ejp626

>>Nowhere near as sexy as rail — but in the right circumstances, it can be incredibly efficient — especially in this formerly freight-rail-only valley that never had vehicular traffic on it before in the first place. I'm sure it can be. I don't have anything against busways in general, but my ride in from the airport to University of Pittsburgh was surprisingly slow and quite crowded. Maybe they need some express buses on that route.

I think there was a thread once upon a time on how people came across the board, if they weren't part of the original exodus.

Congrats and good luck with the move. I only visited once (and didn't make it to the Warhol Museum), but it seemed nice. I liked the many Art Deco or Art Deco-inspired skyscrapers in the downtown. I was also on campus and saw a bunch of sidewalk delivery robots. I did find the transit system a bit underwhelming.

I have the opposite reaction. I thought I joined a lot later, but apparently it was Jan 30, 2004, so tail end of the second wave? I wasn't a member of BNBB, however...

Yes, I was just as annoyed by Japanese reissues that omitted bonus material that had come out elsewhere, and I don't buy them, though I usually don't moan about it either. Maybe I consider there is nothing to be done about the way things are done in Japan, but if US/EU producers constantly deal with complaints about material being left out, then they will change their ways or do better with the d/ls or something.

I would never begrudge anyone their preferences and certainly don't look down on anyone collecting vinyl. Despite my misgivings, there are 5-10 LPs that I will likely pick up one of these days (not on any other format, naturally) if I can figure out a way for shipping not to break the bank. That doesn't change how I feel about the hype around the vinyl resurgence, which certainly doesn't help anyone who does want to pick up newly pressed LPs... And that this resurgence is clearly distorting reissues with bonus material suppressed that should be available on any CD reissues.

Nearly through the Miko Naruse retrospective at TIFF. Yesterday I saw Flowing and today Lightning. Generally, these are pretty depressing films.

I actually do not like vinyl, though I do own some LPs out of necessity. Aside from the high prices and the ridiculous hype around it during its latest resurgence, I do bitterly resent the fact that some current releases are now vinyl-only (and in a handful of cases there isn't even a download option), and I also resent the fact that some of these vinyl-led reissues drop bonus tracks that came out during the CD era.

The Apartment, first time I've seen the entire movie and on the big screen in a nearly full movie theatre!

Fargo -- on a very appropriately snowy Boxing Day

Also working on a few Narayan novels, rereading The Financial Expert and then The Painter of Signs to follow.

Planning on checking out Lorne Lofsky with Neil Swainson(!) tomorrow on Boxing Day. This is a 2 guitar quartet with David Occhipinti as 2nd guitar. Should be interesting. I'll likely stay for the late night set (Waleed Kush Afro-Jazz) who I've seen a couple of times before.

Almost finished with Powell's Angels on Toast. It's curious this is set nearly as much in Chicago as New York. Definitely not as good as The Locusts Have No King, which I'll have to reread one of these days. I'm just starting Susanna Kaysen's Asa, As I Knew Him, which is good so far.

I think once upon a time I owned this. I'll look around and see if it's still here.

I've been listening to a fair bit of Robyn Hitchcock lately. Quite a lot of his solo material and the Soft Boys album Underwater Moonlight have been remastered and reissued. He also plays weekly online gigs (called Live from Tubby's House) which are generally very entertaining as he plays his material and some covers and banters with his wife. (You sign up through Bandcamp though they are only available for a few days after the performance...) I saw him live for the first time at the Drake Underground in Toronto. I see that in April he is playing the Athenaeum in my old stomping grounds in Chicago, and then the next day he plays the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto! Unless I have an impossible conflict, I will get tickets.