May 17, 2011

Homer: "Look at those idiots!  I paid my taxes a year ago"--The Simpsons

"Homer, you're like the son I never had!"

"And you're like the fathe I never visit!"

--ibid.

    Went to see an ear, nose & throat specialist at a clinic near Main Street station. (I've been having a slightly sore throat since last summer.) I seemed normal, but they'll give me a CT scan anyway.

    On the way back, I got two new tickets for the opera cinemacasts in July, to replace the ones that got misplaced.

    Dinner was sausages and mashed potatoes.

    Saw the DVD of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version of Ring of Terror.  Lots of jokes about the actors clearly being too old to play college students.

May 16, 2011

    Dreamed of actress Demi Moore in bondage.

    Baked white bread.

    David Kiang came to visit.  A retired Dalhousie math professor, he was one of Father's early students back in the 1950s. (He was babysitting at our house and left behind the Chinese novel Wandering Youth, which I've been translating in recent years.)

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    At choir practice we did most of the rest of Nabucco, except for the finale. (When we got to the Slave's Chorus it turned out it wasn't in the score copy we'd received, and we had to scramble for our older copy.)

May 15, 2011

Grandpa (getting a haircut): "No, the George Raft look is out.  I want Audie Murphy!"

--The Simpsons

    Dreamed of coming onto a game show; the MC saying that my job was dancing the bossa nova, and insisting that I dance with him.

    Saw Kelly Reichardt's western Meek's Cutoff at the Lightbox, the first time I've seen a movie there.  Pretty good, despite the elliptical ending. (I also looked at a Mary Pickford exhibit on display in the same building.)

    Dinner was roast chicken.

    Finished the DVD series America:  The Story of Us.  The last two episodes, dealing with the post-1945 era, were especially weak.  No mention of the Korean War or the Gulf Wars, and the Energy Crisis was only mentioned in passing!

May 14, 2011

Moe: "It's been four years since I had a date with a whatchamacallit?-- a woman."

The Simpsons

    Dreamed of joining Prince Andrew on a hike from Moncton to my hometown Sackville, N.B., through a forest path; sweat on my lower back; non-existent piano pieces that I didn't quite master.

    It turned out that the internet connection on the side of the house somehow got yanked off. (John came and fixed it in the morning.)

    Went to a Fair Vote rally in Queen's Park.  The speakers included Judy Rebick, Carolyn Bennett and William Molls.  Pretty good turnout considering the rain. (I also saw a demonstration by a group of Libyans.)

    John and Kathrine brought dinner over, which was vegan lasagna.

May 13, 2011

Child: "Psychiatrists are easy to fool"--Mad Men

    Dreamed of reflecting that the expression "One of the two or three most" bugs me. (You could just as well say "one of the three most" or "one of the most.")

    Dinner was the rest of the lasagna.

    Went to Mary's games night.  I played Alhambra and Say Anything.

    The internet connection is off!

May 12, 2011

"I'm not the solution to your problems.  I'm another problem"--Mad Men

"I don't want to believe it."

"So don't."

--Weeds

    Dreamed of visiting a public library in Brooklyn.

    Dinner was lasagna.

May 11, 2011

Young son: "Stop pretending to be a mother!"--Weeds

"Less talk, more eat!"--ibid.

    Dreamed of a western about a woman successfully investing in mines; a non-existent article in The New Yorker about the Unsinkable Molly Brown's husband (who didn't really reunite with her after the Titanic sinking--the musical ended with an audience-pleasing lie!).

    Went shopping.

    We ate out at Red Lobster, and Donald came with us.

    Headache!