Now, where was I? How many days behind am I? O yeah, I finished Monday, now onto the 4th of July.

O, wait, one more Monday story. I went home after The Perfect Storm, and it was raining. Big drops, the kind that I love, the kind that I stop and bask in, particularly if it is raining while I'm on the way home, not on the way to work where I'll have to have wet feet all day.

And I stood on the corner of my street and raised my arms in the air to the sky, to the rain, like Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption. I was feeling the drops on my skin, I was praying to the rain gods. I was ecstatic.

Then my pants fell down.

They weren't open or anything, they fell right off my hips. Either I'm losing weight at an astounding rate or I bought these pants a little too big. I know that I am, in fact, losing weight, but I have a pretty good idea that it's probably the latter.

I'd better buy a belt in any case.

On Tuesday I spent a bunch of the day in the backyard, natch, but I really did want to go to the movies, and the road to Manhattan was closed down for the day, so I thought that it was the perfect opportunity to go to the new Regal Cinema, near the House of Pancakes, aka within walking distance.

I managed not to wander off like a baby duck either going or coming back, always a good thing, even though I had to improvise slightly on the way back, because going via the House of Pancakes actually makes it longer, because you can't cross the street there, because the street is the highway, so I had to double back a bit before getting there. And I decided not to do that twice, so I paid very clear attention, you know, like a normal person, and got home without getting lost.

A lovely treat.

The new Regal is a great theatre, but, weirdly, the only entrance is inside the carpark, so clearly they aren't expecting a great deal of foot traffic.

It was a bargain matinee, a species of creature that I had forgotten existed, and they are having a promotion for the month of July involving free popcorn and soda, and I bought ice cream, and do you know how much I spent? Movie, soda, popcorn and ice cream were $8.25. The day before, when I saw The Perfect Storm, the movie alone cost me $9.50.

I must go to the movies in Jersey more often!

Anyway, the movie that I saw was The Patriot, which was quite good. It was extremely corny at times (when you see at the top of the film that the music is by John Williams, you don't expect subtlety), but you've gotta just ride with it, and you're fine.

It is intensely long, though. Unlike The Perfect Storm, which is long, but only as long as it needs to be, The Patriot, which covers a period of five years, feels at times as though it is taking place in real time, to quote myself.

It's dead sexy at times, if you, like me, find the sight of axes and chopping and men covered in blood to be erotic. There could have been a bit more of that, by me, but I'm sure that it will be too much for some. I'd think I was a freak for thinking that men with blood on their faces is about the sexiest thing that there is, if Cynthia hadn't once told me that she felt the same, so I know that it's not just me.

Mel is very good and quite Mel-ish, all seething and anguished and things, but I do not see the big thing about Heath Ledger--that wide-faced, blonde, harmless pudding-y look just doesn't do it for me. He seems to be a reasonably good actor, but he just doesn't catch my eye. On the other hand, the very bad evil bad villain, played by Jason Isaacs, was just gorgeous. The scene where he kills all these people with his hair all flying in the wind like Daniel Day-Lewis was just so fine.

It wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but it was a good way to spend Independence Day.

Afterwards, I went home and hung out in the backyard some more.

It was getting dark, the skeeters were coming out, but I didn't want to go inside. People kept walking past the house, towards the boulevard that's closed off, the perfect place to view the fireworks. The family went to John's house to watch them, but me, I don't much care about fireworks, so I just went in the house and fucked around online. Probably writing that day's entry.

When I'm writing, I always like to have something on TV that I don't have to pay too much attention to, so I turned on the fireworks on TV. Which I think says alot about me. I don't go outside and look up, I turn them on TV and don't watch them there, either.

I needed to go to the store for something or other (okay, it was ice cream, but I really am still losing weight!), and when I left the house it must have been just after the fireworks, because there was this absolute river of humanity walking by my house. Well, down at the end of the block, that is.

I stood there on the corner for about five minutes, amazed at the sight of all those people. There were no cars on the road, there was no room for them, just hundreds and hundreds of people, more than I even have seen in one place, more than I knew lived in New Jersey.

I couldn't think what they reminded me of. Something. Lemmings? No, because they are coming back from the cliff, not going towards it. Ants? No, that's not quite right. The Bataan Death March? The dead walking to the ships in Seaward? And then I realized it. Grasshoppers. They reminded me of grasshoppers.

You know, like in On the Banks of Plum Creek, when the grasshoppers walk and walk and walk all over everything, not stopping for anything, destroying everything in their path.

It's not a very flattering comparison, but it's apt.

When I got the ice cream (mint chip) and came out, the people were all gone, and instead of people everywhere on every surface, always walking, always moving forward, relentless, there were stopped cars everywhere, unable to move. It was terribly funny.

You 1900 House fans, check this out, it's hilarious!

What's the sexiest thing that you can think of, the thing that maybe other people will think is weird?

And we're still talking about procrastination, destiny, dream groupings of actors, Martha Stewart, our new favourite books, and still, and always, our big fat asses.

Check out that horoscope, below. I guess Russell Crowe will be ringing me, 'cause he's the only beloved that I know of!

I'd better get off the line...

Today's horoscope:
Take some time today to just talk with your beloved. Regular dialogue keeps your relating healthy.

One year ago today:
Reticent in interviews I am not.

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