while i am looking forward to visiting the vancouver art gallery's massive change: the future of global design, it reminded me how much i enjoyed dean allen knocking the piss out of bruce mau.

mau reminds us of some simple, useful advice. allen reminds us that we should worship neither the religion, nor gods, of design.

you get what you expect with this sort of thing. lots of dancing and hand-clapping and good times. they are excellent entertainers, who understand how to draw the audience into the show. perhaps performers everywhere have the same problem getting the audience up and shaking, but vancouver seems especially staid. it’s not that they didn’t appreciate the show – vancouverites are generally effusive with their applause/standing ovations. it’s that people here are difficult to get physically into the music. they tend to stand or sit still, maybe going as far as some head-nodding. i don’t know if it is that vancouver’s venues are not dance friendly (one exception is the commodore), or that vancouverites are too timid in their opinions to show that they appreciate something for fear of potentially being uncool.

the sound was quality, and it really felt like i was listening to a recording initially. overall, the all stars reminded me of the brass soaked sound of stan kenton (think cuban fire). this might be completely misleading, but that’s what their performance brought to mind.

the eldest member of the ensemble was the big highlight of the show. he came on stage feigning a bad back and then busted into some suave moves. he also brought a young lady from the audience to dance with him for a while. not bad for an 80 year old.

the other high points were the two singers (i can't recall their names, and i'm having a hell of a time finding good info online). these guys got the crowd out of their seats (after much cajoling) and gave the show its energy. the ensemble tied it together perfectly, keeping a steady rhythm and looking like they were having as much fun as the audience. the percussionists really shined, as well, and enjoyed a short solo during the encore section of the show.

as a whole, the 17 piece ensemble displayed their considerable skills (seemingly) effortlessly. everyone seemed to enjoy the show, and the all-stars deserved the heavy applause.

the u.s. presidential debate on the tv tonight is a reminder that now, more than ever, is a time to support cuban artists coming to canada.

show at the chan centre, vancouver, sept 24, 2004

the turnstile industry is one of those industries you never think about, yet you interface with their products all the time. consider the following promotional statements from perey turnstiles ("the world's leader in turnstiles"):

"The mission of Perey Turnstiles, Inc., is the design, manufacture and sale of turnstiles, Drop Arm Stiles, Optical Stiles, gates and other "crowd management, admissions and access control mechanisms"."
...
"Saves space and increases throughput."
...
"The drop arm turnstile is designed to meet the spirit and the letter of the ADA regulations and the regulations of other nations."
...
"Our field upgradable turnstiles preserve your capital investment by eliminating the need for turnstile replacement despite future advancements in electronics."

and of their indoor high security turnstiles they note: "Ever been in a room with about $1,000,000,000? A foreign currency printer adds significant internal control to their plant security plan."

damn, i'm thinking of getting one of those installed in my apartment. i'd sleep better knowing any potential burglar would have to negotiate his way through that sucker.

or, one of the best works of fiction in ages.

this was the other book i picked up before the transatlantic and found myself giggling nonstop. what a compulsive read! absolutely brilliant.

haddon gets us into the head of christopher, a fifteen-year old autistic boy. through his detective work to find out who killed the neighbour's dog he explains his worldview and his family life. although he doesn't necessarily understand what is going on with his parents the reader is given a knowing view of the world outside of christopher's head.

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time is a one-sitting read. not to worry, you'll want to read it again shortly thereafter.

snatched this for a song (even considering currency conversion) at the virgin megastore that was going under in kingston upon thames.

it is a short book. barely a novella. more like a long short story with huge print.

the narrator is the voice we have come to expect from houellebecq. except this time the racist outbursts aren't framed by any greater narrative, so we are left with a character that comes across as a condescending, pathetic, self-indulgent turd.

while there are some interesting sections meditating on the idea of travel and geography, a heavy chunk of the book is graphic sex. while that's how houellebecq usually is, it's just more glaring when the book is so short.

he does write well, though.

i picked up a few books for the flight back from london. sadly, this was one of them. i read thought gang when it came out and loved it. when i saw this i figured it looked half-ok.

this book is too long and pretentious. the lead character is beyond annoying. and if i hadn't read the blurb on the back i would have missed the bit that explained the ridiculous setup that the whole book is based around.

i'm not sure if this book had potential and fischer just fucked it up, or if the book was hopeless from the outset.

there are some great moments, but too few to recommend reading the whole book for. i seriously considered putting it down, and i loathe to do that to a book.

purely decadent soy delicious chocolate brownie almond is perhaps the greatest food ever put into a container and frozen.

for dessert i think i'll polish off that box of jalebi in the fridge.

life is good.

bill casselman is hilarious and knows the fine line between cutting with the pen and slander. here's an interview i did with him. here's a blurb about him in case you don't know him:

Bill Casselman is a veteran of print, radio and television, working for the CBC (radio & TV), Maclean's, the Vancouver Courier, among others. He's been a writer, editor, and broadcaster in various capacities. And a sometime actor. As Bill notes, "The curriculum of my vitae zigzags in a most uncool pattern." Over the past decade he's turned books on language into a cottage industry, with various texts on Canadian sayings finding a wide audience. Bill began the interview with a warning: "I give terse answers. So you'll need lots questions." He's either a liar or thankfully doesn't know the meaning of terse. Bill currently lives in Ontario, when he's not in Italy.

back from a trip to england, and have been too busy catching up on the rest of life to write anything here.

it's been difficult wanting to hop on the computer at all, really.

almost a month without email or internet was a very pleasant experience. i thought i'd be pining for it, but i recall a few times thinking that it was odd that i hadn't checked email in a few weeks. and didn't mind one bit.

the most stressful part about returning from such a fantastic trip was the thought of my email inbox, both at home and work.

i did wish i had access to the internet a couple of times, but that was to look up the hours of operation of something. stuff that can be just as easily done over the phone.

one of the first things i did when i got back online a few weeks ago was to unsubscribe from all the blogs that i only half-read. you know, the stuff that isn't any more entertaining than television and you're not sure why you even bother with anymore. there's a few i'll still read, when i get a chance.

perhaps distance from the internet acted to reinforce the disinterest i already had over it. it's a tool, one method of communication. little more, in my life. if i'm going to fritter away my time i can probably think of better ways of doing it. the internet is a great entity to consult while procrastinating, however.

spending my days visiting galleries and staring open-mouthed at architecture is a reminder of the things i really enjoy in life. i look forward to my next trip offline.