Before I started revamping the front yard, I had looked very seriously into replacing our tree with a more elegant, flowering tree. As it turns out, almost the entire front yards of most houses in East York are in Toronto's road allowance, which means the city has control over what can be done with those areas, and specifically no trees can be removed. (On "private property," i.e. the back yard, small trees can be removed, but large trees cannot be removed, or at least not without going through an elaborate permitting process, which was beyond my limited patience.) I found not being allowed to upgrade my front yard extremely frustrating, but turned this into a short play.
I had meant to get to this sooner, but between work and preparing for the Fringe show, I just didn't have time. Finally, the deadline for SFYS sprung up on me, and I carved out a tiny bit of time. I wrote the piece in a white hot rush, basically taking 45 minutes to do it. I did go back through today and made a few very minor edits, but it is pretty much just as I wrote it yesterday. You can check it out here.
Or you can see it performed this Monday at Sing-for-Your-Supper, at Tarragon Theatre at 8 pm. I just heard it was one of the pieces that was accepted onto the slate! It's really quite gratifying how I have hit my groove with them. I think all of the pieces I submitted in the past year have been accepted, even those that I squeezed out in just a day or two (or in this case 45 minutes). Not quite enough acclamation to give up my day job, but it's still very nice.
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Stageworthy Podcast
Featuring me!
This was a lot of fun, and it is certainly the first time I've ever been part of a podcast. I stopped by Phil's place for the recording session. I was late, as this was the day someone decided to mess with the bicycles in front of Union Station and switch people's seats! But aside from that, things went smoothly, and we did it all as one take. My one minor regret is that we got the date for the preview show wrong -- it is Thurs. July 5 (not 4).
In the episode, we talk about the main ideas that inspired me to write the piece. There are no spoilers beyond what is already in the advertising, i.e. the students in Mr. Miller's class seem about equally stressed over end-of-year exams and aliens showing up! We cover some other territory as well, including my background in theatre, such as it is.
Anyway, you can judge for yourself here.
This was a lot of fun, and it is certainly the first time I've ever been part of a podcast. I stopped by Phil's place for the recording session. I was late, as this was the day someone decided to mess with the bicycles in front of Union Station and switch people's seats! But aside from that, things went smoothly, and we did it all as one take. My one minor regret is that we got the date for the preview show wrong -- it is Thurs. July 5 (not 4).
In the episode, we talk about the main ideas that inspired me to write the piece. There are no spoilers beyond what is already in the advertising, i.e. the students in Mr. Miller's class seem about equally stressed over end-of-year exams and aliens showing up! We cover some other territory as well, including my background in theatre, such as it is.
Anyway, you can judge for yourself here.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Updates of a Minor Nature
Tonight is another rehearsal for Final Exam. This time we should finally have the full cast (someone was sick last time) and the director will turn up as well. I asked the cast to have the script down, but not sure where they will be with that. Fingers crossed.
I'm running a bit behind on getting my poster/postcards ready, but I need them soon, so I'll try to get the main image ready and work on that more today. There is some early release party at Fringe Central this Friday, but I don't think I can make it. Actually I don't even know when it starts, but I just think I'll be busy.
I've dug the bench in a bit and tried to get it settled. I don't think it will be moving again, especially after I added caulk to attach the top to the sides! The only filler I could find that claimed to work with concrete was bright white, so it basically looks like a pigeon came by and shat on the bench. That's disappointing, though it all comes down to the fact that Lowes transported them in a way that all the bench tops were somewhat damaged. I also added a layer of concrete sealant, which if anything will make the color mismatch last longer, but I figured I had to do something before the rain started again. I also planted some petunias along the path to spruce things up a bit. I'll do a bit more later in the week, but basically I think the front is essentially done.
I did have time to run by the Eaton Centre and pick up a new pair of jeans. The good news is that I can button up a pair of jeans that is one size down, but the roll of flab that hung out was not a good look. I am frankly disappointed at the slow rate of improvement (I am working quite hard on going to the gym and biking and lately have been skipping lunches) but will stay the course for now. Probably when the jeans go on sale, I'll get the smaller size.
I'm not making nearly enough progress on my TRB presentations, though I do have one piece completed. I'll see if I can work more on it tonight after rehearsal.
I'm running a bit behind on getting my poster/postcards ready, but I need them soon, so I'll try to get the main image ready and work on that more today. There is some early release party at Fringe Central this Friday, but I don't think I can make it. Actually I don't even know when it starts, but I just think I'll be busy.
I've dug the bench in a bit and tried to get it settled. I don't think it will be moving again, especially after I added caulk to attach the top to the sides! The only filler I could find that claimed to work with concrete was bright white, so it basically looks like a pigeon came by and shat on the bench. That's disappointing, though it all comes down to the fact that Lowes transported them in a way that all the bench tops were somewhat damaged. I also added a layer of concrete sealant, which if anything will make the color mismatch last longer, but I figured I had to do something before the rain started again. I also planted some petunias along the path to spruce things up a bit. I'll do a bit more later in the week, but basically I think the front is essentially done.
I did have time to run by the Eaton Centre and pick up a new pair of jeans. The good news is that I can button up a pair of jeans that is one size down, but the roll of flab that hung out was not a good look. I am frankly disappointed at the slow rate of improvement (I am working quite hard on going to the gym and biking and lately have been skipping lunches) but will stay the course for now. Probably when the jeans go on sale, I'll get the smaller size.
I'm not making nearly enough progress on my TRB presentations, though I do have one piece completed. I'll see if I can work more on it tonight after rehearsal.
Monday, May 28, 2018
Crazy busy gardening day
Today was one of those crazy days I wouldn't want to repeat.
I had done the grocery shopping fairly early. I was running a bit late but decided to head over to the mall, not least because I wanted to stock up on sun screen. I also got in a fairly short workout at the gym. However, I was fairly sure I would I be working out in the front yard, so I wasn't looking to totally exhaust myself.
I then set out for the parking lot near Danforth, taking my son with me. I was renting a van, since I hoped to pick up some paving stones and ideally a concrete bench. I brought my son along for a bit of extra muscle. Traffic was kind of heavy but I still made it to the Lowes in reasonable time. It was a bit frustrating in that the carts were on one end and the garden centre on another. The black mulch was more expensive than at Home Depot, but it didn't make sense to try to get to both places (and the black mulch had been running very low at the HD anyway). Most frustrating is that they didn't have any paving stones or the bench, despite my having looked on-line. They said it was at their Warden store, which was in Scarborough!
I was quite annoyed by this point but decided I just wanted to get everything done at once, rather than wait for another day. So I called ZipCar and extended the rental for another hour. Fortunately, no one had rented the van later that afternoon. Traffic was so crazy getting into Scarborough, but it wasn't so bad after that. But Scarborough is just so sprawling and suburban. I couldn't quite believe all the enormous strip malls out that way. The Warden Lowes was totally packed and it was hard to get what we wanted. What was somewhat unfortunate is that I didn't see the paving stones ahead of time and just picked some out of the catalogue. It turned out they were way too big and too heavy, so I then had to exchange them, but that meant extra delay. The other thing that is especially frustrating is that the way the concrete benches were shipped, there are grooves in the concrete from the plastic dividers. I'll see if I can essentially sand this out and then put on some concrete sealant, which I need to do anyway. Given that every step of the way took longer than it should have, I was running behind schedule.* It was already 3, and the van was due at 3:30!
Traffic was so bad, that I decided to ditch Danforth and go down Dundas. I got slightly turned around at the Kingston/Dundas split, but eventually made it back. Indeed, traffic was much lighter on Dundas. We pulled up and fortunately there was a spot across the street. We quickly unloaded the van, then dropped it off. It was 10 minutes late. Also, I didn't have time to fill it up with gas, as I had wanted to. I think in the end, I was in the grace period and they didn't charge me any extra. It was kind of stressful all the way around, but I didn't get in an accident and nothing was damaged in transit.
The day wasn't quite over though. Since my son's birthday is coming up, I decided he probably should have a new bike. So I got him a bike, and then a new helmet, lock, lights, etc. My poor credit card was kind of screaming by the end. I told him this was his birthday, graduation and most of Christmas...
Then we walked home with the bike. After I rehydrated, I started on the front yard. I'll just show a few photos of the progress.
The new bush is a burning bush. They are generally very pretty in the fall, when they turn bright red. I honestly don't know how much more I will plant. Mostly I wanted to get rid of the grass, which looked pretty bad last year and absolutely horrible this year, which is why I put down all the black mulch. I'll have to dig down and reset several of the paving stones, so they don't rock. I'll make sure this is where I want the bench (and I don't bump it with my bike or the garbage cans), then dig that in a bit and caulk it so the top doesn't come off. So it was a productive but exhausting day. I'm actually kind of tempted to take Monday off just to recover, but I don't think I can do that.
* To try to speed things up, I carried some of the stones myself, then apparently Hulked out, since my jeans split! Unbelievable. I was hoping to go to the store in a couple of weeks to see if I was one size down, but I guess I'll have to go tonight.
I had done the grocery shopping fairly early. I was running a bit late but decided to head over to the mall, not least because I wanted to stock up on sun screen. I also got in a fairly short workout at the gym. However, I was fairly sure I would I be working out in the front yard, so I wasn't looking to totally exhaust myself.
I then set out for the parking lot near Danforth, taking my son with me. I was renting a van, since I hoped to pick up some paving stones and ideally a concrete bench. I brought my son along for a bit of extra muscle. Traffic was kind of heavy but I still made it to the Lowes in reasonable time. It was a bit frustrating in that the carts were on one end and the garden centre on another. The black mulch was more expensive than at Home Depot, but it didn't make sense to try to get to both places (and the black mulch had been running very low at the HD anyway). Most frustrating is that they didn't have any paving stones or the bench, despite my having looked on-line. They said it was at their Warden store, which was in Scarborough!
I was quite annoyed by this point but decided I just wanted to get everything done at once, rather than wait for another day. So I called ZipCar and extended the rental for another hour. Fortunately, no one had rented the van later that afternoon. Traffic was so crazy getting into Scarborough, but it wasn't so bad after that. But Scarborough is just so sprawling and suburban. I couldn't quite believe all the enormous strip malls out that way. The Warden Lowes was totally packed and it was hard to get what we wanted. What was somewhat unfortunate is that I didn't see the paving stones ahead of time and just picked some out of the catalogue. It turned out they were way too big and too heavy, so I then had to exchange them, but that meant extra delay. The other thing that is especially frustrating is that the way the concrete benches were shipped, there are grooves in the concrete from the plastic dividers. I'll see if I can essentially sand this out and then put on some concrete sealant, which I need to do anyway. Given that every step of the way took longer than it should have, I was running behind schedule.* It was already 3, and the van was due at 3:30!
Traffic was so bad, that I decided to ditch Danforth and go down Dundas. I got slightly turned around at the Kingston/Dundas split, but eventually made it back. Indeed, traffic was much lighter on Dundas. We pulled up and fortunately there was a spot across the street. We quickly unloaded the van, then dropped it off. It was 10 minutes late. Also, I didn't have time to fill it up with gas, as I had wanted to. I think in the end, I was in the grace period and they didn't charge me any extra. It was kind of stressful all the way around, but I didn't get in an accident and nothing was damaged in transit.
The day wasn't quite over though. Since my son's birthday is coming up, I decided he probably should have a new bike. So I got him a bike, and then a new helmet, lock, lights, etc. My poor credit card was kind of screaming by the end. I told him this was his birthday, graduation and most of Christmas...
Then we walked home with the bike. After I rehydrated, I started on the front yard. I'll just show a few photos of the progress.
The new bush is a burning bush. They are generally very pretty in the fall, when they turn bright red. I honestly don't know how much more I will plant. Mostly I wanted to get rid of the grass, which looked pretty bad last year and absolutely horrible this year, which is why I put down all the black mulch. I'll have to dig down and reset several of the paving stones, so they don't rock. I'll make sure this is where I want the bench (and I don't bump it with my bike or the garbage cans), then dig that in a bit and caulk it so the top doesn't come off. So it was a productive but exhausting day. I'm actually kind of tempted to take Monday off just to recover, but I don't think I can do that.
* To try to speed things up, I carried some of the stones myself, then apparently Hulked out, since my jeans split! Unbelievable. I was hoping to go to the store in a couple of weeks to see if I was one size down, but I guess I'll have to go tonight.
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Doors Open Toronto 2018
This is the first year I've actually made it out to Doors Open. Last year I had thought about taking the kids to the Don Jail (kind of down the street), but they weren't that into it, so I did something else instead. While the weather threatened to rain, it actually held off and was actually fairly nice in the afternoon, though a bit hot. It looks like today (Sunday) will be a scorcher. I'm done for this year, but there is plenty still to see today. A general website to see what is available is here.
In the end I saw the R. C. Harris Water Plant, which is at Victoria Park and Queen off in the Beaches. This is quite the palace of water. There is a general discussion of constructing this facility and the Bloor Viaduct in Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion, which I really ought to reread one of these days. Harris seems like quite the giant, perhaps as influential as Robert Moses, though somewhat less power-hungry (actually willing to give up some of his duties). At one point, Harris was in charge of road and bridge construction, garbage disposal, the TTC and of course the water works for Toronto.
I biked over to the Water Plant. I've never been that deep into the Beaches before. I'm glad I got an early start before the beaches (and the bike path) got really crowded.
Anyway, after a bit of a detour I made it. One night thing about this site is that is it so big, there are no lines to get in.
In the end I saw the R. C. Harris Water Plant, which is at Victoria Park and Queen off in the Beaches. This is quite the palace of water. There is a general discussion of constructing this facility and the Bloor Viaduct in Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion, which I really ought to reread one of these days. Harris seems like quite the giant, perhaps as influential as Robert Moses, though somewhat less power-hungry (actually willing to give up some of his duties). At one point, Harris was in charge of road and bridge construction, garbage disposal, the TTC and of course the water works for Toronto.
I biked over to the Water Plant. I've never been that deep into the Beaches before. I'm glad I got an early start before the beaches (and the bike path) got really crowded.
Anyway, after a bit of a detour I made it. One night thing about this site is that is it so big, there are no lines to get in.
The upper building is where the filtration happens. The lower building is the pumping station.
I may write more about this later.
I decided since I was already on my bike (and fairly sweaty), I should see if I could get into the Don Jail. In the past, this has been one of the more popular sites with fairly long lines. I don't know if I just got lucky, or most people who wanted to see it had already seen it last year, but I was able to get right in for a visit.
Of course everyone wants to see the tiny jail cells and then upstairs where they used to hang people.
It was an interesting site and worth a quick visit, but to be honest, the Ottawa Jail (now a youth hostel) is more impressive, not least because one can stay overnight in the cells, which I did many, many years ago. One of the more impressive things is the Sorel Etrog collection they have, but I will hold off on that for a second post.
I was fairly tired by this point, but I had to go downtown for a concert anyway, so I left a bit early and stopped off at the Bay TTC station, since the lower level was open. This is usually closed off and only open for filming. It wasn't the most thrilling site (it basically looked like a dingy station), but just being in the space was interesting. Unfortunately, this site isn't open today, but it will probably be opened up next year again.
So that was my Doors Open experience. Pretty good for a first time.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
The American male canon
To follow up from the Philip Roth post, this post will list the main works by the most dominant US writers of the 2nd half of the 20th Century, primarily Bellow, Updike and of course Philip Roth.
Philip Roth
In this list, (DK) marks the trilogy of novels featuring David Kepesh, while (NZ) stands for Nathan Zuckerman. I didn't realize that the so-called American Trilogy -- American Pastoral, I Married a Communist and The Human Stain -- are all partially narrated by Zuckerman. I thought it was the four parts of Zuckerman Bound, plus The Counterlife and Exit Ghost. I'm looking into reading those, but would definitely hold off on the American Trilogy for quite a while. I think eventually I probably will read all of these, but it will take a while, and I'm not really in a hurry.
Saul Bellow
Dangling Man 1944
The Victim 1947
The Adventures of Augie March 1953
Seize the Day 1956
Henderson the Rain King 1959
Herzog 1964
Mr. Sammler's Planet 1970
Humboldt's Gift 1975
The Dean's December 1982
What Kind of Day Did You Have? 1984
More Die of Heartbreak 1987
A Theft 1989
The Bellarosa Connection 1989
The Actual 1997
Ravelstein 2000
As mentioned, I've read all of these except for Ravelstein, which I'll have to get around to one of these days. I've reread Dangling Man and Seize the Day. I'm fairly likely to reread Augie March and The Dean's December, which are probably my two favorite Bellow novels. I'm still deciding if I want to reread Herzog and Humboldt's Gift. One thing about Bellow is that he does seem to repeat himself (more than Roth certainly), though when he is good, he is very good indeed.
John Updike
(novels only)
The Poorhouse Fair 1959
R Rabbit, Run 1960
The Centaur 1963
Of the Farm 1965
Couples 1968
R Rabbit Redux 1971
A Month of Sundays 1975
Marry Me 1976
The Coup 1978
R Rabbit Is Rich 1981
The Witches of Eastwick 1984
Roger's Version 1986
S. 1988
R Rabbit at Rest 1990
Memories of the Ford Administration 1992
Brazil 1994
In the Beauty of the Lilies 1996
Toward the End of Time 1997
Gertrude and Claudius 2000
Seek My Face 2002
Villages 2004
Terrorist 2006
The Widows of Eastwick 2008
Aside from the Rabit novels, which are in a class of their own (and which I should finally read by the summer), I've seen strong recommendations for The Centaur and In the Beauty of the Lilies and moderate ones for Couples and Roger's Version. Updike also wrote a huge number of short stories. They have been collected in a two volume LOA set, though I don't know if this does include the Henry Bech stories, or if this was considered a separate product. For my part, I will read Licks of Love (mostly because it contains Rabbit Remembered) and The Afterlife. After that the Olinger Stories, which I don't actually own, and then if I still am inspired, probably the Henry Bech stories, then tackle what is remaining from the LOA Collected Stories set.
Bernard Malamud
The Natural (1952)
R The Assistant (1957)
R The Magic Barrel (1958)
A New Life (1961)
Idiots First (1963)
The Fixer (1966)
Pictures of Fidelman: An Exhibition (1969)
R The Tenants (1971)
Rembrandt's Hat (1974)
Dubin's Lives (1979)
R God's Grace (1982)
The People and Uncollected Stories (1989)
So I've read 4 of 12. To be honest, I have no interest in The Natural (I'm pretty allergic to sports in literature or real life) and almost none in The Fixer. I do plan on reading the two remaining novels from the list (A New Life and Dubin's Lives) but mostly I just need to work my way through his stories.
John O'Hara
(novels only)
R Appointment in Samarra (1934)
BUtterfield 8 (1935)
Hope of Heaven (1938)
Pal Joey (1940)
A Rage to Live (1949)
The Farmers Hotel (1951)
Ten North Frederick (1955)
A Family Party (1956)
From the Terrace (1958)
Ourselves to Know (1960)
The Big Laugh (1962)
Elizabeth Appleton (1963)
The Lockwood Concern (1965)
The Instrument (1967)
Lovey Childs: A Philadelphian's Story (1969)
The Ewings (1970)
The Second Ewings (1972)
Somewhat similar to Updike, O'Hara wrote many, many stories. The new LOA volume is a selection, with relatively limited overlap with his Collected Short Stories (1984). What is somewhat amusing is that both collections include "Imagine Kissing Pete" but not the other two novellas from Sermons and Soda Water: A Trilogy (this is one that I tracked down at the library a long time back, though I can't remember if the editors' judgement was just).
I know that I am not even going to attempt to get through this many novels by O'Hara (and I suspect most of them are not even in the library). I'll reread Appointment in Samarra and read BUtterfield 8 and then probably the stories in Collected Short Stories, the LOA Collected Stories and Waiting for Winter (which I happen to own). This reviewer makes a solid case for O'Hara, and suggests adding three more novels to my list (Ten North Frederick, Ourselves to Know and From the Terrace), but I'm not quite ready to commit just yet.
Enough new lists for now.
Philip Roth
| Goodbye, Columbus | 1959 | ||||
| Letting Go | 1962 | ||||
| When She Was Good | 1967 | ||||
| R Portnoy's Complaint | 1969 | ||||
| Our Gang | 1971 | ||||
| R The Breast (DK) | 1972 | ||||
| R The Great American Novel | 1973 | ||||
| My Life as a Man | 1974 | ||||
| R The Professor of Desire (DK) | 1977 | ||||
| R The Ghost Writer (NZ) | 1979 | ||||
| R Zuckerman Unbound (NZ) | 1981 | ||||
| R The Anatomy Lesson (NZ) | 1983 | ||||
| R The Prague Orgy (NZ) | 1985 | ||||
| The Counterlife (NZ) | 1986 | ||||
| Deception | 1990 | ||||
| Operation Shylock | 1993 | ||||
| R Sabbath's Theater | 1995 | ||||
| American Pastoral (NZ) | 1997 | ||||
| I Married a Communist (NZ) | 1998 | ||||
| The Human Stain (NZ) | 2000 | ||||
| R The Dying Animal (DK) | 2001 | ||||
| The Plot Against America | 2004 | ||||
| Everyman | 2006 | ||||
| Exit Ghost (NZ) | 2007 | ||||
| Indignation | 2008 | ||||
| The Humbling | 2009 | ||||
| Nemesis | 2010 |
In this list, (DK) marks the trilogy of novels featuring David Kepesh, while (NZ) stands for Nathan Zuckerman. I didn't realize that the so-called American Trilogy -- American Pastoral, I Married a Communist and The Human Stain -- are all partially narrated by Zuckerman. I thought it was the four parts of Zuckerman Bound, plus The Counterlife and Exit Ghost. I'm looking into reading those, but would definitely hold off on the American Trilogy for quite a while. I think eventually I probably will read all of these, but it will take a while, and I'm not really in a hurry.
Saul Bellow
Dangling Man 1944
The Victim 1947
The Adventures of Augie March 1953
Seize the Day 1956
Henderson the Rain King 1959
Herzog 1964
Mr. Sammler's Planet 1970
Humboldt's Gift 1975
The Dean's December 1982
What Kind of Day Did You Have? 1984
More Die of Heartbreak 1987
A Theft 1989
The Bellarosa Connection 1989
The Actual 1997
Ravelstein 2000
As mentioned, I've read all of these except for Ravelstein, which I'll have to get around to one of these days. I've reread Dangling Man and Seize the Day. I'm fairly likely to reread Augie March and The Dean's December, which are probably my two favorite Bellow novels. I'm still deciding if I want to reread Herzog and Humboldt's Gift. One thing about Bellow is that he does seem to repeat himself (more than Roth certainly), though when he is good, he is very good indeed.
John Updike
(novels only)
The Poorhouse Fair 1959
R Rabbit, Run 1960
The Centaur 1963
Of the Farm 1965
Couples 1968
R Rabbit Redux 1971
A Month of Sundays 1975
Marry Me 1976
The Coup 1978
R Rabbit Is Rich 1981
The Witches of Eastwick 1984
Roger's Version 1986
S. 1988
R Rabbit at Rest 1990
Memories of the Ford Administration 1992
Brazil 1994
In the Beauty of the Lilies 1996
Toward the End of Time 1997
Gertrude and Claudius 2000
Seek My Face 2002
Villages 2004
Terrorist 2006
The Widows of Eastwick 2008
Aside from the Rabit novels, which are in a class of their own (and which I should finally read by the summer), I've seen strong recommendations for The Centaur and In the Beauty of the Lilies and moderate ones for Couples and Roger's Version. Updike also wrote a huge number of short stories. They have been collected in a two volume LOA set, though I don't know if this does include the Henry Bech stories, or if this was considered a separate product. For my part, I will read Licks of Love (mostly because it contains Rabbit Remembered) and The Afterlife. After that the Olinger Stories, which I don't actually own, and then if I still am inspired, probably the Henry Bech stories, then tackle what is remaining from the LOA Collected Stories set.
Bernard Malamud
The Natural (1952)
R The Assistant (1957)
R The Magic Barrel (1958)
A New Life (1961)
Idiots First (1963)
The Fixer (1966)
Pictures of Fidelman: An Exhibition (1969)
R The Tenants (1971)
Rembrandt's Hat (1974)
Dubin's Lives (1979)
R God's Grace (1982)
The People and Uncollected Stories (1989)
So I've read 4 of 12. To be honest, I have no interest in The Natural (I'm pretty allergic to sports in literature or real life) and almost none in The Fixer. I do plan on reading the two remaining novels from the list (A New Life and Dubin's Lives) but mostly I just need to work my way through his stories.
John O'Hara
(novels only)
R Appointment in Samarra (1934)
BUtterfield 8 (1935)
Hope of Heaven (1938)
Pal Joey (1940)
A Rage to Live (1949)
The Farmers Hotel (1951)
Ten North Frederick (1955)
A Family Party (1956)
From the Terrace (1958)
Ourselves to Know (1960)
The Big Laugh (1962)
Elizabeth Appleton (1963)
The Lockwood Concern (1965)
The Instrument (1967)
Lovey Childs: A Philadelphian's Story (1969)
The Ewings (1970)
The Second Ewings (1972)
Somewhat similar to Updike, O'Hara wrote many, many stories. The new LOA volume is a selection, with relatively limited overlap with his Collected Short Stories (1984). What is somewhat amusing is that both collections include "Imagine Kissing Pete" but not the other two novellas from Sermons and Soda Water: A Trilogy (this is one that I tracked down at the library a long time back, though I can't remember if the editors' judgement was just).
I know that I am not even going to attempt to get through this many novels by O'Hara (and I suspect most of them are not even in the library). I'll reread Appointment in Samarra and read BUtterfield 8 and then probably the stories in Collected Short Stories, the LOA Collected Stories and Waiting for Winter (which I happen to own). This reviewer makes a solid case for O'Hara, and suggests adding three more novels to my list (Ten North Frederick, Ourselves to Know and From the Terrace), but I'm not quite ready to commit just yet.
Enough new lists for now.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Philip Roth, RIP
The news today is sad. Philip Roth has passed away. He was one of the last writers who still was at the center of US culture (at least as seen from the East Coast). While it isn't the be-all and end-all of awards, Roth will never be able to win the Nobel Prize in literature (nor did John Updike, another very deserving candidate). Not to go on an anti-Nobel rant, but I really did lose complete respect for the award and certainly the committee when they gave the award to Bob Dylan, which I thought was completely inane.
Here is a solid obit, cribbed from the NY Times. I agree with how they have placed Roth at the center of two trios -- Bellow, Updike and Roth (as powerful observers of American life -- from a male, middle class perspective)* and then Bellow, Malamud and Roth (as Jewish American writers).
Of all these writers, I've read the most Bellow (essentially all the novels and novellas aside from Ravelstein) and the least Updike -- essentially nothing, though this summer/fall, I'll finally be tackling the Rabbit novels. I think I've hit 50% of Malamud's novels and stories, though I'll have to do a tally soon.
With Roth, I've read 6 of his novels, but he wrote so many, that it is only a relatively small percentage. I had the David Kepesh novels on my reading list, and I should get to them by June, so I don't feel I need to make any adjustment there. I will more seriously consider rereading Zuckerman Bound later in the year (it was much lower on the list) and then probably add to that The Counterlife and Exit Ghost. I don't think I'll be reading the other novels loosely in the Zuckerman canon any time soon.
Right now, I am running late, but in the next post, I'll go ahead and make lists of Roth, Updike, Malamud, etc. so I can track them in one place.
* Perhaps long ago, Norman Mailer would have been squeezed in as a fourth, but his career sort of went off the rails. It doesn't seem as though John O'Hara has as much staying power as Bellow, Updike or Roth, but several of his novels and short stories are worth a closer look. It's certainly possible that the LOA volume of O'Hara's stories will bring him back into circulation.
Here is a solid obit, cribbed from the NY Times. I agree with how they have placed Roth at the center of two trios -- Bellow, Updike and Roth (as powerful observers of American life -- from a male, middle class perspective)* and then Bellow, Malamud and Roth (as Jewish American writers).
Of all these writers, I've read the most Bellow (essentially all the novels and novellas aside from Ravelstein) and the least Updike -- essentially nothing, though this summer/fall, I'll finally be tackling the Rabbit novels. I think I've hit 50% of Malamud's novels and stories, though I'll have to do a tally soon.
With Roth, I've read 6 of his novels, but he wrote so many, that it is only a relatively small percentage. I had the David Kepesh novels on my reading list, and I should get to them by June, so I don't feel I need to make any adjustment there. I will more seriously consider rereading Zuckerman Bound later in the year (it was much lower on the list) and then probably add to that The Counterlife and Exit Ghost. I don't think I'll be reading the other novels loosely in the Zuckerman canon any time soon.
Right now, I am running late, but in the next post, I'll go ahead and make lists of Roth, Updike, Malamud, etc. so I can track them in one place.
* Perhaps long ago, Norman Mailer would have been squeezed in as a fourth, but his career sort of went off the rails. It doesn't seem as though John O'Hara has as much staying power as Bellow, Updike or Roth, but several of his novels and short stories are worth a closer look. It's certainly possible that the LOA volume of O'Hara's stories will bring him back into circulation.
Progress
While I sometimes slip up a bit on my early morning exercises, mostly because I feel I need the sleep more, I have been doing much better on the main exercise front. I had a period during the winter I could only drag myself to the gym once or twice a week, but I've been going three times a week pretty regularly, and I have also been biking to work three times a week on average. I haven't started the swimming up again, though I hope to do that soon, perhaps next week -- or even this Friday depending on schedules (mine and the rec centre's). I've started slimming down a bit (another belt size at least), though certainly not as much as I had hoped, particularly given that I have been refusing treats at work. Indeed, I have had to pass up so much cake and donuts these past few weeks!
The frustrating thing is that I had plateaued weight-wise for a very long time and only a couple of days ago had the needle started moving again in the right direction. I really had hoped that eating better and all the exercise would be enough, but it doesn't seem so. I'll have to really cut calories to finally convince my body to burn the fat. I've decided that I will skip a big lunch and just replace this with fruit and perhaps rice cakes.* While this is not likely sustainable over a long, long period, I am hoping that I will burn enough fat and reset my body to a lower weight, and then I can find a maintenance level that works. The biggest difficulty will be not replacing all the calories once I get home. I wasn't so good about that yesterday, but I will start squeezing on that end too. I've stopped buying ice cream, crackers and chips. The next time at the grocery store I won't buy any dried fruit or dates (something I have been indulging in a bit too much). As with everything, there will be good days and bad days, but I am definitely committed to losing most of this excess weight. I'm just trying not to be too upset with myself for letting it happen in the first place, as that isn't actually helpful.
* I forgot to mention that for the first time ever, I have a co-worker who is fasting for Ramadan. So we will try to provide moral support for skipping the treats at work. Not that I consider a fruit diet a fast, but it is certainly less than I am used to eating during the middle of the day, and it does make me a bit cranky.
The frustrating thing is that I had plateaued weight-wise for a very long time and only a couple of days ago had the needle started moving again in the right direction. I really had hoped that eating better and all the exercise would be enough, but it doesn't seem so. I'll have to really cut calories to finally convince my body to burn the fat. I've decided that I will skip a big lunch and just replace this with fruit and perhaps rice cakes.* While this is not likely sustainable over a long, long period, I am hoping that I will burn enough fat and reset my body to a lower weight, and then I can find a maintenance level that works. The biggest difficulty will be not replacing all the calories once I get home. I wasn't so good about that yesterday, but I will start squeezing on that end too. I've stopped buying ice cream, crackers and chips. The next time at the grocery store I won't buy any dried fruit or dates (something I have been indulging in a bit too much). As with everything, there will be good days and bad days, but I am definitely committed to losing most of this excess weight. I'm just trying not to be too upset with myself for letting it happen in the first place, as that isn't actually helpful.
* I forgot to mention that for the first time ever, I have a co-worker who is fasting for Ramadan. So we will try to provide moral support for skipping the treats at work. Not that I consider a fruit diet a fast, but it is certainly less than I am used to eating during the middle of the day, and it does make me a bit cranky.
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
First peek at Final Exam
As promised, a few shots taken during rehearsal.
We're actually deciding whether to go with desks (or rather tables) for the students or not. We probably will forgo desks in favour of seating for the audience. Of course if ticket sales are very slow, we might bring back the desks...
We're actually deciding whether to go with desks (or rather tables) for the students or not. We probably will forgo desks in favour of seating for the audience. Of course if ticket sales are very slow, we might bring back the desks...
Monday, May 21, 2018
Bike fixed
A big shout out to Velotique on Queen (near Coxwell)!
I had been noticing that the gears on my bike were slipping pretty uncontrollably (nothing between 4 and 7 would really grab, which is where I spend most of my riding time). I thought maybe the derailleur just needed to be tightened, and I was going to ask a co-worker. I happened to be in the Beaches on Sunday, and started heading home, when I saw this bike oasis. (It's kind of hard to miss.)
While I didn't really want to leave my bike overnight, I decided it couldn't hurt that much to go talk to them about the problem, and then perhaps leave the bike with them, especially as I could take the streetcar home (and then back to pick it up, presumably on Tuesday).
They showed me that the real problem was the chain, which had been quite stretched over the past year. (I vaguely recall that my main bike shop, The Broom Wagon on Danforth said that it should be replaced in the spring.) While I could probably manage replacing the chain myself, there is no way I could put on a new carriage, since that was somewhat damaged from the loose chain. They said they could have it done in an hour, which I thought was pretty amazing. While I do like The Broom Wagon, they get pretty busy, especially in the spring, and it usually take 2-3 days for them to finish repairs.
I had some time to kill, so I went down Queen and grabbed a bite to eat, then headed to the lake. I watched the beach volleyball for a while and walked on the boardwalk. I don't think I've done this in a couple of years. I made it back to Velotique, and they had finished the repair in 45 minutes! So I am very impressed. I would certainly go back if I needed anything bike-related and I was in the neighbourhood.
I had been noticing that the gears on my bike were slipping pretty uncontrollably (nothing between 4 and 7 would really grab, which is where I spend most of my riding time). I thought maybe the derailleur just needed to be tightened, and I was going to ask a co-worker. I happened to be in the Beaches on Sunday, and started heading home, when I saw this bike oasis. (It's kind of hard to miss.)
While I didn't really want to leave my bike overnight, I decided it couldn't hurt that much to go talk to them about the problem, and then perhaps leave the bike with them, especially as I could take the streetcar home (and then back to pick it up, presumably on Tuesday).
They showed me that the real problem was the chain, which had been quite stretched over the past year. (I vaguely recall that my main bike shop, The Broom Wagon on Danforth said that it should be replaced in the spring.) While I could probably manage replacing the chain myself, there is no way I could put on a new carriage, since that was somewhat damaged from the loose chain. They said they could have it done in an hour, which I thought was pretty amazing. While I do like The Broom Wagon, they get pretty busy, especially in the spring, and it usually take 2-3 days for them to finish repairs.
I had some time to kill, so I went down Queen and grabbed a bite to eat, then headed to the lake. I watched the beach volleyball for a while and walked on the boardwalk. I don't think I've done this in a couple of years. I made it back to Velotique, and they had finished the repair in 45 minutes! So I am very impressed. I would certainly go back if I needed anything bike-related and I was in the neighbourhood.
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Art on the Long Weekend, pt. 2
On Saturday it rained quite a bit, but it finally slowed down around 1:45 or so. I decided to go over to the Queen Garden Centre. It didn't have as much as I had hoped for (no bark chips, no paving stones), but it had some really nice trees and bushes. I may well buy one of the ornamental trees, though it looks like I would have to have this delivered and planted next weekend, since they aren't open on Sunday. That's ok. I want to make sure I want to do the landscaping this summer before I launch into it.
Then I decided to head over to the Unilever site to see the exhibit (part of the larger Scotiabank festival). It took several times to get there (it can only be accessed from Lake Shore Blvd. or the Lower Don bike trail). This was quite frustrating to me, and I almost gave up. If the city does succeed in getting an East Harbour GO station and of course the Downtown Relief Line station, they are going to have to change the street configuration to open this site up to Eastern at a minimum.
Once I actually made it, it was pretty cool. The concept is not that different from when Luminato was over at the Hearn Power Plant, opening up an unused industrial space but this is a much more low-key event, and it is nicer that way.
On the inside.
The art installation was somewhat secondary to just being inside the Unilever Factory. There were manikins catching soap bubbles (apparently, these manikins used to be part of an installation at Canada Place).
Plus one manikin looking suspiciously like a young Andy Warhol.
Then on the upper level, lots and lots of photos of the manikins in different poses, usually without their heads.
I thought the parking lot full of these grey compact cars was itself an interesting installation.
Definitely not the most profound art installation I've ever seen, but worth a look if you like industrial spaces and happen to be on the East End over the next two or three weeks.
Then I decided to head over to the Unilever site to see the exhibit (part of the larger Scotiabank festival). It took several times to get there (it can only be accessed from Lake Shore Blvd. or the Lower Don bike trail). This was quite frustrating to me, and I almost gave up. If the city does succeed in getting an East Harbour GO station and of course the Downtown Relief Line station, they are going to have to change the street configuration to open this site up to Eastern at a minimum.
Once I actually made it, it was pretty cool. The concept is not that different from when Luminato was over at the Hearn Power Plant, opening up an unused industrial space but this is a much more low-key event, and it is nicer that way.
On the inside.
The art installation was somewhat secondary to just being inside the Unilever Factory. There were manikins catching soap bubbles (apparently, these manikins used to be part of an installation at Canada Place).
Plus one manikin looking suspiciously like a young Andy Warhol.
Then on the upper level, lots and lots of photos of the manikins in different poses, usually without their heads.
I thought the parking lot full of these grey compact cars was itself an interesting installation.
Definitely not the most profound art installation I've ever seen, but worth a look if you like industrial spaces and happen to be on the East End over the next two or three weeks.
Art on the Long Weekend, pt. 1
As a follow-up to this post, I thought I would mention two exhibits I overlooked. There is an exhibit dedicated to Manolo Blahnik at the Bata Shoe Museum, which runs through the end of the year. Now this is not something that interests me, but some might find it interesting.
Of more personal interest, at the Textile Museum there is an exhibit featuring Jane Kidd's tapestries through June 10. Then on May 30, a contemporary quilting exhibit opens and runs through late Sept. I should be able to time it right to see both exhibits.
In any event, I did make it over to the Gardiner to see the Yoko Ono exhibit.
Unfortunately, you can't take any photos of the special exhibit. It is mostly a place to meditate among the stones (the first part) or to try to repair broken pottery and compose witty messages to the world. In some ways, the second and third parts had a lot of the randomness of a Cage exhibit. I didn't spend as much time as I should have there (I was worried about being late for the TorQ concert), but I feel I got the general points of the exhibit. This runs for another few weeks.
I did really like these contemporary pieces on the main floor. One I'd seen before, but I don't recall seeing the Chagall before.
Of more personal interest, at the Textile Museum there is an exhibit featuring Jane Kidd's tapestries through June 10. Then on May 30, a contemporary quilting exhibit opens and runs through late Sept. I should be able to time it right to see both exhibits.
In any event, I did make it over to the Gardiner to see the Yoko Ono exhibit.
Unfortunately, you can't take any photos of the special exhibit. It is mostly a place to meditate among the stones (the first part) or to try to repair broken pottery and compose witty messages to the world. In some ways, the second and third parts had a lot of the randomness of a Cage exhibit. I didn't spend as much time as I should have there (I was worried about being late for the TorQ concert), but I feel I got the general points of the exhibit. This runs for another few weeks.
I did really like these contemporary pieces on the main floor. One I'd seen before, but I don't recall seeing the Chagall before.
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| Marc Chagall, Lovers, 1957 |
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| Victor Cicansky, Armchair Garden #1, 1984 |
Ready for the Long Wet Weekend
I wouldn't say things are completely under control, but I am heading into this three-day weekend in a better frame of mind than usual. I was hit with a surprise piece of work at the beginning of the week, but managed to deliver a preliminary report by Friday. I also drafted the first draft of a memo that I had kind of been avoiding (the first draft is always the hardest). The only real work I have to do over the weekend is academic work in support of a couple of TRB papers. While there will be a crunch there, this is far more intellectually stimulating, so I will tackle it a bit more cheerfully.
I even had good news on the Fringe front, as a director I had been chasing has finally committed to the project. I don't really know how well the final product will come off (or how many tickets I sell and thus how bad the financial losses will be), but I've basically done as much as I can do from my end.
This is all quite welcome, as I have been dog tired all week, having to work extra hours and just generally not taking as much care of myself as I should. I do wish the weather was better, though now the forecast is saying that the rain on Saturday should slow down by the late afternoon. Sunday should mostly be overcast but probably won't rain too much, though I might want to hold off on the groceries until I am fairly sure any rain is over. Monday should be pretty nice, and perhaps I'll take the kids for a walk in the park (it might be too wet to do much, but we might be able to toss a frisbee or even fly a kite). I don't have anything specific planned for once. Though I actually have a fair bit of reading to catch up on, so it might not be that bad to stay a bit closer to home.
I even had good news on the Fringe front, as a director I had been chasing has finally committed to the project. I don't really know how well the final product will come off (or how many tickets I sell and thus how bad the financial losses will be), but I've basically done as much as I can do from my end.
This is all quite welcome, as I have been dog tired all week, having to work extra hours and just generally not taking as much care of myself as I should. I do wish the weather was better, though now the forecast is saying that the rain on Saturday should slow down by the late afternoon. Sunday should mostly be overcast but probably won't rain too much, though I might want to hold off on the groceries until I am fairly sure any rain is over. Monday should be pretty nice, and perhaps I'll take the kids for a walk in the park (it might be too wet to do much, but we might be able to toss a frisbee or even fly a kite). I don't have anything specific planned for once. Though I actually have a fair bit of reading to catch up on, so it might not be that bad to stay a bit closer to home.
11th Canadian Challenge - 22nd review - Things As They Are?
Things As They Are? is Guy Vanderhaeghe's 3rd collection of short stories.* I read Man Descending many moons ago (and indeed, I really ought to reread it and My Present Age, the novel that followed, and review them here, but that might be a project for next year). While I definitely wouldn't have wanted Ed, the main character of several of the stories and the novel, to be in my life, the writing was very strong. I only hope that I still would like this work; as I noted in my review of Daddy Lenin, it seems that I have gotten more impatient with literature that doesn't align with my current frame of mind, and I just don't want to spend any time with characters that offend me.** This is probably an unfortunate consequence of the echo chamber effect of the internet; since there is so much out there that really bothers me (and some of the "bad stuff" is so toxic), I just avoid more and more things that are only going to upset me. Of course, this can be taken to absurd limits. Where people today (particularly Millennials) go over the line is trying to stop other people from espousing (or even listening to) these views (in the name of "safe spaces"). I have no truck with censorship, no matter what the motivation.
I would say that Things As They Are? is largely about men trying to find their way in the world, though it hasn't quite hit the same level of toxic masculinity on display in Daddy Lenin. This collection is kind of at the midway point, and consequently I did enjoy it more than Daddy Lenin.
That said, there are several portraits of men who are far too stubborn for their own good. There will be minor to moderate SPOILERS from this point onwards.
SPOILERS
The title character in "King Walsh" has always been a bit of a rabble-rouser (sounding like a slightly tamer version of Rooster Byron from Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem) but in his old age he is taunted into getting into a dance competition during which he promptly breaks his hip bone. His life starts spiraling down after this. But this is nothing compared to the Lear-like events of "Home Place" where an older man insists on fixing the fence on the farm he gifted to his son, since the son is far too soft or simply too preoccupied and generally disinterested in maintaining the farm properly.
"Ray" is a painful story where Ray can never measure up in his father's eyes to his dead brother. "New Houses" is a particularly dark story where a boy commits arson, essentially to curry favour with his mother who is particularly envious of the newcomers to town who have money, while she married a man who will never amount to anything.
Quite a few of the stories are morally ambiguous. How should we feel about a young boy, who hates his teacher, who is picking on him simply because he was the star pupil of the other teachers? She seems to want to teach him a lesson about not being overproud (the tall poppy syndrome so prevalent in Canada, as well as Australia). When she is injured (very indirectly due his actions), his true feelings come out, and this seems to bother her more than almost anything about the incident. Vanderhaege's message, if there is one, seems to be that unreasonable emotions are not limited to childhood, but carry over into adulthood as well.
"The Master of Disaster" was a weird sort of caper story, where one boy leans everything about life from the movies. He puts together a gang, loosely inspired by The Italian Job, to do various things. He manages to convince one boy he has the potential to become a boxer and sets up a fight with a notorious juvenile delinquent. I suppose it is a bit of a twist that things actually do go according to plan, but the final denouement is that the "boxer" drops out of the gang and starts spending time with Vietnam War deserters. Vanderhaege's unstated thesis is that this boy has more true moral character than the narrator, who still is still partly in the gang and mostly just goes with the flow.
One of the more ambitious stories is "Things As They Are?" which is about a washed-up writer, who cannot live up to his potential. He wants to write a story as compelling as something Chekhov would have written, but naturally is having difficulty. He goes into a monastery that now accepts paying guests, but quickly becomes wrapped up in the problems of Roland, a young man who survived a terrible fire and now wants to become a monk. There is just a bit of a Rashomon effect here, since the writer only receives his information from the young man, but then later finds out from the abbot that the situation is very different than Roland perceives it. At the end of the story, the writer abandons his earlier writing efforts and starts writing something more directly inspired by Chekhov's The Black Monk, where "reality" is impinged upon when one character has a vision of a black monk, which then impacts his life negatively. (I have to admit the summary doesn't make much sense even in Vanderhaege's retelling, and I have shortened that to the point of incomprehensibility. The full story, translated by Constance Garnett, is in The Lady with a Dog, available here.)
The last story I will discuss is by far the most disturbing one: "Loneliness Has Its Claims." It starts off with a 12-year old boy sent off to his grandmother's for the summer. Unlike most stories of this sort, she is not a soft touch nor is she later won over by the boy's charms, though she isn't a wicked, abusive grandmother either. Instead, she is a very tough cookie, who is trying to marry a former principal, Mr Cecil Foster, who has retired nearby. She sees him almost entirely as a means of escaping her dire financial conditions, stuck on a failing farm in the middle of nowhere. She immediately tells the boy there will be severe consequences if he mouths off to "Uncle Cecil." The plan backfires when "Uncle Cecil" starts spends almost all his leisure time driving the boy around, wanting to recreate the friendship between David and Alan Breck in Stevenson's Kidnapped. As the penny slowly drops, this becomes one of the most unsettling stories I've read, even a bit more difficult to read than Lolita, though things don't go quite as far as all that. The boy mostly puts up with this unwanted affection so he can get a rifle, though his grandmother insists he give it back (telling him that in the future he will see that she was right, though I am sure he has his doubts about that). The story ends before the final reckoning, but it is certainly coming. (I will give Vanderhaege minor props in that he introduces a gun (a la Chekhov) and it is certainly used against birds and small mammals, but no humans get shot with it.)
I would say that these are interesting but by no means easy stories. I rarely felt any connection with the characters, particularly the too-stubborn men, where I mostly was glad that I have an easier lot in life than they did. The last two stories "Loneliness ..." and "Things as They Are" seemed to be the strongest to me, though I am not sure I am in any rush to reread either of them.
* Apparently, his second collection is a super short (70 pages!) collection called The Trouble with Heroes that followed on immediately from Man Descending. Given how short it is, I ought to just buzz through it this summer.
** An excellent example of this is Burning City by Ariel and Joaquin Dorfman. They spend all this time glamourizing this bicycle messenger, who is clearly a dangerous fool (actually riding his bike through office lobbies and intentionally forcing pedestrians out of his way). I don't really care about his inner motivations and the fact he is just putting on a show to mask his vulnerabilities. In real life, my bicycle commute to work is made harder because d-bags like this messenger piss off motorists, who then take it out on regular cyclists. So it is a hard thing to stomach anything that reinforces bad behaviour. I'm seriously considering dropping the novel for this reason, and I certainly am not going to let my son read it.
I would say that Things As They Are? is largely about men trying to find their way in the world, though it hasn't quite hit the same level of toxic masculinity on display in Daddy Lenin. This collection is kind of at the midway point, and consequently I did enjoy it more than Daddy Lenin.
That said, there are several portraits of men who are far too stubborn for their own good. There will be minor to moderate SPOILERS from this point onwards.
SPOILERS
The title character in "King Walsh" has always been a bit of a rabble-rouser (sounding like a slightly tamer version of Rooster Byron from Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem) but in his old age he is taunted into getting into a dance competition during which he promptly breaks his hip bone. His life starts spiraling down after this. But this is nothing compared to the Lear-like events of "Home Place" where an older man insists on fixing the fence on the farm he gifted to his son, since the son is far too soft or simply too preoccupied and generally disinterested in maintaining the farm properly.
"Ray" is a painful story where Ray can never measure up in his father's eyes to his dead brother. "New Houses" is a particularly dark story where a boy commits arson, essentially to curry favour with his mother who is particularly envious of the newcomers to town who have money, while she married a man who will never amount to anything.
Quite a few of the stories are morally ambiguous. How should we feel about a young boy, who hates his teacher, who is picking on him simply because he was the star pupil of the other teachers? She seems to want to teach him a lesson about not being overproud (the tall poppy syndrome so prevalent in Canada, as well as Australia). When she is injured (very indirectly due his actions), his true feelings come out, and this seems to bother her more than almost anything about the incident. Vanderhaege's message, if there is one, seems to be that unreasonable emotions are not limited to childhood, but carry over into adulthood as well.
"The Master of Disaster" was a weird sort of caper story, where one boy leans everything about life from the movies. He puts together a gang, loosely inspired by The Italian Job, to do various things. He manages to convince one boy he has the potential to become a boxer and sets up a fight with a notorious juvenile delinquent. I suppose it is a bit of a twist that things actually do go according to plan, but the final denouement is that the "boxer" drops out of the gang and starts spending time with Vietnam War deserters. Vanderhaege's unstated thesis is that this boy has more true moral character than the narrator, who still is still partly in the gang and mostly just goes with the flow.
One of the more ambitious stories is "Things As They Are?" which is about a washed-up writer, who cannot live up to his potential. He wants to write a story as compelling as something Chekhov would have written, but naturally is having difficulty. He goes into a monastery that now accepts paying guests, but quickly becomes wrapped up in the problems of Roland, a young man who survived a terrible fire and now wants to become a monk. There is just a bit of a Rashomon effect here, since the writer only receives his information from the young man, but then later finds out from the abbot that the situation is very different than Roland perceives it. At the end of the story, the writer abandons his earlier writing efforts and starts writing something more directly inspired by Chekhov's The Black Monk, where "reality" is impinged upon when one character has a vision of a black monk, which then impacts his life negatively. (I have to admit the summary doesn't make much sense even in Vanderhaege's retelling, and I have shortened that to the point of incomprehensibility. The full story, translated by Constance Garnett, is in The Lady with a Dog, available here.)
The last story I will discuss is by far the most disturbing one: "Loneliness Has Its Claims." It starts off with a 12-year old boy sent off to his grandmother's for the summer. Unlike most stories of this sort, she is not a soft touch nor is she later won over by the boy's charms, though she isn't a wicked, abusive grandmother either. Instead, she is a very tough cookie, who is trying to marry a former principal, Mr Cecil Foster, who has retired nearby. She sees him almost entirely as a means of escaping her dire financial conditions, stuck on a failing farm in the middle of nowhere. She immediately tells the boy there will be severe consequences if he mouths off to "Uncle Cecil." The plan backfires when "Uncle Cecil" starts spends almost all his leisure time driving the boy around, wanting to recreate the friendship between David and Alan Breck in Stevenson's Kidnapped. As the penny slowly drops, this becomes one of the most unsettling stories I've read, even a bit more difficult to read than Lolita, though things don't go quite as far as all that. The boy mostly puts up with this unwanted affection so he can get a rifle, though his grandmother insists he give it back (telling him that in the future he will see that she was right, though I am sure he has his doubts about that). The story ends before the final reckoning, but it is certainly coming. (I will give Vanderhaege minor props in that he introduces a gun (a la Chekhov) and it is certainly used against birds and small mammals, but no humans get shot with it.)
I would say that these are interesting but by no means easy stories. I rarely felt any connection with the characters, particularly the too-stubborn men, where I mostly was glad that I have an easier lot in life than they did. The last two stories "Loneliness ..." and "Things as They Are" seemed to be the strongest to me, though I am not sure I am in any rush to reread either of them.
* Apparently, his second collection is a super short (70 pages!) collection called The Trouble with Heroes that followed on immediately from Man Descending. Given how short it is, I ought to just buzz through it this summer.
** An excellent example of this is Burning City by Ariel and Joaquin Dorfman. They spend all this time glamourizing this bicycle messenger, who is clearly a dangerous fool (actually riding his bike through office lobbies and intentionally forcing pedestrians out of his way). I don't really care about his inner motivations and the fact he is just putting on a show to mask his vulnerabilities. In real life, my bicycle commute to work is made harder because d-bags like this messenger piss off motorists, who then take it out on regular cyclists. So it is a hard thing to stomach anything that reinforces bad behaviour. I'm seriously considering dropping the novel for this reason, and I certainly am not going to let my son read it.
Friday, May 18, 2018
11th Canadian Challenge - 21st review - Digging Up the Mountains
I've been reading more short stories lately, though mostly as collections by a single author, rather than mixed author anthologies. In fact, the next two reviews will cover short story collections. This collection, Digging Up the Mountains by Neil Bissoondath, was Bissoondath's first collection, and many of the themes that he covered here turn up again in his later work. Bissoondath mostly is interested in the immigrant/emigrant experience and mostly involving immigration to Toronto, though a few of his stories look at the circumstances of people who had immigrated to Canada and then returned. My very first book review on this blog was Bissoondath's novel, The Innocence of Age, and much like that book, I wish I liked this book a bit more.
While I appreciate Bissoondath was trying to stretch his repertoire, two of the stories written from the perspective of a female (and a non-Caribbean female at that) just aren't particularly believable in terms of character motivations and don't hold up very well: "The Cage" and "An Arrangement of Shadows." Unfortunately, these are two of the longer stories in the book. When Bissoondath is on slightly more familiar ground, such as writing about an older female who joins her relatives in Toronto (as in "Dancing"), the results are far more plausible; I still had issues with this story where the islanders resent being told to keep it down and take their revenge by blowing snot on the white man at their door. So classy. The "wretched of the earth" indeed. I'm fairly sure this story has been anthologized, since I have read it before in some other context.
"Digging Up the Mountains" and "Counting the Wind" both focus on how unpredictable life had become in the Caribbean, with corruption rife and the threat of physical danger becoming part of the everyday reality, particularly for non-natives, i.e. Indians who had settled in the Caribbean. These stories focus on the push factors that drove Bissoondath and others like him to the U.S. or Canada. "Dancing" has just a bit of the pull factor, when Miss James gets a letter from her sister saying that she could make so much more money in Canada, which inspires her to leave Trinidad (and indeed it is an Indian doctor who tells her that she won't like it there).
A few of the stories then focus on the difficulty in adjusting to the new social climate (and the winters!) of Canada, such as "Dancing" and "Christmas Lunch." One of the more interesting stories is "There are a Lot of Ways to Die" where someone who had moved to Canada, then came back and was hailed as a bit of a returning hero, essentially validating the others' decision not to leave. However, he finds that he has been changed by his time in Canada, and no longer likes the pace of life or the small town feel on the island, apparently embodying the idea that "you can never go back." He misses Toronto, even dreams of being back on the subway. At the end, he decides he is returning to Canada, though breaking it to his wife may prove a challenge. These stories offer considerable insight into the new immigrant condition (or rather what it was like back in the late 1970s and early 1980s), but they didn't always work for me in a completely literary context.
While I appreciate Bissoondath was trying to stretch his repertoire, two of the stories written from the perspective of a female (and a non-Caribbean female at that) just aren't particularly believable in terms of character motivations and don't hold up very well: "The Cage" and "An Arrangement of Shadows." Unfortunately, these are two of the longer stories in the book. When Bissoondath is on slightly more familiar ground, such as writing about an older female who joins her relatives in Toronto (as in "Dancing"), the results are far more plausible; I still had issues with this story where the islanders resent being told to keep it down and take their revenge by blowing snot on the white man at their door. So classy. The "wretched of the earth" indeed. I'm fairly sure this story has been anthologized, since I have read it before in some other context.
"Digging Up the Mountains" and "Counting the Wind" both focus on how unpredictable life had become in the Caribbean, with corruption rife and the threat of physical danger becoming part of the everyday reality, particularly for non-natives, i.e. Indians who had settled in the Caribbean. These stories focus on the push factors that drove Bissoondath and others like him to the U.S. or Canada. "Dancing" has just a bit of the pull factor, when Miss James gets a letter from her sister saying that she could make so much more money in Canada, which inspires her to leave Trinidad (and indeed it is an Indian doctor who tells her that she won't like it there).
A few of the stories then focus on the difficulty in adjusting to the new social climate (and the winters!) of Canada, such as "Dancing" and "Christmas Lunch." One of the more interesting stories is "There are a Lot of Ways to Die" where someone who had moved to Canada, then came back and was hailed as a bit of a returning hero, essentially validating the others' decision not to leave. However, he finds that he has been changed by his time in Canada, and no longer likes the pace of life or the small town feel on the island, apparently embodying the idea that "you can never go back." He misses Toronto, even dreams of being back on the subway. At the end, he decides he is returning to Canada, though breaking it to his wife may prove a challenge. These stories offer considerable insight into the new immigrant condition (or rather what it was like back in the late 1970s and early 1980s), but they didn't always work for me in a completely literary context.
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Infinity Mirrors
As I briefly mentioned, last Friday my son and I went to see Infinity Mirrors at the AGO. I had to rush home, change clothes, grab a bite to eat, and head back out with him. There are some places that I think he could meet me on the TTC, but Spadina and Dundas isn't one of them. As it turned out, getting to the AGO was a total drag on the TTC. The bus was late, and then when it did turn up, the bus flew by the stop without even slowing down! The next one took about 10 minutes to turn up and it was packed full as well, but the driver had to let a couple of people off, and we squeezed on in back. Then there were signal problems with the subway. I had budgeted a fair bit of extra time but we ended up turning up only about 3 minutes before our time slot. So unhappy about the state of the TTC. (Actually yesterday morning I was late for a meeting, since the 506, which normally takes 35 minutes to get to Bay, took 55+ minutes. I was so frustrated.)
Anyway, the thing about the Infinity Mirrors exhibit is that there are lots and lots of lines. I estimated it was about 2 hours of queuing for 3 minutes inside the Infinity Rooms. There is one useful trick, however, which is that there is a main line and then a single's line if you are willing to go into the room with a random pair of strangers. For two of the rooms, my son and I split up and went in the single's line, which did shave about 25 minutes off of the wait time. I would definitely recommend this if you do have tickets for the event. BTW, I decided that once through was enough, so I released a second ticket I had for next Wed., so there will be one more slot available Wed. evening if you are thinking of going down.
There are certainly several things to look at in addition to the Infinity Rooms -- stuffed phalli and quite a number of dot paintings. Nonetheless, the big draw is going into the Infinity Rooms, and most of my pictures and video will focus on them.
The second room was more oriented towards light, and the staff warned us that the light levels would vary, and it was entirely possible that the room would be completely dark when we entered! The lights were mostly on during my visit, but as I attempted to take a selfie at the very end, the room went completely black...
I felt her most successful non-dot paintings were the gouaches and watercolours right before the pink ball room.
The exhibition then opened up into a room full of pink balls.
One of the more interesting things about the pink ball room was a ball that you could look into with a small infinity mirror inside. If you looked at it properly, your eye would appear at the very far end (in that black hole area).
Then there was one last Infinity Room on the 5th floor where you would look at another person's face, reflected many, many times. (I have to admit, this one reminded me of a Lite-Brite set.)
There were some free-standing tentacles on view.
Even the stairs down to the fourth floor were involved in the exhibition, with big red dots changing the landscape.
Finally, we came to the end. There was a room where the visitors would add dots to furniture and the walls. You weren't supposed to keep any keepsake dots, though I noted a few people snuck them out. I wasn't that interested in the dots themselves, but the installation was interesting, in an overwhelming sort of way.
Anyway, the thing about the Infinity Mirrors exhibit is that there are lots and lots of lines. I estimated it was about 2 hours of queuing for 3 minutes inside the Infinity Rooms. There is one useful trick, however, which is that there is a main line and then a single's line if you are willing to go into the room with a random pair of strangers. For two of the rooms, my son and I split up and went in the single's line, which did shave about 25 minutes off of the wait time. I would definitely recommend this if you do have tickets for the event. BTW, I decided that once through was enough, so I released a second ticket I had for next Wed., so there will be one more slot available Wed. evening if you are thinking of going down.
There are certainly several things to look at in addition to the Infinity Rooms -- stuffed phalli and quite a number of dot paintings. Nonetheless, the big draw is going into the Infinity Rooms, and most of my pictures and video will focus on them.
The second room was more oriented towards light, and the staff warned us that the light levels would vary, and it was entirely possible that the room would be completely dark when we entered! The lights were mostly on during my visit, but as I attempted to take a selfie at the very end, the room went completely black...
 |
| A sneak peek |
I felt her most successful non-dot paintings were the gouaches and watercolours right before the pink ball room.
 |
| Kusama, The World of Insect, 1953 |
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| Kusama,Pacific Ocean, 1959 |
The exhibition then opened up into a room full of pink balls.
One of the more interesting things about the pink ball room was a ball that you could look into with a small infinity mirror inside. If you looked at it properly, your eye would appear at the very far end (in that black hole area).
Then there was one last Infinity Room on the 5th floor where you would look at another person's face, reflected many, many times. (I have to admit, this one reminded me of a Lite-Brite set.)
There were some free-standing tentacles on view.
Even the stairs down to the fourth floor were involved in the exhibition, with big red dots changing the landscape.
I have to admit by this point, I was getting a bit tired. Sometimes too much of a good thing is too much. Nonetheless, this silver phalli installation (Ennui) was interesting. If you got very close, you could see part of it was made from silver shoes!
There was another light-based Infinity Room after this. Fortunately, the line moved considerably quicker by this point, as we were weary.
In line for the last timed room, there was some interesting wallpaper.
We weren't allowed to take photos or video in the pumpkin room (and only 2 people at a time could come through). I'm not sure why, unless it was that they were worried people would get too close to the pumpkins and damage them. This is basically what it looked like.
And that was that. An interesting experience, but not one I'd want to repeat.
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