns into a giant. When Birdman confronts him he turns into a giant buzzard and flies off with the gem. Birdman follows him to a canyon where a giant flaming boulder comes crashing down that turns into a dinosaur. Birdman tackles him but gets knocked out. In Chameleon’s lair Birdman is suspended by his wrists from the ceiling. Chameleon leaves him there and goes to the governor’s mansion to replace him. Meanwhile Birdman has no super strength left but spins and somehow breaks the chain that holds him. He flies to the governor’s mansion where he is almost fooled by the fake governor but picks up the faint sound of the real one coming from a closet. This is the first indication that Birdman also has super hearing. Chameleon becomes a giant but Birdman flips him and ties him up, then Chameleon’s serum wears off and he has no more powers. 

            In the Galaxy Trio story the Trio is heading for Earth to attend the Intergalactic Police security meeting. They are told that strange cosmic atmospheres are circling Earth. They pass through a cosmic storm and end up in the eye of a space tornado. They are suspended over Earth for 24 hours and so they beam down to wait. But they find themselves in ancient Scandinavia. They are attacked by Vikings who think they are Romans. When the Trio use their powers the Vikings think they are gods. Then they learn that Romans are really invading the coast of Norseland, which never happened. They decide to help the Vikings fight off the Romans and after they defeat them the Vikings worship them as gods. But after the 24 hours are up they beam back to Condor 1 and to their present. In the second Birdman story, two scientists in a junkyard have developed a giant robot and magnetized it. They send it to steal a million dollars worth of titanium from an armoured car. It stands on a mountain above the highway, rips off the roof of the vehicle with its powers and the titanium flies to its magnet hands. It has to walk back to its masters. It crosses a metal bridge and sends girders down to hit a police car but Birdman saves the cops. Birdman follows the robot to the scrapyard. The robot brings the metal building down on top of Birdman. Cut off from the sun he has no strength to free himself. The crooks leave in a helicopter with the titanium. Avenger arrives and starts lifting off pieces of rubble until some sunlight reaches down to where Birdman is buried. Birdman sees the helicopter and uses a solar blast to destroy its propellers. The robot comes after Birdman but he catches it with the scrapyard crane magnet. The scientists try to escape in a car but Birdman swings the robot and casts it after the car like a fishing hook and so both the robot and the car are suspended from the crane. Birdman leaves them for the police. 

            Some of the animation was done by Charles Nichols, who began his career working for Disney from the 1940s to the 1950s, starting with Pinocchio. He directed Springtime for Pluto. He co-directed Melody. He worked on Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom. He directed Mickey and the Seal. He introduced Morris the Midget Moose. He was a director of The Mickey Mouse Club. He moved to Hanna Barbera where he co-directed Charlotte’s Web. He directed Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, Quick Draw McGraw, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Super Friends, and Scooby Doo. He returned to Disney where he co-directed The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.