December 25, 2008

Model turned mission agent Cinnamon Carter: "The day people look at you instead of me, I'll resign from the sisterhood of women!"--Mission:  Impossible

Dreamed of some local women having made a porno movie that was about to be released; going into a public washroom and ejaculating into a urinal; actress Julianne Moore and her actual explanation of what was in her mind when she assumed a porn star's vacuous expression in Boogie Nights: "I was trying to remember my lines!" [Someone pointed out that the "actress" she was playing would have been trying to remember her lines...]

John, Kathrine and Donald came over for Christmas dinner.

Saw the DVD of the first episode of the TV series Mission:  Impossible.  It's a fun show, though disturbing if you think about it. (Their mission was to grab a couple of nuclear warheads from a Latin American strongman.  Think they'll be sent to Iran next?)  

December 24, 2008

Casy (explaining why he quit preaching): "A preacher has to know.  I don't know"--The Grapes of Wrath

Dreamed of the Abba song "Fernando."

Last night we ate at Mandarin Restaurant.  My fortune cookie said "Without dreams the world stands still."

Dinner was salmon.

Saw the DVD of John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath (for the third time). A classic of 1930s realism, brilliantly filmed.

December 20, 2008

"There is no heaven.  There is only earthly love."--Thais

Saw the cinemacast of the Met production of Massenet's opera Thais.  Well done.

Dinner was McDonald's.

Went to the planned Life Enthusiasts Karaoke Meetup at Twister Karaoke.  But only one other guy showed up, so we'll do it later.

Saw the DVD of the TV movie of Judith Krantz' Princess Daisy, just because it was Rupert Everett's first role. (Even when he acts poorly, he has a striking presence!)

December 18, 2008

Dreamed of the John Wayne safari movie Hatari!

Baked multigrain bread.

Went to Indigo Books near Bay station and bought a couple of crossword puzzle magazines for Christmas.

We got five zip.ca DVDs in the mail!

Dinner was fettucine alfredo (which I cooked).

Saw the DVD of the Blake Edwards-Jack Lemmon comedy That's Life!  Something of a home movie.

 

December 17, 2008

"Most sentimental ideas imply, at bottom, a deep if unacknowledged disrespect....  Sentimentality about nature denatures everying it touches"--Jane Jacobs (excerpted in Lapham's Quarterly)

"This time, John Wayne will not ride off into the sunset with Grace Kelly."

"That's Gary Cooper, asshole!"

--Die Hard

"Of all the terrorists in the world, I had to kill the only one with feet smaller than my sisters"--ibid.

Dreamed of reading that an ancestor of mine had been convicted on corruption charges. (That's what comes from watching The Sopranos.)

Had my last singing lesson fro a while.  We did "Di Provenza," which is another song that taxes my upper vocal range.

On the way home I booked a session with my shrink Dr. Hassan.

Dinner was lamb stew.

Saw John McTiernan's Die Hard (for the first time) at the Bloor.  A hit cat & mouse adventure, often corny but pretty entertaining overall. (Alan Rickman, as the villain, of course made off with the show.)

December 16, 2008

Tony (to his teenage daughter):"You see, out there it's the 1990s.  In this house, it's 1954. [points outside, then inside] 1990s.  1954."

--The Sopranos (Every generation is fated to turn into their parents...)

Dreamed of being in a church where I wasn't sure which direction the congregation faced.

Went shopping. (We also bought a new strap for my watch.)

Dinner was roast chicken.

Went to Remenyi's and picked up the "Vaga Luna" and "Di Provenza" scores.

December 14, 2008

Rapper: "I like any kind of music, so long as it's the kind of shit that turns green!"--The Sopranos

The parents were at the Coro Verdi concert in the afternoon.  The fire alarm went off in the middle of "O Holy Night"!

John and Kathrine came over for dinner, so we ordered vegan Thai food. (Afterward I sneaked out to KFC.)

December 13, 2008

Tony: "This psychiatry shit... What you're feeling isn't what you're really feeling--and what you're not feeling is your real hidden agenda!"--The Sopranos

Went to a Life Enthusiasts Meetup at the Jester's on Yonge.  Several people were interested in the Lapham's Quarterly issue I was reading.  It looks like Basil will have me organize the karaoke event too.

Dinner was McDonald's.

December 12, 2008

Got a new copy of our unreadable Sopranos DVD at another video store.

Dinner was fish and chips.

Went to another Trash Palace show of educational shorts.  Some of them were very strange...

December 11, 2008

Dreamed of a story set in a frontier boom town, whose ultimate moral was "Judge not, lest you be judged"; taking an elevator up a tower about 10 stories tall to a group of baroque museum rooms on the top; the exchange from the movie The Insider:

"I'm fighting for you!"

"I hope you improve your batting average..."

Resumed reading the nature issue of Lapham's Quarterly.

Dinner was quiche.

Went to the Socrates Cafe Meetup, where we discussed jealousy. (When someone suggested the topic, I quipped "I wish I'd thought of that!")

Afterward I went to the Tequila Bookworm cafe and bought a ticket for tomorrow's Trash Palace show.

The second Sopranos DVD became unreadable.

December 10, 2008

Homer: "We don't need a thinker.  We need a doer--someone who'll act without considering the consequences!"--The Simpsons

Next week will be my last singing lesson for a while, and it's just as well.  Today I overslept--something I don't usually do--and had to skip breakfast.  Then the 13:00 bus was out of service and I had to wait another 20 minutes for the next one, so I ended up half an hour late. (Giuseppe was making his lunch because he thought I wasn't comng.) I ended up having lunch at 15:00.

Moira's given up on watching The Sopranos. (Too disturbing for her.)

Dinner was pork chops.

We did the dress rehearsal for Sunday's Coro Verdi concert.

Finished Teacher Man.  Very entertaining.

December 9, 2008

Hasidic Jew (concluding the story of the siege of Masada): "And the Romans--where are they now?"

Tony: "You're lookin' at 'em, asshole!"

--The Sopranos

Gangster (about to murder a fellow gangster): "Hi, Jack.  Bye, Jack"--ibid.

Dreamed of a depressing movie about a bourgeois family who covered up their scandals, ending up with most of them on the run from the law; "waking up."

Went shopping.

Baked cheese bread.

Dinner was roast chicken (and the apple pie Moira baked last night).

The Coro Verdi performed at a private function arranged by our patron Tony Fusco at the Columbus Centre.  We cooled our heels for over an hour, but he provided some snacks in the meantime.

December 8, 2008

Tony Soprano (asked what he'd do if his daughter had an abusive husband): "I'd talk to him."

Silvio: "With a ball peen hammer!"

--The Sopranos

Dreamed of walking outdoors in the winter with no coat on; being told I'd been selected to be the new King of England and saying "No way!  Absolutely not!  I'd sooner be Pope!"

Father found my winter boots in the basement.  I wasn't even sure whether I still had them!

I cut up some of our remaining apples in the afternoon, and Moira baked a pie in the evening.

Saw the DVD of the first chapter of the serial Jungle Jim.

Dinner was lasagna.

The choir had the last rehearsal before tomorrow's event.  Giuseppe had a scene with one member, who threatened to walk out.

December 7, 2008

"My uncle adds greatly to my overall stress level"--The Sopranos

Went to the Mall Walkers Meetup at Dufferin Mall.  Or rather, I went to the mall and couldn't remember which store the group was meeting at!

Brass monkey weather!

Rented the DVDs of the first half of the first season of The Sopranos at 2Q.  We saw the first two episodes (me for the fourth time). I'd forgotten just how great the first season was!

Dinner was McDonald's.

December 6, 2008

"What religion are you?"

"I'm a confirmed coward."

--The Americanization of Emily

Saw the DVD of Arthur Hiller's World War II satire The Americanization of Emily.  Pretty dated.

Dinner was lobster rolls.

Went to a Life Enthusiasts Meetup at the Second Cup near the College station.  I met Basil and a couple of other people and we walked to Nathan Phillips Square.  There were meeting some people there to go skating, but I left.

Went to the Karaoke Meetup, where I sang "Dancing in the Dark" and "Eat It." (My version of the Michael Jackson parody brought down the house, as usual.)

I haven't heard from Franco, who was going to meet me to catch up on opera lines.

December 5, 2008

"I wish I could take him aside for a talk, but I know I'm no good at that.  It's easier to talk to the whole class than to one boy.  It isn't so intimate"--Teacher Man

Dreamed of the movie "A Christmas Story." (The night before I dreamed of the Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley.)

Got my hair cut.

Dinner was scallops.

We had an extra choir rehearsal to prepare for next week's show.  Giuseppe liked the joke I told him on Sunday so much that he repeated it to the whole group! (Why did Bach have 22 kids?  His organ had no stop.)

December 3, 2008

At today's singing lesson I tried Gounod's "Le Veau d'Or." "Il Balen di Suo Sorriso" left me exhausted again.  Maybe Moira's right that the key is too high for me.

Went shopping.

For dinner Moira made ham quiche.

Went to bed early and slept around the clock.

December 2, 2008

"I didn't know that older people have to protect themselves against younger people who want to push them off the face of the earth"--Teacher Man

"Calling her [McCourt's mother] meant I needed to call her, and I didn't need to need"--ibid.

Didn't get to sleep till past 04:00.  I dreamed about the TV show The White Shadow (which I enjoyed ca. 1980); putting on a pair of socks which were too tight for my feet.

Dinner was scalloped potatoes and ham.

Went to the last opera rehearsal before the new year.  Franco is back from Hong Kong and he's going to visit me this weekend so he can catch up after missing a couple of weeks.

December 1, 2008

Saw the DVD of the first part of Spike Lee's documentary When the Levees Broke.  Really gripping.

Dinner was spaghetti.

At choir practice I told Giuseppe about my improved "Wohin?" song score. (He was very pleased.) Before going, I put my sheet music in order for the first time in ages.

Later I printed out the score. (I've solved the triple-note problem, which affected my "Il Balen di Suo Sorriso" score.)

Baked whole wheat bread overnight.

November 30, 2008

"There were courses on how to teach by professors who did not know how to teach"--Teacher Man

"You'd be better off as a cop.  At least you'd have a gun or a stick to defend yourself.  A teacher has nothing but his mouth"--ibid.

Dreamed of subduing Michelle Obama when she turned homicidal(!); getting a position in Obama's administration and coming to live in Washington, D.C.

Went to the Brunch Club Meetup at the Hot House Cafe.  It turns out that Patricia has been using ancestry.ca too.

Then I went to the Columbus Centre with my gingerbread for the opera fundraiser. (I told Giuseppe a joke I'd heard at last night's Classical Music Meetup: "Why did Back have 22 kids?  His organ had no stop." He loves jokes like that.) As usual a bought home a big tin full of leftover cookies and cheese and stuff.

Donald came over for dinner, which was ham.  I'd also prepared a pumpkin-apple mixture.

Saw several Roadrunner cartoons on DVD.  If you ask me, it's just second-rate Chuck Jones.

November 29, 2008

"Teaching is the downstairs maid of professions"--Teacher Man

I was going to see the cinemacast of Don Carlo, but decided I didn't feel like it.  Instead I stayed home and baked gingerbread for tomorrow's opera fundraiser.

Dinner was McDonald's.

I figured out how to add a third clef to the stave in a Finale Notepad music score.  But I haven't figured out how to fill a whole bar with triple notes...

Went to a Classical Music Meetup.  We discussed Gilbert and Sullivan.  From F (French music) last month, to G this month.  Next month we're doing H (Handel).

Started Frank McCourt's Teacher Man.

November 28, 2008

"The more you love him, the angrier I am!"--Il Trovatore

Dreamed of hitching a ride on the back of a motorcycle and my bottom dragging on the road.

Printed out a new version of the "Wohin?" song score with the right hand (and part of the left) an octave higher.

Dinner was roast chicken (and the pie I baked).

Finished reading Don't Know Much About History.

Saw the rest of the Il Trovatore DVD.

November 27, 2008

Dreamed of the movie Damien:  The Omen II (which I've never seen); the Beverley Hillbillies forming a rock band.

The piano tuner came in the morning. (She says it's in good shape for its age of over 40 years.)

Took it easy today.  I was going to attend a Multicultural Meetup, but I cancelled.

Dinner was spaghetti.

Saw the first act of the DVD of a Royal Opera production of Verdi's Il Trovatore, with Jose Cura and Dmitri Hvorostovsky.  Great opening number!

Baked a pumpkin-sour cream pie in the evening.