Don DeLillo

Don DeLillo is, without question, the greatest living novelist. I finally read The Body Artist, his short follow-up to Underworld. (Read chapter one). It is a deceptively simple story, and quite unlike Underworld, or his other novels.

Tags: Don DeLillo, reading

The eleventh Scream in High Park literary festival was held last night in High Park, Toronto's largest urban park. Readers were Wakefield Brewster, Lise Down, Sheila Heti, Dennis Lee, Jay MillAr, Motion, Elizabeth Ruth, Shyam Selvadurai, Karen Solie, Michael Turner, and Fred Wah. Highlights for me were Fred Wah, Dennis Lee, and Wakefield Brewster.

Since I am on the topic of writing, I should mention sex. There are some interesting discussions of library porn out there. In Sex in the Stacks, Candi Strecker gives us short descriptions of ten pornographic novels featuring librarians and libraries. The Image of Librarians in Pornography provides synopses of some of the 49 novels listed. They have such catchy titles, like Helpful Head Librarian and Nympho Librarian.

Recoil News Parody Magazine reported in June 2003 that "[t]he universally held suspicion among male youths that all female librarians transform from polite, repressed spinsters into coquettish, aggressive sexpots upon the removal of glasses and hair pins is unrealistic, or at least exaggerated, Cornell University researchers announced Monday." The report added that librarians are inaccurately portrayed "as smoking hot sex mongers who prey on young male library patrons. " Parody, perhaps, but probably true.

Tags: scream in high park, library porn, librarians

This is old news, but, the Library of Alexandria is being rebuilt, in a project by the Egyptian Government and UNESCO. This is a cool project.

I am listening to do make say think and Shalabi Effect. I have just finished reading Spalding Gray's Morning, Noon and Night.

Tags: libraries, music

Off the top of my head

A list of groups and singers I have seen in concert, with many omissions. This probably holds no interest to anyone but me, so I back-posted this in my blog and may add to it as I remember.

13 Engines
54-40
7 Mary 3
Alana Myles she was playing a free concert, and I was struck by a strange inertia and could not move myself away
ARC (@ the Ambient Ping)
Andrew Cash
Ashley MacIsaac -  twice
Ass Ponys
Barenaked Ladies 3 - 4 times, and I don't even like them, but I might have at one time
Beautiful South
Big Sugar
Billy Bragg 4 times, or more
Blue Rodeo at least half a dozen times, and I am not even really a fan, although I liked the first album
Bob Mould
Bootsauce
The Box
Breeding Ground
Bruce Cockburn at least 7 times
Bruce Springsteen
California Guitar Trio
Carole Pope & Friends
Chalk Circle
Cowboy Junkies 4 times, I think although they no longer hold any interest
Crash Test Dummies twice - yuck
Crash Vegas
Cure
Dalbello
David Bowie
Do Make Say Think
Don Ross
Doyle Dykes
Dream Warriors
Echo and the Bunneymen

Eight Seconds

Eugene Ripper
Feist
FM
Gene Loves Jezebel
Gonzales
Grapes of Wrath
hHead
The Hold Steady
Hugh Marsh
Images in Vogue
Jann Arden can't stand her, but the tickets were free
Jeff Healey
Jeffery Hatcher and the Big Beat
Jill Hennessy (it was free)
John Cale
Kim Mitchell (twice)
King Apparatus
King Crimson
Lava Hay
Leonard Cohen twice, and I'd see him again if I had the chance
Lost Dakotas
Luluc - Sept 11, 2008 at Rancho Relaxo
Manteca
Maria Aragon - free mini concert
Matt Dusk
Max Webster they came to my high school!
Metric 

Mighty Lemon Drops
Morrissey
Moxy Fruvous oh, man: free tickets
National Velvet
New Order
Nigel Kennedy with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Northern Pikes
Owen Pallett

Parachute Club
Phase
Pholde
P.J. Harvey
Philip Glass
Picastro - Sept 11, 2008 at Rancho Relaxo
Pukka Orchestra
Prism
ProjeKctT Two
Pumps
The Pursuit of Happiness
Rational Youth

Razorbacks
R.E.M.
Rheostatics 4 times
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp & the League of Crafty Guitarists
The Saints
Sara Craig
Sarah McLachlan right after her 1st album came out - I can't stand her now
Sass Jordan she shared a bill with someone. I am not a fan
Satallites
Sheepdogs
Skaface
Skydiggers
Sons of Freedom
Space Hog
Spirit Drummers
Spirit of the West
The Spoons
Teenage Head (twice) they came to my high school
The The
The Whigs
They Might be Giants
Throwing Muses

Timbuk Three
Toronto
Tracy Bonham
Tragically Hip
Tricky
Vern Choochee
Violent Femmes
Vis A Vis
Leif Vollebekk I liked his music very much. Sept 11, 2008 at Rancho Relaxo
Wild Strawberries

Librarian sues over SARS:

A Toronto librarian is suing Mount Sinai Hospital, arguing that she was compelled to quit her job after she refused to continue screening hospital visitors for SARS. The $2.1 million suit alleges that she was given insufficient training. She argues that she offered to work from home, but her employer told her that she would be removed from the payroll if she did not comply. I say good luck, and I hope she wins.

On the other hand, a librarian I know begged to do SARS screening at her institution, and she eventually got her wish. Whatever..

Tags: librarians, sars