March 25, 2005

Narration: "In the last hours of peace [in 1939], soldiers put on uniforms with a tired grin"--The World at War

Influence: "I defy anyone to look me straight in the eye for more than 30 seconds--without falling utterly under my spell!"--Dick Tracy

Dreamed of getting the idea of writing a multigenerational novel about a World War I veteran watching his sons go off to fight in World War II.

Saw the DVD of the first episode of the classic World War II documentary series The World at War.  Unforgettable, though showing nameless human faces behind the opening titles was vaguely distasteful.

Read some stories from the comic strip version of Dr. Kildare in Menomonee Falls Gazette.  I prefer Ben Casey.

Dinner was McDonald's.

There were four people for the Activist Meetup, more than I expected.

March 24, 2005

"Of course we communicate!  Now can we just not talk about it?"--Melinda and Melinda

Dreamed of seeing Sackville, N.B., from a structure as high as the CN Tower.

The parents and I went to see Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda at Canada Square.  Pretty familiar Allen material, but I got more and more into it as it went along.  Will Ferrell is a gifted comedian.

Started reading a Dick Tracy reprint.  The villain was Influence, an extortionist who used hypnotism.

We ate at Swiss Chalet after the movie. (We would have eaten at the Mandarin, but there was a queue.)

At the Cinematheque I saw Boris Barnet's By the Bluest of Seas, a rather square story about two shipwrecked Russian sailors who move into an Azerbaijani fishing village and (wait for it) fall in love with the same local woman.  I liked the Russian faces and songs.

March 23, 2005

Dreamed of meeting Eugene Levy (SCTV) and carelessly interrupting him in a three-way conversation.

Got weekend comic sections from The London Free Press and Trinidad and Tobago Express.

Dinner was spaghetti.

Read some weekly Johnny Hazard adventures in Menomonee Falls Gazette.

Went down to the Cinematheque to see a 6:30 movie only to realize the movie wasn't till 8:30!

I returned and saw Boris Barnet's 1930s Soviet movie Okraina.  It was very strange, and too much so for me:  I left after only 20 minutes.

March 22, 2005

Saw Zhang Yimou's House of Flying Daggers at the Bloor Cinema.  It's an even better romantic chopsocky epic than his Hero.  Stylish and fun, with some truly colourful fight scenes and a haunting ending.

Started reading another Red Ryder comic strip reprint.

Dinner was roast chicken.

Saw the DVD of Robert Altman's ballet movie The Company.  It's low-key and casually directed (the Altman style), and there really isn't much of a story.  But it's full of observant details, and the dance scenes are great.

March 21, 2005

Dreamed of urinating into a latrine which reeked with unpleasant fumes.

Went shopping.  I also got a new pair of jeans, then we went to Canadian Tire and bought some storage bins.

Gordon brought over the money he and Pui owed me from the Washington trip (I'd paid for the airplane tickets) and gave me $400 in cash!  I put it in the bank quickly.

Saw the last of the SCTV season on DVD.  Classic stuff.

Dinner was fried ham.

The choir started rehearsals for the June concert of opera choruses.  We did the Barcarolle from Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann, a piece I used to play on the piano.  I knew how wonderful that piece is, but I was surprised by the incredibly beautiful "O Pastorelle, Addio" from Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chenier, which we also started on.  And we're doing Nessun Dorma again. (I think my voice has improved since we last did it.)

March 20, 2005

"A lady guerrilla leader, were you?  One part lady and two parts gorilla!"--Buz Sawyer

Dreamed of visiting San Francisco; meeting Julie Andrews; going to an airport and "remembering" a nonexistent previous airport stay in which we were given a cubicle that included a washing machine.

Saw Gershwin's Porgy and Bess at the Elgin.  It's a real masterpiece!  Moira bought a ticket but ended up giving it to Puitak so she could go to Kingston.

Some members of the Scrabble Meetup group were going to meet at Grace's house for a potluck dinner. (I bought a package of lemon tarts and let it get turned upside down, leaving them a mess!) But it fell through:  one of them phoned Grace and said she couldn't show up, so Grace decided it was off.  I ate at Harvey's instead.

March 19, 2005

"Why can't you just teach history instead of always harping on about the past?"--Wicked

Dreamed of visiting our Sackville house; noticing that every time we visit(?) I want to leave in a hurry.

Baked multigrain bread.

Saw the musical Wicked at the Canon.  It's a curious reworking of The Wizard of Oz, depicting the Wicked Witch as a misunderstood prodigy fighting for animal rights, and the Good Witch as her passive friend.  A clever show rather than a great one.  As the Wizard says at one point, "It's a bit much, isn't it?"

Dinner was KFC.

Started reading another Buz Sawyer comic strip reprint.  This time (it's just after V-J Day) he's been discharged from the navy and he's trying to start a civilian career.

I was going to back gingerbread for the potluck dinner tomorrow, but both of our square pans have disappeared!

March 18, 2005

Dreamed of the scene in The Magnificent Seven where Charles Bronson scolded the village boys for calling their parents cowards. (I saw that scene on TV when we were in Washington, D.C.)

Went out and bought some Cinematheque tickets.  I also bought a horseshoe magnet at Science City. (The parents had been looking for one to give to cousin Alex.)

Finished reading In a Narrow Grave.  My favourite essay was the last one, in which Larry McMurtry wrote about the Texas family he came from.

The choir performed the Easter concert at the St. Bonaventure church where we went to repeat our Christmas concert.  I'm afraid we screwed up on the Bach piece. (Afterward, I heard Giuseppe saying, "I'll murder the tenors!")

March 17, 2005

Father drove with me and Moira to a big warehouse book sale in Leaside. Among other things, we bought a huge bird encyclopedia and a CD of Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals.  And they were giving away a tourist guide to Toronto, so since each of us made a purchase we ended up with three copies!

Dinner was salmon.

Went to a fundraising concert of opera excerpts by soloists from Giuseppe's opera.  My favourite part was Marcello and Musetta's duet at the end of the third act in Puccini's La Boheme.  Barbara told me that the short list for next year's opera is Verdi's Rigoletto, Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann, and Lehar's Merry Widow.  Afterward she was giving away candy from the leftover refreshments and I took two handfuls.

March 16, 2005

Dreamed of acting in the chorus of boy thieves in the musical Oliver!; finding a page in my diary with a drawing of two people in 17th-century clothes; writing my diary with a green-ink pen.

Father drove me up to Agincourt where I picked up a couple of Dick Tracy comics I'd won on Ebay.

Baked rye bread.

Dinner was lasagna.

Went to the last drama class.  The spring term course will be largely the same (but an hour shorter), so I think I'll skip it.  But I'm interesting in the improv course offered at Second City.

March 15, 2005

"Fuck this!  Let's do some crimes!"--The Repo Man

Got weekend comics sections from The Star Weekly, The Ottawa Citizen and The Ottawa Journal.  I'd been waiting over a month for them, and just a few hours earlier I'd emailed the seller to make sure they'd been sent. (It always works!)

Went to Dragon Lady comics and picked up a Menomonee Falls Gazette issue.

Dinner was shrimp.

Saw Alex Cox' The Repo Man (for the second time) at the Royal.  It's a way cool 1984 comedy about a young man who takes a job repossessing cars.  Great cinematography by Robby Muller (Paris, Texas; To Live and Die in L.A.).  Harry Dean Stanton has a great role as a veteran repo man.

March 14, 2005

Dreamed of going into a cinema and watching eight movies over a morning and afternoon; a pre-pilot episode of the TV series Wiseguy in which Kevin Spacey had a weapon of mass destruction; returning to high school in Moncton, N.B., and being too ashamed to tell my parents.

I still feel weary from our Washington, D.C. trip.  I've been having slight dizzy spells all day.

Went shopping.

Dinner was the last of our Ikea meatballs, with rice.

Got some Prince Valiant, Tarzan and On Stage comics. (This time I picked them up at the post office.)

The choir had the last rehearsal before the Good Friday concert.

March 8, 2005

Dreamed of reading a children's memoir written by a woman who as a girl had survived the 1917 Halifax Explosion while her father was away fighting in World War I; realizing that it was a dream, and wanting to make it into a story of my own.

Went out and got a new pair of shoes for spring.  I also bought some American money for our Washington, D.C. visit.

Dinner was pork chops.

At the Common Room we learned each other's favourite colour. (Mine is black.) We also played memory games in which we each wrote down something that made us scream (I wrote "carpenter's thumb") and something that made us throw up (I wrote "Britney Spears"). The Geneva Centre will be moving to near the Greenwood subway station this spring.

March 7, 2005

"The myth of the cowboy grew purer every year because there were so few actual cowboys left to contradict it"--In a Narrow Grave:  Essays on Texas

Dreamed of looking through the bookshelves of our Sackville cottage for Noddy books and finding quite a few; coming home to Toronto by train; the song "Leaving on a Jet Plane."

Read some Tug Transom stories in Menomonee Falls Gazette.  It's a British comic strip written by Peter O'Donnell (Modesty Blaise), about the adventures of a tramp steamer captain and his crew.  It's a guilty pleasure, what with its old-fashioned "beef and beer" Englishness.

Went down to Dragon Lady Comics and picked up a Menomonee Falls Gazette issue and some Dick Tracy comics I'd won on Ebay.  I also refilled my Celexa prescription and bought film for my camera.

Dinner was shepherd's pie.

Started reading Larry McMurtry's In a Narrow Grave:  Essays on Texas.  He has a unique perspective.

At choir practice we were working with the soloists on Theodore Dubois' oratorio The Seven Last Words of Christ.

March 6, 2005

Dreamed of two large heavily-armed South American gangster families meeting and about to get into a shootout; a matriarch making peace between the two groups, who united to take over a large shopping mall full of people, for robbery and mayhem.

Saw Giuseppe Mancina's Toronto City Opera production of Madama Butterfly. (The place was almost full.) It's a pretty dopey opera.  My favourite part, of course, is the Humming Chorus.

Donald, John and crew came over for dinner, which was Indian takeout food.  I ate too much.

March 5, 2005

"Red, where are you going?" "Places!"--Red Barry

Read a Red Barry reprint in Menomonee Falls Gazette.  It's a remarkably tough-minded 1936 comic strip about a special undercover policeman.

Saw the DVD of the first episode of the classic comedy series SCTV Network 90.  There was stuff in it I'm pretty sure I'd never seen before.

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

For the second month in a row, nobody showed up at the Karaoke Meetup. (Well, one girl showed up but she hated the place.) For two cents I'd quit it all!  And I missed a movie I'd badly wanted to see (Bunuel's Nazarin) in the hope that having it on Saturday instead of Friday would mean that the people who'd said they'd come actually would. [I did end up quitting the organizer position.]

Saw the DVD of Barry Sonnenfeld's movie of Elmore Leonard's Get Shorty (for the second time). A funny comedy, with John Travolta at his best.  Leonard writes some great dialogue!

March 4, 2005

Dreamed of relecting on what a jerk Bill Cosby was (seriously); "waking up" in Halifax, then "waking up" in Sackville, then really waking up!

Father and I did the book accounts.  We made on overall profit of about $3000 in 2004.

Saw the DVD of Gay Purr-ee, an animated musical about cats in "fin de siecle" Paris, with voice talent like Judy Garland and Robert Goulet.  An oddity, best for the faux-impressionistic background layouts.

Dinner was chicken curry.

Started reading a reprint of Captain Easy adventures from 1936.  Great stuff!

Visited my old dance studio.  Cynthia was pleased when I told her I was still doing regular situps.

March 3, 2005

"Well, if anyone seriously asked me I'd run away with him and become his mistress!"--Peyton Place teenager to her mother (who slaps her).

Read some more 1950s Buck Rogers episodes reprinted in Menomonee Falls Gazette.  Science fiction tended to have a Cold War subtext back then.

Saw the DVD of Mark Robson's Peyton Place.  Quite entertaining 1950s hokum.

Dinner was spaghetti.

Nothing much happening at the Geneva Centre.  We ended up playing Trivial Pursuit again.

March 2, 2005

Got my hair cut.

Got a Cartoonist Showcase reprint of Tarzan and Modesty Blaise.

Dinner was roast beef.

Baked whole wheat bread.

Read some 1950s episodes of Red Ryder from Menomonee Falls Gazette.  My favourite character is the little monster Susie Jo!

Saw Giuseppe's Toronto City Opera production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Bickford Centre, instead of going to my drama class. (I was going to see it last Sunday, but it totally slipped my mind!) Pretty fun.

March 1, 2005

"To err is human.  To keep on erring is more human.  Ma is getting me all mussed up.  She uses me for exercise"--early comic strip hero (and mischievous child) Buster Brown

Aunt Duchess: "Oh no!  Why didn't they cover me over years ago when I fell in that ditch?"--western comic strip Red Ryder

Dreamed of riding on a roller coaster.

Read some episodes of Gunner in Menomonee Falls Gazette.  It's a comic strip about, of all things, a South American soccer team.

Got some Star Weekly comic sections.

It was Father's 75th birthday so we ate takeout Chinese food. (My fortune cookie said, "You love Chinese food." Well, duh!)

Saw the DVD of Michael Cacoyannis' A Matter of Dignity.  It's a very effective melodrama about a Greek heiress whose family is about to go broke and whose mother wants her to marry a playboy she doesn't love to save them.  There's an amazing scene of a loud quarrel with a Strauss waltz in the background!

February 28, 2005

Barney Baxter narration: "Jumping Jupiter!!  Gus hasn't been sleeping....  He's been hypnotized!"

Dreamed of reading in a math textbook of a number system involving successive 1 digits (like the binary system, but without the 0 digit); trying to find out the address where John lived.

Went shopping.

Dinner was pork chops.

Started a reprint of Barney Baxter, a ca. 1940 comic strip about a young hotshot pilot and his Gabby Hayes-type sidekick Gopher Gus.  A mixture of little boy adventures and slapstick comedy.

Once again, the snow kept a lot of people away from choir practice.  Only two mezzos showed up!

February 27, 2005

"Cease sniveling!  You live in luxury, I've found a suitor for your hand, and you are surrounded by ingenious devices to assure your safety!" 

"A suitor?  Your toady, Hunn, my father's murderer!  And every entrance here is a trap, equipped with hidden weapons that will kill me if I move through it!"

"Are you sure?  Women are so curious, I've heard.  When will you make a move to see if this is really true?"

--Kevin the Bold

Dreamed of acquired an issue of World Friendly Index dated 2068!

Baked raisin bread.

Read some Kevin the Bold stories from Menomonee Falls Gazette.  It's a Tudor era swashbuckling comic strip about an Irish adventurer, reprinted from the 1950s.

Dinner was pizza.

Saw the second season finale of Six Feet Under.

February 26, 2005

"Nay, that handsome--I mean, ordinary looking person... Find out who he is!  No hurry and don't let him know!...  Not that he means anything to me!"--the comic strip Kevin the Bold

Dreamed of massaging a man with a cold, clammy back; the actual song that goes, "You get no bread with one meat ball!"

Saw the documentary Malcolm X at the Cinematheque.  Who knows what he might have evolved into if he hadn't been killed?

Dinner was salmon.

I was going to see another Mexican movie in the evening, but I had a headache.

February 25, 2005

"What will happen, Father?"

"I don't know, but God is just"

--Enamorada

"Ah...  The Reverend Dr. Chalmers, I presume....  You tried to reform me once by sending me to prison for ten years....  Now I'll show you how successful you were!"--Jungle Jim bad girl Shanghai Lil (who later falls in love with Jungle Jim and becomes his ally)

Dreamed of going to a big wedding in Halifax [my sister got married in Halifax]; being about to return home the next day; being so exhausted that I couldn't think straight.

Dinner was steak.

Read some episodes of Scarth A.D. 2195 in Menomonee Falls Gazette.  It's an odd British sci-fi comic strip about an amnesiac model in the future.  Very 1960s.

Saw Emilio Fernandez' Enamorada at the Cinematheque.  It's a terrifically entertaining Mexican romance about a revolutionary general in the Mexican Revolution who falls in love with a lady of privilege.

February 24, 2005

Dreamed of lending a singer my (non-existent) white wool cardigan sweater so she could wear it as part of her costume in the musical Guys and Dolls; noticing that the second button from the top was missing and suggesting that they replace it with the bottom button; removing the change from my pocket to count out bus fare, finding that the coins were rare issus in unusual shapes and not wanting to spend them.

Saw a DVD of D.W. Griffiths' silent shorts from the years before he directed Birth of a Nation.  You can see his narrative talent steadily increasing.

Dinner was chicken curry.

Finally finished clipping and rearranging my comic strip collection.

February 23, 2005

Dreamed of leaving England as a political exile and ending up a millionaire; jumping off a plane over Ireland; passing through an old English mining town with nothing left but some structures two centuries old.

Got some more Jungle Jim comics.

Saw the DVD of The White Sheik, Federico Fellini's first movie as a solo director.  It's a cute farce about a movie fan who goes AWOL from her honeymoon to meet her eponymous idol.

Dinner was scalloped potatoes and ham.

At the drama class we performed a scene from The Odd Couple.  We also improvised some more scenes involving invisible props.  My group pretended to stage a circus, with me as a lion tamer. (The others were a tightrope walker and a juggler.) [At the end we'd do deep bows.]

February 22, 2005

Dreamed of C.S. Lewis (Anthony Hopkins) in Shadowlands saying, "God is a vivisectionist."

Went shopping.  We had to dig the car out of the snow.

Read some of the Jungle Jim reprint, with adventures in India.  Alex Raymond rocks! (Who cares that this isn't as great as his Flash Gordon?  It's still fun.)

Moira and I went to have dinner with Puitak and Gordon and discuss our coming Washington trip.  We ate spaghetti.

At the Common Room we divided into pairs and tried to find fifteen interests we had in common. (I wasn't very good at it.) Then we played Pictionary, which I was very good at.

Got another Mad magazine paperback.

February 21, 2005

Dreamed of reading a genealogy of my family going back all the way to the Tudor era; setting up a complicated antenna system so our TV would get British channels.

There was such a big snowstorm that The Globe and Mail didn't arrive!

Read some World War II-era adventures of the comic strip reporter Steve Roper, back when his sidekick was a Native American called Big Chief Wahoo. (They hadn't yet brought in Mike Nomad, alas.)

Got some more Kerry Drake cartoons, a reprint of the comic strip Jungle Jim, and one of early Jules Feiffer cartoons.

Dinner was lasagna.  Father added some spinach and peppers.

A lot of people missed choir practice because of the snow.  It turns out that Catherine has cancer.

February 20, 2005

"You only stayed with me because I wasn't there!"--Six Feet Under

Baked multigrain bread.

Dinner was boiled ham.

On Six Feet Under Nate found out about Brenda's infidelity, Rico got a big legacy, and Ruth broke up with Nikolai.

February 19, 2005

Dreamed of hiking up Mt. Wycocomah in Cape Breton with Donald; stripping to my T-shirt because the weather was hot; snow starting to fall and noticing that I'd lost my jacket; comedian Red Skelton being a Rhode Island senator notorious for his eccentricities [Skelton was in real life]; a Hispanic man starting a farm on the deck of the Queen Elizabeth II, moored in Detroit!

Put my comic-strip collection in better order.

The parents and I saw the movie of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice at the Bayview.  A very fine adaptation, well directed by the underrated Michael Radford, with Al Pacino in rare form as Shylock.

Afterward we ate at the Swiss Chalet.