Rest in Bea

Bea Arthur, 1922-2009

Interesting Bea Arthur fact: Mitchell Hurwitz, creator of Arrested Development and all around comedy hero, was a writer on Golden Girls.

All the pieces matter.

If you haven't been following Covered, the blog where artists recreate comic book covers both classic and otherwise, you are officially missing out. Yesterday's entry, Robert Goodin covering a 1958 Carl Barks Donald Duck cover, is nothing short of awesome. Other recent favourites: Dan Zettwoch covering David Collier, Ben Newman covering Sheldon Moldoff, and Mike Lowery doing Kirby & Ditko.

And come on, spending 15 minutes a week looking at drawings on the Internet is a lot easier and more manageable than reading a book. Books are tough. I'm sitting on a mountain of books. I'm not even at the top of the mountain, I'm not even sitting. I'm at basecamp, and the mountain keeps getting bigger. Aw, hell, I'm under the mountain with a plastic beach shovel. A week ago, I was between books. I'd just finished the surprisingly excellent Martin Beck Police Thriller The Laughing Policeman, by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, which I only picked up because I really liked the Walter Matthau movie. I wandered in and out of bookstores. Sometimes I wandered with my baby tucked snug against my chest in her carrier. Sometimes I wandered solo. I talked to coworkers, lent them books, gave some away forever. By the time yesterday hit, though, what began as a simple quest for something to pass the time on the bus and on my lunch breaks by the port (on days w/o rain) had become a mountain. Some words now on who/where/how/why/whatever. When, I already dealt with.

The Writing Life by Annie Dillard - I mentioned this book yesterday. Y'know who else wrote about Annie Dillard yesterday? Roger Ebert (He also talks about God and science: "If I'm wrong about this, I'm encouraged."), that's who.

The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (seriously, umlauts over both ö's?) - Dollars to donuts, Ian Rankin musta read at least some of the Martin Beck Crime Thrillers.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - Lent to me by coworker Jamie, who can't believe I've never read it. But Mike read it when we were 13, and he spent most of the Eighth Grade talking about it, so I've always kind of felt like I have read it. Even now that I'm reading it, Mike's is the narrator's voice I hear.

The Corner by David Simon and Ed Burns - Look, David Simon, I know you read my blog. Give me a call. I've got a few ideas. I know you're busy making Treme (with Steve Zahn and Melissa Leo, no less!), and giving awesome interviews on PBS, but I'm willing to let you be my mentor and benefactor.

Alligator Pie by Dennis Lee, with illustrations by Frank Newfeld - I loved and feared this book when I was little. Even though Lil already has a lot of books, and doesn't yet have the comprehension to distinguish between books, I felt it was important she have this one.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak - Same as above, with added urgency to get an edition w/o movie tie-in or other merchandising elements.

Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned by Walter Mosley - Walter Mosley. Haven't read anything by him for at least a year. Gotta make amends. Also, that reminds me, gotta finish This Year You Write Your Novel, and then, um, write my novel. Damn.

Also, a couple of Dortmunder novels from Donald Westlake, at least 15 Rebus books, at least 6 issues each, sometimes more, of back issues from Captain America, Blue Beetle, The Spirit (going all the way back to when Darwyn Cooke was still doing it), The Winter Men (since the final chapter came out about 3 years after the previous, I gotta go back and read the whole thing), plus Eddie Campbell & Dan Best's The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard and the latest Scott Pilgrim book.

Damn.

Finally: While I can and sometimes do sympathize with people who get frothingly mad about typefaces, I gotta wonder: What are you not getting mad about that you have that kind of surplus righteousness? But then, who am I to make fun? I used to be a rock critic. I used to waste all kinds of energy getting mad about useless junk.

mp3: "Stronger Than Jesus (Harlem Session)" by A Camp
mp3: "Vampire" by Pink Mountaintops

Influenced.

Roger Dean Young & the Tin Cup w/(another band) Little Mountain Studios, Main and 26th, Vancouver, BC Doors @ 9 pm $5 to get in

Not a lot of bands list me as an influence on their Myspace page. A few, but not a lot. RDY & the Tin Cup is one such band. I'd been thinking about Roger and his wonderful band already this week, even before he emailed about the show tonight, ever since I picked up Annie Dillard's pamphlet The Writing Life at my new favourite (work) neighbourhood coffee & book depository. Dillard, you see, is one of my cohorts on RDY's list of influences, along with such luminaries as Cam Dilworth, Daniel Brodie and Wang Wei. Her meditations on writing are worthwhile and enlightening. I was hoping to start a writing course next week, a fiction writing course. But there was insufficient enrollment, so the class was cancelled. Nobody reads fiction anymore, I knew that. But I thought, at least, there were still enough fools like me who still want to write it.

I won't make it to the show, I'll be at home with my women, where I belong. But when I do venture out to see a show again, I hope it'll be to see Roger.

mp3: "Carry On Heather/Rhapsody" by Roger Dean Young & the Tin Cup

The Batman Who Stares At Goats

Okay, so you've got Batman, Obi Wan Kenobi (2.0), Lex Luthor, the Dude (or Tron, if you'd rather), T-1000, and Jimmy James all in one movie, based on one of my favourite books by one of my favourite Randy Newman fans. All that's missing for 100% Pure Emmet Bliss is Clark Johnson!

Speaking of which, here's some new music from Montreal's Elephant Stone, led by former High Dials bass/sitar player Rishi Dhir. Their self-titled debut is due out May 5, which is sooner than you think.

mp3: "The Seven Seas" by Elephant Stone

Perspective

Day in, day out, it's easy to get caught up in how much work it is bringing up a baby. It's easy to start feeling like you've given up so much, like it's such a big chore and you're such a saint because you change a couple of diapers and miss out on a few hours of sleep. And then you read a story (Globe & Mail) that lets you know in no uncertain terms just how little you've sacrificed, how much you have and how good you have it.

mp3: "These Tears Could Rust A Train" by the Theater Fire

"both ridiculous and offensive": just another day at city hall

There really are times when I miss Regina.
Jason Hall and his Regina Landlord's Association had their say before the City of Regina's Executive Committee today. It seems that it was indeed a sideshow. "City Solicitor Byron Werry noted occupation — in this case, landlord — wasn’t a protected ground against discrimination," writes the Leader-Post.
It warms my heart to think that despite ridiculously pro-business governments at both municipal and provincial levels, Regina sluml--excuse me, landlords are feeling like polar bears, threatened and unprotected.
It feels odd to be using the term landlord in the 21st Century anyway. It's so feudal. My landlord says he won't turn on the heat in my building until we bring in the wheat and rid the forest of bandits. If they want to be taken serious (and I wonder if they do) the Regina Landlord's Association needs to think about their branding. Even Moose Jaw, in a suprisingly unexpected move, is thinking about branding. The Regina League of Property Management Executives has a nice to ring to it.

mp3: "Nobody Cares About the Railroads Anymore" by Laura Barrett

Four thousand.

That's how many complaints Jason Hall and the Regina Landlord's Association have filed under the City of Regina's Property Maintenance Bylaw since Dec. 22, 2008. Hall's letter to the City's Executive Committee is here (pdf).

The document is curious for several reasons, least among which are the writer's curious word-processing choices. It's impossible to tell if this is a Fratboy prank or a cry for help from someone suffering from a serious and possibly dangerous persecution complex.


The Community and Protective Services report on the RLA's deluge of complaints is here (pdf).


The whole sad biz should come to an exciting head tomorrow at 11:45 a.m. in Henry Baker Hall at Regina City Hall (here's where we pause to reflect on the dunderheadedness of having a hall within a hall, never mind that a Hall will likely be in attendance). This is civic politics at its best and worst. (Thx to Paul Dechene at prairie dog magazine's blog for keeping tabs on Regina City Hall).

While I'm talking 'bout Regina, and while I'm ripping off other folks' blogs, I was super-excited to read about the Lazy MKs on SoundSalvationArmy last week. The most excellent instrumental trio gets their post-(country) rock groove on like a back forty Precious Fathers. One question though: Do you say "the Lazy em-kays" or "the Lazy Marks"?

mp3: "Young Sad" by the Lazy MKs
mp3: "Burgess Lake" by the Lazy MKs

EDIT: SSA link fixed, and bonus Jason Hall quote (via CBC, last September): "At one point, and I would probably say two years ago, we were desperate to put anyone into a place just to make the mortgage payment," Hall said. "Now, what we're seeing is, we have a lineup of people wanting to take places — a better brand of tenant. And, you know, landlords can be a little more fussy now."