False Alarm...maybe So it appears the grim face of censorship is not upon us.
I inquired at Chapters, and they informed me that the books of Vonnegut and Burgess and a variety of others are not banned. They are actually theft risks, and are therefore hidden behind the sales counter.
This is encouraging. Not only are these books not being banned, they are apparently in such hot demand people cannot even be bothered to pay for them.
Of course, I am not entirely convinced. All the authors are controversial...not just sensationalistically so, but with the real meat of genuine political criticism. So let's just say that I'll be watchin Chapters to see where all this goes.
  ¶ 4:47 p.m. 0 comments

  There's Something Fishy Going On.... The name 'Chapters' or 'Indigo' will be familiar for those of you lucky enough to live in Canada. They're big, monolithic bookstores like Barnes and Noble in the United States, or Borders in the UK or Australia.
On a recent jaunt through a Chapters near my office, I noticed something odd. No Vonnegut. No Burgess. Their places on the shelves are occupied by DVD cases with "Inquire at the Info Desk" written on them.
Excuse me?
Are you telling me you don't have Kurt or Anthony in stock? Two of the English Language's most creative voices?
Or is it something worse? Are their books being censored, removed from public view?
This wouldn't be anything new. Both authors have had their books banned the world over. But have such draconian measures arrived in Canada?
And when Canada's biggest book chain starts banning books from its shelves, that's a big problem. Chapters/Indigo has a virtual stranglehold over book distribution in this country. If they censor something, hundreds of thousands of people may be denied access.
I'm going to go confront somebody about this today. I'll let you know what I find out.

  ¶ 2:36 p.m. 0 comments

  What price breakfast? Last night I dreamed I was surrounded by croissants.

Tasty? Delicious, even?

Not so. For these croissants had eight legs and claws. Vicious pastry crabs.

I think my subconscious is trying to warn me against sweet breakfast foods. Or the French.
  ¶ 4:23 p.m. 0 comments

  I fear I have broken my hand... Or at least that's the way it feels. I have nothing witty to observe about this, other than to say: For all you folks who dismiss acting as a lightweight vocation, I defy you. When you punch furniture onstage, or fall, or get kicked in the arm, it hurts like the real thing.  And all for the entertainment of strangers.
  ¶ 2:49 p.m. 0 comments

  The Late Henry Moss Do you like Sam Shepherd? Old, alcoholic men? Lots of yelling and macho posing? Do you live in Toronto?
If the answer to the last question and any of the others is yes, why not come and check out the Late Henry Moss at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre? It runs July 13-24, at 7:30PM. $16 at the door. Here, the principle supporting business is rage.  ¶ 8:08 a.m. 0 comments

  Not to put too fine a point on it, but.... Its with a bit of trepidation I take my first few steps into this particular blog.
Partially because, I think, I've never done this before. But also because this, like everytime I undertake to "write it all down", I start to reflect on what it means to write.
Kind of a sacred trust, isn't it?
I mean, if not for people taking pen to paper, or stylus to clay, or fingers to keyboards, where would we all be?
The writer plucks moments out of time and entombs them forever in some kind of medium. What an awesome responsibility. Sure, this is just a blog. But I still feel like I need to be so cautious about the moments I trap on this site, the thoughts I freeze in cyberspace. Whenever we write something down, we contribute a little bit to this great march we call civilization. God help us all if we start putting the wrong things on paper.
So please accept this blog as my own humble contribution to humanity. It ain't much, but its a start. And if at any point you sense I might be putting civilization in peril, please let me know.  ¶ 9:42 p.m. 0 comments