London has its Queen, and Detroit had one, too. In one of the biggest funerals the city has ever seen (Rosa Parks also lived and died here), Aretha Franklin was laid to rest today. She is in the main Detroit cemetery, the one we visit every Day of the Dead. It might be arguable as to which Queen gave more to her people. My money is on Aretha. The outpouring of love for her over the past week has been remarkable, and her funeral was carried live worldwide. We wisely went to Detroit yesterday for our errands. Here are some photos from today's London Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/gallery/2018/aug/31/funeral-of-aretha-franklin-in-pictures
A new vegan restaurant opened yesterday in Detroit, and we tried to get in for lunch. There was no parking, the place was jammed, and there was a wait. We will try again another day. Yet another vegan restaurant is set to open this winter, this one in Mextown. It will feature vegan tacos. And very soon another Windsor vegan restaurant will open! Good times for vegans, even in one-time lunch bucket towns.
We have watched some remarkable films lately on amazon Prime, all of them from India. Here is a brief list: they are all worth seeking out. Siddharth tells of a man's search for his missing 12 year old son. Crossing Bridges is about a man returning to his home village deep in the mountains of north eastern India, among the seven sister provinces. I knew nothing about this part of India before watching the movie, and it proved to be a revelation. Astu--So Be It tells the tale of a one-time brilliant professor, now suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and who wanders off from his family in the middle of the city. Lastly comes Amal, a truly wonderful tale of an auto-rickshaw driver in the big city, and the small but vital role he plays within his society.
Possibly my favourite movie poster ever.
Tuesday, August 28th/18
Some good news today from the Cindependent film Festival folks: Deb's Essentially Alys film won 1st prize in its category, which was Off-Kilter Shorts. Not the first time this film has won best of, and hopefully not the last! Woot!
Not so good news on the piano teaching front--so far a large percentage of my students will not be returning this year for lessons. I am not going to cry aobut it; I would rather have the evenings free at this stage of my life. Perhaps a return to Iaido, and certainly more writing and music listening.
Sunday, August 26th/18
This is a quick update to say that we are back from Cincinnati and its really fun independent film festival. Deb had a great time, meeting many different people, and her "Essenntially Alice" movie was very well received. All the screenings had large audiences, mostly very appreciative. I'll have more to say later in my Midwestern Cities blog (see left margin).
We spent two nights in this great town, courtesy of the Cindependent Film Festival. This tee shirt was in a window near the Woodward Theatre, where most screenings took place.
In the Woodward Theatre lobby before the screening of Deb's "Essentially Alys."
Deb checks out the film schedule in fronto of the historic Woodward Theatre, Cincinnati.
Friday, August 17th/18
It's been among the most humid summers we have ever had, and though it began very hot at least the temps have backed off. But the humidity is unrelenting, and basically ruined the August astronomy session. It's also been difficult to get out and walk every day. It is actually hard to breathe most mornings.
We are a week away from our two-night visit to the Cincinnati International Film Festival. We have received two $250 VIP passes, as well as two nights at an expensive boutique hotel downtown. Cincinnati is about a five hour drive from Detroit, all on one highway, south of us. In addition, we are now one month away from the big NM trip. Originally planned with another couple and two vehicles, we are now travelling alone. It will interrupt my teaching in September, but that's the way autumn is going to be from now on.
Speaking of teaching, I was supposed to have 5 full-time students this summer. How about one? The others have only come twice so far. I'm not complaining, but rather enjoying the break.
Several years ago I became a sort of pen pal with a young woman from the Midlands in England. Our discussions were usually based on fantasy literature. She went to university in York. She just recently finished her studies, and has become a clinical psychologist. Dr. Steele is now in the process of moving to London to begin her practice. Pretty cool!
Saturday, August 11th/18
It's been an unusual week, but things have settled back to normal here at the Homestead. Practicing is going well, memorization not so well. Sigh. We are into our walking program again, in preparation for next month's hikes in NM. We have dates with three mountain summits!
Deb was in Lindsay to visit her Mom on her 90th birthday. Deb's two older sisters were also there. Sharon had just returned from a long journey to Europe, various destinations, while Stephanie flew in from her retirement home in Merida, Yucatan. The four of them had not been together for many years.
Deb has four films showing at three festivals this weekend. Two of her comedy shorts were shown today at the Red Skelton Festival, in his home town in Indiana. She also has films being shown in New Jersey and New York! In two weeks we will be in Cincinnati for an event there, too. We could be attending festivals nearly every month, sometimes more frequently, like this month!
The August astronomy session has been a bust. Any clear nights we have received (and they have been very, very few) have been all but wiped out by high humidity and gathering haze. The equipment becomes soaking wet, and the secondary mirrors fog up. We have not had one cool, very clear night yet!
Friday, August 3rd/18
I only knew three of my grandparents. My paternal grandfather passed away when my Dad was seven, and though my Grandmother remarried and I always thought of Henry as my grandfather, I knew little to nothing about my real grandfather, including what he looked like. On my recent visit to Sudbury, I noticed a photo of him hanging in Dad's den, so I took a photo of the photo. Here it is...
The one and only known photo of my paternal grandfather. Dad didn't even know he had been in the military until he saw this photo a few years ago.
Deb's "Alice" film was accepted a while back in the Cincinnati Independent Film Festival, and they recently awarded her two VIP passes for the late August event ($250 each!), along with two nights at a downtown boutique hotel (value around $600!). So in a few short weeks we will be off to Cincinnati. It will our first visit since 2012, when she won her age group in the half marathon race walk. She will attend filming events; I will revisit the Museum of Art, as well as explore two large used bookstores downtown. I will join her for meals, and to view her screening. She is in with the best films, showing Friday night at 9:30 pm. We won't be back at the Homestead for long before we leave for our next NM adventure.
It is a very warm and humid start to the August astronomy session. Three clear nights are predicted this weekend. We will be leaving shortly for the observatory.
Monday, August 6th/18
Deb is off to Lindsay to visit with her mom and two older sisters. Lois turns 90 today! Happy birthday, Lois!! I brought Deb to the train station this afternoon. Once in Toronto, she transfers to a bus to Lindsay. She will come Wednesday, but fly from Toronto. I will meet her at the airport around 6 pm.
Our August mini-heatwave is currently being sapped by a round of stroms. We have had two so far, with a third in-coming. Despite the half inch of rain we have received so far, we are still far below average, and need the rain. While it rains here, a mile away it is still hot and dry. With our last three days reaching 90 f or above (32+ C), we have now done that 19 times so far this summer. It's a warm one, to be sure. On to more indoor activities...
Memorization of piano pieces is ongoing, be it ever so slow. I am working on the 2nd Bach piece, nearly half done. 4 of the 5 Haydn movements are memorized now, and I have started in on the Schumann, which consists of 12 smaller pieces. We'll see how much gets done before our departure for NM. Next storm approaching, so shutting down for now.
Mapman Mike
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