Clear Skies

We are in another string of clear nights, after nearly two weeks of cloudy skies.  Some of those clouds came from the remnants of Helene, and we got some rain, too.  Last time I posted the death toll had reached 40 from that storm.  Now it's 227 and counting.  Yeesh.  We have a friend in North Carolina, but he lives in the east and was not affected.  I listened to a program on BBC World Radio while driving to my astronomy site the other evening, about how such disasters can actually spawn thousands of deaths even years later.  Stress from losing one's home, car, family, pets, belongings, etc can cause health problems that people don't usually relate to the original disaster.  Not to mention PTSD from the event itself.  A terrible time, and it hit in a place that wasn't expecting such a disaster from the storm.

 

Deb's sister Sharon passed away last week.  She had been in a nursing home due to a severe stroke some time ago.  Sharon was a retired special education teacher, and most recently resided in North Bay, ON.  Deb has another older sister that lives in Calgary.  There is no funeral.

A third and fourth night of astronomy await me tonight and tomorrow night, with skies having a rich dark blue today that gets me very excited about observing in a few hours.  We have also begun our 5th week of mountain prep training.  There is a huge difference between being basically fit, which I have been since June 2020, and being mountain fit.  Here's hoping all that training pays off when we arrive at the mountains in Texas and New Mexico.

In other news from further afield, our London (UK) friend Caroline was recently accepted into a mentoring program for writers.  She will likely get a novel published next year with a major publishing company!  Here is a link to her profile, which gives an idea of what she is up to.  Go Caroline!!  

https://petersfraserdunlop.com/peters-fraser-dunlop-mentorship-programme/ 

And closer to home, Deb has just won Best Micro-Short Animation at the Experimental Film Festival for her film Architect of the Liminal.  See it here....

 

 Architect of the Liminal

 

 With all these high achieving friends and family, I can comfortably sit back and cheer them on!  Go team!

In film watching news, here is the latest roundup.  Mubi is one of our most watched streaming channels, and they recently completed their first film restoration project.  They chose a 1965 Turkish film called Time to Love, directed by Metin Erksan.  There was only one remaining print of the film, so it was badly in need of attention.  A nearly emotionless painter falls in love with a large photo portrait of a woman when he is painting a house.  When the woman unexpectedly shows up, he is completely at a loss.  He tries to explain to her that he does not love her, the woman, but only her photo.  A great little film shot in b & w, it shares one of my favourite themes, namely an off season atmosphere of an island that buzzes during the summer.  It is now a rainy late autumn, and the mood of the film nicely matches the alienated feelings the painter and the woman experience.  A very unusual event, this quiet film is a masterpiece of exploring themes and emotions rarely found anywhere else, except perhaps in poetry.  A winner.

 

Recently restored and showing on Mubi. 

 

An American Werewolf in London, directed by John Landis and from 1981, tries to mix humour with savage violence.  Sort of like trying to mix humour with rape scenes, in my opinion.  And despite the London setting, the smash-up, all-out violent ending is purely American in scope and stupidity.  Recommended for werewolf fans, if there are any left out there.

The film has left Criterion. 

 

Lastly comes a charming and humourous children's film from 1972 Czechoslovakia called The Girl on The Broomstick, directed by Václav Vorlíček.  A young teenage witch attends magic school in her home land.  She is punished for a transgression by 300 years of detention, but manages to escape to our world.  She gets hooked up with a nice boy and three delinquent boys, getting into more trouble with every spell she casts.  In order to remain there and escape her 300 year detention, she must drink Hag's Ear brew, and fast.  Since no older woman is willing to give up an ear, all seems lost.  A fun fantasy film with an engaging witch.

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

No time for Spirograph images today.  Gotta run....

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 

September Reading Summary

The first book I ever read by Robert Silverberg was called Lost Cities and Vanished Civilizations, back in the 60s.  60 years later and I am once again entranced by his non-fiction writing, this time The Pueblo Revolt.  From 1994, it is 227 pages long.  It is a thorough and well written book.  The subject is very complex, and Silverberg begins at the beginning.  We get to see virtually every expedition that set out from Mexico and El Paso for the Rio Grande pueblos.  From Socorro in the south to Taos in the north, and from Quivira in the east and Zuni to the west, virtually every one of the pueblos is discussed.  Why the Spanish even bothered trying to gain a foothold here is hard to say, especially once they'd found out there was no gold.  The summers were brutally hot and the winters direly cold.  There was often no rain for years at a time during the crop growing season.  Their main goal became converting the native population to Christianity.  Mostly it is a story of brutal colonialism, of natives put into slavery working for the priests to build churches, and for the settlers, to farm their land for them.  It is a fascinating part of American history, and very little known in any detail by most people, even American historians.  Indispensable for those of us who love New Mexico, and the thriving pueblo culture that managed to live on until today.  Recommended reading.

I read the Kindle edition.

From 1990 comes the next in the Dray Prescott series, A Victory for Kregen, lasting 177 pages.  It includes a vast glossary of Kregen terms.  A remarkable thing about this series (there are many) is that it is one long and continuous novel, perhaps one of the longest stories ever written.  It could probably stand inch for inch with the Mahabharata on a bookshelf!  The story begins with the continuing adventures of the nine survivors of the previous underworld story.  As the group eventually makes its way to safety it breaks up, with some members staying with Dray and travelling on to Vallia.  In Vallia we have the continuing war against invaders, as the country strives to regain its lost kingdoms.  A side adventure sees Dray rescue his old friend Turko the Shield.  The side stories are always fun and interesting, even as the main plot advances more slowly and methodically.  Another pretty high quality addition to the series.

 

From 1956 comes E. C. Tubb's The Dying Tree, a 139 page western novel.  It takes place on the frontier just after the Civil War.  The whites were settling the West, stealing treaty land from the Indians, killing the buffalo, and laying train tracks right through Sioux territory.  It would only be a matter of time before things exploded into violence.  The title is nonsensical and has nothing to do with the story.  Tubb does not write traditional "John Ford" westerns, and is to be commended for showing so much understanding and sympathy for the native people.  We learn much about their customs and habits, especially as it pertains to gaining coup and fighting wars.  The opening chapter is one of the best western opening chapters I have ever read, as an old man, his young grandson, and a drifter from the defeated southern army fend off an Indian attack at the old man's lonely supply post.  A corrupt and greedy former Union officer soon enters the picture, and is the cause for the major eruption of a war pitting many tribes against the pony soldiers at an outlier fort deep in Indian territory.  Quite a good read, with thrilling action scenes alternating with both sides searching for peace.  Highly recommended, especially if you have never read a western novel before.  

 

From 1974 comes Los Angeles Holocaust, Barry Malzberg's 152 page continuation of the story of Burt Wulf, as he attempts to single-handedly wipe out the drug trade in America.  From its gruesome title I was expecting a very high body count this time around.  Alas, there wasn't.  The set up seemed to indicate there would be.  Recently escaped from Peru, Wulf makes his way to LA with two million dollars worth of heroin.  He's hoping it will lead him to some kingpin who he can wipe out.  He gets together with his San Francisco girlfriend, but things don't go well (two dead bodies so far in the count).  He calls up his former police buddy, Williams, who heads west with a virtual arsenal to help out Wulf.  Williams is waylaid on a lonely stretch of highway.  Two more bodies are left behind.  They meet up in LA at a racetrack (a classic Malzberg setting), and hide out in a very constrained trailer park.  They don't get along, and soon Wulf wishes he were alone again.  After three assassins fail in their attempt at killing the pair (total book body count is seven), they split up and Williams heads east again, with the arsenal unused.  So no holocaust.  But when Williams is kidnapped by arch enemy Calabrese, Wulf decides its time to head to Chicago once again and settle the score.  A solid entry in the series, as we watch Wulf continue to spiral down into the deepest layers of madness, exploring unknown circles of Hell and seeming to know no other way forward. 

 

Published in 1987 and updated with a new foreword in 2016, The Tale That Wags The Dog contains more essays by Blish.  Blish died in 1975.  The essays date from the early Sixties to the early Seventies.  His first two collections were specifically aimed, first at pulp magazine SF, and then later at certain novels.  This volume is a little more general in outlook.  Part 1 contains five essays, with titles such as The Function of SF, The Science in SF, and The Arts in SF.  I thoroughly enjoyed all of them, but especially the one where he talks about music and art in SF, what little there was of it back then.  Part II contains four essays:  Poul Anderson-The Enduring Explosion; The Literary Dreamers; The Long Night of a Virginia Author; and Music of the Absurd.  In the second and third essays Blish writes about a trilogy of novels written by James Branch Cabell, separating them neatly from Finnegan's Wake, with which it has become associated.  The chapter on music brings out Blish's grief at the state of new music in the 60s (especially John Cage).  He needn't have lost sleep over it--it's all gone away now, more or less.  Part III contains two chapters:  A SF Coming of Age, where Blish brings in some theories of Spengler, explaining why the "great" SF novel has never been written, and never shall be written.  The final chapter is an interview with Blish conducted by Brian Aldiss.  This is a don't miss collection for fans of early SF writing, as are the two previous books of his essays.  I only hope that eventually all of his critical essays will be published.  These three volumes contains only a small percentage of his non-fiction work. 

 

With the completion of works by Avon/Equinox SF Rediscovery authors, I moved on to novels published in the Delphi Classics Kindle series.  First came H. Rider Haggard's world changing adventure novel King Solomon's Mines.  Published in 1885, it set off a chain reaction that continues to this day.  The lost world adventure novel never seems to grow old with many readers (including this one), and so many major writers have used Haggard as a springboard to fame and fortune.  Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, A. Merritt and dozens of others have virtually copied Haggard's premise, though much of it written today takes place off world or in other dimensions.  Allan Quatermain is the main narrator, and his adventure, though not quite plausible today, was more than plausible in 1885, when much of Africa was still unexplored, and survey flights were decades away.  The book is a classic tale in many ways, though it's colonial outlook and racist beliefs (Quatermain is a lion and elephant hunter and certainly believes that Blacks are not the equal of Whites) seem almost beyond belief to enlightened readers today.  So one must read this as a child or youth from 1885, and I'm certain that a few small heads nearly exploded with excitement back then.  There is a running joke about one of the white explorers' white legs, which are astonishing to the Blacks.  And by the end of the novel, the Blacks have proved to be as brave and fearless in battle as any white man, excepting Quatermain himself, who is an admitted coward.  Despite the human and animal body count, it is a first rate adventure novel.  It is still in print today, which says something about its effect on readers.

Cover of the 1st edition. 

 

Next I jumped all the way over to Dashiel Hammet, and his novel from 1929, The Dain Curse. This story consists of three novellas, linked by characters, though pretty much complete in themselves.  The first part deals with a suicide and murder, in which Hammett's unnamed private detective first arrives on the scene to find missing stolen diamonds.  His case switches in part 2 with more murders, and a strange cult that has more at heart than people's spiritual welfare.  Lastly comes more murders, a kidnapping, and a bomb explosion.  As each part of the case ends, the detective always suspects there is more to it, until, by the end of part 3, we finally get to the rotten bottom of things.  At the heart of story is young Gabrielle, who thinks she is the recipient of a family curse.  Each novella ends with a lengthy explanation of the very complicated plot up to that point, with the final explanation the longest and most complicated of them all.  Though it is a fun read, it is not really one of the great mystery stories, mainly due to the large number of main characters and the complications that ensue.  One of the best parts of the story occurs in Part 3, when the detective talks Gabrielle into believing there is no curse upon her, and that she can kick her heroin habit if she wants to, with his help.  In this part at least, the sun is shining briefly on a very depressed and lost soul.

 

W. H. Hodgson's Carnacki, The Ghost-Finder is a collection of six short tales published in 1913.  They were previously published in magazines between 1910-12.  He reissued the set in 1947, adding two more stories (not reviewed here yet).  Carnacki sometimes finds a supernatural cause for what has occurred, but just as often is able to come to a rational and scientific explanation.  thus the reader never knows at the time if events are supernatural or not.  This is a pretty neat writing trick!  The stories are quite frightening, too.

"The Gateway of the Monster" is the first tale.  The set up is always the same: four guests come to Carnacki's house for dinner, one of whom is the narrator, after which the host tells his most recent tale.  This is the story of a haunted room.  Something about the room is serving as a gateway for an evil presence to make itself known.  Carnacki himself, though a very brave man, is not above being very, very afraid at climactic moments, and sometimes even running away.  And though he often gets to the bottom of a mystery, sometimes he cannot explain it.  This story involves a mislaid ring. 

"The House Among The Laurels" is another very scary tale, and even though there are explanations at the end, they do not really satisfy the reader.  No one knows how the candles were put out, or why someone went to so much trouble to 'haunt' the large house.  Three dogs die violently in this story, and in the previous one a cat.  Animal lovers be warned. 

"The Whistling Room" is a very strange tale about a horrible whistling sound that comes from one room in a castle.  Again the climax is very frightening.  Most of these would make great TV episodes for a horror anthology.  And why has no one made a film about Hodgson's The Night Land? 

"The Horse of the Invisible" has something to do with local old tales, as many of these stories often have.  Not as scary as the first three, and again the explanation hardly explains everything that happened.  And can everyone who fired a gun in this story have missed the culprit?  This is a story that has both a hoax at its heart, and a real ghostly event.

"The Searcher of the End House" is another story that has both a logical explanation for a haunting, and a supernatural one.  Thus there are two mysteries, one quite terrifying and the other more mystifying.  The first mystery is Lovecraftian, while the second one is a classic ghost haunting.

"The Thing Invisible" is the final story in the first collection.  A butler is seriously wounded by a dagger that seemed to fly out of nowhere from inside a small chapel attached to a castle, and Carnacki is called to help solve the mystery.  Once again he spends a very scary night inside a dark and dangerous place, and once again he runs out of it, terrified, in the middle of the night.  The mystery is finally solved, however, and the ghost-finder lives to tell the tale to his friends.

 

Next came Fergus Hume's Madame Midas, from 1888.  A sprawling Victorian novel, it is a thriller that is loosely based on a real woman, one who owned and managed mines in Australia.  Despite the usual warnings concerning the man she is about to marry, she goes ahead with her plans.  Of course he turns out to be a louse, and causes her nothing but grief throughout the novel.  Not only that, but another man, an escapee from a French prison island, worms his way into her confidence and is offered a job managing her books.  What could go wrong?  She is not the only female in the story who is wronged.  It would appear that there are a lot of dangerous predatory males out there.  Can this possibly be true?  It is a pretty decent novel, and its 400+ pages go past quite quickly.  A few years transpire between the opening scene and the finale.  References are made to the author's previous detective novel, The Mystery of the Hansom Cab.  In fact, the lead woman here ends up renting the same house where much of the plot of the previous novel was centered.  A neat writer's trick to get readers to read the other novel, if they haven't already.

 

Finally, I read another American dime novel by The Old Sleuth.  A Successful Shadow is from 1885, and is a direct sequel to the one I read last month, called Two Wonderful Detectives.  These short mystery stories are actually quite fun and worth seeking.  I bought a small collection of this for pennies on Kindle, but they seem to also be available on Project Gutenberg, on-line for free reading.  In this story the detective is finally able to restore a large inheritance to its rightful owner, after a considerable battle of wits against a young criminal.  The detective, like a certain other later detective, is a master of disguises.  I look forward to reading more of these creations.

 

Mapman Mike

Helene

 Hurricane Helene has dispersed.  Its winds reached us this morning and continue tonight as I type.  The devastation it has caused the deep south is virtually unprecedented, and it will take weeks to assess and begin to repair the damage.  40 dead so far, and counting.  We are expecting some rain tomorrow and Sunday from it.  Needless to say that the first week of my newest astronomy session hasn't gone well.

 

The fourth week of our mountain hiking fitness program has begun.  It doesn't feel as if I will be ready to climb mountains in two weeks (three, actually, as it takes us a week to get there; we hike on the way, making it our 6th week of training).  But the program is tried and true, so I must believe.  Three high altitude hikes are planned, including the Texas state highpoint.  That first one, a tough one to be sure, is on the sixth day after our departure from the low flatlands.  It will be a major test for me, and without passing it I cannot think about hiking the big one, NM's Jicarita Peak.  So a Plan B is being formed in case Guadalupe Peak gets the better of me.  Not having hiked in the mountains for six years now, failure is a distinct possibility.

 

Deb is finishing up her Hound of the Baskerville film project, which she is using mostly as a learning experience for her newest animation software purchase. The film stars yours truly as the evil Stapleton, toying with women in the part, much like I do in real life.

 

Last night we had an incredible sunset, moving from yellow through pink, orange, and red.  Here is a photo taken near the final phase.

 

Sunset photo taken from our front yard, with the sky reflecting upon the Detroit River. 

 

In film watching news, I will begin with last weekend's pick, and move towards the most recent pick.  Twentieth Century is from 1934.  Directed by Howard Hawks it stars Carole Lombard and John Barrymore.  He plays a theatre director, and she is his latest acting discovery.  A romance blossoms, then wilts, as she finally deserts him and heads for Hollywood.  While they both just happen to be on the same train from Chicago to New York (the Twentieth Century), he gets a chance to win her back.  Barrymore is in top form, and often quite hilarious as the manipulating man that will do anything to score another Broadway success.  Lombard, not quite so successful in her role (she screams a lot), plays the young put upon actress trying to put up with Barrymore's eccentric and overbearing ways.  Somehow or other we had both missed seeing this film before.  it's worth it to watch Barrymore, almost playing himself at times.

Leaving Criterion Sept. 30th. 

 

Following was next, A Christopher Nolan film from 1998.  From the Mubi description:  Driven by boredom, a writer randomly shadows strangers on London’s bustling streets. What starts as fictional research becomes an unsettling journey when he’s confronted by a burglar named Cobb. Drawn into Cobb’s world of crime, the writer treads a perilous path, entangled in obsession and danger.

Stay away from bad guys.  One would think by now, after all the movies and novels that have contained this message, that people would follow that simple maxim.  But no.  Instead, they are attracted and seduced by bad guys, to their inevitable undoing.  An almost harmless hobby (follow a person once, but never again) soon turns into a crime spree, and then a deadly crime spree.  As the poor victim becomes more deeply involved with this film's version of Faust, his demise becomes more and more certain.  An original film to be sure, and in b & w.  Worth a look at the director's earlier smaller scale work.

 

Now showing on Mubi. 

 

Most recently came Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion, a 1970 Spanish thriller.  Though light on murdered bodies, it is heavy on sexual sadism.  Filled with suspense movie tropes, it isn't too hard to guess what is going on, though a few surprises remain at the end.  A woman begins to think she is going crazy, as there is no evidence of the insane man, she says, who is causing her grief.  Of course some of the tricks used by the bad people trying to drive her crazy are never explained (the apartment she takes her husband and the police to is suddenly empty of all its furnishings and looks old and unused--it hadn't been rented in over a year.  No explanation of how that one was done).  The movie features the most futuristic 1970 furnishings and women's outfits for the time--it often reminded me of one of those sexy spy movies that proliferated for a time after the Bond films became successful.  If you enjoy seeing an innocent woman totally gaslighted, then you should like this film.  If not, oh well.  She does live happily ever after, though.  Sort of like a Dickens novel, I guess.  The bad guys get all the breaks, until the final minute.

Leaving Mubi Sept. 30th. 

 

I have resumed working with my Spirograph set.  Perhaps if you get lucky I will post some more images of my work next time.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

Finished Up The Peripheral

The 8-episode season of The Peripheral was based on a William Gibson book, which I have not (as yet) read.  There will be no Season 2, which is probably a good thing.  It was quite well done, though as per usual it was filled with violence, mostly guns of some type, but also plenty of so called hand to hand combat.  The series would appeal to those people who play shooter games on their screens, but the plot is actually quite cerebral.  It kind of takes VR to its outer limits.  Recommended, and I may try to squeeze in a read of the novel.  It is the first of a trilogy, of which two have been published.  The series is showing on Prime.

 

We are now about four or five episodes into the newest Rings episodes, and have met Tom Bombadil.  Nothing too exciting there, but the series is creating some tension in Moria.  We know what lives beneath the mines, down very deep, but the Dwarves are about to find out for the first time.  I'm getting a little sick of Elves and Hobbits, so I'm glad that the Dwarves are there to take up slack.  It is so unfortunate that Prime was not given rights to the Silmarillion.  Instead, Peter Jackson will likely rewrite it all to his taste and show us how brilliant he is.

 

In local news, yours truly survived another journey around the Sun.  Celebrations were centered around food, and since it is also Bilbo and Frodo's birthday, it seems a fitting way to get through the day.  The morning began with home made cinnamon buns.  That was followed at lunch time by spaghetti with vegan meatballs and a wonderful minced veggie topping, all made fresh by Deb.  Then we baked a ginger birthday cake (with decadent icing!), finally sitting down to watch Rings and Peripheral.  I had a quart of very fine Saison ale I had been saving, and sipped it away over a two hour period.  I also treated myself to some extra reading time today (a novel by Dashiel Hammet is currently in my hands)

Autumn returned this morning, and this is to be the final hot day!  We have been doing our training in sunny, very warm temps, despite our early start.  And for the first time in weeks, it is actually raining outside.  The land is quite parched here.  Not much rain, but a little bit.  So tomorrow's strenuous walk should be in a much cooler, possibly even cloudy, environment.

 

We also scored two decent movies this weekend, beginning with Lady In The Lake, also called The Possessed.  It is an Italian b & w thriller from 1965, and features some great off season locations in the Italian Alps.  The mood created by the camera, music, and sounds, especially of a hollow wind in the trees, is very good.  A writer travels there to find a girl he once spurned, but now wants to try a relationship.  She is missing, and then he finds out that she is dead.  The mystery begins there, and doesn't follow much of a normal plot path.  The action and plot centres around a family that owns a large hotel in the town, and they have a lot of local pull and connections.  They also own the slaughterhouse next door.  Would you like a hotel room with a view of a slaughterhouse?  Like a said, this film is a bit different, though not predictable at all.  Recommended.

 

Leaving Mubi soon.  In b & w.

 

A twilight scene from The Possessed, one of many liminal spaces and or times from the film. 

 

Next came Source Code from 2011, a SF thriller that opens with terrific aerial scenes of downtown Chicago.  A wounded American Afghanistan pilot is brought home to continue his service in a different way.  In a confusing opening, he is put on a train to discover who the bomber is that will destroy the train in 8 minutes.  When the train explodes we know nothing of his mission, nor does he.  But it soon becomes clear.  He will have time for more attempts, but each one can only last for 8 minutes.  The film becomes a bit like Groundhog Day, as the soldier gets to replay the scene, fix his mistakes, and try to find the bomber.  The only problem is that the people on the train are already dead, so he is not saving anyone here.  But if the bomber can be identified, then a much worse terrorist incident can be truly prevented.  Another quite good film, and if not exactly nail biting, then it is good SF at least.  The two main characters all also quite likable.

 

Leaving Mubi soon.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 
 

A Minor Lunar Eclipse

Tuesday night we sat outside and watched a tiny part of the full moon disappear for a while, before it came back to its full glory.  Our eastern sky is high with trees, so we seldom see a moonrise from home.  But it was up pretty high by 10:10, when the eclipse began.  We sat on chairs in our driveway, enjoying a beautiful late evening.  There is a skunk that wanders past several times a week, but tonight we were spared.  Here are a few hand held camera images from mid-eclipse.

 

This heavily overexposed image actually shows the area of darkness rather well.

Still overexposed, but getting better.

My best shot.  I should have used a tripod.  Next year there will be two total lunar eclipses. 

 

In other exciting news, we have now completed two full weeks of intense training for our upcoming hiking expedition to the American Southwest.  All of the exercise has been combined with some serious house cleaning and clearing of junk.  For the second week in a row we will be putting out a lot of garbage, and tomorrow morning 4 boxes of stuff, plus 4 large garbage bags full, are going to be collected by the Diabetes Association for resale.  The house is still crammed with junk, but we can start to see more floor space now, and even a wall or two.  Things will continue.

In film news, there are four to report, all from Criterion Streaming  Beginning with most recently viewed was Independent's Day, a short documentary about independent filmmakers.  The film takes in the Sundance Film Festival band provides a good look at where things stood in 1998 (!).  I would love to see an updated version of this film, which is filled with interviews, clips, and quips from independent filmmakers, some of whom are quite famous now, and others not so much.  Many people talk about how much Sundance had changed since its origins--if they could only see it now, they would shed crocodile tears.

 

Leaving Criterion soon.

Deb's other choice was Licorice Pizza, from 2021 and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.  Helped by good writing, good characters, and good acting, this film somehow manages to interest viewers and keep them interested.  There is notable chemistry between the two leads, one of the reasons the film is so attractive.  The story follows the adventures of Alana (28 years) and Gary (15 years), as they move through several business deals and businesses together in Encino, CA, during the 70s, along with the ups and downs of a very unbalanced romance.  The title supposedly refers to two items that do not go well together.  I recommend the film, despite a running time of just over two hours, and two very racist scenes with Japanese women.

 

Leaving Criterion soon.

My two choices ended with Tati's Mon oncle, from 1958.  Filled with visual and aural gags, the film does a great job of contrasting old Paris with new Paris.  We know which one Tati prefers.  We had only seen this film once before, many years ago, and obviously in an inferior print.  The colour is beautiful in this one, from the green of the fake grass on the lawn to the browns and greys of the old streets.  The film begins with dogs running loose, closely followed by kids doing the same thing.  It ends in a similar fashion.  In between we have a good contrast between a sterile upbringing and one filled with dirt and noise.  Tati uses limited sets to great advantage.  My only disappointment is that the character of Tati in this film is that of a simpleton.  I find it hard to like him in this role.  Still, a very great film, and one worth seeing a third time.

 

Showing on Criterion.

My earlier pick was Night Moves, directed by Arthur Penn and starring Gene Hackman.  From 1975, Hackman plays a private eye with marital problems, and an urge to solve a big case.  He gets his big case, and for a while the film rips along in a very entertaining way.  But the final quarter of the film is a total disaster.  How many films has this viewer seen that follows such a pattern.  A great concept, a great opening, a great development, and a totally farcical, stupid finale.  In this one, every major character involved in the mystery dies at the end.  Really?  As Deb called it, it turns out to be a snuff film.  Something good was destroyed by someone who should have known better.

 

Leaving Criterion soon.
 

Mapman Mike

 

September Sunshine

It has been sunny and in the 80s for quite some time now, and it will continue for at least another week.  Week Two of our mountain hiking training program has begun.  We have some warm walks ahead of us.  I am preparing for a major climb in the New Mexico Rocky Mountains.  It will be my 2nd attempt at Jicarita Peak, and at just over 12,700 it will be my 2nd highest hike.  Years ago our attempt was foiled by a mismatched water bottle, though it was a splendid hike and overnight stay in the high wilderness.  The roar of the evergreen trees as the wind rushed down off the mountain overnight will never be forgotten!  High altitude hikes are also planned for the Manzano Mountains southeast of Albuquerque, and in Texas.  I am attempting to climb to the highest point in Texas, located in Guadalupe National Park.  Lesser hikes (but still good for training) are planned at Palo Duro Canyon south of Amarillo, and in the Wichita Mtns in west Oklahoma.  Urban walks are planned along the way in Terre Haute, Indiana, and Springfield Missouri.  Those last four mentioned hikes will constitute Week 6 of our training program.  If the knees hold up, then the three big climbs will go ahead.  If not, we will find some breweries in Albuquerque and cry in our beer.  

 

Deb is not planning any big hikes, as she has had some breathing issues lately.  She went for lung tests Wednesday, and we are awaiting results.  Most places we will visit have a complete range of hiking difficulty, so she can choose less challenging ones for now.  Today she had a routine eye check up, and everything was good.  Wednesday we both went for routine blood work, and again all results were okay.

 

When I was in the throes of passing a kidney stone (or perhaps three of them), I was unable to sleep on my bed or on the couch.  Deb sleeps on a recliner chair, and I found it worked for me.  She took the couch.  So even though now I was back to my bed, I went ahead and purchased a recliner for night use, too.  With the right chair nights are very comfortable.  Mine was on sale and we got a very good deal.  It meant taking out the old queen bed (purchased years ago when we had three cats sleeping with us), which was a major undertaking.  The mattress was foam, but there was a lot of wood on the frame.  We put out a huge load of trash last night, and it was picked up today by the regular guys.  There is suddenly a lot of room in the upstairs bedroom!

 

Also this past week, a Purolater delivery truck pulled down and destroyed our internet wire.  We were without service for 24 hours, but it is now fixed and sitting a lot higher than before.

 

In other news, my uncle's obituary appeared in the Sudbury Star recently....

 

William Robert Whitehead (Bill)

April 14, 1932 - September 4, 2024

William "Bill" Whitehead, age 92. He passed away the same way he lived his life, on his own terms. He is survived by his sons Bill (Debbie), John (Marie), Jim(Taylor), as well as his daughter Lori. He is also survived by his two older sisters, Geraldine Ethier and Pauline Miller. Bill was a proud grandfather to his grandchildren and a great-grandfather to his four great-grandchildren, all of whom brought him immense joy.
Bill was always there for his grandkids, supporting them at the hockey rink, basketball games, or dance recitals. If there was a project to do, Bill was ready with his hammer, always eager to lend a hand. He played a pivotal role in helping his family build and operate the Penage Bay Marina for many years before moving on to construct the family cottage, which remains a cherished gathering place for the entire family.
He loved his many years hunting and fishing at Welcome Lake. Bill enjoyed snowmobiling with his family and even learned to ski at age 50. Known for his toughness, Bill also had a soft side, especially when it came to his grandchildren.
Bill was preceded in death by his brothers, Jack and Jim Whitehead, and his sisters, Jacqueline Munavish and Evelyn Whitehead. He had many friends and Bill will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him. His memory will live on in the hearts of those who loved him.
Donations to ABCs & Rice at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/ or the Terryamescarefund.com would be appreciated.

Published online September 9, 2024 in the Sudbury Star 

 

In film news there are two to report.  In addition, we have finished watching Season 1 of Star Trek: Discovery.  I had watched the first two episodes on our flights to New Orleans and back to Detroit in March and got interested.  Though we will probably get around to Season Two, we will first go back to watch the final season of Next Generation (unseen by us), and then back to the 2nd season of Picard.  We are also 3 episodes into Season Two of Rings of Power, and are continuing to enjoy Peripheral, a story with 8 episodes.  More of that one tonight.  We are also viewing two Great Courses, one on detective fiction and one on Gravity.

 

Deb's film choices were from Criterion (leaving this month) and Mubi.  The leaving film was called The Taking, a documentary from 2021 about Monument Valley and how it is perceived today, following the influence of western movies, especially those of John Ford.  Though it is now Navajo land, and they have control of it, the movies filmed there were mostly pro white and against the native population.  It is unfortunate when iconic landscapes such as this are usurped by untruthful and less meaningful ideals, which then become fixed in the minds of people.  It's a good film overall, and does give more than one perspective.  However, it's point is that the Valley is so ensconced in the public's mind with the conquering of the untamed west that it may never escape that tedious label.

 

Leaving Criterion Sept. 30th. 

 

Next came a very poor example of Guy Maddin's unique storytelling methods.  His second feature is from 1990 and is called Archangel.  Taking place in 1919 Russia, a small village does not know that the war against Germany has ended, and so the fighting continues.  A soldier missing a leg is billeted by a small family.  He thinks he sees his deceased girlfriend in a village girl's face, and this sets off a long and tedious account of him trying to woo and win her.  The film goes in circles, and though only 77 minutes long, it seems much longer.  The look of the film is pure Maddin, with silent film techniques mixed in with avant garde use of camera, unique sets, and lighting.  However, the storytelling is pure rubbish.  There are much better Maddin films out there.  This one reminds me of the flip side of a 45 rpm record, with the big hit on side one, and some other musical trash on side two.

Now showing on Mubi.  

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Fellini and Sorrentino: A Top Knotch Double Bill

 I am set to have a 4th night out with the telescope tonight.  As usual I am rather excited about it.  Another late night, though this should be the last, as next month the sun will setting even earlier than now.

 

We managed our first hill climb workout today at Malden Hill Park in Windsor.  5 weeks of local training, then one week of hiking as we drive west, then the big stuff for week 6.  Rather excited about that, too.

 

My last surviving uncle passed away this week.  Uncle Bill gave me my first high-paying job as a teenager, and I learned to drive 3-ton trucks towing trailers, too.  He owned a construction equipment rental company.  He and my dad built camps together on adjoining lots at Lake Penage when I was 9 or 10.  Bill was a big guy, and always moving, never liking to sit still.  He was a pretty amazing man, and I'm proud to have had him as my uncle.  He chose assisted dying, as his Alzheimer's condition was worsening by the day.  He passed away surrounded by his three sons.  Bon Voyage, Uncle Bill!!  His ashes are to be scattered at Lake Penage.

 

A photo of Uncle Bill from long ago, likely snoozing after a Thanksgiving or Christmas family dinner. A rare quiet moment for him.

 

In film news, Fellini's La Dolce Vita has always been on my top ten list since I first saw it many years ago.  The character of Marcello is a fascinating one.  On the surface he is a womanizer of the worst kind, and it's almost painful seeing him lusting after Anita Ekberg as she casually and coolly keeps him at bay.  Sending him out to find milk for a kitten in the late hours of a Roman night is the final straw.  Marcello is a journalist who is always threatening to write a novel, but never manages to get around to it.  He has deep feelings, but has no one to express them to, or talk about with.  He is saddled with a neurotic, shallow, and overly motherly girlfriend, and has no close friends in whom to confide.  The movie charts his rapid decline into mid-life chaos.  By the end of the movie he has reached the bottom, with nowhere else to sink.  He has chances at redeeming himself, but they never pan out.  His best chance is a fellow writer and intellectual.  When they meet up one night Marcello is invited to a get together at the writer's home.  The scene contrasts sharply with the usual parties that Marcello attends.  He is impressed with the man, and wants to talk more with him.  They both agree that this would be a good thing.  But when the writer kills himself and his two angelic children, Marcello is shattered, and there is no turning back from self destruction for him afterwards.  He meets with his father and wants to spend time with him and talk, but his father never had time for him and his Rome visit proves no exception.  Again Marcello is left alone.  He has one casual girlfriend that he thinks he could make a serious relationship with.  She leads him on one night, but quickly abandons him for a quickie with another man at the party.  Poor Marcello.  Then there is the angel from Perugia, a young girl who works at a cafe on the beach somewhere.  He tells her she looks like an angel from a Renaissance painting, and she does.  In the final scene she tries to communicate with him, explaining who she is and miming a typist, to ask him how his book is coming.  But he is far past the point of being able to hear angels, even if they are right in front of him.  And so we have a very depressing ending.  

 

Now showing on Criterion.

 

Or do we?  Just suppose that he has hit bottom, and that sometime afterwards he manages to climb out of his alcoholic haze long enough to write a very good short novel.  The plausibility of this might not have occurred to Fellini, but it just might have been a subconscious idea with Paolo Sorrentino, the director of The Great Beauty.  The film won the 2013 Oscar for best foreign film, and is also on my top ten list.  This is our third viewing, and it becomes more and more spellbinding the more we watch.  The character of Jep could be Marcello, as he celebrates his 65th birthday in Italian party style.  Jep had one successful novel 30 years ago, but has not written another one.  He is a journalist that covers art openings and events in Rome.  The film is sheer poetry from beginning to end, with possibly the best musical score ever added to film.  Many of the musicians appear in the film performing the music.  Like Dolce Vita, this is a film about vignettes, vignettes of great beauty.  Rome in 1960 and in 2013 are very different places, but Jep had adapted well.  He has the most envious flat in Rome, a host of friends though none terribly close.  There are moments of comedy along with the poetry, and moments filled with deep meaning.  Jep as an older Marcello makes seeing both pictures back to back essential to understand the relationship.  Of course Sorrentino, like most Italian directors, owes a huge debt to Fellini, and must feel him looking over his shoulder all of the time.  Whether the director made Jep into an older Marcello consciously or not, it is hard to deny the connection.  Though both movies stand perfectly alone as major masterpieces of cinema, when combined into one longer epic, the effect on viewers becomes transcendental.  Deliriously so.

 

Now showing on Criterion.

 

Mapman Mike