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It is tempting though the main office is not switching over, so I'll have to be very sure whatever I do is fully compatible with *.docx and *.xlsx files. I've got a year to research it. Who knows -- I might even have a different job in a year.

I guess I knew this day was coming, but it doesn't make it any easier. I had a catastrophic failure on my computer (the battery on the motherboard completely died, the bios is shot, etc., etc.). After a certain point it just isn't worth it. I needed something immediately, so I got a cheap Acer. Well, first there is no way to escape Windows 8.1, which I loathe. Second, I still use Office for a large number of applications, since I move stuff back and forth from work. Well, you no longer can buy a less invasive Office product. You must supply an email account to activate (so the number of fake MSucks email accounts has proliferated) and to top it off, you are only renting the software for a year. So I will transition my files to Open Office or Office Libre and then be done with it. I'm going to be stewing over this for a very long time.

I've been reading some relatively contemporary short stories -- Chabon's A Model World and Somerville's The Universe in Miniature in Miniature.

I'm actually having more trouble following the action, as quite a few of the characters seem to be "feeble-minded" not just one as in The Sound and the Fury. I'm not enjoying it as I have nothing but contempt for the father and his stupid quest. I'll probably get around (some day) to reading most of Faulkner twice, but I think I'll pass on this one. I can't exactly explain why I am so angry about this novel, other than perhaps the stupid, stubborn and often lazy characters that Faulkner is portraying (with a higher percentage here than in many other of his novels) did not fade away but actually have taken charge of U.S. politics. I was going to write more, but it would just take me further off tangent. Not sure if you picked up on the humor of the story. Definitely swathed in Gothic humor. As for the characters, they would have been (be) considered "poor white trash," but that is what Faulkner wants us to perceive, then he goes deep into their minds and spirits, humanizes and elevates them to nearly epic proportions. That may be what he is selling, but I'm not buying it. I don't see any nobility in their stiff-neckedness or getting bent out of shape when a neighbor won't lend them another set of mules for them to kill trying to cross the river in a pointless endeavor. I'm basically with Cora who presumably was expecting and perhaps hoping that Anse would drown in the first river crossing. To me, the balance is off and I can handle one of these characters like Sartoris or Ab Snopes, but when the entire book is populated with characters that I don't like and have no sympathy for at all, then I don't plan on returning.

So sad to hear this. RIP. Spock was definitely my favorite character on classic Star Trek (to say nothing of the movies).

I'm actually having more trouble following the action, as quite a few of the characters seem to be "feeble-minded" not just one as in The Sound and the Fury. I'm not enjoying it as I have nothing but contempt for the father and his stupid quest. I'll probably get around (some day) to reading most of Faulkner twice, but I think I'll pass on this one. I can't exactly explain why I am so angry about this novel, other than perhaps the stupid, stubborn and often lazy characters that Faulkner is portraying (with a higher percentage here than in many other of his novels) did not fade away but actually have taken charge of U.S. politics. I was going to write more, but it would just take me further off tangent.

Faulkner As I Lay Dying In the on-deck circle, Julian Barnes's A History of the World in 10½ Chapters and Djuna Barnes Nightwood.

I have very mixed feelings about D. Rose, but it is very clear that his body is not going to go along with his style of play. He has probably already hit his peak and will have good streaks and bad streaks but will never really be an MVP-level player again. It's a damn shame, but at this point the Bulls absolutely need to start planning for Life After Rose.

Uh oh .... So whenever the better half of any of you starts complaining about all them records taking up all that wall space then go ahead and show them the above statement as well as the page linked initially - just to prove once and for all you "could be doing much, much worse and much, much more obsessively!" I'm sure I would hear back that I could have a whole house for records if I wanted to live by myself...

You didn't get the memo? -- It's actually Larry Young Mimes in Paris. Sadly (?) the video was lost.

I haven't read everything but have a few of his novels and most of his short stories. I'd say he is even better in his short stories than novels, so you might want to check some of those out. I'm nearly done with Taylor's A Game of Hide and Seek. It is well written, but I find the main character (Harriet) to be fairly insipid and yet her love interest not particularly worthy of her attention.

I saw two plays today at 2 pm and 8 pm. I haven't doubled up like that in a while (probably two summers ago at Stratford). Anyway, at 2 was The Dining Room by A.R. Gurney, which is this somewhat kaleidoscopic view of different generations coming together around a dining room table, with the time shifting back and forth. It's amusing/interesting, though there isn't what you would call a narrative through-line. And I am just back from this one-man show called The Object Lesson. It's very hard to describe, particularly without spoiling anything, but it basically is about how we imbue certain objects from our past with a great deal of meaning, though other things are just tossed out left and right. It wasn't really what I expected (more absurdist, less "serious") but it was very entertaining. I have a few other shows coming up, with the one I am most excited about is Angela Lansberry in Blithe Spirit in about a week and a half.

I haven't read that, but I did read The Hungry Tide. I thought it was great.

We watched for a long, long time. but last year was the last season for us. I just no longer found enough of interest to keep watching. Now if they find a way to resurrect Futurama (again) I am so there (right in front of the tube)!

Congrats, that is quite an accomplishment. I have to admit this was not even on my radar, but you have piqued my curiosity. I don't intend to add it to my reading list at any point in the near future, but perhaps someday... Did you start with Pamela? That seems more my speed, and if I make it through that ok, I might eventually consider Clarissa...

I ended up not liking this very much. I did like the first "The Present" section but that was about it. It's hard to pinpoint exactly the problem, but really much ado about a fairly pedestrian affair and a number of high-strung characters that didn't seem particularly believable. Anyway, I am starting Elizabeth Taylor's A Game of Hide and Seek today.

Ah, memories... This was one of the first big purchases I made from my first job out of college. Essential if one is a fan of Monk.

I haven't played the Fuller in a long time, but it is nice. I should see if I can dig it out.

More of a spelling thing than an actual definition. The UK/Canadian spelling of glamor is glamour, but glamourous is not the correct spelling, but rather glamorous is considered correct. How odd (and inconsistent).

I was just joking around. I would probably go if I could. I do see there is a competing birthday gig across town (Roy Haynes at the Blue Note). It's tempting but the Friday evening tickets are a bit out of my range.

Watch out -- he's performing with Jason Moran, so the usual crowd will be around soon to tell you how terrible it will be... I'm actually swinging through New York but I'll actually be gone by Sunday evening. There is a small chance I could make the late night set Friday (where Moran will be playing (and murdering ) Monk standards. Of course, there are other things I might do. We'll see how I feel when I get here.

Very nice. I am surprised that The Last Shift was not collected/reprinted, not even in Unselected Poems. I see that there is a big gap in my collection -- nothing between New Selected Poems (1991) which intentionally didn't collect anything from What Work Is to News of the World (2009), so I will have to look into rectifying that. Sadly the public library doesn't have his recent collections, but UT library has a few.

I am back from the Basquiat exhibit at AGO. It was still really crowded. I guess crowds will thin out in another couple of weeks, and I'll go back then. It's basically a no-brainer to try to go if you are a big fan of Basquiat. I wouldn't say I am a fan, but it was interesting. I'd say they have 3 or 4 pieces that are really quite fine, and the rest I can pretty much take or leave. Many of the pieces have an epic scale that give them more presence than if they are just reproduced in a book, for example. I may have already mentioned this, but Toronto also has the Spiegelman exhibit at the AGO, and split between the ROM and MOCCA, the Douglas Coupland exhibit has traveled here from Vancouver. So quite a bit of contemporary art on view.

My copy of Bowen's The House in Paris is in very rough shape (and I probably should have complained to the seller), though no underlining as far as I can tell. I'm about 1/4 through it. As far as I can tell, the structure is fairly similar to Three Days of Rain (the play). Present, then long flash-back to explain the present situation, then back to the Present to wrap things up. It's going ok so far.

Too bad. RIP. I liked quite a lot of his work. Don't believe I ever saw him in person at a reading, though if I did it would have been quite a while ago.