Long Weekend - One Third Over

I'm trying to stretch out the first day of the long weekend just a bit longer, but I may give up and go to bed soon...

Actually, I sort of started off with some strange goings-on on Friday.  I worked a bit later that I wanted, then went over to Union Station.  I was going to grab some sushi, but Kibo Market had closed early and pretty much everything else was closing as well.  So annoying.  Then I dropped off some material at Robarts.  I thought it might be open, but I guess classes don't official start until next week, and at that point the library hours might get adjusted.  Anyway, I went over to Ossington, since I was going to see Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Paradise.  For the longest time it was literally impossible to watch this except in the theatre, and I just never got around to going to the Village North in Chicago.  But in the early 90s, it became possible to rent it, and I watched it with some friends (in Toronto actually).  So it isn't that I didn't know the basic plot of the film, but I had never seen it with a shadow cast and all the audience participation.  

I had planned on eating at an Ethiopian place up there (as I was pretty hungry by this point), but they had taken the whole weekend off!  So I walked over to an Indian place that I had seen the last time I was over there.  It was ok, but really a bit too spicy, so I don't think I'll go back.  Anyway, seeing the Rocky Horror Picture Show was interesting, though it's not something I'm likely to do again, though apparently they do this every week or so (though not at the Paradise...).

Here's a few of the shadow cast before the film (with 'Rocky' and then 'Janet' on the right).

Here are a few moments from the film with the shadow cast in action.

It was interesting, though quite distracting.  I realize you are going for the "experience" and not actually to watch the film, but a lot of talking back at the screen felt canned and eventually almost like "forced fun," esp. the constant reference to the no-neck narrator.  I'm not sorry I went, but it isn't something I need to do again.

I was pretty busy after all on Sat.  I started off by dropping off a book at the library, then continuing on to the Regent Park Pool.  I managed to get 21 or so laps in (so I'm pretty close to my pre-COVID swimming routine).  Then I soaked in the hot water tub for a while.

Originally, I had planned to go back to Gerrard Square, but instead I pushed on and biked downtown.  I stopped off at BMV.  I didn't have anything to sell, but I did pick up a book of Orwell's essays, a copy of Canetti's Auto da Fé and Plymell's Benzadrine Highway, which is a now forgotten early Beat work.  I actually have the Canetti already, but this was a nice (if somewhat yellowed) compact Penguin version, and the other one can go out into the Little Free Library.

I stopped briefly in at the AGO, though I didn't go upstairs.  I wanted to ask something about their membership cards, and find out what time they would be open on Monday.  I made a lightening quick stop at Bau-Xi across the road, then biked over to 401 Richmond.  Yumart is no longer there, as the gallery owner retired, but there is still a lot to see.

This time around, I thought Abbozzo Gallery was the most interesting.  The main space had large paintings by Olex Wlasenko representing scenes from black and white movies, and then the side space had an exhibit of quirky paintings by Cora Brittan.  Many of these look like they could be taken from a children's book.  Here are a few I particularly liked:

Cora Brittan, March of the Dragons, 2011

Cora Brittan, Returning to the Nest, 2015

Cora Brittan, The Beautiful Blue Ladder, 2022

I am leaning towards buying the last one (featuring a cat in some magical outdoor garden space).*  I actually know where I would hang it, which is becoming a bit of an issue actually.  In about three weeks, I pick up the framed Janvier piece (and another poster I had framed for my wife).  I have decided to hang the Janvier piece in the living room, but then need to figure out where the piece hanging there needs to go.  It might actually fit right about the door to my study.  But in general, I have run out of places for art.  Perhaps not such a bad thing if it means I stop buying art I can barely afford...

Then I finally biked back to Gerrard Square.  I stopped in at the gym to see if my lock had turned up, as I left it behind on my last trip (last Thurs. actually when I was making a bit of a push to start going to the gym twice a week again).  They didn't have it, so I ran down to Walmart and got a new one, but now I need to memorize the combination.  Sigh.

I did manage to get some reading in** (outside on the lower deck) and cleaned up some computer files.  However, I never got around to watching any movies.  My plan had tentatively been to watch A Woman Under the Influence on Sat., then Altman's Three Women on Sunday and Opening Night on Monday.  This would close out my homage to Duvall and Rowlands.

I also futzed around for a while trying to watch this new Netflix series called Kaos, which is getting strong reviews, but we can't watch Netflix downstairs because the receiver is incompatible with Netflix!  Either I get something called the Bellstreamer or I get the Roku to work.  Neither of which is terribly appealing, but I guess I'll try.  I'm still beyond frustrated that MailStore and Bell aren't talking to each other, due to some changes Bell has made to its internal workings.  Now this recent TV breakdown may be more the fault of Netflix than Bell, but I'm still super annoyed.  To round things out, I had so many issues trying to log into Paypal that I gave up (for now).  So maybe not the best way to end the first day of a long weekend.

I'm sort of working it through, but I think I will go to the AGO and stop in at work today and then see if I can get up to Aga Khan on Monday, though I need to either sign out a museum pass from TPL or get the Canoo app working on my phone.  (Which in turn reminds me that there is an upcoming concert for Skye Wallace, but the only way to get tickets to show at the door is to download a completely new app.  Sometimes the modern world is so incredibly frustrating...)  And now it is long past time for bed if I am going to get anything accomplished the rest of the weekend.

* I'm sure this is just another way of trying to stave off the cravings for a cat (or kitten).  I brought a fake sleeping cat a few months back for the same reasons.  But only a few nights ago, I dreamed that we had five black and white kittens.  I know very well I am forgetting the downsides of having a cat, particularly the fact that I don't have a car, and I don't think there are any vets in walking distance.  This was always a huge issue in Chicago.  (Having just written that, I am probably going to go look it up and see if there are any vets closer than the one on King and Sumach.)

** I'd like to finish up Cela's The Hive this weekend, but it isn't my highest priority.  It's been sidelined to some degree by a lot of poetry that I was working my way through.  I do expect to be travelling out to Stratford once and perhaps even twice in September, so I can tackle a longer book.  I'm currently deciding between DuPont's The American Fiancée and Powers's The Gold Bug Variations.  Well, whichever I don't take, I'll probably take on the next trip out to Edmonton...