contours provocations - 2000-0116-2230

Salmon and Backgammon; A Fish With Feet; Hetrosexuality Not Normal; Richard Gere in the Nude

Salmon and Backgammon

A late entry near the witching hour. No wind tonight. However, I can hear the warbling scream of a fire truck nearby and its occasional foghorn hoot. Again, I'm at one end of the couch with the felines plopped on the other end.

Earlier I had din din with friends - a wonderful salmon worthy of Julia child. Our "dangling conversation" covered cultural patterns, athletes who might be gay, the allure of the net, search engines, tv commercials, Ricky Nelson, downloading files and the latest movies. I wonder if anyone has ever done a study of dinner conversations. How is it that some topics take flight while others are stillborn?

Whenever I think of salmon, I think of a line from a Gershwin song. It is something like, "We went fishing for salmon and then played backgammon." Who but Gershwin would think of such lyrics.

(02/07 update: musical is "Pardon My English"; song is "Isn't It A Pity"; lyrics are - 'Imagine all the lonely year's we've wasted:,Fishing for salmon, losing at backgammon.' ")

A Fish With Feet

Several times of late, I've seen a great bumper sticker. You may have seen the sign of the horizontal fish that, as I recall, is a play on the Greek word for Christ, hence is a symbol of Christianity. This sign is exactly the same, except that it has the word "Darwin" written inside the fish which in turn has small feet. This has to be a sly comment on the creationism vs. evolution debate that flares up from time to time.

I've always liked the fish symbol as a sign for Christianity. Pre-dates the cross business by hundreds of years. And it has a simple elegance that the cruciform is not capable of.

(02/07 update: See Wikipedia - Ichthys")

Hetrosexuality Not Normal

I came across this comment while looking for my list of stuff to talk about. "Hetrosexuality is not normal just common."

Richard Gere in the Nude

The other night, as usual one in which I could not sleep, I came across "American Gigolo" on the telly. My, my! Mr. Gere was certainly yummy. And, at the time, one of the few major Hollywood male stars to do a full frontal nude scene. A movie that is far more about style than substance. But maybe that is the point. "Appearance is everything."

I've always enjoyed Gere's screen presence. I don't think he will ever be a great actor but that may be of little consequence. And certainly I admire his interest in the "Free Tibet" movement.

Somewhere or other, I've seen a photo of a young Richard from a supposed porno film. Since there are many fake nude photos floating around, it is hard to tell if is genuine. However, considering that Stallone, very early in his career, did a porno film, it is not out of the question.

PAX!