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Was on a long train ride to Montreal and actually had to take the bus back! (Long story...) Anyway, I got nearly through Perec's Life, A User's Manual. It's an interesting but just exhausting read: endless lists and catalogues of everything in every room in a Parisienne apartment block, including detailed descriptions of every picture on every wall (and sometimes even the jigsaw puzzles on the coffee tables!). I'm glad I finally got to this, but I can't see rereading it a second time.

Winnipeg 35

Very cool.

I was saying to myself this looks interesting, even though the price now is generally higher, particularly factoring in shipping. Then Amazon told me I bought this ten years ago and had it shipped to Vancouver (when shipping was still generally reasonable). I honestly don't know if this is still in the house or not.* Definitely a sign of something. Losing my marbles? Owning too much music? Not enough open shelving? But nothing good surely... * I did track it down without too much fuss...

There is a Christian Petzold retrospective on at TIFF. I managed to snag the last ticket to Afire, his most recent and apparently quite uncharacteristic film. It's quite comic, mixed with darker themes. I liked it a lot, but not sure how deep I will get into his work if this one really is so different from his other films.

Yes, I enjoyed this, and it is short enough that I can reread it when the mood strikes. Turtle Diary by Russell Hoban is in some ways even quirkier (and also short). I enjoyed this a lot and also will reread it at some point. Rereading The Sun Also Rises for the first time since my undergrad days...

I've that second Vogue compilation that Mike listed for a while, though it's been a while since I listened to it. I should probably correct that. I never had the first one (Lover Man), and I may try to order one (depending on shipping rates to Canada 😢).

I've been reading some of Naguib Mahfouz's shorter novels from the 1960s. I wasn't crazy about Autumn Quail, but I thought The Search was interesting. (Some links to Crime and Punishment, a novel which I assume Mahfouz was at least aware of...) Just starting back into Alice Munro's short stories (Open Secrets) and rereading Saramago's Blindness.

It was a retro throwback weekend at the local theatres. I saw Real Genius and Back to the Future over the weekend. Both were a lot of fun. Before Real Genius, they asked who was seeing the film for the first time, and it was probably 80% of the audience. I felt old...

Sorry I can't make it. I managed to catch Aoki a few times around town when I was living in Chicago. One time he had a concert with taiko drummers involved. And I think I saw him once with Fred Anderson, but I wouldn't bet my life on it...

I use a Freeware app called BurnAware Free. It's fine for my purposes.

I hope so. I've owned it for over 15 years, and I'm finally going to tackle it...

Some absolutely ridiculous plot holes (pretty typical for all time travel movies), but actually quite entertaining. Toronto got to "play itself" in this film. I thought the Beck taxis that turned up were also a nice touch. I assume this was a fairly low budget indy film, but it looked pretty good.

Halfway through Madame Bovary, and I get the sense things aren't going to work out well for her. 🤔 But no more spoilers. 🤐 After this, Angela Carter's Wise Children, her last novel. Then this weekend, I have a very long bus ride to Detroit and back. Then plan is to take Fante's Bandini Quartet. I'll likely finish it on the trip or just after.

I'd been holding off for what seems like forever, trying to see Varda's Cleo from 5 to 7 for the first time on a proper screen. There was a mini Varda fest at the Paradise Theatre here in Toronto, and I saw The Beaches of Agnes (which was very interesting), but they didn't screen Cleo. So I went ahead and rented it and watched it this evening. Definitely an interesting film. I think my favorite part was up in her room with the kittens and then later the song-writing crew (with the pianist played by Michel Legrand!). On a completely different note, I plan on watching the SF comedy Relax, I'm from the Future either tomorrow or Monday.

I mentioned this on a different thread, but only 2 CDs remaining of Barbara Thompson's First Light though the download will remain available. https://jazzinbritain.co.uk/album/first-light-2 I really ought to do the (digital) subscription to Jazz in Britain on Bandcamp. Maybe a little bit later this fall...

While I usually (or at least currently) just purchase downloads through Bandcamp, I decided to buy one of the last remaining CDs (plus download) of Barbara Thompson's First Light. Apparently they are down to 10 physical copies. https://jazzinbritain.co.uk/album/first-light-2

Been dropping in at The Rex again. I plan on seeing the Eric St. Laurent Quintet (guitar, bass and 3 percussionists!) tonight, though I can only stick for the first set. This Thurs. Pat LaBarbera is back as part of The Rex's tribute to John Coltrane. Neil Swainson is supposed to be at the gig as well. I may stop by on Friday to check out the Andrew Scott Quartet, but not entirely sure yet. I saw them last week, and they were fine.

The first one is on iTunes (and other sites?) as Cream of Jazz Funk The other compilation doesn't seem to be up, though some of the Mainstream albums (with these tracks are available) unless these were alternative versions.

I also have the Japanese CD version (UCCU-3059). I had no idea that it had gotten so rare. I don't recall if I had made a special order (at one point was collecting most Bobby Hutcherson and then Harold Land albums), or it just happened to be in at Dusty Groove on a day I was there. Or it might have been something in between where I was tipped off and looking for it, but I'm pretty sure I didn't do a special order to Japan for this. Nonetheless, it's been ages since I've listened to it, so I shall correct that today...

Fontane's Effi Briest (with Madame Bovary to follow shortly thereafter)...

Almost halfway into Narayan's The Man-Eater of Malgudi. Just not feeling it, though it is short, so I'll finish it. The main character is a total wimp who lets other push him around all the time. And the storyline isn't that appealing either. Maybe a third of the way into Malraux's Man's Fate, which is more interesting for sure. This is about the rise of the Communist Party in China, specifically Shanghai, mostly told from the point of view of the revolutionaries. This would be a good pairing with J.G. Farrell's The Singapore Grip, which is almost entirely told from the point of view of European ex-pats. I liked but didn't love this novel, mostly because I thought the ending didn't live up to the rest of the book.

Generally not having major problems with USPS, though one package on its way from Montreal to Chicago has vanished. 😞 I hope it turns up but not holding out any hope at this point (several months later). 😢

Just saw Theatre Camp. Very funny, even if it draws hard on Waiting for Guffman and other mockumentaries and to a lesser extent Meatballs. The plot is that the director of the theatre camp is sent into a seizure by strobe light effects in a high school production of Bye Bye Birdie (while scouting for talent to attend said camp) and thence into a coma. Her son, who has never really understood the magic of theatre and is portrayed as a doofus, steps in on an interim basis to help run the camp. The rest of the staff openly belittle him. Will they all pull together (to save the magic) when there is a financial crisis that threatens the camp? They are screening Grave of the Fireflies at the same cinema, so I think I'll check that over the weekend, but I needed a bit of time to adjust...

Just wrapping up Maugham's Cakes and Ale. Very entertaining. From the introduction, there is quite a bit on how Maugham himself was very thin-skinned and threatened another author (who was lampooning him) with legal action. A bit sad, but it doesn't stop one from enjoying this novel. Will be reading Waugh's Decline and Fall next and then for something completely different, Narayan's The Man-Eater of Malgudi.