Thursday 20070531 - London's Kings' Row in the Rain, Kings' Row, Waitrose, Prince Phil and Brother Fox, antimonarchism; Rump?!; The Bed Chamber; Lunch - Mailing bill statements, mobile, May 21 issue of "The New Yorker" - Profile: Antonio Villaraigosa; Cats and flea treatment; Home - check book balancing, nap time, yesterday's journal, cat urine - potpourri, gourd, pebbles
(Web work - (Fri) 20070601-2000 / (Thu) 20070531 / (Thu) 20070531)

London's Kings' Row in the Rain Larger image

I've had this photo tucked away in my little box of bits and bytes for some time.

Street life in the rain always fascinates me. This is not one of those photos that falls into the ethereal category. It's normal people dealing with normal tasks in the rain.

I couldn't find anything on the street itself on the web, so I picked up my Michelin's Tourist Guide to London. (Not that I had every planed a trip to London, I was intrigued by Michelin's maps. Here's what it says about King's Row:

"Originally a path taken by Charles II to visit Nell Gwynn in her house at Fulham, the King's Rd was closed, except to those holding a royal pass, from 1719 to 1830 owning to its attraction to footpads. Chelsea's main street is now famous for its fashion boutiques, antiques, restaurants and pubs."

I'd assumed the store in the background was a book store. But wrong I was. It's Waitrose, "At Waitrose, we combine the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop." Classic web presence, reminds me of the one for Harrods.

London is such an amalgamation of areas, villages, enclaves, that it's hard for the non-resident to understand the locations. There's most likely some good info on line, I just have not looked.

While on the subject of London, I was going to make some pungent comment about PP (Prince Phil) and his exuberance for Brother Fox, instead I'll indicate this article: Goodbye to royalty. "Monarchy is incompatible with democracy. It is time Britain elected its head of state.'

One the sub-headers of my entry on contours provocations - journal - 2007-0510 - thu 1815 - "The Monkey's Ass" was titled "The Monkey's Ass." "The higher the monkey climbs, the more of its ass you see." It was a reference to Gene Edwards of Mississippi Public Broadcasting who holds the distinction of being one of the most arrogant people on the earth. He has almost ruined the agency. At lunch on 2007-0510, I was told by some fellow workers that he was leaving to start his own production company. There was even a fluffy little article in the local newspaper to that effect.

I've seen been told that this is a complete fabrication. According to one source, the last seven people to leave the agency have indicated him as the reason. And that he openly asked someone who really is starting a production company, if he had any openings.

This morning, at 0600 or so, up to meet the demands of my furry little friends, I turned on the laptop, before going back to bed. By chance, I entered his name in the Groups option of Google. (Under the option that says "more" at the far right. Check "History of the Internet" for info on the significance of Groups - UUCP. Also try "Usenet"). Google now administers Groups and has postings going back to 1981. (See "What is a Usenet Newsgroup?")

Anyway, I found the following article rec.radio.broadcasting - Seen Gene Rump? . It turns out Edwards last name is really Rump. Talk about the ultimate irony. And as one message points out, he was just as much an ass in Kansas, as he was in Mississippi.

I've been intending to vacuuming the bedroom for several days, because of the dust bunnies I'd noticed. That was not too bad. But then I noticed that the base boards were fairly grimy. So I got my bottle of cleaner and paper towels and set to work. Of course, to be thorough, you gotta move some furniture. OK, again.

The bed frame and box springs and mattress have been here for years. They're the standard size, and I really need a queen. But that's a problem and purchase that will have to wait another day.

I also have a very attractive semi-antique head board that I bought a long time ago. It's golden oak and very striking. So far, all I've done is to lean it against the wall. I thought, whey don't I use it instead of the current headboard. Bad idea, it turned out.

That means, you've got to remove the mattress, which is lumpy and limp and has all the firmness of play dough and almost impossible to handle. The box springs are much better off. I more or less threw the mattress against the wall, where it immediately started to act like gelatin in the mid-day summer. The springs were much easier.

First thing I discovered is that the slots on the oak headboard are much narrower by several inches on each side that the bed frame. And that even if they were not, the slots are too shallow for the catches of the frame.

Back to square one. I know, I'll just remove the headboard and endboard and place the frame on bricks. So outside, I go, and gather up eight over-sized, fire place bricks, that I happen to have. As I'm cleaning them at the kitchen sink, I go, "Oh, fuck!.If I do this, then I won't be able to move the bed." Back outside the bricks go.

Once more in to the breach of the bed room I go. To put everything back the way it was. I did turn the desk from the west wall to the south wall. And I removed a mirror that is partially blocked by the chest. I'd placed the mirror across from the bed, and once when I went in, Hermes was on the bed in a stalking mode looking into the mirror trying to figure who the intruder was. I didn't think that cats did this. I thought that their world is governed by smell, if it does not have a certain odor, it doesn't exist.

All of this took about 90 minutes, by which I was drenched in sweat, had a headache, and was exceedingly ill-tempered

I most definitely needed to mail some bill payments. And because of the way the POs are placed, you can go by one and not see it.

I looked at my mobile to see what time it was. But it was in hibernation mode, which it has done frequently of late. Obviously the battery is getting old. The unit is at least three years old. And I've wanted a camera phone for some time. OK, another problem for another day.

I'm getting better at dealing with Ichiban, and since it was late, I was hoping it would not be crowded. Which it was not. And the food was quite good. It's a great place for me to get salmon.

Reading material du jour was the May 21 issue of "The New Yorker." I meandered through "Goings on About Town." And I think the only article I glanced at was "Profiles - Fault Lines - Can Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa keep control of L.A.’s battling factions?". I'd seen Villaraigosa name, but never bothered to find out who he was. The article mentions the attack of police on participants of the May 1 immigrants' rights rally.

(What is it with the LA police department? The use of brutal police force tactics against civilians never seems to end. The police have been reorganized, revamped, reformed and revitalized how many times. And it's as if nothing has happened.)

(Out - Thursday - 20070531- 1302: $13.98 - Bank Debit Card)

I've noticed indication that the cats are having trouble with fleas. Which means two boxes of Advantage. Four treatment per box for a total of eight. Five cats. Why is the stuff so fucking expensive? Each treatment averages $12.

Actually, vet services at PetSmart are provided by a separate entity - Banfield. That's what it says on the wall and the ticket.

Now comes the tricky part of applying the treatment. I have yet to have the right knack. Hermes especially is difficult to deal with.

(Out - Thursday - 20070531 - 1631: $100.47 - Bank Debit Card) The time seems off by a couple of hours.

The $100 for the flea treatment made me uneasy that I may have gone into overdraft, so the first thing I did was to check the records. Fortunately, I was ok.

No outside work today.

Nap time. Up around 1830. Sandwich. Wednesday's journal.

I think I stopped to deal with a very strong cat urine smell. There's a table behind my couch with two flat baskets of potpourri, a flat basket of rocks and pebbles, and a large gourd. It appears that Tiger, Tiger has been availing himself of a combination of these items.

The gourd I washed. Some of the potpourri, I tossed out , and the rest I placed in the 14-inch high clear glass container that I'd bought to hold the boxes I bought. See contours provocations - journal - 2007-0206 - tue - 0700 - "Miniature boxes", contours provocations - journal - 2007-0308 - thu 2200 - "Minature Wooden Boxes", contours provocations - journal - 2007-0331 - sat 1630. So that worked for the potpourri.

Then I washed the rocks and pebbles. And tomorrow, I'll transfer them to an 11-inch glass container similar to the one previously mentioned. And I most likely will need to buy another vase or two. What I want is three varying size glass vases of pebbles.

What will I do with Tiger, Tiger? Another problem, another day.

Solicitation from Maaco (junk); City of Pearl - City Services ($34.89) (keep)

(Out - Saturday - 20070602 - 0030)