October 26, 2009

    Dreamed of an issue of Rolling Stone magazine with the comic strip The Family Circus on the cover(!).

    Had another singing lesson.  Giuseppe's not happy about the shortage of Pagliacci scores.

    Started reading the crime issue of Lapham's Quarterly.

    Dinner was tortellini with pesto sauce.

    At choir practice Giuseppe put us through the Traviata choruses once, then let us leave early so he could rehearse the soloists.

    Saw the DVD of the early cinema verite documentary Primary,  about the 1960 Wisconsin primary where JFK beat Hubert Humphrey.  I think I saw it before.

October 25, 2009

"This is the United States and I'm obligated to make as much money as I can!"--Amelia

    Dreamed of a reprint of the comic strip Prince Valiant drawn with crayons.

    Went to see Mira Nair's biopic Amelia with the Movie Meetup.  Hilary Swank and Richard Gere had weak chemistry.

    Then I went to a Depressed But Enthusiastic Meetup.  Basil and I were there. (He mentioned that his religion is Mandaean, which I'll have to Google!)

    Dinner was KFC.

    Finished Studs Terkel's Great Depression oral history Hard Times.

    Saw the Ken Burns documentary Congress on DVD.  Breathless.

October 24, 2009

Robert Downey Jr. (about to perform drastic surgery): "Aren't you afraid?"

Meg Ryan: "Your leaving me, I fear.  Nothing else."

--Restoration

    Dreamed of trying to write an academic thesis involving the Rolling Stones and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

    Went to a Walking Meetup in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.  Afterward I went to the Shyness Meetup but left early so as not to delay dinner.

    Dinner was only McDonald's anyway.

    Saw the DVD of Restoration.  A wonderful period piece, with Robert Downey Jr. at his formidable best.

October 23, 2009

"Joe, why don't you do what I do when my wife and I have a fight?"

"What's that?"

"Lose."

--Rhoda

    Dreamed of being visited at my old home in Sackville, N.B., by two friendly people who turned out to be ghosts; saying I was sorry that they were dead.

    Dinner was spaghetti.

    Saw the Fred Astaire musica Swing Time again.

October 22, 2009

Daughter (explaining her attitude): "I'm bored, as usual."

Father (seeing her new sweetheart): "Who's that?"

"The opposite of boring!"

--Fame

    Dreamed of the British school-themed TV series To Serve Them All My Days (and an escapade that wasn't in the actual show where a schoolboy hid in some sheets and ended up being washed with the laundry); the English city Canterbury.

    Went to dinner with the VITAL Meetup group (Variety In The Art of Living) at Il Fornello.  The others were female and talked a lot about their travels.  I ate spaghettini bolognese.

    Afterward I saw the Fame remake at the Yonge & Dundas.  It was less excessive than the original, more on the bland side. (While most of the original cast seemed a bit old to be playing high schoolers, some of these actors seemed twelve or thirteen!)

    

October 21, 2009

"How often do guys like Vince Mazuma come along?"

"Every three seconds."

--Rhoda

    Dreamed of going through a whole videocassette to see what was taped on it (there was an episode of David Letterman's late-night show and the movie Shanghai Noon); the war movie The Dirty Dozen.

    Dinner was another turkey pie.

    Indian summer weather.

    The opera group had an acting class.  We drew slips for characters to play and I got one who scrimps and saves to see the theatre in Pagliacci.  There's a new girl from Nova Scotia called Meredith Nicholson. [Nicholson was my mother's maiden name.]

October 20, 2009

    Dreamed of sleeping on a mattress that was coming apart one spring at a time; bicycling east to New Brunswick; having a nervous breakdown due to anger; seeing a tall tower from a distance; comedian David Steinberg.

    Saw the DVD of Ken Burns' documentary The Statue of Liberty.  It got a bit gnomic in the second half.

    Dinner was turkey pie.

    At opera rehearsal we started on Pagliacci.  I was late and they didn't have enough Pagliacci scores, so I had to share Gianni's.

October 19, 2009

    Dreamed of reflecting that I wasn't cut out for historical scholarship. (Or was I?  Things seem less certain in the morning after you wake up.)

    Found a big zucchini in what's left of the garden.

    Dinner was lasagna.

    At choir practice the La Traviata soloists rehearsed with us, and we went over all the chorus parts twice (once for either soprano). I told John George that he reminded me of Pete the fisherman on Twin Peaks.

October 18, 2009

"Beautiful people can get whatever they want....  Have you ever seen a beautiful blonde go to the electric chair?"--Twin Peaks [Actually there's Gwen Stefani in the video for No Doubt's "It's My Life"!]

    Dreamed of having my bedroom in a driveway; the beginning of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World where Jimmy Durante's car goes off the freeway (except here he was on a roller coaster).

    Went to a Games Meetup at the Yellow Griffin.  First I played Scrabble with a tournament player, who got about 450 points to my 250.  Then I played Settlers of Catan, which was a tight three-way race.  Jeffrey won when he got the largest army card, but I did manage to build four cities!

    Dinner was pork steak.

    Practiced my singing for the first time in a week.

October 17, 2009

"They'll be buried side by side."

"So they can keep an eye on each other?"

--Twin Peaks

    Dreamed of travelling westward and keeping a diary of it.

    Went to a Shyness Meetup at the Mood Disorders Centre.  The others went out to a pub, but I went home.

    Dinner was McDonald's.

October 16, 2009

Doctor: "I didn't drop you on your head when I brought you into this world.  Please don't make me regret it"--Twin Peaks

    Dreamed of the Eurhythmics' Annie Lennox singing a non-existent song titled "Cranberry Hues."

    Dinner was scallops.

    Choir practice was today because Monday was a holiday.  I'm under the weather so I told Giuseppe to cancel next week's singing lesson.

October 15, 2009

"Are you going to eat that pie, or just push it around my China?"--Twin Peaks

    Dreamed of considering writing a new book about the Titanic; meeting a secretary through a mutual acquaintance (a sergeant in the Marines) and almost having sex with her; wanting to lock the door to our room beforehand but her preferring it unlocked.

    The parents were out shopping in the morning and picked up a new autumn coat for me.  It's really snug.

    Went shopping. (I also got a new pair of shoes, through it'll soon be time for winter boots.

    Dinner was turkey casserole.

    Went to a Games Meetup at Dueling Grounds.  I played a new game called Pandemic, where we worked as a team and succeeded in saving the world from four contagious diseases.  Then we played Puerto Rico, which I won to my great surprise. (I couldn't afford to buy any of the new buildings late in the game, which usually make the difference.)

    Went to 2Q Video and rented DVDs of the second half of the last season of Twin Peaks.  It got a bit silly toward the end.

      

October 14, 2009

Little girl: "Fanny [her big sister] wants a knife."

Mother: "What for?"

"To kill herself."

--Bright Star

    The parents and I drove out to the Queensway (where we'd never been before) and saw Jane Campion's Bright Star.  It's a wonderful love story, realistic, affecting and subtly beautiful.

    Afterward we ate at a Mandarin restaurant nearby.

    Saw a big pile of trees that they're about to plant along St. Clair Avenue now that the streetcar line reconstruction is almost finished.

October 13, 2009

    Dreamed of sending out an open invitation to an orgy; Patricia, who used to organize the Brunch Club Meetup.

    In the morning we drove out to Orchard Home Farm and picked Jonagold and Mutsu apples. (The Golden Delicious were finished.) The Mutsu were nice and big and we got four bags of them.

    We had lunch at Arby's in Brantford.  The place was surrounded by scaffolding but still open inside. (Hardly anyone was there.) Driving home I dozed off several times.

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

    At choir practice we did the rest of Cavalleria Rusticana, except for the scene just at the end.

    Saw some of Disney's Pluto cartoons on DVD.  Every great cartoon series seems to have one character who doesn't talk. [Like Dopey or Maggie Simpson.]

October 12, 2009

"How old are you?  16? 25?"

"When I feel bored, I'm ancient."

"How old are you now?"

"About 100."

--Coco Avant Chanel

    Dreamed of being in a group leaving a Miami theatre through a window; dangling upside down.

    The cool autumn weather's arrived.

    When I went to Giuseppe's it turned out that he thought this week's singing lesson had been cancelled, and I was willing to wait till next week, but since I'd come the whole way he gave me a lesson anyhow.

    Puitak and Gordon had me over for dinner, which was spaghetti. (I was afraid I hadn't told the parents, but it turned out I had.)

    Then Pui and I went to see Coco Avant Chanel at the Yonge & Dundas.  A bit conventional, but Audrey Tautou was in fine form. (On our way to the movie, we saw a really long queue near the Greyhound bus station.)

October 11, 2009

    Went to a Games Meetup at Foxes Den.  I played Ticket to Ride and Alhambra.  The first game I lost by two points (I think--I wasn't motivated enough to ask for a recount.) In the second game I managed to finish second.

    John, Donald, Kathrine and Rae came over for a Thanksgiving dinner.  We had turkey and the vegans had something different.

    Saw The Man From Beyond, a silent with Harry Houdini as an 1820 man who survives being frozen for a whole century(!), then meets a woman he's convinced is the reincarnation of his late sweetheart.  It's a curious casting choice, considering that Houdini was famous for debunking spiritualists... [There was a 1960s sitcom The Second Hundred Years with a similar premise.]

October 10, 2009

    Dreamed of a fireplace with a wind blowing down the chimney; having a huge pile of little tiles to glue to a wall.

    Baked cheese bread.

    Went on a Walking Meetup. (Nice day for it.) We started at Victoria Park station and went northwest along Taylor Creek, than southwest along the Don River.  I quit near Broadview station, but some were going as far south as Queen Street!  I was talking to Jane, an acting teacher with glasses like movie director Lina Wertmuller.

    Dinner was McDonald's.

October 9, 2009

"It's unfinished."

"Our marriage?"

"The translation."

--The Browning Version

Dreamed of a European woman arriving in America and going off to join an Indian nation; her watch having mystical symbols instead of numbers.

Dinner was frozen Thai food.

The parents and I were going to see Bright Star, but it was pouring rain so we decided to wait till next week.  Then I was going to see the Fame remake, but when I got to the Yorkdale it turned out it had started 20 minutes earlier than I thought, so I went home.

Got a package of Ebay comic strips from Barry King.

Saw the DVD of Anthony Asquith's 1951 movie of the Terence Rattigan play The Browning Version.  Superb. (I should see the 1994 Mike Figgis version again.) [This movie got me interested in learning classical Greek!]

October 8, 2009

Michael Moore: "I refuse to live in a country like this, and I'm not leaving"--Capitalism:  A Love Story (That's a true patriot!)

Dreamed of planning to read the novel Ben-Hur; seeing a shot from the movie where the film crew was visible.

Dinner was ham.

Saw Michael Moore's latest agitprop documentary Capitalism:  A Love Story at the Cumberland with a Movie Meetup group. (There were only three of us.) After a vague start, it got better and better.  Food for thought.

October 7, 2009

Went shopping.

Finally got a start on putting the garden in order. (We got one pumpkin and I brought it indoors.)

Dinner was roast chicken.

Went to a Games Meetup at 401 Games.  I played two new games:  Big City, involving laying buildings and streetcars on an urban grid; and Bang!, a card game where we played gunfighters. (I was the sheriff's deputy.)

October 6, 2009

    Dreamed of hoping for a remake of The Good Earth.

    Yesterday I placed a hold at the Reference Library on a book the parents are interested in, about New Brunswick shipbuilding in Kent County.  But when I went there it wasn't returned.

    Dinner was roast beef.

    At opera rehearsal we did "Regina Coeli" from Cavalleria Rusticana, but we didn't have time to finish it.

October 5, 2009

    At today's singing lesson I forgot to give Giuseppe his payment! (I gave it to him at choir practice in the evening.)

    Dinner was ham.

    At choir practice we went through all our La Traviata parts for the first time.

October 4, 2009

"He almost stood me up for his wife!"--The Women

"All heck's breaking loose!"--ibid.

Went to an Intellectual Meetup at Niky's place.  Or rather, I would have but when I got to his street I couldn't remember his address. (This is the second time it's happened!)

Dinner was Wendy's.

Saw the DVD of George Cukor's The Women.  Lots of talk, some of it sharp. (Rosalind Russell puts Norma Shearer to shame!)

October 3, 2009

"That isn't flying, it's falling with style"--Toy Story

    Dreamed of visiting my hometown Sackville, N.B.; getting a debilitating sickness and recovering by lying in the grass.

    Baked whole wheat bread.

    Saw the first episode of the DVD of Melvyn Bragg's language documentary The Adventure of English.  The history of languages always interests me.

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    Saw John Lasseter's two Toy Story movies in 3-D with the Movie Meetup at the Yonge & Eglinton. (I hadn't seen them before.) They're both quite clever.

    Finished Two Years Before the Mast.

October 2, 2009

On a corporate executive blown up in his boat:

"Bob would have gone far."

"I'm sure he did--er, would."

--A Shock to the System

Michael Caine talking to himself: "You, you and you stay calm.  Everyone else panic!"--ibid.

Dreamed of a convocation where I was graduating along with SCTV's Dave Thomas.

Saw the DVD of the black comedy A Shock to the System. (It's been in my zip.ca queue for five years or so.) Michael Caine's in fine form.

Dinner was fettucine with pesto sauce (which I cooked), for the first time in quite a while.

Went to a Games Meetup at Mary's place.  I played The Amazeing Labyrinth, Carcassone, Apples to Apples and a new game called Drakon.

October 1, 2009

 Went to see my shrink Dr. Hassan.

Dinner was takeout Chinese and Thai food.

Went to a new games group at Duelling Grounds west of Dufferin Station.  We played Carcassone, then a new game called Holy War. (I was the voodoo prophet Baron Samedi.) I didn't care for it, and didn't stay for another new game involving ethnic restaurants in a shopping mall.

September 30, 2009

Went shopping.

Dinner was scallops.

Wrote a review of Fame for mrcranky.com.

https://canadiancommonsense.blogspot.com/2018/01/fame.html

Went to an Introvert Meetup at the Tim Horton's near the Eglinton station. (I had a coconut cream doughnut.) I met a guy I remembered from the Writers Meetup.

September 29, 2009

Dreamed of doing a New York Times crossword puzzle where the answer to "Lowest beach in the world" was "Iqaluit desert"; visiting a park on the south shore of Brooklyn with a group of people; meeting actress Norma Shearer, whose photos I'd just been looking at online.

Dinner was spaghetti.

Doris: "Something wonderful is happening to me, Mama, I'm growing up!"--Fame (Did any real-life teenager ever say anything like that?)

Music teacher on electronic music: "That's not music, Martelli, it's masturbation!"--ibid.

"I bombed out there and you're talking about fucking pizzas?"

"I'm not talking about fucking pizzas, I'm talking about eating them."

--ibid.

Saw the DVD of Alan Parker's High School for the Performing Arts movie Fame, for the second time. It's terribly dated, like an After School Special cramped with R-rated cliches (e.g. boys peeking at girls undressing). When student Doris said "I don't know why I'm here," I didn't know either.

Went to the first Toronto City Opera rehearsal.  Barbara won't join us till December.  We did the chorus entrance from Cavalleria Rusticana and the part where Alfio arrives.

September 28, 2009

"An overstrained sense of manliness is the characteristic of seafaring men, or, rather, of life aboard ship"--Two Years Before the Mast

Dreamed of a gospel song "Count Your Heavens"; a combat-fatigued soldier seeing a shop and saying "Why buy things?"

I overslept and was late for my singing lesson.  There's one part of "Pieta, Rispetto, Amore" where I still don't have the melody learned. [I figured out that it was like the first two bars of the Christmas carol "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear."]

Dinner was steak.

At choir practice the pianist was playing a tune I recognized from silent movie scores which turned out to be Elgar's "Salut d'Amour."

September 27, 2009

Dreamed of comic strip hero Steve Canyon running for President; reflecting that in Dante's limbo you'd at least meet interesting people.

Went to a Games Meetup at the Yellow Griffin.  I played Puerto Rico and finished last. (All those building rounds where I was one doubloon short!)

Afterward I went to a DBE Meetup at the Jester.  There were only three people there.

Dinner was ham.

Moira recorded the Macbeth aria "Pieta, Respetto, Amore." (I remembered the title!) I had to bring down my study lamp so she could read the score with illumination.)