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.