Friday 20070720 - Rain - Rain at the Coliseum in Rome; New color format; Early morning work; Lunch - Ichiban; Reading material for lunch - May 28 issue of "The New Yorker" - "A Boy's World - The Tintin Century."; Lowe's; WalMart; CVS; Replacing the drain access cover; Pacing, shower and nap time; "Doctor Who"

Rain - Rain at the Coliseum in Rome Larger image

The first time I've included a photo of rain in Rome, specifically the Coliseum. There's something so extraordinary in seeing rain drip from an arch that has stood for more than 2,000 years.

The photo can be found at "The Coliseum in the Rain" a subset of "Inside the Coliseum." The home page can be found at "Recent Travels and Other Pieces of my Life - Birgit Schuette. "See pictures from the Europe road trip" will eventually lead you to the coliseum snaps.

For amateur travel photos, they are most impressive. And if Tom is the boyfriend, she has excellent taste. Vaguely young Richard Burton, vaguely young Albert Finney.

I disliked the lack of a border around the photos, so I tried to figure out a way to create a small white one. My first effort went no where. My second effort was most complex and also went nowhere. The third was disgustingly complicated and changed the whole page. I backtracked to a simpler format, but the page was still royally screwed. I took me about an hour to find a tiny error - a ' instead of a ".

All inside today. Change the bed linens; vacuum the bedroom, easier said than done; clean the desk top. And something odd I noticed about the new curtains was that every time I opened the curtains, the rods moved along with them. I'd remember reading something in the instructions about an inside decorative washer, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I now see that you have to place the washer inside the rod holder, then thread the outside screw and knob through it into the rod, when that it is done, the rod is held in place by the rod holder. Well, it's only taken me a couple of weeks to figure that out.

I carted a basket of clothes and one of towels and sheets out to the storeroom. I try to give priority to tee shirts that are have gotten wet the day before. Otherwise, mildew and mold can set in very quickly.

I wrote a supply list for WalMart. And added a new item about every 15 minutes.

Also, I got out the phone book to see what listed in the Yellow Pages for shutters. About ten places, but only a few with addresses. Most want to set up an appointment and make expensive suggestions.

I think I over did the barking veggies today because some of the spicier ones bother me all afternoon.

It seemed unusually crowded today. There's a National Guard air base nearby, and they were everywhere.

As usual, no little chocolate pies. For several days, they've had little squares of chocolate, but even those were missing today. Bummer!

(Out Friday 20070720 - circa 1215: $13.42 - Cash)

I'd started this article several times and was finally able to finish it today. An abstract is available at "Anthony Lane, "A Boy’s World". Tintin is not known as well in the states as he is in Europe. (I can't even remember meeting anyone who knew who he was.) Several years ago I purchased, at various times, what I thought was the complete set from Amazon. But in reading the article, I'm not sure. Also, the author Hergé rewrote some of the stories as times changed. So I'm also not sure which versions I have.

The article mentions that for years, the story "Tintin in the Congo" (1931) "was unavailable, and no wonder. . . the book is an unmitigated parade of racial prejudices with bug-eyed natives swaying between ignorance and laziness."

More info is available at "Tintin.com" and "Hergé". Also a cross reference page at Wikipedia "Tintin".

In the "Hergé" link, mention is made of his "ligne claire drawing style."

Ligne claire " (French for "clear line") is a style of drawing pioneered by Hergé, the Belgian creator of The Adventures of Tintin. It is a style of drawing which uses clear strong lines which have the same thickness and importance, rather than being used to emphasize certain objects or be used for shading (for this reason it is sometimes also called the democracy of lines). Additionally, the style often features strong colours and a combination of cartoonish characters against a realistic background. The use of shadows is sparse and all elements of a panel are delineated with clear black lines. The name was coined by Joost Swarte in 1977.

This is something that I simply had never thought of. Yet it is clearly indicated by the example on the ligne claire page. In fact the concept of different styles of line drawing had never crossed my mind. After all my years of looking at the Disney Duck comic books, I somehow managed to miss this. Is this a "trees for the forest" situation?

One item worth pointing out is the "Tintin (film)" which will consist of three films from the stories. Two of the directors will be Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. The third has yet to be selected.

I don't remember at what point, I became aware of Tintin. Certainly not as a kid. My interests then were "Tom Swift," "Ellery Queen Jr.," "Hardy Boys," "Walt Disney Comics and Stories," "Uncle Scrooge," etc. I vaguely think it may have been a magazine article within the last ten years.

Tintin has a certain charm to it, but it frequently borders on the absurd especially in terms of all the secondary stereotypes. But there are those who put great faith in these characters. What I love best are the period details. And the wonderful love between Tintin and his canine companion, Snowy. And dictionaries under the word "tenacious" should list "Example, Tintin." Once he sniffs a mystery, his pursuit is relentless, sorta like the IRA or the Mossad.

Could a day be complete without a stop at Lowe's. Today I needed a replacement for the drain access cover that I semi-demolished with the lawn mower yesterday. There are always so many options at Lowe's that you can go by just what you want a dozen times without seeing it. Which is what I did.

I found two choices: one a duplicate of the cover I destroyed; the second a flat flush cover. When I saw it, I wondered why was the first type used at all. It's ideal for a vertical pipe, but not for a horizontal one in your yard. Maybe the second type was not available at the time of the replacement.

Then I wondered over to look at the shutters again. It struck me that I might be able to solve my problem of trying to cover a 17-inch space with a 14-inch shutter by adding some trim to the windows, then place the shutters next to that. I was not certain what the width of the shutters in stock was, so I circled back. A package had been opened, and the shutter was one-inch in width. But as I was looking at the shutter, I noticed it was only a shell. The front gives the appearance of a three-dimensional shutter, but in actuality, the shutter is no more than a pressed piece of plastic. It's like a giant jello mold. That certainly ruined that idea. But it definitely told me that I don't want that type of shutter.

(Out Thursday 20070720 - 1259: $4.41 - Cash)

Today's shopping was a tad different. No cans of putty kat food. (However, the priciest item was still something kitty related - a 28-pound bag of cat litter - $6.97.) Assorted food stock and household items. Since I'd put up the new curtains in the bath, it makes the clear vinyl plastic shower curtain with squares each containing a single flower, look out of place. So I peeked at the fabric curtains - costly little devils, they proved to be. But by chance on the bottom shelf, I noticed one for $6 - tannish bamboo stalks and leaves on a maroon background. By itself, it is quite attractive, but it does not exactly coordinate with the window curtains. The phrase might be "clashes like hell." But for $6, I'm not out too much. Maybe a solid neutral color would have worked better, but it would have been far more expensive.

(Out Friday 20070720 - 1355: $47.91 - Bank Debit Card)

A halt to pick up prescriptions for Nasonex - 50 mcg nasal spray sch - decongestant and G.E. Clonazepam (klonopin) - 1 mg - tablet tev - antianxiety/panic attacks.

I'd started to place a refill for Lexpro (escitalopram) - 10 mg - antidepressant. The usual supply is sixty to be taken one twice a day. But I noticed that the order was filled on 20070702. The only explanation I can come up with is that I didn't get sixty, The date span is about twenty days which means I most likely got forty. But when you get an order of sixty pills, you can hardly stand there and count them.

Oddly enough, I'd run into a like problem several weeks ago with an order of Avelox - the doctor said he was going to prescribe fourteen, but I only got ten. But, I did not look at the written prescription, so I have no idea what it said. I'd be willing to bet he wrote ten.

Have you noticed, that I seem to spend an incredible amount of money at CVS?

(Out Friday 20070720 - 1413: $46.00 - Bank Debit Card)

Fuck! Why can't things be a wee bit less complicated. I first tried a pair of long-handled pliers. Ah, what a joke! I then hammered away at it for awhile. But I was fearful of cracking the pipe itself. "I know, I'll drill it out.," I said. I used several drill bits, and none of them made the least impression. Then I remembered that I'd bought two bits especially for masonry. I used the larger, but it too did nothing. Is there a special drill bit for PVC?

Back to the hammer and a chisel. I carefully chiseled away at one part of the cover, again fearful of damaging the pipe, and in about two minutes, the top top cracked. Then all I had to do was to pry the other side up, and I was done. It took all of thirty seconds to install the new flat green filter.

One thing I try to be careful about is pacing myself. I can get so wound up in projects, that I don't know when to stop. And I will literally make myself sick. No doubt, this is a component of being obsessive compulsive. I can think of many, many times over the years, when I didn't know when to stop. And if I ran into a problem, I would experience the severest of panic attacks. To the point that I couldn't even sleep.

I was concerned yesterday that I'd overdone it. I felt deeply hot all over. A clear indication that my internal body temperature was up. Which can be very dangerous. I really should have stopped several times and had a drink.

Today's pacing was much better. Again I was drenched it sweat, my tee was soaked. So that shower was a blessing. And the nap was blissful.

Again and again, I'm amazed at the psychological differences in the new Doctor and the ones from the older series. There is such a strong commanding element of compassion and wistfulness in the new character. In the three new series, last night was the first time he has spoken of Gallifrey.

The Doctor is in a melancholy mood for he has just experienced the death of his old friend The Face of Boe who has lived for millions of years. It has been mentioned before in a couple of episodes that "he has one final secret that he will share only with a "homeless, wandering traveller"." And he whispers on his dying breath to the Doctor that he is not alone.

In the new series, according to the Doctor the Timelords and the Daleks fought"the last great Time War" that resulted in their mutual destruction. "The Doctor claims responsibility for the destruction of ten million Dalek ships but also admits that the Time Lords "burned" with them." However, we soon discover that the Dales have survived. But the Doctor is convinced that no other Timelords exist, and dismisses the final words of The Face of Boe.

Ok! Ok! I know a tad involved. But I've been an avid Who fan since watching the first one shown, in the late 70s, in America, "Robot". This was also the first program featuring the iconic Tom Baker.

I've seen interviews with the current Doctor, David Tennant, who talks about watching the Doctor, which first aired in 1963, and how surreal it was to grow up and be the Doctor.

Possibly no other entertainment feature, including "Star Trek" and "Lord of the Rings," has such a devoted following and ubiquitous ethos. The one true contender might be the world of Sherlock Holmes, whose name is more well known than that of many religions.

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(In Friday - 20070720-1900 / Out Sunday - 20070722-0030) This entry was written in multiple settings.