May 22, 2011

Mae West: "You stick with me, dearie, and you'll be platinum blond!"--Night After Night

    Dreamed of the Beatles song "She's Leaving Home" (which I sang at karaoke last night); living an RPG about people going from the rural Deep South to Minneapolis; a cinema showing Ben-Hur with a soundtrack commentary like on a DVD.

    Dinner was lasagna and a recipe with lentils, spinach and couscous.

    Finished spading the garden.

    Started a DVD of early anvant-garde films involving dance.

    Saw the DVD of Night After Night, a gangster romance lucky enough to have Mae West in a supporting role. (You can have the rest of the movie...)

May 21, 2011

    Long time getting to sleep.

    Dreamed of visiting London briefly; "waking up" in a standing position; being unable to open my eyes.

    Baked whole wheat bread.

    Joined some of the Aspergers Meetup people for dinner at the Golden Griddle. (Evghenia organized it through Facebook.) I met Anthony, who's going to be baptized for the second time.  I had spaghetti and meatballs.

    Afterward I went to Bar Plus for a Karaoke Meetup, where we rented a room again.  I sang "Limbo Rock" for the first time.

    The world hasn't ended so far. [Some people were predicting the Rapture would take place on that day.]

May 20, 2011

Cary Grant: "I wish I could trust you."

Mae West: "Of course you can--thousands of men have!"

--I'm No Angel

    Dreamed of a non-existent Warner Brothers cartoon about animals in the luggage compartment of a train; a non-existent episode of Hogan's Heroes about a POW who was Colonel Hogan's cousin; extra scenes from Barry Lyndon involving money.

    Finally got a start on preparing the garden! (But it didn't last long, what with the rain.)

    Dinner was lamb stew.

    Saw the DVD of I'm No Angel.  Mae West was ahead of her time!

    Got sick in the evening. (I think it was the calamari from the Portuguese restaurant last night.)

May 19, 2011

    Dreamed of meeting a supermodel.

    Went to a Dining Meetup at the Portucale restaurant, just around the corner from this house.  We had a six-course Portuguese dinner, with soup, sardines, calamari, risotto and marinated pork. (I skipped the dessert.) It was pretty oily and salty. [But they were very friendly.  It closed a few months later.]

May 18, 2011

    Dreamed of getting a non-existent letter to the editor published in The New Yorker 20 years ago.

    Went shopping.

    Dinner was chili.

    Went to the Open Minds Cafe.  This time I didn't suggest any new subjects.

May 17, 2011

Homer: "Look at those idiots!  I paid my taxes a year ago"--The Simpsons

"Homer, you're like the son I never had!"

"And you're like the fathe I never visit!"

--ibid.

    Went to see an ear, nose & throat specialist at a clinic near Main Street station. (I've been having a slightly sore throat since last summer.) I seemed normal, but they'll give me a CT scan anyway.

    On the way back, I got two new tickets for the opera cinemacasts in July, to replace the ones that got misplaced.

    Dinner was sausages and mashed potatoes.

    Saw the DVD of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version of Ring of Terror.  Lots of jokes about the actors clearly being too old to play college students.

May 16, 2011

    Dreamed of actress Demi Moore in bondage.

    Baked white bread.

    David Kiang came to visit.  A retired Dalhousie math professor, he was one of Father's early students back in the 1950s. (He was babysitting at our house and left behind the Chinese novel Wandering Youth, which I've been translating in recent years.)

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    At choir practice we did most of the rest of Nabucco, except for the finale. (When we got to the Slave's Chorus it turned out it wasn't in the score copy we'd received, and we had to scramble for our older copy.)

May 15, 2011

Grandpa (getting a haircut): "No, the George Raft look is out.  I want Audie Murphy!"

--The Simpsons

    Dreamed of coming onto a game show; the MC saying that my job was dancing the bossa nova, and insisting that I dance with him.

    Saw Kelly Reichardt's western Meek's Cutoff at the Lightbox, the first time I've seen a movie there.  Pretty good, despite the elliptical ending. (I also looked at a Mary Pickford exhibit on display in the same building.)

    Dinner was roast chicken.

    Finished the DVD series America:  The Story of Us.  The last two episodes, dealing with the post-1945 era, were especially weak.  No mention of the Korean War or the Gulf Wars, and the Energy Crisis was only mentioned in passing!

May 14, 2011

Moe: "It's been four years since I had a date with a whatchamacallit?-- a woman."

The Simpsons

    Dreamed of joining Prince Andrew on a hike from Moncton to my hometown Sackville, N.B., through a forest path; sweat on my lower back; non-existent piano pieces that I didn't quite master.

    It turned out that the internet connection on the side of the house somehow got yanked off. (John came and fixed it in the morning.)

    Went to a Fair Vote rally in Queen's Park.  The speakers included Judy Rebick, Carolyn Bennett and William Molls.  Pretty good turnout considering the rain. (I also saw a demonstration by a group of Libyans.)

    John and Kathrine brought dinner over, which was vegan lasagna.

May 13, 2011

Child: "Psychiatrists are easy to fool"--Mad Men

    Dreamed of reflecting that the expression "One of the two or three most" bugs me. (You could just as well say "one of the three most" or "one of the most.")

    Dinner was the rest of the lasagna.

    Went to Mary's games night.  I played Alhambra and Say Anything.

    The internet connection is off!

May 12, 2011

"I'm not the solution to your problems.  I'm another problem"--Mad Men

"I don't want to believe it."

"So don't."

--Weeds

    Dreamed of visiting a public library in Brooklyn.

    Dinner was lasagna.

May 11, 2011

Young son: "Stop pretending to be a mother!"--Weeds

"Less talk, more eat!"--ibid.

    Dreamed of a western about a woman successfully investing in mines; a non-existent article in The New Yorker about the Unsinkable Molly Brown's husband (who didn't really reunite with her after the Titanic sinking--the musical ended with an audience-pleasing lie!).

    Went shopping.

    We ate out at Red Lobster, and Donald came with us.

    Headache!

May 10, 2011

"We can take the boat up the Hudson."

"I'll take the train--water doesn't agree with me!"

--She Done Him Wrong

"One of the finest women who ever walked the streets!"--ibid.

"He's the kind of man a woman has to marry to get rid of!"--ibid.

    Dreamed of reflecting that the neoliberal magazine The New Republic isn't worth the worms to eat it!

    Baked multigrain bread.

    Dinner was ham quiche.

    Went to the Toronto City Opera board's annual meeting (for the first time) at Barbara's house in the Annex.  We managed to make a profit!  Seems that our ticket sales vary with the size of the chorus. [A big chorus means lots of friends and relatives coming to see the show.]

    Saw the DVD of the Mae West vehicle She Done Him Wrong (for the second time).  I have a feeling some of the off-colour jokes went over my head.

May 9, 2011

"This country has a religion, and it's business"--Mad Men

    Dreamed of taking a music course in a place in the American west; missing a whole morning class because I'd taken a sleeping pill and overslept. [I'd just started taking sleeping pills in real life.]

    Went to see Dr. Ang, and after a long wait it turned out that last Monday's tests were unclear. (The heartscan turned out to be negative.)

    Dinner was the rest of the scalloped potatoes.

    At choir practice we basically just review everything we've learned in Nabucco. (There wasn't much time for learning new stuff.)

May 8, 2011

"I sent you some messages."

"And I ignored them.  That's my message to you."

--Mad Men

"You've crossed the line from lubricated into morose"--ibid.

    Dreamed of one of the lenses in my glasses being cracked and not fitting in its frame; reflecting on the tragedy of President Ulysses Grant being forced to abandon black civil rights at the end of Reconstruction; the Nik Kershaw song "Wouldn't It Be Good" (which I've never liked).

    I've lost my opera screening tickets! (Or rather, Moira misplaced them when she cleared my room without me asking her.  I'd known exactly where they were before.)

    Dinner was scalloped potatoes and ham.

May 7, 2011

    Dreamed of the song "Beyond the Sea."

    I've started using sleeping pills again.

    Went on an art walk on Queen Street.  We met at Analogue Gallery, where some actors performing in The 21st Annual Puttnam County Spelling Bee did a number for us. (They also did an audience participation thing, and I spelled the whaling slang word "caterjunes" correctly.) I left the walk early.

    Dinner was spaghettini.

    Had a games night with Nepeta's Fun & Boardgames group. (She's off meetup.com now.) We played The Amazeing Labyrinth, Ticket to Ride and a new Scrabble-like card game called Do I Have to Spell It Out For You? (It was pretty fun.)

May 5, 2011

Don Draper: "I come from the Midwest.  People there are taught that it's rude to talk about yourself"--Mad Men

"It was all going great, until it wasn't"--ibid.

    Dreamed of a non-existent story in the comic strip Mary Perkins on Stage set in rural Canada and culminating in a barn being set on fire; the scene in the Fiddler on the Roof movie where the Fiddler comes down to the ground.

    Dinner was roast chicken.

    Went to Blockbuster and rented the DVD of the first episodes of the fourth season of Mad Men.

May 4, 2011

"Dan is the only man I know who had the guts not to commit suicide"--The High and the Mighty

Drug cartel man: "Either you eat the bear, or the bear eats you"--Weeds

    Dreamed of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone"; a strategic game involving a civil war in the region of Angola; recalling the actual workplace comic strip Lolly (from the 1960s and 1970s), where my favourite character was the boss' tipsy son Junior.

    Went shopping.

    Dinner was sausage and mashed potatoes.

    Saw the DVD of William Wellman's The High and the Mighty.  Entertaining '50s hokum with John Wayne in his element.

May 3, 2011

"Insignificant molehill sometime more important than conspicuous mountain"--Charlie Chan in Egypt

    Dreamed of the western High Noon; reflecting that the townspeople balked at supporting Gary Cooper because the plot required them to; the TV show The Sopranos.

    Poor Michael Ignatieff!  He even lost his own seat. (The NDP should set up a coalition with the Liberals and Greens.)

    Dinner was fettucine alfredo (which I cooked).

    Saw the DVD of Charlie Chan in Egypt.  I always liked Warner Oland in that role. [Rita Cansino later became Rita Hayworth!]

May 2, 2011

"Hope for sun, get ready for rain"--Weeds

    Dreamed of a murder mystery set in Shanghai's International Settlement; a square couch with an ad promoting a breed of apple.

    Voted [in Canada's federal election] early in the afternoon.  I thought my health card would be enough, but I had to go back and bring a bank statement with my address on it.

    Went to a clinic near College & Euclid and got an abdominal ultrasound and a chest X-ray.  All the doctors there seem to be Chinese.

    Dinner was pork steak.

    At choir practice I told Giuseppe I was putting my singing lessons on hiatus for now.

May 1, 2011

"You shouldn't be here."
"That's not what you said last night."

--Troy

    Dreamed of visiting the junior high school in my hometown Sackville, N.B., with Moira; telling her "I'll never be doing lab experiments in there again."

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    Saw the DVD of Wolfgang Petersen's Troy.  A pretty intelligent script, though I wish the Achilles-Briseis relationship had been fleshed out a bit more.

April 30, 2011

"The only way to inner peace is by sticking"--American History X

    Went to the clinic at St. Clair & Bathurst and gave them a urine sample. (No doubt they want to see if my kidney's causing the trouble.)

    Dinner was lobster rolls.

    Saw the DVD of Tony Kaye's pretty disturbing American History X.  Could have used fewer arty touches (like slow motion and choral music).

April 29, 2011

    Dreamed of having a penis swollen to the thickness of a wrist; being on a plane taking off from a moving ship.

    Phoned Giuseppe and cancelled next week's singing lesson. (My energy level is low.)

    Went to see Dr. Ang again.  This time she was in, though I had to wait a couple of hours.  She arranged for me to get an X-ray and ultrasound.

    Dinner was spaghetti and riceballs.

    Saw the video of Jamboree, a 1950s rock & roll movie featuring performers from Count Basie to Silm Whitman, with cameos by DJs like Dick Clark. (Too bad about the dorky romance in the foreground.)

April 28, 2011

Matt Helm: "Shouldn't we be introduced first?"

Babe: "You're Matt Helm."

"That's good enough for me!"

--The Silencers

    Baked raisin bread.

    Tried to go see Dr. Ang about my "stitch," but she isn't in on Thursdays.

    Did some more campaign leafletting along Arlington and Rushton streets, which I'd planned to do two days ago.

    I was late getting home for dinner, which was fish.

    In the evening I finished the area west of Christie Street. (We need a new doorbell!  I forgot my house key, and when I came home I rang five times, but they only heard me when I banged on the door!)

    Saw Phil Karlson's The Silencers, the first of the secret agent series featuring Matt Helm.  A languid spoof of James Bond with an emphasis on the drinking and womanizing, it's very much a Dean Martin vehicle.  What a 1960s artifact!

April 27, 2011

    Dreamed of getting published in a periodical; a murder scandal involving a wealthy Edwardian widow that was made into a silent movie.

    Got another blood test at the Bloor & Bathurst clinic (for the haematologist).

    Dinner was salmon.

    I've had a "stitch" in my side since yesterday evening.

    At choir practice we're now concentrating on Nabucco.  A Canadian Opera Company chorus baritone came and gave us a lift.

    We've now finished the Peyton Place episodes they released on DVD. (Hope they release some more!  Mother really enjoys it.)

April 26, 2011

"Rodney the Righteous, armored in ignorance and spoiling for a fight!"--Peyton Place

    Dreamed of seeing skyscrapers blow up; starting to write about someone starting a worldwide trade network; York University campus with new train connections.

    Went shopping.

    Dinner was more turkey pie.

    Headache.

    Saw a DVD of The Queen and the Skipper, a CBC Canadian Experience documentary about the Bluenose.

    Once again, I went to bed early, then woke up for several hours in the middle of the night.

April 25, 2011

    Dreamed of a movie comedy about a bunch of slobs in college.

    At today's singing lesson Giuseppe was going to lend me a book about Verdi for Moira but I forgot to ask for it.

    Dinner was turkey pie.

April 24, 2011

    Dreamed of Flash Gordon being on a train on a path that seemed to be circular (like in Hanna-Barbera cartoons).

    Went to a Games Meetup at the Yellow Griffin.  I played a new game called Factory Manager, a spinoff from Power Grid.  Then I played Ticket to Ride.

    Donald came over for dinner, which was turkey.

    Felt sleepy after dinner and napped for three hours.

April 23, 2011

"Whatever you write just remember that once, I was your good friend."

"I remember that once, Lucifer was an angel."

--Peyton Place

    Dreamed of a letter to an advice columnist from a man whose sister-in-law was obsessed with expensive learning (from a reprint of decades-old advice columns).

    The weather's warmer, and I went out and dropped NDP campaign leaflets in my neighborhood.  People were saying things like "Give Layton a chance."

    Dinner was ham.

    Saw the DVD of Beyond the Prairie, a TV movie about the "true" story of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House books.  It wasn't very good.

April 22, 2011

"Your religion is bullshit.  It's just another excuse for people to fuck around!"--Big Love

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm eating cereal."

--Weeds

"Try not to look homeless"--ibid.

    Dreamed of the movie A Clockwork Orange; the comic strip Steve Canyon.

    Dinner was chicken and rice.

    The Coro Verdi performed The Seven Last Words of Christ at the Blythwood Baptist church. (It's in the same area where we rented a Lytton Boulevard house for about six months back in 1982.) Giovanni and John George made sure I had a stool to sit on for much of the concert.

    I've started a new Facebook game called Superhero City, which is said to be addictive.

April 21, 2011

"It's Fruit Loops time!"--Big Love

"My cope bin is full, do you hear?  Full!"--ibid.

"Don't talk to me about love.  It only opens you up to hurt"--ibid.

"I wish you wouldn't make 'killing her' sound so much like killing her!"--Weeds

    Baked whole wheat bread.

    Father and I went to see Dr. Hassan.  We discussed how I should go about getting into the Ontario disability Support Program. [I only noticed how tall my shrink was when he was next to my father.]

    Dinner was lasagna.

April 20, 2011

To a customs inspector at the U.S.-Mexico border: "You think there's a tiny little immigrant inside my lipstick?"--Weeds

    Dreamed of taking a date to see a movie in the morning at a non-existent cinema just east of the actual Vogue Cinema in my hometown Sackville, N.B.; seeing an airplane in Cape Breton skirt the horizon in a complete circle and crash-land; rushing to give first aid.

    Went to see Dr. Ang.  They're going to send me to a haematologist!

    Finally did my taxes. (None to pay again this year.)

    Dinner was pork chops.

    Went to the Open Minds Cafe.  I suggested the topics "Who are your heroes?" and "What are your favourite TV shows?" but few people seem interested in what I suggest.

April 19, 2011

    Dreamed of coming to rehearse for a recital but not knowing what I was going to sing; the Donizetti aria "Una Furtiva Lagrima."

    Went canvassing with William in the Wychwood & Louise area.  People seemed receptive.  There were several Jewish residents and we had to be careful about disturbing Passover. (One said she couldn't vote NDP because we're anti-Israel.)

    Dinner was vegetable stew.

    We dress-rehearsed our Easter concert at Blythwood Baptist Church.  I'd been walking so much that I had to sit for much of the rehearsal!

April 18, 2011

    Dreamed of a school quiz where the questions were so cryptic that nobody could answer them; the British heist comedy The Ladykillers.

    At today's singing lesson Giuseppe was complaining about singing teachers who don't know the repertoire.

    Dinner was boneless chicken with the rest of the Indian food.

    At choir practice we learned a difficult part of Nabucco.

April 17, 2011

"Behind every man is an exhausted woman"--Big Love

"I don't care if you're Minnie the Moocher!"--ibid.

    Dreamed of a movie about Batman's origins with a rural setting full of bright sunshine, and the hero surviving a summary execution of all his brothers.

    Went to a Walking Meetup. (Felice has taken over from Anita as organizer.) We visited Allen Gardens, then walked to City Hall and Easter Around the World, where a dozen ethnic groups were selling Easter food!  If I'd stayed to 16:00, I could have got a lot for free.

    Snow on Palm Sunday!

    Dinner was more of the Indian food.

April 16, 2011

"There's no law against crazy"--Big Love

    Dreamed of visiting Halifax; singing "Danny Boy" on a train and impressing the other passengers.

    Went to a volunteers' party at the NDP campaign office. (Ron Grant says I'm his good luck charm.) I had a chance to go canvassing with William Molls but it was too rainy for me:  when I got home I had to change my wet pants.

    John and Family came over for dinner, which was Indian food.

    In the online game Kingdoms of Camelot, I've started my fourth city.  I'm now a High Prince at the highest level (60), and my cities are called Camford, Strathkirk, Dartbridge and Oxpool.

April 15, 2011

"Another day, another revelation"--Big Love

    Dreamed of a non-existent 1979 movie with nonstop action and an English villainess; both of my eyeglasses lenses falling out of their frame and getting chipped; trying to remember the second verse of "Danny Boy"; meeting one of the new owners of our old house in Sackville, N.B.; telling her how I often dreamed about it and felt I was invading their privacy!

    I've been watching a DVD of first episodes of Saturday morning TV series produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. [One of them died just a few days ago.] I remember watching H.R. Pufnstuf and Lidsville at the time.  They must have smoked some high-grade dope!

    Baked rye bread.

    Dinner was more pork and rice (and the rest of the lasagna).

April 14, 2011

"Why's he in the freezer?"

"Because he's dead."

--Big Love

"I don't want to hurt you.  I just want to kill you"--ibid.

    In the morning Father drove me to the endoscopy clinic north of Keele & Sheppard for my endoscopy. (He had to cancel a medical appointment of his own, which wasn't as urgent.)

    I went through the procedure 14 years ago, and got to see inside my bowels. (It looked like a triangular prism, as in a Toblerone box, but flexible like a hose.) This time they gave me a sedative strong enough to knock me out through the whole procedure, and leave me groggy afterward.  When I got home I slept for almost three hours.

    Dinner was pork and rice.

    Saw the DVD of the first episode of the Niall Ferguson documentary series of The Ascent of Money.

    Then I got the DVD for the first episode of the latest season of Big Love.  I don't know why they changed that great opening credits sequence!

April 13, 2011

Homer Simpson: "Homer no function without beer well"--The Simpsons

    Dreamed of staying a while in Halifax instead of our old home in Sackville, N.B.; telling Mother I was glad of the decision (despite early uncertainty).

    Fasted all day (except for some Jell-O) to prepare for tomorrow's test.  I also drank the diarrhea potion in two hours instead of four.  I'm surprised how little I miss eating...

April 12, 2011

Chief Wiggum: "Sure, we'll help you.  Just sit down and wait here for Detective Likeigiveadamn!"--The Simpsons

"You wrecked Hitler's car!  What did he ever do to you?"--ibid.

    Dreamed of the Anne Murray song "Snowbird"; the George Michael song "Careless Whisper" (someone was singing it at karaoke the other night); a non-existent relative called Aunt Hatfield.

    Dinner was spaghetti.

April 11, 2011

    Dreamed of wondering how to write a novel to show people what the 1920s was really like.

    At today's singing lesson I was still feeling dizzy.  Giuseppe's really curious about my medical treatment.

    Went to see Dr. Ang again.  It turns out my haemoglobin level has dropped sharply.  There'll be more tests, including a colonoscopy on Thursday.  The heartscan results still aren't in. (Funny, I thought that would come quicker than the blood test results...)

    Dinner was spaghetti.

    At choir practice we did some of Verdi's Nabucco. (The others started it last week, so I had some catching up to do.)

    In the online game Kings of Camelot there's been another merger and I'm now in the Thundering Dragons alliance.

April 10, 2011

Suspicious wife: "Have a good time."

Terry-Thomas: "I am not going to have a good time!"

--The Naked Truth

Homer (watching the musical western Paint Your Wagon): "They're singing, Marge.  Why aren't they killing each other?"

--The Simpsons

Sideshow Mel: "You only live once!"

Apu: "Speak for yourself."

--ibid.

    Dreamed of a Spider-Man movie sequel where a man made his daughter into a honey trap to catch the hero; dropping a pencil on the sidewalk and picking up several more; rolling a stolen manhole cover a short distance.

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    Saw the DVD of The Naked Truth, a rather vulgar British farce about blackmail by a tabloid publisher.  Peter Sellers has some brilliant moments.

April 9, 2011

"If language is what makes us human, it is languages that make us superhuman"--preface, Empire of the Word

    Dreamed of meeting Anthony Hopkins in London; hearing a long-winded speech from him about being Brad Pitt's mentor and being delayed on the way to the airport; joining a Meetup-type group that was going to grow crops.

    Went to the NDP campaign office and got a sign to put up on the lawn.

    Dinner was roast pork.

    Finished the book about Scottish-Canadians and started reading Nicholas Ostler's Empire of the Word:  A Language History of the World.  Looks fascinating.

    Went to a Kaaoke Meetup at Bar Plus.  I sang the duet "I Got You, Babe" with a woman.

April 8, 2011

    Dreamed of walking through a park near the Pacific coast with fast-changing weather; lying on the ground naked with a thin layer of powdery snow.

    Headache!

    Baked multigrain bread.

    I've found out where the NDP campaign office is (the old place on Vaughan Road), but it isn't open yet.

    Dinner was pork steak.

    Went to Mary's games night.  I played Agricola and scored 29 points (personal best!).  Then I played a new game called Say Anything (finished last).  A woman in a purple dress provided some good cupcakes.

    In the online game Glory of Rome I've joined a new alliance called Bharatiya. (My old alliance was moribund.) The other members are largely East Indian.

April 7, 2011

Ned Flanders: "Science is like the blabbermouth who ruins the movie by telling you how it ends"--The Simpsons

Homer: "Trying is the first step to failure"--ibid.

    Dreamed of the Laurence Olivier movie of the Harold Robbins potboiler The Betsy (which I haven't seen); saying how much I liked the Gary Cooper Quaker movie The Friendly Persuasion. [IMHO it's better than his High Noon.]

    Went to the clinic near Bathurst station and did a blood sample and a heart test.

    Dinner was undercooked salmon.

    Wanted to visit the NDP campaign office, but I couldn't find the place.

    I tried to practice all my songs for the first time since June, but I wasn't quite up to it.

April 6, 2011

"If you ask me, a cross that big is for a Lord with a tiny dick!"--Weeds

    Saw a DVD in a series of early avant-garde films, devoted to amateur auteurs (i.e. home movies). It included a film showing Chaim Gross carving a big wooden sculpture of a woman's head.

    Dinner was goulash fettucine (which I cooked).

    Went to the Wednesday Games Meetup for the first time in months.  I RSVPed that I was going, then decided I didn't have the time.  But we had to have dinner early (Father had an appointment to replace a dental filling), so I decided to go after all.  Then I couldn't find my Metropass so it looked like I couldn't go anyway, but it soon turned up.

    I played Smallworld--where my races were bivouacking trolls, forest elves and flying wizards-- and a new game called Castle Ravencroft.  It's a board game in the style of a D&D campaign, and I was a ranger human.

April 5, 2011

"I like to see you cry.  Men like to see women cry, it makes them feel superior"--The Spiral Staircase

"Doug, we need a word."

"OK, how about 'Die'?"

--Weeds

    Yesterday I was telling Giuseppe, my singing teacher, about how Velazquez' Rokeby Venus painting got slashed by a suffragette a century ago. [She didn't like how men were leering at it.] And now it turns out that some madwoman attacked a Gauguin in a Washington gallery! [It was "Two Tahitian Women" at the National Gallery, but she was stopped by its plexiglass cover.]

    Went shopping.

    Dinner was shrimp linguini.

    Saw the DVD of Robert Siodmak's thriller The Spiral Staircase.  Pretty scary. (I had to see most of the last third a second time because George Brent's voice made me sleepy!)

    I remembered the doctor in The Spiral Staircase [Kent Smith] from some role where he was older, and it turned out I was thinking of his role (also a doctor) in the TV series of Peyton Place.

April 4, 2011

    Had another singing lesson. (Again I quit a bit early because of dizziness.) It snowed last night so I wore my fall coat, but by afternoon it was mild again!

    Dinner was sausage and mashed potatoes.

    Skipped choir practice to attend the St. Paul's riding's NDP nomination meeting. (The nominee looks a bit preppy.)

    Saw the DVD of "Influenza 1918," a PBS American Experience documentary about the epidemic at the end of the Great War.

April 3, 2011

    Dreamed of going to a second-rate Al Pacino movie in Halifax, N.S.; sleeping in a non-existent woodshed near our old house in Sackville, N.B.; thinking "J'aime la Canada."

    Didn't do much today. (I still have a headache.)

    Dinner was fish.

April 2, 2011

Actor playing Hitler (improvising): Heil myself"--To Be or Not to Be

    Dreamed of the cottage near our old home in Sackville, N.B., being about to be moved to a new location.

    Brought out my spring jacket.

    Went on a Queen Street art walk.  I suggested to Betty Anne doing a similar walk along St. Clair Avenue West near my neighbourhood, and now it looks like we're going to organize one together. [It didn't materialize.]

    Dinner was ravioli.

    Saw the DVD of Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be (for the third time).  It's really funny, especially Sig Ruman as the Gestapo commander!

April 1, 2011

    Moira had lunch with Puitak and Gordon at the Little India restaurant.  First I visited their new Simcoe Street apartment for the first time.

    Then I went to see Dr. Ang about my dizzy spells.  First I had to wait two and a half hours!

    Dinner was lobster rolls.

    Baked cheese bread.

March 31, 2011

    Went shopping.

    Dinner was roast chicken.

    I was going to see some Mary Pickford movies at the silent film festival, but I had a headache.

    We saw another episode from that series about days that changed America (this one was about Shay's Rebellion), but I dozed off at times.

March 30, 2011

    Dreamed of Bart Simpson making a friend at a workplace; visiting a location where the Libyan movie Lion of the Desert was filmed.

    Saw the cinemacast of a Royal Opera production of Carmen at the Empress Walk in 3-D, which didn't add much:  it was substantially the same production I attended in person in London three years ago, and you can't improve on that!  Anyway, my glasses frame lost its bolt during the intermission and I watched the rest with naked eye. (This reminded me of my acid test for opera direction:  without the subtitles, would you still know what's going on?) Glad I know the opera well.

    On the way back, I stopped at Hakim Optical and they gave me a new bolt for free, which was pretty nice of them considering that you can find those tiny bolts just anywhere!

    Dinner was tuna casserole.

March 29, 2011

On hearing the news that war has broken out:

"There's no reason to be afraid.  The nation is right behind our Fuhrer!"

"Yes, but how far behind?"

--Night Train to Munich

Caldecott: "A crook wouldn't play for the gentleman."

Charters: "Raffles did."

--ibid.

    Headache!

    Dinner was pork steak.

    Saw the DVD of Carol Reed's World War II spy thriller Night Train to Munich.  War movies can be pretty shameless!  Moira's right about Rex Harrison:  he is annoying, especially when he "sings." (Did he actually win an Oscar for My Fair Lady?) The best part was Charters and Caldicott, thrown in from The Lady Vanishes.