February 27, 2008

Dreamed of an old viaduct outside Amherst, N.S. (near my hometown of Sackville, N.B.) being about to fall down; people gathering nearby, waiting to see it happen.

Got an Ebay package of Steve Canyon Sundays, and another of Alley Oop strips.

Brass-monkey weather! (And barely three weeks from spring...)

Went shopping.

Dinner was fish.

Went to the Toronto City Opera production of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera.  It was quite good, with some very talented singers.

Lapham's Quarterly has a lot of interesting stuff.  The other day I was reading Thucydides' Melian Dialogue, and I ended up reading about he Pelopponesian Wars on Wikipedia till past midnight.

February 26, 2008

There was supposed to be a big snowstorm today but it turned out pretty light.

Went to see my shrink Dr. Hassan. Mary asked Moira to ask him if he knew of any specialists in obsessive-compulsive disorder (for some big court case), but he didn't.  Afterward I bought three Lois Lane comics at the nearby Paradise Comics, on sheer whim.

Dinner was shepherd's pie.

Once again, I tried to meet with the other Dreams of the Red Chamber readers, but this time Bill was held up at school.

Saw the DVD of a Saturday Night Live show hosted by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, who were doing routines like the one-legged actor auditioning for the role of Tarzan.

Baked whole wheat bread overnight.

February 25, 2008

Homer Simpson: "Only in America could someone like me get a job!"

Mr. Burns: "What good is money if you can't terrorize your fellow man?"

Dreamed of a levitation experience that turned out to be a big hoax; a sequel to the Broadway musical Annie [there actually was one, though it only played off-Broadway]; bouncing a ball lighter than air against the side of a house.

Did the book business accounts for the last four months of 2007.

Dinner was meat loaf.

Went to an Architecture for Humanity panel discussion at the Gardiner Museum. (This week, I skipped choir practice.)

February 24, 2008

Dreamed of trying to remember what day of the week it was; meeting a woman who looked like journalist June Callwood at the shore of Lake Ontario; her saying that she'd swum in that water and it made her sick.

The Coro Verdi performed a mass for patron Tony Fusco's golden wedding anniversary at the St. Francis church near the Columbus Centre. (I was barely on time because I thought it was at Villa Colombo like our other masses.) Giuseppe actually praised our performance afterward!

Dinner was roast beef.

Finished the Undeclared DVDs.  Quite a good sitcom.

Ralph Nader's announcement of his new presidential campaign has brought out the Progressive Solidarity Police on The Huffington Post.  I've written several posts defending him. (Scapegoating is ugly!)

February 23, 2008

"I'm not going to hurt him!"

"That's what I keep saying, but I keep doing it."

--Undeclared

Dreamed of being invited to attend a lecture at West Point; arriving there and finding out they wanted me to launch a surprise paintball attack on the cadets to test how prepared for action they were.

Dinner was McDonald's.

February 22, 2008

Dreamed of reflecting that Utah's actual nickname "The Beehive State" was appropriate because Mormon society is like bees in a hive.

Saw the last of Big Love.  It's just about my favourite current show.

Dinner was salmon.

Went to a Linkup event at an apartment building near Victoria Park Station where I got a tarot reading by a woman called Elaine whose favourite movie is A Clockwork Orange.  I asked how I should go about getting a job, and most of the cards were upside down, which can spell difficulty.  The card indicating my past was "The Hermit." She read into another card that I should be careful about spending money. (I paid $20.) The clarification card was the Two of Cups, which might mean that I'll find a job and a girlfriend this fall! [I found neither.] Afterward I spent an hour playing Seahaven Towers solitaire with a real deck for the first time. [I'd previously played it on computers.]

February 21, 2008

"You've been playing the field while dating my daughter!"

"Who told you that?"

"My wife."

"Which one?"

--Big Love

"I can't tolerate you.  You're my daughter!"--ibid.

Went to a Linkup event, meeting several graduate students at the Starbuck's near College Station.  There was a Hungarian-Canadian, a Russian-American, a Hispanic, a Chinese-Australian and another Chinese. (I was the only WASP!) The Russian learned English when he was a kid by watching Tom & Jerry cartoons over and over.

On the way back, I bought the game Mousetrap at a shop in Cumberland Terrace. (I've always wanted to try that game.)

Dinner was steak.

Baked white bread overnight.