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Wrapped up The Plague only to discover that the university library isn't processing returns after all. Oh well. If I had known I had another month to return it, I probably would have procrastinated some more. Currently a chapter into Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which I've meant to read for the longest time. Will also be starting The Night Buffalo by Guillermo Arriaga. Apparently this was made into a movie, though not sure I'll watch that (have to get through the novel first...) After this, most likely I will reread Don Quixote.

If I was going to launder money I'd probably get a bubble tea place.

I don't know how true but there are a bunch of dollar a slice pizza joints in downtown Vancouver and the rumour is most of them are linked to money laundering. Price may have gone up somewhat but still way below what you pay for a slice in Toronto, Chicago, New York, etc.

Some recent studies have suggested 25-30% max of US working population can realistically telecommute (and of course this is more like 80-90% of white collar employment), but too many other things still involve physically being there (construction, farming, resource extraction, most health care jobs, cleaning services, beauty salons, etc.). They are trying to keep most office workers out of downtown Toronto until Sept., so we'll see how this all plays out.

I'm hearing that once returning to work (in indoor locations) most office workers really ought to carry 3 masks and replace throughout the day (particularly after removing to eat lunch) and then wash them all each night. The odds of everyone following this advice are nil, but presumably some people will. I mean given that the masks are really to prevent your droplets from spreading to others, I don't think it matters that much if the mask is reused (though obviously if you haven't washed your hands well, then you increase your odds of catching COVID).

Subways are (well, were) just incredibly packed in rush hour. When transferring at Bloor-Yonge you can expect to have to wait for three trains to pull in before actually squeezing onto one! Fortunately trains are every 1.5-2 minutes in rush hour, though this is still annoying (and didn't feel safe even pre-COVID). This is driven by huge downtown office growth. Very different from my memories of Toronto in the early 90s.

After all the travails of the first pressing, I was pleasantly surprised to get a shipping notice right away. When it actually arrives (and whether it makes it here by Canada Day) is an open question. (Also, whether I have to pay duty on it or not.)

I used to live in Brooklyn almost at Coney Island. I always had a seat coming in to work, so often used that for writing (pretty sure I finished a couple of dissertation chapters on the inbound train) but stood all the way going home, so would read then. In Toronto I virtually never get a seat on the bus or train (except for weekends) back when I was still taking transit, so that was generally fine for reading (unless the bus was really crowded).

I've actually enjoyed it when I've sat down and read (despite it hitting a bit too close to home) but have been very distracted by work creeping into all other aspects of my life (Zoom calls ending at 7:30, etc.) as I do my part in planning to help the recovery up here. The two places I do the most sustained reading (while riding transit or stationary bikes at the gym) are both off limits for time being.

In queue at the library. Let us know what you think. Thanks. Finally buckling down and finishing Camus's The Plague. Probably will wrap up tonight.

Sounds like some promising news on the vaccine front, though the early signs are that it may not be as effective for seniors. Quite a long road still to go, however. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/23/covid-19-vaccine-may-not-work-for-at-risk-older-people-say-scientists Am pleased that Toronto has just moved into Stage 2 of recovery, so more retail, barbershops, easier access to dentists(!), and probably art galleries and museums opening up. No indoor concerts or theatre yet. For several weeks, Toronto was the last really locked down major metro area in North America, but our metrics have been moving in the right direction. Hopefully the second wave won't be as bad as the experts fear. (Not looking great in the States, but a bit more under control up here.)

Finally put in my order. Was having bad internet connection issues but pretty sure it finally went through. (I mentioned in comments I only wanted 1 set just in case the first failed attempt ultimately went through!)

I can't speak for others, but the VV stream started off very choppy. It does seem to have settled down, so we'll see. Dropped twice and had to restart browser once, but actually ended up being stabler stream than I expected, so I will consider tuning in in the future.

Didn't get home in time and set is basically over. Shoot. Will try to get my act together for the Sunday matinee (2 pm). I think I must be a bit slow. When I go to Keystone Korner site it looks like they are actually selling in-person tickets, which is both unexpected and definitely unwanted (by me at any rate). Is there a direct link to the Wolf-Jones performance or a way to buy access to the stream. Thanks.

Wishing the best for everybody. I certainly don't think I contracted it, though I work at the main commuting hub for Toronto, so most likely would have been in contact with someone with COVID but then everything shut down. At some point when the antibody tests are better and more widespread, I may take one just to see. Remove if necessary, but the dumbness is just so overwhelming... President Donald Trump’s campaign says six staff members helping set up for his Saturday night rally in Tulsa, Okla., have tested positive for coronavirus. The campaign’s communications director, Tim Murtaugh, said in a statement that “quarantine procedures” were immediately initiated and no staff member who tested positive would attend the event. He said no one who had immediate contact with those staffers would attend, either. Murtaugh said campaign staff members are tested for COVID-19 as part of the campaign’s safety protocols. Campaign officials say everyone who attends the rally will be given temperature checks before they pass through security. They will also be given masks to wear, if they want, and hand sanitizer at the 19,000-seat BOK Center. The rally is expected to be the biggest indoor event the U.S. has seen since restrictions to prevent the coronavirus from spreading began in March. (Emphasis added)

There was a very big push for more community mailboxes up in Canada (started under a Postmaster General appointed by Harper). In fact, the plan was to replace all individual mailboxes throughout Canada with community mailboxes. It was certainly a challenge trying to understand where these would even go in the moderately dense parts of Toronto (condo towers were not covered as they more or less have community mailboxes watched over by a doorman -- or not). Trudeau called off the project before they got around to implementing it in Montreal or Toronto (and I believe Vancouver as well). But he didn't pledge to restore people's individual mailboxes if they had lost them... Anyway, yes there are lots and lots of complaints about these community mailboxes, particularly in the winter time. It doesn't take much for flaps to warp or locks to start malfunctioning or one key can open other boxes so people steal other people's mail, etc. It does sound dreadful, and I am glad that my block was spared.

A good reminder. I must have at least one or two sets where I have left at least something in shrink wrap. I know, I know... I think I'll go ahead and put in my order, expecting an early July delivery at this point probably.

Looks like the VV is live-streaming Vijay Iyer Trio Sat. evening and a Sunday matinee. I'll try to remind myself to check out at least one of the shows.

Apologies if I missed seeing this in this thread. I just stumbled across this a very new release -- Brad Mehldau's Suite: April 2020. He discusses the inspiration for the music (mostly new compositions that capture his reactions to the COVID crisis) here - https://www.bradmehldau.com/suite-april-2020/ You can also click and zoom in on the album cover (way too small for me to read on iTunes). NPR's coverage of the album here - https://www.npr.org/2020/06/12/875102958/brad-mehldau-and-his-piano-outline-the-resolve-and-yes-the-anxiety-of-our-moment And a link to the Nonesuch page explaining which editions will benefit which causes: https://www.nonesuch.com/journal/brad-mehldau-suite-april-2020-signed-deluxe-vinyl-jazz-foundation-america-covid-emergency-fund-2020-06-12

The last time I was at Leona's in Chicago (the one way north, probably Edgewater) there was still ice in the urinals. This was 2018 or so! I think at this point it's just a tradition with them. It's been a long time, but I do remember the long metal urinals with no dividers. Probably some dive bar but I can't remember where or when.

I've definitely seen this before, though this sounds like you have a long section of endnotes rather than footnotes per se. Generally this is something that would be done if you have more than 1 page of endnotes per chapter. Otherwise you just navigate through based on chapter numbering.

Was just thinking about this today. I read Ulysses once in university and once for fun. May read it again at some time in the future. Dubliners is probably Joyce's most accessible and, dare I say, finest work. I doubt I'll ever actually read Finnegan's Wake, but I have acquired an audiobook version of it (really) and that is likely the way to go. I did make it to Dublin once and saw a small Joyce exhibit (I think it was at the main library) but we didn't try to follow in Bloom's (or Stephen's) footsteps.

Will definitely be checking it out. May need to put a reminder in my calendar...

I read about half the stories right away but it took a surprisingly long time to get through the rest of them. "The Insignia" is fairly clever though quite short. I liked "Nuit Caprense Cirius Illuminata" where it is just a bit unclear whether the narrator runs into an old flame in Capri or does he run into a phantom of a different sort from the past. I'm still mulling over "Silvio in El Rosedal" which has some Borgesian touches (a code hidden in a rose garden) but ends in a much more melancholy key. This might actually be the strongest story in the collection, but I'll give it some time and reread it and see if I still feel the same. One story I did not care for was "For Smokers Only," which I hope for Ribeyro's sake was fictional and not auto-biographical when he discusses becoming deeply addicted to cigarettes and, at one point, selling off his entire book collection to allow him to buy more cigarettes. And then talks about sneaking cigarettes, even when under medical treatment. Though it seems this was largely true to life, and he did ultimately die of lung cancer at the age of 65. Sad...

Aristophanes The Clouds & The Birds (trans. Arrowsmith & Parker) I know it is a truism that comedy translates rather less well than tragedy, but I was still astounded at how hard it was to get through these two pieces. Just did not enjoy either of them at all, aside from a few moments here and there. (The amount of physical violence played for laughs in The Birds was pretty close to the Three Stooges, and I've never been one that liked that sort of thing at all, though it is true I can be a bit more forgiving if combined with clever wordplay a la Shakespeare.) For me at least, I think I would have been better off with translations that were looser translations or even adaptations than these quite faithful translations. Going to put this aside for quite a while before getting around to Lysistrata. As the libraries are now taking book returns, I need to prioritize getting through these books anyway, so that means finally sitting down and getting through the second half of Camus's Plague and Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being.