June 23, 2010

"Government is made of men, and men are made of vanity"--The Pallisers

    Dreamed about the post office in my hometown Sackville, N.B., and the area where we had a box; the movie The Reader (which I haven't seen and don't want to see).

    Toronto had a slight tremor, which I felt in my bedroom! (I thought it was Father and John working on the sun room below me...)

    Dinner was pork steak.

    Went to the Games Meetup.  I played Agricola and Ticket to Ride Europe. (I won the latter game narrowly.) My The Bay shopping bag burst open!

    Now that I've finished reading those comic strip reprints, I've resumed reading the Arts & Letters issue of Lapham's Quarterly.

June 22, 2010

"Anyhow, life isn't important."

"Not when it's somebody else's life..."

--Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

    Father and I went shopping for the first time in a while. (We got some ice since the freezer's icemaker hasn't been working.)

    Moira was cleaning the whole kitchen today.

    Went to see Dr. Ang again.  She prescribed me Robitussin and an antibiotic.

    Dinner was salmon.

    Saw Pandora and the Flying Dutchman at the Cinematheque.  James Mason and Ava Gardner had nice chemistry. (I got sleepy in the second half.)

June 21, 2010

    Dreamed of a miniature train coming out of the garage from our old house in Sackville, N.B., and going east through the back yard.

    Dinner was lasagna.

    Went out to finally see Kurosawa's Yojimbo at the Cinematheque, but in the end I decided I wasn't up to it and went home. (Oh well, it's on my zip.ca queue.)

    I think my persistent cough may be due to hay fever.

June 20, 2010

    Dreamed of Father asking if the TV series Mad Men had a character called Frederick.

    Went to a Games Meetup at the Ryserson student centre.  I played Bohnanza and Caylus, the latter for the first time. (I finished last with 42 points.) Moira's found me a big The Bay shopping bag that'll hold all my games!

    Dinner was roast chicken.

    Saw the DVD of the 1966 Dr. Who adventure "The War Machines," which was actually set in Swinging London! (It was broadcast at the same time as we were living in England.) I liked the scene at a nightspot called Inferno, and the thrown-in mod costume at the end.

June 19, 2010

"I really shouldn't be saying this, since you saved our lives, but killing people is a bad habit"--Sanjuro

"You disgust me!  Stupidity is dangerous"--ibid.

    Dreamed of a dog biting my hand and not letting go; a highbrow British magazine supplement focusing on Russian culture in the 20th century.

    Stayed in bed past 15:00!

    Dinner was Chinese food. (My fortune cookie warned me not to let people take advantage of me.)

    Saw Akira Kurosawa's samurai classic Sanjuro (for the second time) at the Cinematheque.  Toshiro Mifune Da Man!

June 18, 2010

    Dreamed of the actual Brian Keith sitcom The Little People; being naked outdoors, meeting a swarm of mosquitoes and getting stung.

    Dinner was the rest of the stew.

    Got through the Coro Verdi concert. (Father wasn't well enough to go.) I managed to stay standing for most of the show.

June 17, 2010

    Dreamed of driving along a new highway in Cape Breton; standing on the top of the car; passing through an Arab community.

    Slept around the clock.

    Dinner was stew.  

June 16, 2010

"This was but a mild adventure and it was necessary to kill only seven enemies in the way of business"--Prince Valiant

    Dreamed of describing the plot of Dickens' Little Dorritt; a non-existent window at the southeast corner of our old house in Sackville, N.B.

    Went to Dragon Lady Comics and bought an Ebay package of Rusty Riley strips from Barry King.  I also found a colour reprint of the first years of Prince Valiant!

    Dinner was spaghetti. (The sauce was too tomatoey for my taste, and later on Moira and I had a spat about it.)

    Went to the Coro Verdi dress rehearsal.  Hope I can make it to the concert Friday! (Too bad that Father can't.)

June 15, 2010

    Dreamed of going for a walk in my sock feet; climbing out of a mahnoe into the street and being slow to remove my second leg; reflecting that True Grit is one of those westerns that ends with a scene evoking home.

    Dinner was pork steak.

    Went to a Games Meetup at the Ryserson Hub.  We played Fiasco, an RPG in which we created characters in a Coen Brothers world 9here, a town in the Wild West). I was a land agent who salted mining claims and ended up running off to Alaska.  Larry brought some overcarbonated vanilla cream soda and when I opened the cap just a little it went all over the place!

    That game reminded me of creating scenarios in acting class.

June 14, 2010

    Dreamed of the actual TV show Tales of the Gold Monkey; French refugees in Britain during World War II; Bugs Bunny singint "The Camptown Races" in Mississippi Hare.

    Slept around the clock again.

    Father was also sick yesterday.  I think maybe there was something wrong with the McDonald's food we ate Saturday:  it didn't taste right to me.

    Dinner was KFC and foccaccia.

    The Coro Verdi did a mini-concert (a few folk songs) to accompany the opening of the Columbus Centre's Italian bookstore.  I got through that--had to sit through most of it--but I wasn't up to staying for the rehearsal afterward.

    After I got home, I was a bit sick again.

June 13, 2010

    Dreamed of being in a motel in Halifax; seeing a mouse scurrying along the floor.

    Went to a Games Meetup at the Foxes Den.  I played the European Ticket to Ride, where I managed to score negative points (epic fail!), and Agricola, where I think I'm slowly improving.

    Dinner was tortellini. (I didn't have much.

    Father's under the weather, which doesn't surprise me, considering how long he and John have kept up with rebuilding the sun room.

    Got sick in the evening. (Must have been a big phlegm buildup below.)

June 12, 2010

    Dreamed of having a big hole in my sock; early Madonna singles like "Crazy 4 You"; being in Halifax and not being sure what to do next; carrying a blanket through the streets.

    Went to Chris' place on Wychwood Avenue for a Games Meetup.  Chris, Felipe and I played a trading game called Acropolis. (In the end I scored better than expected.)

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    Saw the DVD of the 1970 true-crime B-movie The Honeymoon Killers.  Pretty creepy.

June 11, 2010

    Dreamed of African peanuts so plentiful that they were strewn over the ground; Christopher Hitchens' actual comment that when Congress "investigated" Iran-Contra they ignored the Iran aspect and the Contra aspect and focused on the hyphen!

    Dinner was roast chicken.

    Saw a DVD documentary about the ancient Iranian capital Persepolis.

    My tongue is yellow all over.

June 10, 2010

John Wesley Hardin: "Be glad you can hear me, Pat.  It means I haven't killed you."--Streets of Laredo

    Dinner was lasagna.

    Saw the DVD of the first part of the TV movie of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove sequel Streets of Laredo.  Not quite right, though Randy Quaid has a good cameo as notorious killer John Wesley Hardin. [James Garner was engaging, but he was no Captain Call.] Wes Studi has the sort of role Chief Dan George played in the 1970s.

June 9, 2010

    Dreamed of actor Trevor Howard; driving onto a beach covered in snow; shoving my fist into my hand.

    Stayed in bed past 14:00!

    Dinner was Arby's.

    Went to another Wednesday Games Meetup.  I played Puerto Rico, Ticket to Ride (my new game), and something called Tsuro.

    Of course, I was a long time getting to sleep. (I had to take a sleeping pill.)

June 8, 2010

    Dreamed of the James Joyce story "The Dead"; seeing Fort Beausejour, near my hometown Sackville, N.B., from a distance; the Jude the Obscure suicide note "We are too menny[sic]."

    Got my hair cut at the Hungarian place.  Then I returned those two scores to the Reference Library.

    Dinner was Wendy's. (I think I burnt my mouth.)

    Went to a Games Meetup at 401 Games, where we played Steam, a game about laying railway lines in northwestern Germany. (I finished last.)

    Afterward, I bought the Europe version of Ticket to Ride.  Then I went to Indigo Books in Eaton Centre and bought the reprint The Best of the Wizard of Id, which proved quite thin.

June 7, 2010

    Dreamed of the Quebec movie Kamouraska (which I haven't seen).

    John and Kathrine joined us for dinner (which was more Indian food).

    Managed to get through choir practice, but my voice still isn't back to normal.

     

June 6, 2010

"You know how some movies inspire you to make your own movie?  This one inspires me to make my own grave!"--Mystery Science Theater 3000

    Dreamed of visiting a zoo with a nook where exotic pants were grown because of the special sunlight; looking for Mother.

    Went to a Games Meetup nearby.  We met at Dutch Dreams. (I had a strawberry smoothie), then went to an apartment on Wychwood Avenue where I played Seafarers of Catan for the first time.  It's an interesting variation on Settlers of Catan.

    John came over for some more work, then stayed for dinner, which was vegan pizza.  I don't care for that, and I went out to KFC later.

    Saw the DVD of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-up Zombies.

June 5, 2010

   Dreamed of travelling westward in Quebec and figuring out the route to Montreal; wanting to sing lumberjack-type folk songs; theme parks with a series of animated mannequins.

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    Saw the Lewis Milestone version of Mutiny on the Bounty on TCM.  Marlon Brando's Fletcher Christian was incomprehensible.

June 4, 2010

Introductory title: "This is the story of the Unconquerable Fortress:  the American Home... 1943"--Since You Went Away

    Dreamed of being about to perform in a band at Mt. Allison University's Brunton Auditorium in my hometown Sackville, N.B., but my instrument disappearing; having the start of a beard but wanting to shave it before we went out for dinner (I've been shaving less with my cold); bringing our fresh vegetables to the restaurant where we were going to eat to add to our meal.

    Went shopping.

    Another afternoon nap. (I dreamed about C. Chaminade's Scarf Dance and my glasses' lenses being broken.)

    Dinner was frozen Indian food.

    Saw the DVD of Since You Went Away, the Selznick production about the U.S. home front during World War II.  Predictably shameless.

June 3, 2010

    Dreamed of the last episodes of Steve Canyon (which I hadn't read), with Steve's wife Summer wearing jodhpurs and riding boots.

    Then today I read the actual final Steve Canyon story ("The Princess"), reprinted in Comics Revue.  Summer wasn't in it, but there was a man in jodhpurs.

    Dinner was more pork chops (and a wide range of leftovers).

    Father and John have been working long hours on that sun room.  Tonight John and Kathrine came over and hauled off a huge amount of waste material. (And there's still a lot of work left.)

    I've started reading the last year of Menomonee Falls Gazette comic strip reprints now that my collection's complete.  First off is Rip Kirby.

June 2, 2010

    Last night my sleep was less fitful than the night before.  But I still feel worn out. (When I walk from one room to another, I end up sitting down for a while.)

    Went to see Dr. Ang again.  As I expected, I'll have to take iron pills again for a while.

    Phoned Giuseppe and stopped my singing lessons for now. (We can resume in the summer after his knee operation.) I'll be happy if I can make it through the Coro Verdi concert.

    Dinner was pork chops.

June 1, 2010

    Had a night of fitful sleep.  There was a lot of phlegm in my throat and it kept sneaking into my mouth and waking me.

    Headache!

    Skipped dinner again.  Funny that I don't feel hungry...

May 31, 2010

    Another lazy day.

    Father bought an underarm thermometer. (My temperature is just under one Celsius degree above normal.)

    Moira wonders if I have inflammation of the tonsils or even the vocal cords.

    John came over to do more work on the sun room and stayed for dinner, which was pizza. (I just had one slice.)

May 30, 2010

"Papitou has two great friends:  sun and freedom"--Siren of the Tropics

    Didn't do much of anything today. (I had two baths and an afternoon nap again.)

    I wasn't up to eating dinner. (The others had pancakes.)

    Saw the DVD of Siren of the Tropics, a French silent movie with Josephine Baker. (Luis Bunuel was an assistant director.) She was pretty vivacious.

May 29, 2010

    I was going to go on a couple of Open Doors-related Meetup walks this weekend, but I had to cancel because of my cold.

    I did go out to get my blood iron level tested. (They sent me to a clinic near the Bathurst station.)

    After I got home I had an afternoon nap. (I don't much feel like doing anything just now.)

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    The last two days I've taken a bath in the morning and a second one in the evening!

    Saw Pulp Cinema, a DVD of film noir trailers.  Some of those films I'd like to see (A Woman's Face, The Bribe), others I'd like to see again (Double Indemnity, The Maltese Falcon). The Witness for the Prosecution trailer makes it look like a turkey, but I recall it was pretty good.