It looks like it might sprinkle a little bit today, but basically it will be overcast most of the day. I generally consider this "Vancouver weather," and I am willing to bike in it. I don't have a lot of plans for the day, but still it will be better to have the bike than not (and rely on the TTC).
In brief, I didn't have anything on my event calendar for today but decided that wouldn't do. I checked and it turns out that "Honey Don't!" has just showed up at Carlton (the lesbian B movie by one of the Coen Brothers and his lesbian wife), so I will hit that. Over at Market Square, they have started showing Aronofsky's Caught Stealing, which I think I will pass on, having seen enough of it from the trailers (though I will say that Matt Smith (former Doctor from Dr. Who) is almost unrecognizable as a mohawk-ed punk, which might be sort of droll to see, but as I said I've seen a lot of him in the trailers), but also This is Spinal Tap II.* My wife also wants to see this, so we'll try to catch it next Sat., or then the following Monday or Tuesday after work.
I'm going to head out in about 15 minutes to go swimming in Regent Park; the pool is supposedly open today... Then "Honey Don't!" If the weather is still about the same, and not pouring, I will hit the downtown No Frills on Richmond and then 401 Richmond. (Hopefully, the galleries are open today!) Then drop off something at work and come home and rest a bit (and maybe finally start typing up some of my copious notes on planners). I might also finally watch the remaining section of The Leopard.
Speaking of creative writing, I had expected to have a few more pages to scan (and eventually transcribe), but it was not to be. I decided to go check out Hirut, as Eric St.-Laurent was playing in a group led by Doug Wilde. This was very much a last minute decision. I wanted to make sure I could find the place and sort of scope it out, as I think I may drop by once in a while. It turns out it is indeed very close to Coal Mine Theatre; it takes 25 minutes to get there by bike, and about 20 going back (as much of the route is downhill!). The website had indicated that the cover was cash, though I had a bit of trouble believing it. Nonetheless, I showed up, and it was pretty packed (it's a somewhat similar set-up to The Only Cafe on Danforth, which often has live music though I don't really keep up with their calendar), and they said they didn't think they could squeeze me in.** And indeed the cover was supposed to be cash only, which is so strange as everywhere just adds it to the tab. So good information to know for the future, though it was obviously pretty disappointing last night. I will say that Doug Wilde is sort of smooth jazz, at least based on his Rhymes with Reason CD, which they were also selling at the door, featuring most of the players on stage last night. So I'm sure it would have been fine, but it isn't a date that I am going to agonize about missing. Going forward, I will need to make sure to have more cash and try to show up more like 30 minutes before the show starts.
* It seems there is a real generational divide with Spinal Tap II with Gen Y/Gen Z just thinking it is a bunch of tired old men who aren't that funny anymore, and Boomers/Gen X really feeling the pathos of getting older. I think I'll like it, but it's hard to predict.
** In fact what the guy said was "I don't know if I can accommodate you," which is pretty high-highfalutin... I might have pressed my luck a bit, but I didn't have any cash on me anyway.
Edit (9 pm): The day went pretty much as planned. Indeed, it cleared up in the late afternoon, and I was able to read outside for close to an hour. I'm getting quite close to the end of Zevin's Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Some people didn't like the middle section, but it is holding up for me at any rate. I think I'll be able to finish this tomorrow and Kundera's Ignorance shortly after. I did find it fairly challenging to get my laps in at Regent Park Pool, and I ultimately had to move over to the fast lanes, where someone was swimming in the wrong direction and ran into me twice! But I did get my laps in and even soaked in the hot tub area a couple of times.
I really enjoyed Honey Don't!, which I think is a much better film than Drive Away Dolls, though I do have some questions about the final twist at the end, which doesn't really make a lot of sense.
I didn't find a lot going on at 401 Richmond, but at least a few galleries were open. I do need to go back on the 27th when there is a new opening. It turns out it is an evening opening (6-8 pm), and I'll have to sneak away around 7:30, as the Rex has changed their times and the evening show starts at 8 pm now. Probably it is just as well I switched things up because if I was going over to Coal Mine on that Sat., I probably couldn't spend any time at 401 Richmond. Overall, it was a pretty good though somewhat exhausting day. I'll have to try to pace myself tomorrow.
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