Spring in the Offing in Texas

A professor is someone who talks in somebody else's sleep.
W.H. Auden

Friday, February 18, 2011

Since my last rants the arctic jet stream has resumed its more natural northern path and allowed Texas to return to warm nights and warmer days. Today dawned with overcast drizzle as if the weather gods, unsure of what they wanted, settled for a grimace rather than a scowl. After the shock of all that intense cold nature is in a holding pattern seemingly deciding whether it’s safe to unleash spring. The restaurant next door set up a canopy to shelter the Valentines Lovebirds in so doing scaring off the winged creatures that frequent my feeders.

Having posted reviews of the cultural events I’ve attended I’ll not repeat myself here. Once more I’ll repeat that I find the practice of people here showing up five minutes late or more for concerts rude to their fellow audience members and the performers. I was rather disgusted when I finally got my bike out again to sustain a flat tire on my first ride. I did manage to get to the bank and pick up some groceries while I was out. I seem to be attempting to see how long I can go without doing laundry but sooner of later....

After missing two choir rehearsals I finally made it to church this past Sunday to sing with the Men’s Chorale. We received rave reviews from the congregation for a number I don’t particularly like that we’ve been repeating one way or another since before Christmas. Austin seems to be a go with the flo kind of place so I responded favourably when I got a last minute invite to join my fellow bass part singer for an afternoon of Jazz with the Austin Traditional Jazz Society, Huh? Turns out that’s Dixieland Jazz and the concert in the Cap City Comedy Club lasted three hours with drinks and food served while we listened. Before my next visit I’ll make inquiries as to what the regulars recommend, I made bad choices. The Jazz Pharoahs have been riffing with each other long enough to comfortably transition from solo to group improvisation seamlessly. They played a lot of numbers even I recognized. Audience members put on their own show on dance floors on either side of the stage. Some of those dance moves were rather more aerobic than others one dancer when asked replying when asked what he was doing next, going home for a shower. Although the majority of regular club members appeared to be well on in years a number of college-age students were in attendance.

As I write this two couples who are my temporary neighbours are communicating in sign language. For everyone ever put out by a cell phone ringing during a concert comes word on NPR’s Composer’s Datebook of a symphony performance based on audience members’ ringing phones. If St. John’s can do it with ships horns why not.

Got out at last Wednesday to get my bike tube replaced, then visited Best Buy for a few DVD’s. Remarkable the price spread between different chains on each side of the border and release dates for the same show. I had to talk to 4 people to find the computer that printed my discount coupon. I do wish movies weren’t segregated into so many genres--how does one tell whether a show is comedy, drama, action, horror, documentary, family, special interest. All too often it depends on where there is most room.

Finally made it to a Barnes and Noble big box store after shopping for E-Books online for nearly two years. In Austin all five stores are in regional malls, Borders which were downtown are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It may be a large cookie cutter but I had that impression upon entering. Were I in Canada I could have mistaken this store for a Chapters were it not for the missing scented candles and other non-literary clap trap. Same non-alphabetically shelved books, harried short-staffed clerks, checkout line-ups, slow search computers, single copies in stock but impossible to find, discrepancy between instore and online pricing, well-thumbed magazine section. With the American Dollar worth only 98¢ Canadian why is a mass-market paperback published in Canada $6.99 here and $9.99 in Canada? How can a store groaning with books not have the ones I’m looking for in stock?

Someone pointed out a possum walking along the top of the fence row between my RV and the adjoining patio. He was playing possum in the fire thorn hedge.

Nature it seems still believes in the process of natural selection. Three of four yahoos gunning their snowmobiles up the side of a Mountain in the Canadian Rockies didn’t survive the avalanche they caused when they brought down the mountain on top of themselves. Duh!