April 20, 2009

"Middle age is when you go to bed hoping you'll feel better in the morning.  Old age is when you go to bed hoping you'll wake up in the morning!"--Groucho Marx:  A Life in Review

On brother Chico: "He'd give you the shirt off his back, and it would be the one he borrowed from you last week!"--ibid.

Dreamed of being attacked on the street by a crazy woman; waking up really early in the morning and going out for a walk; an adventure series based on Scottish legend, involving a high-minded hero and his down-to-earth sidekick.

At huffingtonpost.com you can add an avatar to your profile now.  I've added a photo of early Canadian socialist leader J.S. Woodsworth.

At archive.org I found the educational film Holiday From Rules, which I remember seeing in school 40 years ago!

Dinner was roast chicken.

Saw a DVD of Groucho:  A Life in Revue, an entertaining play about Groucho Marx written by his son, with Frank Ferrante in the title role.

After choir practice I told John George about Moira and it turned out his daughter had also qualified for the Boston Marathon, but in her case she caught a cold.

Saw a DVD of Pixar's animated shorts.  Pretty clever computer animation.

April 18, 2009

"Do you love her?"

"It depends on what you mean by 'love'"

--Madama Butterfly

Dreamed of a puzzle contest involving a site called Fort Georgia.

Saw the cinemacast of the Met's Madama Butterfly.  The staging was imaginative. (This time I found a seat in the back.)

Dinner was steak.

Went to the DBE Meetup.  Didn't stay long.

Read almost 60 pages of Emily of New Moon!

April 17, 2009

Dreamed of helping to rebuild a railway bed in the hills of Nova Scotia; reflecting that summer was the most joyful of seasons; a new version of Goodfellas, with a more upbeat look and scenes on the brink of Niagara Falls; arriving in New York City by ship.

The warm spring weather is here, so I can open my windows for the first time.

Went shopping. (We got some cheap post-Easter chocolate.)

Since it was warm enough for open windows I cleaned the windows in my room.  I also opened the window on my balcony door, and the draft scattered my loose paper all over the room!

Went to a Karaoke Meetup at the Golden Griddle.  First we had a buffet dinner. (I didn't get any of the fish and chips because the others used it up before I could get to it.) I sang "Sway," "I Want a New Drug," "I I Were a Rich Man" (that brought down the house!) and "Against All Odds."

Headache.

April 16, 2009

Dreamed of writing a description of Brian de Palma's thriller Femme Fatale.

Moira left for Boston.  I've promised to make her some more raisin bread when she returns.

Dinner was KFC.

Tired to play King's Quest VII on Moira's desktop computer, but there was no sound.

April 15, 2009

"'I'm not going to say things about you,' said Emily. 'I am just going to think them'"--Emily of New Moon

Dreamed of a comedy about a bickering team of skyscraper climbers.

Baked raisin bread. (First I had to go out and buy more yeast.)

Dinner was salmon.

The Coro Verdi did a run-through of Cavalleria Rusticana, including the soloists, who are quite good.  Adolfo is now doing the piano accompaniment, and he's always terrific.

Moira's going to Boston for a while.  She was going to compete in the marathon, but she got injured and now she can only watch it.  If I'd known she was leaving, I would have delayed baking the raisin bread till after she comes back, since she likes it so much.

April 14, 2009

Dreamed of a big accumulation of calcite on my glasses.

Finally did my taxes.  Once again, I should be getting a refund of about $50.

Dinner was steak.

At drama class I improvised a scene where I had to ask my maid for a loan.

Tried to look at the DVD of Salt of the Earth, a movie about a mine strike made in the 1950s by people blacklisted from Hollywood.  Too depressing for me.

April 13, 2009

"I can't stand women who remind me of their furniture"--Pauline at the Beach

"I have a fiance, two in fact!  One her and one in America"--ibid.

"She can't love him, or she's insane!" "Love is a form of insanity"--ibid.

"Did he score?" "That's such an ugly word!" "Not the word, the act"--ibid.

Dreamed of reflecting that a good war story can be about the war coming to someone slowly but inexorably like a tank approaching from the horizon; the sitcom McHale's Navy; the Gordon Lightfoot song Early Morning Rain; going out jogging before dawn (like Moira does).

Dinner was lasagna.

Saw the DVD of Eric Rohmer's Pauline at the Beach.  A pretty fun combination of Gallic talkfest and summer romp. (Rohmer's Frenchwomen are what American women wish they were!)