January 30, 2011

"White Americans appear to be under the compulsion to dream, whereas black Americans are under the compulsion to awaken.  And this fact is also sinister"--James Baldwin

    Dreamed of wondering whether my Ph.D. thesis was worth the trouble; a 1930s musical with Walter Huston as U.S. President. (He actually played the President in the 1933 non-musical Gabriel Over the White House.)

    Went to a Games Meetup at the Yellow Griffin.  I played a new game called 7 Wonders (finished last, of course), as well as Puerto Rico and Ticket to Ride.

    Dinner was McDonald's.

     

January 29, 2011

"I never fell apart because I never fall together"--Andy Warhol

    Dreamed of Al Pacino in Scarface.

    Went to a Brunch Meetup at Udupi Palace.  I had a vegetable curry.

    Dinner was KFC.

    Saw some wartime Warner Brothers cartoons on DVD.  One of them had a newspaper quote: "The Open Door policy has produced the Draft"!

    Saw the DVD of the first chapter of Louis Feuillade's French silent serial Fantomas.  Nice job on the musical accompaniment.

January 28, 2011

"There are motherfucking snakes on the motherfucking plane!"--Weeds

"Mommy, why doesn't he like people?"--Robot Monster

    Started a new online game called Glory of Rome.  It's essentially the same as Kings of Camelot, with even the same alliances.  I took the name Martinianus and called my city Megalopolis.

    Relatives from Kingston came for an overnight stay.

    Dinner was linguini primavera with shrimp.

    Saw the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of the notorious 1950s B-movie Robot Monster on DVD.

January 27, 2011

"Fuck you, I have a Prius!"--Weeds

    Dreamed of reflecting that the saddest sound in the world is of a piano being closed; visiting a drugs lab on a rooftop and warning that the icy object nearby on the roof might attract police attention; leaving by a slide to street level.

    Found some shrimp noodles at the big Loblaw's near St. Clair & Bathurst. (I didn't know they still made them!)

    Dinner was salmon.

    Went to a University of Toronto concert with the Classical Music Meetup group. (I moved several more Toronto City Opera flyers.) The music was rather avant-garde for my taste--one piece was performed by a string quartet with an accordion--and I left in the intermission.

January 26, 2011

"You could use some boundaries, son"--Weeds

    Dreamed of seeing the Oscar-winning World War II movie Mrs. Miniver (which I haven't seen) and disliking it. [I did see the first few minutes, and even Greer Garson's running was mannered!]

    The car's fixed, so we did some shopping. (Got enough for five boxes!)

    Dinner was spaghetti.

    At opera rehearsal we spent the whole night on Die Fledermaus.  Beatrice liked my half-kneeling in the "Bruderlein and Schwesterlein," but my knee got sore. (If I put all my weight on the left foot, that may solve the problem.) We sang "Happy Birthday" for our pianist Adolfo.

January 25, 2011

    Father and I finally managed to open the car hood, which had been frozen shut, so he could bring the battery to be recharged.

    Went to my Hungarian barber and gave her a Toronto City Opera flyer (since she seemed interested the last time she cut my hair). She was really grateful.

    Dreamed of meeting Jackie from my Games Meetup and telling her I'd been told about her having a baby girl. (I heard it from Sara.)

    Dinner was pork steak. (We finally ate our Christmas pudding!)

    At opera rehearsal we only worked on Madama Butterfly.

January 24, 2011

"He always obeyed his parents, no matter how absurd and unreasonable their demands were....  He would no play hookey, even when his sober judgement told him it was the most profitable thing he could do"--Mark Twain, "The Story of the Good Little Boy

    Dreamed of being on vacation and growing a small beard.

    Went to an Aspergers Meetup at Pizza Pizza near the Eglinton station.  I don't like Pizza Pizza (it literally makes me sick!) but Tiffany was paying anyhow.

    Dinner was fettucine pesto (which I cooked).

    My Coro Verdi choir performed a folk song concert at the Villa Colombo hoome in Vaughan. (John George drove me and Don there and back.)