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I have to say I am not enjoying Maugham's Of Human Bondage. It is very hard for me understand why it is often considered one of the top 100 books of the 20th Century, aside from the fact that there are lots of people who like watching car crashes -- but only if it is sufficiently high-minded (i.e. they wouldn't be caught dead watching reality TV but they'll read books like Madame Bovary or Anna K. or Of Human Bondage). I really don't like Philip Carey as a character. He is portrayed as a thoroughly unpleasant young man, who goes out of his way to snub his uncle and generally only hangs out with people he can look down on. Maugham seems to justify everything because Carey lost both parents as a child and has a physical handicap as well (a clubfoot). The only section of the book that was bearable (so far) was when he was off in Paris trying to become an artist. Now he is back in London, doing a fairly poor job of studying to be a doctor. And he falls hard for a waitress, essentially only because she snubs him. She instantly becomes forbidden fruit. I know the heart wants what it wants, but anyone with a smidgen of self respect would have broken things off after only one or two of the times she makes it clear just how little she thinks of him, not the 10 times we are up to so far. It is really hard to fathom how Maugham is going to keep this going for another 300+ pages. I find it tedious and not at all compelling. I am kind of dreading it actually, and would not finish the book except I am going to be seeing a play based on the book in a few weeks. Though if this ends the way I think it will, I should probably skip it (the play) and try to get my money back.

As with most things in life, there are "good" estates and "bad" estates, and the changes in copyright law seem to favor rent-seeking behavior by "bad" estates that seem to act pretty much like patent trolls. It is interesting that the movie thread discusses Vivian Maier, since there are two distant relatives coming out of the woodwork and putting in their claims on these negatives, when they certainly had no actual connection to Maier during her life. Estates like this -- screw them. I think they should lose their rights and have the material go into PD. But I'm not going to have my mind changed just because "think of the children" nor do I expect to change anyone else's mind. I guess it was a good thing that I have built up my collection when I did, since I think the changes in copyright law are definitely detrimental to the culture as a whole and specifically to music fans that follow niche genres. If you think the music scene is bad now, just wait another 10-15 years after the majors stop bothering to reissue most jazz artists (and they are no longer allowed to fall into PD) alongside the related issue of these ridiculous "sounds like" copyright infringement suits. Lawyers and music are never a good mix.

I haven't been really following these series, though it appears the Cleveland-Chicago series is better than I would have thought (perhaps wouldn't have been so evenly matched if Love hadn't gotten hurt). Anyway, with 3 seconds left, Cleveland hits a 3 pointer to tie the game. Anything can happen in overtime. Cleveland seems to have the momentum... Anyway, Bulls draw up a play and Rose hits a 3-pointer (I think the only one he made in the game) with basically no time left on the clock. Unbelievable. Bulls need to come out a bit stronger in game 4 if they are going to hang onto home court advantage (which they have stolen away from Cleveland). I'm sure my wife is happy and so relieved that they don't have to keep going tonight.

It should, though it has occasionally been known to happen that the coding on the label is incorrect. Still, music DVDs generally do play in all regions, so it's probably worth a gamble.

I'm most of the way through Satin Island by Tom McCarthy. It is a little hard to describe, but basically it is partly a satire of trendy corporations that have succeeding in selling blather, so they have excess funds to hire anthropologists (I think he is imagining an ad agency with the resources of Google) and partly this anthropologist then musing about contemporary culture, oil spills, creative destruction and so on. There are vague connections to Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, Jonathan Lethem and David Foster Wallace, but this is much flatter, almost affectless writing. It is basically plotless, so it is definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea. It is certainly not going to make my top 10 novels of the year, let's put it that way. I should wrap this up tonight. Then I will return to Of Human Bondage. I've finally reached the point where Philip is in London and the real action is about to begin.

I still think it was an over-reaction, esp. as it was a day game (and they moved it up even earlier), but it is a moot point. Game over. Baltimore won it 8-2. Some of the other cancelled games will be made up in May.

Hmmm. I seem to remember some quite pricey Fontana Tubbs set that DG was pushing. Now presumably all that will be reissued in much better sound, and some folks here will gnash their teeth -- but eventually buy it. I actually didn't buy it last time around, though I might now, depending on final price.

I think this is a bit of a hysterical over-reaction, but what I do wonder about is whether MLB is legally obligated to make up the difference in ticket sales and the concession take. I would be royally pissed (oh, sorry wrong city) if I was in a league and I was ordered to play a game at which I had to forgo so much revenue. For that matter, what if the networks decide it is too creepy to show a game with no audience and no stadium noise at all, and black it out?

This is impressive, but he isn't playing the rhythm guitar that kicks in halfway through (unless it is double-tracking which of course might be feasible). Do they explain this in the original video?

I've used Total Recorder, though it costs a nominal amount. I actually have to reinstall this after my desktop computer died. I used to record compulsively, but seem to have kicked the habit close to a year ago and am not sure I want to start up again.

Not sure the Mravinsky is a great deal, at least not at present. Suggested retail is $55 or so. But the Sony 20th Century Masterworks looks very tempting. Can currently be pre-ordered at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.ca. I believe for US residents, Amazon.co.uk is the better deal (18 GBP) whereas it is basically a wash for Canadians (with less chance of a customs hold-up if one goes with Amazon.ca). Thanks for the heads' up.

In the end I really disliked Philadelphia Fire. It was such an unstructured novel with Wideman going in 3 or 4 directions and not resolving anything. While it may have been inspired by Invisible Man, it ultimately felt to me like one of those saggy postmodern novels without an ending. It could have been quite something if he had just picked one thread and saw it through, but jumping around so much was just annoying and (to me) pointless. I'll be going through Travesties tonight and seeing what references I missed in the staged production, which was quite enjoyable. I should be wrapping up !Click Song shortly and probably start Vasily Aksyonov's The Burn over the weekend. Next week I hope to launch into Of Human Bondage.

In the middle of a few books, which always makes me a bit edgy, so I am trying to wrap at least one up tonight. I'm about halfway done with both Williams' !Click Song and Wideman's Philadelphia Fire. Of the two, I like !Click Song a bit better, but neither of these is going to become a perennial favorite or anything like that. After I wrap these two up, I'll probably read Stoppard's Travesties, in honor of just having seen it (in Montreal no less!). And perhaps move on to The Real Thing and Night and Day. I find Stoppard is an acquired taste, but I acquired that taste a while back and think he is probably the most interesting playwright of our time. I'm still waiting to see if New York or Chicago will be staging his latest play, The Hard Problem, anytime soon.

I found Diary of a Nobody a bit exhausting. So many mishaps in one household. However, you can clearly see that Mr. and Mrs. Pooter (and Mr. particularly) are the putative ancestors of Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances. (A show about social strivers that pretty much left me cold.) Just starting John A. Williams' !Click Song. So far I am liking it a bit better than The Man Who Cried I Am. This month and next month are set aside to go through novels I've carted around for over 10 years in some cases without cracking them. Now is the time to find out if it was worth it. In addition to !Click Song, I am tackling The Burn by Vassily Aksynov and Bleeding London by Geoff Nicholson. This should keep me fairly busy. After this, I will read Of Human Bondage, where I am fairly certain I will enjoy the book.

Standards are too low, and it would serve them right if a bunch of these one and dones didn't get drafted. But it never seems to work out that way.

The reviews (by average people not literary reviewers) are all over the map. Interesting. You sometimes get this wide range of opinion on Douglas Coupland's work as well. Looks like one I might borrow from library but definitely not purchase. Anyway, going to launch into Diary of a Nobody today. I got the copy I read from the library and didn't know what to expect. I enjoyed it so much that I bought a copy yesterday. It's a book that I'll reread and/or delve into sections of in the future. Ok, good to know. I'll definitely try to get around to it some day. I have just the vaguest idea of its plot, though actually it sounds in this case the comparison to Coupland is apt -- some aspects sound a bit like Generation A (not a misprint, a newish book -- which has garnered divisive reviews). I've liked some of Smith's other work.

The reviews (by average people not literary reviewers) are all over the map. Interesting. You sometimes get this wide range of opinion on Douglas Coupland's work as well. Looks like one I might borrow from library but definitely not purchase. Anyway, going to launch into Diary of a Nobody today.

I don't think I'd bother with Lagoon. I'm probably not going to finish it myself. I am pretty allergic to books, even those written by Africans, with pidgin English.

That's a good metaphor. I'm not in love with it, but it is interesting and I'm glad to cross it off the list. As far as Lagoon, I need to get a bit further in before I can give it a rating. At the moment I am trending slightly towards the negative.

60 pages to go in The Big Money (vol. 3 of USA Trilogy). I'll cross the finish line tonight. It definitely has some interesting moments. What is a bit dispiriting is how many of his characters end up as slightly bad-tempered functional alcoholics, even during this Prohibition Era. I guess he was mostly interested in showing how the grind of trying to make a living in the US (and how many phonies there were and scam artists) broke almost everyone down eventually. One character in particular went from being a good airline mechanic and inventor to a pampered executive who screwed his workers but still thought he was one of the guys. He was one of the biggest lushes in the book. Where Dos Passos is quite frustrating is that few of his storylines (and we follow at least a dozen main characters throughout the trilogy) have any kind of wrap up. He simply stops writing about them. It's sort of akin to a long running TV series but with no finale. I guess this was kind of radical for its time, but I found it frustrating. As I said, Diary of a Nobody quite soon and, believe it or not, a SF novel set primarily in Lagos: Nnedi Okorafor's Lagoon.

I held off for quite a while, but ordered Henry Mancini The Classic Soundtrack Collection. My main concern is how often I will actually listen to a soundtrack all the way through, but there are some great ones in this set.

This sounds a bit more up my alley, though I've haven't read it (yet). I just wasn't that into Things Fall Apart.

I lived a bit down the street from a big Moonie complex in Chicago. I don't think the Moonies are nearly as big a thing as they were in the 80s and 90s, at least in North America, but they are still around. I think it is true most people who are apt to join cults are missing something and hope to find it in the brother/sisterhood that one falls into immediately when one joins. But it is maybe just a question of degree from the other kinds of groups and associations one can join, and a question of degree how outward directed these groups are. After all, one could argue that someone trying to spread the gospel of Parker or Coltrane is a missionary of sorts, trying to save the world, and probably an unpaid one at that...

It's probably just an urban legend, but my impression was that Scientology was more or less started as a bet between Hubbard and Heinlein that Hubbard could actually start a religion based vaguely on the lines of what is portrayed in Stranger in a Strange Land. Obviously the engram stuff got added later.

Nearly done with 1919 (second in USA Trilogy). This one happens to be illustrated with a bunch of sketches by Reginald Marsh (one of the New York Ashcan artists of the 1920s/30s). Dos Passos's cynicism about everything really comes through here, and perhaps is even stronger in The Big Money. You can sort of see why he eventually broke with all progressive political movements. Anyway, the Marsh line drawings are pretty cool. (They aren't in the Modern Library version and I don't believe they are in the L.O.A. edition that came out recently.) I went back and forth for a while, but just ordered a set that is supposed to have all the illustrations from all three books in the trilogy. It just wasn't clear whether I could track these down at the local libraries. Still, the likelihood of my reading the USA Trilogy a second time is fairly low, but I guess I can envision thumbing through the pictures from time to time... For a complete change after this, I am going to read Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. This is largely to see if my son is old enough to handle this material (probably so). Then The Diary of a Nobody. I've gotten about 25% through in the past, but want to just push on this time. A bit later in the year, I plan on reading Three Men in a Boat (to Say Nothing of the Dog). Something light from time to time to cleanse the mental palate I guess...