06 August, 2005
tracks of my tears

i've heard that "cool as a cucumber" expression for as long as i've been able to think.

at the moment, i resemble the remark.

cool? with both the ceiling fan spinning above my head, ApocalypseNow-style, the box fan sucking the breath of the distant storm across my SexPistols-shirted back, this is the first time in four days that i don't feel like the SwampThing.

"cucumber"-like? spot on, too... if you recall how they feel when you retrieve one from the chiller at the supermarket: waxy and water-repellent. i blame the heat in the studio (from surreptitiously preventing trainees from committing the dreaded "dead air"), and the generous slathering of mosquito salad dressing on my exposed flesh.

i kept my cool, too, when the gas tank sputtered out of fuel while i was grilling some organic asparagus spears (marinated in olive oil, vinegar and lots of garlic). i though that was a tragedy...

...until i stuck the newly arrived offering from Net_Flix in the player: Grave Of The Fireflies.
i wasn't too cool, after that. in fact, my head swelled hotly, and watching the screen was more than difficult when the final credits, in kanji, rolled unintelligibly up the screen.
beautifully designed animation... almost surreal. a story that didn't have to be set in Japan for impact.
totally devastating.

i can only hope that someone sits that smirking fucker from Crawford,Texas down in front of it and locks the door behind them.

if he's something other than the hipocrate and reptile that i think he is, he wouldn't be so "cool", either.

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