With the lights out, it's less dangerous

Here we are now: entertain us.

Well, in a holiday mood, there's THIS:

"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Fishmen"

and
"Do You Fear What I Fear?"

Haha!1!

I fear no Jesus! Nor fish!

The Joy of Books at Type, Queen St. West, Toronto.

Aww! Loved the Astaire-Vivien Leigh twirl.

Toronto Subway news:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/07/03/toronto-batman-spiderman-...

The Biblio-mat, Toronto's book-dispensing vending machine.

That's lovely. I really ought to pay a visit.

And I see from the links the Toronto's Women's Bookstore is closing--bummer. They were opposite Atticus Books, which was taken over by Bakka, which--I think--is out of business now too. And this next door to the U of T! Do students read anything these days?

This tickles me:

'Everything Is Terrible' collects Jerry Maguire

I never saw the movie but that tickles me too.

By the way, I was wrong about Bakka, still in business.

Black Flag returns, in two permutations (NY Times link)

They (the real Black Flag) were in my neighborhood last night. So I went with one of my kids. Good times.

I totally missed out on the punk thing, but all the punk lovers I know are some of the coolest people I know.

I was doing college radio in the 70s, and pop music really was getting overly baroque. Punk was - if nothing else - a 130dB blast of fresh air.

So I dunno if I qualify as a punk lover - my appreciation is too intellectualized and ironic - but a good mosh pit is an impressive community ritual.

And the whole DIY/"anybody can do it" ethos is refreshing.

(edited to fight with a pesky tag...)

June turned out to be a pretty good month for live music.

This week, George Clinton brought Parliament/Funkadelic to my town, and blew the roof off the sucka.

(Whatever the man's been doing, he looks pretty damn good for 72 years of age:
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Review-They-got-the-funk-at-Alive-at-Fiv... )

Here are some fans:

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Review-They-got-the-funk-at-Alive-at-Fiv...

That George Clinton?! Whatever happened to the white beard?

Caught him at the Jazz Fest once.

Whatever happened to the white beard?

My guess is that he's at a stage where he's re-evaluating his life, maybe trying a fresh start:

In February 2013, Clinton filed for divorce from his wife of 22 years, Stephanie Lynn Clinton.

Ah. A time for deep soul-searching, and hitting the fleshmarket again. But first, a rejuvenating trip to the barber. :)

They are in rather subdued dress, aren't they? And speaking of life changes and rejuvenation, someone should honor Garry Shider by picking up the nappy. I didn't see anyone sporting diapers...

Yeah, no Diaperman, no Mothership...

The Smithsonian has accepted one of the 'Mothership' props, they're going to put it over in the new National Museum of African American History and Culture when it opens; I'd argue that it more properly belongs right on the Mall, in the Air & Space Museum....

story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/click-track/post/smithsonian-acquires-parlia...

The Washington Post discovers Toronto bookstores:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/in-toronto-bingeing-on-books/2013...

The last stand! Oh dear. And there I go complaining all the time...

Caversham is strange and great. It's like an all-widget bookstore, if psychiatry and psychology were widgets. One goes there and wishes one actually WERE a widgetologist, so one could partake of the undoubtedly rare and choice widgetry. But one is not.

I did once try to talk them into letting me buy the window dressing--the most beautiful toy animals (sculpted, plastic) I'd ever seen. Alas, they didn't even know where THEY got them. Let me only have the elephant, I begged. JUST THE ELEPHANT! I think I brought my hands into the praying position but the trauma of embarrassment has erased much.

Harbord Street was grand when I came to Toronto, but it lost much. First the bookstore specialising in Asian lit--as subject and as lit--was gone (currently replaced by "Things Japanese", where I buy incense and Japanese china). Then the New Age one, then Atticus, then Women's Bookstore... and a kid's bookstore, nothing but children's books--gone, gone, like the dodo.

Since this thread already has a "Toronto bookstores" sub-theme, I guess I'll park this news here:

World's Biggest Bookstore to close in February

I wonder what will replace it... It wasn't one of my haunts, but any disappearance of a bookstore feels like surgery nowadays. What will remain!

I'm still hoping used bookstores will hold out. Some, anyway.