Random. No more or less

Lola said:
Frightened quite a bit. Yesterday there was more violence on the subway. Another person got pushed on the tracks. They were able to roll out of the trains way. This is at the stop where I get off for the rehearsal studio. Last week a lady got slashed in the face. Do I stay or do I go. This is getting very risky. My son wants me to carry a knife with me. 3” and smaller is legal in Canada
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It is getting too America like in Toronto.
I think the risk is low if you clearly have your wits about you.
I doubt if a 3" knife helps, bear spray on the other hand...
 
veinbuster said:
It is getting too America like in Toronto.
I think the risk is low if you clearly have your wits about you.
I doubt if a 3" knife helps, bear spray on the other hand...
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I wish I could carry bear spray. A 3” knife is all I am allowed to carry in Canada.

If you get to ram a knife somewhere strategic you can inflict some pretty serious damage. In the eye, insert underneath chin a rip upwards, kick them where he sun don’t shine. I honestly playact scenes in of violence in my head and what procedure would I follow to try and get out it.

I am sure that the guy who got pushed on the tracks would clearly tell you that he had his wits about him. You can clearly see that ppl are becoming more vigilant in their safety.

I wait flat against wall. I try to stand the furthest away from the tracks. I hate the fact that I am a walking billboard for PRS. It’s displayed in big letters on my gig bag. People that know their guitars know I am a worthwhile target.
 
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Lola said:
I wish I could carry bear spray. A 3” knife is all I am allowed to carry in Canada.

If you get to ram a knife somewhere strategic you can inflict some pretty serious damage. In the eye, insert underneath chin a rip upwards, kick them where he sun don’t shine. I honestly playact scenes in of violence in my head and what procedure would I follow to try and get out it.

I am sure that the guy who got pushed on the tracks would clearly tell you that he had his wits about him. You can clearly see that ppl are becoming more vigilant in their safety.

I wait flat against wall. I try to stand the furthest away from the tracks. I hate the fact that I am a walking billboard for PRS. It’s displayed in big letters on my gig bag. People that know their guitars know I am a worthwhile target.
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Sorry to hear it's getting bad in Canada, too. I remember walking around, exploring Toronto in the 1990s and feeling safe, even welcomed. And Niagara on the Lake felt like I walked into a children's storybook village.

As for the gig bag, I understand the caution and wonder if it may be better to use a more generic one in those instances, but I'm not sure a different logo could make too much difference, as guitar bags are distinctive. I wonder if there's a way to have it look like something else, When I was taking photos, for instance, I'd sometimes use a diaper bag. I figured no one is going to steal one of those. Maybe there's a way to look like a bag for bagpipes or accordion! Make up a band logo, like "Lola's Scottish Highland Polka Parade!"
 
So, anyone have good book recommendations? I've been on a reading spree lately, helped by a lot of time in medical office waiting rooms (mostly helping relatives).

My favorite is Jennifer Egan's The Candy House. It contains many of the characters from A Visit from the Goon Squad, which I also loved. The music industry is a major part of Goon Squad and plays a role in Candy House, but social media is a larger factor. Anyway, a lot of beautifully portrayed, intriguing, and often very flawed characters, different narrators, and situations. If you've read neither and are interested, check out Goon Squad first.

I'm currently reading Claire-Louise Bennett's Checkout 19. It's a frantic first person narrative of an Irish woman and her development into an author. It focuses a lot on coming-of-age, books, how books impacted her, how she discovered writing and saw the characters of one of her early, unfinished works. (I don't know if it's auto-biographical, but my guess is yes). It's very stream of consciousness at times, with long, energetic sentences. Parts of it I'm liking, but other times it's a bit of a mire for me. It may just be all the other, not good stuff I'm dealing with now.

I also really liked Louise Erdrich's The Night Watchman, about a Native American fighting against his tribe's dispossession in the 1950s. A lot of other excellent characters and depictions of life on a reservation at the time.

And Olga Tokarczuk's Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. How should I describe this one without giving it away. A small Polish town, people are turning up dead, especially poachers, and the narrator (who strongly believes in horoscopes), tries to convince people that animals are taking revenge.

Anyway, I'm waiting to head to the dentist in an hour or so. Dreading it, especially the cost, and got depressingly low offers on some inquiries.
 
I just finished Kenny Aronoff's Sex, Drums, And Rock 'N Roll. Very entertaining read - a lot of Kenny info I didn't know. Mellencamp comes across as pretty dickish for the most part, but he owns up to it as well (and they're still friends).

The newest Stephen King, Fairy Tales, is excellent. More on the fantastical side than the horror side. And, as he usually does, some very interesting characters.

Three from Grady Hendrix - The Final Girl Support Club is about the last survivors from horror films. In this one, someone comes after them and starts killing them like people died in the flicks. He references the plots from flicks like Friday The 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street, and Scream, although not by name, but he gives you enough hints to know what they are. And typical of Hendrix, a lot of humor. The other two of his I'd recommend are We Sold Our Souls, a music-related tale in which the heroine sold her soul to the devil for fame and fortune, but it doesn't work out the way she expected. And My Best Friend's Exorcism is an 80s set tale about - well, the title says it all. How can you not love a book where a shopping mall evangelist examines the title character and exclaims, "Hot damn, we've got a possession!"

And anything by Christoper Moore. The guy is super funny, does a ton of research (which shows up in the historical type works), and can really spin a tale.
 
tbp0701 said:
Sorry to hear it's getting bad in Canada, too. I remember walking around, exploring Toronto in the 1990s and feeling safe, even welcomed. And Niagara on the Lake felt like I walked into a children's storybook village.
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Most of Canada still is. The higher frequency of random violence is fairly localized. About 15% of the country’s population is in one urban area and that is a breeding ground for worsening behaviour.

Niagara on the Lake is still pretty relaxed. As are many other places.
 
veinbuster said:
Really?
They gave me a special card to cut the line at the border.
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Not long after my divorce my son (8 y/o) and I wanted to go camping across the border. When we got to the booth there was a big burly guy there.
I was prepared with all the docs/passports/letter from the ex etc. and had no idea what to expect.
He steps out of the booth, looks the rig over (camper trailer, Zodiac, bikes) looks me in the eye and says "You got a motor for that boat?".
Why yes I do, it's right behind my seat here (Jeep Cherokee). Next question was "You gonna go fishin'?". Oh yes indeed sir, there are rods and net in the back.
And then he says "Well you guys go ahead and have a great time."
Shocked that he never even asked for my docs, and being the completely curious idiot that I am I said "OK thanks, but I'm wondering why you felt no need to see any of my or my son's documentation?
His response was "You're an American. You're just coming home for a spell."
I don't think the shocked look on my face changed until I was setting up camp.
It's amazing what a B.C. license plate can tell the right people.
 
Lola said:
I am bored. Let’s talk cars. Lol
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Here's a couple. 1st is my '04 M3 and 2nd is my '73 Cuda
M3 was a gift to myself on my 1 year anniversary of quitting smoking.
The Cuda I've had for many years. Been buying parts forever. Just recently got the right shop to get started on it.

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