Feeling Flexible

            I’ve noticed lately that I’m more flexible during yoga than I’ve been for the last few years. I wonder if it has something to do with losing weight.

            On Monday while I was playing guitar and singing, a convoy of tractor-trailers parked in a line on Dunn Avenue. Big orange hoses were unravelled from the backs of the trucks and they all seemed to keep their engines on, which caused the smell of exhaust fumes to make my singing less of a pleasant experience.

            In the afternoon I took a siesta but ended up sleeping more thirty minutes longer than the usual hour and a half. I woke up five minutes after the time that I would normally leave for my bike ride. By the time I got ready I was 42 minutes later than I tend to be so to avoid cutting too deeply into my evening I decided to only ride for about half an hour. It was a nice day for riding with a variety of interestingly shaped clouds and plus the temperature was pleasant without being too hot. By the time my thirty minutes were up I was already past Broadview and Danforth was stretched out in front of me in such a long, even path that I figured I might as well pedal out to where I left off and explore two more blocks. I went up to Mortimer and across to Woodbine. Woodbine just north of Danforth seems to be the drag of a poor neighbourhood with small, inexpensive looking and diversely designed houses that are run down in the way that houses where the owners do not live tend to be.

            I passed the Linsmore Tavern and saw on the marquee out of the corner of my eye “The Ramones”. The Ramones never did much for me. They sound like a middle class bubble gum version of garage rock. Anyway, it turns out that it was a Ramones tribute band playing along with a punk rock tribute to Tom Jones. It seems that the only live acts the Linsmore hires are tribute bands.

            On the way home, after Yonge Street and on the Bloor bike lane I stuck behind a guy that I could have easily passed if not for the barriers but he was a little too fast to get by on his left before obstacles loomed ahead. He was singing and whistling along with whatever was bleeding out of his headphones and he went through every red light that he could. I passed him once by going outside the posts but then he went through another red light. I passed him again before Dovercourt and then I went south.

            That night I watched the last half of War Machine. Brad Pitt is interesting here because he performs as a character actor but plays the lead. The role he plays of General McMahon is the war machine of the title because his military discipline is almost mechanical. Contrasting with this is the father-like love that he has for his team, and they for him. It was also interesting to see Meg Tilly in her first Hollywood film since 1994’s Sleep With Me.