Capt. Mondo's World o' Mondo-ness

Art Bus-o-rama!
Just went to the Oakville Library, and as I came through the door, I saw this:

Woa! The picture above really doesn't do it justice -- the thing is festooned with bits and pieces from model railway kits, a myriad of "action figures", toys, and a miscellany of other items. A figure of John Lennon (from Yellow Submarine) seems to be reasoning with a giant Alien-style monster, a line of monsters creeps up (or is that down?) from the front bumper, and a plastic skeleton drives the bus. While the environmental "message" (i.e. environmental destruction) is ladled on with a trowel in the details of the piece, I like it primarily because it is a piece of art which can't possibly take itself totally seriously. There's a lot of humour evident in the piece, which again really only comes out in the details. Will see if I can get permission to take some close-ups of the bus and will post 'em here if I do.

Finished David Starkey's Elizabeth
Finished listening to the abridged audiobook of David Starkey's Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne, which I picked up from a shop at Gatwick Airport immediately prior to flying home last week. I picked it up primarily because it covers the early, formative years of the Queen-to-be Elizabeth I, rather than the resplendent Gloriana image typical of most other biographies that cover her reign. I would agree with other critics that the book is not for beginners -- somebody who is not already familiar with at least some basic background to the history of the time, including the basic structure of the English court, the political system and geography will definitely feel lost. And while I cannot say I feel I am a lot closer to understanding Elizabeth I as a person -- I can't say I ever felt like I got inside her head at any point in the book -- I certainly understand, or rather, infer how she must have felt as various events happened during the years that would eventually lead up to her accession to the throne. The book finally makes clear to me some things that I have wondered about, particularly the state of the marriage of her sister Mary I, and the how and why Lady Jane Grey briefly came to the throne, and the events that would lead to her subsequent execution some time later. The book also makes it pretty clear that Elizabeth was far from innocent when it came to the Wyatt uprising, and while she likely did not actively support Wyatt, almost certainly took steps to ensure that she would secure the throne should the rebellion against her sister succeeded. A good book, particularly in its spelling out of the political machinations of the period, though its abrupt stop at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign leaves me wanting more. Now, do I donate the audiobook to the Oakville Library, or to The Beaches library? I am leaning towards the former, since I have yet to see any of the previous audiobooks I've donated to The Beaches branch appear among their audiobook titles. This either means they have shipped them off to other libraries, sold them, or the staff have nicked them. Will see whether the audiobook I recently donated to the Oakville Library recently has made it to their list of titles.