"Wild Orchids"; "2001"; Getting caught in a downpour; Looking at titles in the used cd store

Sunday night and Monday night were marked by the oh-so-typical can't-sleep syndrome. By 1:00, I was back in the living room grazing through the tv channels. Sunday, I watched part of a Garbo silent, made in 1929, called "Wild Orchids." Not one of the greatest things I've seen, but it is always fascinating to gaze at Garbo.

Last night, I came across the middle segment of "2001" in a letter-boxed version. The part in which HAL says that a component will go critical and needs to be replaced. Then reads the lips of the astronauts as they discuss deactivating him. Each time I watch, I'm struck by the soporific, almost languid emotional tone. As though everyone is on some heavy-duty drugs. Nothing was done by chance in a Kubrick movie, so this was very deliberate. The only reason I can think of is to indicate that humans have become automaton-like. And hence maybe in need of an evolutionary jolt.

It is amazing how undated it looks. However, Kubrick would have done better to steer away from brand names and logos. Since some have already disappeared. One of the most noticeable is the use of the then current phone logo in the space station. A logo that was pre-ATT-breakup and was changed in the 70s.

After work, I scooted to the drug store to refill my Effexor prescription. Although the sun was shining, I suddenly found myself in the middle of a monsoon with rain slashing across the windshield and water sucking against the tires. Traffic was so dense, I could not get out of the right lane which was beginning to look like a tributary of the Colorado.

As I got out of the car at the drug store, my umbrella took one look around and refused to stay open. By the time I reached the door, everything was wet but my jock strap. I sloshed to the counter making wet noises like an inebriated frog and looking like an over-the-hill rent boy. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait too long as I dripped onto the counter and dampened the vitamin boxes on the top shelf.

Within a few minutes of coming out of the drug store, the storm vanished. The sun was back, the clouds disappeared, birds were singing, and all was right with the world.

I've been thinking of buying an inexpensive stereo system for my office, so I won't have to play cd's via the computer. This will relieve some of the strain on the system and give me a better sound. I thought of hitting either Target, Circuit City or WalMart but opted to wait till the weekend.

I did decide to drag my bedewed and bedraggled body into the buy-or-swap cd store. But the selection was limited. Are there are certain cd's that frequently appear in trade? Are there some that never appear? Are there classics that once bought are never traded? Or maybe there is no pattern. Curious.

PAX!