Sunday, March 31, 2019

I started my day by taking a hot bath in what seems to be a very warm day in Los Angeles.  I always read in the tub, and now I'm reading Kenward Elmslie's "The Orchid Stories" published by an interesting press The Song Cave.   I like how Elmslie plays with the language, and I have read somewhere that he is a fan of Raymond Roussel, who I suspect influenced "The Orchid Stories." 

I have spent a lifetime in the bath reading, and not once have I ever dropped my book into the bath water.   Nowadays it would be weird for me to be in the tub without a book.   I can look at my bookcase and remember which title I have read in the bath.  There is something organic and beautiful about being in a body of water and reading.  Not sure if anyone else feels that way.  

Throughout the day I have been working on a small essay on Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and although it's interesting to dwell on the novel, I find it difficult to write on.  It's not the subject matter or the book itself, but more of me wanting to go back to the bath and read more of "The Orchid Stories."  Still, I got back to my MacBook Air and kept on writing, while listening to Kristian Hoffman's radio show on LuxuriaMusic.com  called "Pepperland Spicerack" and today he's playing the late (and great) Scott Walker.  Which got me thinking of Scott and Oscar Wilde.  I wonder if he read "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and what was his thoughts on the book.  For a few moments today I tried to pretend that I was Scott writing my essay.   Actually, it went on for an hour or so, and I did come up with something else.  Still, I need to get back to my character, to write the essay. 

Tonight, as usual, we will be drinking wine at 7 pm, and then have our dinner.  I'm hoping to do our walk around the Silver Lake Reservoir before happy hour, but it's sunny outside, and I have this fear of getting skin cancer and/or my hatred of direct sunlight anywhere on my body. I like seeing a sunny day outside the window, but I dread going into the direct sunlight outside our door. 

Also tomorrow, we are having repairmen coming to the house to fix various problems we are having at this moment.  Our money situation is not so great, so I do worry about that. Then again, all that does is make me go to Rockaway Records, where I want to buy a $50 R.D. Laing album "Life Before Death."