Too Much Heat!

Just a relatively short post to cover some of the weekend events.  Sat. was quite packed.  It started off well as I got my laps in at the Regent Park pool.  I got over to UT with about 15 minutes before the 1 o'clock concert started.  There was a new piece by Alice Hong and then Brahms's 2nd Piano Quartet.  In fact, they were doing the 3rd Piano Quartet at 4 and they had done the 1st on Friday (paired with a Shostakovitch cello piece).  I think tickets were not available on Friday, and in the end I ended up working too late and then spending some time with my son and his girlfriend (and then after they left I sat out on the deck and finished rereading Calvino's Invisible Cities), so I can't have too many regrets about missing the concert.  That said, I will try to make an effort to catch his first Piano Quartet the next time it comes to town.  (I am still possibly going to try to see Schubert's String Quintet on Thurs., though I suspect something will come up or there will be no tickets at all...)

The concert wrapped up in just about an hour, and then I biked over to BMV and sold off a few books and CDs, though they said no one was buying Billie Holiday any longer, so I had to bring that back.  Then I swung over to 401 Richmond and poked my head into a couple of galleries.  Then I went over to the AGO and saw the Naoko Matsubara exhibit. 

Naoko Matsubara, Self-Portrait, 1966

It's basically two rooms in the back corner of the first floor, but it is still pretty cool that I have one of her pieces.  It was a bit odd that many of the prints were somewhat geometric and even abstract, though I think her better prints are much more detailed, like this one.  

Naoko Matsubara, Inner Strength, 1966

They did have a wall dedicated to her In Praise of Hands series.  

I'll definitely go back a few more times when I have the chance.

Then I stopped at Staples to pick up another USB drive.  I needed to free up a lot of space to finally get this stupid Windows 11 update to complete, and in general I need to keep more space free on this computer.  (And I wasn't quite sure if I would be able to get to the one in Gerrard Square on Sunday because their hours are strange...)  I made it back but not with a lot of time to spare.  I was already starting to overheat, but went back in for the second concert.  In addition to Brahms's 3rd Piano Quartet, then performed a Schoenberg String Quartet, where the 3rd and 4th movements had sung lyrics!

This concert ran a bit longer, but I still was able to get over to Robarts by 5:30.  Now I couldn't get in, and Robarts was supposed to stay open until 6, but it turned out that they had just turned off one of the doors, as it was close to closing time.  I managed to pick up my books.  I'm pretty frustrated with Robarts because I turned in a book (on Norman Lewis).  As it was falling apart, I told them it had to go off to the bindery for repairs.  I thought it was implied that it needed to be checked in, and in general books pulled out of circulation like that need their status updated.  Nonetheless, the book is currently still charged out on my account (though with a claimed return note attached), and fines are accruing.  I'm sure they will eventually be waived, but it is completely annoying (and unnecessary), and it is possible at some point the fines will get so high that I won't be able to take out any books in the meantime until the book turns up.

Then I went over to Slab Burger and had a black bean burger and sweet potato fries.  It's sort of my go-to meal when I am in the area.  I was still pretty hot, so I got a coconut slushy from an Asian bakery.  It was fine, though these things are not designed for take-away (unlike the bubble tea which is usually fully sealed), and they had no seating available, which is such a poor business model that I don't plan on going back.

I tried to get a bit more reading done, but there was just a lot of noise in the concert hall, and I couldn't really focus, particularly on something like Walden...

The last concert was good.  They did Schubert's String Quartet #14 (Death and the Maiden) which was very stirring.  Then a different group did Elgar's Piano Quintet, which is a bit of a rarity these days.  I actually had the chance to see Jonathan Crow twice during the Regeneration concerts and Philip Chiu once.  Indeed, when you factor in those two concerts I couldn't get tickets to and the Alison Au concert I blanked on, I only am seeing the New Orford String Quartet on Wed. and a bunch of Regeneration concerts and just possibly a noontime concert on Thurs., and that is it, which is much less than I anticipated at the start of the summer...

Anyway, the last concert ran a bit late, not ending until 9:10 pm, so the No Frills on Broadview was already closed.  I biked home and dropped in at the grocery store on Danforth near Pape for a few things.  It was a somewhat exhausting day, and ultimately I paid for it on the Sunday.

Sunday started off fine.  I managed to get over to the gym and got in my workout, though I had to skip any cardio.  Then I biked over to Carlton.  I had thought about going to the Thomas Landry gallery over in the Distillery but just didn't have the time.  I did have time to stop in at Bulk Bark before the movie.  It was Thelma and Louise, which I've never seen, though I knew the broad outlines of the movie before so it wasn't a surprise or anything.  I have to agree with one reviewer who commented that Thelma makes one poor decision after another, and the movie wouldn't have been so needlessly tragic if she wasn't such a dope.  Towards the end, I was not feeling well at all.  I thought I could hold on but just felt terribly sick and had to run out to the restrooms.  I'm not sure this has ever happened to me at the movies before.  (I am sure it is just partly how badly I was feeling, but I thought the last 15 or so minutes kind of dragged with just one more bad thing after another cropping up as they made their way to Mexico; definitely 10 minutes could have been cropped out of this section.)  I was able to make it back for the final couple of minutes with the big standoff and then the great leap into the Grand Canyon, so I guess it wasn't a complete waste.  I hadn't realized that Michael Masden, who just passed away, was in the film, playing Louise's boyfriend.

I had planned on running over to the Revue to see That Man From Rio, which is an adventure type movie that may have inspired Indiana Jones.  But the weather was too hot, and I realized I was suffering from heat stroke or something.  I just went over to work and dropped a couple of things off and went home to rest, though I did stop in for a few minutes at Thomas Landry.  (I was bummed to miss the film, but it turns out that the library has a copy, so I have requested that.)

For once I didn't moan when my wife ran the AC on Sunday.  Indeed, I came very close to asking for it to be turned on last night too, as it was just so hot on the main floor.  (I was still recovering a bit and worked from home on Monday.)  It really has been several days of intense, oppressive heat.  At this point, I won't be sorry for autumn to arrive.