Yes, tax season is hitting. I did manage to download the most important tax documents, though I need to sift through emails looking for verification of what I gave to charities. Typically this is just $20 here and there, though I made some bigger donations this December in honor of my father. I'm basically on track, though I think there are some extra twists this year (or rather for 2018), as I ought to add up everything I spent advertising my Fringe show and renting out rehearsal space, since I certainly didn't break even, so that loss can be counted against other gains elsewhere.
Pretty much no matter my good intentions, it always ends up being a last minute scramble, though I do have pretty good spreadsheets to help me follow what I did for last year. Still, this is going to be a big part of the next two weekends. Blah.
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Short Books Again
It was pretty clear that the other downside of biking so much (aside from having to wash extra towels) was that my reading on transit would be cut down considerably. Of course, I can always try to carve out more time in the evenings, but there is always one thing or another (including feeling guilty about not quilting, as that is another thing I haven't restarted). This is particularly a challenge because the 2nd volume of the Musil is very thick and quite heavy. It is far too heavy to take to the gym, for instance. I really had hoped to finish this by mid April, but I can tell right now that most of the next two weekends will be taken up with US and then Canadian taxes.
Just to feel that I am not completely stalled, I am looking at taking up some shorter books. Mostly I'll be reading these at the gym (after I wrap up the first pass through Montaigne), but I may get crazy and read one or two out of sequence if I think I can get that done in a day or two.
The one that I need to get to/through the first is Immigrant City by David Bezmozgis. This one is due back to the library in about 10 days. I also need to carve out a bit of time to review the book before I actually return it.
Amit Chaudhuri's Friend of My Youth will probably be after that. I actually saw that they had a copy at Robarts, but the NYRB edition is finally available at the Toronto Library (and I can keep it for 3 weeks rather than 2, so that was the deciding factor, plus the cover is way cooler). It took me a while, but I located my copy of Freedom Song by Chaudhuri. This is actually three short works published together. Curiously, I read Afternoon Raag as a stand-alone book (from the library). Of the three works, I am probably going to tackle A Strange and Sublime Address next. This is actually made up of 9 stories about a boy spending his school holidays at his uncle's house in Calcutta (Kolkata). I wonder if I will like this better than Narayan's Swami and Friends, which I didn't like at all, due to the glamourization of a very spoiled child. Speaking of Narayan, his novels are generally on the short side. According to my reading list, the next one I am scheduled to read is The Man-Eater of Malgudi, but it will be quite a while until I get there. Still, if I do read A Strange and Sublime Address, then I'd probably feel "obligated" to turn to the Man-Eater next. In any event, I am much more likely to get through a couple of short Barbara Pym novels first (Some Tame Gazelle and probably Excellent Women).
Robarts also had a copy of Castle Gripsholm, a short novel by Kurt Tucholsky, which is forthcoming in May on NYRB. I skimmed it, but decided it didn't grip me enough to check it out and try to squeeze it in before finishing Musil. I'll probably get to it one of these days, but maybe not for a year or two.
I've already mentioned that I picked up a copy of Bellows' Ravelstein, and that is on the short side. I may well start taking that to the gym before I am completely done with the Musil (as my main reading). In the same stack, I have Vicki Baum's Grand Hotel. Interestingly, I own a version translated by Basil Creighton, whereas NYRB's version features revisions of that translation by Margo Dembo. It's very hard for me to tell how much improved the translation is, but my gut feeling is that this is not such a timeless piece of literature that I need to worry about it overmuch. Still, the Toronto Library does have the NYRB version, and I guess I can go ahead and borrow it just to see if I can spot any substantial changes. I should mention that it is about 270 pages, so shortish but not as short as these other novels.
Finally, I have gotten a few pages into a real hidden gem from NYRB - Turtle Diary by Russell Hoban. This book is told through alternating diary entries (at least that is what they seem to be) of two lonely, middle-aged Londoners. One diarist is a divorced man who works at a book shop, while the other is a female childrens' book author. (Interestingly, Hoban was not only the author of Riddley Walker (with strong parallels to A Clockwork Orange in its invented language -- and the inspiration for David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas) but of many childrens' books, including Bedtime for Frances!) They both begin having fantasies of freeing the sea turtles "imprisoned" in the London Zoo, and these plans are accelerated after they meet, which certainly suggests pre-echoes of Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water. This is a novel mostly about loneliness (in the midst of a major metropolis), but with quite a few sharp, even acidic, comments on modern life (early 70s). I'm pretty sure this will end up on my top 10 list for the year, and I can definitely imagine rereading in the future, particularly because it is quite short.
And with that, I really need to spend more time on taxes, so that I have at least some time today to dive back into Musil.
Just to feel that I am not completely stalled, I am looking at taking up some shorter books. Mostly I'll be reading these at the gym (after I wrap up the first pass through Montaigne), but I may get crazy and read one or two out of sequence if I think I can get that done in a day or two.
The one that I need to get to/through the first is Immigrant City by David Bezmozgis. This one is due back to the library in about 10 days. I also need to carve out a bit of time to review the book before I actually return it.
Amit Chaudhuri's Friend of My Youth will probably be after that. I actually saw that they had a copy at Robarts, but the NYRB edition is finally available at the Toronto Library (and I can keep it for 3 weeks rather than 2, so that was the deciding factor, plus the cover is way cooler). It took me a while, but I located my copy of Freedom Song by Chaudhuri. This is actually three short works published together. Curiously, I read Afternoon Raag as a stand-alone book (from the library). Of the three works, I am probably going to tackle A Strange and Sublime Address next. This is actually made up of 9 stories about a boy spending his school holidays at his uncle's house in Calcutta (Kolkata). I wonder if I will like this better than Narayan's Swami and Friends, which I didn't like at all, due to the glamourization of a very spoiled child. Speaking of Narayan, his novels are generally on the short side. According to my reading list, the next one I am scheduled to read is The Man-Eater of Malgudi, but it will be quite a while until I get there. Still, if I do read A Strange and Sublime Address, then I'd probably feel "obligated" to turn to the Man-Eater next. In any event, I am much more likely to get through a couple of short Barbara Pym novels first (Some Tame Gazelle and probably Excellent Women).
Robarts also had a copy of Castle Gripsholm, a short novel by Kurt Tucholsky, which is forthcoming in May on NYRB. I skimmed it, but decided it didn't grip me enough to check it out and try to squeeze it in before finishing Musil. I'll probably get to it one of these days, but maybe not for a year or two.
I've already mentioned that I picked up a copy of Bellows' Ravelstein, and that is on the short side. I may well start taking that to the gym before I am completely done with the Musil (as my main reading). In the same stack, I have Vicki Baum's Grand Hotel. Interestingly, I own a version translated by Basil Creighton, whereas NYRB's version features revisions of that translation by Margo Dembo. It's very hard for me to tell how much improved the translation is, but my gut feeling is that this is not such a timeless piece of literature that I need to worry about it overmuch. Still, the Toronto Library does have the NYRB version, and I guess I can go ahead and borrow it just to see if I can spot any substantial changes. I should mention that it is about 270 pages, so shortish but not as short as these other novels.
Finally, I have gotten a few pages into a real hidden gem from NYRB - Turtle Diary by Russell Hoban. This book is told through alternating diary entries (at least that is what they seem to be) of two lonely, middle-aged Londoners. One diarist is a divorced man who works at a book shop, while the other is a female childrens' book author. (Interestingly, Hoban was not only the author of Riddley Walker (with strong parallels to A Clockwork Orange in its invented language -- and the inspiration for David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas) but of many childrens' books, including Bedtime for Frances!) They both begin having fantasies of freeing the sea turtles "imprisoned" in the London Zoo, and these plans are accelerated after they meet, which certainly suggests pre-echoes of Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water. This is a novel mostly about loneliness (in the midst of a major metropolis), but with quite a few sharp, even acidic, comments on modern life (early 70s). I'm pretty sure this will end up on my top 10 list for the year, and I can definitely imagine rereading in the future, particularly because it is quite short.
And with that, I really need to spend more time on taxes, so that I have at least some time today to dive back into Musil.
Winter - It's Never Over
It is supposedly going to rain much of today (Saturday) and there is a strong chance that this will turn to snow at some point! Unbelievable. Well, I can recall one year that we had a dusting of snow in mid to late April, and I guess this is going to be one of those years.
It is true that Friday was pretty nice out, and I biked to work, making it 4 times in one week. Sunday should be warmer and melt any snow that actually falls.
We have another problem, however. The furnace, after valiantly sticking it out through the winter, has conked out. It may just be a simple fix or it might be more involved (and expensive). Unfortunately, this happened in the middle of the night, so there is no point in trying to call now and get an appointment for a service call. We have to wait until the morning. I am hoping that there won't be a huge rush on people wanting their furnaces serviced, since it has finally warmed up a fair bit (from 3 weeks ago). Still, it is extremely frustrating and certainly not something I wanted to have to deal with over the weekend...
Edit: Well, now that it is morning, the furnace is coming on and is not damaged irreparably. That's quite a relief! I suspect it is some quirk of the thermostat that we have to figure out. We may in the end still ask for them to send somebody out, but it doesn't seem to be nearly as urgent.
It is true that Friday was pretty nice out, and I biked to work, making it 4 times in one week. Sunday should be warmer and melt any snow that actually falls.
We have another problem, however. The furnace, after valiantly sticking it out through the winter, has conked out. It may just be a simple fix or it might be more involved (and expensive). Unfortunately, this happened in the middle of the night, so there is no point in trying to call now and get an appointment for a service call. We have to wait until the morning. I am hoping that there won't be a huge rush on people wanting their furnaces serviced, since it has finally warmed up a fair bit (from 3 weeks ago). Still, it is extremely frustrating and certainly not something I wanted to have to deal with over the weekend...
Edit: Well, now that it is morning, the furnace is coming on and is not damaged irreparably. That's quite a relief! I suspect it is some quirk of the thermostat that we have to figure out. We may in the end still ask for them to send somebody out, but it doesn't seem to be nearly as urgent.
More on Montaigne
I have generally been enjoying my exposure to his Essays. It is somewhat interesting to read through the notes of the Florio translation and have the editors note the various places Florio mistranslated Montaigne - and increasingly just refused to translate "dirty" poems from the Latin. For that matter, it is somewhat surprising just how often Montaigne talks about impotence or adultery. He had a fairly relaxed attitude towards the latter, even apparently for wives cuckolding husbands, though I suspect he might have felt differently had it happened to him (as he would likely have admitted in a follow-up essay).
There is no question that it is hard to pin down Montaigne, as he shifts quite a bit. At times, he comes across as an early Mencken. In Chapter 50, he writes "I do not think we [humans] can ever be despised as much as we deserve. ... There is, in my opinion, not so much misery in us as emptiness, not so much malice as folly." However, he very much enjoyed reading the great thinkers of the past, and he also commented favorably upon (good) writers who cared more about their virtual offspring (books) than their flesh and blood children (On the affection of fathers for their children). One thing that is pretty constant in his worldview is that he took an extremely dim view of women and their role in society. They were always jealous of each other (and suspicious of their husbands) and basically incapable of higher thinking. This frequently makes for tough going, and it is always a relief when he stops writing about women and returns to his favorite subject, himself.
In my first pass through the Essays, it looks like I will end up reading slightly over half of them. They are interesting enough that I expect I will get through them all, though I don't feel that Montaigne has changed my life or anything like that. While I'm glad I got a sampling of the Florio translation and then read an extended essay on how Shakespeare was directly influenced by this version, Florio is definitely not for me. It basically comes down to Frame (Everyman) or Screech (Penguin) -- or of course the free Cotton translation on Project Gutenberg, though that is pretty outdated. Following up on a tip from an Amazon reviewer, I wanted to see if the original academic press version of Frame's translation had the footnotes to allow the reader to know which Latin (or Greek) verse was being translated. I tracked down a copy at Robarts and found that, not only does Frame omit this information, even in the original edition, but he usually just puts in a translation of the verse and doesn't leave in the Latin (and then just notes "Virgil"). That's pretty extreme, and frankly very shoddy for what had been an academic press edition. I can tell this would really bug me after only a very short time, so I think there is no reasonable alternative for me but the Screech version. Curiously, Frame produced a bilingual edition of a handful of Essays and other writings, and this version does have the proper citations! But this is more of a curiosity than anything. I can barely read French and certainly not 400+ year old, antique French. I guess the only question is whether I order Screech now and put it in storage or wait until I've gotten through a few other books, such as Musil for starters. I think I know myself well enough to know the answer to that one...
There is no question that it is hard to pin down Montaigne, as he shifts quite a bit. At times, he comes across as an early Mencken. In Chapter 50, he writes "I do not think we [humans] can ever be despised as much as we deserve. ... There is, in my opinion, not so much misery in us as emptiness, not so much malice as folly." However, he very much enjoyed reading the great thinkers of the past, and he also commented favorably upon (good) writers who cared more about their virtual offspring (books) than their flesh and blood children (On the affection of fathers for their children). One thing that is pretty constant in his worldview is that he took an extremely dim view of women and their role in society. They were always jealous of each other (and suspicious of their husbands) and basically incapable of higher thinking. This frequently makes for tough going, and it is always a relief when he stops writing about women and returns to his favorite subject, himself.
In my first pass through the Essays, it looks like I will end up reading slightly over half of them. They are interesting enough that I expect I will get through them all, though I don't feel that Montaigne has changed my life or anything like that. While I'm glad I got a sampling of the Florio translation and then read an extended essay on how Shakespeare was directly influenced by this version, Florio is definitely not for me. It basically comes down to Frame (Everyman) or Screech (Penguin) -- or of course the free Cotton translation on Project Gutenberg, though that is pretty outdated. Following up on a tip from an Amazon reviewer, I wanted to see if the original academic press version of Frame's translation had the footnotes to allow the reader to know which Latin (or Greek) verse was being translated. I tracked down a copy at Robarts and found that, not only does Frame omit this information, even in the original edition, but he usually just puts in a translation of the verse and doesn't leave in the Latin (and then just notes "Virgil"). That's pretty extreme, and frankly very shoddy for what had been an academic press edition. I can tell this would really bug me after only a very short time, so I think there is no reasonable alternative for me but the Screech version. Curiously, Frame produced a bilingual edition of a handful of Essays and other writings, and this version does have the proper citations! But this is more of a curiosity than anything. I can barely read French and certainly not 400+ year old, antique French. I guess the only question is whether I order Screech now and put it in storage or wait until I've gotten through a few other books, such as Musil for starters. I think I know myself well enough to know the answer to that one...
Thursday, March 28, 2019
The Upward Climb
I'm getting close to being back in pre-winter conditioning. I actually biked to work 4 days this week (at least if you count a stop in over the weekend) and 3 days in a row! That's pretty incredible, given that it is still March. As it happens, Wed. was the first day where I wasn't questioning my sanity on the way in, due to the slightly warmer weather. It is probably going to rain today, but even if not, I think I should take a day off to rest. I will most likely bike Friday, and I am likely to leave work a bit early to go up to Robarts to look for some academic articles (for work) and probably to renew my alumni borrowing card.
I'll probably hold off one more week before hitting the scales to see just how much damage this winter did. About midway through the winter I had gained back about 5 pounds, but I think the second half of the winter was worse in the sense that I came close to losing the will to live.
One thing that I didn't do was do much swimming. I know that I tend to do more when I can hit the Regent Park Aquatic Centre on the way home on the bike, but after the introduction of 2-hour transfer on Presto, I could have gone more over the winter. At least I did stick to the gym routine. One of the only downsides of so much biking (and going to the gym) is that I have so many towels to wash...
Yesterday, I sort of mixed things up a bit. My mouth was still recovering from a filling. It didn't hurt all that much, but the dentist used so much anesthetic that my tongue was still fairly numb and I couldn't taste much. So instead of dinner and then the gym, I went to the gym first. It was kind of weird, wrapping up my workout while the mall was still open.
There are plenty of other things on my mind, but they mostly revolve around the stupidity of politicians (and the populace that chose them), so I'll just end here.
I'll probably hold off one more week before hitting the scales to see just how much damage this winter did. About midway through the winter I had gained back about 5 pounds, but I think the second half of the winter was worse in the sense that I came close to losing the will to live.
One thing that I didn't do was do much swimming. I know that I tend to do more when I can hit the Regent Park Aquatic Centre on the way home on the bike, but after the introduction of 2-hour transfer on Presto, I could have gone more over the winter. At least I did stick to the gym routine. One of the only downsides of so much biking (and going to the gym) is that I have so many towels to wash...
Yesterday, I sort of mixed things up a bit. My mouth was still recovering from a filling. It didn't hurt all that much, but the dentist used so much anesthetic that my tongue was still fairly numb and I couldn't taste much. So instead of dinner and then the gym, I went to the gym first. It was kind of weird, wrapping up my workout while the mall was still open.
There are plenty of other things on my mind, but they mostly revolve around the stupidity of politicians (and the populace that chose them), so I'll just end here.
Saturday, March 23, 2019
So sore
I guess I was pushing it a little bit. I have been so eager to get back into biking that I went out, even on days that it wasn't very nice. Friday I actually got snowed on in the morning! It was warmer coming back, but it was much windier than I was expecting, particularly when I was heading north.
More than anything, I am trying to shake off the winter blues. The winter really dragged, and by the halfway point I lost most of my willpower. I definitely gained back a fair bit of weight, and I just don't think I'll lose it back until I start biking regularly.
At any rate, it was quite cold on Sat. morning, and I ended up working around the house for a while. Finally, a bit after noon I went over to the gym to get in a slightly shortened workout, and then I biked to work! It wasn't so bad going there, but coming back I felt it in my legs. Every time I had to stop and restart the bike, my legs complained. I'm still quite sore, and I don't think I'll do this again anytime soon. I suppose I could try the biking first and then going to the gym in the evening, but mostly I should be trying to break into this a bit more gently. (As my wife says, I'm not a young kid anymore. Sigh...) My hands are generally pretty sore, but I would say they don't really ache the way they did a few months back, so that seems to be progress, even if my overall conditioning is shot.
More than anything, I am trying to shake off the winter blues. The winter really dragged, and by the halfway point I lost most of my willpower. I definitely gained back a fair bit of weight, and I just don't think I'll lose it back until I start biking regularly.
At any rate, it was quite cold on Sat. morning, and I ended up working around the house for a while. Finally, a bit after noon I went over to the gym to get in a slightly shortened workout, and then I biked to work! It wasn't so bad going there, but coming back I felt it in my legs. Every time I had to stop and restart the bike, my legs complained. I'm still quite sore, and I don't think I'll do this again anytime soon. I suppose I could try the biking first and then going to the gym in the evening, but mostly I should be trying to break into this a bit more gently. (As my wife says, I'm not a young kid anymore. Sigh...) My hands are generally pretty sore, but I would say they don't really ache the way they did a few months back, so that seems to be progress, even if my overall conditioning is shot.
Last Minute Museum Exhibit
I am very sorry not to have posted this last week, but work has been crazy and I simply ran out of time. At any rate, the Art Museum at UToronto has two separate but related exhibits on Indian (and Indian-Canadian) artists (more info here and here). However, both close today at 5 pm! Again, very sorry for the short(ened) notice!
If you can't make it, there is a handout archived here.
If you can't make it, there is a handout archived here.
The Art Museum is actually split between galleries on the 2nd floor of University College and then a smaller gallery space at the north end of Hart House. Of the two, I tend to visit Hart House more, just because it is closer to other Hart House events. Indeed, I managed to squeeze in my visit right before a matinee performance of Retreat at Hart House Theatre a couple of weeks ago.
Of the two, I did slightly prefer the exhibit in Hart House, focused on P. Mansaram. Most of the pieces were collages, with a mixture of stencil, textiles, paper and even currency all thrown into the mix. Here are a few pieces that caught my attention. They all appear to be from his Rear Window series.
Friday, March 22, 2019
Book Exchange
My Little Free Library has been getting pretty decent usage (and turnover). I'd say about half or even 2/3rd of the books I seeded it with have been taken out. I expect things might actually pick up a bit now that it is warming up (so very slightly). People should be a bit more willing to stop and look through it. (One slightly interesting thing is that when it was so very cold out, the door actually stuck, but now it is back to working properly. I find that odd, as I would have thought the wood would have contracted so very slightly, and the door should have stuck less. Well, I may sand it down just a bit more anyway.)
It is particularly gratifying that people are leaving books as well as taking them. I had come fairly close to buying Cormac McCarthy's The Road (for $1 at the library book sale) just to leave it for someone else. Well, less than a week later, someone did leave a copy of The Road, as well as Life of Pi. Perhaps the single most amusing thing is that someone left a second copy of D.M. Thomas's The White Hotel! Now there are a few books that have been left for some time and they don't seem to be inspiring any takers. I'll probably leave them there through April and then take them somewhere else to be recycled.
I'm pretty close to having another stack ready to go out, including Updike's Rabbit novels and Fizgerald's translations of Homer and Virgil. And Crumley's Dancing Bear, which I will be more than happy to part with.
At any rate, a few days ago I was biking past a Little Free Library on Victor Ave. I saw that they had White Noise. I decided to do an exchange, so today I brought a handful of books to leave there. Unfortunately, White Noise was taken. Too bad; I'll have to act faster next time. It's kind of nice that I shouldn't have to obsessively monitor the library, but I will make sure that no one leaves any trash (literal or figurative) inside.
Edit (Update): It's a bit embarrassing to admit that I confused two of these libraries -- one on Victor Ave. and one on Riverdale Ave. The East Side is actually pretty well served by actual libraries, as well as Little Free Libraries (and a handful of unassociated free libraries not on this map). Though I suppose Leslieville could use one or two more...
In any case, the Riverdale one still had White Noise after all, so I picked it up and added it to my library. I'll have to swap with something else, mostly likely one of the copies of The White Hotel.
It is particularly gratifying that people are leaving books as well as taking them. I had come fairly close to buying Cormac McCarthy's The Road (for $1 at the library book sale) just to leave it for someone else. Well, less than a week later, someone did leave a copy of The Road, as well as Life of Pi. Perhaps the single most amusing thing is that someone left a second copy of D.M. Thomas's The White Hotel! Now there are a few books that have been left for some time and they don't seem to be inspiring any takers. I'll probably leave them there through April and then take them somewhere else to be recycled.
I'm pretty close to having another stack ready to go out, including Updike's Rabbit novels and Fizgerald's translations of Homer and Virgil. And Crumley's Dancing Bear, which I will be more than happy to part with.
At any rate, a few days ago I was biking past a Little Free Library on Victor Ave. I saw that they had White Noise. I decided to do an exchange, so today I brought a handful of books to leave there. Unfortunately, White Noise was taken. Too bad; I'll have to act faster next time. It's kind of nice that I shouldn't have to obsessively monitor the library, but I will make sure that no one leaves any trash (literal or figurative) inside.
Edit (Update): It's a bit embarrassing to admit that I confused two of these libraries -- one on Victor Ave. and one on Riverdale Ave. The East Side is actually pretty well served by actual libraries, as well as Little Free Libraries (and a handful of unassociated free libraries not on this map). Though I suppose Leslieville could use one or two more...
In any case, the Riverdale one still had White Noise after all, so I picked it up and added it to my library. I'll have to swap with something else, mostly likely one of the copies of The White Hotel.
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Taking Stock (Musil and Other Books)
This won't be a proper review. I think Musil's The Man Without Qualities pretty much defies attempts to summarize it. It is mostly a novel of ideas (in a high modernist vein) where different characters represent different shades of idealism vs. utilitarian thinking. I'm not really sure what Musil was really driving at, other than showing all unified internal philosophies (what people live by) have their shortcomings and blind spots. Ostensibly the novel is about Ulrich (a 30-something failed intellectual), who gets attached to a patriotic campaign to promote Austria, and specifically the monarch of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and to try to steal the thunder of a similar patriotic campaign about to kick off in Germany. The novel was mostly written in the 1930s and early 40s, and the shadow of WWI hangs over the novel, though it is set just one year prior to WWI. (In contrast, WWII and its aftermath is inescapable in von Rezzori's The Death of My Brother Abel.) Here we mostly see ethnic tensions on the rise and a powerful strain of anti-Semitism that, for now, limits itself to verbal abuse and social shunning of Jews. (Although there is considerably irony in the general who continually maintains that the surest way to maintain peace with one's neighbors is by building up a strong army.) In addition to members of the campaign, Ulrich also interacts with a number of other characters: Walter, a school chum; Walter's wife Clarisse; Bonadea, Ulrich's sometime mistress; and Gertha, a friend of the family who starts hanging with an unruly crowd of radical thinkers. It isn't until the second volume (700 pages in) that Agathe, Ulrich's sister, is introduced and becomes a major character. I've just managed to get through the first volume. I'm taking a day or two off before launching into the second volume. As it happens, there are about 500 pages to come of published material and 200 pages of essentially finished chapters, which Musil withdrew from the publisher to rework. Then 300-400 pages of notes and character sketches. It is a bit hard to say how or if Musil could ever have ended the novel, though I suppose the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand would have been an appropriate stopping point if he could have come up with a plausible reason for Ulrich to be in Sarajevo. It is a little difficult to really gear up for the final push on an unfinished novel, but this is one of the last of the major novels that I really feel I ought to read (along with War and Peace and David Copperfield). As I said before, it is (for me) considerably better than Proust but not as fun or engaging as Ulysses. Still I certainly can't imagine reading it a second time.
At any rate, I will take a very short break before launching into the second volume. I'll probably mostly focus on trying to get through Mohammed Hanif's Red Birds, since I have to read this on my phone, and I have only 5-6 more days before the file evaporates on me. I don't really like it (and a few Goodreads reviewers feel the ending is a total cheat*). I probably would drop this, except than it was such a hassle to get it in the first place that I am feeling bloody minded enough to press on. In addition to the unhappiness over the phone business, I simply don't like the writing style. Hanif has the reader rotate inside the heads of three characters, including a dog(!), but they all have the same narrative voice. They have different perspectives and concerns to be sure, but basically identical vocabularies and pretty similar phrasing. If you're going to do this, do it right... I think in general, he probably should have played up the connections to The Little Prince (an aviator crashing in the desert), but maybe that would have made me feel the book's shortcomings even more.
I'm closing in on Dancing Bear by James Crumley. I don't like this at all. I would not bother finishing except it is short and it is in the Vintage Book series. The Wrong Case was an ok, not great, homage to Dashiell Hammet, put through the blender of a 1970s acid trip. But Dancing Bear is completely implausible with this alcoholic (and coke fiend) ex-cop managing to take down a whole team of "baddies" a la Jack Reacher. I do get a bit obsessive about completing lists, but I really can't imagine reading the other two Crumley's in the Vintage Book series, given how much I dislike this one.
On the positive side, the library had my copy of Immigrant City by David Bezmozgis. I thought this was going to be a long novel (that I would have to somehow slot in), but it is a fairly short collection of short stories. I thought the title story was pretty good, so I'll be reading this soon, probably mostly at the gym, particularly as I am winding down my march through Montaigne's Essays.
On the horizon, I picked up a copy of Bellow's Ravelstein for $1 at the library book sale. This is the only novel by Bellow that I haven't read. Also, my manager passed along his copy of Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. It's a book that I have certainly heard about, though I wouldn't say I had a burning desire to read it. However, I wasn't going to pass up a free copy, so now at some point, I will have to tell him what I thought of the book...
* I just finished and returned this (all through my phone, which is a first for me). What a pointless book. Learn from my mistakes; I strongly urge you not to waste your time with this.
At any rate, I will take a very short break before launching into the second volume. I'll probably mostly focus on trying to get through Mohammed Hanif's Red Birds, since I have to read this on my phone, and I have only 5-6 more days before the file evaporates on me. I don't really like it (and a few Goodreads reviewers feel the ending is a total cheat*). I probably would drop this, except than it was such a hassle to get it in the first place that I am feeling bloody minded enough to press on. In addition to the unhappiness over the phone business, I simply don't like the writing style. Hanif has the reader rotate inside the heads of three characters, including a dog(!), but they all have the same narrative voice. They have different perspectives and concerns to be sure, but basically identical vocabularies and pretty similar phrasing. If you're going to do this, do it right... I think in general, he probably should have played up the connections to The Little Prince (an aviator crashing in the desert), but maybe that would have made me feel the book's shortcomings even more.
I'm closing in on Dancing Bear by James Crumley. I don't like this at all. I would not bother finishing except it is short and it is in the Vintage Book series. The Wrong Case was an ok, not great, homage to Dashiell Hammet, put through the blender of a 1970s acid trip. But Dancing Bear is completely implausible with this alcoholic (and coke fiend) ex-cop managing to take down a whole team of "baddies" a la Jack Reacher. I do get a bit obsessive about completing lists, but I really can't imagine reading the other two Crumley's in the Vintage Book series, given how much I dislike this one.
On the positive side, the library had my copy of Immigrant City by David Bezmozgis. I thought this was going to be a long novel (that I would have to somehow slot in), but it is a fairly short collection of short stories. I thought the title story was pretty good, so I'll be reading this soon, probably mostly at the gym, particularly as I am winding down my march through Montaigne's Essays.
On the horizon, I picked up a copy of Bellow's Ravelstein for $1 at the library book sale. This is the only novel by Bellow that I haven't read. Also, my manager passed along his copy of Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. It's a book that I have certainly heard about, though I wouldn't say I had a burning desire to read it. However, I wasn't going to pass up a free copy, so now at some point, I will have to tell him what I thought of the book...
* I just finished and returned this (all through my phone, which is a first for me). What a pointless book. Learn from my mistakes; I strongly urge you not to waste your time with this.
Monday, March 18, 2019
Brisk Biking Day
Last night I tried to get my bike ready. Ultimately it was so cold outside that I brought the bike inside to warm up the tires before I could inflate them. Even now I should probably throw a bit more air in the back tire. It was a real relief this morning to get the bike back outside where it belonged.
I did bike in the morning. I found it unpleasantly chilly, though I suppose it was good that I noticed the cold more than any pain in my hands. I'll plan on riding back tonight, then aim to bike Tuesday and Friday. At least this way I'll be able to balance reading during the commute with getting exercise...
While there are certainly a few hard-core cyclists out all year, it is a very slow trickle ramping up now. That means I have to be extra cautious, as drivers still aren't really expecting to see cyclists. I'll try to avoid leaving too late, as I don't want to be out as it turns to dusk. All things considered, I'm still glad to be cycling, but I think I will enjoy it more next week as it gets warmer!
Update: I was a bit sore this evening, though I think doing the stationary bikes all the way through winter did help a bit. I'm struggling to believe my eyes that there is a heavy dusting of snow on the ground this morning! I'm still leaning toward riding in, but it may be a last-minute decision on whether I actually follow through.
Update 2: It was considerably colder than I expected it to be, and my hands were painfully cold for quite a while after coming inside. I suppose one small positive is that I wasn't sweaty (as usual) and thus I could skip the showers. They are closed for repairs, and I am hoping they will be back in service by Friday, though this is somewhat unlikely. Still, going back shouldn't be quite so bad, as it should warm up throughout the day.
I did bike in the morning. I found it unpleasantly chilly, though I suppose it was good that I noticed the cold more than any pain in my hands. I'll plan on riding back tonight, then aim to bike Tuesday and Friday. At least this way I'll be able to balance reading during the commute with getting exercise...
While there are certainly a few hard-core cyclists out all year, it is a very slow trickle ramping up now. That means I have to be extra cautious, as drivers still aren't really expecting to see cyclists. I'll try to avoid leaving too late, as I don't want to be out as it turns to dusk. All things considered, I'm still glad to be cycling, but I think I will enjoy it more next week as it gets warmer!
Update: I was a bit sore this evening, though I think doing the stationary bikes all the way through winter did help a bit. I'm struggling to believe my eyes that there is a heavy dusting of snow on the ground this morning! I'm still leaning toward riding in, but it may be a last-minute decision on whether I actually follow through.
Update 2: It was considerably colder than I expected it to be, and my hands were painfully cold for quite a while after coming inside. I suppose one small positive is that I wasn't sweaty (as usual) and thus I could skip the showers. They are closed for repairs, and I am hoping they will be back in service by Friday, though this is somewhat unlikely. Still, going back shouldn't be quite so bad, as it should warm up throughout the day.
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want (Computer Issues)
So apparently the Smiths cared 33% more than I do. This is likely because I have been ground down by the ubiquitousness of computer issues in the modern world. Anyway, this will mostly be a hodgepodge of a list of things that have really been bugging me. Frankly if I were more technological savvy, this would be where I would invest my time, since I think in many cases there is a real market (at least made up of people like me) to solve these issues.
Problem #1 is that my computer is slow. I mean really slow in the sense that I will start some program (or often set off the Windows Update process) and it will hang to the point that I can't even get the mouse to move the cursor for quite a while (well over 15 seconds). It's pretty clear that this computer is simply too old and doesn't have the computer power/speed I really need, but this brings me to point #2...
Problem #2 is I hate Windows 10, and I don't really like Window 8, which was really designed more for tablets than desktops. If it weren't for the fact it is completely unsupported and virus-prone, I would probably move back to Windows XP. I never did take the plunge and learn Linux. While I think that would have given me personal satisfaction, most of the programs I use (particularly the modelling and GIS software) won't run on Linux. At any rate, at this point, if I buy a new computer it will come loaded with Windows 10. To avoid this (and to not have to port over a bunch of legacy software/settings), I'll keep the old one running as long as possible, but also remember to back up what I can on a regular basis. Most/all of my documents are on an external hard drive, and the music gets backed up fairly frequently. (I think putting everything up into "the Cloud" would take weeks and weeks and weeks, so I don't actually plan on doing that.)
Problem #3 is that the automatic updates and the scanning (by Defender) became so all-encompassing and overwhelming it was almost as bad a getting struck by a virus. There were frequently times when the available hard drive space would drop by 1 GB or more (for no apparent reason) and this would cause other processes to crash. You are supposed to be able to set virus scanning to a lower priority, but I cannot make this "stick," particularly in Windows 8. Extremely frustrating. I finally got to the point where I turned off automatic updates, but the flipside is that virtually every day I need to update the Defender anti-virus definitions. Frankly, what a shitty world we live in that people have so much time to generate new viruses and trojans on a daily basis. All I can say is that the internet did not live up to expectations at all... I probably will give up and turn the automatic updates back on.
Problem #3b is that Java and particularly Flash is always asking to be updated, and the process always tries to install bloatware! It probably is just as well that the BBC Radio pulled all the programs I used to stream, as this always forced me to update to get the music to actually play. I haven't tried to listen to BBC Radio in ages, which is sad, but life moves on. I do almost all of my streaming in iTunes now and hardly ever Hoopla (see #7b below). Actually on the rare occasions I listen to music on Naxos, I will often have to update Flash. I don't really understand all this constant updating.
Problem #4 is that I cannot filter out news that I really hate -- like I never want to read about the Momo hoax again. I would give quite a bit for my internet provider not to default to "The Loop" when I sign in and out of my various accounts. I feel The Loop with its inane focus on celebrities and the young royals is making me stupider. Even just looking at the story leads (not actually clicking through) is causing my IQ to drop. Maybe this is why Facebook has become so omnipresent: people actually can start filtering their digital world.
Problem #4b is that, while I really should never bother to look at comments on news stories (now down to Slate, CBC and the Guardian, as the other sites* have wisely banned comments), I would really love to be able to block or "ghost" certain particularly annoying commentors. There really is supposed to be this functionality, but, again, maybe this is more of a Facebook thing. I think there are far too many issues tied up with joining Facebook (and I never did join), so I guess the better option is to stop reading on-line comments, which are pretty much a cesspool of stupidity and endless point-scoring off of one's opponents.
Problem #5 is that I was "forced" to download the Spotify app only to discover that frankly they lie about their offerings. Specifically I was looking for some tracks that were unavailable on iTunes and supposedly were on Spotify. So I went through the hassle of installing Spotify only to learn that, surprise, they didn't exist on Spotify after all. I immediately uninstalled Spotify and won't bother loading it in again in the future. On rare occasions, I will find that something is in iTunes but only iTunes UK or something similar. I really wish that these regional licensing restrictions would be lifted, but if anything they are getting worse. No question this is one of the reasons that torrents stay in business, even though I suspect most people (or at least most people my age) would prefer to do things the legal way.
Problem #6 is that I was really put out the other day to find that it was difficult and invasive to try to install Overdrive on my desktop when it was a piece of cake to install on my phone. This is an app that allows you to read ebooks from the library. I understand (though am still annoyed) that you have to have a certain level of DRM (digital rights management) so that you can withdraw the ebook after the expiration date. Otherwise there would be no limit to the number of people reading the ebook. Now whether this is truly a problem or not is a question for another day. However, the Google Play version of the software was written for smart phones only, and then I wasn't allowed to install Overdrive on my desktop without registering first. I found that just one step too far, even though I understand I would eventually have to give up my info to get an Overdrive account set up. The upshot is that, very much against my will, I have to read this book on my phone (when I had prided myself on not being so addicted to the (tiny) screen time). It's something like a 250 page book, so this will be 800+ taps. Extremely frustrating. For whatever reason, a physical copy of the book is not in either the Toronto Public Library system or over at Robarts. I did finally get it working, but I am not happy. There is one other book I will read this way, as there is no other alternative, but I am still very less than pleased.
Problem #6b is very minor but will still change my blogging/posting habits. The blogger who compiles all the posts for the Canadian Challenge had a software change imposed upon her, and now we will have to sign in to get our new links to load. That is something I am not comfortable with at all. In the short term, she will accept us posting links directly as comments in the comment section and then she'll load them, but this seems an extra hassle both for her and us. I strongly suspect that I will only bother with about half of my forthcoming book reviews (especially as I already hit number 13), and if this is not corrected in the near future, I simply will not sign up for the next Canadian Challenge. C'est dommage.
Problem #7 is that there used to be a quite nice ePub reader for Firefox, but they made so many changes during one of the updates that it lost functionality. The programmers rewrote it to work with the new Forefox, but frankly the new version sucks eggs (and I am far from the only person to think this). For the longest time I had rolled back Firefox to an older version that was compatible with the old ePub reader, but I guess I need to stop doing this. Somewhere along the way, I downloaded a desktop ePub reader. I suppose I should make sure this actually works before upgrading Firefox.
Problem #7b is that there is some other issue with Firefox and other websites. I don't really back enough Kickstarter campaigns to really worry about it, but I simply could not get the payment to work on Firefox. The places to fill in credit card #s kept blanking out. I ultimately had to handle this in Internet Explorer (talk about legacy software!). I'm also having no end of trouble with Hoopla in Firefox, and I suppose I will first see what happens after I upgrade Firefox, and then, if that still doesn't work, I will try IE. Not life-changing or anything, but really quite annoying.
Problem #8 is quite a weird one. When looking over my blog posts in the Blogger control deck area, I find that posts that are too old are no longer being indexed properly. By that I mean when I try to search by a word only one or two old posts come up, but that when I search inside the blog posts (using the little Google search bar) then more posts appear. This is quite annoying and counter-productive. Essentially that means I either remember to create a page with links to these "dead" posts or I need to repost the core content of an old post as a new one. I could also pin the post, but these aren't posts I want to return to that often, more like once every six months or so. I guess I could also create best of the blog posts if I really wanted to, since I no longer think I will ever try to publish a best of the blog ebook (my readership has fallen off far too much for that). It certainly is not the end of the world, but I can't understand why the indexing/searching isn't working any more.
I'm sure there are plenty of other things that bug me, which I will remember immediately after closing out this post, but this is enough for now on what is bothering me in this digital age.
* I guess technically the NY Times still allows comments, but I go there so rarely now that it is behind a soft paywall that the comments there aren't at all part of my on-line experience.
Problem #1 is that my computer is slow. I mean really slow in the sense that I will start some program (or often set off the Windows Update process) and it will hang to the point that I can't even get the mouse to move the cursor for quite a while (well over 15 seconds). It's pretty clear that this computer is simply too old and doesn't have the computer power/speed I really need, but this brings me to point #2...
Problem #2 is I hate Windows 10, and I don't really like Window 8, which was really designed more for tablets than desktops. If it weren't for the fact it is completely unsupported and virus-prone, I would probably move back to Windows XP. I never did take the plunge and learn Linux. While I think that would have given me personal satisfaction, most of the programs I use (particularly the modelling and GIS software) won't run on Linux. At any rate, at this point, if I buy a new computer it will come loaded with Windows 10. To avoid this (and to not have to port over a bunch of legacy software/settings), I'll keep the old one running as long as possible, but also remember to back up what I can on a regular basis. Most/all of my documents are on an external hard drive, and the music gets backed up fairly frequently. (I think putting everything up into "the Cloud" would take weeks and weeks and weeks, so I don't actually plan on doing that.)
Problem #3 is that the automatic updates and the scanning (by Defender) became so all-encompassing and overwhelming it was almost as bad a getting struck by a virus. There were frequently times when the available hard drive space would drop by 1 GB or more (for no apparent reason) and this would cause other processes to crash. You are supposed to be able to set virus scanning to a lower priority, but I cannot make this "stick," particularly in Windows 8. Extremely frustrating. I finally got to the point where I turned off automatic updates, but the flipside is that virtually every day I need to update the Defender anti-virus definitions. Frankly, what a shitty world we live in that people have so much time to generate new viruses and trojans on a daily basis. All I can say is that the internet did not live up to expectations at all... I probably will give up and turn the automatic updates back on.
Problem #3b is that Java and particularly Flash is always asking to be updated, and the process always tries to install bloatware! It probably is just as well that the BBC Radio pulled all the programs I used to stream, as this always forced me to update to get the music to actually play. I haven't tried to listen to BBC Radio in ages, which is sad, but life moves on. I do almost all of my streaming in iTunes now and hardly ever Hoopla (see #7b below). Actually on the rare occasions I listen to music on Naxos, I will often have to update Flash. I don't really understand all this constant updating.
Problem #4 is that I cannot filter out news that I really hate -- like I never want to read about the Momo hoax again. I would give quite a bit for my internet provider not to default to "The Loop" when I sign in and out of my various accounts. I feel The Loop with its inane focus on celebrities and the young royals is making me stupider. Even just looking at the story leads (not actually clicking through) is causing my IQ to drop. Maybe this is why Facebook has become so omnipresent: people actually can start filtering their digital world.
Problem #4b is that, while I really should never bother to look at comments on news stories (now down to Slate, CBC and the Guardian, as the other sites* have wisely banned comments), I would really love to be able to block or "ghost" certain particularly annoying commentors. There really is supposed to be this functionality, but, again, maybe this is more of a Facebook thing. I think there are far too many issues tied up with joining Facebook (and I never did join), so I guess the better option is to stop reading on-line comments, which are pretty much a cesspool of stupidity and endless point-scoring off of one's opponents.
Problem #5 is that I was "forced" to download the Spotify app only to discover that frankly they lie about their offerings. Specifically I was looking for some tracks that were unavailable on iTunes and supposedly were on Spotify. So I went through the hassle of installing Spotify only to learn that, surprise, they didn't exist on Spotify after all. I immediately uninstalled Spotify and won't bother loading it in again in the future. On rare occasions, I will find that something is in iTunes but only iTunes UK or something similar. I really wish that these regional licensing restrictions would be lifted, but if anything they are getting worse. No question this is one of the reasons that torrents stay in business, even though I suspect most people (or at least most people my age) would prefer to do things the legal way.
Problem #6 is that I was really put out the other day to find that it was difficult and invasive to try to install Overdrive on my desktop when it was a piece of cake to install on my phone. This is an app that allows you to read ebooks from the library. I understand (though am still annoyed) that you have to have a certain level of DRM (digital rights management) so that you can withdraw the ebook after the expiration date. Otherwise there would be no limit to the number of people reading the ebook. Now whether this is truly a problem or not is a question for another day. However, the Google Play version of the software was written for smart phones only, and then I wasn't allowed to install Overdrive on my desktop without registering first. I found that just one step too far, even though I understand I would eventually have to give up my info to get an Overdrive account set up. The upshot is that, very much against my will, I have to read this book on my phone (when I had prided myself on not being so addicted to the (tiny) screen time). It's something like a 250 page book, so this will be 800+ taps. Extremely frustrating. For whatever reason, a physical copy of the book is not in either the Toronto Public Library system or over at Robarts. I did finally get it working, but I am not happy. There is one other book I will read this way, as there is no other alternative, but I am still very less than pleased.
Problem #6b is very minor but will still change my blogging/posting habits. The blogger who compiles all the posts for the Canadian Challenge had a software change imposed upon her, and now we will have to sign in to get our new links to load. That is something I am not comfortable with at all. In the short term, she will accept us posting links directly as comments in the comment section and then she'll load them, but this seems an extra hassle both for her and us. I strongly suspect that I will only bother with about half of my forthcoming book reviews (especially as I already hit number 13), and if this is not corrected in the near future, I simply will not sign up for the next Canadian Challenge. C'est dommage.
Problem #7 is that there used to be a quite nice ePub reader for Firefox, but they made so many changes during one of the updates that it lost functionality. The programmers rewrote it to work with the new Forefox, but frankly the new version sucks eggs (and I am far from the only person to think this). For the longest time I had rolled back Firefox to an older version that was compatible with the old ePub reader, but I guess I need to stop doing this. Somewhere along the way, I downloaded a desktop ePub reader. I suppose I should make sure this actually works before upgrading Firefox.
Problem #7b is that there is some other issue with Firefox and other websites. I don't really back enough Kickstarter campaigns to really worry about it, but I simply could not get the payment to work on Firefox. The places to fill in credit card #s kept blanking out. I ultimately had to handle this in Internet Explorer (talk about legacy software!). I'm also having no end of trouble with Hoopla in Firefox, and I suppose I will first see what happens after I upgrade Firefox, and then, if that still doesn't work, I will try IE. Not life-changing or anything, but really quite annoying.
Problem #8 is quite a weird one. When looking over my blog posts in the Blogger control deck area, I find that posts that are too old are no longer being indexed properly. By that I mean when I try to search by a word only one or two old posts come up, but that when I search inside the blog posts (using the little Google search bar) then more posts appear. This is quite annoying and counter-productive. Essentially that means I either remember to create a page with links to these "dead" posts or I need to repost the core content of an old post as a new one. I could also pin the post, but these aren't posts I want to return to that often, more like once every six months or so. I guess I could also create best of the blog posts if I really wanted to, since I no longer think I will ever try to publish a best of the blog ebook (my readership has fallen off far too much for that). It certainly is not the end of the world, but I can't understand why the indexing/searching isn't working any more.
I'm sure there are plenty of other things that bug me, which I will remember immediately after closing out this post, but this is enough for now on what is bothering me in this digital age.
* I guess technically the NY Times still allows comments, but I go there so rarely now that it is behind a soft paywall that the comments there aren't at all part of my on-line experience.
Gas-lighting (ZipCar)
I actually prefer the term gas-lamping, but I guess gas-lighting is the proper one. In any event, I had a super frustrating thing happen to me a few days back that eventually had me doubting my sanity just a bit...
I had been planning on renting a ZipCar for a couple of hours this weekend to take the kids to Hamilton. While there isn't anything specific that I want to see in Hamilton, it really was a bit more of a test run to see if we could go to London by May or so. (We really don't do much travelling by car obviously.)
I couldn't quite remember my password or user name (or more likely in fact the account had been suspended, but I am getting ahead of myself). So one day when I had some time, I plugged in the different email addresses to do an account recovery. It told me that none of them were registered. I found that baffling, so I called ZipCar last Wed. While my name was in the system, it is possible that I registered under my previous address, but more to the point, the credit cards weren't correct. I find this really quite hard to believe, as I made a few trips on ZipCar last year (including to rent a van to do some landscaping work, and this trip was definitely after my credit cards were switched over). Because I "failed" these security tests, they could not let me into the system. I asked the guy what I was supposed to do, and he said I would have to get into the system on-line and update my information or he couldn't help me. I swore at him and hung up.
I have a program that archives all my emails, and I went through it and there was not a single email about ZipCar or anything that said "reservation" in the email. But this is where I feel I am going a bit crazy. I mean I certainly remember getting emails about returning the car on time or reminding me about an upcoming reservation. So somehow these emails have been deleted out of my actual email account, as well as from the archive? That seems incredibly far-fetched (since you certainly aren't supposed to be able to recall emails past a couple of days and not from an archive), but it is just as far fetched that ZipCar would not have sent me any information at all about my account.
About the only thing that makes any sense at all (and even this doesn't explain everything) is that my main email remained my previous work account and then they had sent emails to that account warning me that I hadn't paid my annual fee or whatever, so that my account was simply suspended and locked. But as I said, I most certainly was renting ZipCar as late as last August, and there is literally no record of me doing so. At this point, I will check my old credit card statements and see if there was an annual fee paid or not. If not, I am so annoyed at them, that I think I will let my membership lapse forever. I will either look into Auto Share (which also has some cars near me) or just bail on ride-sharing completely. In most cases, it is actually cheaper to rent a car from Hertz or Alamo if you are actually going anywhere substantial. It is only for the 1-3 hour trips where ZipCar is actually cheaper, and I have managed to arrange my life so that I really don't make these short driving trips. All in all, this has been just one more thing in my life that has me frustrated and upset, and I better off without ZipCar on the whole.
I had been planning on renting a ZipCar for a couple of hours this weekend to take the kids to Hamilton. While there isn't anything specific that I want to see in Hamilton, it really was a bit more of a test run to see if we could go to London by May or so. (We really don't do much travelling by car obviously.)
I couldn't quite remember my password or user name (or more likely in fact the account had been suspended, but I am getting ahead of myself). So one day when I had some time, I plugged in the different email addresses to do an account recovery. It told me that none of them were registered. I found that baffling, so I called ZipCar last Wed. While my name was in the system, it is possible that I registered under my previous address, but more to the point, the credit cards weren't correct. I find this really quite hard to believe, as I made a few trips on ZipCar last year (including to rent a van to do some landscaping work, and this trip was definitely after my credit cards were switched over). Because I "failed" these security tests, they could not let me into the system. I asked the guy what I was supposed to do, and he said I would have to get into the system on-line and update my information or he couldn't help me. I swore at him and hung up.
I have a program that archives all my emails, and I went through it and there was not a single email about ZipCar or anything that said "reservation" in the email. But this is where I feel I am going a bit crazy. I mean I certainly remember getting emails about returning the car on time or reminding me about an upcoming reservation. So somehow these emails have been deleted out of my actual email account, as well as from the archive? That seems incredibly far-fetched (since you certainly aren't supposed to be able to recall emails past a couple of days and not from an archive), but it is just as far fetched that ZipCar would not have sent me any information at all about my account.
About the only thing that makes any sense at all (and even this doesn't explain everything) is that my main email remained my previous work account and then they had sent emails to that account warning me that I hadn't paid my annual fee or whatever, so that my account was simply suspended and locked. But as I said, I most certainly was renting ZipCar as late as last August, and there is literally no record of me doing so. At this point, I will check my old credit card statements and see if there was an annual fee paid or not. If not, I am so annoyed at them, that I think I will let my membership lapse forever. I will either look into Auto Share (which also has some cars near me) or just bail on ride-sharing completely. In most cases, it is actually cheaper to rent a car from Hertz or Alamo if you are actually going anywhere substantial. It is only for the 1-3 hour trips where ZipCar is actually cheaper, and I have managed to arrange my life so that I really don't make these short driving trips. All in all, this has been just one more thing in my life that has me frustrated and upset, and I better off without ZipCar on the whole.
Saturday, March 16, 2019
Timing
I suppose I am mostly stringing together one example of bad timing (that frustrated me hugely on a day I was already in a bad mood) and then a couple of examples of better timing. While it is always tempting to think that the universe "balances" everything out, it is also incredibly egocentric to imagine that these random occurrences have anything to do with you at all. That said, it is still nice to not always be on the losing side of things.
On Wed. I was in a pretty dark mood all day. I don't even remember what really set it off.* Probably mostly not enough sleep and being hungry at work and wishing it was even warmer (though I do certainly appreciate finally being able to wear regular shoes and not boots outside!). I also had a pretty big cavity filled at the dentist and that was certainly no fun, though I suppose it could have been much worse, since the cavity didn't quite touch the nerve (and I avoided a root canal). One of the few bright spots was going to the gym after work. (I have to admit that I still have to kind of force myself to go, but after a few minutes into the routine it gets better, and I am always pleased afterwards that I went.) If I had stopped the weights routine a bit sooner, I had an almost completely empty row of stationary bikes, but I wanted to get through the last set of reps and then stretch. When I was finished, every single bike was full! I couldn't believe it and went into the change room in disgust to shower and change. When I came out, I couldn't believe it, as three of the bikes were now free. My timing was truly bad, though I certainly couldn't have expected them all to just be doing 5-10 minute sessions. Skipping out on the biking meant I didn't get in any cardio that evening nor did I read another chunk of Montaigne. On the other hand, I didn't have to rush quite so much at the grocery store on the way home. (I already mentioned that I often can bundle a trip to the gym with a trip to the grocery store and thus am far more likely to go, even on low-motivation days.)
Thurs. I did have something to look forward to -- I was going to take my son to see Mendelssohn's Octet in the evening. We grabbed the tickets and then went over to Fran's. It was going to be a 10 minute wait. I almost bailed, but decided we still had time. In the end, we had our meal and were just wrapping up when an alarm went off. Everyone pretty much ignored it, and we managed to get our bill paid. At that point, the announcement came on saying that everyone had to leave the building! I can't imagine how disruptive this would have been for people just midway through their dinner. And while Canadians are pretty honest overall, there must have been some tempted to just walk away in the confusion, particularly if they had had most of their dinner. I really don't know what happened to everyone else, since we were able to walk out without worrying about coming back. But it would have been quite a disaster if we were held up trying to pay for dinner with the concert about to start! There was another snag in that when I bought the tickets, they sold me the wrong date! Fortunately, the concert was not sold out and I was able to get the tickets exchanged with no fuss. The first half was pretty solid (2 other octets), but really I was there for the Mendelssohn, and it was fine. Coming back home on the train was fairly uneventful.
Friday I had a bit of luck in that I was assigned to stay at the home office and go to a meeting on long-term bus planning. My co-workers were heading up to York for a meeting there. While I had hoped to bring someone from the office along with me to the AGO Impressionist exhibit, I settled on planning to go the following week. At any rate, the day went pretty quickly. Fortunately, I checked the TTC Alerts before I left, since there was some police activity and Line 2 was completely shut down between St. George and Bloor. And in fact, they shut down the Don Valley Parkway as well! While the police never full revealed what happened (to try to discourage copy-cats), it seems likely someone tried to jump off the Bloor Viaduct. While I feel terrible for people in such distress, I am getting more and more utilitarian in my old age and feel that really people that snarl the transportation system for 100s of thousands of people really do need some jail time (in addition to treatment). Also, I think going forward, the system is just going to have to be a lot more cold-hearted and find ways to keep moving even when there are medical emergencies or what have you. I recall a few months back they shut down Line 1 because there was a raccoon on the tracks, whereas I think they absolutely should have just kept going and run over the vermin. I decided that I might as well go to the AGO after all to see if the mess was over by the time I finished. Upon leaving, it was pretty clear that Dundas was still terrible (and Line 2 was still down, so many east-west buses were now filling in as shuttle buses). I walked down to Queen. Getting from John to Yonge on the streetcar took forever! (Probably because the city was flooded with Uber drivers making their surge money.) It got a bit better east of Sherbourne, and I was finally able to make it home. (All things considered, it could have been a lot worse, particularly if I hadn't checked the website and ended up on a Bloor shuttle bus.) However, it was really pretty late and I was too frazzled to go to the gym, so I decided to do that early Sat. I heard from my co-workers that their commute back to Toronto was horrendous, since they were indeed stuck on the DVP pretty much the whole time, so I have to say I really dodged a bullet there. I'll probably have to bring them some Tim Bits on Monday to make it up to them.
* Oh, now things are starting to come back into focus. I had my ZipCar membership terminated, which I'll explain in the next post. The whole episode was so frustrating (and I was maybe dreading the dentist a bit), so I left the office early. I then learned that the Market Gallery is now charging an admission fee, which seems a bit steep, given the quality of exhibits that they host. I don't know if this is a one-off for this exhibit, but it will definitely discourage me from going on a regular basis going forward. To sort of top off a lousy day, No Frills seems to have discontinued one of its own brands of chips that I really liked. I had been checking routinely to see when they would come back in, but they removed the shelf label and put something else in its place. Frustrating...
On Wed. I was in a pretty dark mood all day. I don't even remember what really set it off.* Probably mostly not enough sleep and being hungry at work and wishing it was even warmer (though I do certainly appreciate finally being able to wear regular shoes and not boots outside!). I also had a pretty big cavity filled at the dentist and that was certainly no fun, though I suppose it could have been much worse, since the cavity didn't quite touch the nerve (and I avoided a root canal). One of the few bright spots was going to the gym after work. (I have to admit that I still have to kind of force myself to go, but after a few minutes into the routine it gets better, and I am always pleased afterwards that I went.) If I had stopped the weights routine a bit sooner, I had an almost completely empty row of stationary bikes, but I wanted to get through the last set of reps and then stretch. When I was finished, every single bike was full! I couldn't believe it and went into the change room in disgust to shower and change. When I came out, I couldn't believe it, as three of the bikes were now free. My timing was truly bad, though I certainly couldn't have expected them all to just be doing 5-10 minute sessions. Skipping out on the biking meant I didn't get in any cardio that evening nor did I read another chunk of Montaigne. On the other hand, I didn't have to rush quite so much at the grocery store on the way home. (I already mentioned that I often can bundle a trip to the gym with a trip to the grocery store and thus am far more likely to go, even on low-motivation days.)
Thurs. I did have something to look forward to -- I was going to take my son to see Mendelssohn's Octet in the evening. We grabbed the tickets and then went over to Fran's. It was going to be a 10 minute wait. I almost bailed, but decided we still had time. In the end, we had our meal and were just wrapping up when an alarm went off. Everyone pretty much ignored it, and we managed to get our bill paid. At that point, the announcement came on saying that everyone had to leave the building! I can't imagine how disruptive this would have been for people just midway through their dinner. And while Canadians are pretty honest overall, there must have been some tempted to just walk away in the confusion, particularly if they had had most of their dinner. I really don't know what happened to everyone else, since we were able to walk out without worrying about coming back. But it would have been quite a disaster if we were held up trying to pay for dinner with the concert about to start! There was another snag in that when I bought the tickets, they sold me the wrong date! Fortunately, the concert was not sold out and I was able to get the tickets exchanged with no fuss. The first half was pretty solid (2 other octets), but really I was there for the Mendelssohn, and it was fine. Coming back home on the train was fairly uneventful.
Friday I had a bit of luck in that I was assigned to stay at the home office and go to a meeting on long-term bus planning. My co-workers were heading up to York for a meeting there. While I had hoped to bring someone from the office along with me to the AGO Impressionist exhibit, I settled on planning to go the following week. At any rate, the day went pretty quickly. Fortunately, I checked the TTC Alerts before I left, since there was some police activity and Line 2 was completely shut down between St. George and Bloor. And in fact, they shut down the Don Valley Parkway as well! While the police never full revealed what happened (to try to discourage copy-cats), it seems likely someone tried to jump off the Bloor Viaduct. While I feel terrible for people in such distress, I am getting more and more utilitarian in my old age and feel that really people that snarl the transportation system for 100s of thousands of people really do need some jail time (in addition to treatment). Also, I think going forward, the system is just going to have to be a lot more cold-hearted and find ways to keep moving even when there are medical emergencies or what have you. I recall a few months back they shut down Line 1 because there was a raccoon on the tracks, whereas I think they absolutely should have just kept going and run over the vermin. I decided that I might as well go to the AGO after all to see if the mess was over by the time I finished. Upon leaving, it was pretty clear that Dundas was still terrible (and Line 2 was still down, so many east-west buses were now filling in as shuttle buses). I walked down to Queen. Getting from John to Yonge on the streetcar took forever! (Probably because the city was flooded with Uber drivers making their surge money.) It got a bit better east of Sherbourne, and I was finally able to make it home. (All things considered, it could have been a lot worse, particularly if I hadn't checked the website and ended up on a Bloor shuttle bus.) However, it was really pretty late and I was too frazzled to go to the gym, so I decided to do that early Sat. I heard from my co-workers that their commute back to Toronto was horrendous, since they were indeed stuck on the DVP pretty much the whole time, so I have to say I really dodged a bullet there. I'll probably have to bring them some Tim Bits on Monday to make it up to them.
* Oh, now things are starting to come back into focus. I had my ZipCar membership terminated, which I'll explain in the next post. The whole episode was so frustrating (and I was maybe dreading the dentist a bit), so I left the office early. I then learned that the Market Gallery is now charging an admission fee, which seems a bit steep, given the quality of exhibits that they host. I don't know if this is a one-off for this exhibit, but it will definitely discourage me from going on a regular basis going forward. To sort of top off a lousy day, No Frills seems to have discontinued one of its own brands of chips that I really liked. I had been checking routinely to see when they would come back in, but they removed the shelf label and put something else in its place. Frustrating...
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Secondary museums in Toronto
No question most of my attention goes towards what is going on at the AGO and the ROM. I'm usually only up for going to the ROM about once a year, typically on the weekend with membership-swapping with the AGO.
At any rate, the AGO is particularly interesting right now with the Impressionist exhibit going on. Late this year and into 2020, there is an exhibit on Rubens. I have to say this doesn't really interest me, though I'll probably go once. I thought there was supposed to be another landscape exhibit coming up, but perhaps I've confused that with something else. In a few months, the AGO will unveil its very own Infinity Room, and I'll check that out. However, there is no question I'm not that thrilled about the 2020 offerings, at least at the moment. (While I ultimately decided the studio exhibit in Montreal wasn't really worth travelling for, next year around this time they have a major exhibit on Signac and other Parisian artists -- in some ways a continuation of AGO's Impressionist exhibit. I'll make sure to get out there next year, perhaps over Spring Break.)
Probably the single most "important" art event outside the big 2 is the Ai Weiwei exhibit at the Gardiner. This runs through June 9. I will be somewhat disappointed if it is just photos of him breaking pots (as I already saw those and didn't think the artistic statements was that profound). Nonetheless, I do want to check this out.
I had more or less forgotten the exhibit of female artists at the Market Gallery (over at St. Lawrence Market). Fortunately, this runs through late April, and as soon as I am biking again, I'll swing by.
I did get the sense when MOCA moved that I would be going less often, and that is definitely the case. I find this location takes considerably more effort to get there (compared to their Queen St. location), but really I just don't like the works they are promoting. Most of it is deeply unappealing to me and/or they are focusing on video art, which I simply don't have the patience for in a museum setting. For instance, they are showing two Chantal Akerman films, but it is not at all clear how long they are (and you apparently have to turn up to find the start times). I probably will not be going back more than once every three or four years. MOCA has almost completely fallen off my radar, even though I used to make a point of seeing what they were up to.
It's been kind of a mixed bag at the Power Plant over on the Waterfront, but they often have exhibits that appeal to me, at least a bit (certainly in comparison to MOCA). Again, once I am biking more regularly (hopefully within a week or two), I'll stop by. The current set of exhibits runs through mid May, so I have lots of time.
I do often try to get to the Textile Museum, maybe twice a year. I may miss the Crosscurrents exhibit (which ends March 31). However, I will likely be taking my extended family when they turn up this summer, and we'll check out the Nadia Myre exhibit, which looks pretty interesting.
Finally, I do make a point of getting to the Aga Khan Museum on a regular basis, either on the free night (Wed. evenings) or when I get a free pass at the library. Anyway, an exhibit on the role of the moon in Islamic art and culture has just opened, and I'll plan on seeing that in the spring or summer.
So there is generally quite a bit to do, apart from just the AGO or the ROM, even though they certainly do command the most attention.
At any rate, the AGO is particularly interesting right now with the Impressionist exhibit going on. Late this year and into 2020, there is an exhibit on Rubens. I have to say this doesn't really interest me, though I'll probably go once. I thought there was supposed to be another landscape exhibit coming up, but perhaps I've confused that with something else. In a few months, the AGO will unveil its very own Infinity Room, and I'll check that out. However, there is no question I'm not that thrilled about the 2020 offerings, at least at the moment. (While I ultimately decided the studio exhibit in Montreal wasn't really worth travelling for, next year around this time they have a major exhibit on Signac and other Parisian artists -- in some ways a continuation of AGO's Impressionist exhibit. I'll make sure to get out there next year, perhaps over Spring Break.)
Probably the single most "important" art event outside the big 2 is the Ai Weiwei exhibit at the Gardiner. This runs through June 9. I will be somewhat disappointed if it is just photos of him breaking pots (as I already saw those and didn't think the artistic statements was that profound). Nonetheless, I do want to check this out.
I had more or less forgotten the exhibit of female artists at the Market Gallery (over at St. Lawrence Market). Fortunately, this runs through late April, and as soon as I am biking again, I'll swing by.
I did get the sense when MOCA moved that I would be going less often, and that is definitely the case. I find this location takes considerably more effort to get there (compared to their Queen St. location), but really I just don't like the works they are promoting. Most of it is deeply unappealing to me and/or they are focusing on video art, which I simply don't have the patience for in a museum setting. For instance, they are showing two Chantal Akerman films, but it is not at all clear how long they are (and you apparently have to turn up to find the start times). I probably will not be going back more than once every three or four years. MOCA has almost completely fallen off my radar, even though I used to make a point of seeing what they were up to.
It's been kind of a mixed bag at the Power Plant over on the Waterfront, but they often have exhibits that appeal to me, at least a bit (certainly in comparison to MOCA). Again, once I am biking more regularly (hopefully within a week or two), I'll stop by. The current set of exhibits runs through mid May, so I have lots of time.
I do often try to get to the Textile Museum, maybe twice a year. I may miss the Crosscurrents exhibit (which ends March 31). However, I will likely be taking my extended family when they turn up this summer, and we'll check out the Nadia Myre exhibit, which looks pretty interesting.
Finally, I do make a point of getting to the Aga Khan Museum on a regular basis, either on the free night (Wed. evenings) or when I get a free pass at the library. Anyway, an exhibit on the role of the moon in Islamic art and culture has just opened, and I'll plan on seeing that in the spring or summer.
So there is generally quite a bit to do, apart from just the AGO or the ROM, even though they certainly do command the most attention.
Friday, March 8, 2019
Spring Break Cancelled
Spring Break is not technically or rather, literally, cancelled for the TDSB, but we had been toying with the idea of going to Montreal. As one thing after another came up (doctor appointment, dentist appointment, concert), this kept getting shrunk down until it would have just been leaving fairly early on Friday and then returning either Sat. late afternoon or Sunday, all by train. The last straw was a report that it was likely going to be snowing in Montreal next week, and I definitely have had it with winter...
We may just rent a car for a day and drive out to Hamilton. If this goes reasonably well, then perhaps in a few weeks we might drive out to London (more like a 2.5 hour trip). I don't think we'll ever take really long car trips, however, which is quite different from how I grew up.
I'm a little bummed out by not taking any time off now, but I'll just try to figure out some real vacations to take this summer.
We may just rent a car for a day and drive out to Hamilton. If this goes reasonably well, then perhaps in a few weeks we might drive out to London (more like a 2.5 hour trip). I don't think we'll ever take really long car trips, however, which is quite different from how I grew up.
I'm a little bummed out by not taking any time off now, but I'll just try to figure out some real vacations to take this summer.
Looking Ahead (Theatre Summer-Fall 2019)
I actually have only a relatively few things on my plate after April.
I will say that the amazing performances I saw in Kiss of the Spider Woman does make me more likely to check out Copenhagen at Soulpepper this April. (Kawa Ada is also in Copenhagen as Werner Heisenberg.)
I've decided to skip Shaw completely, and I am very much on the fence regarding Henry VIII at Stratford, though perhaps in the end I'll go.
I guess this is quite short notice, all things considered, but Miller's After the Fall will be going up in Buffalo starting March 21 for about 3 weeks. I've seen this in Chicago and would probably see it in Toronto, but am not sure I would/will travel to Buffalo for it. The Miller play I really want to see is A View from the Bridge, as it is the last major play of his I've never seen. Now this actually popped up in Buffalo a year or two ago, but I had really strong reservations about the staging and the director's "concept" for the piece, so I decided against it.
Death of a Salesman shows up for a one weekend run in Toronto in June. I'll likely go see this again, and am mostly debating whether to take my son.
Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie shows up at Bloor West Village Theatre in September. I've generally not been very impressed with Bloor West, though this is a play that's relatively hard to mess up if played straight (there was some crazy inversion of the play at Theatre Centre that I'm so glad I missed), and I might take my son, as it is a pretty good entry point into Williams's work. I'm sure I'm just been too snobbish about it, but I generally think that it is just too "easy" to program the major Williams plays (Menagerie, Tin Roof, Streetcar) at a major theatre and this should be left to the storefront theatres. I just think that Soulpepper should be more ambitious and should program something more obscure than Streetcar Named Desire, so I am going to pass on it next season.
I've been generally unimpressed with the 2019-20 season announcements I've seen so far, so it may be that I do see less theatre next season, but hopefully some interesting things will pop up.
I will say that the amazing performances I saw in Kiss of the Spider Woman does make me more likely to check out Copenhagen at Soulpepper this April. (Kawa Ada is also in Copenhagen as Werner Heisenberg.)
I've decided to skip Shaw completely, and I am very much on the fence regarding Henry VIII at Stratford, though perhaps in the end I'll go.
I guess this is quite short notice, all things considered, but Miller's After the Fall will be going up in Buffalo starting March 21 for about 3 weeks. I've seen this in Chicago and would probably see it in Toronto, but am not sure I would/will travel to Buffalo for it. The Miller play I really want to see is A View from the Bridge, as it is the last major play of his I've never seen. Now this actually popped up in Buffalo a year or two ago, but I had really strong reservations about the staging and the director's "concept" for the piece, so I decided against it.
Death of a Salesman shows up for a one weekend run in Toronto in June. I'll likely go see this again, and am mostly debating whether to take my son.
Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie shows up at Bloor West Village Theatre in September. I've generally not been very impressed with Bloor West, though this is a play that's relatively hard to mess up if played straight (there was some crazy inversion of the play at Theatre Centre that I'm so glad I missed), and I might take my son, as it is a pretty good entry point into Williams's work. I'm sure I'm just been too snobbish about it, but I generally think that it is just too "easy" to program the major Williams plays (Menagerie, Tin Roof, Streetcar) at a major theatre and this should be left to the storefront theatres. I just think that Soulpepper should be more ambitious and should program something more obscure than Streetcar Named Desire, so I am going to pass on it next season.
I've been generally unimpressed with the 2019-20 season announcements I've seen so far, so it may be that I do see less theatre next season, but hopefully some interesting things will pop up.
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Full Calendar
I often have pretty full weeks, but these next five days really are extremely packed!
Tonight I am off to the Don Jail to check out Kiss of the Spider Woman. Apparently, the show will largely take place in the central area (not the sides with the actual jail cells, as that is far too narrow). This should be pretty interesting and reviews are quite good. Sadly for those without tickets, it is sold out.
Friday, I am checking out Pinter's Betrayal at Red Sandcastle. It looks like there are still tickets for Sat. and a Sunday matinee. I do hope they do a creditable job. I most likely won't end up seeing Betrayal when it comes to Soulpepper next season, but you never know.
Sat., I will be at Hart House to check out Retreat. I am hoping to get to the gym fairly early and then still have time to get to Hart House an hour or so early to see if the art exhibit is still running (it should be).
Sunday, I will be at the TSO to catch Shostakovitch's Symphony 5. Ideally, I will try to get to the gym in the evening, since I will have a big workout gap otherwise.
Finally, Monday, Entrances and Exits is making its return from last year's Fringe. This is an improv skit where the first half gives the audience the chance to see what is on one side of a door and then we see what was happening on the other side in the second half. So it requires some discipline on the part of the performers. Colin Mochrie will be making a guest appearance on Monday, so I am quite excited that we managed to get the tickets. (It's also nice that the theatre is more or less around the corner from me, so I won't be out so late on that night...)
Now if I just find out when The Ex-Boyfriend Project returns, I'll be all set.
Tonight I am off to the Don Jail to check out Kiss of the Spider Woman. Apparently, the show will largely take place in the central area (not the sides with the actual jail cells, as that is far too narrow). This should be pretty interesting and reviews are quite good. Sadly for those without tickets, it is sold out.
Friday, I am checking out Pinter's Betrayal at Red Sandcastle. It looks like there are still tickets for Sat. and a Sunday matinee. I do hope they do a creditable job. I most likely won't end up seeing Betrayal when it comes to Soulpepper next season, but you never know.
Sat., I will be at Hart House to check out Retreat. I am hoping to get to the gym fairly early and then still have time to get to Hart House an hour or so early to see if the art exhibit is still running (it should be).
Sunday, I will be at the TSO to catch Shostakovitch's Symphony 5. Ideally, I will try to get to the gym in the evening, since I will have a big workout gap otherwise.
Finally, Monday, Entrances and Exits is making its return from last year's Fringe. This is an improv skit where the first half gives the audience the chance to see what is on one side of a door and then we see what was happening on the other side in the second half. So it requires some discipline on the part of the performers. Colin Mochrie will be making a guest appearance on Monday, so I am quite excited that we managed to get the tickets. (It's also nice that the theatre is more or less around the corner from me, so I won't be out so late on that night...)
Now if I just find out when The Ex-Boyfriend Project returns, I'll be all set.
Mini reviews - March 2019
I thought I would quickly check in with some thoughts on 3 plays, two of which are still running.
Mules just closed, but Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies has 3 more performances at East Side Players. I'm not entirely sure how many shows are left in Little Menace (an evening of Pinter shorts at Soulpepper), but it was extended to March 17, so there is quite a bit of time left to see it.
Minor SPOILERS in the mini-reviews below...
Mules is a dark comedy about drug smuggling with one of the actors being the mule and the other her handler, who is trying to change the plan, in a probably futile effort to cut out the drug dealer above her in the chain. I suppose part of my "beef" with the play is the mis-marketing or at least mislabelling of the play. There are comic moments, but the ending is not at all funny nor does it put things right that were knocked askew (basically the classic definition of a comedy). There are cases with really depressing endings (if you think things through) but are funny in a bleak way, so that they still qualify as comedies. I'd put Dr. Stangelove and probably even How to Get Ahead in Advertising in this camp. This really was more of a dramedy or even Polonius's hybrid category: tragical-comical-historical-pastoral (though more urban than pastoral). While the mis-marketing didn't bother me all that much for Stratford's Napoli Milionaria!, it actually did bug me here for some reason. Now interestingly, I basically could buy the explanation they gave to cover a couple of plot holes that bothered the Mooney's reviewer, but there was a different issue that kept nagging at me and that is before she left, one woman would have definitely made sure that the other one had updated contact info in case anything happened to her daughter. That would have eliminated a fair bit of pointless "raising the stakes" that was just distracting. But my single biggest issue with the play was the introduction of a third character (a male janitor in training who basically will not leave the "mule" in peace to pass out all the drugs in her intestinal tract). On top of it not being really believable that he would insist on coming in, the writers made him a fairly racist,* homophobic jerk, so that the audience wouldn't feel bad when bad things happen to him. Overall, I did like the chemistry of the two leads, but the plot needs a serious overhaul to make this play work.
Mules just closed, but Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies has 3 more performances at East Side Players. I'm not entirely sure how many shows are left in Little Menace (an evening of Pinter shorts at Soulpepper), but it was extended to March 17, so there is quite a bit of time left to see it.
Minor SPOILERS in the mini-reviews below...
Mules is a dark comedy about drug smuggling with one of the actors being the mule and the other her handler, who is trying to change the plan, in a probably futile effort to cut out the drug dealer above her in the chain. I suppose part of my "beef" with the play is the mis-marketing or at least mislabelling of the play. There are comic moments, but the ending is not at all funny nor does it put things right that were knocked askew (basically the classic definition of a comedy). There are cases with really depressing endings (if you think things through) but are funny in a bleak way, so that they still qualify as comedies. I'd put Dr. Stangelove and probably even How to Get Ahead in Advertising in this camp. This really was more of a dramedy or even Polonius's hybrid category: tragical-comical-historical-pastoral (though more urban than pastoral). While the mis-marketing didn't bother me all that much for Stratford's Napoli Milionaria!, it actually did bug me here for some reason. Now interestingly, I basically could buy the explanation they gave to cover a couple of plot holes that bothered the Mooney's reviewer, but there was a different issue that kept nagging at me and that is before she left, one woman would have definitely made sure that the other one had updated contact info in case anything happened to her daughter. That would have eliminated a fair bit of pointless "raising the stakes" that was just distracting. But my single biggest issue with the play was the introduction of a third character (a male janitor in training who basically will not leave the "mule" in peace to pass out all the drugs in her intestinal tract). On top of it not being really believable that he would insist on coming in, the writers made him a fairly racist,* homophobic jerk, so that the audience wouldn't feel bad when bad things happen to him. Overall, I did like the chemistry of the two leads, but the plot needs a serious overhaul to make this play work.
I had high hopes for Little Menace, which were largely met. However, in the end, I generally agreed with the Mooney reviewer that it was worth seeing, but it was not without flaws. The Basement was the longest piece. It just wasn't that interesting and was frankly a dud. Either they should have cut it and gotten the show down to 60 minutes (probably the better option) or replaced this with two other shorts, maybe A Kind of Alaska or even Night School (though that would have required some gender-flipping apparently). They might have considered transitioning from New World Order to One for the Road, but that one is really dark and might have just been too much for the overall tone of the evening. Another option might have been to pair Night with Landscape, though that might have been too much of a good thing. In any event, I definitely thought it was worth seeing, though I wish they had reconsidered including The Basement.
I wasn't really sure about Time Stands Still at East Side Players. It was the middle show of the subscription and I was more interested in the ones on either side, but I decided to go ahead and get the subscription. I thought it would be a fairly typical melodrama, but it ended up being surprisingly good. The main plot is that two journalists (or rather one journalist and one photo-journalist) are back from a very difficult tour of Iraq and are recovering. They interact with their editor and his new, young girlfriend and slowly piece their lives back together. I was pleasantly surprised that no one came across as a complete jerk, though they certainly did have conflicts over different issues. The ending was a bit downbeat but fairly realistic as the couple began to diverge (one being a true adrenaline junky and wanting to go back while the other had finally had enough of war). I haven't read it but apparently James Salter's Light Years is along a similar theme (without the war correspondent angle). Perhaps the only slightly off note is that one of the two makes a big point about how their careers have been built off the suffering of others, but this is also the same one that ends up going back to the front. I suppose foolish consistency and all that... Anyway, a surprisingly strong play, and I would recommend seeing it at East Side Players in the 3 dates that are left.
* I can definitely buy racists living in Metro Vancouver, but I can't believe anyone his age (and from Vancouver) confusing someone of Indian background with a Mexican. It just doesn't compute.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Turning a Corner on Winter?
I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but I think today will be the last terrible day of winter. It warms up a bit for the next two days, though probably still below freezing. It may well break freezing over the weekend, and it may rain, which could get rid of some snow, though it might also lead to icy sidewalks (which has been my absolute bane this winter -- almost nothing I hate worse than this). On the positive side, salt has finally turned up again at the local stores.* Yea! We have one bag now, and I'll try to pick up a spare tonight on the way back from the gym.
Definitely not out of the woods yet, but even the thought that the worst is over is helping me cheer up (a bit) after an extremely bad extended patch.
* Sadly, it only lasted about two days and is back out of stock. I definitely should have grabbed a second bag, but we have enough to last through this rump of winter, and I'll get more when it turns up after that.
Definitely not out of the woods yet, but even the thought that the worst is over is helping me cheer up (a bit) after an extremely bad extended patch.
* Sadly, it only lasted about two days and is back out of stock. I definitely should have grabbed a second bag, but we have enough to last through this rump of winter, and I'll get more when it turns up after that.
Friday, March 1, 2019
Hunkering Down
This week has been a very challenging one for me. It wasn't the very coldest. We did get another significant snowfall, though no ice storm this time around (and the sidewalks around here have been largely, though not completely, cleared of ice). But it just feels like this has been an endless winter, and I am so tired of it. I had planned on going to the gym last night, but got home a bit late from work and basically just collapsed on the couch. I should be able to make it tonight (and it should be marginally warmer out) and then on Sunday after I get back from a play at East Side Players. But I am thoroughly sick of the winter. It hasn't caused all that many changes to my plans, other than I am not doing any cycling at all. I think I did bike once or twice in December. Mostly I really feel like hibernating and waiting it out until the spring.
On the positive side of things, I did manage to get two items submitted for Sing-for-Your-Supper, including a mash-up of the Iliad and Disney cartoons. I was going to do another piece inspired by Pinter's Betrayal (which I'm seeing next week), but I ran out of steam and time. I briefly debated turning The Visitation into a short story and submitting it to the Toronto Star Short Story Contest, but I've been studying the winners, and it is quite clear that this would not be up their alley. I might still do it, but I have to decide which literary magazines actually still publish humour. Not many, unfortunately. I'm not making as much progress as I would like on modelling, but I have laid the groundwork for some interesting work. I think mostly this will just have to be done when I am in better spirits, which of course depends on the return of better weather. What I really ought to do is work on the quilt, so I'll make a push on that this weekend.
On the positive side of things, I did manage to get two items submitted for Sing-for-Your-Supper, including a mash-up of the Iliad and Disney cartoons. I was going to do another piece inspired by Pinter's Betrayal (which I'm seeing next week), but I ran out of steam and time. I briefly debated turning The Visitation into a short story and submitting it to the Toronto Star Short Story Contest, but I've been studying the winners, and it is quite clear that this would not be up their alley. I might still do it, but I have to decide which literary magazines actually still publish humour. Not many, unfortunately. I'm not making as much progress as I would like on modelling, but I have laid the groundwork for some interesting work. I think mostly this will just have to be done when I am in better spirits, which of course depends on the return of better weather. What I really ought to do is work on the quilt, so I'll make a push on that this weekend.
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