Charlie Chan, Bugs and Mel Gibson

"Better to let cat out of bag than to drown same."
"Smart Rats know when to leave ship."
"Owner of face cannot always see nose."
"Shot in dark sometime find eye of bull."

Who needs Rinpoche, when you've got Charlie Chan? Some of the 42 Charlie Chan movies have been showing here on our classic cinema channel. There is even one entitled "Charlie Chan in Panama." It's about a plot to blow up the canal. I've seen Charlie in Panama, Charlie in London, Charlie in Paris, Charlie at the races, Charlie at the opera, Charlie at the circus and Charlie at the wax museum. He gets around. Solves the case every time while expounding ancient Chinese wisdom written by ancient Chinese screen writers in the Thirties and Forties. "Soothing drink like summer shower. Bring grateful relief." Good stuff.

I sat on the balcony and listened to the bugs last night. Their's is a high harmony needing a bass line. It plays in your head steadily and at a set volume so it's easy to consign to white noise. I heard an occassional couterpoint from frogs in baritone, but no real bass to feel in your gut and get your attention. Without that it's tough to dance to.

One of the expressions my wife occassionally uses and most recently did so when talking about Mel Gibson, is "he gives me the creeps." The creeps. I like that. It's so evocative. We all know the feeling. It's an odd spooky tingle that rises on your skin and walks up your arms and the back of your neck. Creeps up, actually. You get it when something or someone you find...off putting, (my wife would say, "causes a negative visceral reaction" but being more British than she is I'm going with off putting) makes an appearance in your world. Other celebs from show biz who give her the creeps are Charlton Heston, Eddie Fisher, Art Linkletter and Bing Crosby. (Bing Crosby?) All creep blasts from the past. Nowadays, most of her creeps inducers are in politics. There's Bush, of course, something reptilian there she says. Rove and Rumsfeld make the list and even Dick Cheney who seldom comes out of his cave these days. Ann Coulter tops the list of women creeps generators and Ralph Nader makes it as the token liberal. If you want to creeps her out, like totally dude, turn on Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson. I'm not as creeps sensitive as my wife, but shouters like Bill O'Reilly can get me going. That feeling may be more violent than creepy though. I'm not really creeped out, I just want to pop the guy. Stop him from shouting down his opposition. Something about Condy Rice I find off putting. Her continual locked onto the party line makes her seem like a Stepford Cabinet member. Hilary Clinton weirds me a bit as well. Mostly I get the creeps from creepy things. You know, things that go bump in the night or anything slimy or sticky. Horror movie directors have gone from trying to scare us to grossing us out with goo. It gives me the creeps but it's not as fun as a good adreniline jolt.

So...what gives you the creeps? Inquiring bloggers need to know.