Dinner was McDonald's.
Saw the DVD of Daniel Vigne's The Return of Martin Guerre (for the second time). It's a 16th-century courtroom drama based on a true story, about a husband who deserts his wife and property for the army, and returns a decade later... but has he been replaced by an impersonator? Keeps you guessing, with appealing performances by Gerard Depardieu and Nathalie Baye.
Dreamed of visiting the Mount Allison University library building and finding that all the floors except the main floor had been closed off; telling someone I'd decided to retire.
Went shopping.
Dinner was roast chicken.
Went to the NDP campaign office party in the evening. I didn't stay long.
Headache.
"'I'm afraid that would come under the heading of "over-exertion,"' said Madam Pomfrey."
--Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (hey, that entry has a triple-iterated quotation!)
Dreamed of two students (one of them Billy Bob Thornton) coming to London to co-operate in a Ph.D. program creating a Frankenstein-like artificial life; both of them breaking rules together; a British museum that levitated into the air; reflecting that filmmaker Stanley Kubrick was fortunate to be able to devote his whole life to his art.
Darren, the NDP campaign's money man, was so grateful to me for finding the list of local Liberal contributors that he treated me to lunch at Harvey's. (For him it was breakfast!) He says that if we can get our support up to 25 or 30%--it was 15% in the last election--we can get critical mass.
Dinner was lasagna.
Saw Werner Herzog's documentary Grizzly Man at the Revue. It's about Timothy Treadwell, a guy who lived among dangerous grizzly bears in Alaska and became famous before he became careless and got killed by one. He was obsessive in a way that clearly endeared him to Herzog.
Went down to Dragon Lady and picked up some Dick Tracys, Steve Canyons and Terry and the Pirates comics I recently acquired on Ebay.
I also got a collection of newspaper comics spanning decades, mostly from Nova Scotia, and some Little Orphan Annie and Kerry Drake Sundays.
Dinner was salmon.
At the campaign office I used cutting and pasting to create a new spreadsheet of names with email addresses. Ron said to me, "You're the man!"
Saw Terry Zwigoff's anti-Christmas comedy Bad Santa at the Royal. Billy Bob Thornton showed his natural comic talent as a boozing, self-destructive skirt-chaser working as a department store Santa as a cover for robbing shopping mall safes. But the joke wore thin in a rather depressing way.
Dinner was roast pork.
Went to the Geneva Centre's Christmas party. They had karaoke, and I sang "Day-O."
The last of the Ebay auctions I bid on in my latest round is over. I bought about a grand worth of stuff over the past fortnight.
Rolf Harris' portrait of Elizabeth II is a pip! She looks like everyone's favourite grandma. (She reportedly enjoyed sitting for him, and it shows.) [This was before he was convicted of pedophilia.]
Dreamed of reading a book of Pauline Kael reviews of Katherine Hepburn movies while walking along York Street toward our old house in Sackville, N.B.; noticing that I was being silently followed by a young Elizabeth Taylor; mentioning that she'd made her first movie at age 12 (which is true); her insisting she was actually 16; being in the Sackville house and mentioning that it seemed bigger in my dreams than in "real life."
At the NDP campaign office I started entering the sign and volunteer location data on the computer.
Saw Bob Clark's A Christmas Story (for the second time) at the Royal. It's a broad but witty nostalgic comedy.
John and his family brought over dinner, which was vegan shepherd's pie. (What a concept!) I showed Kathrine the pictures from my London trip.
On Six Feet Under Nate decided to quit the business; Keith got a new job as a celebrity bodyguard. This episode wasn't as good as usual: too much sex. [The show had "jumped the shark" by this time.]
Baked rye bread overnight.
Went to the NDP campaign office and sorted call sheets into their alphabetical order, then put them into binders.
After I got home I went online, did a search on the Elections Canada website and found a list of the last election's Liberal contributors in the St. Paul's riding. Then I emailed the results to Darren, who plans to put them on a mailing list. (I guess he thinks they can be converted.)
Dinner was takeout Chinese food. (My fortune cookie said my life is about to go through a thrilling period!)
Saw the DVD of Yasujiro Ozu's Floating Weeds (for the second time). Subtly compelling.
