Illegitimate Sun

Spent the weekend bouncing from event to event.

Friday night was League of Extraordinary Gentlemen night. The movie was entertaining but lacked the depravity and the literary melange that made the graphic novel so appealing.

Nemo was more the repentant Mysterious Island Nemo rather than the 20,000 Leagues amoral villain. I preferred the villain.

Hyde & Jekyll were both characterized quite well.

Tom Sawyer was way too young. A pre-Civil War youth would not be twenty-something in the year 1899.

The surprise of Moriarity being the arch-villain manipulating everyone came without prelude or even cause. The pulp reference was lost on the audience.

Saturday saw me reading a new Italian cookbook in the West End. I ended up talking with Luisa, a waitress at Bar Italia down the street. Stopping by the super market, I ran into the owner of Bar Italia as well. Taking the hint from God, I bought some fresh mussels, shrimp, and parmesan and made a tomato-seafood pasta sauce.

I think the mussels could have benefited by being prepared in white wine. They were too fishy, but I was out of white wine that I’d use for cooking. I settled for boiling water.

Following a wonderful dinner, I played surrogate boyfriend to Rena and went dancing at Velvet. However, the DJ was so bad that we were driven from the club. He kept playing remixes of Duran Duran songs. Maybe he wsa trying to be ironic; I just wished he would change the beat at least once in an hour.

I hope their DJs are better for next week’s Porn Star Ball. I’m going dressed as a UPS Delivery Man.

Oh, forgot to mention that I passed the first round of the FWSE Test. On the 15th, I’m to call and schedule my second test / interview. The next step is a group exercise from what I hear. I’m hoping to take the test in either Chicago or Houston in early January.

More to come on this topic when I hear something new.

Another week, another listing of what I’ve done.

The actual 4th included a half-day of work (making up for movie time) and a barbecue at the Chewnings that afternoon. Kabobs, vegetarian sushi, and pork steaks. It should come as no surprise to anyone that I brought the steaks.

That night I had a missed connection with Angie and the Violent Femmes. I did meet the owner of a bar down on the Landing called the Big Bang. I also met her parents. They were nice folk from Milwaukee. Mom Big Bang kept trying to get me to flirt with her daughter. Seems her daughter has spent “too much time on this bar, instead of a family.” Thank god I was drinking ice tea; I don’t laugh in peoples’ faces as much when I’m sober. On the other hand, Bar Daughter was cute. Cute and uninterested.

Saturday was punish-myself-with-racquetball day. Excessive heat and concrete bunker-style courts lead to a dehydrated Joshua.

Sunday, I just lay around and rehydrated. That night, Matt (brother of Ruth from Ruth & John) and I drove out to St. Chuck to catch the fireworks along the Missouri River. They’ve the best show consistently every year. 25-30 minutes of exploding joy that build in intensity to a blinding / deafening finish. On top of that, not many people were out on a Sunday night, two days after the 4th of July. We were able to sit right on the river bank facing the launch barge. Throw in some White Castles, hard cider, and caged ice cream and you have a great close to a holiday weekend.

Monday was the annual golf tournament for work. I don’t play golf, but I help lug boxes and shake hands. Afterwards, I schlep back to the office to “get some work done” while Jennifer lounges around at the golf course and Skip pours over reams of articles. In the evening is a dinner and prize giveaway, but I really can’t see the point in driving back out to St. Peters in rush hour, just to get some barbecue brisket. If I were there already, I’d stay for dinner.

Instead, I took Angie to Bar Italia to see a showing of “Ladri di biciclette.” Done in 1948, The Bicycle Thief turns out to be an Italian story similar to the Grapes of Wrath. A hard working poor family is doomed after their bicycle is stolen.

With the sun down, the weather was perfect. The gelati was mouth watering. The outdoor courtyard lent itself to an amazing movie going moment.

The only drawback in the whole evening was the menu. The meal was a fixed menu with choices for soup, salad, and entree. I didn’t mind the limited selection, but the price for the meal was a little higher than normal. Worse, it was not advertised or announced when I made reservations. I ended up dropping a hundred bucks on the meal. Excessive but not impossible; it just blew my entertainment budget for this part of the month.