Shelter halves

Today it rained. Umbrellas sprouted. Another umbrella user passed me and said, "Bloody rain".

Reminded me of that episode in which Hawkeye describes what being in a war is like, thrown together in an unlikely and unpleasant situation, yet managing to make do. "It's like when it starts to rain and people rush in to a doorway just to stay dry."

It was raining cats and dogs. I know, because I stepped in a poodle. It was so wet, I saw two ducks hitch-hiking.

Go ahead Mako My Day

Another vintage TV show, Hawaii Five-O is making a comeback. Remember the credits, Kam Fong as Chin Ho?

On M*A*S*H*, an enemy medical officer was played by one-name actor Mako. The Japanese actor played at least three other characters on the series, plus the movie Pearl Harbor and many other film roles.

Mako also played bit parts in the original Hawaii Five-O series.

Got coffee?

This is enough to drive one to drink. Watching TV shows that show their characters "acting" out a scene holding a styrofoam coffee cup. They move their arms around, gesticulating, spinning around, with each movement emphasizing the point they're trying to make. It also emphasizes the fact that there is nothing in that styrofoam coffee cup. Worst offenders are soap operas and the Global series Rookie Blue. McNally on the radio, "Central, I'm reporting a 2-11 in progress...committing a crime by acting while holding an empty cup."
This reminds me of many episodes of M*A*S*H*. When Hawkeye, Trapper, Hunnicutt or anyone else visiting the Swamp sampled the homebrew, at least they held a martini glass in which it was obvious there was a drink. It added movement to the scene. You could see it. You could almost taste it. It was real and honest, not phoney and distracting. Is there some legalistic rider in today's contracts that states these actors can't hold onto hot coffee in case they burn themselves?

I'll drink to that.

Famous Las Vegas Writers' School

Radar wants to spice up his life at the 4077th, so he joins a writers' school by mail. Whoever the famous writer is in Las Vegas sends him some information and Radar starts writing. Predictably, his overly flowerly and adjective-laden writing sounds like he swallowed a thesaurus. (What's another word for thesaurus? I can't think of one right now.)

Hawkeye tells Radar: Just be yourself. Write about life on the farm and your parents back in Ottumwa, Iowa.

So often tempted by pretension and one-upmanship, we think that tarting events in our daily lives up a bit will make us something we're not. We're probably right. We become less than we are. Just be yourself.