My expat friend Graham Lee has just had an interesting article published in the new issue of Spacing. In it he suggests converting the current Skydome into a self-enclosed affordable housing community. Bleachers can be replaced by homes, walkways can be diversified shopping arcades, the JumboTron would come down, trees would go up, and the possibilities germinate from there. A compelling idea that the city might even consider if--pardon my cynicism--public space and affordable housing made as much money as high-rise condos:

The SkyDome has seen its value drop in recent years. In 1994, it was sold for $151 million, and recently Rogers Communications purchased it from Sportsco for a paltry $25 million. At this rate, by the time Toronto finally gives the Blue Jays the boot, I'll be able to buy it.*

The article isn't online but go to Spacing for more info and junk.

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You can tell a lot about a person according to their credit card bills. Here's what I've purchased in the days since my last bill:

Driving Lessons
Big Chef's Knife
Contact Lenses
Orthodics
Shout Out Louds CD
Sweet potatoes (5 lbs)

There's one for the account managers** at VISA:

Account manager 1: Check it out Teeg, she's a physical nerd who likes her Vitamin
A and has Swedish-alt-pop leanings and a propensity for vengeance!

Account manager 2: [Swoon]

Notes
* I'll be able to buy it: Regardless of the piece's tone, there is something downright nice in recognizing the voice of a friend in something published.

** for the account managers: This probably has happened, or will happen, since credit card companies are now catching fraud by monitoring purchases as they happen. Case in point: my sister, Beck, was buying three tuxedos and her cell phone went off. It was the credit card company calling to check if she, a then-single woman, was really--really?--buying three tuxedos. Another time her cell went off, and the company was calling to see if she was currently buying $800 in goods at a Wal-Mart in Orangeville. Little did they know that she was in Toronto at the time!

Credit card fraud--my god. There is so much evil in the world.

Even when I don't work anywhere near her anymore, Vicki still has the power to make me do things. So that in mind, here are a few statements about books mit italics!

How many books do you own?
Personally, my hazard guess is 250. That includes a dozen or so cookbooks but not magazines.

Most recent book you bought:
Stoned, Naked, and Looking in my Neighbour's Window, the spinoff book from grouphug.us. But I read real books too.

Most recent book read:
Saturday by Ian MacEwan. I see his point alright, and it's nice to read a legit bestseller once in a while. #7 this week. I prefer my current book though.

Five books that mean a lot to me:
I have to choose only five? Okay, here goes:

1. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
2. House of Leaves by Mark. Z. Danielewski
3. Foxfire by Joyce Carol Oates
4. Beloved by Toni Morrison
5. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

There's more too, but someone will only let me have five.

Re: my free-tapes post. I will be soon doing a book-purge, and will post titles up for grabs. When I'm ready to let them go.

Warning! Free crap ahead!

Who still has the means to play cassettes? Who still likes cassettes? Who still wants cassettes?

I have lots and lots that I need to get rid of. With the exception of Delicate Sound of Thunder* and a few mix tapes made with love, it's bye-bye to the format of my childhood.

So: who wants tapes? Gimme a shout.**

Notes:
*Delicate Sound of Thunder: Pink Floyd! I'm very proud to this day that at twelve years old I had the sense to get an album that I wouldn't be totally ashamed of (Ace of Bass and Counting Crows were also huge at my school then). I could have done better; I was choosing between Delicate Sound and The Wall and the art on the former was prettier to me. Come on, I was still twelve.

**Gimme a shout: Which could also mean, "give me a member of the Shout Out Louds for immoral purposes." In this context, it means to contact me via comments button (and I don't expect lots of people who are still tape people to say hi), since I'm less than proud of my collection, and am reluctant to post it on the canon that is Help! Bats! Everywhere!