July 11, 2011

"I make dresses for women who really wear them!"--Valentino

    Dreamed of being about to get on a cruise ship in Moncton, where we'd suffer amnesia and be given new identities; playing a Farmville-like computer game where one area turned out to produce poisonous food.

    Dinner was Swiss Chalet takeout rotisserie.

    Went to a screening of the fashion documentary Valentino:  The Last Emperor at Studio 561 near Bathurst station, as part of an Art Meetup. (Jeanne Beker, of the fashion show FTV, appeared briefly.)

    Afterward I went to Book City and bought some books that were priced to clear. (We might resell them at a profit...)

July 10, 2011

    Dreamed of an actual line in the children's book The Travels of Babar: "Real war is not a joke."

    Neisau's right:  that Hotshot game is addictive!

    John and Kathrine came over for dinner, which was pizza. (I burnt my mouth again!)

    Went to Nepeta's games event at the Fox and Fiddle near St. Clair station.  I played The Amazeing Labyrinth, Settlers of Catan (which I won!) and the Monopoly-based card game Deal, which I didn't quite figure out.

    I was a long time getting home because the Salsa on St. Clair street festival had queered up the St. Clair Avenue transport.

July 9, 2011

    Last night I saw Vittorio de Sica's The Children Are Watching Us (for the second time) on DVD.  Powerful.

    This weekend is the noisy nearby Salsa on St. Clair Festival, so the parents and I visited Brampton to escape the noise. (We were going to see the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Niagara on the Lake, but Father wasn't up to driving that far!)

    We went to Downey's Farm Store in Caledon, picked some raspberries (too few were ripe) and bought some strawberries in the store.

    We ate at the original Mandarin Restaurant in Brampton.  That place is huge!

    After we got home, I strolled around Salsa on St. Clair.

July 7, 2011

    Dreamed of an obituary of Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz.

    Baked multigrain bread.

    Dinner was salmon.

    Went on an art walk in Yorkville.  One of the galleries we went to had an exhibit of Picasso etchings. (Many of them have already sold for huge prices!)

    Dreamed of the true story of frontiersman Tom Horn; living on the moon; a Chinese man sitting next to me giving my arm a nasty pinch for no reason; returning to earth with its blue skies, and singing the Al Jolson song "Blue Skies."

July 6, 2011

"Heroes aren't made, they're cornered!"--Redd Foxx

    Dreamed of the Barcarolle in Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann; strawberry shortcake.

    Dinner was sausage and mashed potatoes.

    Went to a Classical Music Meetup at the North York Centre library.  The director of the Toronto Summer Music talked about this year's romantic theme.

    I've just quit the online game Frontierville again. (My new interest is a game called Hot Shots.)

    Saw a DVD of Redd Foxx and Groucho Mark doing one-man shows.

July 5, 2011

    Dreamed of a book cover with mold on it; Catherine Mckinnon's song "Spinning Wheel."

    Went shopping.

    Dinner was pork chops.

    Went to the Open Minds Cafe Meetup.  Unfortunately, it was combined with a Live Your Dream Meetup and the latter dominated things. (I had nothing to contribute.)

July 4, 2011

Dreamed about the Petula Clark song "Downtown" (which I sometimes sing at karaoke); wondering why the past is so close; the Warren Beatty movie Heaven Can Wait; the TV series B.J. and the Bear (which I never watched); trying to pick up a load of wire for BJ (who was a trucker) but not being sure which kind.

    Dinner was lasagna.

    Went to an Introvert Meetup.  We walked through the Don Valley to the brick works. (The organizer had a pair of very frisky spaniels.)

July 3, 2011

"We drank, we fought, he did his ancestors proud!"--Thor

    Dreamed of being appointed editor of The New York Times; the Classics Illustrated comic book version of Robert Louis Stevenson's David Balfour.

    Saw the comic-book movie Thor at the Revue.  Directed by a slumming Kenneth Branagh, it's pretty fun in a goofy way.

    Dinner was KFC.

July 2, 2011

Homer: "Taking stupid risks is what makes life worth living!"--The Simpsons

    Dinner was steak.

    Went to a karaoke event organized by Anthony Ng at Twister Karaoke. (It was a birthday party for another Anthony.)

    Headache.

July 1, 2011

 Dreamed of our old house in Sackville, N.B., being in Nazi-occupied Russia near smouldering ruins still hot; a new rival subway system in London (with a commercial sponsor for each station).

    Baked cheese bread.

    Went to an Aspie Meetup at Harbourfront. (Big Canada Day crowds!) Tonia brought her King Charles dog Scrappy.

    Dinner was Burger King.

June 30, 2011

    Dinner was pizza.

    Went on a Queen Street art walk.  We visited BYOB (a "cocktail emporium") and Artscape Gallery, and spoke to artists Morley Shayuk and Michael Toke. Someone bought us soup from Ravi Soups, but I didn't have any.

June 29, 2011

    Father and I got up early, drove to Whittamore Farm and picked some strawberries. (I also bought some Jonagold apples at their store.) The weather was unusually cool.

    After we got home, I went back to bed for over three hours.

    Dinner was sausages.

    My choir performed Nabucco for the second time. (This time the family came.  Father drove Mother home during the intermission because she had a cramp.) Giuseppe said the opera group might perform Norma or A Masked Ball next year.

    I'll soon be taking another break from the online game Frontierville. (And I'm not sure about Kingdoms of Camelot and Glory of Rome.)

June 28, 2011

On a body found on a beach: "Was she drowned?"

(sarcastically) "No, she's a mermaid."

--Young and Innocent

    Dreamed of wanting to play an arcade video game where you're a caveman attacking a mammoth; looking through a big pile of change but failing to find a quarter.

    Finally bought my new Metropass. (They didn't mail them this month because of the postal strike.)

    Dinner was more pork chops. (Moira also made some risotto with onions and barley, but I can't stand onions.)

    Saw the DVD of Alfred Hitchcock's Young and Innocent (for the second time). It's one of his early British movies, a well-written romantic comedy-mystery.  My favourite scene is the one with the suspicious aunt.

June 27, 2011

    Dreamed of the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice.

    Went to Toronto East General Hospital and got a CT scan.  They injected me with a dye and I felt a bit dizzy afterward.

    Dinner was pork chops

    Coro Verdi had one more rehearsal before our final show. (I considered skipping it, but decided my head was clear enough.) Just before we started there was a brief delay when a fire alarm went off:  we all went out to the front of the building and saw a fire engine arrive, but it was a false alarm.

    John George usually gives me a lift to the subway, but we ended early and his wife hadn't yet brought their car.  Instead Giovanni gave me a lift to St. Clair Avenue.  When I mentioned that I'm 49, Giovanni was really surprised, and said I look twenty years younger!

June 26, 2011

    Dreamed of a non-existent film of animated toys made back in the 19th century; trying to figure out who owned a legendary Los Angeles cinema.

    Went to a Games Meetup at the Yellow Griffin.  I played Fireball Island (which I won, to my surprise) and Ticket to Ride (which I also won).

    Dinner was salmon.

June 25, 2011

    Dreamed of a British family that spent part of their time in London and part out in the country.

    Dinner was McDonald's.

    Went to Karaoke Meetup at Barplus.  I sang Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me" for the first time.