Piano Pieces Six Months In

We had a really great Sawhain party last night here at the Homestead, with two attending.  Good food, some music, a wood fire.  Can't be beat.  Then came the new Celtic year Tarot readings.  We have our new year cards, as well as selections for each cross quarter.  Readings are usually based on awareness, what might be possible to strive for, as well as guidance toward any goals selected.  I'll publish my year card shortly, but it is a Grail card and I am quite pleased with it, and it will remind me to keep to the true path again this year. 

 

We took our annual pilgrimage to a cemetery this afternoon.  We started out at a new cafe for us in beautiful downtown Harrow, a small farming town several miles southeast of the Homestead.  From there we moved on to Colchester, pretty much the most southerly mainland community in Canada.  There is a small cemetery there atop a bluff overlooking Lake Erie, and they have some pretty old tombstones, as well as plenty of trees and a very lovely small chapel.  Here are some recent pics, including some from today's walk.

 

 Mural on a cafe wall, downtown Amherstburg, from the previous Sunday.  Deb orders some caffeine. The sun glass images refer to an amusement park that once dominated the summer scene in Amherstburg, but is now long gone and replaced by.... an exclusive housing project.

  King's Navy Yard Park, downtown Amherstburg, facing the Detroit River as it opens into Lake Erie.

Navy Yard Park.  All three above images were taken last weekend. 

 Colchester Beach and Harbour, overlooking Lake Erie today. 

 A lonely looking Colchester Beach.

 

 A pair of birch trees in full autumn splendour. 

 

 

 Umbrella in hand, Deb walks towards a bench overlooking the lake. 

 

 Lake Erie with small light to guide boats into the harbour. 

 

 The Colchester Cemetery and small on-site chapel. 

 

 

 Colchester cemetery, with Lake Erie in the background. 

 

In piano news, as reported in today's title I have been chopping away at my newest repertoire now for six months.  There have been interruptions in the practice routine, of course, with two trips to Sudbury, one to Toronto, and various medical days.  But things are chugging along, and I hope to be ready in six weeks.  I played through the whole program this morning and it went rather well.  Soon I will take it on the road and place the pieces on the beloved Fazioli piano of Dr. Seski, if he is kind enough to once again allow me to do so.  After tweaking that a bit I will move on to play in for Jim P. in Chatham, on his 9' Steinway.  After that it should be time to invite some friends over to hear the program.  I have cut way back on the memorization this time, and will use music for the entire first half (all harpsichord) and for the final two pieces on the second half (Philip Glass pieces).

 

In movie news there are two to report.  Invention is a film that defines the term "quirky", and thus attracts our attention and interest.  From 2024 and directed by Courtney Stephens we watch a young woman come to terms with her father's death.  He was a doctor who was heavily into quack medicine, and the only thing he left her was the patent to his invention.  The invention is an enigma, and is supposed to induce a type of trance healing that calms the mind and soothes the body.  She hardly knew her father, but comes to learn things about him as she navigates life after his death.  It's a very personal film, but manages to express a lot through its often narrow focus.  The daughter meets with people who knew her father, and very few of them have flattering views to report, other than he was very smart.  His progress with his machine was hampered by his conspiracy beliefs, as he trusted no one to help him get it to market.  As a result the entire project crashed and burned.  Is the patent a valuable thing?  Should she pursue it further, for her father's sake and her own?  Though she is quite stoic throughout much of the movie, her emotions finally get the better of her, helping her in her decision of what to do with this thing.  The film is as odd as they come, a good enough reason to recommend it.  But it's quite transfixing to watch, too, as we explore the background of this near genius man who attempted, and failed, to get rich while helping others.

 

 A quirky but fascinating film now showing on Mubi. 

 

We also watched Ken Russell's 1980 filming of Altered States, from a novel by Paddy Chayefsky (Deb is currently reading the novel; I will, too).  Though we have seen the film many times, it's one we like to return to every few years.  Both the novel and the film are loosely based on actual experiments done on people in isolation tanks, though things carry a bit further than those experiments ever did.  With effects trying to compete with 2001: A Space Odyssey (they don't), and a story that more or less goes wildly off the rails, it's still a film that we are drawn to, mostly because William Hurt's character is willing to sacrifice everything for his search for what's out there.  Despite being a complete fool, one has to admire the guy for pushing things to the absolute limit.  An intellectual science fiction film is still a very rare thing, and though this film goes well beyond what is even remotely possible in the physical sense, we still know so little about what is inside our minds that all of the evolutionary retrograding that happens physically and emotionally to Hurt could possibly happen, at least within our own minds.  Always an experience to watch, this is a film I recommend highly to SF fans.

 

 

 The film has recently left the Criterion Channel.

 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 

October Reading Summary

 Bulmer continues to rely on witches and their curses to move the action forward in Witches of Kregen, the 34th book in the Dray Prescott fantasy series (1985), though there is a grand traditional battle as well.  The opening chapter's rain of frogs is unique in fantasy literature, as I'm sure is the attack of stinging wasps.  Other plagues are thrown at Dray until he finally agrees to meet the female witch face to face.  It appears she has a crush on him, so we'll have to see how that turns out.  All of Dray's main warrior buddies are collected in this story for the first time, so I assume that nothing mortal could stand up to them when fighting together.  Thus the need for witches and their abominable black curses.  Fair enough, I suppose.  The Star Lords summon Dray yet again, unexpectedly as usual, but there is a neat twist this time around once he has completed his task.  This event sweetens the story somewhat, distasteful as the witchcraft is becoming.  Better than the previous book by far, but still a bit sub par for the series.

Cover by James Gurney. 

 

 #15 in the Dumarest series (The Spectrum of a Forgotten Sun) sees Earl besotted by a beautiful woman.  Does she really love him, or is she working for the evil Cyclan?  We visit several new planets (this series never seems to return to previous worlds) and Earl makes more tiny bits of progress in his search for Earth and the Sun.  Tubb must have sensed his fans' frustration with the series, but he never allowed Dumarest to reach Earth.  In this reviewer's opinion this was a tragic mistake.  Finally reaching Earth did not have to be the end; a good writer could have made it into an entirely new adventure series.  But Tubb seemed blind to the possibilities as he kept cashing his paycheck for writing these books with no end.  Once again Earl has to fight in a death match while a bloodthirsty crowd watches.  This has become a cliche of the series so far, happening far too often.  While the books are still fun to read, and I am continually amazed at Tubb's ability to write good stuff, I weary of much of it.  Whereas Bulmer manages to keep my interest fairly high in his nearly endless Dray Prescott series (more fantasy than SF), Tubb can't seem to get past a certain wall, making his readers suffer.  A good entry in the series, but not the best.

 

Moving now to the Delphi Classics Series, I began the month with a short play by Samuel T. Coleridge called The Fall of Robespierre, written in 1794.  Co-written with Robert Southey, it was meant more for recitation than stage performance.  There seems to be little sympathy for the man who began the purge of traitors to France and ended up accusing nearly everyone of that crime.  eventually fate caught up to him, though not soon enough for many victims.  French history is filled with rogues like this who thought they were saints.  Easily read at one sitting.

 

Wilkie Collins is a favourite writer of this reader, and his 1857 epic novel The Dead Secret is a somewhat readable story with Gothic overtones.  The big secret can be guessed by most modern readers very early on.  Since the story was written as a magazine serial, it tends to go on and on.  This would fit the category of women's fiction in its day.  I was hoping for a more supernatural spin to the story, but it never came.  The ending (it is in six "books") is very drawn out and very long.  Cut by about a third this could have been a much more effective book.  Not a favourite novel of mine by this author.

 

Two illustrations from the edition that I read. 

 

Next came Typhoon, a novella by Joseph Conrad from  1902.  Like the Collins story, it was first serialized in a magazine.  Unlike the Collins tale this one is to the point, with no extra words, sentences, or chapters present. The adventure novella takes place on board a British built steamer plying the China Sea.  Good descriptions of the captain, the ship and some of her crew preface the stormy weather, and preparing us for what is to come.  On board the ship are 200 Chinese workers returning home after a 7 year stint abroad.  They are all returning with money earned and saved.  In an introduction by the author, her stresses that it wasn't the storm or the captain that he wanted to highlight, but what went on below deck during the storm involving the 200 Chinese men.  Conrad says very little about them in the story, leaving a lot to the imagination (even it was something so terrible that I would rather not imagine it).  The storm is a major one, and as usual Conrad gives vivid pictures of what the ship and crew (and passengers) are up against.  The storm is so bad that it is difficult to imagine what it would be like, but we are given a rather good idea.  Parts of the storm are so bad that it seems almost comical, or so beyond normal comprehension that one can only laugh or cry.  If there is a lesson to be learned here, it is to trust the barometer.  This captain, greatly changed by his experience, could have taken measures to avoid the storm.  However, his reasons for not dodging it are given in his own words, and, being the captain, his word is law on board the ship.  Highly recommended, especially if you have ever been in a bad storm.

 

F. Marion Crawford's novel A Roman Singer from 1884 takes readers to sunny Rome.  The story is told by Cornelio Grande, step father to young Nino Cardegna.  As a child Nino loved to sing, eventually studying with a good teacher and becoming something of a sensation as a tenor on the opera stage.  He falls in love with a German girl and courts her.  Her Prussian ex-soldier of a father totally disapproves and removes her to a secluded location far from Rome.  It's up to Cornelio to track down her whereabouts while Nino is singing in Paris and London.  The novel reads much like a Gothic opera plot, complete with dark castle in the hostile mountains of northern Italy.  While not a great novel, it certainly isn't a bad one.  There is much humour in the telling, as Cornelio is against Nino's singing as well as his courting.  A older wandering violin virtuoso, who is also a rich Russian banker, also has hopes of landing the daughter for himself, after falsely pledging to help Nino win her.  It was a fun book to read, though hardly one that I would casually recommend.  There are better ones by the author.

 

     

Lastly this month comes Lord Dunsany's 1935 novel Up In The Hills.  The entire novel is told tongue in cheek by the narrator, but is true to its source.  The novel has a totally bizarre opening, with several archaeologists from Liberia descending upon a lonely bog outside a tiny village in Ireland.  The events take place in 1922, just after the country has won its independence from England.  The Black explorers end up digging up human bones along with the pottery and spear tips that they find.  This brings out the local wise women, who put daily curses on the diggers.  This makes everyone in the village terribly afraid of the near future.  The young local lads (around 20 years of age) decided to take to the hills for a spell until the dig has ended or the curses have come true.  It doesn't take them long to become in a "war" with a neighbouring army.  Micky, the young leader of his army of 9 souls, is up against a true fighter who was renowned for fighting the British and his 100 or so lads.  But both armies are interrupted by the arrival of the more official Irish army, after reports of shots fired in the hills have come down to them.

Dunsany has an ear for how the Irish would talk, and it is both humourous and musical to read parts out loud to oneself.  Conversations, even serious ones, tend to be pretty funny in this story, especially the ones young Mickey has with his grandfather, a wise old one who advises Mickey throughout the story.  Highly readable, chalk this one up as just another truly odd story I have come across and dutifully reported to you, my readers.  Recommended, though even Dunsany fans may be surprised by this one.  Pleasantly surprised, I would hope.  I will also add that this is probably one of the most off-beat novels I have ever read.

 

Mapman Mike 

PC Woes

A few weeks ago we found a top flight gaming PC on sale, so we ordered it.  Deb spent the usual several hours setting it up, killing off the bloatware, and transferring our files from the older PC.  The new one has a much faster processor and a kick-ass video card.  Except that over two weeks the system crashed on us 6 or 7 times.  So Thursday it was back to the store with it.  It has been sent back to the manufacturer for repair.  We could have exchanged it for a new one, but decided to wait a week and get this one fixed, which would be far less work for Deb than starting all over with a new PC.  So the old one is back in service for a while.  It runs fine, but it is a bit on the slow side for some games, and the graphics card is quite outdated now.

 

Original plans had us leaving for Europe on Sunday and staying for two weeks.  However, it was not to be.  Deb took pretty long to recover from recent invasive medical tests, but that wouldn't have stopped us.  Her breathing difficulties seem to be exacerbated by her new RA drug.  And my foot is not yet ready for airports and London transport.  There is good news, however.  I am now walking daily again for up to half an hour, but still at slow speed (2.2 mph versus my normal 3.5 mph).  Foot pain has subsided but is still present.  The big toe feels like it is always sprained, most noticeable when walking on cement or asphalt.  Despite the improvements I will still attend my bone scan on Saturday in Windsor.  Anyway, we took a couple of walks near our local ponds this week, before the weather turned grouchy.  I also managed (so far) 4 astronomy outings in October.  I am very happy about that.

 

Hard to see, but a pair of swans were enjoying the warm autumn weather.

 

Since our walks early in the week the weather turned cold and windy, and we've been indoors a lot.  The wood stove is in action, but we spent time preparing the gas boiler for its seasonal labours. 

 

In movie news there are a few to report, including one that we saw a few weeks ago and I forgot to mention.  Though Hollywood often misses the mark with big budget pictures and actors, we quite enjoyed The Sandpiper (1965) starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.  She is a single mom living off grid on the California coast at Big Sur, in probably the best location for a house in the entire world.  She is an artist raising a 9 year old boy.  When he gets into minor trouble one time too many, the local judge orders him sent a boarding school.  It is run by Richard Burton, playing a married religious man.  Of course they fall in love and all the rest of the Hollywood crap, but there are some memorable scenes.  In one of them Taylor could be talking about herself in real life as she describes how men have hounded her since she was 12, and that she doesn't want to be tied down to any kind of normal life.  We're with you, Lizzie!  Burton's character, despite being happily married, can't keep his lust at bay when near Taylor, and the ending is a strained one for all concerned.  This is a beautiful colour film to watch, and it does carry an emotional impact.  Altogether very well done.  And of course that famous song, "The Shadow of Your Smile" by Johnny Mandel...

 

A Hollywood film worth catching on a big screen. 

A Chinese Ghost Story 2 is from 1990, with the same characters (and a few new ones) keeping things lively and pretty funny.  If you liked the first one (we did) then the 2nd one will contain much of the same things.  Good effects and the sad and tragic love story keep the pace lively and interesting, up to a point.  Having seen two of these things, and knowing that a 3rd one awaits, I can't say I'm terribly excited.  Still, there are worse ways to pass the time, and obviously a lot of stunt work and fun effects went into this feature.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Lastly comes Robert Altman's Gosford Park, from 2001.  With an all star cast, it's kind of a mash up of Renoir's Rules of the Game, and the Upstairs Downstairs series for TV.  It inspired Downton Abbey to be created, and is well worth watching.  There are so many characters involved, each with their own mini-plot, that the pace is very quick and the time flies past (135' running time).  The events take place over a weekend of "shooting", as a ton of birds are massacred by the gentry for the sake of a pleasure outing.  There is so much story, given out in pieces separated by pieces of other stories, that one has to really pay attention to keep track of all the happy people (sarcasm, dear readers) and their doings.  There is also a murder, with Stephen Fry recreating Monsieur Hulot as an ineffective detective.  Great fun by a master director.

 

Leaving Criterion Oct. 31st.  

 

Mapman Mike  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Myst 2024

I have now completed all of the Myst versions for PC that I know of.  I played the original way back when.  It came on a single CD.  I was mesmerized.  It was rendered in 256 colours.  Then came Myst Masterpiece, rendered in thousands of colours.  Eventually, a long time later came RealMyst.  The slide show format was gone forever, and though the game ate a lot of computing power back then, I managed to get through it several times without a crash.  I still love that version and will replay it many more times, I hope.  It introduced the day/night cycle to Myst, and I still love sitting upon Myst Island and watching the sunrise, moonset, sunset and moonrise.  It also introduced a new age!

Now we come to Myst 2024, which was originally conceived for VR (someday, perhaps!).  I guess they figured that it wouldn't sell many copies, so they also produced a new PC version.  Gone is the day/night cycle, and we are stuck with what we get.  Now for the good and the bad.  First the bad.  Out of the six areas one can explore (the island, the original four worlds, and the new world Rime), two are quite disappointing, one is at least equal to the other versions, and three of them hit the jackpot for atmosphere and effect.

 

 

Now for the two disappointments.  Myst Island is quite a disaster.  Usually it's one of my favourite places to hang out, but this game makes me want to get away from it as soon as possible.  It is overlit, and even the shadowy areas offer no respite.  In an attempt to create atmosphere, everything is overdone.  Each scenario has mist upon the water, and sometimes upon the landscape.  Even that doesn't help the bright afternoon sunlight we are relentlessly faced with.  The less said about this the better.  My guess is that with VR a lot of light is needed, at least at first while players get used to the environment.  There is very little that is mysterious here on arrival.  I will make a general positive comment at this point, however.  ALL interiors are very well done throughout the game, including the library, tower, various bedrooms, tunnels etc.  A lot of work went into texture and lighting.

 

 Disappointment number two is, unfortunately, often the favourite world for players.  Yes, Channelwood is a mess.  Again the lighting is too strong, the sound effects are bad and we have a few tiny frogs hopping along the walkways and jumping into the water.  The bottom of the trees are rendered okay, I suppose, but the branches with leaves are atrociously done.  The windmill looks good, and the interior rooms are beautifully done.  Of course these were the two areas I played first, so I nearly gave up at this point.  However, I decided to at least have a quick peek at the other worlds before panning the game totally.  I'm glad I did.  Whereas the most recent version of Riven was perfect from the get-go, Myst already had some serious flaws.  I spent very little time in Channelwood, and have no urge to return in this version of the game.

 

I next went to the Mechanical Age.  Finally I felt as if I was playing Myst again!  Though there was nothing too surprising here, at least everything looked right and felt right.  The mist on the water was peaceful and I felt that I could watch the clouds pass overhead for some time.  Throughout the game there were small changes, most of which improved on the original game, and most often with the puzzles.  All of the puzzles are essentially the same, however, so that old walkthru you might still have can still be used. 

 

  

Feeling buoyed by my visits ( went back for each page here) I moved on to the Stoneship Age.  Jackpot!   While I love the thunderstorm in RealMyst, I never felt like standing around outside very much.  The sky here is glowering and stormy looking, but it doesn't rain.  The sea looks menacing, and the lighthouse is a welcome retreat.  The upper area has been changed, and one can now walk all around once up top.  Nearly every viewpoint gives wonderful atmospheric views.  There are some fun additions once the underwater lights are turned on, too.  I really loved my time spent here, and again went back for both pages.

 

 

The Selenitic Age is another marvel of design, colour and atmosphere.  While the old sounds have been kept, the age has been given a perfect makeover.  It is foggy and quite dark here, and the lights on bridges and pathways enhance the chilly, damp atmosphere.  I always liked to hang out up in the forest by the little waterfall, and this area has been done to perfection!  The designers have done a perfect job here.  Bravo again!

 

 

Now we come to Rime, the add-on age from RealMyst days.  I always loved it here. but found it rather cramped.  Playing with the aurora machine always gave me a rush.  The age has been expanded slightly, and still feels as cold as ever.  There are several new areas to enjoy a chilly nighttime walk.  Best of all, once the aurora have been set in motion, they continue on indefinitely, so that one can walk around again under different coloured lights.  Sharp-eyed folk will also spot a whale surfacing!  The interior cabin areas have been expanded and enriched, and Rime is now an age on equal footing with the other worlds.

 

 

So there you have it.  Two dud worlds, one "B" and three "A+s".  I will revisit my favourites again before unloading this version and uploading RealMyst for another go.  Playing the latest versions of Myst and Riven has been a gaming highlight for me this year!!

 

In other gaming news I have upgraded to the brand new Train Sim World 6, with three routes.  With each edition of the game the routes are longer and more complex.  I can still drive classic engines, though I choose not to drive steam (way too complicated).  But I love the early diesels, especially the British ones that chug their way through stations hauling classic passenger cars filled with tourists, and belching smoke and fumes as we go, especially uphill.  I now have nearly 40 routes to drive, with well over a hundred engines, each with their own timetable.

 

We just upgraded the main computer as well, to an up to date gaming machine.  With a super fast processor and a top notch video card, we are good to go for many years.

 

In movie news there are three to report.  Most recently we finished a brand new (2025) documentary on the brief life of John Candy, the Canadian comedian who won fans wherever he went.  We first met him in the SCTV series, still probably our favourite comedy show of all time.  Many of his films, especially Planes Trains and Automobiles remains one of the best holiday films ever made.  Interviews with John's wife and two children, as well as with virtually every comedian he ever starred with (think Stripes, for one).  A must see film for fans.  Even if you don't think you are a fan, you will be after seeing I Like Me.  It is showing on Prime.

 

A terrific and moving tribute to the great man.  Showing on Prime. 

 

Still Life is a 2006 film from China.  It takes place during the building of the three Gorges Dam, when cities were being evacuated and pulled down.  Two love stories intertwine in the area, as one man leaves his village after 16 years to finally search for the wife that left him.  She took his baby daughter with her, and he wants to see her.  The second story is about a woman who comes looking for her husband, who has been out of contact and away from her for two years.  The backdrop of the city and some of the remaining people (most of them are employed to demolish the buildings, using sledge hammers) is the main story, however, as we watch a way of life disappear forever.  Well worth sitting through, it has some odd moments as well (a ufo sighting, and a large monument taking off into space, to name two).  It is leaving Criterion Oct. 31st.

 

Leaving Criterion Oct. 31st. 

 

A Chinese Ghost Story is from 1987, and is a kind of wuxia/horror/comedy film.  It was made in the same year as The Princess Bride, and seems to share a similar type of humour and overall outlook.  While some of the jokes are crude and fall flat, many hit the target.  An innocent and child-like man attempts to save a dead princess (yup).  Other ghosts have different ideas, but with the help of a martial arts/wizard master, the man helps battle the forces of evil when he not trying to run away.  The ending is somewhat unexpected, as guy does not get girl.  But wait--there are two more film sequels.  Stayed tuned.  This was a fun film to watch and I am looking forward to the 2nd one, which was made three years later.

 

Now showing on Criterion.
 

 In final news Deb had a couple of invasive medical tests today.  One was negative and one turned up something that might help explain many of her symptoms.  More later.  

 

In final final news, here is a picture of our front garden.  It's sunny today and quite warm, but that should be changing very soon.

 

Happy October! 

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

Back From Sudbury

We left for the north last Wednesday, poking along for a day in southern Ontario and staying overnight in Collingwood.  We made stops in Alvinston (Munroe Meadery) and Thedford (Twin Pines Orchard).  The latter was a first time visit, as they make hard cider from their own apples.  I came home with a jug of their original cider, as they were out of apple/pear cider.  We arrived in Collingwood just before 5 pm, checked into our hotel, and then undertook the short walk to Endswell Beer.  We had fine ales here and pizza, then took a sunset stroll on the adjacent trails.  Collingwood is a major ski resort in winter, but it sits right on Georgian Bay, so it is also a boater's paradise in summer.  There is hiking in the nearby mountains (we could see the ski runs from our hotel window), but my foot is still not up to the challenge.  However, on this 6 day journey I did manage 4 walks, two of them for forty minutes.  I had intended to take a lot of photos on this journey, but alas I forgot my camera at home.  So these few photos were taken with the android phone.

Three photos from our walk in Collingwood.  that's me in the 2nd photo, and that is part of Georgian Bay in the last one. 

 

Next day we drove to Coldwater, a small and pretty village that is a favourite stop of ours when northbound.  They have a nut roastery there that always gets our business, and a small street of very interesting shops.  Deb was able to buy an old suitcase that she needs for an upcoming film shoot.  We stayed for about half an hour before pushing on north.

 

A decorated shop in Coldwater.

 

The old mill has been kept up and is now a bar and restaurant that also sells deli items.

 

The Coldwater River flows beside the 1833 mill in the downtown area of Coldwater. 

 

Shortly after leaving Coldwater and heading north drivers cross a large bridge over an inland bay (Matchedash Bay).   Almost immediately afterwards comes another bridge with very fine views of Georgian Bay.  Immediately after this bridge one suddenly finds oneself in Northern Ontario, amidst the Canadian Shield.  It is a sudden and shocking change of scenery, and from here on north as far as one wishes to go are the thousands of lakes, rocks, and mountains of the Shield.

    We stopped again in Parry Sound for ales from Trestle Brewing, and this time finally made our first stop at Norse Brewery, several miles north of the the Sound.  Then it was a straight run into Sudbury, which is about 440 miles from our house in Amherstburg when the quickest route is chosen.  Usually heading home we take the fast route, which takes about 8 hours if traffic isn't too bad.  For European readers, this 8 hour and some 440 mile drive only covers a small portion of Ontario.  To drive to Kenora, near the border with Manitoba, from Sudbury would be another 900 miles.  Ontario is absolutely enormous, and would fit many countries into its borders.  It is also filled with parks, so that many of the best natural areas are accessible to the public.

    We got to visit with my mother (96!), my younger brother Steve, his wife Lynne, and my two nieces.  Alicia is the oldest, a soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces.  Emma Lee is the youngest, currently in Grade 11 at a high school for girls.

    We also visited Lake Penage, Deb's first visit in many decades.  We were actually given a tour of the inside by Tony, the current owner.  He has done a beautiful job with the camp, which is now accessible for most of the year.  My cousin still owns the adjacent lot with two camps, but he wasn't there today.

    It was unseasonably warm on our visit north.  Though the leaves were changing to fall colours and the smell of autumn was in the air, it was in the 80s so it didn't feel quite right.

 

Found near Norse Brewery, Nobel ON.

 

A walking trail in Sudbury that we take to reach Beard's Cafe and Bakery, and all-vegan establishment.

 

View from the deck at camp, Lake Penage.  Now owned by Tony and his wife, this is where I grew up during summers since the age of ten.  The lake is still clear and clean and very very inviting. 

 

We got to watch some TV while visiting family.  We don't subscribe to either Netflix or Disney, but they do.  We managed to finish up season 15 of Dr. Who, and are now all caught up with the series.  We also watched an 8 part series on Netflix called House of Guinness, detailing the history of the great Irish brewery from the death of Benjamin (1868) onward.  The series has good actors, some very fine writing (though it includes more F bombs than any other show I've ever watched), and some of the best night photography I've ever seen.  While I can highly recommend the series, beware that the final episode ends in a really stupid cliff-hanger.  While there will probably be a season two, it's still a terrible way to end a series that people have watched for nearly 8 hours.

 

Now showing on Netflix.  It's an 8 part series. 

 

Turning to Doctor Who, we managed to finish up the 2nd series with Ncuti Gatwa, watching episodes 3-8.  They were all pretty good, with Disney's budget allowing the show to at least equal the effects of Star Trek and its ilk.  These stories were usually much better than Star Trek, too.  The final two episodes were linked, and made a fine conclusion to Gatwa's era.  He is among my favourite doctors now, with an energy and outlook that really boosts the show.  And Varada Sethu as Belinda, his companion for several episodes, is now one of my favourite companions.  The 5th episode, "The Story and the Engine" is set in a barbershop in Lagos and features an all-coloured cast.  It uses mythology heavily in its storyline and to great advantage.  "The Interstellar Song Contest" could have used more alien songs, though it was a fun episode.

It was exciting to see Susan helping the Doctor to control his temper.  We have heard nothing of his granddaughter since she left the show back in the days of the first doctor.  She is way overdue for a reappearance.  I can't say I got too excited when I saw Billy Piper at the end of the series. A third season with Disney is likely, though I would guess that the show is far too "woke" for the present state of American entertainment.  I suppose the return of a blonde white female might be just what Disney needs to convince it to undertake another season.

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 

 

September Reading Summary

I gave Tubb and Bulmer a miss this month so that I could fit in a long read by Moorcock.  I won't do that again for some time.  In fact, I only have one more Moorcock book on my shelf.  As with Piers Anthony, I have likely run my full course with the author.

From the year 2000 comes Michael Moorcock's King of the City, a 421 page small print hardcover that purports to be a novel.  With 27 chapters, several of which are very long, it took me 10 1/2 days to get through this mess.  If you only read chapters 1, 25, 26, and 27 you won't be missing a thing, and the story might actually make sense.  I think that Moorcock is attempting to channel Iain Banks, who wrote some of the finest and much more timeless novels of contemporary times.  He fails miserably.  Most of the book is filled with name dropping, which won't mean anything today to many readers, and absolutely nothing to younger readers.  Moorcock's biggest fantasy yet is that he seems to want to be a rock star and musician (the two often do not go together), and so his drugged out avatar Denny Dover gets to play in the greatest rock concert since Hitchhiker's Guide (oh wait, that might have been in the future).  But it's meaningless to him since the girl of his dreams is giving him the frozen shoulder.  The problem with "contemporary" fiction, that is fiction that uses real people and real events, almost immediately dates itself.  Published a year before 911 events, the big deal here is the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.  The big war going on is the Bosnian War, which most people today have completely forgotten or never heard of.  The big genocide event was in Rwanda, again mostly forgotten today.  Events in the story were upended by 911, the two wars against Iraq, the Afghanistan affair, President Trump, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the civil war in Sudan, and on and on.  Perhaps if I'd read the story 25 years ago I might have felt different about the book.  But I doubt it.  It is poorly written, a sad imitation of James Joyce's Ulyssess in places, and mostly gives us the thoughts of a crude though half intelligent paparazzi (Dennis Dover) and the people he most interacts with.  Though he makes continuous fun of magazines like Hello! and People, the author gives us his own version of the same, and much of it is incoherent.  Sometimes writers write to impress other writers, friends, and a certain type of (clueless?) reviewer.  His audience for this novel must be a very small one.  Not recommended, though there are a few very funny passages that break up the monotony.  And the first chapter and the last three are quite good.  It even has a happy ending, a sort of utopia that came about rather unexpectedly at the very end.

 

James Branch Cabell's sublime novel The Cords of Vanity is from 1909.  I first came into contact with this author as a teenager collecting Lin carter's Adult Fantasy series.  Carter published several novels by Cabell.  At the time I didn't like them and didn't "get" them.  Rereading them in later years I came to appreciate the incredible talent of this writer, almost forgotten today.  I was so pleased when Delphi Classics came out with his complete works!  This novel follows an idle and selfish young man in his various love affairs, and can seem at times like Oscar Wilde prose.  The wit is similar, as well as the understatement when dealing with emotions.  We begin with Robert (Robbie) Townsend's first love as a boy in his early teens, and follow him through to his disastrous 26th year.  That is the year that Robbie (hopefully) grows up and becomes a man.  The tragedy at the very end comes as a big surprise.  I had to read it twice to make certain I'd read it correctly at first.  I had.  A stunning novel, and worth many readings.

 

Ashes of Empire continues the tale of the invasion of France and the siege of Paris by the Prussians in 1870-71.  Robert Chambers' three novels give a complete chronicle and insider's view of those devastating events.  This novel, from 1897, was the last to be written on the subject.  However, to read them chronologically (I didn't) begin with Lorraine.  Next comes The Red Republic and finally Ashes of Empire.  Though Chambers is remembered more for his spine tingling tales, including The Yellow King series, his knack for historical fiction is quite amazing.  What struck me again and again as I read these 3 novels over a period of about 2 1/2 years was how much of this kind of murderous nonsense still continues today.  The novel is written in such a modern style that it hasn't dated much, and the basic facts of the war in France remain accurate.  By adding fictional characters, in this case two American reporters and twin sister from Breton who are in Paris, the emotional depth of what was occurring really strikes home.  The girls arrived in Paris to look after their uncle's pet shop after he died.  While the birds were released just before the siege, the lion (very tame), monkey and tropical bird had to be sent to the zoo in order to be fed.  One feels just as sorry for the lion as one does for the suffering people, as it is badly affected by the sound of canon fire.  I highly recommend the entire series, available very inexpensively as part of the Delphi Classics series for Kindle.  Then you can also read the King in Yellow, another must read.

 

Pearls Are a Nuisance is a novella from 139 written by Raymond Chandler.  It's an amusing and quite short read, as the detective strives to find missing pearls, which he knows are fake.  With very few characters in the story, it isn't too difficult to figure out who done it, but Chandler throws out all the roadblocks and red herrings that he can.  A fun story to read, and though it isn't classic noir, the style is spot on.  Recommended.

 

Uncollected Short Stories by Kate Chopin.  There are 44 of these small treasures, and it will take them 11 at a time.  

"Wiser Than A God" (1889) tells the story of Paula Von Stolz, who wishes to become a concert pianist.  She is highly sought after by George, an agreeable man, who eventually proposes marriage.  Paula realizes that if she accepts, it will likely be the end of her career chances.  What will she do?  Hint:  this is Kate Chopin writing, one of the earliest female writers to stand up for women.

"Emancipation: A Life Fable" is the story of an unnamed creature accidentally freed from its cage and venturing out alone into the big wide world.  The story can be taken as allegory for any number of situations, including and not limited to an animal becoming free to roam, a woman coming from from her closed environment, or a slave being freed and having to face life on his or her own.

"A Point At Issue" (1889) is a sweet tale of a husband and wife who appear to be in love and a perfect emotional and intellectual match for one another.  While their post-marriage relationship appears strange to outsiders (including readers), it works out well for them, until the big change finally comes.  A lovely story.

"Miss Witherwell's Mistake" (1889) is a humourous tale about a 19 year old girl suddenly showing up at her aunt's house, in a small town far from where she grew up.  What is her reason for being there?  The reasons she gives her aunt seem plausible enough, but eventually we learn the truth.  Another sweet story and not without humour..

"With The Violin" (1889) is a truly Victorian tale, as a grandfather tells his young grandchildren a true story of how a handsome young musician and his music saved the life of someone who was at the very end of his rope.

"Mrs. Mobry's Reason" (1893) is a tragic tale of a woman's attempt to keep her son and daughter from marrying.  Readers will assume that the woman is just being too possessive and selfish, but we don't find out the sad truth until the very end.

"The Going Away of Liza" (1892) Liza left her husband suddenly one day.  This is the story of her unexpected return.

"The Maid of St. Philippe" (1892) is a tale of the early settler days.  A French town musts evacuate as the land has been turned over to the English.  One young resourceful woman and her father refuse to leave.  When he dies she has several options from which to choose.  She chooses the one that suits her best, alarming her friends.

"A Shameful Affair" (1893) A 19 year old girl visiting a farm becomes obsessed with a handsome young farmhand.

"A Harbinger" (1891) is a very short tale about an artist who paints a beautiful girl's portrait one summer.  He thinks of her often over the winter and returns the following summer hoping to win her as his wife.

"Doctor Chevalier's Lie" (1893) A doctor in a poor and rough area of a town comes across a victim whom he had personally known.  He writes to the parents regarding the bad news, lying to them about the cause of her tragedy.

 

I finished the month with another story by The Old Sleuth.  A Desperate Chance, Or The Wizard Tramp's Revelation is from 1897.  This is an adventure tale rather than the usual mystery story.  It begins in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains as a young man teams up with an old timer to look for gold.  They in turn hook up with a third member.  The young man finds a stash of gold and he is sent back East to attend university.  He has an adventure on the train ride home with some card sharps, and eventually makes it to university.  This story is a bit unusual from the mystery stories I have read by the author previously, and not nearly as interesting.

 

I finished up the month with Meteor Menace, a Doc Savage adventure from 1934.  A long time ago I purchased a ten-pack of these fun pulp SF novels, and read one of them occasionally.  As a young teen I read nearly the entire canon, over 80 novels.  This is one of the better entries in the vast series.  An ancient meteor that crashed into Tibetan mountains has been harnessed for evil purposes by a brilliant professor, and Doc and his gang of 5 assistants have to stop him.  A beautiful girl figures into the plot, and for a time readers are led to believe that Doc is engaged to her.  As if.  He even blushes slightly at one point.  The tale begins in Chile before moving to Tibet for the finale.  Doc's list of scientific gadgets and weapons would make James Bond envious.  An exciting adventure, and Doc really does get his clothes tattered, too!

 

Cover art from 1964 paperback edition by James Avati.
 

 Mapman Mike 

  

The Return Of The World Travellers

 After a one year hiatus, mostly due to health reasons, our travel life has resumed.  Deb was invited to an animation festival in Toronto, strangely enough called "Toronto Animation Festival" and felt well enough to attend.  It had been two years since she had accepted such an invitation from the many festivals that invite her.  We chose to go by train, leaving Thursday morning from Windsor and arriving back where we started Friday afternoon.  Not much of a journey, I'll admit, but it's a start!  Toronto comes very close to being a Hong Kong look-alike.  With a metropolitan population hovering around 6 million, at least half must be Asian.  There is block after block of noodle shops and restaurants from all across Asia.  Whereas Detroit has added 5 or 6 new tall buildings in the past few years, Toronto has added over a hundred.  Many of them are condos and apartments in the downtown area, making for a very animated city night and day.

It was a cloudy and stormy arrival day.  Our hotel room overlooked Lake Ontario (That's Toronto Island back there) with a busy boating schedule.  Bottom right is the brewery. 

View east from our 7th floor hotel room window.  We were just at the foot of the CN Tower and the baseball stadium, so it was a very busy area.

 

There were two ales for me and two for Amanda.

We chose business class on Via Rail, and though it's on the pricey side we both felt it was worth it.  We received our vegan meals, and there were free beverages, including alcohol.  There is also a very nice v.i.p. lounge at Union Station in Toronto.  We arrived in the big city in early afternoon, and it was a short walk to our Radisson Blu Hotel.  We never stay at expensive big city hotels, but we had enough points from past trips at smaller hotels, mostly in the US, to enjoy a free night at rather nice joint.  Just opposite our hotel was Amsterdam Brewery.  Amanda met us there for some refreshment before we headed uptown for dinner.  Her boyfriend, Bill, would meet us later at the cinema, as would two very old friends of mine, Bill Smith and Dino, who was my best friend growing up in Sudbury.

 

We ate at a Chinese veg restaurant called Veggie Delight, which was about a 15 minute walk to the cinema afterwards.  The food was really good, and as I was served a virtual mound of tofu with my entree, all three of us ate it up eventually.  Deb had a bowl of soupy noodles, while Amanda had a steaming veggie dish served over crispy rice.

 

The event was held in a small theatre, and there were six of us as a group.  There were probably about 40 people in all, and ten animated short films were shown.  Deb's film "Once Upon A Time", with her original song as the base, was easily the best film overall.  It looked really fantastic on a big screen, and the sound was perfect, too.  Others had some very good music, but the animation did not measure up.  A few were too long.  One had totally fantastic animation, but the song was a really bad religious one.  Afterwards Deb and two other filmmakers who attended did a Q & A for about 30 minutes.  After the show we tried to find a bar but everything was jammed up tight.  So we just ended by splitting up into our three groups and going home.  We managed to hail a cab just as the rain began to pelt down once again.  We were soon snug in our room, very tired.

 

Three filmmakers at the Q & A.

 

Deb answers a skill testing question from the audience.

 

Back of head from l to r: me, Dino, Bill Smith.  Photos by Amanda, who sat just behind us with her own version of Bill. 

 

I must have walked several miles on Thursday, and much to my great surprise my toe did not hurt!  Does this mean we might be able to squeeze in a trip to London or Vienna before Christmas?  Stay tuned to this channel to find out.

 

Friday morning we got up late, checked out and wandered towards the train station.  We ate breakfast in the special lounge, then boarded our comfy train car ahead of the mob.  The trip home was quiet and relaxing, again with a decent vegan meal served us.  Once in Windsor (the train was 30' late) it was a 31' drive home through Friday rush hour traffic.

 

What's next for the world travellers?  A trip to Sudbury very soon to visit family.  And likely something bigger after that.

 

Mapman Mike