October 17, 2004

"You think I'm drunk, but I've only had tee martoonis"--Dean Martin in The Rat Pack

Dreamed of trying to write poems whose first lines were palindromes; a Mormon sect declaring Marlon Brando their great prophet and exhuming an earlier leader's remains to remove his ring so Brando could wear it; having a balcony seat in a really huge theatre and developing a fear of heights; the song "Lullaby of Broadway."

Saw the musical play The Rat Pack at the Canon.  It's a fun show with three actors impersonating Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., singing classic songs and telling corny jokes.  Too bad that Davis is rather impossible to impersonate. (When they made him, they broke the mold!)

Dinner was turkey and mushroom soup on toast.

Saw the Sopranos episode where Meadow started volunteering at a legal aid clinic.

October 16, 2004

The dance class was teaching foxtrot and quickstep. Unfortunately, they're teaching international figures and my background is in American.

Dinner was fettucine (which I cooked).

Finally got my whole Bethune monologue rememorized for performing at the next drama class. [It describes a fascist air raid on the refugee-filled port of Malaga in the Spanish Civil War.]

Went to the SCRIPT party at a house a few blocks northwest of St. Clair & Dufferin. (It was a week later than I thought.) They were playing a videocassette with footage of Toronto streetcars and subway trains from 50 or 100 years ago.  I only stayed for about an hour.

October 15, 2004

Got some more Menomonee Falls Guardian issues and a large number of comics clipped from the Gazette.

Dinner was ham.

Hosted the Asperger's Meetup at my house.  Wayne from the Geneva Centre was the only person who came.  He's a visual designer, and he brought a portfolio of his designs.  I opened up the box for The Amazing Labyrinth for the first time, and we played a few games.  We went online and I showed him the webpage for the Graphic Designers Meetup. (The Toronto branch has hundreds of members.) I hope he brings his wife to a future meeting.

October 14, 2004

"'Tell me now, then,' said Will. 'And remember, it's no good telling me what I should do--none of it matters to me, none.  Only Lyra matters, and my mother.  And that,' he added to Balthamos, 'is the point of all this metaphysical speculation, as you called it'"--The Amber Spyglass

Dreamed of reading in either The Globe and Mail or The National Post that there were going to start carrying the comic strip Rick O'Shay (which folded back in the '70s); trying to find the newspaper section that mentioned it; a sports team turning into a choir to sing the coach's favourite song; a movie with Frankie Muniz helping out an unlucky fellow teenager.

Got a whole shear of Menomonee Falls Guardian issues (just for Popeye and Alley Oop) and a Rick O'Shay paperback.

Saw the documentary Broadway:  The Golden Age at the Carlton.  It consisteed of interviews with a lot of famous Broadway actors (Carol Channing, Julie Harris etc.) remember the fertile period between 1945 and the late 1960s.  Conventional but interesting.

Dinner was Burger King.

October 13, 2004

Dinner was spaghetti.

Got one issue of Menomonee Falls Gazette and one issue of Menomonee Falls Guardian.

At the drama class we worked on skits where we insulted each other.  We also tried out scenes.  Patricia and I did a scene from Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, but she had most of the lines.  Ditto a scene from Neil Simon's Chapter Two.  Next week we're going to try one from The Glass Menagerie, between Laura and the Gentleman Caller.

Baked multigrain bread overnight.

October 12, 2004

Went shopping.  We didn't get much.

Got a Menomonee Falls Gazette issue (well, half of one).

Dinner was turkey pie.

Dreamed of walking into central London.

At the creative writing class, I started writing a story about a Chinese girl based on my friend Puitak.  I read it to some other students and they really liked it.

Put a couple of Menomonee Falls Gazette issues up for sale on Ebay. (I have duplicate copies of them.)

October 11, 2004

Dreamed of waking up early on a cold morning and walking through the streets in my pyjamas; going to see an early-morning showing of the movie The French Lieutenant's Woman (in a special edit only 45 minutes long!) before going to school; trying to get my things in order, and looking for a big apple; a crooked group constructing a multistorey building just east of our Sackville house, then stopping construction; the unfinished building falling into the nearby quarry.

The parents returned from Kingston.

Donald, John, Kathrine and Rae came over for Thanksgiving dinner, including turkey.

Went to a Chinese Meetup at the Futures Bakery. (Because it was a holiday, there was no choir practice.) There were five people there, less than usual because of the holiday.

Finished The Bad Beginning, and started reading The Amber Spyglass.

October 10, 2004

"I'll be your faithful love!" "I'll be your faithful love!" "I'll be faithful... enough"--women fight over the new, improved Shrek

Saw Shrek 2 at the Bloor.  Quite inspired, with a sharp subtext about commercial culture catering to our need for superficial improvements.

Bought a new volume for my diary entries. (I thought of taking a break from the time I fill my current book till the end of the year--a couple of months--but thought of all the interesting stuff in my current life that wouldn't get written down.) [I did end up taking a break of about 40 days.]

Dinner was Arby's.

Finished writing down the tune I was dreaming the other night, at the end of this book.

Saw the Sopranos episode where Junior went on trial, Bobby lost his wife and Ralph dumped Rosalie, only to be dumped by Janice.

October 9, 2004

Dreamed of finding the spot on a highway where Sammy Davis Jr. got into the (actual) car crash that cost him one of his eyes; visiting Britain for a day to join Margaret and Moira on a visit to a rural castle.

The parents went to Kingston.

Saw the DVD of the first episodes of the second season of South Park.  Thin.

Dinner was McDonald's.

Nobody showed up for my Games Meetup, which I had a feeling would happen. (Thanksgiving weekend isn't a good time.) But several people who couldn't come expressed interest in next month's event.

So I went out to a party for the SCRIPT volunteers, but the lights didn't seem to be on. (It was probably the same with them.)

October 8, 2004

"The book was long, and difficult to read, and Klaus became more and more tired as the night wore on.  Occasionally his eyes would close.  He found himself reading the same sentence over and over.  He found himself reading the same sentence over and over.  He found himself reading the same sentence over and over"--Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning

Dreamed of getting up and going out into the streets, trying to find Mother; going to see some Gilbert & Sullivan operettas staged by Giuseppe Macina [who directed the operas I was in], but not staying for long; being about to leave on a trip, but being hardly prepared.

We had a devil of a time faxing a statement to zip.ca about the DVDs that got lost in the mail after I returned them.

Went to find Mind Games in Eaton Centre and bought playing cards and the game Apples to Apples.

Dinner was scalloped potatoes and ham.

Saw the DVD of Blind Spot:  Hitler's Secretary, a documentary of Traudl Junge remembering being Hitler's secretary in the last years of the Third Reich.  Fascinating.

October 7, 2004

Dreamed of bicycling from one end of my hometown Sackville to the other; coming to hills so steep that I had to walk my bicycle up them.

Started The Bad Beginning, the first of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events books. (It arrived at the library the day after I put a hold on it!)

Went shopping.

Dinner was spaghetti.

Baked rye bread (now that I'm resupplied with rye flour).

There were three new people at the Geneva Centre group.  I plugged my Games and Aspergers Meetups.

Afterward I went to the Karaoke Meetup at Billy Bob's near the Jane station.  There were four people, including my friend Anthony from the Geneva Centre.  I sang "Can't Help Falling in Love," Wake Me up Before You Go-Go," "Ring of Fire," "A Groovy Kind of Love," and "Let's Dance."

October 6, 2004

Dreamed of the comic strip Modesty Blaise; renting the video of a non-existent movie titled The Hill, starring Rod Steiger and set in early-20th century Ireland; realizing I was about to get the DVD of the same movie from zip.ca; the Clint Eastwood musical Paint Your Wagon (which I've never seen); a non-existent chorus girls' number from it about Alka-Seltzer with the melody from the opening number of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor; my hands being sticky from holding a glazed doughnut.

Went to the doctor and got my blood level checked.

Finally finished reading You Must Remember This.

Borrowed The Amber Spyglass, the last of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. (I almost walked out without signing it out!  Fortunately, nobody noticed.)

Got what potatoes I could from the garden.

Dinner was steak (and some of the spuds I dug up).

There were almost 20 people at the drama course!  We did stuff like a master-slave game where the master gives orders to the slave and can make him die if he isn't happy with him.  When I was master I ended up making myself die!  

Then we did a scene where someone plays an expert on a subject which everyone else asks him questions about, and he answers them all as if he knew all about it.  I played an expert on the sociocultural significance of Archie comics.  They were rolling on the floor!

October 5, 2004

Dreamed of getting a big batch of magazines and trying to sort them out; Teresa Heinz Kerry asking me to take her hand as she walked somewhere; being unable to find an empty seat at a big assembly celebrating some woman's triumph; the Australian comic strip Air Hawk (which I've been reading in Menomonee Falls Gazette).

We did the September book accounts.  It was a pretty good month with over $300 profit.

Got a handful of carrots out of the garden.  For some reason, the soil is like cement again this year.

Dinner was salmon.

Went to the first class in my Creative Writing:  Fiction and Non-Fiction course.  The teacher, James Cohen, used to write for Saturday Night Live and has sold a script about a lawyer with a gambling problem handling a big case. (He says it's like The Verdict with a younger hero.) We did a writing exercise where I wrote a short description of Mother.

On the way back I met Rosemarie from the chorus.

October 4, 2004

Dreamed of having a left arm muscle much bigger than my right; taking the streetcar into Mississauga, then finding it had gone north so I had to change to a southbound bus.

Submitted a job application to Indigo Books, along with my CV. (I'm so overqualified, I hope they don't think I'm an investigative reporter out to write an expose of their working conditions!)

Bought the latest Cinematheque tickets.  I didn't get as many as usual because of so many conflicts.  I'm seeing none of the Sam Fuller movies and none of the silents, but most of the Godzilla movies were available.

Then I bought a ticket to Opera Atelier's Don Giovanni production next month, and chess and backgammon sets and The Amazing Labyrinth for my Games Meetup Saturday.  I'm spending my wages before I earn them!

Got two dozen Menomonee Falls Gazette issues!

Dinner was scalloped potatoes and ham.

The chorus sang multilingual versions of "O Holy Night" and "Silent Night."

October 3, 2019

Dreamed of hearing of a big scandal in England and realizing that one of the women involved was someone I knew; being sure of her innocence.

Saw the Canadian Opera Company's production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at the Hummingbird Centre.  A rather drab production, though I liked the snowflakes in the last scene. (Our version [the Toronto City Opera production where I'd sung in the chorus early that year] actually had a fancier look!)

Dinner was spaghetti.

After bidding on about eight Menomonee Falls Gazette items, I lost out on all of them. (I was kind of relieved, since most of them were very high-priced.) I did win a big batch of Menomonee Falls Guardian issues, for about $1 apiece, and a paperback of Rick O'Shay Sunday comics.

Saw the Sopranos episode where Christopher became an acting capo, and Adrianna found herself trapped into informing.

October 2, 2004

"I'm the only one who knows Van Meer is still alive.  That's the reason they want to kill me." "I can think of others..."--Foreign Correspondent

"An accident must befall him!"--Gunpowder, Treason and Plot

Went to the dance class at the Overland Learning Centre.  The place took a while to find, and I was 15 minutes late.  Genny is also taking the course. (I should have known!) [Genny is someone I knew from my year taking dance lessons at the Arthur Murray studio in Kingsway.]

Picked up an employment application at Indigo Books at Yonge & Eglinton.

Cooler weather has arrived.

Dinner was boiled ham.

Saw the second half of the TV drama Gunpowder, Treason and Plot, dealing with James I and Guy Fawkes.  Still a little much.

Saw Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (for the second time) on one of the videos we bought.  It's a paranoid variation on the "innocent abroad" theme, and remarkably uneven:  some parts are gripping, others just goofy. [It didn't help that the movie was filmed on the eve of World War II, and producer Walter Wanger kept ordering changes to make sure it would stay up to date.]

October 1, 2004

Returned the rented videos.  I also got a new Cinematheque schedule.  They're showing some Godzilla movies!

Visited the Mission:  Possible headquarters and talked about my job search.  I may apply for temporary work at Indigo Books.

Saw the DVD of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of Bloodlust (for the second time). It's a "thriller" about four young people being hunted by a maniac on an isolated jungle island, featuring Brady Bunch star Robert Reed.

Dinner was McDonald's.

Finally saw the whole DVD of Francois Truffaut's Day for Night (for the second time). It's a movie about the people coming together to make a movie.  Quite funny and entertaining, it's Truffaut at his best.

September 30, 2004

Dreamed of deepening the ditches near our Sackville garden; meeting an English acquaintance at the subway, who said "I never expected to see you here!"; being tempted to reply "Who did you expect to see, Batman?"

Got a couple of Menomonee Falls Guardian issues. (It's like Menomonee Falls Gazette, but mostly with joke strips instead of story strips.)

Dinner was fettucine in pesto sauce (which I cooked).

Saw the last two hours of Nicholas Nickleby.  I think they took some big liberties with the book in the final third.

Printed out a picture of me backstage at the opera in February, from a DC Rosemarie lent to me.

September 29, 2004

Dreamed of eating in a dining hall similar to the one in the ocean liner Arkadia which I sailed on at age four; being kissed by a hostess; visiting the Sackville house and seeing snow on the ground even though it was summer; seeing that the Cinematheque schedule for the fall included the Marlon Brando version of Mutiny on the Bounty. (I still haven't seen the real schedule.)

Went shopping.

Baked whole wheat bread.

Dinner was chicken curry.

Saw the sixth and seventh episodes of Nicholas Nickleby.

September 28, 2004

Dreamed of the Roy Rogers song "Let There Be Peace on Earth"; the scene at the end of La Strada where Anthony Quinn realized he was nothing without Giulietta Massina.

Headache!

Dinner was pork steak.

We rented the rest of Nicholas Nickleby.  And we saw the fourth and fifth episodes.  The scenes set in the theatrical company were great!

September 27, 2004

Dreamed of going to the Sackville post office and imagining being a famous actor in the future and speaking at a public rally with the actress who played my wife. (I didn't dream this; I dreamed of imagining this.)

Saw the third hour of Nicholas Nickleby.

Put two more children's books up for sale on Ebay (Arabian Nights and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), along with the collector's edition of the Howard the Duck comic book. [They didn't sell.]

Dinner was fish.

Went to the eye doctor's office and got a screw tightened on my glasses.

At choir practice we spent a long time learning "Jamaican Noel," which has some tricky rhythms.

September 26, 2004

Dreamed of being in Halifax; realizing that the $18 bill in my possession was counterfeit; being unable to open a car door or get in through the window.

Saw the second hour of Nicholas Nickleby.

John and Rae came over for dinner, which was pizza.

Saw the first episode of the fourth season of The Sopranos, for the second time.

Started digging up the vegetables.  Not many again this year.

September 25, 2004

Dreamed of finally starting to read that Classics Illustrated comic of Victor Hugo's The Man Who Laughs [I finally read it last year]; a kitchen gadget combining a dozen egg-beaters.

Dinner was spaghetti.

Baked raisin bread. (We're out of cinnamon.) This time I got the balance right, and the loaf wasn't too big or too small!

Saw the video of Melvyn Bragg's famous 1994 interview with British TV screenwriter Dennis Potter, shortly before the latter's death.  Potter had a lot to say about having terminal cancer, remembering his youth and despising the Rupert Murdoch empire.

Finally finished the big batch of Menomonee Falls Gazette issues I got a couple of weeks ago. Now I'm on the two I got yesterday.

Saw the video of the first episode in the nine-hour Royal Shakespeare Company production of Dicken's Nicholas Nickleby from the early 1980s.  Brisk melodrama acted to the rafters. (It was filmed at the Old Vic, which I've been to several times.)

September 24, 2004

Dreamed of watching a TV set with an unfamiliar cable system, and trying to figure out where the good channels were on the dial.

We rented some videos at Revue.  Too bad we can't rent the last two episodes of Elizabeth R, because they sold them!  We also bought some more videocassettes cheap.

Got a couple of Menomonee Falls Gazette issues.

Dinner was McDonald's.

Saw the video of Stephen Frears' Liam, about a Catholic schoolboy in a poor family in 1930s Liverpool.  It wasn't one of Frears' best movies--Jimmy McGovern's script handled mostly familiar material unsubtly--but it was well enough made. [Ian Hart, as the father, is an actor I always like.]

Put up for auction  issue #160 of Menomonee Falls Gazette, because I'd ended up acquiring two copies.