Foster the People? Paul Revere and the Raiders?

 Was introduced to a sub-SUV deal. Now I have Kicks jokes running through my head. Another day, another heat warning. At least it's not at orange level. Been doing some reading and playing Valheim. Bears are in the Black Forest biome; what the heck are they doing in the Meadows? Oh, and the game crashed this morning while my dude Edgar was cooking boar meat.

 I have a couple of torches on hand just in case Edgar encounters bears. Torch in hand and zig-zagging - that's how one evades bears. Greydwarves and their pack mentality are annoying. But the game is beautiful. On the literary front, I finished reading 'Sir John A' by Drew Hayden Taylor. Canada's most legendary drunk whining about Indigenous people while two dudes travel to Kingston to dig up ancient bones.

 Darkly funny, like most of Taylor's works. A two-act play - easily blasted through. Now I have a much darker book ahead of me. I hope ye my followers are doing well and keeping cool.

BYE.

Now I'm sad

 We've been getting decent rain, I finally started reading 'Earth unaware', and generally enjoying my Tuesday. Then I learn through the Mare's Nest that Ozzy Osbourne has left for the big party in the sky. To quote the post title, now I'm sad. Was not a fan of the man but I respected his will and skill. Then I learned he was only 76. Then I really was sad.

  Not surprising when you consider the ride he put his body through. Man lived like that - miracle he made it to 75. Being 45, I know that 75 is respectable... not super old. 95 is within the hallowed halls of age. Anyway, the road to Wallace Lake is closed until August 31. The wildfires are not going away. That's why we dearly need the rain.

  So... that's all I wanted to say. Rest well, thou maddest king of rock.

BYE.

Dear mother the struggle is over now

 I've had that little-known Carly Simon song on my mind for the past few days. The funeral was yesterday. We'd chosen songs to play for the service. As soon as Arden's 'Good mother' swelled the waterworks started. As I read the eulogy at Dad's funeral, my sister read yesterday. My brother-in-law's family have been wonderful over this past month.

  My xtended family? Well, I'm going to quote ageless advice. "If you don't have owt nice to say, say nowt." My sister and I are drained as heck from yesterday. It was glorious outside yesterday and gloomy today. Here cometh the end of April. I continue to practice and work on minha Portugues. Duolingo is pretty good. I shut off notifications so the damn owl leaves me alone.

  Here cometh Monday. I hope my few readers are doing well.

BYE.

Second thoughts? No more time!

      Prepare yourself and bring the rhyme! Yesterday, the class I share my library with had a rap battle. Cats vs. dogs, Minecraft vs. Roblox, summer vs. winter, and Garfield vs. Calvin and Hobbes, and books are good vs. books are bad. The teacher asked me if I could help out by doing battle with the Garfield side of one battle, and I accepted the challenge. It's not that I don't like Garfield, but let's be honest; before Jon got a girlfriend, he was even more depressing and boring than he is now. Garfield beating on Odie is a one-trick pony, isn't it? Garfield's not even cute; that's Nermal's department. At any rate, I prefer Calvin and Hobbes, and came up with some half-decent rhymes to praise C and B and diss Garfield. 

      My opponents came up with some pretty good points about Calvin spending most of his time in his head. The little dude's six, after all. Let him expand his imagination as far as he can for as long as his childhood allows. I was in that boat too at that age, I expect. Anyway, if given a choice of Garfield or C and B, I will choose the latter every time. Kids don't expect their librarian to have a loud voice... unless said librarian is yelling at them for silence. I haven't had to do that this year thanks to COVID-19, so my bellowing out my pseudo-sick rhymes was summat of a shock to them. At any rate, I won that rap battle. It might have been unfair to my opponents. After all, you would need to put all four of their ages together to match mine. They weren't around in the days of Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC, Maestro Fresh-Wes, and other early masters.

      Still, they took their bit of flesh out of Calvin and Hobbes, and I salute them. The second rap battle I part of, the Books one, was a battle I was glad to lose. Every battle needs a bad guy who goes down in searing flames, and I was perfectly happy to be that bad guy. The audience was even more shocked to hear their librarian dissing books. A battle needs a bad guy, and I wanted a challenge. It was very hard for me to trash my end all, be all. I rooted for the teacher as she praised books and got the cheers from the audience. Some of them did clap politely for me at the end of it, but they cheered and whistled for my victorious opponent. It was a lot of fun. The teacher does this every year around this time. Maybe, if I have a free period next year (assuming we go back to what passes for normal), I'll volunteer for the experience again.

       I've done a lot of reading lately (which should surprise nobody). With the coming of Spring Break, I expect to do a lot more reading. I just wanted to post about the rap battle today. Another post will be along before long.

BYE.

Blisteringly cold

      Winter finally caught up with us. I expect indoor recess all the rest of the week. We had an inservice today, so the kids got to stay home and stuff. On the literary front, I finished up a poignant book called 'The woman on the Orient Express'. I only call it poignant because it woke so much nostalgia within. Agatha Christie was married and divorced in her early days, and she made an escape to the Middle East to get away from the rumour mill. I wonder now what her ex thought when she became something of a superstar writer. Did it stick in his craw - an ache that not even death could heal? Yes, I am spiteful. What of it?

       Anyway, the book was so drenched in Mesopotamian affairs that I flashed back many times to the Christie classic 'Murder in Mesopotamia'. The author of 'The woman on the Orient Express' confirmed my suspicions that one of the characters in the book who crosses paths with Christie was the inspiration of one of the characters in 'Murder in Mesopotamia'. This character was a real person, believe it or not. As a result of all my flashing back, I found myself enjoying the foray very much. If I recall correctly, 'Murder in...' was the first Christie book I have ever read. Both books are very good, by the way.

       Continuing on the nostalgia train, I discovered another reason why I love the band Squeeze as much as I do. When I was in high school, like most people of my time, I watched 'Hackers'. My first encounter with Angelina Jolie, Jonny Lee Miller, and Matthew Lillard, as well as my first encounter with Fisher Stevens as a bad guy. When you're used to Ben Jabituya in 'Short Circuit', it's a little bit of a shock to see him as this douchey hacking mastermind. Anyway, at the end of that movie, while Miller and Jolie are in the rooftop pool, there's a great song that plays. I've been in the dark as to which band released that song for YEARS. 😥

      Thank you IMDB! It took me a bit of searching but I finally found the song in question.

      Is it any wonder that I love Squeeze so much? All this time and I don't even have one of their albums. I think that's going to change soon. Shoutout to KeeFHQVideos for posting this video. Am I getting people in trouble by giving them a shoutout? Not like there are any people actually wasting their time on my blog. Now, I hope people stay warm in Canada, as the cold weather ain't going away anytime soon. Maybe by this weekend.

BYE.

Countdown until Stuff!

       I return to a precarious existence on August 27. Back to work. I've bought a bunch of masks and I already have a plastic shield installed at work to protect me from the kids and the kids from me. The pandemic is very much real but as long as the kids are able to come to the library I will be there to receive them. Of course, if/when things change I might get laid off again. I hope not, of course, but we shall see.

      I attended an impromptu bluegrass concert a couple of evenings ago. It's not my cup of Earl Grey but I enjoyed the performance all the same. A couple of my neighbours are in a bluegrass band and the rest of the band was over on their patio to play. Enjoyable evening. Besides that, I am sending my semi-immortal orc Mez into battle against the Imperials in Skyrim (she's semi-immortal because I like God Mode), and I'm always having fun with the Reardon clan in TS3. 

      I'm using the Story Progression mod and it's kind of annoying when sims I'm not playing get married. The whole neighbourhood's exploded into hyphens. There's probably a way to change that. Once I really get annoyed I guess I'll get off my prodigious rear and look into it. Anyway, that's what's going on with me. I am also reading a book about the Spanish Civil War. Nothing much else for me.

BYE.

Insignificance

       I've been thinking a lot about insignificance and how it can be a good thing. Look at Manitoba's insignificance where the pandemic is concerned. Not to jinx it, but we currently hover at 9 active cases. Our selfless truckers are the ones who have been the ones diagnosed of late with coronavirus but they will recover and venture back into the monster's lair known as the U.S. again and again to keep the supply chain active and vibrant.

      I try not to get political in this blog, as so many other people are saying things much better than I ever could but today I have to doff my cap and raise my glass to the mayor of D.C. Muriel E. Bowser (love her last name!) ordered a gorgeous paint job just outside the White House recently. Yellow like the sun and awesome like a mushroom cloud; an anthem numerous nasty-minded people consider anathema. George Floyd probably never planned to be the 21st century's version of Steve Biko or MLK Jr. and yet here we are. As far as I know, he just planned to spread around a little counterfeit cash that day. You know what happened next.

     Peter Gabriel said, "You can blow out a candle but you can't blow out a fire" in his seminal 'Biko'. Thanks to the heartless actions of one fiend in Minnesota, Tsar Bomba touched down and the firestorm is growing to encompass a fair bit of the world. All I can do is watch and pray for the protesters; that they do not end up at the hands of other heartless fiends. Meanwhile, the man with the power to do the most good in America is doing anything but. The generals, the seniors, and even his own party begin to turn against him. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before something good finally happens in America.

    What does this have to do with insignificance? Well, I take comfort in my insignificance enough to know that nobody's going to consider me worth the effort to read. Oh, and here are some Sims to make this entry at least worth the while.

BYE.

A Sweet Time

The following song came on the radio today.

       No, I don't think of Tia Carrere when this song comes on. The original is the better version in my opinion. Actually, when I hear Sweet's seminal 'The Ballroom Blitz' I come up with the weirdest questions. Here are some of them.

• Were the Man in the Back and the Girl in the Corner in cahoots and she changed her mind at the last minute?
• Why did the Man in the Back unleash his fury in the ballroom? Did he have an issue with the ballroom or the crowd?
• Why did the Girl in the Corner only warn her male compatriot that something was going to happen?
• If the Girl in the Corner could 'kill with a wink of her eye', why didn't she shut the Man in the Corner down before the blitz?
• How many people were in that ballroom and how many of them were working for the Man in the Corner?

      The things I come up with when I'm behind the wheel, eh? Oh, and speaking of blitzes;

   This one came outta nowhere. Why this dance party decided to jump my sim, I'll never know. Have a good day.

Let's hear it for People!

In honour of the book (The Chatto book of dissent) I'm currently reading (and because I didn't know the lyrics myself but wanted to know), here are the lyrics to one of my favourite Lennon songs (other favourites being 'Jealous Guy' and 'Nobody told me')

Give Peace a Chance
- John Lennon

Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, ism ism ism
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

(C'mon)
Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout
Minister, Sinister, Banisters and Canisters,
Bishops, Fishops, Rabbis, and Pop Eyes, Bye bye, Bye byes
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

(Let me tell you now)
Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout
Revolution, Evolution, Masturbation, Flagellation, Regulation,
Integrations, mediations, United Nations, congratulations
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer, Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna
Hare Hare Krishna
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
(Repeat 'til the tape runs out)

http://www.absolutelyrics.com/lyrics/view/john_lennon/give_peace_a_chance/ (reposted Aug. 17. 2011)

Well, ring my bell!

School's out! My last day for the year was June 30. The admins played 'School's out for summer' over the PA, bringing smiles to all of us. The teachers and admins had a rather rough go of things last week, what with glitches and corrections, and general frustrations, but around 3 yesterday afternoon, we gladly put all that behind us and it was time to party! Actually, we had the party the evening before, which was something of a letdown compared to last year. Plenty of laughs and conversation, but I thought there were just too many people around and, let's be honest, I'm not really big into horse-racing. Hopefully we don't revisit the Downs next year. Certainly, the food was good, but there's more to life than a good buffet. This from a food-lovin' gal, but it's true. I left instructions with the summer custodians on what to do with the plants. Hopefully I don't lose any this year, compared to last year. Speaking of this year, the 8's are gone!!! Not all of them were frustrating, just the ones I encountered on a near-daily basis in the library. The rest of them made for an interesting experience. No doubt I'll have more interesting experiences when the kids come back in September.
Meanwhile, I'm getting things together for the big trip. I probably won't have time to post next week, considering I will be away. Granted, I'll probably have the use of a computer, but when you only have a week to see Victoria and all its glories, who wants to hang around online, plunking words into their blog that nobody reads, anyway? I have gathered together a few good books to read while Mom and I are on the plane. I printed off the important information that will ensure we get on the plane next week. Oops, I just remembered that today is Friday and not Saturday. It feels like a Saturday, but that's the effects of summer vacation. Before long, I'll be relaxed enough to just lie on my futon for hours on end and get some serious reading done.
Oh, and it's CANADA DAY! I should break out the Nylons and listen to their classic take on our national anthem. My favourite when I'm at work and the admins decide to play it over the PA. I found it on Youtube, if anyone's interested.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJI6RE2DK0E . Anyway, our proud yet self-conscious country is 144 years old. Hurrah! I don't have anything planned for today, apart from doing some laundry and getting my stuff together for the trip. The weather looks fairly gloomy, but it should be nicer today than it was yesterday. With that bastard of a Humidex the weather was either 40, 45 or worse. Augh! So that's all for me. When next I post, I should have a few neat stories about Victoria.

Tick... tock... AUGH

6 days and counting.... I'm listening to New Order this evening and worrying that I'm quickly running out of time before the end of the school year. I need to get everything returned and paid up, and it seems like the kids could not care less. Maybe I'm just getting old in my thinking. Old and pessimistic... wait, I was already pessimistic to begin with... Yeah, I'm doing just fine. Meanwhile, I've done a ton of reading over the last few days and plan to do another ton before I go west for a week. I should also get some books for the trip. Now, I fear that I don't have a whole lot to say, so I'll post a blast from the past... Enjoy!

June 18, 2001, afternoon
A journey into the psyche has reaped very interesting rewards. There is a very good book called “Please Understand Me” by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates, and it talks about temperament types. I have read from this book, done the rest and I have learned that I am INFJ. An INFJ is an Introvert/Intuitive/Feeling/Judging. I’ve known for a long time that I am an Introvert, but what does it all mean? This book explained it all to me. Introverts make up 25% of the population and they prefer solitude and are more territorial. That is very true for me. In addition, I rather enjoy being in select company. Society can have its extroverts; we introverts will have quiet contemplation. Now, The second letter can be either N(Intuitive) or S(sensation). 25% of the population are Intuitive. More preferred company issues. Will I ever be part of the 75%? Anyway, those who are N think in terms of awareness and sensitivity (sic?). Now, there is the third letter. F as in Feeling, compared with T for Thinking. Here there is a gender split. 60% of the female population are F compare to male population (60% are Thinkers). I believe more in values than in logic. Well, I guess that I am a majority somewhere. Now, that fourth letter is a J, or one who judges. Apparently, I prefer deadlines. Perhaps the test was wrong somehow. I don’t like deadlines. So, here is the final moment. I(25%) N(25%) F(50%) J(50%) (Feeling % - error on my part?) So, what does it all mean? INFJ’s make up about 1% of the population and are therefore very rare indeed. People like me are very reserved, are rumoured to have ESP, and are hurt easily by nasty (sic?) words. The diagnosis is very true. It has been quite a wonderful journey. Well, I will keep reading this interesting book at another time. Another journey into the psyche will await…. SYS.

Assorted mumbles

10 days to go until a well-deserved break. While the Canucks sucked and Vancouver was... mucked up..., I attended a nice little technology event after work. The computer lab fanatics showcased their awesome work for a handful of parents and a smaller handful of staff. I care little about hockey and I don't even have a TV, so I went and enjoyed the show. I went home last night feeling a little euphoric about the whole thing. Amazing how good I've felt lately. Things are feeling very right for me these days. I don't know how else to explain it. Again, it could just be knowing that the end is very much in sight. Today was the last actual school day for the kids and next week will be activities and the like. Of course, the library will be open during lunch and I'll enjoy yelling at my favourite annoyances for a few more days. On the other hand, I've been doing my librarian's job of late as well (providing information), which really made me feel good. Next week I'll be closing the library for a couple of days to get some inventory done. Feeling pretty good about that as well.
Listening to 'Reveal' by the awesome R.E.M. this evening, which continues the happiness for me. It's such a summery album.
On the literary front, I've nearly come to the end of 'The shape of things to come' by H.G. Wells. I was inspired to find this book by TCM, which showed the movie adaptation a few months back. The book (natch) is better than the movie, but I'm astounded at how good it is. The writing is informative and clear, and I'm really enjoying it. Of course, other minds might say it's Saharan in nature and I would agree. Compared to the movie, however.... I plan to visit this book in a year's time as well just to see if I still like it as much as I do now. I hope to have more info concerning the book posted here once I've come to the end of it. The big Dad's Day is this Sunday. There's a plan in place, and this time we're prepared for it. I apologize for the shortness of this entry. I need to get back to reading. BYE.

Muy frío!

Not as cold as it was last week, but cold enough to make me break out the long johns and thick socks. My heater's blower has been rather vocal over the past few days too, which has not sat well with me. It should warm up a bit tomorrow, and then get even warmer on Wednesday. Apparently there's a blizzard brewing in the States. I don't want to mock my southern neighbours, but I will if any governors decide to call out the army to do some shoveling. I scoffed when the folks in Toronto whined for help. Be strong, be fearless, grab that shovel and get out there! Makes me wonder what the snowblowers are like in various states. Hopefully strong enough to get the job done. Keeping warm here in the 'Peg with the legendary Rush and 'Test for echo'. I'm also reading D. Brin's 'The postman'. I like the premise and the story is well written. How did Costner butcher this story, anyway? I guess his dastardly touch was incredibly powerful then. Has Kevin Costner done any decent movies since 'Prince of thieves'?
Of course, some folk would say that Costner butchered that movie as well, and it was only Bryan Adams who could save it with that incredible song. I swear, that was THE song of 1991-1992. Just like Richard Marx's 'Right here waiting' was THE song of 1989-1990. All the girls taking piano in my Fourth Grade class were hammering away at that song. Phil Collins' 'Another day in paradise' and anything by Paula Abdul were also fine draws for classroom parties. There was also Salt n'Pepa's 'Push it', which snuck past the teacher's censor. I wouldn't have known what they were singing anyway when I was 9. I know now, and it gives me a mighty guffaw when I think about it. Speaking of Rush, I first learned about these fine fellows back in 1991 with 'Roll the bones'. Some of the best rap my lily-white ears had ever heard. The thinking man's rap, maybe? It has been said that Rush is the thinking man's rock band. Feel free to challenge me on that, by the way.
The weather can get warmer, as long as the sky does not decide to unleash another two tons of snow upon the hapless heads here at home. They just did the streets AGAIN (there goes next year's snow removal budget!) and I don't think the 'Peg needs any more snow. Meanwhile, I'm getting back into watching 'Law & Order' (anything after the 1st five seasons matters little to me). Chris Noth was so yummy in those days. Ah, time does ravage the photogenic! Well, that's about all. BYE.

Music, books, weather, ARGH!

My present literary journey is another grueling foray into Hegel, and this time, while the writing is not as dull, the book seems pretty insurmountable, and I have to have it back in a few days. I swear, after I finish this entry, I'm going to bury myself in Sexsmith and the Arkells and read for a couple of hours. Some people say that Sexsmith is one depressing dude. Not the most photogenic dude around, but certainly not depressing. Been messing around with my satellite radio recently, and thought I had something good with a blues/jazz station, but I couldn't hear the music over the roaring heater. Bitterly cold weather in the 'Peg of late, but the temp actually rose to -18 today, up from -11 (which does not make sense unless we're dealing with what Environment Canada calls an adverse weather trend - I think). At least the blowing snow warning is done. Whew!
The days are getting visibly brighter, and I'm grateful for that. There was a time when I relished walking through the snow in -30 weather, embracing the morning's darkness and the softly falling snow. That was when I rode a bus to get to University. Now I drive and I'm not as grateful for the indigo darkness of a wintry dawn. Been doing a lot of shivering, actually. Meanwhile, I'm trying to get through Peter Kalkavage's 'The logic of desire' and the going is not all that good. The publishing company's name makes me chuckle a little, considering the occasionally arid quality of what I'm reading. Not the fault of Paul Dry Books that this book lives up to the company's name. Have to wonder what kind of fun Mr. Dry went through as a young man. Anyway, I'm trying to get through this study of Hegel's 'Phenomenology of spirit' and it's rubbing me the wrong way for some reason. It's not the quality of the writing or that I'm having a hard time following the logic - I guess my Semi-Buddhist Eyes are focusing nicely these days, and that's the problem.
The consciousness making its way to full and total realization, becoming the self and firmly existing in the world as we know it. Doesn't that fly in the face of all the Buddhism I've studied? That's not what it's all about though, right? If that is what is bothering me, that's not the author's fault. Time to do some reconciling of my feelings. It's also time I got back to reading this behemoth of a book. Ron Sexsmith has reached the second-last track. 'Retriever' is not my favourite album, but I get a kick out of 'Whatever it takes' and 'From now on'. Time to get back to the grind.
BYE!

Mmmmmmemories

Listening to James Blunt tonight. Reminds me of songs that matter a lot in my life. Starting with Xmas carols, since the season's right for it. My favourite non-traditional Xmas carol is John Lennon's 'Happy Xmas (War is over)'. I was writing in my first serious diary when I heard that song, and since then, whenever I hear it, I think back to Xmas 1992, when I received the Muse fully into my life and began my life as its slave. (For the record, my favourite traditional Xmas carol is 'O Holy Night' - can't just sing it, you have to belt it out to get it right) The next song that speaks of memory is a James Blunt song. His song 'High' reminds me of a time in my Red River days, when I crossed paths with a former classmate from the University of Winnipeg. We chatted briefly and then went our separate ways. What struck me most was that he remembered me and was able to call me by name. That sent my self-esteem a mile high. Around the same time, I met up with a classmate from my school days and he too called me by name. Again, my self-esteem rose to new heights. Just like that line "Sometimes it's hard to believe you remember me." Since then, I dedicate every playing of this song to those two. God keep you safe and on your paths through life, guys.
R.E.M. also figures in this recollection. 'Aftermath' always reminds me of a particularly tempestuous time in my 20s. Just those times when I just had to sit down and cry because things were happening that I was powerless to make better. 'Scared' by the Hip also figures in this, for it reminds me of a friend from those tempestuous times. I listen to these two songs with a fond smile on my face now. And then there are those songs that remind me of summer. Summer days in my childhood were always spent at the lake, so when I hear these songs, I smile all the way back to summertime in the 80s and 90s. Sigh....
There are other songs but it's too soon to speak of them and the events connected with them. I'll save them for my diary and chew on them a while. It has been said that everyone has a soundtrack to their lives. These songs must form part of my own soundtrack. Amen. Okay. Time to listen to some Rush. Rock on!

not a lot to say

The weather has been cold enough to convince me I need to plug my car in. Trying to work through a bunch of Bronte books. Finished up 'Jane Eyre' (why do I keep forgetting that it ends happily for Jane and her Rochester?) and am spending time in the town of Villette with Lucy Snowe and everyone else she encounters. Trying to finish up with New Order this evening and will follow up with Enigma. Lately I have not had a lot to say; neither have I maintained much of an online presence beyond lurking. Something to make me seem even more ephemeral than usual. Reminds me of the R.E.M. song 'Disappear'. Been thinking about impermanence more than usual as well. Was there ever a time when I thought I was invulnerable? Nothing like it has come up during searches through past diaries. I keep running through 'what if' scenarios these days. "What if I drop dead while at work?" I guess the corpse I'll leave behind won't care much what happens once the essence moves on, and I doubt the essence won't care once it moves on, either. So why should I care all that much now?
For someone constantly beset with raging anxieties, this is a pretty interesting statement. Speaking of diaries, I'm revisiting my Red Book (RRC years). Tons of turmoil and new discoveries to be found in those pages. Awakenings and epiphanies, one might say. It's too soon for me to save the Red Book to computer file. That's about all I have for the time being. BYE.

James Blunt and Ripley-stuff

Listening to 'Back to Bedlam' puts me in such a reflective mood. 'High' reminds me of two guys (one I knew from university and one I knew from 1st Grade) whom I ran into during my library tech. course days. Just the fact that they remembered me sent my self-esteem soaring and always brings a smile to my face whenever I hear this song now. 'You're Beautiful' reminds me of the path I've chosen and how I have faced the truth that 'I will never be with you' (whoever that might be). 'Wisemen' is a song of triumph. 'Where are you now?' indeed! 'Goodbye my Lover' brings tears to my eyes whenever I hear it. Very poignant and powerful song. Jumping ahead to 'Cry'... a beautiful song of love and friendship. May we all find such a friend on the path through life. Mine's my diary. Okay... I'm listening to 'Goodbye my Lover' right now, so I'm going to pause for some waterworks.... Although nothing brings on the flood like Rush's 'Tai Shan'.
Still working on 'The boy who followed Ripley', by the great Patricia Highsmith. I went to the library today and got some more books. No more Highsmith for a little while. Planning to get into Thomas Hardy. 'Jude the Obscure' rocked my world back in the day, based on previous diary entries. I'm also going to try to get into some Margaret Atwood (glutton for punishment, you might say? Maybe.) very soon. Before I get into those two, I've got a book that really blew me away back in 2001 (again, based on previous diary entries) about death. I'll keep you posted. Well, I guess that's about all on the literary level. I'm back to work, which is pretty good. The books are going to come in like crazy now, and I'll have lots of work in the days to come. Still, I know darn well that I need to buy many more books. I hope to get ordering VERY soon (once most of the books I ordered are in and added to the collection.
Would that I had more to say, but I guess I'm done. BYE.

Labour Day weekend

Getting a lot of reading done lately. 'Two gentlemen of Verona' was the first devoured. I guess the Comedies are easier to get through than the Tragedies and Histories (I think they're called). I read 'King Richard III' recently as well, and that was not nearly as easy to get through. I've read both plays already, so that increased the pace already. I love that the 'clowns' are usually wiser than their masters. If not wiser, then at least possessing more common-sense. The clown/servant is more grounded than the flighty master with many of the Comedies. Julia dresses like a boy to spy on her 'beloved' Proteus, who says one thing and does another. Everybody has an agenda in this play, it seems. Either way, it's a good enough play. I've never seen it done on stage, but I don't think it's as popular as 'A Midsummer night's dream'. THAT's a popular one.
From Shakespeare to sci-fi I went with Philip Jose Farmer's 'Dayworld'. Freakish! The concept is pretty sound, and if Homo sapiens sapiens keeps going the way it does, we may need to introduce said concept. Still, for those 'day-breakers', at least for some of them, the act is more dangerous than one would think. I've heard of people who can 'compartmentalize' their lives. This trait can become dangerous if taken too far. To go farther would be to spoil the book for those who have yet to read it. Good book, only it took less time to read it than I thought it would. Fast-paced. I hope I didn't miss anything. I fear I have a tendency to skim over stuff.
Now, I have yet to get halfway through this third book, but this one could paint me as a Satanist. I'm reading a life of Aleister Crowley. Hey, the guy is bloody fascinating. At least, this is the miasma he wove over himself before he died. Maybe he was totally boring. The least I can do is read and find out. Before I close this, I listened to Beethoven (ODE TO JOY) and am now listening to John Lennon. Cool. BYE.