Cocktail napkins, pg 40

A blog about them:

http://www.idea-sandbox.com/blog/napkin_wisdom/

Esquire's Napkin Fiction Project:

http://www.esquire.com/fiction/napkin-project/

From wisegeek.com: What ARE cocktail napkins?

Cocktail napkins are small napkins that are used for special occasions such as weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, cocktail parties, and other similar events. Cocktail napkins are not used for formal dining; rather, a larger cloth napkin signifies good etiquette on the part of the host or hostess. For informal events, cocktail napkins can be used to carry hors d’oeuvres, as a coaster for cocktails, or to discreetly spit out unwanted food and dab the corners of the mouth.

Cocktail napkins are almost always found at bars. When you order a drink, with the exception of beer, the bartender will usually provide you with a cocktail napkin. This keeps your hands dry from the condensation that forms around the glass, prevents rings on the bar counter or table, and is more tasteful than a cardboard coaster with a beer company’s logo on it.

Cocktail napkins usually come in 5-inch (12.7-cm) squares, although it is common to have smaller or larger cocktail napkins, as well as rectangular cocktail napkins. Cocktail napkins can be plain white squares, embossed with various prints and even personalized, with endless styles of lettering to choose from. Cocktail napkins are generally made of paper, but for an added touch of elegance, cocktail napkins are available in linens.

Depending on the ambiance that one wishes to create, cocktail napkins can be an effective way of enhancing any theme. For a casual party, novelty cocktail napkins can bring humor with pithy sayings, funny graphics, and so on. For more elegant affairs, such as weddings or cocktail hours before a formal dinner, choosing classic and tasteful cocktail napkins can make the event more memorable by adding exquisite detail.

In addition to the countless styles of cocktail napkins, they also have their own specialized accessories. Cocktail napkin holders add an extra flare to the theme of any occasion, with as many variations in style and size as there are for cocktail napkins. Holders made of wrought iron designs, pewter holders, and glass holders are some examples that are more on the elegant side. Novelty cocktail napkin holders are just as abundant. Holders in the shape of beach chairs, animals, babies, and the like all make fun accessories for exciting theme parties.

how to stop a nosebleed

p. 38: "Your whole house looks like it's suffering from a violent nosebleed, Ger." -Daffie



How To Stop A Nosebleed (from wikiHOW)

Thumbs Up Method

1. Stay calm, slowly taking deep breaths. (not through the nose) With your hand and either a tissue or handkerchief (same hand as the bleeding nostril,) make a 'thumbs up' sign.
2. Press your thumb against your nostril's side, not so hard that it hurts, but firmly enough to flatten the nostril.
3. Stay still, leaning forward slightly.
4. Stay in place for 5-10 minutes, breathing normally.
5. Slowly release the pressure; it may feel a bit weird as the blood flows back into your nasal vessels.

Pinching Method

1. Pinch your nose just below the bridge. There is a vein just below the nose bone that is the culprit in 99% of bloody noses. Pinching puts pressure on it, which arrests the bleeding and speeds the clotting process.
2. Find a bathroom as you continue pinching. Now that you have slowed the bleeding by pinching, you should find a bathroom where you can clean up once the bleeding has stopped.
3. Keep applying pressure for at least 5 minutes at a time. Don't check to see if it is still bleeding over this period of time as it is important to keep continuous pressure. After this period of time let go briefly to see if the bleeding has stopped. If not, give it another 5 minutes. (This is also a good time to quickly wash any blood off your hands and get a paper towel or toilet paper to pinch with so that blood gets on the paper and not your hand.) If it is, continue pinching. Don't check every 30 seconds, as the key is constant pressure.

Pressure Method

1. Find the two very slight depressions on the back of the skull, approximately four finger-widths from the base of the skull (in line with the tops of the ears) and four finger-widths from the mid-line of the back of the skull. If you had eyes in the back of your head, this is where they would be.
2. Press the spots firmly, but gently, and if you have connected correctly, the bleeding should stop immediately. Keep up the pressure for about five minutes and then release. If the bleeding starts again, just repeat the process, but hold it longer: you may have to keep up the pressure for ten to fifteen minutes to stop it completely.

Upper Lip Method

1. Roll up a piece of gauze or tissue into a "cigar shape" approximately 2 inches long and a little thicker than a pencil. Folding it into a small, thick square also works well.
2. Wedge the tissue under your upper lip where it's tight and close your lip over it.
3. Apply light pressure by compressing your lip over the wad. Tilt your head forward.

Chemical Method

1. Mix equal parts of lemon juice, vinegar and salt. You only need a little.
2. Wipe any blood from your nose with a paper towel or tissue.
3. Carefully smell the mixture, from about 4 inches away. The fumes should stop the bleeding quickly. Remember, if you get dizzy, stop smelling the mixture.

Afrin Method

1. Spray nose four times in the bleeding nostril(s) with a decongestant spray such as Afrin or Neo-Synephrine. Decongenstant sprays such as these contain oxymetazoline nasal which constrict blood vessels and stop bleeding within seconds.
2. Do not use oxymetazoline nasal for longer than 3 to 5 days. Longer use could cause damage to your nasal tissue and lead to chronic congestion. If your symptoms do not improve, see your doctor.

Cold Method

1. Drink ice-cold water slowly, allowing the water to cool the roof of your mouth. This will cool your nasal passages and blood vessels will contract, allowing clotting to be faster. It should stop soon after. NOTE: This will only work with slight to moderate nosebleeds.
2. Using an icepack over the nose may help as well.

After the Nose Bleed

1. Do not clean out your nose after the bleeding has stopped.
2. Clean up everything else. Your hands, your face, the sink--anything you dropped blood on needs to be cleaned.
3. Moisturize. If you have chap stick, moisturizer or Neosporin on hand, put a little of that in your nose to help healing and prevent it from bleeding again. A thin coating of petroleum jelly is simple and can be helpful to prevent nosebleeds due to dry air. If you are prone to bloody noses, it is a good idea to do this every morning to prevent bleeding, especially in dry weather.
4. Put an extra paper towel in your pocket just in case it starts to bleed again. If it doesn’t start for the next hour, you should be in the clear.
5. Avoid doing anything to cause your nose to bleed. Don't blow your nose, pick your nose, or bump it if at all possible. Nose bleeds can be caused by accidents, but are more commonly caused by dry conditions, causing the nasal membranes to dry out and crack. While we don't feel this, the end result is obvious.

Props pg. 36. 38. 40. 42. 44

p. 36

• Ros's glossy panties

p.38

• tube of red lipstick
• Daffie's drink: straight gin with maraschino cherry juice
• small black cigarillo
• Tania's 'Susanna and the Elders' paintings
• fresh pitcher of martinis

p.40

• gin bottle
• Howard's scout knife
• Anatole's french cigarette
• bottle of bourbon
• 2 wine glasses of vermouth
• cocktail napkins
  
• salt

p.42

• Howard's fractured lenses
• cocktail napkin
• ice bucket
• empty bottles
• avocado dip
• little cheese board and knife
• grapefruit
• steak knife
• canapes
• empty tuna cans
• cracker boxes
• dip mix packets
• bread
• homemade pickes and relish

p.44

• french cigarette
• saucepan
• crushed ice in Patrick's salty bitch
• beer
• old bottle of tequila
  

Alison's Husband

pg. 160

"... he could have been
a cardboard cutout posted
at the kitchen door with a
recorded message."

Props and Memory

This post on Boing-Boing reminded me a bit about the prop inventory we are doing.

I was looking at the list of props and imagining what it might look like if all the props mentioned in the book were accumulated and displayed.

The boing-boing post is about scientists studying memory... and suggesting that a memory, when recalled, plays out in one-seventh the time as the original experience.

How long does Gerald's Party last? 7-10 hours? If we were to present the memory of this party, it would last a little over an hour. But how? Is the memory "faster"? Are extraneous details edited out? Would the display of every prop from the book suggest the story they are a part of? What is left of the party when actions NOT related to the props are purged?

Props, pgs. 81, 83, 85 & 87

pg. 81

• no props

pg. 83

• dressing table stool
• two empty glasses, one with ice
• a can opener
• a medicine dropper
• shriveled oysters
• bumpy little marbles

pg. 85

• no props

pg. 87

• Charley Trainer's scotch, flying

Ros's performances

i miss the days when she was my professor, and i had the occassional pleasure of waking up to 8 AM phone calls from Ms. Finley:

re: chalk outlines

chalk outlines

Publish Post>

Props pg. 26, 28, 30, 32, 34

pg. 26
pipe
lamps
apparatus stuck in Ros's mouth (an X-ray unit maybe)
tobacco pouch
hi-fi

pg. 28
knife
yellowed handkerchief
Tanya's spectacles

pg. 30
cop's hat
pistol
wrenches
glass cutters
hammers

pg. 32
fob watch
smashed film gear
tripod
Gerald's expansion-band watch
Alison's compicated green leather watch
roast beef sandwich

pg. 34
tweezers
filter paper
a pick glass
roast beef sandwich
sketchbook

In response to "The Party"

makes me think of a trusty old soap opera!!

General Hospital
Bacchanalia Ball
1998

Props, pgs. 77 & 79

pg. 77

• soft linen slacks
• a rust-colored open collared wrap-tie shirt
• socks

pg. 79

• Sally Ann's blue jeans
• needle and thread
• two whiskey glasses on the dressing table
• the half-eaten sandwich
• open jar of petroleum jelly
• the dressing table mirror
• a blood-stained sheet with a small brown hole burned by a cigarette
• coins
• crumbs
• a wet spot
• someone's false eyelashes

The Party (1968)

Directed by Blake Edwards
Starring Peter Sellers
This is the last couple of minutes of the film. Dig that party music...

Naomi makes a mess of the bathroom.

Props, pgs. 71, 73 & 75

pg. 71

• baby oil
• one of Mark's drawings, "It was a picture of a castle with a war going on, blood and flags flying, bodies scattered like jacks."

pg. 73

• Howard's scout knife

pg. 75

• Eileen's empty glass
• Gerald's electric razor
• a washcloth

Props, pgs. 61, 63, 65, 67 & 69!

pg. 61

• Gerald's wife's manicure set

pg. 63

• Tania's dirndl

pg. 65

• watches (on Lloyd Draper's arm)
• "Woody had something he was showing to everybody...."

pg. 67

• a gold loop (Alison's earring)

pg. 69

• bathtowel
• Tania's dirndl
• a valentine

The Ice Maiden, pgs. 54-55

click me

Props, pgs. 53, 55, 57 & 59

pg. 53

• Noble's false eyeball
• three or four forks
• some money

pg. 55

• painting of Tania as "The Ice Maiden"

pg. 57

• bare bulb on the landing
• a new patch on Sally Ann's blue jeans that said "SWEET MEAT"
• a cigarette or maybe a joint
• another of Ginger's kerchiefs
• some books with plain green jackets
• a coin? a ring? a button maybe, a brass or silver button

pg. 59

• Mr. Draper's glittering arms held out like a robot's
• Dickie's all-gold wristwatch

the invention of audiences

pg. 53

I'd been speaking of the invention of audiences, theater as a ruse, a game against time. "Yes," she'd said, smiling up at me over the ruffles at her throat, "and that's why the lives of actors, thought frivolous, are essentially tragic, those of the audience, comic.

Lloyd Draper collects everyone's watches

Props, pgs. 47, 49 & 51

pg. 47

• potted plants
• another beer
• two glasses of vermouth
• the dark pudding of avocado
• the empty can

pg. 49

• icecubes underfoot
• a box of candies
• a button of chocolate in the middle of the little bowl of pudding
• Tania's bangles
• Tania's bloodsoaked dress

pg. 51

• that bottle
• dishes
• beer cans
• Charley's glass of scotch
• some knives and skewers
• Alison's fresh glass of vermouth
• Alison's husband's pipe

A Magic Trick

"What I am remembered was an old beggar in Cadiz who did tricks with coins. His last trick always was to stack as many coins on his tongue as people would put there, then swallow them. Or seem to. I made some remark at the time about "pure theater" and the woman I was with said: "I know a trick but it is not so practical". The old fellow climaxed his act by belching loudly and producing a paper note in "change," and the truth about the woman was that she was mistaken." - pg. 35

Props, pg. 37, 39, 41, 43 & 45

pg. 37

• Wormwood
• the bottle of vermouth
• Ros's panties
• a tiny pair of manicure scissors
• a thermometer

pg. 39

• a test tube
• the chafing dish
• miniature sausages
• the pitcher of martinis
• Anatole's tumbler of bourbon and ginger ale

pg. 41

• Howard's martini pitcher
• a couple of ice cubes
• the other cocktail napkins
• Anatole's cigarette stub
• the hot sausage, furry now with dust and lint

pg. 43

• smoked oyster on toast squares
• the bucket of empty bottles
• the two full wineglasses
• a ceramic bowlful (of miniature sausages)
• the avocado dip
• the big fluorescent lamp
• a dozen cans of beer
• dishes and dishes of prepared foods
• tins of sardines
• anchovies
• pimentos
• bags of sliced and copped vegetables
• patés
• dozens of sausages
• wrapped cheeses
• hot bread
• the butcherblock
• stirred dips
• biscuits and crackers
• sliced bread
• Patrick's glass

pg. 45

• the kettle of water

One way to move a body.

Props, pgs. 27, 29, 31, 33 & 35

pg. 27

• Pardew's unlit pipe
• Gerald's wife's butcher knife
• a hankerchief "wrinkled and discolored, clotted with dried and drying mucus"

pg. 29

• a pool of Ros's blood
• potted plants
• a flurry of paper and toilet gear
• the toolbox

pg. 31

• Howard's spectacles: both lenses cracked

pg. 33

• Mr. Draper's roast-beef sandwich, softly mangled at one end
• a can of beer
• a little piece of string
• chalk
• exposed film plates

pg. 35

• the last bite of Mr. Draper's sandwich
• crumbs
• Pardew's pick glass

Ginger: A walking paradox

p. 20 Dickie on GINGER:

"Fucking her's like pulling a prick on over your condom"

Props, pgs. 14, 18, 20, 22 & 24

pg. 14

• butcher knife
• bouquet of parsley
• phone
• Vic's drink

pg. 18

• Dolph's can of beer
• potato chips
• flowered apron

pg. 20

• the cops' brass buttons and leather straps
• holsters
• vermouth
• pitcher of old-fashioneds with melted ice

pg. 22

• empty tray
• antique prie-dieu
• Naomi's shoulder-bag
• compacts
• cigarettes
• lipstick
• earrings
• bracelets
• spare hairclasps
• postcards
• safety pins
• handkerchief
• combs
• coins
• birth control pills
• antacids
• ticket stubs
• zippers
• buttons
• driver's liscense
• body and hair sprays
• maps
• matches
• tampons
• timetables
• thread
• newspaper clippings
• breath sweeteners
• photographs
• chewing gum

pg. 24

• Patrick's tweezers
• darts
• dart board
• officer's hat
• glass slides
  

Props, pg. 25

• Dickie's watch
• Alison's glass of vermouth
• a large Dutch billiard pipe and tobacco pouch

Props, pg. 23

• a ladies' switchblade
• addresses
• tranquillizers
• credit cards
• hormone cream
• shopping lists
• a toothbrush
• candy bars
• a dog-eared valentine
• flashlight
• vial of petroleum jelly
• sunglasses
• paper panties
• little balls of hair and dust
• a tube of athlete's foot ointment
• a half-completed peckersweater
• one knitting needle
• one of Gerald's Mexican ashtrays
• a fingernail file
• a silver pair of tweezers
• a bloody hair, or a thread maybe
• two glass slides
• a pair of transparent rubber gloves
• Dickie's toothpick

Props, pg. 21

• a tray of cold cuts ("There were four different kinds of cold cuts, laid out in perfect rows, lapped like roof tiles and spaced with parsley and sliced tomatoes.")
• an empty tray
• an empty whiskey bottle

Props, pg. 19

• the bottle of vermouth and pitcher of old-fashioneds
• photographic equipment
• a paintbox
• cables and cords
• a toolkit
• a tripod
• Inspector Pardew's fedora
• Inspector Pardew's white silk scarf

Sally Ann

pg. 17: "Sally Ann wore, as usual, a white shirt open down the front and knotted at the waist, and tight faded blue jeans with a heart-shaped patch sewn over her anus that said, "KISS ME". She'd painted her eyes and lashes to appear grown-up, but had only made herself look more a child."

Props, pg. 17

• a tumbler of vodka and grapefruit juice - Patrick's famous "salty bitch"
• a French cigarette

"Salty bitch" caught my eye because the drink described is better known as a "salty dog".

Upon further investigation, I learned that "salty bitch" is also a slang term referring to someone who dampens the mood (could this be Ros?).

"Salty dog" can also refer to a pirate and a sex act in which two people have intercourse then meet later to perform oral sex on one another.

Props, pg. 15

• Tania's bloody dress
• a Byzantine icon depicting the torture of a saint

Isadora/Ros

I've had this fascination with Isadora Duncan and her tragic life and freak death for a long time.
I'm haunted by the very last image in Karl Reisz's film ISADORA (or, "The Loves of Isadora"), starring Vanessa Redgrave, where her new beau picks her up from a fabulous party, she waves to the guests and shouts "Adieu mes amis, je vais a la gloire!" (Goodbye, my friends, I am off to glory!) and she and her lover speed off in his 1924 Bulgatti. The friends are still waving as the car rounds the corner, when Isadora's long flowing red scarf gets caught in the spokes of the wheel. There is a quick cut to a close-up of Redgrave's face contorted in strangulation and then the screen goes black and credits roll.

Her death prompted Gertrude Stein to write: "Affectations can be dangerous."

Pg 12

• Ros's body

"We all looked down: there she was, sprawled face-down in the middle of the room. She must have been there all the time."

"Ros's front was bathed with blood--indeed it was still fountaining from a hole between her breasts, soaking her silvery frock, puddling the carpet. I could hardly believe my eyes. I had forgotten that blood was that red, a primary red like children's paintboxes, brilliant and alive, yet stagy, cosmetic. Her eyes were open, staring vacantly, and blood was trickling from the corners of her mouth."

Props pg. 10

• old-fashioneds pitcher
• Alison's ice cube
• Tania's empty glass
• glass of vermouth
  

pg 11: "Eager to help, she took a job as a nude model for a life-drawing class in a men's prison..."

Props, pg. 13

• a bloodied white hankerchief
• a tray of cold cuts
• a brown apron with purple and white flowers
• a butcher knife
• dirty plates and glasses

Props, pg. 11

• an ice cube ("It sparkled like a fat gem between her lips.")

THE BLACK BOX
a still from the photo-play by
E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM, 1915

Props, pg. 9

• Gerald's ascot
• vermouth bottle
• Alison's husband's business card

NETHERLANDISH PROVERBS
Pieter Bruegel, 1559

ALLEGORY OF GLUTTONY AND LUST

Hieronymus Bosch, 1490-1500

Props pg. 8

• vermouth bottle
• pitcher of old-fashioneds
  
• hanging light globes
• Alison's gold loop earrings
  

PROPS - page 7

• the dead body of Ros
• a bottle of dry white vermouth
• a pitcher of old-fashioneds
• a tray of canapés
• used napkins and toothpicks
• an empty glass