April 23, 2006

Dreamed of going to see Robert Altman's Short Cuts, based on Raymond Carver's short stories (in real life I couldn't bear to see it because the stories were too sad, especially "A Small Good Thing," about parents whose child gets killed in a hit & run); Diane Keaton as the mother (it was actually Andie McDowell) galloping a horse alongside a train [like Jeanette McDonald in Love Me Tonight]; Jack Lemmon as the father's father (a role Lemmon actually did play, though he wasn't in the original story) drunkenly revealing the news of the kid's death to the father, except that he was talking about something else; "waking up" but not knowing which direction was north; visiting the high Arctic (in summer) and flying to Canada's northernmost land Ellesmere Island; visiting the non-existent Fort Devon on the island's northern coast and flying over the Arctic Ocean; asking at Fort Devon where was Cape Columbia, Canada's actual northernmost point.

Went to the Book Club Meetup at the Rhino, where we discussed The Flame Trees of Thika, West With the Night and Out of Africa.  Unfortunately, Karen couldn't make it because she's recovering from a cycling accident, and Jessica presided instead.

Then I went to a Singles Meetup at the Cafe Mirage.  But I didn't have time to stay long. (Three Meetups in one day is too many.) I only showed up because I've been missing the event month after month.

Dinner was spaghetti.

Finally I went to the Arthouse Meetup and we saw Tommy Lee Jones' The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada at the Fox, which I'd only gone to once before (to see The Dresser in 1984). It wasn't bad.  Dom is a realtor, and says the next big neighbourhood will be around Lansdowne and Davenport.

April 22, 2006

"I've always thought it [freedom] overrated"--The Forsyte Saga

 Stayed indoors all day.

Baked raisin bread.

Dinner was McDonald's.

Saw the DVD of the first episodes of the 1960s BBC version of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga.  It's a cracking soap opera, smart and well acted, sharper than the more recent version.

April 21, 2006

Dreamed of a manual stamp that printed out a whole speech by FDR; another that printed out a group of reviews of classic movies; a pair of corkscrew pins; a strawberry-flavoured lozenge candy; Nemorino's aria at the start of the Donizetti opera The Elixir of Love; reflecting that MTV's campaign urging young people to vote was lame.

On the third day at work I managed to finish that filing!  Glad to have it over before the weekend.

Went shopping.

Dinner was chicken curry.

Saw Elem Klimov's Come and See, about the Nazi invasion of Belarus, at the Cinematheque.  It's really stunning in its depiction of the craziness that's part of war.

April 20, 2006

"I want to save your soul so you can enjoy the glories of hell!"--The Masque of the Red Death

"Trust me."

"Why does that concept make me nervous?"

--Miami Vice

Dreamed of the Laurel & Hardy comedy Sons of the Desert.

Got to the start of the N names in that filing of Sunday employee letters at work.  I also labelled some envelopes and stuffed them with a manual for people about to take a refresher first aid course.

Afternoon nap.

Dinner was churrasco chicken.

Saw the latest monthly movie presentation by Rue Morgue magazine at the Bloor.  They showed Vincent Price in Roger Corman's adaptation of Poe's The Masque of the Red Death.  Colourful B-movie fun with some real style. (They also had a Satanist faith healer there!)

April 19, 2006

At work I started filing that pile of letters to Sunday employees.  Very tedious work, and I'm no more than a third of the way through.

Giuseppe cut our singing lesson short because my voice was hoarse.  We probably won't have one next week. (He suggested that I have trouble relaxing my mouth muscles because I'm a reader rather than a talker.)

Found some post-Easter cheap chocolate at the drugstore.

Dinner was salmon.

I'm almost halfway through the taiqiquan course.  Looks like I'm remembering it better than last time.

April 18, 2006

Dreamed of having to deal with the father of a bully, who was an even bigger bully; warning him, "Judge not, lest you be judged"; seeing some present-day Sunday comics sections and coming around to the belief that the age of vital comics wasn't over. (Then I woke up and remembered that it is over!)

Marj was finally back at work.  I boxed some more files (health & safety committee reports) and labelled half a dozen, as well as stamping a big bunch of external applications with "Received." In the afternoon I alphabetized a whole lot of letters to Sunday employees, but I didn't quite finish it by quitting time.

Dinner was lasagna.

After work I looked around several libraries for a copy of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine.  Finally found it at the Spadina branch.

Saw the DVD of the double episode that started the second season of Miami Vice. (It was titled "The Prodigal Son," but I couldn't figure out why.

April 14, 2006

"All you girls do is stand there."

"And that, I am told, is the definition of a star."

--Mrs. Henderson Presents

Dreamed of being in a "virtual reality" version of a Star Wars movie, hanging on ta a camera that kept speeding through the sets; seeing that the parents had bought a pony(?); a dramatization of William Styron's slave revolt novel The Confessions of Nat Turner; imagining a concluding montage showing the process that led to the abolition of slavery; the song "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"; a Steve Canyon adventure involving a small flying machine and being held prisoner.

Saw the DVD of the documentary The Carter Family.  A lot of their songs are keepers!

Dinner was spaghetti.

Saw Stephen Frears' Mrs. Henderson Presents at the Regent.  It wasn't bad.

April 13, 2006

Last day of work before the long weekend.  I created half a dozen new boxes of 2004 Leading to Reading files and grievance files from the old system.  I brought a CD of Bette Davis movie scores (mostly composed by Max Steiner).

Afternoon nap.  I missed out on a hailstorm!

Dinner was steak.

We were going to have a karaoke night at the Geneva Centre, but they couldn't find the equipment, so instead we played games again.

April 12, 2006

Dreamed of a (non-existent) scene in Miami Vice in which the police had some real jewelry as part of a sting operation, but a small-time crook managed to con his way into possession of them, then had to throw them away to avoid arrest; the Roman romance Satyricon.

At work I moved the South Region terminated files (all 25 boxes) into another room, did copying for Dawn, helped Sandra sort through training files, and moved a bunch of binders to the high shelf.

At this week's singing lesson I wasn't ready to try the Donizetti piece.

Dinner was pork and rice.

What with the pouring rain, only five people showed up at the taiqiquan class.

Finished Beryl Markham's West With the Night.  Pretty remarkable.

April 11, 2006

"Are you Moslem?"

"No, I'm in television."

--V for Vendetta

At work I finished moving the grievance files, shifted some files in the department's central area, and boxed some seniority lists and employee records from the pre-amalgamation system.

Afternoon nap. (I dreamed about a book on mathematical systems in foreign cultures like Karnataka in India.)

Dinner was roast chicken.

Went to see V for Vendetta at the Market Square with a couple of people from Linkup.  Slickly made, it's pretentious but stylish adolescent fun.

April 10, 2006

"Elephant go where men can't--or at least shouldn't"--West With the Night

Dreamed of consciously levitating from the ground on Cape Breton Island into the clouds; starting a sci-fi story about a soldier with a ski lift-like levitation device dropping nasty explosives on a military enemy and becoming a hero back home.

At work I finished transferring the terminated files and moved files from the Human Resources directors' monthly meetings into their old place.  I also started putting in recent grievance files.  I brought a Johnny Cash CD into work.

Went shopping.

Got a big load of Ebay comics sections.  There's a lot of cutting and sorting ahead.

Dinner was salmon.

The choir rehearsed for a concert with three tenors.  We'll be singing several of the folk songs we recently did, along with a couple of opera pieces and Panis Angelicus from our mass.

April 9, 2006

Dreamed of a sci-fi B-movie that turned out to have been made in Canada in the 1950s; prophesying that the West would lose the next great war because of bad leadership.

When we saw the last episode of The Flame Trees of Thika, the DVD kept skipping.  So we watched it on the computer, where there were no problems.

Saw the DVD of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version of the 1950s B-movie Attack of the Giant Leeches. (They also had an episode of the serial The Undersea Kingdom.)

Couldn't wait for dinner with the others so I ate at KFC.

Sang in the Palm Sunday concert at St. Clare's.

Baked multigrain bread overnight.

April 8, 2006

"The last time I saw Candice Bergen in a movie, I thought she was a worse actress than Ali McGraw.  But now I've changed my mind"--Pauline Kael's review of The Getaway in The New Yorker (Candice and Ali became good friends.)

Ali McGraw (bringing husband Steve McQueen home from prison): "What do you want for dinner?"

McQueen: "Drinks--whiskey, whiskey, whiskey, whiskey!"

--The Getaway

Dreamed of seeing a vernal equinox ritual with a big crowd in the middle of the night; an animated movie of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Dinner was McDonald's.

Saw Sam Peckinpah's movie of the great pulp fiction author Jim Thompson's The Getaway.  Cartoonish but kinda fun in a cheesy '70s way.  Steve McQueen was another cool actor.

April 7, 2006

"Repent, you sonuvabitch!"--Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

Dreamed of jumping off a train (between Moncton and Sackville, N.B.) to find Margaret, who'd fallen off; wandering through the woods, seeing animal traps, and getting my jacket collar caught on an electric wire near the train tracks.

At work I spent the whole morning transferring the terminated files.  Didn't quite finish it.

I can feel my singing improve! (I'm also enjoying it more.) It's like I've reached a turning point.

Dinner was spaghetti.

Saw the restored version of Sam Peckinpah's western Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.  Pretty strange. (In the last part I had trouble staying awake.)

April 6, 2006

Dreamed of trying to read a Stephen King story with an O. Henry-style twist; getting to the start of the last paragraph but being unable to follow the story arc; wailing that the rest of the family wouldn't let me read in peace.

At work I started boxing the grievance files and transferring some of the terminated files to a new cabinet.  I also removed the last folders from a group of cabinets so Facilities can move them and half-emptied the one with management and exempt files so they can move it into their old place.

Got a big lot of Steve Canyon Sundays and other Ebay comics.

Finally got my taxes done.  I should get a refund of $50 or so.

Dinner was roast pork.

Saw the DVD of the Mystery Science Theatre version of The Touch of Satan, a '70s B-movie about witchcraft.  Very slow.

April 5, 2006

Marj will be away till after Easter. I labelled half a dozen more boxes from the top shelf, and shredded a big pile of blank forms from the late Scarborough system.

At today's singing lesson Giuseppe told me that when you're projecting right you feel a distance from the sound you're making.  He says I have a two-octave range. [It's true.] He lent me a book of arias and I copied one from Donizetti's Don Pasquale.

Dinner was steak.

The choir had its dress rehearsal for the Sunday concert at the St. Clair church near Dufferin Street.  I prefer piano accompaniment to organ. (I had to miss the second taiqiquan class to be there.)

April 4, 2006

Marj was away, so she might make it to her brother-in-law's funeral. (I skipped the afternoon overtime.) I boxed pay equity files for the Reference Library personnel themselves, and filled eight boxes, including one of a Coopers & Lybrand job evaluation survey from almost a decade ago.  And I finished the index.

Afternoon nap.

Dinner was spaghetti.

Saw the DVD of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version of a very goofy time-travel adventure movie made in Vermont, titled The Time Chasers.  They never did explain how a time machine could be used as a weapon powerful enough to bring about an apocalypse...

Baked whole wheat bread overnight.

April 3, 2006

Dreamed of playing the adagio sostenuto movement from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in a car; trying to sleep in a motel but having to deal with a telephone receiver that had accidentally been left off the hook, with loud music still audible at the other end.

At work Marj showed me how to process mail and application faxes in case she isn't here tomorrow. (She may be returning to Guyana for her brother-in-law's funeral.)

Went shopping.

I think my singing is improving! (So does Mother.)

Got some Li'l Abner Sundays from Rick Larder.

Dinner was microwave-ready Indian food.

The choir had the last rehearsal before the dress rehearsal Wednesday.

April 2, 2006

"Daddy, you need furniture."

"Well, ain't got nothin', don't need nothin'."

--Brokeback Mountain

Dreamed of looking through old issues of Reader's Digest from the 1950s.

Finally fitted my old watch's strap onto my new watch. (Or rather, Father managed it!)

Dinner was more turkey pie.

Went to my first Arthouse Meetup. (There were about a dozen people there.) We saw Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain out at the Kingsway.  It's a nice little movie, with some great scenery.  I feel sorry for Americans, the way they tend to live in prisons they've built for themselves.

April 1, 2006

"Do you believe in God, sergeant?"

"I believe he's a sadistic bastard, but he doesn't even realize he is!"

--Cross of Iron

Dreamed of Al Pacino as a cop, infiltrating a circle of gangsters (including James Coburn as a crazy veteran), being found out through an enema, and causing the gangsters to gradually kill off each other; sorting out a pile of sailboat manuals; one Congu Chan having to sell his antique boat because bureaucratic regulations required him to attach it to mooring posts but he wanted to display it on land.

Dinner was turkey pie. (Moira's vegan chocolate cake turned out well.)

Went to the Cinematheque and saw Sam Peckinpah's war movie Cross of Iron, about German soldiers on the Russian front after the war had turned against them. (The Vietnam parallel was pretty obvious.) James Coburn was a cool actor.

March 31, 2006

Dreamed of being halfway through a year of university and realizing that I was so far behind that I'd have to quit. [This is a dream I've had repeatedly.]

At work I spent most of the morning filing stuff.  I also did some shredding and indexing. (The index has only a few months left.)

Went down to Dragon Lady and bought another batch of items I'd acquired on Ebay.  Afterward I had a headache and napped a bit. (I also got a batch of British comics.)

Dinner was turkey.

The warm weather is here!

Baked white bread overnight.

March 30, 2006

Elspeth: "Is it true about the cannibals?"

Her mother: "Of course not.  They're very nice people!"

--The Flame Trees of Thika

Dreamed of Arthur Penn's 1981 movie about the 1960s, Four Friends.

At work I finished up transferring the files and printed new labels for the doors.  I also stuffed envelopes with pension estimates for employees considering early retirement.  Didn't get to do any of the indexing.

Afternoon nap.

Dinner was pork chops.

Saw the DVD of the first episodes of the 1981 Masterpiece Theatre series of The Flame Trees of Thika (for the third time). I now see that it's a bit more conventional than the book, but it's very colourful. (It was one of the first TV series I watched in colour.)

March 29, 2006

At work I transferred more of the 2004 job competition files.  It looked like the new shelves wouldn't have enough room for them, but by making a tighter squeeze among the already transferred files, I'm pretty sure I've made enough room.

In the afternoon I had my first singing lesson with Giuseppe Macina since last summer.  He showed me a new singing exercise.

Dinner was lasagna.

Went to Central Tech for the first class in this term's taijiquan course.  Most of the others were late arriving because they'd been misinformed by some notice and went to the wrong room, but I missed the notice and correctly guessed that it would be in the same place as last fall.  Steve is teaching it again.  Too bad I'll have to miss next week's class.

March 28, 2006

Did a lot of different stuff at work. I transferred some files from boxes to drawers, printed out confidential labels for a mailing, indexed past the middle of 2004, boxed some employment equity files, opened a box that turned out to contain folders with stuff about employment equity and the old Scarborough library system HQ, and rearranged the 2003 competition file boxes up on the high shelf into numerical order.

Dinner was salmon.

I was going to see Sam Peckinpah's The Killer Elite (great title!), but decided to stay home instead

Saw the DVD of the first episodes of the sixth season of Oz.

March 27, 2006

Marj was back at work.  I replaced the latest revised page in the arbitration manual and set up several new employee files.  Didn't do much in the index.  The second shipment of boxed files is gone.

We went to Zeller's and I got new shoes for the spring and a new, (I hope) more reliable watch.  I also found a summer hat.

Dinner was roast chicken.

Got another package of Ebay comics from Barry King.

At choir practice we went through Faure's Requiem as well as The Seven Last Words of Christ.  I heard the short list for next year's operas:  Verdi's Rigoletto and La Traviata, Rossini's The Italian Girl in Algiers and Donizetti's Don Pasquale. (But last year's operas hadn't been on the short list...)

Finished Elspeth Huxley's The Flame Trees of Thika.  Very enjoyable.  Then I started reading aviatrix Beryl Markham's memoir West With the Night.

March 26, 2006

"Like most cynics, he was very kind..."--Elspeth Huxley, The Flame Trees of Thika

In the morning I went bowling at a Linkup event at the Bowlerama near Finch station.  Kumar was by far the highest scorer.  I was uneven. (I might have got a higher score if I'd chosen a lighter ball, but I wanted to exercise my arm.)

Late in the afternoon I joined the North York Movies Meetup to see the documentary Why We Fight (for the second time) at the Royal.  We were going to see Cache there, but it was held over at the Carlton and they had to change the schedule.

Afterward we went to La Porta Aperta [The Open Door], where I had a veal sandwich, which was pretty good.  George told me about how the Conservative Party had screwed David Orchard.