Do you realize that we take in more information in a day than people used to get in a year? There is a difference, of course, between "taking in" and absorbing and processing. I call it assimilating. Right now I have a lot to assimilate. I'm hoping that the capillaries of my mind will let some of the fallout seep in without too much conscious effort on my part. I have a lot to think about. I've been away, obviously. My last entry was May 29, I think, and here it is, June already, the 4th of. I went to Ottawa for the Annual General Meeting of The Writers' Union of Canada, staying only 2 days and cutting it short so I could get back to Toronto for the AGM of the Playwrights' Guild of Canada. I took in a lot, not to say learned, certainly not yet assimilated. The TWUC meeting was pretty staid, though realistic and rather philosophical about the future of books and reading and, of course, of writers. (McLuhan, thou shouldst be here at this hour!) There was a fat-cat, whitebread tone to the discussions and panels. The PGC, on the other hand, was vibrant, hands-on, younger and multi-cultural - horrible expression but accurate in recognition of the wide-ranging provenance of its members. I think this is not merely because our numbers are smaller (about 650 as compared to over 2000 in TWUC) but also because our struggles are more specific and focussed. Most of us are still/always trying to get our next plays developed, workshopped, produced and out there. The PGC still talks about exploitation and voice; TWUC talks politics. Well, I'm old but I haven't been there or done that, not everything, not yet. Stay with me. We're not through yet. Still lots to assimilate.

I have spent the last two days messing around with Rogers and Yahoo. Among others, who remained nameless, I talked to George, Brian, John and Kevin. Brian was not feeling well and checked out early. I wish I could have. But my email was not functioning, neither sending nor receiving. Who knows how many people I offended, especially since I was away last week and the trouble started when I was incommunicado? We have reached the stage where we take for granted computers, the net, the mailbox and all the convenient concomitant amenities. I do know, in my more rational moments, that I could not do, could not have done, everything I have achieved without the computer. I could never have afforded an amanuensis, a personal assistant, a research expert or a copy editor. But oy, when thing go wrong and you are deprived of the services, that's when you (that is, I) become irrational. I'm still not back in my box (mailbox), so bear with me. Now would be a good time to write a comment?