Truth...

"Fact that is fact every day is not news; it's truth. We report news, not truth." - Linda Ellerbee

A postal miracle...

Anyone who has had any dealings with Canada Post will know they aren't the speediest postal service in the world. Probably not the slowest either, but compared to any other country I know, the speed of service is embarrassing. You could die of old age waiting for something.

But I ordered the DVD set of Doctor Who 2005 "The Complete First Series" on Wednesday. It was mailed yesterday from Markham, Ontario - they sent me e-mail to say so. And mirabile dictu, it is in my hands already. This just does not happen.

Doctor Who magic, I guess.

Oddly, the post office had taped the box to another package I received, one from the States. I guess it made it easier to transport? I can't think of any other reason.

Talking With...

When I tell people I work in a theatre, they often ask me if it means I get tickets to plays for free. Nope. But I do, sometimes, go to dress rehearsals.

Today I got to see a play for free. A first!

It wasn't one of our plays, it was put on by Canplay, which is professional, and it's called Talking With. It hasn't quite opened yet. They were doing a full run-through, with costumes and make-up and all, and it was their first work with the cellist who is doing the music bridging the scenes.

The play is a series of monologues by eleven women, each of them different. I wasn't able to pick out a theme except, perhaps, "different views of the world". One woman is a snake-handler, one associates memories with light, one talks about her mother's death, one fantasizes about Oz, one is a rodeo performer. All are distinctly American, which for some reason surprised me - I'd erroneously thought when I first heard about it that this was a Canadian play.

I enjoyed it very much. But, oddly, there wasn't one of the women I could really identify with. Eleven very different types with eleven different themes on their minds, and none of them my themes, or lives like my life. Which was maybe what it was all about: the diversity of identity, the strangeness of experiences in life.

My favourite was possible the last one, a woman who expresses experience with the marks on her body - scars and tattoos. I also liked the one about a woman in labour with a dragon-baby. Really, they were all good.

One vignette involves a snake named Charles. I got to meet Charles yesterday, after lingering hopefully a few days around the doors of the rehearsal hall, where they always seemed to be busy in rehearsal or the snake wasn't there. I opened the door for his owner one day, but she wouldn't open the box - she didn't want to disturb him. Very protective. Well, I suppose he's a star.

Then yesterday as I was walking into the Green Room, I collided with her, and Charles the snake, and got to meet him. He's a beautiful corn snake, a spotted rich brown colour. Beautiful.

There's also a cute kitten in the play - adorable, at that age where they're all fluff and legs and curiosity and no sense at all - and the skit is about the owner threatening to kill it with a hammer. Huh.

Visually speaking...

From monsieureden:

You Communicate With Your Eyes

When you say, "I'll believe it when I see it" - you really mean it. For you, what you see is a lot more important than what you hear. You don't take someone's words at face value. You judge people by their facial expressions, body language, and appearance. You tend to be quiet, but when you talk, you tend to make eye contact and describe things in colorful detail.

How Do You Communicate?

Recital...

My friend Lisa has been taking singing lessons. Her teacher was urging her to sing in a recital. She didn't think she was ready. "You should do it," I said.

"I don't have a song," she said.

"You can get a song," I told her. "You should do it. Think how good you'll feel afterwards."

She thought about it. Then she finally agreed: "I'll sing in the recital if you'll come to it."

"I'll be there!" I promised, and I even dragged along our mutual friend Lynne - or maybe it was the other way round, since she drove me.

It was held at a quiet little church in Westboro called Northwestern United Church, which we had trouble finding, and we had to stop to ask at the mosque on Northwestern where it was. It turned out to be the second building on, hidden by a hedge.

Lisa sang "Un Canadien Errant", which is a nice song. Preceding her was a boy of about nine or ten who did a magnificent job with "Land of the Silver Birch" - his age was to his advantage. I really enjoyed "Ombra mai fu" from Xerxes by Handel, and I even thought the singer looked impressively like Xerxes - not in costume, but he was a large man with an imposing divided beard.

For the music itself, I really liked a selection from Samson and Delilah by Saint-Saens, There's no Business Like Show Business by Irving Berlin, and one that was totally unknown to me - And Her Mother Came Too by Ivor Novello. Regrettably, I was making up dirty slash lyrics to fit the song. I couldn't resist. How is it that I have never heard of Ivor Novello?

Doctor Who: Boom Town...

Because I could not let a day go by without a new Doctor Who episode, I watched Boom Town this evening. Loved it. Loved seen the Doctor, Captain Jack, living and working on the TARDIS, apparently high with their love of life. Loved seeing the Doctor on a dinner date with Blon Slitheen. Loved seeing poor Mickey confronting Rose, and Rose having no answer for him except to let him go.