Things I Did Yesterday 04/07/08

Jesus, I gotta get out of the house. But yesterday I:

- Worked. Thursday means new comics day, means long day, means busybusybusy. Also, had some annoying NZ woman in who, at the peak of the lunch time rush, stood smack in front of the counter barking questions at us, asking the same things over and over because we obviously hadn't given her the answers she wanted. Then, when she was done, she tried to haggle down the price of a copy of Comics International (£2.99). I don't haggle. Anyway, it really was that kind of day. Got the filing done though, so that's good.

- The Gosh logo has undergone an as yet unimplemented redesign and as such we're getting new stationary and, at long last, business cards for the store. More importantly though, I'm getting one of my own! At last, I've made the big-time!

- Faffed about a bit when I got home before making some tasty chorizo-sauce pasta and watching a flick.

- Watched Val Lewton's "Bedlam". Another classic RKO picture whose sensationalist publicity belies the thematic intelligence of the piece. William Hogarth is actually given a writing credit for being the inspiration for the story with his depiction of the hospital in A Rake's Progress. Set in 1761, Boris Karloff plays the apothecary general of the titular asylum, intent on crawling his way into high society. Anna Lee plays an itinerant actor who has becomer the companion of a prominent lord, managing to do that which Karloff so dearly wishes for. She seeks to bring reforms to Bedlam with the help of Whig politician John Wilks and seeing her as a threat to his position, Karloff has her declared insane and committed. Another shadow-drenched study in mood and atmosphere, the film does a very good job of recreating Olde London Towne (the odd iffy accent aside) on what was a limited budget. Less a horror than a humanist study of 18th Century England, I would highly recommend it.

- Speaking of humanism, I played some TF2 and totally blew some guys to bits.

- Read for a bit then hit the sack.

- Dreamt I was swimming across a lake, pursued by long-fanged, water-winged babies. The water was thick with weed and my long, ungainly limbs became entangled to the point where it was all I could do to stay afloat. The infants, however, skimmed across the placid lake surface, their long incisors gleaming with drool as their tiny limbs clawed the water, moving them ever closer. On the other shore a pretty woman in a summer dress, carefree and smiling, waved to me encouragingly. I turned fully to her and focused on her happy features even as the small, splashing sounds of death closed in. Not sure what it means.