I really enjoy a rainy day. It's a good excuse to be lazy and read, watch TV or play video games. It seems nice and cozy to be inside while the rain beats on the roof and the trees sway.
I'll tell you what I'd really like to be doing. I'd like to be in Germany at Gamescom 2011. This is a huge convention for gamers. I was just over on Kotaku.com, a gamers site, and I was checking out some cool photos from the convention. I loved the people running around in costumes. Cosplay (Dressing up in costumes) is huge in Japan and evidently in Europe. People come from all over the world to attend this show and go to see the newest game demos. Some people pay thousands of dollars to make their costumes or have them made. I saw several that were really marvelous, no comic pun intended. They were so stunning that Hollywood could take some lessons from these people. If you have time go over to Kotaku and check it out.
I think I would really enjoy the atmosphere at one of these shows. Gamers and geek type people, like myself, really are just about having fun. It should be a real hoot to chill with thousands of these folks for a few days. Well, I can't make it this year.
The other day when I went on the tracking expedition, I must have gotten into some chiggers. They are certainly munching on me. I have to question their taste, if not their dedication. I wonder if they sit around and chat, hoping for any special type of human to munch on? It could sound like this.
"I wish Angelina Jolie would come by."
"Yeah? One human's as good as another, right?"
"Maybe to you, but I am a gourmet."
I have been having a bit of an adventure with this oak tree that I am cutting down. When it fell over, it could not hit the ground because it hung on other trees. This is quite common in the woods. What you do is start at the bottom and cut chunks off it about 2 feet long. Each time you make a cut, the remaining part of the tree falls a bit. After a cut or two they eventually fall. I have had them reach a point where the tree they are leaning on has enough snap in them to stand your tree straight up again and it will fall toward you. If you are not paying attention you can be killed, which is a drag. This is really not an old guy's game, but I still do a bit of it. Back to my point, I've got this oak that I keep cutting chunks off of and it still hasn't fell. Once, it pinched down on my saw and I had to drive a wedge into the cut to get my saw out. Of course, after so many years of using saws, my hands bother me a bit from the vibration, anyway. I think that after I put this oak out of its misery, I will give up on cutting my own firewood, for good.
Normally, I don't like to read biographies because I find them boring. I did buy one the other day about Marilyn Monroe. The title is The Secret Life Of Marilyn Monroe by J. Randy Taraborrelli. I have found it very interesting and a bit depressing. This lady had a really tough life. Her Mom was a bit of a nut. Marilyn grew up in foster care. Her beauty was perhaps more of a curse than a blessing. As I read this book I feel a little guilty about the way we make merchandise of these folks, like my comment about Angelina earlier. I mean, these are people. There is much more to them than a body. I understand that much of Marilyn's persona was merely that, a persona. You know, the sexy bombshell that was dumb as a rock. She was in fact, pretty sharp, and a good actress. It took forever for her to get good roles in Hollywood. She was a commodity to be peddled, just for her looks. It makes you wonder how family members deal with this stuff.
Just lately, in Chicago, they unveiled a 30 foot statue of Marilyn. It is truly spectacular, and so big! She is in the iconic pose from the movie The Seven Year Itch. The scene where she is standing on the grating and the wind from the subway gives her a cool breeze. Well, there has been some controversy over the statue. People love it or hate it, just like the actress. Tourists are posing for pictures, standing under it. You catch my drift, I guess. You should go to Google search and type in 'Marilyn statue in Chicago' then hit 'photos'.
My favorite movie with Marilyn, by far, is The River Of No Return with Robert Mitchum. In this show she plays a saloon girl who dreams of a better life. She runs off with a gambler but deserts him to save a kid and his wounded dad. This takes place in the wilderness of Alaska. I've always had a soft spot for women who have to make their living in tough ways. I suspect that seeing this movie as a kid is part of that mindset. You'll never hear any condemnation from me directed toward the girls of the night.
As far as Marilyn goes, I am just another guy who loved her as a kid. When I was a starry-eyed teenager she was a dream girl; I could feel her effect in the 22nd row, just like Elton John says. And just like Elton says, "I would have liked to have known you, but I was just a kid". May you have the peace in death that was denied to you in life.
From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.
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