The shooting

    Last month there was a fatal shooting at the Salsa on St. Clair Festival just a few blocks from where I live, causing mass panic.  But I slept through the whole thing! (That's the story of my life.)

    Our rebuilt air-conditioning system got rid of the vent to my room, so the only connection is the door.  A few weeks ago the forest fire smoke reached Toronto (I could smell it!) so I had to close my windows anyway.  It was then that I realized I could improve my room's AC connection by setting up the fan near my door!

    Tianjie quit as organizer of the History Salon, so I took over.  I'm now leading a series about the history of Canada! (The first event was about New France, and the second will be about British North America after 1763.)  I'm also doing evening walks with the Over 60 Meetup and stitch.com every other Wednesday, starting at Davisville and Broadview subway stations.  And I'm trying to get a book talk group off the ground.

    Last week my book club discussed the spy biography Agent Sonya, and next month will be The Librarianist.  I'm reading A Short History of Pakistan for next week's History Meetup.

    I got a new credit card, but couldn't activate it over the phone. (Some trouble about the security code not being recognized...) So I activated it by going to Chapters-Indigo at the Manulife Centre and buying a copy of Marjane Satrapi's graphic memoir Persepolis from a pile of books recommended by Heather Reisman. (I saw the animated movie version.)

    For some reason my link to the Empire City game no longer works.  Oh well, I'd got past Level 120 and was already thinking of quitting.  I've also quit Steam City, where I reached Level 40.  And I reached Level 500 on Candy Crush Saga, then found out there are over 2000 levels, so I've quit that game too.  Now I've started Wild West City instead.

Where were you when the snow fell?

    On Sunday, January 25, Toronto had a record snowfall.  It was waist deep but very light, so shovelling a pathway was surprisingly easy.  Just as well that the Sunday afternoon history salon wasn't on that week, otherwise I might have tried to go to it just in case it wasn't cancelled!

    My book club met a week late to talk about Educated. (Tara Westover's family was like the Waltons on acid!) Next month we're reading Martha Beck's Beyond Anxiety.

    A couple of weeks ago Debbie and I saw the Alan Bennett-Nicholas Hytner choir movie The Choral.  It wasn't bad--it reminded me of my own experience in choruses--but it did include one shameless cliche:  an MIA soldier thought to be dead returns without calling ahead, causing his girlfriend to faint!

    Last week John P. and I saw Amanda Seyfried in The Testament of Ann Lee, about the woman who founded the Shakers. (I rewatched Ken Burns' fascinating PBS documentary about the sect.) It's a beautiful, stylish hagiography.

    Moira and I are rewatching The Wire.  It's a great show that never loses its freshness; if anything, I understand it better and better with repeat viewings!

    Yesterday was my 64th birthday.  I bought a big strawberry shortcake at Loblaw's and we ate felafels from the corner shop.

    I'm now reading Cleopatra:  Last Queen of Egypt for next week's History Meetup.  I've passed Level 100 in Empire City and Level 4100 in Candy Crush Saga!

    The latest issue of Harper's is really interesting!  There are articles on America's gambling problem, London as seen by the Situationists, the issue of Presidential pardons, and the legacy of the War on Drugs in the Philippines.