"Out Loud" Shopping "Out Loud"

Grudgingly, I got out of bed around 9:30 this morning and fumbled around the house trying to remember my name. (Darren? Douglas? Darwin? Dwyane? Hmmm. None of those sound familiar.)

One of the first things I did was to go on-line to IMDB. During the month of June, the Sundance Channel is running gay films, and I caught part of one last night. "Water Drops on Burning Rocks." French language. IMDB told me it was actually German and based on a story written by Rainer Werner Fassbinder at the age of 19. Although I recognized the Fassbinder name, my knowledge about him is very limited. So I pursued several links to discover that he was obsessed with making films, was tyrannical, and may have died of a deliberate drug overdose.

I was then trying to remember another famour German director, the one who did "The Wrath of God." IMDB again came to the rescue and told me it was Werner Herzog. Then I tried to remember a German actor who has appeared in the last Sean Connery Bond film. So by searching under Connery, I discovered the film was "Never Say Never Again," and the actor was Klaus Maria Brandauer. What would I do without IMDB?

By now, it was approaching late morning, so I scampered around and went to lunch. At the Japanese place, of course.

As usual, I sat at the corner of the sushi bar. To my left was a young guy with dark unruly hair, skin the color of nectar, and large brown eyes. He was wearing dark green cargo shorts and a grey tee with a logo and lettering on the front. Although I tired to read the shirt, I was never successful. When he finished eating his sushi, he carefully piled the plates and bowls together to make a single stack. Once he got the check, he headed for the door, and when I looked up again he was gone.

A table or so away from me were two men who are frequent visitors. Both are large individuals who always remind me of Tweedledee and Tweedledum from "Through the Looking Glass." Because they seem so much alike, I'd be hard-pressed to describe either.

After lunch I stopped at the Post Office, and noticed another familiar face. An elderly woman who I see frequently. She drives a very dirty light-blue car which had a tire on the back seat and lots of fast food containers on the dash. I recognized the car and knew she would be inside using the pay phone. Which she was. I went back to my box, checked for love letters or large checks, and ambled to my car. As I drove off she was still clutching the phone.

My next stop was to shop for supplies - toothpaste, cleanser, glass cleaner, detergent, etc. The usual place would have been the grocery, but since I was after baragins, I opted for that breadbasket of American consumerism - Fred's. It was my first trip to one in years, but I was plesantly surprised.

This left me with two essentials to buy - cat food and litter. That can only mean one store - PetsMart. Basically, there's only brand they munchkins will eat, so that matter was settled. But with litter, there were far more options. I finally selected a 40 lb box and pushed it into the cart.

After several hours at home, I drifted outside and drove off aimlessly through the city. As I drove along, I thought of visiting the new Borders, so I headed in that direction. It's in a new center that has only been open a few months. There is one central store from which the others zig zag to the left and right along open walks. It creates a different type of ambiance that feels vaguely European. Borders turned out to be little different from Barnes & Noble. But the aisles are much narrower than B&N.

I'm watching another of the Sundance Channel's "Out Loud" films. This is a Japanese one about same sex happenings among 19th century Samurai - "Taboo." I'd read that homosexual practices were not uncommom among the Samurai. Someone I know who has been to Japan indicated that male-male customs are very much part of the culture. But not discussed. He mentioned that Tokyo has hundreds of gay bars, but only a few are open to Westerners.

PAX!