It's getting down to the wire.
I was very busy this weekend, and am still sore now, though I did take a break here and there. I have to say, I wonder if I won't feel quite so creaky in a month after I can get some rest, or if this is a new, permanent condition. In which case, it really is good this is the last move in a long time. I just will not be able to do so much of the work the next time around.
Anyway, I stayed over at the new place Saturday night, and I'll probably do that one night this week (though obviously a bit harder to do on a school/work night). I unpacked essentially all the CDs and started on the DVDs. I may not actually get the books up in time, but the key is to get them out of the way, but also leave a space to get the desk into the back room where it is supposed to go. I am going to gamble that it will fit into that slot next to the 4th bookcase (rather than cutting a wedge out of the molding beforehand).
I also put a narrower bookshelf together for my son's room. Now we just have to get rid of the older one. One thing that added several days to this process was moving this enormous desk to my son's room, which is why the bigger bookcase doesn't fit.
On Saturday, after making a couple more trips with the ZipCar, I dropped my son's bike off at the shop. It turns out that Canadian Tire didn't really construct it all that well, and the mechanic had to make quite a number of adjustments and tightenings, but now it seems like a decent bike. It's almost adult size, but he's growing into it and getting pretty good. My daughter is really struggling to deal with life after training wheels, but I suspect she'll get there eventually.
Since it was a nice day, and I thought I deserved a break, I biked off to 4 of the photography exhibits mentioned in this post that were still open. Of all of them, I liked Scott Conarroe's Canada By Rail and By Sea the best. I also dropped into work for about 30 minutes, which was good, since I didn't have time to go on Sunday, as I expected.
I had a friend come by Sunday and help out with some of the key electrical upgrades. In one case, the outlet was done in 10 minutes, but then he had to essentially reshape the electric box and file it down to get the new outlet to sit back in there. That added an hour to the chore, and I felt really badly about it. Fortunately, getting a light into the second bedroom closet, which he had thought might be tricky, was just a 10 minute job. Quite a number of the outlets in the house are reversed, but I think I'll leave them until my father-in-law comes up and we can spend an afternoon fixing them.
I moved a few more things out of the way, and I even had a chance to
drop off a piece of artwork that needed its glass replaced. I'll
probably go to the same place and have them frame a poster or two (if
there is any room left for more artwork after we get all the furniture in place -- it may be quite a challenge to get everything we have hung up, but I'll try to figure it out). I cut it very close, but managed to make two more trips with the ZipCar in 90 minutes, even bringing back a bunch of empty boxes tp pack back up again.
I was so exhausted by this point, but decided that I should wrap up getting the upstairs bedroom painted, including the closet. That way we can get all the random tape and stuff out of there. I even painted the bottom half of the downstairs closet. I'll touch that up one more time and paint the upper half tonight, and then I think I can cross painting off the list.
In terms of packing the downstairs, I have four drawers left in the file cabinets, which I'll pack up now. I'd guess I can get basically all the random stuff in the basement done in two more trips with one of the bigger ZipCars. That basically leaves my clothes to throw into bags and the art books to pack (those I will let the movers move).
Supposedly, the handyman company will give me a quote today, and I'll get them started. I don't expect them to be done this week, but there's a pretty good chance they will be done before the kids are out of school, which would be great. Kids and construction don't mix well.
On the evening of the 20th, I think I'll take apart the kids' beds (and ideally move the frames to the new house, but that may not happen). Then in the morning of the 21st, I will basically need to tell the movers what needs to get packed up, take apart the bed in the master bedroom and get the mirror of the dresser. Then I have to get to the new house and make sure they know where things go. (I can probably collapse for the day once the beds are back in place.) That will still give us a week to handle everything else that is left (like the shed which is supposed to be picked up on the 26th), and of course do at least some unpacking at the new place over the next few weeks. So it could definitely be worse, though I wish it was just over.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Short notice - part 2
I just happened to be going through the latest Now before recycling it and ran across this short blurb that a company was putting on Maria Irene Fornes' Mud paired with a shorter work (by her as well). This definitely caught my attention. Five years ago, Halcyon Theatre did a summer series focused on Fornes, and I managed to get to all the productions. All were pretty interesting, and I thought What of the Night was pretty incredible. Anyway, I've never seen Mud, though I've wanted to since learning about Fornes. I did a quick perusal of another review site (only glancing at the Mud review to see if it was positive or not) and I decided that I should go. As it turns out, the show closes this weekend, and they are only selling 20 advance tickets each night with another 10 held at the door (I guess a bit in the spirit of the Fringe). Given all the stuff I am doing related to the move, I was sort of glad that they actually had a Sunday evening performance, which is the one I will attend, but I also like the fact that it is supposed to only last 90 minutes, which makes it a bit easier to be out on a Sunday evening. More information about getting tickets here. Get a move on if you are interested.
There is a bit more time to plan one's schedule around the Toronto Jazz Fest, 2015 edition, which is basically the last two weeks of June. I don't think too many of the events will actually sell out, but one never knows. I'm leaning towards going to the Chris Potter/Dave Holland show and perhaps Christian McBride's Big Band. But I think for once the free shows at Nathan Phillip Square look just as interesting as the free shows. Assuming the weather holds, I am leaning towards going on the 23rd and 24th, in part to celebrate getting through this move.
There is a bit more time to plan one's schedule around the Toronto Jazz Fest, 2015 edition, which is basically the last two weeks of June. I don't think too many of the events will actually sell out, but one never knows. I'm leaning towards going to the Chris Potter/Dave Holland show and perhaps Christian McBride's Big Band. But I think for once the free shows at Nathan Phillip Square look just as interesting as the free shows. Assuming the weather holds, I am leaning towards going on the 23rd and 24th, in part to celebrate getting through this move.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
The Move (t-minus 14 days and counting)
I was able to move the wire shelving over yesterday and assembled today, but then it got caught on the ceiling as I tried to put it in place. I actually left it jammed there, and then later came back with a hacksaw and trimmed off 2 or 3 inches and it fit pretty well. I am quite nervous about this other bookcase. While I believe it is 2 inches shorter and it is going to a part of the basement where the ceiling is roughly another inch higher, it could easily get jammed on the 21st, and it will be much harder to fix.
I am trying to move this desk/bookcase unit they left in one of the bedrooms, and it is unbelievably heavy. Maybe this is karma for the things I left behind when we moved from the South Loop and didn't clean everything out. We kind of left in a rush from England as well, though in that case I actually did get a bill, including for some things that the movers packed and took, even though I clearly said they were to be left. I have to say that experience in England left me with an impression that I will never shake that anything built or constructed in the UK is of just unbelievably shoddy quality.
Anyway, I even bought a dolly to help move this unit, and it is starting to come apart in unusual ways, so I actually have to break it down into smaller pieces and then reassemble it. I am not thrilled about this, which is putting it mildly as it has added at least another day to the time I need to get the new place ready.
I was able to anchor the large CD rack, though it isn't quite as stable as I would like. It should be a bit better when full of CDs, which I should be able to do tomorrow. And I think I've done a pretty good job of getting the shims in place for the main bookcases. I don't want to overload them, but next week I'll start getting some stuff up on the shelves and out of the living room. So it was a relatively productive weekend, though as always I wish I had gotten more done.
We've sort of sketched out what the living room/dining room might look like, and it seems that it might just come together to allow us to move the living room stuff nearer the fireplace. (That's the way one would normally configure this space, but the dimensions are so odd that the previous owners had things reversed.) It's a bit less clear about the main bedroom, but we'll probably be able to fit everything in. After the movers are done with the furniture, we'll still have one more week to grab random things left behind. In general, things seem to be on track. Not the best or simplest move, but far from the worst.
I am trying to move this desk/bookcase unit they left in one of the bedrooms, and it is unbelievably heavy. Maybe this is karma for the things I left behind when we moved from the South Loop and didn't clean everything out. We kind of left in a rush from England as well, though in that case I actually did get a bill, including for some things that the movers packed and took, even though I clearly said they were to be left. I have to say that experience in England left me with an impression that I will never shake that anything built or constructed in the UK is of just unbelievably shoddy quality.
Anyway, I even bought a dolly to help move this unit, and it is starting to come apart in unusual ways, so I actually have to break it down into smaller pieces and then reassemble it. I am not thrilled about this, which is putting it mildly as it has added at least another day to the time I need to get the new place ready.
I was able to anchor the large CD rack, though it isn't quite as stable as I would like. It should be a bit better when full of CDs, which I should be able to do tomorrow. And I think I've done a pretty good job of getting the shims in place for the main bookcases. I don't want to overload them, but next week I'll start getting some stuff up on the shelves and out of the living room. So it was a relatively productive weekend, though as always I wish I had gotten more done.
We've sort of sketched out what the living room/dining room might look like, and it seems that it might just come together to allow us to move the living room stuff nearer the fireplace. (That's the way one would normally configure this space, but the dimensions are so odd that the previous owners had things reversed.) It's a bit less clear about the main bedroom, but we'll probably be able to fit everything in. After the movers are done with the furniture, we'll still have one more week to grab random things left behind. In general, things seem to be on track. Not the best or simplest move, but far from the worst.
Griffin Poetry prize winner - Jane Munro
I learned just the other day that Jane Munro had won the Griffin Prize for Poetry for her collection Blue Sonoma. This is one of the better paying awards around, so it is quite something to win. News stories here and here. Part of me is a little annoyed that I didn't get around to reviewing Blue Sonoma yet -- I have a partially completed review started back in February. I managed to get around to reviewing her other collections (here and here), and I have always planned to complete this review in June. But I have been busy and so got scooped in a sense.
I do find it a very curious collection, with roughly half or even two-thirds of the book comprised of poems inspired by meditation or yoga and the rest a elegy of sorts to her husband who had just died of Alzheimer's Disease. While there is no way of knowing, I will speculate that the prize was probably awarded on the basis of this section ("The Old Man Vacanas") and not the yoga poems, which certainly didn't do all that much for me.
I'll move my personal response to the rise of the yoga-poets of B.C. to this post, and I'll have a more formal review ready in the next week or so (famous last words...). Anyway, this poem (mine not Munro's) is meant to be good-natured (as least I hope it is viewed that way):
So imagine your mom --
no let's say it is your friend's mother --
who you hear about in a casual way,
and probably see every three or four years
at weddings or graduations,
has taken up yoga.
That's nice you think,
wondering if this is just another sign from the cosmos
you should be spending more time at the Y.
(If only it wasn't so
embarrassing having to change
in front of everybody
in the locker room.)
Then you hear she goes everywhere
with her yoga mat.
Well, that isn't so strange
anymore.
Almost every third girl has a yoga mat
poking out of a backpack
or clenched under her arm.
And again you wonder when you can get to the Y.
The next time your friend brings up his mom,
it turns out she is flying out to India
to learn about yoga and mediation
for a month.
That's hardcore, you mutter,
half in sympathy, half in envy.
And later that day, you call up the Y
and cancel your membership.
I do find it a very curious collection, with roughly half or even two-thirds of the book comprised of poems inspired by meditation or yoga and the rest a elegy of sorts to her husband who had just died of Alzheimer's Disease. While there is no way of knowing, I will speculate that the prize was probably awarded on the basis of this section ("The Old Man Vacanas") and not the yoga poems, which certainly didn't do all that much for me.
I'll move my personal response to the rise of the yoga-poets of B.C. to this post, and I'll have a more formal review ready in the next week or so (famous last words...). Anyway, this poem (mine not Munro's) is meant to be good-natured (as least I hope it is viewed that way):
So imagine your mom --
no let's say it is your friend's mother --
who you hear about in a casual way,
and probably see every three or four years
at weddings or graduations,
has taken up yoga.
That's nice you think,
wondering if this is just another sign from the cosmos
you should be spending more time at the Y.
(If only it wasn't so
embarrassing having to change
in front of everybody
in the locker room.)
Then you hear she goes everywhere
with her yoga mat.
Well, that isn't so strange
anymore.
Almost every third girl has a yoga mat
poking out of a backpack
or clenched under her arm.
And again you wonder when you can get to the Y.
The next time your friend brings up his mom,
it turns out she is flying out to India
to learn about yoga and mediation
for a month.
That's hardcore, you mutter,
half in sympathy, half in envy.
And later that day, you call up the Y
and cancel your membership.
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Free concerts in Toronto
I got this reminder in my email earlier in the week that Tafelmusik was having a free concert at Trinity-St. Paul's
on Bloor on Friday at 8 pm. I decided that I could justify staying late at work and then heading over to see if I could get in. I ended up working a bit later than I expected, but I did get one thing out which was good (the other thing I'll work on tonight). I grabbed a slice of pizza and then walked over to Spadina to catch a streetcar up (rather than walking over to the subway, which is what I normally do). I got there right at 7:45, whereas I was hoping to get there at 7:30. The line was very, very long and I was kind of upset at myself and nearly turned around and got back into the subway. (I'll try to post a photo, though I seem to have lost the cord that allows me to retrieve photos off my phone.) However, I decided since the line was just starting to move, at worst I would lose 10 minutes of my time if I didn't make it inside.
Well, as it happens, I did make it inside. Even better, they opened up some reserved seating, and I ended up with a very good seat.
It was quite a nice concert. The did part of Telemann's Water Music Suite. (I enjoy Handel's Water Music very much as well, but Telemann's is a relatively obscure pleasure.) They did Handel later, as well as a short piece by Bach, followed by Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3. They did both Bach pieces completely from memory (aside from the harpsichordist), which is incredibly impressive, but apparently, it is something that Tafelmusik does in many of its concerts. What might have been even more impressive is that one of the strings on a violin broke and the player swapped with a player who was sitting that section out and started right back up. It was very enjoyable evening, and they did it in about 75 minutes with no intermission.
Obviously, that one is over, but there are 3 more free concerts over the next two weeks, though getting tickets to the final one seems kind of laborious to me. I think I'll just enjoy what I experienced. Here is the link with more info. So this makes twice I've seen Tafelmusik in action, and I am leaning towards getting a few tickets to see them next season.
I know there are a few free shows at NXNE (including the somewhat notorious cancellation of an outdoor concert by the rapper Action Bronson). Lots of info here. While I would love to see The New Pornographers at Yonge Dundas Square on June 20th at 9pm, I really need to be getting ready for the move the following day. Well, if all is completely under control, I will sneak out, but I don't expect that to happen.
I'm more likely to catch a few of the free shows at Nathan Phillips Square like the Flaming Lips on July 19, though I imagine it is going to be a complete madhouse. Anyway, more information here.
I should add that there are a reasonable number of free shows at Luminato, which runs the second half of June. The schedule is here. Now I have to admit, I am kind of turned off by the mainstage events at Luminato. I think it is simply absurd and even wasteful (almost in a potlatch kind of way) to come up with an event that requires 1000 actors/dancer/singers. I'm talking about Apocalpysis, which I am avoiding for esthetic and ethical reasons. I probably would have gone to see Contemporary Colors, which is David Byrne's hybrid event where he takes contemporary musicians to play live in front of a bunch of top-line color guards. It turns out that color guard (or really winter guard) has a very slim toehold in Montreal and no presence at all in Ontario. That's too bad. Every now and then I consider going to see a color guard competition, and there aren't any in Toronto. What I don't appreciate is that the ticket prices for Contemporary Colors are so absurdly high, and that they did not open up the upper seating area. That is actually how color guard routines are best viewed to see the whole design of the show. Instead, due to the high prices, most people will be squeezed into seeing the show from the sides, which is absolutely the worst. It simply isn't at all acceptable to try to watch these routines from the sides. So I can't tell if no one could tell Byrne that this was not ideal (and quite counter to the spirit of color guard) or if the venues were just so outrageously greedy that they refused to open up cheaper seating with a frontal view. In any case, this is another event that I am avoiding on esthetic and practical reasons. Those are the two main headliners for Luminato, so you can kind of see why I am kind of down on it.
Well, anyway, the Toronto Symphony is performing some free concert focused on animal-related compositions (on the 28th), but even here most of the pieces are short excerpts from full symphonic pieces (like one movement from Elgar's Enigma Variations). I generally hate the Readers' Digest version of classical music, so probably I'll give this a pass as well. I guess I really am down on Luminato this year (just like I am such a grump about the actual TIFF festival, though not the TIFF Lightbox).
I'm sure there is plenty else to do in Toronto this summer, but these are a few of the best free concerts I'm aware of.
Well, as it happens, I did make it inside. Even better, they opened up some reserved seating, and I ended up with a very good seat.
It was quite a nice concert. The did part of Telemann's Water Music Suite. (I enjoy Handel's Water Music very much as well, but Telemann's is a relatively obscure pleasure.) They did Handel later, as well as a short piece by Bach, followed by Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3. They did both Bach pieces completely from memory (aside from the harpsichordist), which is incredibly impressive, but apparently, it is something that Tafelmusik does in many of its concerts. What might have been even more impressive is that one of the strings on a violin broke and the player swapped with a player who was sitting that section out and started right back up. It was very enjoyable evening, and they did it in about 75 minutes with no intermission.
Obviously, that one is over, but there are 3 more free concerts over the next two weeks, though getting tickets to the final one seems kind of laborious to me. I think I'll just enjoy what I experienced. Here is the link with more info. So this makes twice I've seen Tafelmusik in action, and I am leaning towards getting a few tickets to see them next season.
I know there are a few free shows at NXNE (including the somewhat notorious cancellation of an outdoor concert by the rapper Action Bronson). Lots of info here. While I would love to see The New Pornographers at Yonge Dundas Square on June 20th at 9pm, I really need to be getting ready for the move the following day. Well, if all is completely under control, I will sneak out, but I don't expect that to happen.
I'm more likely to catch a few of the free shows at Nathan Phillips Square like the Flaming Lips on July 19, though I imagine it is going to be a complete madhouse. Anyway, more information here.
I should add that there are a reasonable number of free shows at Luminato, which runs the second half of June. The schedule is here. Now I have to admit, I am kind of turned off by the mainstage events at Luminato. I think it is simply absurd and even wasteful (almost in a potlatch kind of way) to come up with an event that requires 1000 actors/dancer/singers. I'm talking about Apocalpysis, which I am avoiding for esthetic and ethical reasons. I probably would have gone to see Contemporary Colors, which is David Byrne's hybrid event where he takes contemporary musicians to play live in front of a bunch of top-line color guards. It turns out that color guard (or really winter guard) has a very slim toehold in Montreal and no presence at all in Ontario. That's too bad. Every now and then I consider going to see a color guard competition, and there aren't any in Toronto. What I don't appreciate is that the ticket prices for Contemporary Colors are so absurdly high, and that they did not open up the upper seating area. That is actually how color guard routines are best viewed to see the whole design of the show. Instead, due to the high prices, most people will be squeezed into seeing the show from the sides, which is absolutely the worst. It simply isn't at all acceptable to try to watch these routines from the sides. So I can't tell if no one could tell Byrne that this was not ideal (and quite counter to the spirit of color guard) or if the venues were just so outrageously greedy that they refused to open up cheaper seating with a frontal view. In any case, this is another event that I am avoiding on esthetic and practical reasons. Those are the two main headliners for Luminato, so you can kind of see why I am kind of down on it.
Well, anyway, the Toronto Symphony is performing some free concert focused on animal-related compositions (on the 28th), but even here most of the pieces are short excerpts from full symphonic pieces (like one movement from Elgar's Enigma Variations). I generally hate the Readers' Digest version of classical music, so probably I'll give this a pass as well. I guess I really am down on Luminato this year (just like I am such a grump about the actual TIFF festival, though not the TIFF Lightbox).
I'm sure there is plenty else to do in Toronto this summer, but these are a few of the best free concerts I'm aware of.
Friday, June 5, 2015
The Move (t-minus 16 days and counting)
The movers are scheduled. It's starting to feel real...
The painting is done, although I did say I would try to touch up a couple of closets with primer. I might do that Sunday. I actually had to clean up a bunch of edges where the tape actually tore the paint off the wall! And yet, the paint still leaked onto the woodwork in many places. So I feel the tape ended up being pretty poor quality, and probably not worth the effort I putting into it. Also, I won't use Behr paint again. Fortunately, the downstairs office where I will spend far more of my time came out looking pretty good.
I have someone coming by to help a bit with some electrical work, and I hope to have a handyman or contractor (that handles small projects) stop by next week. I've stapled down an extension cord to make sure I can actually use the office, and now I can start loading up the bookcases and so forth to get the boxes out of the living room (so that we can actually get the furniture into the house). While this is still a pretty overwhelming task, I can get it done in time, though I may have to spend a couple of nights at the new place, which is why it was so important to get the futon over there early.
The plan for tomorrow is to get the car and move over another bunch of random boxes in the basement, and ideally empty the big metal rack so I can move that over there as well, or at least some key components to see if it will actually fit. I have a sinking feeling that the rack and the final bookcase will be just slightly too tall for the very cramped basement. We've kind of already decided that for the first year or more, the basement is just going to be a place to store boxes and sort stuff out and won't be really used for family games or anything like that. That would have to take place in the living room. Of course, if a contractor does come over instead that would throw off my plans substantially.
I am so looking forward to July when the worst is over and I can start enjoying Toronto again...
Update: The metal rack will just fit, though I am not entirely sure I have enough space to swing it into place. The bookcase has another couple of inches of clearance, though it still won't be easy to maneuver. I have to decide exactly where they are going, since these things won't be moving much at all after they are up. In fact, I had an idea where they would go, and the bookcase would block a light in one case and access to the electrical panel in another case. I have another idea that might work, but I have to go and measure things tomorrow. I'm still a bit nervous if the desk will fit where it is supposed to go, but I think it will make it. I may have to sand down some molding though. Unfortunately, the desk is one of the last things that will be delivered, so I have to decide ahead of time what to do.
I probably ought to get a bit more real work done tonight, since tomorrow will mostly be spent at the new house, rearranging boxes and putting a few things up on shelves.
The painting is done, although I did say I would try to touch up a couple of closets with primer. I might do that Sunday. I actually had to clean up a bunch of edges where the tape actually tore the paint off the wall! And yet, the paint still leaked onto the woodwork in many places. So I feel the tape ended up being pretty poor quality, and probably not worth the effort I putting into it. Also, I won't use Behr paint again. Fortunately, the downstairs office where I will spend far more of my time came out looking pretty good.
I have someone coming by to help a bit with some electrical work, and I hope to have a handyman or contractor (that handles small projects) stop by next week. I've stapled down an extension cord to make sure I can actually use the office, and now I can start loading up the bookcases and so forth to get the boxes out of the living room (so that we can actually get the furniture into the house). While this is still a pretty overwhelming task, I can get it done in time, though I may have to spend a couple of nights at the new place, which is why it was so important to get the futon over there early.
The plan for tomorrow is to get the car and move over another bunch of random boxes in the basement, and ideally empty the big metal rack so I can move that over there as well, or at least some key components to see if it will actually fit. I have a sinking feeling that the rack and the final bookcase will be just slightly too tall for the very cramped basement. We've kind of already decided that for the first year or more, the basement is just going to be a place to store boxes and sort stuff out and won't be really used for family games or anything like that. That would have to take place in the living room. Of course, if a contractor does come over instead that would throw off my plans substantially.
I am so looking forward to July when the worst is over and I can start enjoying Toronto again...
Update: The metal rack will just fit, though I am not entirely sure I have enough space to swing it into place. The bookcase has another couple of inches of clearance, though it still won't be easy to maneuver. I have to decide exactly where they are going, since these things won't be moving much at all after they are up. In fact, I had an idea where they would go, and the bookcase would block a light in one case and access to the electrical panel in another case. I have another idea that might work, but I have to go and measure things tomorrow. I'm still a bit nervous if the desk will fit where it is supposed to go, but I think it will make it. I may have to sand down some molding though. Unfortunately, the desk is one of the last things that will be delivered, so I have to decide ahead of time what to do.
I probably ought to get a bit more real work done tonight, since tomorrow will mostly be spent at the new house, rearranging boxes and putting a few things up on shelves.
Monday, June 1, 2015
riverrunning (Finnegan's Wake in 2015)
I think I disclosed already that while I have read Joyce's Ulysses* twice, I have never read Finnegans' Wake. I'm not really sure I want to, as it is so opaque and non-linear. I am finding myself quite bored with Vassily Aksyonov's The Burn, as there is no grounded story behind the novel, and Finnegan's Wake is even more extreme.
Nonetheless, there were a number of interesting articles and stories about Finnegan's Wake, which are making me give it second and third thoughts. First, there was a piece on how the first third of the novel have been translated into Chinese (and slightly streamlined in the process), and it has become a best seller. How odd.
This led to a more general discussion of how Finnegan's Wake has gone out of copyright in the EU and presumably most of the Commonwealth. I believe, despite recent efforts to extend copyright in Canada,** at the moment it is in the public domain here as well. There are a number of particularly interesting artistic re-uses of Finnegan's Wake that are now legal (which is exactly what those of us arguing for a robust public domain framework have always said would happen). This story contains quite a number of interesting links, including in the comments. Personally I prefer Patrick Horgan's unabridged and relatively straight-forward reading to this somewhat overly busy reading over at Waywords and Meansigns, but some will be drawn in by the layered effect. I've never been one to listen to audio books, but I suspect this might be an exception. I am far more likely to make it through the book with Horgan† doing all the hard work and heavy lifting. Given that much of Finnegan's Wake is built around punning and sound associations, it is far more a book for the ear than the eye.‡ While it is only a short except, Joyce himself can be heard reading from the book here.
For those that prefer reading for themselves, the book has been converted to epub format by the University of Adelaide. This is quite handy, as it allows for searching throughout the text. Wordsworth Classics has come out with an inexpensive paperback version, which I actually saw in BMV a couple of weeks ago, though I don't need another copy of a book I am not that likely to sit down and read in the first place. On the other end of the spectrum, the Folio Society has put out a really attractive (but quite expensive) illustrated edition of Finnegan's Wake. I thought briefly about it, but decided that did not make sense for me. As nice as the illustrations by John Vernon are (and I'll just embed a couple below), there are only 12 in total, and nearly all of them can be seen here.
They seem to draw nearly as much on Alice in Wonderland and the Book of Kells as Finnegan's Wake, but perhaps Joyce's esoteric masterwork can be conceived of as a fusion of the two. At any rate, all this activity has gotten me thinking about the book far more seriously than I have at any point in the last 25 years. I'll report back if I make it through the audio book version or actually decide to tackle reading Finnegan's Wake on my own.
* Just a friendly reminder that Bloomsday is coming up (June 16) for anyone looking to get into Ulysses this year.
** With another round of copyright extension built into TPP, which is being rammed down our throats by Obama. It is stuff like this that really makes me hate the world and all the bought-and-sold politicians in it.
† Indeed, there is actually a competing recording by Patrick Healy, who did a complete reading of the novel broken into 132 parts! While trying to trace out what I meant by Patrick Horgan, I did stumble across Frank Delaney's reJoyce project, which tackles Ulysses. Well, something to delve into but not for this summer. (And of course, the internet age being born for pedants, it turns out there is someone who actually has reviewed both audio versions and comes squarely down in favor of Horgan over Healy. I'll probably listen to a bit of each, but I simply cannot listen to both straight through.
‡ While I would find it incredibly distracting to try to do work while listening to Finnegan's Wake, I may be returning to try to finish up a project I put on hold 25+ years ago: weaving/constructing a rag rug. I certainly have more productive projects I could work on, but this would fit the colour scheme of the new office reasonably well. The snag is that I, somewhat stupidly, made it out of denim, so it is very durable but also very hard to sew together. I probably could finish off a completely new rug made out of regular materials, i.e. cotton or flannel, in a fraction of the time. But would I feel the same feeling of accomplishment?
Nonetheless, there were a number of interesting articles and stories about Finnegan's Wake, which are making me give it second and third thoughts. First, there was a piece on how the first third of the novel have been translated into Chinese (and slightly streamlined in the process), and it has become a best seller. How odd.
This led to a more general discussion of how Finnegan's Wake has gone out of copyright in the EU and presumably most of the Commonwealth. I believe, despite recent efforts to extend copyright in Canada,** at the moment it is in the public domain here as well. There are a number of particularly interesting artistic re-uses of Finnegan's Wake that are now legal (which is exactly what those of us arguing for a robust public domain framework have always said would happen). This story contains quite a number of interesting links, including in the comments. Personally I prefer Patrick Horgan's unabridged and relatively straight-forward reading to this somewhat overly busy reading over at Waywords and Meansigns, but some will be drawn in by the layered effect. I've never been one to listen to audio books, but I suspect this might be an exception. I am far more likely to make it through the book with Horgan† doing all the hard work and heavy lifting. Given that much of Finnegan's Wake is built around punning and sound associations, it is far more a book for the ear than the eye.‡ While it is only a short except, Joyce himself can be heard reading from the book here.
For those that prefer reading for themselves, the book has been converted to epub format by the University of Adelaide. This is quite handy, as it allows for searching throughout the text. Wordsworth Classics has come out with an inexpensive paperback version, which I actually saw in BMV a couple of weeks ago, though I don't need another copy of a book I am not that likely to sit down and read in the first place. On the other end of the spectrum, the Folio Society has put out a really attractive (but quite expensive) illustrated edition of Finnegan's Wake. I thought briefly about it, but decided that did not make sense for me. As nice as the illustrations by John Vernon are (and I'll just embed a couple below), there are only 12 in total, and nearly all of them can be seen here.
They seem to draw nearly as much on Alice in Wonderland and the Book of Kells as Finnegan's Wake, but perhaps Joyce's esoteric masterwork can be conceived of as a fusion of the two. At any rate, all this activity has gotten me thinking about the book far more seriously than I have at any point in the last 25 years. I'll report back if I make it through the audio book version or actually decide to tackle reading Finnegan's Wake on my own.
* Just a friendly reminder that Bloomsday is coming up (June 16) for anyone looking to get into Ulysses this year.
** With another round of copyright extension built into TPP, which is being rammed down our throats by Obama. It is stuff like this that really makes me hate the world and all the bought-and-sold politicians in it.
† Indeed, there is actually a competing recording by Patrick Healy, who did a complete reading of the novel broken into 132 parts! While trying to trace out what I meant by Patrick Horgan, I did stumble across Frank Delaney's reJoyce project, which tackles Ulysses. Well, something to delve into but not for this summer. (And of course, the internet age being born for pedants, it turns out there is someone who actually has reviewed both audio versions and comes squarely down in favor of Horgan over Healy. I'll probably listen to a bit of each, but I simply cannot listen to both straight through.
‡ While I would find it incredibly distracting to try to do work while listening to Finnegan's Wake, I may be returning to try to finish up a project I put on hold 25+ years ago: weaving/constructing a rag rug. I certainly have more productive projects I could work on, but this would fit the colour scheme of the new office reasonably well. The snag is that I, somewhat stupidly, made it out of denim, so it is very durable but also very hard to sew together. I probably could finish off a completely new rug made out of regular materials, i.e. cotton or flannel, in a fraction of the time. But would I feel the same feeling of accomplishment?
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