Click images for desktop size: "Night Windows" by Edward Hopper I have a doctor's appointment today . . .
Nothing special, just the first time for seeing this doctor. Most of my worries are about money. Will he see me without insurance? Will he at least write me my regular scripts? Will he make me re-do a bunch of expensive tests? Will I have to plead and beg? Can I get a 3 month supply? I'm out of meds . . .
Just the normal in this life, my life.
What really bugging me are my eyes.
I was raking the yard yesterday and when I was picking up the leaves (from last autumn, so they've semi-mulched nicely under the snow) a gust of wind lifted some debris up and smacked me in the right eye.
I did all the right stuff: Didn't scratch it, washed the eye out etc. Buts its been hurting all day and over night . . . Now I'm almost glad that I'm not seeing my old doctor because this would entail a 45 minute lecture about wearing my dark glasses at all times when I'm outside.
My new sin: Not wearing my dark glasses.
My left eye feels like its getting worse. More blurry and it feels more at ease when I keep it closed and just watch things with my right eye. I try and avoid doing that, especially now that my right eye is hurting me.
I'm not sleeping well but at least I'm staying in bed and not wandering around. When I wander around too late it bothers my puppy. I can't stand her worried face when she looks at me like that.
I like her to be carefree and happy. I like my puppy to laugh and try and trick me and joke with me. Her pathetic helplessness, her worry when she has no idea what to do bothers me. The only solution she comes up with is to stay as close to me as she can.
My little blind dog keeps hanging on. Blind, stinking, scratching and a chronic cough (that doesn't help my non-sleeping) doesn't seem to be a codec for happy but he is happy.
He gets mad because he gets comfortable and then I move and he has to get up and follow. I don't know why he has to follow but he feels he does. I drive him crazy when I run back and forth.
Click images for desktop size: "Tiles" by Geopics He's still feeling enough himself to let me know I'm driving him crazy.
Every morning I give the dogs raw hide ships, for treats and for their teeth. The little blind dog gets a pork hide or similar. He can't have beef at all. Today my puppy and he negotiated a complicated ritual that ended with them swapping treats.
They were both pretty hacked with me for nixing the deal.
As long as he can get mad at me I don't worry too much. Concerned but not worried. Get the difference?
Watched a lot of disappointing movies this weekend. They were disappointing not because of my mood or physical state but because they were films that anyone would expect to be disappointing. It ended up with me watching them on fast forward and stopping for the fight scenes . . . even Mark Descanzo, usually a pretty reliable guy, was creepy in "Alien Agent".
I finally got a copy of Jet Li's debut film, "Shaolin Temple" (Shaolin Si). He was 17 and the 12 time Wushu National Champion.
I first saw this in Chinatown when it was released. I was blown away by the sheer athleticism of the actors, all members of the National Wushu team. They were astonishing in a way the Chinese Opera Company (the main breeding ground for Chinese kung fu stars) could never envision. And that's saying a lot.
I have a feeling the version I saw was cut because , after the rousingly stupid opening them song ("Shao Lin Shao Lin All the world looks to your mysteric ways") and the astonishing first movie shots ever of the Shaolin Temple and the Forbidden City (Boy, I want to go to China) there followed some very nasty animal cruelty. Including a bizarre propaganda style piece showing the monks cooking and eating a dog!
I don't remember seeing that before and I would have remembered. I stopped watching when the bad guys started slaughtering a flock of sheep. I don't have much confidence in the Chinese not hurting animals. I mean they haven't shown much respect for students or Tibetans so . . .
If that makes me seem squeamish, I can live with that.
The one thing I found enjoyable, that started out as pretty dire, is the serial "Atom Man vs Superman". Kirk Allyn is now my third favorite Superman (George Reeves and Christopher Reeves are numbers 1 and 2). He gets more and more engaging. The nicest touch is that he's always grinning and the grin could be interpreted in so many ways. Sometimes its, "boy can you believe. Bullets bounce right off of me!" and other times, "You mortal fools don't you see I'm the closest you'll ever see to a god!" and you can go on and on.
Lyle Talbot, who I recall as the Next Door Neighbor in a lot of ancient sitcoms, is tres cool as Lex Luthor. He works his multifarious schemes to perfection and accepts his ruthless genius as a cool matter of course, especially when he tricks Superman into helping his evil plans.
Noel Neill, as Lois Lane, is much cooler than she was in the TV show (hard to believe but its so). She sassy, belligerent and headstrong. Very excellent.
There's the usual odd serial plot holes. If Luthor has the money to own a TV station why does he need a gang of idiots to do a series of penny ante robberies . . .
I'm still working on the encodings to test out the Apple TV. I've decided to get comprehensive about it and be real exact and precise so I can figure once and for all the best way to watch my meager movie collection.