December 25, 2008

Model turned mission agent Cinnamon Carter: "The day people look at you instead of me, I'll resign from the sisterhood of women!"--Mission:  Impossible

Dreamed of some local women having made a porno movie that was about to be released; going into a public washroom and ejaculating into a urinal; actress Julianne Moore and her actual explanation of what was in her mind when she assumed a porn star's vacuous expression in Boogie Nights: "I was trying to remember my lines!" [Someone pointed out that the "actress" she was playing would have been trying to remember her lines...]

John, Kathrine and Donald came over for Christmas dinner.

Saw the DVD of the first episode of the TV series Mission:  Impossible.  It's a fun show, though disturbing if you think about it. (Their mission was to grab a couple of nuclear warheads from a Latin American strongman.  Think they'll be sent to Iran next?)  

December 24, 2008

Casy (explaining why he quit preaching): "A preacher has to know.  I don't know"--The Grapes of Wrath

Dreamed of the Abba song "Fernando."

Last night we ate at Mandarin Restaurant.  My fortune cookie said "Without dreams the world stands still."

Dinner was salmon.

Saw the DVD of John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath (for the third time). A classic of 1930s realism, brilliantly filmed.

December 20, 2008

"There is no heaven.  There is only earthly love."--Thais

Saw the cinemacast of the Met production of Massenet's opera Thais.  Well done.

Dinner was McDonald's.

Went to the planned Life Enthusiasts Karaoke Meetup at Twister Karaoke.  But only one other guy showed up, so we'll do it later.

Saw the DVD of the TV movie of Judith Krantz' Princess Daisy, just because it was Rupert Everett's first role. (Even when he acts poorly, he has a striking presence!)

December 18, 2008

Dreamed of the John Wayne safari movie Hatari!

Baked multigrain bread.

Went to Indigo Books near Bay station and bought a couple of crossword puzzle magazines for Christmas.

We got five zip.ca DVDs in the mail!

Dinner was fettucine alfredo (which I cooked).

Saw the DVD of the Blake Edwards-Jack Lemmon comedy That's Life!  Something of a home movie.

 

December 17, 2008

"Most sentimental ideas imply, at bottom, a deep if unacknowledged disrespect....  Sentimentality about nature denatures everying it touches"--Jane Jacobs (excerpted in Lapham's Quarterly)

"This time, John Wayne will not ride off into the sunset with Grace Kelly."

"That's Gary Cooper, asshole!"

--Die Hard

"Of all the terrorists in the world, I had to kill the only one with feet smaller than my sisters"--ibid.

Dreamed of reading that an ancestor of mine had been convicted on corruption charges. (That's what comes from watching The Sopranos.)

Had my last singing lesson fro a while.  We did "Di Provenza," which is another song that taxes my upper vocal range.

On the way home I booked a session with my shrink Dr. Hassan.

Dinner was lamb stew.

Saw John McTiernan's Die Hard (for the first time) at the Bloor.  A hit cat & mouse adventure, often corny but pretty entertaining overall. (Alan Rickman, as the villain, of course made off with the show.)

December 16, 2008

Tony (to his teenage daughter):"You see, out there it's the 1990s.  In this house, it's 1954. [points outside, then inside] 1990s.  1954."

--The Sopranos (Every generation is fated to turn into their parents...)

Dreamed of being in a church where I wasn't sure which direction the congregation faced.

Went shopping. (We also bought a new strap for my watch.)

Dinner was roast chicken.

Went to Remenyi's and picked up the "Vaga Luna" and "Di Provenza" scores.

December 14, 2008

Rapper: "I like any kind of music, so long as it's the kind of shit that turns green!"--The Sopranos

The parents were at the Coro Verdi concert in the afternoon.  The fire alarm went off in the middle of "O Holy Night"!

John and Kathrine came over for dinner, so we ordered vegan Thai food. (Afterward I sneaked out to KFC.)