Doors Open Toronto gave me a perfect excuse to wander around downtown and snap a few shots. It was nice to get out with the camera again as I hadn't really touched it since February.
Books, Music, More Books, Travel, Even More Books. . .
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Doors Open
I just realized that this weekend is Doors Open Toronto. I can't believe I almost missed it. It's a great event that everyone should go to. Something like 150 buildings 0pen themselves for the public to tour. Most of them only admit the public or only open up certain areas this one weekend so you don't want to miss it.
This year, the only must see for me is the radio side of the CBC building. Other than that I will just sort of wander downtown and see what I see. If I have the time, I may get back up to see Coach House Press. It's quite cool.
Even cooler, it's all free.
Other than that, I finished Suze Rotolo's memoirs. They were great. A perfect read for anyone interested in early 60's New York and some harmonica player from Minnesota.
Last weekend, I was up at my parents new house outside of Parry Sound. It was a great break. While I was up there, I made sure to pay a visit to Parry Sound Books. While some of the staff are not the friendliest of sorts, the store is great with an excellent selection.
I picked up Alan Bennett's The Uncommon Reader. It's a small, funny book that works on the premise that the Queen, through a chance encounter with a bookmobile, becomes a compulsive reader. It's more gentle grins than laugh out loud hilarity but I liked it a lot.
Well, that's enough for now. It's looking nice out so I think I will try to get a walk in before work.
This year, the only must see for me is the radio side of the CBC building. Other than that I will just sort of wander downtown and see what I see. If I have the time, I may get back up to see Coach House Press. It's quite cool.
Even cooler, it's all free.
Other than that, I finished Suze Rotolo's memoirs. They were great. A perfect read for anyone interested in early 60's New York and some harmonica player from Minnesota.
Last weekend, I was up at my parents new house outside of Parry Sound. It was a great break. While I was up there, I made sure to pay a visit to Parry Sound Books. While some of the staff are not the friendliest of sorts, the store is great with an excellent selection.
I picked up Alan Bennett's The Uncommon Reader. It's a small, funny book that works on the premise that the Queen, through a chance encounter with a bookmobile, becomes a compulsive reader. It's more gentle grins than laugh out loud hilarity but I liked it a lot.
Well, that's enough for now. It's looking nice out so I think I will try to get a walk in before work.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
More on Reading - kicking a dead horse with gusto
There's a great deal of nonsense now about how our children can't read but then how could they in terms of imitative behavior if their parents don't read and there are no books in the house? If books aren't treated as beloved objects like the sports page or the television why would a child wish to read? You wonder how disgustedly low-paid teachers must spend their lives trying to overcome parental stupidity, but then in our money culture everything is considered merry and bright if the parents show up for their often dismal jobs on time.
- Jim Harrison
- Jim Harrison
Things I've found on YouTube that make me happy
I wish I could find a video of Peggy Seeger doing this song. I have a copy of her doing it on a cd of old folk tunes and it is great.
Everyone needs to own the Reverend Gary Davis' Live at Newport disc. Blues. . . Folk. . . Gospel. . . Whatever you want to call it, it's an epiphany.
More Seeger. Somehow fitting.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Why we read. And write.
I a compulsive reader of Yann Martel's blog What is Stephen Harper Reading? (http://www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca/). Whether the 22'nd Prime Minister reads the books or not, it has become a great forum for Martel to talk about everything to do with books and reading. In his latest post, he sums up perfectly why we read and write:
"A book is a bottle with a genie inside it. Rub it, open it, and the genie will come out to enchant you. Imagine being the one who put the genie in the bottle. Yes, it's terribly exciting work."
How can you argue with that? Really, this is what drew us to reading in the first place and draws us still. And yet, how often do we really take the time to appreciate this bit of magic?
I only hope that the PM is listening Sadly, I have my doubts.
"A book is a bottle with a genie inside it. Rub it, open it, and the genie will come out to enchant you. Imagine being the one who put the genie in the bottle. Yes, it's terribly exciting work."
How can you argue with that? Really, this is what drew us to reading in the first place and draws us still. And yet, how often do we really take the time to appreciate this bit of magic?
I only hope that the PM is listening Sadly, I have my doubts.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Hello again (or a shameless overuse of brackets because I feel like it)
Okay, it's finally time for me to stop procrastinating and to start blogging again. So with bagel and steel water bottle at my side (for the record, What A Bagel makes the best bagels this side of Montreal), it's time to play catch-up.
Though I guess I do have a good excuse for some of my absence. For a couple of days a few weeks ago, my parents thought they were going to be taking home a vegetable from the hospital. As the presumptive veggie, I'm only now getting all the details of how bad things were. The silver lining is that I have no recollection of the MRI (which normally freaks me out for a good week before I go into it) and the spinal tap (turns out it isn't just a comedy act, after all). Being a medical marvel isn't as much fun as it sounds. Thankfully, the aneurysm is still fine.
As for the Canuck book challenge, I have two books to offer - Ibi Kaslik's The Angel Riots and Alison Pick's The Sweet Edge.
I enjoyed both books but I much preferred The Sweet Edge. The Angel Riots, while cool, was a much more muddled effort. Both books work with a dual storyline, following the lives of two protagonists - one male and one female. The problem with Kaslik's book is that I really did not sense much of a difference between the two voices. The thoughts and emotions seemed to run together in a way that was more confusing than anything. True, the book was an interesting look at the rise of an indie band. I just wish it could have been something more.
Pick's book, on the other hand, has two really defined characters. Following the lives of two ex-lovers during one summer - the woman in Toronto, the man canoeing through the arctic - I came to like, occasionally dislike and appreciate both characters. That's what makes the tale work so well - there were two fully formed voices speaking instead of one. Besides, the Arctic canoe trip had me thinking of Elizabeth Hay's Late Nights On Air, a book I enjoyed immensely but read before I learned of the book challenge. Not that the stories are similar, just the setting.
I think my next Canuck book will be Ondaatje's Divisadero. It's a book I've been plodding through for a while. Not sure if I like the story itself, but the writing is sublime with far too many lines that are just stunning. It reminds me of what a woman said to me in a bookstore once about Bob Kaufman's poetry - "He writes poems so beautiful you read them aloud to yourself in bed just because you can." (I've held onto that line for the better part of a decade, how could I not?) That's what reading Divisadero has been like so far.
I like what Ian Tyson had to say about Divisadero - “I love that book. I don't understand it, but I love it.”
In other news, I now live at Yonge and Eglinton. It's nice to finally be in a neighbourhood where you actually want to get out and walk around. The twenty minute commute is a nice plus, as well (I'm saving myself about an hour and twenty minutes a day compared to the old trek). I used to spend way too much time on the bus and subway just travelling to a part of town I would want to walk around. Now, it's all just a minute or two away.
I am also way too excited about picking up Suze Rotolo's memoirs (A Freewheelin' Time). She was the Dylan muse/visual artist who is pictured with Dylan on the cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album. Something tells me Odaatje will be put on hold for a few days longer.
There is more, but I'll keep it short. I broke down and got cable tv again and, while it's been fun, it has left me puzzled. How can people honestly look at tv as a replacement for reading? I just don't get it. At the end of the day, it's all just so bland and undemanding. I don't mind it. At times, I even enjoy putting my brain on cruise control, but that's just what it is - cruise control.
This morning, I spent an hour in bed reading and it just felt so much more stimulating than any amount of time spent in front of the screen.
I remember arguing this with a friend at work once. He kept trying to tell me about what a great learning tool tv is. I disagreed then and I strongly disagree now. It's not that I think tv is all bad. It is entertaining and you can learn the occasional bit of info. I just don't think it can replace books. I was lucky enough to grow up when educational tv was in it's prime, when gifted entertainers and educators like Mr. Dressup and the folks at Sesame Street ruled the (morning) airwaves, and yet I never learned as much as I did from books. It's not that the people failed; it's just that the medium is faulty. You aren't forced to engage the mind in the same way you are with books.
I could go on and on but Friends is about to start. . .
Just kidding.
Though I guess I do have a good excuse for some of my absence. For a couple of days a few weeks ago, my parents thought they were going to be taking home a vegetable from the hospital. As the presumptive veggie, I'm only now getting all the details of how bad things were. The silver lining is that I have no recollection of the MRI (which normally freaks me out for a good week before I go into it) and the spinal tap (turns out it isn't just a comedy act, after all). Being a medical marvel isn't as much fun as it sounds. Thankfully, the aneurysm is still fine.
As for the Canuck book challenge, I have two books to offer - Ibi Kaslik's The Angel Riots and Alison Pick's The Sweet Edge.
I enjoyed both books but I much preferred The Sweet Edge. The Angel Riots, while cool, was a much more muddled effort. Both books work with a dual storyline, following the lives of two protagonists - one male and one female. The problem with Kaslik's book is that I really did not sense much of a difference between the two voices. The thoughts and emotions seemed to run together in a way that was more confusing than anything. True, the book was an interesting look at the rise of an indie band. I just wish it could have been something more.
Pick's book, on the other hand, has two really defined characters. Following the lives of two ex-lovers during one summer - the woman in Toronto, the man canoeing through the arctic - I came to like, occasionally dislike and appreciate both characters. That's what makes the tale work so well - there were two fully formed voices speaking instead of one. Besides, the Arctic canoe trip had me thinking of Elizabeth Hay's Late Nights On Air, a book I enjoyed immensely but read before I learned of the book challenge. Not that the stories are similar, just the setting.
I think my next Canuck book will be Ondaatje's Divisadero. It's a book I've been plodding through for a while. Not sure if I like the story itself, but the writing is sublime with far too many lines that are just stunning. It reminds me of what a woman said to me in a bookstore once about Bob Kaufman's poetry - "He writes poems so beautiful you read them aloud to yourself in bed just because you can." (I've held onto that line for the better part of a decade, how could I not?) That's what reading Divisadero has been like so far.
I like what Ian Tyson had to say about Divisadero - “I love that book. I don't understand it, but I love it.”
In other news, I now live at Yonge and Eglinton. It's nice to finally be in a neighbourhood where you actually want to get out and walk around. The twenty minute commute is a nice plus, as well (I'm saving myself about an hour and twenty minutes a day compared to the old trek). I used to spend way too much time on the bus and subway just travelling to a part of town I would want to walk around. Now, it's all just a minute or two away.
I am also way too excited about picking up Suze Rotolo's memoirs (A Freewheelin' Time). She was the Dylan muse/visual artist who is pictured with Dylan on the cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album. Something tells me Odaatje will be put on hold for a few days longer.
There is more, but I'll keep it short. I broke down and got cable tv again and, while it's been fun, it has left me puzzled. How can people honestly look at tv as a replacement for reading? I just don't get it. At the end of the day, it's all just so bland and undemanding. I don't mind it. At times, I even enjoy putting my brain on cruise control, but that's just what it is - cruise control.
This morning, I spent an hour in bed reading and it just felt so much more stimulating than any amount of time spent in front of the screen.
I remember arguing this with a friend at work once. He kept trying to tell me about what a great learning tool tv is. I disagreed then and I strongly disagree now. It's not that I think tv is all bad. It is entertaining and you can learn the occasional bit of info. I just don't think it can replace books. I was lucky enough to grow up when educational tv was in it's prime, when gifted entertainers and educators like Mr. Dressup and the folks at Sesame Street ruled the (morning) airwaves, and yet I never learned as much as I did from books. It's not that the people failed; it's just that the medium is faulty. You aren't forced to engage the mind in the same way you are with books.
I could go on and on but Friends is about to start. . .
Just kidding.
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