May 5, 2011

Don Draper: "I come from the Midwest.  People there are taught that it's rude to talk about yourself"--Mad Men

"It was all going great, until it wasn't"--ibid.

    Dreamed of a non-existent story in the comic strip Mary Perkins on Stage set in rural Canada and culminating in a barn being set on fire; the scene in the Fiddler on the Roof movie where the Fiddler comes down to the ground.

    Dinner was roast chicken.

    Went to Blockbuster and rented the DVD of the first episodes of the fourth season of Mad Men.

May 4, 2011

"Dan is the only man I know who had the guts not to commit suicide"--The High and the Mighty

Drug cartel man: "Either you eat the bear, or the bear eats you"--Weeds

    Dreamed of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone"; a strategic game involving a civil war in the region of Angola; recalling the actual workplace comic strip Lolly (from the 1960s and 1970s), where my favourite character was the boss' tipsy son Junior.

    Went shopping.

    Dinner was sausage and mashed potatoes.

    Saw the DVD of William Wellman's The High and the Mighty.  Entertaining '50s hokum with John Wayne in his element.

May 3, 2011

"Insignificant molehill sometime more important than conspicuous mountain"--Charlie Chan in Egypt

    Dreamed of the western High Noon; reflecting that the townspeople balked at supporting Gary Cooper because the plot required them to; the TV show The Sopranos.

    Poor Michael Ignatieff!  He even lost his own seat. (The NDP should set up a coalition with the Liberals and Greens.)

    Dinner was fettucine alfredo (which I cooked).

    Saw the DVD of Charlie Chan in Egypt.  I always liked Warner Oland in that role. [Rita Cansino later became Rita Hayworth!]

May 2, 2011

"Hope for sun, get ready for rain"--Weeds

    Dreamed of a murder mystery set in Shanghai's International Settlement; a square couch with an ad promoting a breed of apple.

    Voted [in Canada's federal election] early in the afternoon.  I thought my health card would be enough, but I had to go back and bring a bank statement with my address on it.

    Went to a clinic near College & Euclid and got an abdominal ultrasound and a chest X-ray.  All the doctors there seem to be Chinese.

    Dinner was pork steak.

    At choir practice I told Giuseppe I was putting my singing lessons on hiatus for now.

May 1, 2011

"You shouldn't be here."
"That's not what you said last night."

--Troy

    Dreamed of visiting the junior high school in my hometown Sackville, N.B., with Moira; telling her "I'll never be doing lab experiments in there again."

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    Saw the DVD of Wolfgang Petersen's Troy.  A pretty intelligent script, though I wish the Achilles-Briseis relationship had been fleshed out a bit more.

April 30, 2011

"The only way to inner peace is by sticking"--American History X

    Went to the clinic at St. Clair & Bathurst and gave them a urine sample. (No doubt they want to see if my kidney's causing the trouble.)

    Dinner was lobster rolls.

    Saw the DVD of Tony Kaye's pretty disturbing American History X.  Could have used fewer arty touches (like slow motion and choral music).

April 29, 2011

    Dreamed of having a penis swollen to the thickness of a wrist; being on a plane taking off from a moving ship.

    Phoned Giuseppe and cancelled next week's singing lesson. (My energy level is low.)

    Went to see Dr. Ang again.  This time she was in, though I had to wait a couple of hours.  She arranged for me to get an X-ray and ultrasound.

    Dinner was spaghetti and riceballs.

    Saw the video of Jamboree, a 1950s rock & roll movie featuring performers from Count Basie to Silm Whitman, with cameos by DJs like Dick Clark. (Too bad about the dorky romance in the foreground.)