Local Color

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1

(dramatic music)

[Voiceover] I had never

heard of the opera before.

It was in the romantic vein

by a relatively unknown

19th century Pole who was

experiencing something

of a rediscovery.

It was the American premiere

and I didn't know the plot.

As soon as I sat down, I

started to read the synopsis

to no avail.

After a sentence or two

I was hopelessly lost.

Everyone was someone's

brother, son, or twin

or masquerading as the

brother, son, or twin.

[Voiceover] It

was perfectly clear.

I understood every word of it.

[Voiceover] It seemed

that everyone was in love

with the same woman

who was the daughter,

stepsister, and long lost twin

of each of the male leads.

She was masquerading

as a man and was loved

by the sister of the man

she adored who, however,

spurned her because he didn't

realize she was a woman.

From the little I had read

of it, I was sure it would

take seven hours for this

dense plot to unfold.

But I also knew that once it

started, it would become clear.

I think Debbie was

singing on stage.

She was the daughter,

the sister, the twin,

the transvestite, everything.

(opera music)

The theater was packed.

I could feel everyone's

eyes riveted on me.

[Voiceover] No one paid the

slightest attention to her.

(opera music)

[Voiceover] At the end

the stage was cluttered with

corpses following an

orgy of poisonings,

murders, suicides,

and general mayhem.

She claimed that she was

covering it for Life Magazine.

[Voiceover] The

National Enquirer.

I can't.

I can't.

(alarm buzzing)

Alvin, Alvin?

[Voiceover] She expected

to wake up and find

herself swimming in his

blood, or worse yet,

in her own blood.

The smell of fresh

coffee reassured her that

he had not yet left for work.

200 million years ago

there was only one ocean.

All the continents

were grouped together

in a super continent,

Pangea, which was made up

of two unconnected

subcontinents.

The northern part Laurasia

was North America,

Europe, and Asia.

The southern part

Gondwanaland was South

America, Africa,

Australia, and Antarctica.

Gondwanaland, I love that name.

Yes, Gondwanaland.

The two parts were so

close together that Boston

was touching the

coast of West Africa.

New York was on the equator.

Volcanic eruptions in

the ocean floor pushed

the continents apart.

That's why the coastline

of South America dovetails

into the coastline of Africa.

North America had the most

changes to go through.

It moved 5,000 miles

west northwest.

We've earned the

right to be the most

powerful nation on Earth.

How long did it take?

Not long, 135 million

years at the most.

65 billion years ago the

continents as we know

them were blocked out.

It's still going

on, it never stops.

That's a scary thought.

[Brian] No, it's exciting.

It should be solid

and unchanging.

Something should be.

Oh no, it's always on

the move, just like us.

But there's nothing

to worry about.

It happens very slowly.

I can see only

this much of it.

My life, the people in

it, that's my world.

If you could see the

larger perspective,

you'd be much happier.

In 50 million years there

won't even be a Mediterranean.

(buzzing)

Hi.

What do you want?

I can't talk now.

I'm very busy,

I'll see you later.

My wife, calls 100 times a day.

Such devotion, you

weren't very friendly.

No, maybe not.

If you could take a

movie of the whole world,

one frame every 200

years, it would look like

a bubbling mass of caramel.

And if we could see that

movie, we'd realize just how

trivial our own problems are.

Yes, you may be right.

I suppose everyone tells

you you have beautiful legs.

They came with the shoes.

It's the shoes that do it.

Fire again.

How many dreams have I

had with fire in them?

Like Herostratus, the

man who wanted to achieve

immortality by burning

down the Temple of Diana.

Fame through destruction,

and so easy to do.

Takes much less time too

than doing it the other way.

I am high on a hill, a

building with a wall of

mirrors behind me, a

sheer precipice below me.

The building is expanding,

leaving less room on

the ledge for me.

The girl in the golden

dress beckons towards me.

I think I'm going

to faint and fall.

Frantically I try to

clutch the glass surface

with my fingers.

I tell her to go away and leave

me alone before anyone sees.

She says the dress

hurts her body.

I pretend I don't

see her or hear her.

She puts on a cape

made of human hair

and goes into the

forest by herself.

Suddenly I see a column

of flame in the forest.

I know what it is.

But I make believe

it's something else.

I feel like a rat.

Mention to shrink.

When will you be home?

Seven, eight.

Don't worry about me, I

can take care of myself.

Stores are open late tonight.

I'm going shopping

with a friend.

Not if I don't give

you the money you're not.

Nah, I was only kidding.

Who with?

Give me a hint, is

it male or female?

Are you starting in again?

Give me 25 bucks.

10, I only got 10.

Are you kidding,

at those prices?

Okay, I'll give you 25.

Why don't you shove it?

Told you not to use

that kind of language.

All I need is 15 anyway.

Touch it.

Give it to me.

What do you want it for?

Why did you show it to me?

[Voiceover] She felt

that the danger which they

both flirted with

was finally at hand.

At this moment she

wouldn't object if he threw

his arms around her

and smothered her in

forbidden kisses and told

her that he would die

if he couldn't possess her.

No.

If you say one word to her.

[Voiceover] The moment

had passed without

his being aware that

it had come at all.

He would never know

how little he was able

to gage her unspoken thoughts.

She was always to elude him.

His inability to act at

that moment permanently

loosened his control over her.

(upbeat music)

Dear diary, today

John M. Called again.

He obviously wanted to

come over and screw.

I told him no dice, he's

good in bed but I don't

think he's sensitive.

Things like the theater,

the ballet, and foreign

films don't interest him at all.

Hm, me too.

Tonight at Teddy's marshmallow

I met the cutest guy,

what a hunk.

We didn't waste too

much time talking.

No sooner had our drinks

arrived when I asked

him over to my place.

I think he was a little

surprised and pleased

when I came out with

it just like that.

I want what I want

and I don't hide it.

I'm nothing if not honest.

I think that's what men find

most attractive about me

aside from my well formed

tits, which I think could

be a trifle larger, although

I haven't gotten any

complaints yet.

We came back here and

let me tell you, I wasn't

mistaken, I know

how to pick 'em.

No sooner do we start in

when the buzzer rings.

My god, I had

forgotten all about it,

I had a date with Leslie.

Mel said I should

invite Leslie up.

Suddenly my mind

was racing like mad.

I had never done anything

like that before.

How do you like it?

It's not for me.

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