September 24, 2011

    Dreamed of changing my shirt on a bus.

    Dinner was scallops.

    Started playing a Disney game called Gnometown. (I have a soft spot for these kiddie games!)

September 23, 2011

"Why do we live in a town where the smart people have no power and the stupid people rule everything?  Maybe I should just move back to Alabama!"--The Simpsons

 Dreamed of the 1970s horror movie The House on Skull Mountain (which I've never seen).

    Father was finally up to shopping.

    Dinner was frozen Indian food.

September 22, 2011

Phyllis: "It's hard to explain to people who haven't reproduced"--The Mary Tyler Moore Show

    Dreamed of a group of romantics travelling through England in the late 18th century and being given pyrotechnic rockets by their admirers.

    Dinner was butter chicken.

September 21, 2011

    Dreamed of living in Fredericton with a group of graduate students; spotting actor Danny Aiello when he was young, in a 1970s TV show about beach bums.

    Dinner was pizza.

    I missed the first Toronto City Opera rehearsal last night (they started earlier this year), but I was sick anyway.  I can't register online because all the places are (just officially) taken.

September 20, 2011

"Wonderful news, Homer!"

"Does it involve pies?"

--The Simpsons

Lou Grant (watching TV): "Is there anything real on?  Like a western?"

--The Mary Tyler Moore Show

    Dreamed of driving toward a hellish-looking Chinese industrial area at night; a real-life version of the Acme freezer on Wile E. Coyote's back which ground ice cubes and sprayed them forth as snow for him to ski on.

    Went to St. Mike's for another appointment with Dr. Scholzberg the haematologist.  There was lots of waiting and I had a book, but my cold has me so worn out that I didn't feel like reading!

    Went to Tilley's and got a new spring-autumn hat.

    Dinner was pork roast.

September 19, 2011

"I don't want to marry her, she's my friend!"--The Lion King

    Dreamed of waking up in our old home in Sackville, N.B., and realizing I was an intruder.

    I've started playing the online Zynga game Adventure World.  It's pretty easy so far.

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    Saw Disney's The Lion King (for the first time) at the Yonge & Dundas, in 3-D.  It's pretty good, an efficient story handsomely drawn and well voiced.

    Finally activated my new Visa card. (It was misplaced earlier, but we managed to find it.)

September 18, 2011

"What do you want?"

"I want nothing!"

"Which is precisely what you have."

--Tom and Viv

    Dreamed of telling someone living in the 1930s that W.H. Auden would call this period "a lowdown, dishonest decade"; the movie Peggy Sue Got Married.

    Father has a cold and now Moira and I have caught it! (Like in Contagion, which I saw yesterday.) I was going to attend a Games Meetup but wasn't up to it.

    Dinner was KFC.

    Saw the DVD of Tom and Viv.  T.S. Eliot (a miscast Willem Dafoe) came across as a cold fish.

September 17, 2011

    Went to another Heritage Walk, around the University of Toronto campus with an emphasis on astronomy. (At the start we were near a noisy football game in Varsity Stadium.)

    Dinner was linguini primavera.

    Went to a Karaoke Meetup at Twister.  I got brave enough to sing Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On"!

September 16, 2011

G-man to blogger: "If I could throw your computer in jail, I would"--Contagion

"I can handle other people; it's me I'm worried about"--Murder One

    Dreamed of trying to bicycle home from Cape Breton.

    Baked raisin bread.

    Got some literature at the NDP campaign office and distributed it in my poll division.

    Dinner was butter chicken (using sauce we found in the supermarket).

    Saw Steven Soderbergh's Contagion at the Yonge & Dundas. (A couple next to me talked too much.) Fairly predictable middlebrow fare, though with intelligent touches.  Jude Law is cool.

September 15, 2011

"I understand you."

"No, you don't.  And don't patronize me!"

--Murder One

    Visited my shrink Dr. Hassan.  He's written a book titled The Little Grammarian!

    Dinner was roast chicken.

September 14, 2001

    I've started reading the food issue of Lapham's Quarterly.

    Tried to find the Ontario Disability Support Payments office, but I was looking on Lawrence Avenue when it was on Sheppard Avenue!

    Dinner was African stew (with kale from our garden!).

September 13, 2011

"You know, I'm always hoping that those news copters outside will crash into each other.  Does that make me a bad person?"--Murder One

    Dreamed of a non-existent scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy gets a beating while the Wicked Witch cackles.

    I've started playing the computer game Angry Birds on the Google Plus website.

    Went to Scotiabank and found out what it'll take to transfer my GIC to Moira's ownership.

    Dinner was shepherd's pie.

    Saw the DVD of the first episode of Murder One.  Some sharp writing.

    We got a DVD of Hitchcock's Young and Innocent, which I'd seen recently so I just watched the version with soundtrack commentary.

September 12, 2011

Popeye (after beating up a hostile crowd): "I hated to do that, but it was easier than explainin' that I come as a fren'."

    Dreamed of the actual New York Times headline "Francis Fukuyama answers his critics"; noticing that the Times would never run the headline "Noam Chomsky answers his critics."

    John and Kathrine brough over dinner (vegan lasagna). Afterward I sneaked out to McDonald's.

    Finally finished Daniel Boorstin's The Creators.  It was quite enjoyable, despite some frustrating gaps. (For example, there's little about painting between the Renaissance and the Impressionists.)

    Started reading a new volume of Popeye reprints.

September 11, 2011

Defiant son to father: "It's your house.  You can throw me out whenever you want!"--The Tree of Life

    Went on a Heritage Walk around the Casa Loma neighborhood.  The number attending was quite big.

    Afterward I visited the St. Paul's NDP campaign office. (William Molls, the federal candidate earlier this year, is managing David Haynes' provincial campaign.) I missed the party to open the office, but I did pick up a lawn sign.

    Dinner was lobster rolls.

    Saw Terence Malick's sententious, unconventional The Tree of Life at the Revue.  I'm of two minds about it:  it's like doing a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing!

September 10, 2011

Martin (to Frasier in his bathrobe): "Shut the barn door, there's a lady present!"--Frasier

    Dreamed of leaving for a tour of Russia, visiting islands in the south Pacific; forgetting my own birthday!

    Dinner was Chinese food.

    Went to a Karaoke Meetup at Barplus.  Big group!

September 9, 2011

    Baked multigrain bread.

    I've decided to just give my trust money to Moira with no legal formalities. (She's willing to return it in her will.)

    Dinner was the rest of the fettucine.

    Went to Mary's games night.  I only played one game,  Balderdash (the version with several categories), in which I tied for first!

September 8, 2011

Frasier: "You're a good brother, and a credit to the psychiatric profession."

Niles: "You're a good brother."

--Frasier

    On Monday night I saw the DVD documentary An American Journey:  In Robert Frank's Footsteps, about Frenchman Philippe Seclier Frank's 1958 journey as he took photos for The Americans.  When I took it to the mailbox afterward, I saw a truly grandiose sunset!

    Yesterday I got my hair cut.

    I've started watching the second-last season of Mission:  Impossible (which I watched at the time) on DVD.

    Dinner was fettucine alfredo, which I cooked. (This time, to be different, I added some cream to the alfredo sauce.)

    Saw the DVD of the first episodes of Frasier.  I've seen them before, but it's still really funny.

September 5, 2011

    Dreamed of seeing an English church that raised a record amount of money selling flowers in World War II.

    Dinner was roast beef, somewhat undercooked. (I got a bit sick in the evening.)

    Saw the DVD of Fuel, a docummentary about a guy promoting ecofriendly biofuels.

September 4, 2011

    Dreamed of getting a new watch. (I need a new one.)

    Went to a Games Meetup at Jeffrey's house.  I played Incan Gold (won by one point!) and two new auction-type games called For Sale and Medici (finished last in both).

    Donald came over for dinner, which was Indian food.

September 3, 2011

    Saw the last Harry Potter movie at the Revue.  I liked the quieter non-action scenes best. (Those goblins were pretty cool.)

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    Saw the DVD of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical The Barkleys of Broadway.  Pretty mild.

September 2, 2011

    Dreamed of the movie Kramer vs. Kramer (which I've seen); reflecting that whether you like that movie depends on whther you like Dustin Hoffman (true enough).

    Dinner was teriyaki chicken.

    Father went to Orchard Home Farms (without me this time) and brought back a nice bag of Gravensteins.

    Baked rye bread overnight.

September 1, 2011

President Clinton (romancing Marge): "You may feel that you aren't good enough for me, but I'm telling you right here--you are!"--The Simpsons

    Dreamed of a record album of war-related music; the Slade song "Run, Run Away."

    Went to the Canadian National Exhibition with the Asperger's Meetup group.  My lunch was Indian food.  Afterward I got a Midway pass. (My favourite ride is the bumper cars, of course.)

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    I was going to meet Carita in Dufferin Grove Park for the Musical Run-Through Meetup.  But I waited an hour and didn't meet her.

    Saw the DVD of the Errol Flynn movie The Dawn Patrol.  It's a bit stagey, but less gung ho than most air force movies.

August 31, 2011

    Went shopping.

    Finished my online application to Ontario Disability Support Payments, but it looks like I'll have to go there in person (to an address near Lawrence station).

    Went to Sheppard Grande and bought my tickets to the Met opera cinemacasts.  The first screening of La Traviata is in April, but it's already sold out!

    Dinner was sausage and mashed potatoes.

    Joined the Classical Music Meetup to see Mary Poppins yet again at the park next to Roy Thomson Hall.

August 30, 2011

Phyllis: "Rhoda, you're going to hear something that has to be said!... Mary?"--The Mary Tyler Moore Show

    Dreamed of the South Pacific song "Younger Than Springtime."

    Dinner was vegetable stew. (I sneaked out to Harvey's afterward.)

August 29, 2011

Boarding school survivor: "People wonder how Hitler got millions of followers.  I never have"--Flirting

    Dreamed of fooling with a jigsaw puzzle only to find that it was two puzzles (the same picture with different cuts); the actual Casablanca line 

"If that plane takes off and you're not on it, you'll regret it.  Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life"; 

thinking that she would have regretted it.

    Dinner was teriyaki chicken (and another apple pie Moira baked).

    Saw the DVD of John Duigan's Flirting, an appealing story of romance at Australian boarding schools.

    Headache!

August 28, 2011

"Doctor, that patient's a prisoner of war!"

"So are you, sweetheart, you just don't know it yet."

--M*A*S*H

    Dreamed of the actual quote that British soldiers in World War I were "lions led by donkeys"; a tape recording of a Latin lesson.

    Saw Robert Altman's movie of M*A*S*H (for the third time, but the first on a big screen) at the Scotiabank with the Movie Meetup group.  It's one of the only movies to capture the craziness that's part of war, but it's pretty dated. (The scene where a showering Hot Lips gets exposed to the whole base is cruel and unfunny.)

    Dinner was the rest of the Indian food we had yesterday.

    Went to a Classical Music Meetup at the Mad Bean Coffee House.  A violin maker and a violin player talked about violins.

August 26, 2011

    Dreamed of composing a painting of Spartacus describing Mount Everest to a group of slaves.

    Baked whole wheat bread.

    Went to Beguiling in Mirvish Village and bought some comic strip reprints, including the first years of Rip Kirby (the coolest guy in the world when I was 11 or 12!).

    Dinner was spaghetti.

August 25, 2011

    Went shopping.

    Dinner was salmon.

    Went on a Queen Street art walk and visited a couple of galleries and a boutique called Art 47.

    Got my new iron pills at Shoppers Drug Mart.

August 24, 2011

    I was going to meet the Asperger's group for lunch at Chipotle, but I couldn't find them.

    John and Kathrine brought dinner over.  Once again, I sneaked out to KFC afterward.

    Posted a YouTube clip of Danny Kaye singing "Inchworm" in Hans Christian Andersen, on the Asperger group's Facebook page. (The song reminds me of Asperger's Syndrome.)

August 23, 2011

    Yesterday I went to a welfare office near Yonge & Eglinton and they gave me a phone number to call to start the process of getting onto Ontario Disability Support Payments. [I have Asperger's Syndrome.]

    Today I had my appointment with Dr. Scholzberg, the haematologist at St. Michael's Hospital. (I was late, but still ended up cooling my heels for a while.) She prescribed a new kind of iron pill for me.

    Dinner was roast pork. (Moira baked a pie with some of the apples we picked last week.)

August 21, 2011

    Went to a Classical Music Meetup event:  a chamber music concert at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.  The group performed string quartets by Mozart and Dvorak.  The weather started out fine, but during the intermission we hurried from the outdoor marquee to an indoor chapel, and barely escaped a downpour complete with thunder!

    The rain largely ended before the concert did, so we made a pilgrimage to pianist Glenn Gould's grave. (The cemetery people drove us there in a couple of CNE-like minibuses.) We saw a deer in a wooded area!  I'd borrowed an illustrated guide to the place from the library, but didn't get around to doing much exploring.

    Dinner was African stew.

    In the Kingdoms of Camelot computer game, the leader of our alliance has set up a city for collecting resources, so I've started sending my huge reserves there.

August 20, 2011

    Dreamed of living with some horrid people and having to move out.

    Went to a Games Meetup in High Park. (I met Evgenia and a friend there and they joined us for some of the games.) I played Apples to Apples, and two new games called That's Life and Show Manager.

    Dinner was the rest of the corn.

    I've started the Frontierville spinoff computer game Pioneer Trail.  Still not sure whether I'll persist with it...

    Saw a DVD documentary about 20th Century Fox movies. (None of Joan Collins' early roles.)

August 19, 2011

    Today we did go to Orchard Home Farm, but the Gravenstein apples won't be ripe for another ten days.  We did get some Ginger Golds.

    Baked white bread.

    Dinner was corn on the cob, which we bought at Gillespie's near Orchard Home Farm.  Sweet!

    Went to another classroom films show at the Trash Palace.  I bought my ticket through a Meetup group. (The place was sold out!)

August 18, 2011

"Two words:  Get over it!"--Mystery Science Theatre 3000

    Got up early because we were going to Orchard Home Farm.  But Mother didn't feel like it, so we decided to go tomorrow.

    I went back to bed, and stayed there six hours!

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    Saw the DVD of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version of Tormented.

August 17, 2011

Chief Wiggum (punishing some childen): "Let this be a lesson to you:  kids never learn!"--The Simpsons

    Dreamed of forgetting that my Ph.D. thesis had passed; sunny weather changing to rain really quickly.

    Went shopping.

    Went to the Loblaw's superstore near St. Clair & Bathurst to inquire about renting a room for the Musical Run-Through Meetup.  Then I went to Wychwood Library and borrowed the illustrated guide to Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

    Dinner was African stew.

    Went to the NDP nomination meeting for the provincial election. (Afterward I picked up a few more clearance-priced books at Book City.)

August 16, 2011

"It looks quiet."

"Like a graveyard"

--Attack!

On a group of German POWs: "The mean one's the captain.  Just like in any army"--ibid.

    Dreamed of a movie about the destruction of a bridge off the northern coast of Jutland in Denmark, with Angelina playing a Nazi in jodhpurs and riding boots.

    Dinner was curried shrimp.

    Saw the DVD of Robert Aldrich's Attack!  It's one of the better 1950s war movies, gripping and straightforward. (The ending was a bit ambiguous.) Jack Palance and Lee Marvin came from the age of Real Men!

August 15, 2011

    Dreamed of asking how tall you had to be, to be a general in the army.

    Went to Evgenia's apartment for an Asperger's Meetup, but there was nobody there.

    My Metropass for August got lost in the mail.  Today I finally got around to going to Davisville station, where they gave me a replacement.

    Dinner was linguini pesto (which I cooked).

    I was going to participate in a Ticket to Ride tournament at Snakes and Lattes--even brought my game set--but I was 20 minutes late and the tournament was already full! (I should have asked Father to drive me there, but he'd already driven me in th morning.) Moira's been having a bad day too.

    Saw the DVD of the 2003 revival of Thornton Wilder's Our Town, with Paul Newman as the narrator.  It gets pretty sad.

August 14, 2011

"Is it being unable to see that makes you weary of life?"

"No, being able to hear."

--Kung Fu

Marge: "I never realized history was so filthy!"--The Simpsons

    Went to a Games Meetup at the Yellow Griffin.  I played Kill Mister Lucky (sort of a prequel to Clue) and Guillotine (where I tied for first).

    On the way home, I travelled on one of the new subway trains that aren't divided into cars.  When the train's route curves, you can look toward the other end and see it bend!

    Dinner was ham quiche.

    Saw the DVD of "Besieged," a double episode of Kung Fu set entirely in China, guest-starring David Carradine's real-life girlfriend Barbara Hershey. (It's one of the episodes from the third season, which I hardly saw at all back at the time.)

August 13, 2011

"Talk to the wind, Chinaman!"--Kung Fu

Homer: "They did it that way because they're stupid!  That's why everybody does everything"--The Simpsons

    Went to an Asperger's Meetup at the Tim Horton's east of Yonge & Bloor.  They talked about the summer autism retreat a couple of them went to. (Should I go next year?) [I didn't.]

    Dinner was tortellini.

August 12, 2011

    Baked white bread, but it came out funny. (Why?)

    Yesterday I had a big headache.  Maybe it came from switching to caffeine-free Pepsi.

    Dinner was linguini primavera.

    Went to Mary's games night. (I played Say Anything and Balderdash.)

August 10, 2011

On a bald prospective husband: "You want hair?  Marry a monkey!"--Fiddler on the Roof

    Dreamed of groups of young people sailing around the world at the same time as part of a big project; finding out that years ago someone published a paper using my research, and not caring.

    Went shopping.

    Dinner was ham.

    Saw Norman Jewison's movie of Fiddler on the Roof (for the fourth time) with the Toronto Social Group Meetup at an outdoor screening next to Roy Thomson Hall. (I should have brought a pillow!) It's a strong, worthy adaptation of the classic Broadway musical.  The scene with the ghosts still gives me the willies!  I should read Sholom Aleichem's stories. [When Motl the mousy tailor was getting up the nerve to tell Tevye he loved the latter's daughter, someone in the audience shouted "You can do it, Motl!"]

August 9, 2011

"What do you want from me?  My heart? my blood? my soul?"

"Your absence!"

--The Pick-Up Artist

    Yesterday I saw the DVD of Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus.  I liked Marianne Faithfull's "Something Better." (I don't think I'd ever heard "Jumpin' Jack Flash" before!)

    Dreamed of waking up early in the morning at our old home in Sackville, N.B.

    Dinner was steak.

    Saw the DVD of James Toback's The Pick-Up Artist.  Robert Downey Jr. (in his debut) had a Harlequin-like appeal, but the Molly Ringwald character didn't really make sense.

August 7, 2011

    Yesterday we saw the DVD of Blue Valentine.  A Cassavetes-style domestic drama, very depressing.

    I've started translating another of my Spanish-language Mortadelo y Filemon comic books.  This one's title is "Armas con Bicho," which translates as "critter weapons"!

    Dinner was corn.

    I was going to see a documentary at the Projection Booth, about a veteran New York Times fashion photographer.  But transit was screwed up by the Taste of the Danforth street festival, and I waited over ten minutes for the Pape bus before figuring out that it wasn't running.  I didn't want to be late, so I went home.

August 5, 2011

Elisha Cook Jr. (pulling a knife out): "The moral is, don't hire detectives!"--Born to Kill

    Dinner was tortellini.

    Saw the DVD of Robert Wise's Born to Kill, a classic sexy film noir.

    Then we saw the DVD of the TV play Days of Wine and Roses.

August 4, 2011

"I'm not rapey enough for you"--Weeds

    Dreamed of travelling in southern Cape Breton; climbing the highest local peak, with a view for miles around; visiting a notorious Russian; writing on a wall; the movie Untamed Heart.

    Baked multigrain bread.

    Dinner was steak.

    Picked up a couple of bonds at Scotiabank.

August 3, 2011

    Went shopping.

    Dreamed of recalling Father saying he didn't care for Steve McQueen (which he really did say).

    Dinner was spaghetti.

    Saw the cinemacast of Franco Zeffirelli's Met production of Puccini's opera Turandot at the Sheppard Grande with the Classical Music Meetup group.  The first two acts are pretty good, but it gets masochistic in the third. ("Pain is sweetness to me...")

August 2, 2011

"He skeeves people off, like midgets"--Weeds

    Dreamed of trying to remember what town I was born in. (It was Sackville, N.B.)

    Dinner was salmon.

    Saw the DVD of Rod Serling's 1957 TV play The Comedian.  Mickey Rooney was disturbingly well-cast as the eponymous loud-mouthed bully!

August 1, 2011

"So you two, do you... fondue?"--Captain America

    Dreamed of driving from Halifax to my hometown Sackville, N.B.; wondering whether I'd get to see any of the August movies being shown at the Projection Booth. [I didn't.]

    Dinner was churrasco chicken.

    Saw Joe Johnson's Captain America:  The First Avenger at the Yonge & Eglinton. (I was going to see the last Harry Potter movie, but the TTC was slower than I expected.) It was a pretty good little-boy adventure.  They were showing it in 3-D, but my Scene card had enough points for a free admission anyway.

    In The Huffington Post I commented (paraphrasing Churchill on Neville Chamberlain) that Obama had the choice of bankruptcy or dishonour:  he chose dishonour, and he'll get bankruptcy.

July 31, 2011

    Dreamed of seeing the first part of Monty Python and the Holy Grail in a library in a Moncton shopping centre; trying to remember what movies were released in May and June, 1980.

    Had lunch with the Mad About Movies Meetup group at Spin. (I ate fresh fruit crepes.) Afterward we walked through Mount Pleasant Cemetery, where I spotted journalist Norman DePoe's grave.

    Dinner was the rest of the corn on the cob. (This time I poured cold water on it before eating, and didn't burn my mouth.)

    Started two new cities in my computer games:  Heathead in Kingdoms of Camelot, and Strathdunum (Celtic for "fort in the valley") in Glory of Rome.

July 30, 2011

Homer: "I don't have the discipline to be a hippie!"--The Simpsons

    Had dinner at the Golden Thai restaurant with the Aspergers Meetup group.  I ate special fried rice and cashew chicken.  Bea tells me that the St. Michael's Hospital, where my examination will be next month, has good haematologists. (She used to work in hospital administration.)

    Finally sprang for new cities in the computer games Glory of Rome and Kingdoms of Camelot. (I've also started a new Facebook game called Millionaire Boss.)

    John Slattery (who plays Roger Sterling on Mad Men) is six months younger than me!

July 29, 2011

    Baked raisin bread.

    Dinner was frozen pizza.

    Saw a La Scala production of Verdi's Nabucco in an open-air screening at the Italian Consulate, with the Classical Music Meetup group.

July 28, 2011

Homer: "When was the last time Barbra Streisand cleaned your garage?"--The Simpsons

    Dreamed of trying to drive a car [I've never learned]; filling a washing machine; the 1980s CBC comedy series Seeing Things (which I never watched).

    Went shopping. (We replenished the ice.)

    Dinner was corn on the cob (which I bought at Whittamore Farm yesterday). I think I burnt my mouth!

    I was going to go on an Art Walk Meetup, but I wasn't quite up to it.

July 27, 2011

Marge: "Nelson Muntz is a troubled, lonely, sad little boy.  He needs to be isolated from everyone!"--The Simpsons

    Dreamed of the British sitcom Steptoe and Son (the basis for Sanford and Son).

    We went out to Whittamore Farm in the morning and picked raspberries, along with peas and beans.

    Went back to bed and dreamed of dolls of Bonnie and Clyde.

    Saw a DVD of classroom films with a safety theme, including the Sid Davis classic Live and Learn.

    Donald had dinner with us at Red Lobster.

July 26, 2011

Lisa: "I know it's true!  I read it on a restaurant placemat"--The Simpsons

    Puitak and Gordon came over and brought lunch.

    Drove down to the lakeshore with the parents. (I don't usually accompany them.)

    Dinner was the rest of the Chinese food.

July 25, 2001

"What kind of dame marries a hood?"

"All kinds."

--The Narrow Margin

"You make me sick to my stomach!"

"Well, not in my sink."

--ibid.

    I feel like I'm getting a cold.

    Dinner was the rest of the fettucine.

    Saw the DVD of Richard Fleischer's train thriller The Narrow Margin.  That was quite a twist! (They should have taken a plane.)

July 24, 2001

On Musetta: "She's well-dressed."

"Angels are naked."

--La Boheme

    Went to a Classical Music Meetup at a fancy townhouse on Sheppard Avenue. (I took the bus east from Downsview station.) We saw a Blu-Ray DVD of a production of Puccini's La Boheme by Madrid's Teatro Real, and had a big-screen set to see it on!  Laura Giordano was a gorgeous Musetta!

    Dinner was lobster rolls.

    Went to bed early.

    Dreamed of finding an underground civilization with a lower level of development and causing a civil war there; checking different TV channels around midnight Saturday; Dvorak's "Songs My Mother Taught Me"; Moira learning the Armenian language. [She knows German and Russian.]

July 23, 2011

    Went to a Games Meetup at the Ryerson student centre.  The weather was so hot that I wasn't up to bringing my own games, as I usually do.  I only stayed for one game:  a new one called Samurai.

    On the way home, I picked up a new Japanese-English dictionary at Indigo Books.

    Dinner was Chinese food.

    Went to a Karaoke Meetup at Bar Plus.  I only sang three songs. (My energy level wasn't high today.)

    Headache.

    We sold some of our used books in a yard sale, and made almost $100.

July 22, 2011

    Dreamed of movies that were in release in the summer of 1987, like Full Metal Jacket.

    Baked whole wheat bread.

    I've moved all three of my cities in the computer game Glory of Rome from Moesia to Dalmatia in hope of being "farmed" less.  Now my alliance has a central city to concentrate resources and reinforcements.

    Dinner was an Indian buffet at the Regency Restaurant in Little India with the Social Anxiety Meetup.

    I've misplaced my Japanese-English dictionary so I guess I'll have to buy a new one. (Oh well, the old one was in pieces.)

July 21, 2011

    Dreamed of a thriller like Body Heat but with an even more complicated plot.

    Went to see my shrink Dr. Hassan.  Once again I got Father to drive me to the St. Clair subway station to make sure I'd be on time, but once again the doctor was a long while getting around to me anway. (When will I learn?)

    In the computer game The Kings of Camelot three of my five cities now have a full twelve Level 10 wildernesses, leaving me to focus on raiding barbarian camps near them.  And I've just figured out that for that purpose I may as well have archers alone.

    Dinner was fettucine alfredo (which I cooked).

July 20, 2011

"I asked other people, but they were all busy"--The Trip

"It looks like a place where they'd film a Miss Marple"--ibid.

    Dreamed of trying to explain Tom Swiftie jokes to Moira; mentioning that Elmore Leonard never uses adverbs (which is true).

    Moira and I went to see Michael Winterbottom's The Trip at the Cumberland, with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon improvising their way through a tour of inns in northern England.  Lots of funny impersonations! (Too bad that the cinema's air conditioning made me sleepy.)

    Dinner was salmon.

    Went to a Classical Music Meetup at the Mad Bean Cafe.  The letter was U and the subject was uncompleted works.

July 19, 2011

Mrs. Simpson: "Contentment is for domestic creatures"--Edward & Mrs. Simpson

    Dreamed of griping that my Ph.D. thesis supervisor couldn't direct traffic! (Was that fair?)

    Had lunch at the Mandarin with the Movie Meetup group.  The others saw the Woody Allen movie Paris After Midnight afterward, but it didn't start till 15:30 so I didn't stay.

    Back home I tried to watch a DVD of Lenny Bruce's last filmed performance, but I dozed off.

    Dinner was lasagna.

    Saw the DVD of the first two episodes of the 1978 TV series Edward & Mrs. Simpson (for the third time). IMHO abdicating the Throne was the best thing Edward VIII ever did for the United Kingdom!