Holidays at Home

That was the plan at any rate.  Then Gustav decided to get completely constipated on Christmas Eve.  Off to the emergency vet in Windsor.  It was busy, and we were there from around 8:30 pm until 1 am.  Gustav stayed behind.  He spent all Christmas day there, and then at 3 pm Boxing Day we brought him home.  He is back to normal now, after $1350 in vet care.  Enough said.

Aside from that, and one short excursion to A'burg, we have been home.  Trying not to spend any money.  We met Amanda for coffee, and some beer at A'burg's downtown brewery, then came back here for dinner.  That has been the totality of our social life this holiday.  Almost overwhelming.  There has been lots of good eating (ginger cookies in the oven right now!), some good listening (Haydn, Brahms, Britten, Monteverdi, and currently some Chopin Nocturnes).  We've roasted some coffee beans, and of course watched some movies.  

Last week Deb chose La Nuit de Varennes, a unique look at the French revolution by Ettore Scola, a favourite director of ours. From 1982, we have seen this wonderful film before, but it has been many years.  Much of it takes place on a long carriage ride from Paris to Varennes, where the king is finally captured, after fleeing the palace.  The carriage riders are a fascinating group, and the actors are perfect.  Costumes are outstanding, as is the dialogue.  4 stars all the way!

 An outstanding film, during the day and night that Louis was captured. 

My choice was Zatoichi On The Road, #5 in the movie series.  It contains one of my favourite scenes from any Samurai film--the famous dragonfly fight scene.  The whole scene lasts about 10 seconds, and the fight about 2 seconds, as Zatoichi, alerted by the flight of a dragonfly to three enemies stalking him, dispatches them from a sitting position as a young girl clings to him.  A remarkable scene.

Zatoichi On The Road, #5 in the series. 

It is my turn for the end of the month film festival, and we are currently watching the 1930s Marcel Pagnol Marseille trilogy, and the many extras that come with it on Criterion.  I will post about them, as well as my December reading progress, in the next blog.  Meanwhile, winter has yet to arrive.  We had nearly an inch of rain today, and it is getting really foggy just now.  No real cold air until next week.  I can live with that.

Mapman Mike

 

Solstice 2019

It was an unusual holiday, but another great one.  For one thing, it was sunny and clear all day.  I also had a clear night Saturday, and enjoyed 3 hours of observing late autumn constellations.  We saw the sunrise Sunday morning, and the sunset Sunday evening.  Of about 40 winter solstices observed here, this might be the first one where we saw the sunrise and the sunset, clearly.  I managed to go for a long walk, too.  Usually we remain indoors all day.  Deb wasn't quite ready for walking yet, but she is healing well.  We enjoyed an all-day fire (furnace turned down, due to very mild temps), snacks, and an opera by Monteverdi.  We heard "The Return of Ulysses," written when he was 74.  A masterpiece that really made the day special! Early Baroque opera, at least as practiced by Monteverdi, is a very unique blend of recitative and aria, forever mixing.  One never knows what will come next.  The melodic writing is divine, and the orchestra arrangement by Raymond Leppard was perfect.  The composer only left the melodic lines and a bass line--the rest was meant to filled in by the conductor/arranger.

 Winter Solstice sunset on our fireplace, 5:03 pm.  The light illuminated all of our petroglyph panels, as well as our Kachina dancers print.

 Winter Solstice sunset from our south window, looking over the Detroit River.  It was also clear Sunday night, but I did not go observing.

 My assistant assists with my astronomy notes today.

Our unusual mild spell will continue until at least the end of the month, when more seasonal temps will return.  In the meantime, there are motorcycles out driving around, and the shipping lanes are full of freighters making last minute runs.  A memorable time, indeed.

Mapman Mike

Syberia 3

Ever wonder where those jets are coming from or going to, the ones you see pass overhead?  We are often on the arrival and departure path of many flights out of Detroit airport.  Well, now it's easy to find out using a website called flightradar24.  The free version is okay, but the silver version (cost $10 per year) is so much better.  Flights to Amsterdam (3x daily), London (2x daily), Paris (2x daily), and Frankfurt (1-2x daily) all seem to fly right over our house on departure.  The flights to Asia head the opposite direction, so we don't see those.  And of course any amount of flights to Mexico, the Caribbean, Canada, and all points US often fly over, too.  I just watched the plane to Amsterdam fly over, and as I type I am awaiting the giant Lufthansa plane on its way to Frankfurt.  From the moment when it begins to taxi (yup, you can watch that, too) till it arrives over our house is around 4 minutes time.  A fun hobby.  Typically, around 13-14 thousand planes are in the air at any given time, world wide.  That is a lot of jet fuel being burned at any one time.

Syberia 3 is finally complete.  Deb gave up on it about halfway through, but I managed to finish it.  The worst part of the game, well, there are several big problems, has to be the limited view the player has of his surroundings.  It's impossible to look all around without moving the character, and often that is a clumsy process, for example when in a room.  And sometimes Kate Walker will get stuck in a loop, and keep marching on the spot.  In outdoor environments it is hard to figure out one's surroundings because of the limited viewpoint.  If you do make a wrong turn, the game could begin one of its many very long loads for the new environment.  then you have to reload the old environment just to get back where you were.  And there are serious bugs, and the only solution offered is to download a saved game and jump to that spot.  It is a really long game, much of it due to the loading time for adjacent environments.  Add to that that the story is simplistic and not at all engaging, and the ending is terrible, and there is very little reason not to replay Syberia 1 instead of this game.  The final puzzle (image, below) is also quite silly, and once solved you have to sit through a long concluding movie.  And did I mention that you cannot save a game, but must wait for the engine itself to save at its appointed time?  This makes the final complex puzzle nearly impossible to solve without putting aside an entire evening.  If you stop anywhere, you have to restart the entire thing.  There are some lovely environments, but also too many dark, dreary, and dingy ones.

 The final puzzle, shown part way through.

Anyway, the game is complete, and I have moved on to a game called Nibiru.  Hoping this one has some good qualities to it. 

Deb has had her 2nd laser surgery today, and is resting comfortably in her big chair.  A few days to recover, and one more session in February, and hopefully her pain and discomfort will be fully alleviated.  She also had her RA infusion earlier in the week.  Luckily our weather has been calm.  No snow is in the forecast, thus it will be a brown Solstice and Christmas.  We are both fine with that.  Makes driving much less stressful.  And we are in for a mild spell.  Mid 40s predicted for Solstice on Sunday, making it one of the warmest ones ever.  We will likely turn down the furnace that day, as we will have our all-day fire.  We've seen a lot of sunsets lately, too, more than usual for this time of year.  The Sun is basically at its most southerly right now, and by Monday or Tuesday will slowly begin its journey northwards.  I might even enjoy a clear night tomorrow!

Finally, in movie news, my choice of films this week was the 2nd part of Chungking Express, which the director wanted to be part of one long movie.  Instead, he was persuaded to make a 2nd film, which also has two weird stories.  Whereas the first movie showed Hong Kong in daytime, and sunny, Fallen Angels shows the city at night, and during the rainy season.  The 2nd film is darker in many ways, and much more violent.  Both films have a kind of unfinished feel to them, with endings that can hardly be called satisfying.  Still, the movies are easy to watch, and the characters so bizarre that trying to figure out what is really going on is nearly pointless.  Sit back and watch, and hopefully enjoy.

Here is a quote from the director about the two films, which I borrowed from Wikipedia:

...To me, Chungking Express and Fallen Angels are one film that should be three hours long. I always think these two films should be seen together as a double bill. In fact, people asked me during an interview for Chungking Express: "You've made these two stories which have no relationship at all to each other, how can you connect them?" And I said, 'The main characters of Chungking Express are not Faye Wong or Takeshi Kaneshiro, but the city itself, the night and day of Hong Kong. Chungking Express and Fallen Angels together are the bright and dark of Hong Kong." I see the films as inter-reversible, the character of Faye Wong could be the character of Takeshi in Fallen Angels; Brigitte Lin in Chungking could be Leon Lai in Fallen Angels. All of their characters are inter-reversible. Also, in Chungking we were shooting from a very long distance with long lenses, but the characters seem close to us.  

 Now showing on Criterion Channel, along with Chungking Express. 

Happy Solstice to one and all!  Enjoy the dark days as much as possible, and have no fear, despite Trump and Brexit, the light will return, eventually.....

Mapman Mike

Sunday At The Homestead

Usually Sundays begin with either baked molasses French toast, courtesy of the master of the house, or whole grain nutty and fruity pancakes, courtesy of the mistress.  Three loads of laundry follow, and there is often some morning music (none today). It is too windy and bone-chillingly cold for a walk, so I went right to the piano after breakfast (pancakes), and Deb returned to her animation project.

Nearly every week, and sometimes twice, Deb wins a major animation award.  Her 2nd award of the week came in today, as her web series "22 Bones" won best web series at a major Australian festival.  My piano playing seldom wins awards, though it has happened in the past.  However, in order to win, one must enter competitions, and I haven't done that since my student days.  Anyway, my program is marching along.  I have increased my weekly practice time, and have begun narrowing my focus on the more difficult passages I need to master.  I am hoping for a January recital date, barring illness or injury.

I finished an excellent book by Hal Clement today (Still River), and we played a game of Middle Earth: The Wizards, which I lost by one point.  We also watched a movie.  Deb's film choice this weekend was called Gold Diggers of 1933, a Busby Berkley extravaganza starring Dick Powell, Joan Blondell (in one of her best roles), and gawky and awkward Ruby Keeler.  Comparable to 42nd Street, this one feels more like a play than that other great film, though many of the numbers are as spectacular.  The closing number is dedicated to the returning soldiers of WW1, who were scorned and forgotten by government, and often left on their own.  Definitely a film highlight, and worth watching.

Despite the cold weather coming in, and frequent minor snow squalls, it appears that we will have another white Solstice next weekend.  The longer that snow can be postponed, the better.  Our long delayed trip to Detroit is currently scheduled for Tuesday, after Deb's morning infusion.  A visit to two superb beer destinations is planned,and likely some other highlights as well.

The next painting to be featured from the DIA is, like the last one, by Oskar Kokoschka.  This one is an amazing masterpiece cityscape, and has long been a favourite of mine.  This is a large canvas, and very striking.  One is drawn directly to it when entering the gallery.  Last year we saw the magnificent painting of the same subject by Frederic Church, which normally resides in the art museum in Kansas City.  It would be amazing to see these paintings side by side.

 View of Jerusalem, Oskar Kokoschka, 1929-30.  Oil on Canvas.

31.5" x 50.5".  Detroit Institute of Arts.

 Detail of above.  The energy radiating from this painting is immense. 

Sunday evening, like all recent evenings, will conclude with some listening to recorded music.  Last night we heard the 2nd piano concerto of Brahms, a powerful work that grabs and holds the listener for a full 50 minutes.  Tonight we will be hearing Monteverdi's Magnificat For 6 Voices.  Can't wait!!

Hope your weekend was a great one, too!

Mapman Mike

Welcome to Brexit!

The UK has spoken, and spoken loudly.  Bye bye Europe.  And best of luck with those Donald Trump trade deals.  You'll need it.

It was another great full moon party, held Wednesday evening.  It was the coldest day and night of the season so far, and the wind was gusty.  No more snow as yet, and with some luck we will make it to Solstice without the white stuff.  The walking program continues as a result of clear sidewalks.  

Wednesday was also blood work day, for both of us.  Tuesday we returned the VW Tiguan to the dealer, as the 4-year lease had expired.  We now have a single vehicle, the VW Golf wagon.  Once astronomy season fires up, it's going to be a bit of a challenge with just one car.  But the way that greenhouses are popping up in our county, with lights on all night, I would say my astronomy days are nearly over anyway.  It's getting to be a sadder and sadder world each and every day.

This weeks movies were both in colour!  Diamantino was Deb's pick, a new film that just popped up on Criterion.  It began rather well, with a unique character.  But the movie soon fell into the modern plot trap.  Diamantino is the world's best soccer player, playing for Portugal.  But he misses his big shot at the world cup, and his team loses.  He gives up on soccer.  He is a very innocent man, who knows nothing about money or girls.  His money is looked after by his evil twin sisters.  He encounters refugees when on his boat, and he wishes to adopt one.  Instead, he gets a secret service undercover agent, trying to find out where he is laundering money.  Of course it's his sisters.  But the plot gets even sillier, and we are soon involved in a spy caper, with the Portuguese government secretly trying to clone Diamantino.  There are guns, of course, and violence.  The movie got ruined less than halfway through.  What began as something truly different just became the same old same old.  Watch the first half hour for some fluffy puppies that give Diamantino his luck at soccer.

My choice was Chungking Express, a Hong Kong film from 1994.  The film consists of two stories, both completely separate, but with both stories linked to a small take out restaurant in the market section of central Hong Kong. While both stories are interesting (there is considerable violence in the first story), the real star is Hong Kong itself.  This is not the glamourous banking and high rise version, but the real version where people live and work and shop.  The environment is like a very sunny and cheerful Blade Runner set.  In the second story, the main actress (Faye Wong) is a slightly off center young woman with a pixie hair cut, who slowly falls for, in her own strange way, a uniformed police officer that stops by for lunch where she works the counter.  Her character is hilarious, and though harmless, she does manage to upset things without meaning to.  There was to be a third story, too, but it was left out and became another move by the director, Wong Kar-Wai, called Fallen Angels (it's now in our queue).

It's fascinating to see the famous escalator in the movie, too.

The famous Hong Kong escalator features in the movie. 

 We are way overdue for a visit to Detroit.  Maybe this weekend.  Stay tuned.

M.

Approaching Solstice

Our sunsets are just about as far south as they go, with only a further 2 minutes to be shaved off sunset time.  By solstice we are getting about 9 hours of daylight, as opposed to the 15 we get at summer solstice.  And we've seen a few good ones from the south-facing window here at the homestead.

 Sunset showing the furthest southerly one.  The sun will continue to set at about this location for the next few weeks, before it begins its gradual return north.  View is from our south-facing window, overlooking the Native American cemetery across the road, and the Detroit River and Michigan.

 We've seen some beauties lately. 

For the 2nd half of my film choice for this week, we watched an oddball silent film by Chantal Akerman.  Hotel Monterey is the 2nd film by her we have seen.  It's an interesting experiment that requires some patience and calmness to get through, but it does ultimately offer rewards.  The camera is mostly still, showing different scenes from a NYC hotel in the 1970s.  Most of the imagery is like viewing a photo for a long period of time, sometimes several minutes.  The action sequences include riding up and down an elevator, picking up and dropping off people, and, near the conclusion of the one hour film, having the camera roll forwards and backwards as it captures various interior and exterior views.  Probably not a film people with claustrophobia would enjoy.  Many of the static compositions are highly artistic, and occasionally one thinks of Hopper's paintings.

The next two paintings I will illustrate from the DIA are by Oskar Kokoschka, an Austrian expressionist painter who died in 1980.  Detroit has one of the largest collections in the world of German and Austrian expressionist art, including four paintings by Kokoschka.  The artist lived in Dresden from 1917 to 1923.  Eventually all of expressionist art was rejected by the Nazis.  Detroit had a German museum director in the early 1930s, and it was he (Valentiner) that procured many of the unwanted paintings.  The director was also responsible for the incredible coup of landing Bruegel's Wedding Dance in Detroit. 

 The Elbe Near Dresden, Oskar Kokoschka, ca. 1921.  23" x 31", oil on canvas.  Detroit Institute of Arts.  

The bright colours and the blockish buildings remind me of a child's painting.  Unlike the Rousseau painting seen previously, there are no figures present here.  The river seems to be as turbulent as the sky, and the reflections add an eye-catching accent to this strange little work.  The detail below shows the broad brushstrokes, similar to those of the late Van Gogh.

 Detail of the central area, above. 

We are just a few days from having to return our VW Tiguan, as the lease expires on the 10th of this month.  We will be down to one vehicle, the Golf wagon, which will have to take on astronomy duty from now on, as well as any upcoming cross-country drives.  We will wait and see how that works out.

M.

 

Art and Film

The Environs of Paris, 1909.  Henri Rousseau.  18" x 22".  Detroit Institute of Arts. 

This odd little cityscape is one of two paintings by Rousseau in the DIA (the other is a flower still life), and it was painted one year before his death.  Nature has been reduced to some trees, the river, the sky and clouds, and some sand.  Industrial Paris dominates the scene, with smokestacks and chimneys rising to the sky.  The mast of the lone sailboat seems almost ludicrous by comparison.  The odd geometry of the buildings, as well as the use of flat colours, almost takes the picture into fantasy.  The silhouetted figures add a very inadequate human touch to the proceedings.  It's somewhat fitting that this picture ended up in Detroit, a city whose own industrial defamation of a great river is only now being rectified.  Watch out for some more cityscapes in the days to come.

There are several new exhibitions at the DIA, and a small exhibit on our painting by Bruegel will open soon as well.  We haven't enjoyed a Detroit day in far too long, and must get there soon to see the holiday lights and decorations, which are truly astounding.  Our weather of late, being cold, dark, damp, and dreary, has not been conducive to outdoor activities.

For this week's film I have chosen two shorter works.  Tonight we watched an episode of Adventures On The New Frontier, a TV documentary show from 1961.  This first episode is the only one available on Criterion, and is a 52' b & w look at a busy day in the oval office for the newly elected president John F. Kennedy.  It is a fascinating look into one of the most liberal and idealistic leaders the free world has ever produced.  Tomorrow we take on another film by Chantal Akerman, this one just over one hour long.  We'll see how that goes.  I am looking forward to it.

Having just finished my Atlantis/Stonehenge book by Harry Harrison and Professor Leon Stover, I learned more about those two subjects that I ever knew before.  How Stonehenge was built is no longer a mystery, nor why it was built, nor why there is an incised bronze Mycenaean dagger on one of the monoliths.  It certainly is not a calendar.  According to the professor, in an essay following the fictional story, due to chance there should be up to 48 solar and lunar predictions, accurate within 2 degrees.  And in fact, there are only 25 such line ups.  Similarly, there is no mystery to Atlantis, though due to an error in translation, the island was said to have been destroyed 9000 years earlier, when in fact it should have read 900 years (at the time, which was about 500 B.C.).  The island is Thera, which most people in the know have recognized for some time.  Anyway, the story is based on history and science, and was a great one.  No pansy Druids or fake crystals here.  It would be pretty difficult to argue with Professor Stover and his bibliography.

M.

November Reads

I read 7 books related to the Avon/Equinox authors, and 1 book that wasn't.  That one book was a SF novel of some length (over 300 pages) by Sherri Tepper, called After Long Silence (The Enigma Score in Britain).  It details life on a planet that may have intelligent life, in the form of crystals that grow to mountain size.  From 1987, it was my main read during my trip to Sudbury.  A pretty intelligent book, and definitely worth reading.  I gave my cope away to a Sudbury friend when I finished.

I began November near the end of my 16-book author rotation with a novel by Ballard, called  The Unlimited Dream Company, about a man who dies in a plane crash, but who then experiences a suitably strange after life.  This is a phenomenal book, spell binding from the first word onwards.  I took my time with it, which I always do with Ballard, as the novel is rich in imagery, and often requires pause to think about matters occurring.  So it was a great start to the month's reading! 

Next up was Barry Maltzberg's incomparable Gather In The Hall of Planets, about a SF writer attending a convention, and being told by aliens that if he doesn't discover who the alien is masquerading as, the world will be destroyed.  The book completely spoofs SF fans, cons, and is a very funny story.  I laughed at nearly every single dark-humoured page.  This is a book that a true fan of SF literature should read more than once. 

A cycle of reading is complete when I arrive at James Blish, long a favourite SF author.  I began rereading his Cities In Flight novels, likely the best SF series ever written.  The first novel, They Shall Have Stars, begins at the beginning, just as several major developments are about to come on-line, enabling travel to the stars.  The VR scenes on Jupiter are so far ahead of their time that they still resonate.  A true classic, and an excellent beginning to such a wonderful series of four novels.

Well, that makes for 3 books in a row to which I awarded 4 stars, from the Avon/Equinox authors.  What could top that?  Well, not the next book, which was a real clunker from Robert Silverberg.  Called The Seed of Earth, the first half is one of the most abysmal stories I have ever read.  The second half at least achieves average pulp standards.

After Silverberg comes Norman Spinrad.  I spent a huge chunk of the month reading his 500+ page novel called He Walked Among Us.  The premise is amazingly good, and this is the author's third attempt to help Earth avoid environmental catastrophe.  In the end, though, one tires of Spinrad's voice, and especially of one of the characters, the one from the underworld, so to speak.  I really wonder how many people actually finished this novel of those who started it.

I began a new series by Piers Anthony, a major author who I have come to like more and more.  His genius is undisputed, but sometimes he has difficulty expressing himself clearly and concisely.  God of Tarot is a kind of St Anthony in the wilderness story, and is quite well written.  However, I didn't feel totally engaged, instead feeling like an outsider watching things happen.  Perhaps just a bit too clinical.  Some stunning attacks against religion!

I'm running out of novels by John Christopher.  I have begun his Tripods series, with The White Mountains being the first book he published as an author for children.  This mixture of SF and fantasy serves as the template for virtually all of his youth novels.  I thought this was his last series written, because of the publication date.  But the books are reissues from the 60s, and were actually his first.  In my edition the author talks about his experience trying to get this book published in Britain and the US.

I am currently reading a Stonehenge book by Harry Harrison, which I will review soon on the Harrison page of my Avon/Equinox blog. 

Sunday afternoon was Philip Adamson's 6th concert in a years long series playing the 32 Beethoven Sonatas.  yesterday's program included the monstrously difficult Hammerclavier, lasting nearly 55 minutes.  It was a beautiful and magnificent performance!  Now that Philip has a bit of free time once again, I shall try and sneak in a lesson with him.  My own pieces are coming along, and might be up for a January performance or two.  We shall see how December goes.  Randy G. also attended the concert, and we went out for coffee afterwards.

Also on Sunday afternoon was Deb's appointment with a heart specialist from London, Ontario.  Basically they cannot go ahead with any treatment for her until she can provide an EKG strip during one of her episodes.  So we are going to work on that problem, and hopefully provide a strip on her next SVT attack. 

Sunday evening Amanda L came over for a visit, her first since last Christmas holiday.  We had a bit of catching up to do, and even found time to play a round of the Dr. Who card game!  Sunday was a busy day, and our most social in a long while.  I'm afraid we are becoming hermits. 

Last weekend was also Deb's choice for a film festival.  She chose three films directed by Anthony Asquith:  Pygmalion, The Woman In Question, and The Browning Version.  All three are remarkable films in some way or other.  These monthly mini-festivals are fun to have, and with nearly unlimited choice for grouping them, they should continue indefinitely.  Along with the listening programs we have going on, many pleasant evenings are being spent here at the Homestead.  We are prepared for winter nights.

M.

Dark Days Are Here

From the end of November until the middle of January, northern latitudes are at their darkest.  Daylight hours are greatly reduced, even in the southernmost part of Canada (Essex County).  Add to that fact that our area is at its cloudiest, and you have the makings of a depressing time of year.  It's a time of year that one really appreciates quality indoor activities, such as practicing piano, reading, watching great films, gaming, and even more writing.  The walking program is still in effect.  No more snow is forecast here in the near future, though Sudbury got walloped yesterday.

It's been nearly a week since Deb's first laser treatment.  No benefits noted yet, and she returns in 3 weeks for the second one.  The first one seems to have mostly healed, at any rate.  For my part, my right ear began plugging up just before the Sudbury trip, and is now mostly plugged once again.  It will likely remain that way until I give up all hope, then suddenly it will begin to clear again. 

We watched two movies of interest this past week.  Deb's weekly choice was "Boudu Saved From Drowning," an early film by Jean Renoir.  Michel Simon plays what might be one of the most easy to hate characters in all of film.  He plays a tramp who is saved from a suicidal drowning by a bourgeouis book seller, who lives with his wife and their maid.  Boudu proves to not only be ungrateful for the assistance they give him, but he turns all their lives upside down.  He is like a small cyclone that comes into their lives, disrupting everything, before heading back onto the street to live.  The film brings up the interesting question of how many homeless people, who, due either to mental illness or an unwillingness to conform to society's standards, do not fit in, never will fit in, and thus can never be confined to a house.  Many relatives of such people have tried many different ways to care for them, but without success.  It's a problem few people seriously talk about, but Boudu is the poster boy for this type of homeless person.  Anyway, the film cannot be said to be entertaining, as Boudu grates on everyone's nerves after a while, and needs to be punched.  But there are many amazing scenes, and several laugh out loud moments.

 Now showing on Criterion. 

My film choice was called Plucking the Daisy, and goes a long way to show why sexism is still alive and well in France today.  If people were brought up on movies such as this one, they can almost be excused their boorish behaviour towards women.  Roger Vadim scripted it, and Brigitte Bardot is the star.  She plays the part of a sweet young girl from Vichy, daughter of a strict general, who leaves town for the big city, and through one mishap and other ends up in a burlesque show stripping contest.  However, she has published a scandalous book under the name of A.D.  Yup, just the kind of plot I would have thought up.

The film turns out to be a screwball comedy, and there are some very funny moments.  Her brother left the family to become a painter in Paris, telling them he has struck it rich, but he actually works as a low paid guard in the Balzac Museum.  His quick tour with a group of tourists through the museum is quite funny.  Bardot's striptease is actually very funny, too, and done just the way this girl would have done it (in the end, she has to be pushed out onto the stage).  But overall, I do not think I have seen a picture so blatantly sexist in all my life.  The director, Marc Allegret, also directed the 2nd Marius film.  When released, it was the 20th most popular French film of all time, mostly because of Bardot, no doubt.

 Not the least bit sensationalist. 

We are home for two days, then off to Windsor on Sunday.  Deb has an appointment with a heart specialist at 1:15, and then my piano instructor, Philip Adamson, is performing the 6th concert in his Beethoven Sonata series.  Jenn may be coming from Cambridge to hear him play again, and even Amanda is in town and will meet up with us that day.

M.

Fighting November Blahs

The doldrums arrived early this year, with our first major snowstorm about two months ahead of schedule.  The snow is gone for now, but the darkness, heavy clouds, and damp chill to the air make day to day life a tad dreary.  However, I had a beautiful clear night on Friday, and it was sunny some of that day.  It was actually the 2nd clear night of this session, but the earlier time it was way too damp and foggy to consider driving into the county (actually, into the next county) to set up.  Dampness gets on the mirrors and eyepieces, causing early shut down of operations.  It was 32 F when I arrived at 6 pm, and 28 F when I left at 9:45 pm.  The autumn stars were up upon arrival, and the winter stars were up upon departure.  I hope I can steal one more good night before the moon interferes.

Last Tuesday I gave a short talk on double stars at our monthly club meeting.  However, my laptop would not connect to the WiFi, and the main projector in the hall did not work.  That was the same day as a major power failure affected a lot of people, including Windsor and us, so that may have contributed to the problem.  Luckily, a fellow member had his laptop, and his worked.  The back up projector was crappy, though.

Yesterday, Deb had her first laser treatment of three that she will need. She certainly experienced some pain afterwards and today, but things are improving as I write.  We have pills for any occasion on hand, so her suffering was mitigated.  Once this problem is fixed, then we can move on towards getting her heart problem looked after (again).  The laser treatments are not covered by the government health plan, nor our private one.  The cost was just over $2000.  Ouch.  More pain.

I just finished an epic novel by Norman Spinrad, part of my Avon/Equinox project.  The book, which took me 9 days to read, is called "He Walked Among Us," and is one of three that he wrote trying his best to put forth solutions for saving the planet from our greed and indifference.  I am now into the Tarot series by Piers Anthony, an author that continues to hold my interest.  It ties in loosely to the "Cluster" series I am reading by him.

In movie news, we continue to watch the Zatoichi series, having just seen #4.  The first four are loosely connected, and more or less set the tone for the 26-movie series.  However, last weekend we watched the 1932 "Three Penny Opera" directed by Pabst.  It was excellent!  Brecht hated it, and many of Weil's songs were cut, but the film works beautifully.  Mackie Mackie!  I am also getting mildly interested in the work of Chantal Akerman.  More to come on her.

 Now showing on Criterion. 

In gaming news, I continue to make progress in Syberia 3 on the PC.  It is a vast game, though the bugs are annoying.  I have had to download saved games a few times now and jump ahead of a bug I could not get past.  It is visually stunning and takes place in many different locations, including a very gloomy Russian asylum in winter, a seaside town, a large ferry boat, an amusement park, subway tunnels, and now in a night time wooded winter landscape.  It is, at least, visually appealing.  We are trying to improve on the Dr. Who card game we bought in Columbus, Ohio a few years ago, and will be playing this weekend.

The listening program has expanded to include the entire record collection.  Recently, we listened to a 4-record set of music by Josquin des Prez, as well as Symphony #80 by Haydn (we're getting there), and Op 79 by Brahms (two major piano works that I MUST learn!), Britten's Op 79, a short work for chorus and orchestra, and we are continuing with the complete organ works of Buxtehude.  I will no doubt be going through several needles.

Our next Detroit day is scheduled for Monday.  I have a book waiting, and Deb wants to buy a few collector coffee spoons from an antique dealer in Dearborn, for an upcoming Yorick episode.  We will stay for lunch, and it wouldn't surprise me if I managed to have a pint in there somewhere.  Detroit had its annual Christmas lights celebration on Thursday night.  Here is a photo.  Pretty fantastic city.

Wow! 

Mapman Mike

Early Start To Winter

Last Monday we received around 7" of heavy, wet snow.  Some of it is still around, which says something about the record cold temperatures we've been having.  Today if finally went safely above freezing, and it was even sunny for a time.  All kinds of records are being broken, and not the kind you want to break.

The listening program continues, with all works by Brahms and Britten being given due consideration, as well as the 104 symphonies of Haydn (#79 coming up later tonight).  In addition are the complete works for organ by Buxtehude, a composer and organist held in the highest esteem by Telemann, Handel, and Bach.  Then comes the record collection.  We are beginning at the beginning, with medieval and renaissance works.  Currently we are listening to a double album of works by Josquin des Prez.  We had forgotten how wonderful the works of this towering giant are!  Both cats are in love with just about anything we put on, and listen deeply.  It's quite amazing to watch!

 A bleak November sunset.  

Last Friday we went on a short day trip, visiting a barn full of antiques and collectibles.  Deb got a pickup truck, which will be seen in an upcoming episode of her 22 Bones series, and we got a Mr. Spock action figure for my brother.  I also found an Instamatic 104 camera, the very first camera I ever owned.  Mine died years ago, but I have the reincarnated one now, ready to shoot 126 film!  Another major find was a hardcover book from 1946 by a favourite writer, James Branch Cabell.  So it was worth the 50 minute drive each way.

 I only bought it for the coffee mug.

 The camera I received at Christmas in 1966, from my Uncle Mike Munavish!  My original camera died from overuse, but I now have a replacement! 

I am currently immersed in a 540 page epic novel by Norman Spinrad.  It is a brilliant concept, and if I know Norman, he will pull it off with elan!  "He Walked Among Us" will be discussed on my Avon/Equinox blog when it is completed.  I am currently on page 240.

We have a Detroit day planned for this week, along with getting a new set of winter tires installed for the Golf (in Windsor).  The Tiguan goes back to the dealer on Dec. 10th, and we will have just the one vehicle.  Tuesday evening I am giving a short talk about double stars at our astronomy club meeting.  Friday is the first of three laser surgeries for Deb.  We continue to live life of the edge.

Mapman Mike

Home Sweet Home

Aside from a grocery run on Monday, for us and the cats, we've been home and leading quiet lives all week.  I've been practicing, reading, and listening to my LP collection, along with the Haydn/Brahms/Britten project.  Now that my records are organized again, I've decided to play them all.  I've heard considerably less than half of the collection, so this is a pretty major project.  Deb has been making films, winning awards, and we've both been doing some gaming.  I lost a very close game of MECCG last night.

Monday was an all-day snowstorm, setting a record for that date, and for the month of November.  We received about 7".  It was pretty as it fell, but by the next day the leaves had resumed falling, and so it now looks totally surreal outside, with the snow mostly covered by dead leaves.  Tuesday was a record cold temperature day, shattering records everywhere.  It would have been cold for January, never mind November.  Today we made it up to 0 C, and tomorrow it's supposed to go above.  We have a small trip planned to Leamington tomorrow, to visit an antique mall, and then go out for lunch.  We should be home early in the day.  Deb hasn't been anywhere lately, choosing to stay home even when I was in Sudbury for four days.  We were supposed to go to Ann Arbor by train on Tuesday.  However, Ann Arbor received 11" of snow Monday, and Tuesday, as I said, was record cold.  So our tickets lapsed, and the trip is postponed.  Trains were running quite late that day, anyway.

 Taken on Monday during the snow storm, using my Fuji Instax, before falling leaves covered the snow.

 Taken with Polaroid 600 camera, Monday afternoon.  

Philip Adamson has announced the 6th recital in his Beethoven Sonata series, for Sunday, December 1st.  Deb has a medical appointment at 1:30 that afternoon, and the concert begins at 2:30.  We will likely be late.  She also has a laser procedure coming up Nov. 22nd, and likely two more after that one.  Then we can start the process of getting her heart problem refixed.  Someday she will be perfect once again, and will be known as the 6 million dollar woman.

Mapman Mike

A Funeral and a Birthday

I am just returned from a short visit to family in Sudbury.  I flew Porter Airlines from Windsor, arriving Thursday evening, and returned home on Sunday evening.  All flights go through Toronto, so I had an overlay each way.  Lynne, my brother's wife, picked me up in Sudbury Thursday night.  Friday morning was the funeral of my aunt, so I was able to see and talk with a number of family.  It was a Catholic mass, my least favourite kind of funeral.  I've been fortunate lately to have attended some very well prepared send-offs, involving talks by friends about the deceased, often including photo and slide displays.  It was great to see so many family members all in one place; however, it tends mostly to be at funerals.  Last May's celebration of Mom's 90th birthday was a happy exception.

 My aunt, sister to my mother. 

 Typical Sudbury landscape, this one right behind the church where the funeral was held. 

Sunday was my younger brother's birthday, but the party was Saturday night.  Whenever I call him on his birthday, there is always the loud din of a wild party going on in the background/foreground.  This year I finally got to find out what goes on at these bacchanals.  The party started a bit early, with Steve, Dad and I going to a new cafe downtown.  It is housed in the former showroom of a downtown car dealership, and features art deco design and floor to ceiling windows overlooking the main street.  The owner was once a newspaper photographer, and the theme is definitely photographic.  Called Cafe Obscura, he also sells film and film cameras.  Pretty cool!  After coffee, the three of us went to a brewpub called Spacecraft, where we sampled the wares.  Again, it is a very cool interior, and the beer on offer was varied and of high quality.  Three beers were made in house, and there was a large guest tap list.

 Me, Dad, and brother Steve (alias Captain James T. Kirk) at Spacecraft Brewery, Sudbury.

 Dad and Steve had a Tractor Beam Kolsch.  I was a bit more experimental, trying their IPA, the Lazerhosen Dunkel, the Black Hand Stout, and a pumpkin ale.  All good, and vegan food was on offer.  Vegan food is very popular in Sudbury. 

I watched hockey with Steve, played cribbage with Dad, and talked with Mom.  Lynne, Steve's wife, wasn't feeling too well.  I saw Emma Lee sometimes, but like most kids, she is addicted to screens of all variety.  It snowed Saturday night, and it is snowing all day Monday in Amherstburg as I write this.  On the flights and in Sudbury, I managed to read a fairly large SF novel by Sherri Tepper, which was pretty fascinating.  Called After Long Silence, and also The Enigma Score, it kept me glued to the pages for many an hour.  I am now back to reading authors related to the Avon/Equinox series, currently being involved with a very funny novel by Barry Malzberg.

I managed to practice some piano pieces this morning, but there is also some shovelling of snow in my near future.

Mapman Mike

Detroit Day

This year's exhibit of offrendas at the DIA was a really good one.  Around a dozen of the over-decorated altars were there, dedicated to relatives and others who had died. This year featured several devoted to those killed trying to escape their homeland for greener pastures, including children.  The exhibit was really crowded, it being a Sunday, but I am glad we made to the effort to go again this year.

 Offrenda to a local doctor, DIA.

A family tree offrenda, DIA.  The exibit ends next week. 

There were two other reasons for visiting Detroit yesterday.  At the Detroit Film Theatre (also located at the DIA) we saw a mesmerizing 1984 film called Stop Making Sense, Jonathan Demme's film showing a 1983 concert by the Talking Heads.  It's 90 minutes of live concert footage, 16 songs one after another.  This is a no nonsense documentary showing David Byrne at his best.  Of the 9 musicians, 5 are black and three are female.  The songs are fabulous, as are the musicians, and Demme's editing and viewpoints are virtually perfect.  I'm still vibrating today from the music and the film!

A great film, and a great concert.  We saw it at the Detroit Film Theatre.  

After the film, we made our way to a new inner city brewery, one of four that are opening this fall/winter.  Brewery Faisan is not far from the river, but located in a real no man's land.  These are true urban pioneers, and I tip my hat to them for their endeavour.  A full review of the brewery and taproom will appear soon on my Midwest America blog (link in top left, above).  Faisan is French for pheasant, which can be seen wandering near and around the brewery at times.

 Brewery Faisan, Detroit's newest micro brewery, on a late Sunday afternoon.

One of 7 ales currently on offer.  

In other movie news, we watched another Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur minor masterpiece last night, called I Walked With a Zombie.  A silly title, but an amazingly good little film.  The atmosphere is among the best I have ever seen (and felt), and the mix of science and voodoo works perfectly.  The drumming in the background, and the sound of wind in the sugar cane stalks, will stay with you awhile afterwards.

Now showing on Criterion.

The nurse leads her patient to the old fort, where the local voodoo doctor practices.  This is an awesome little film, atmospheric and with a good story.  The plot is strongly related to Jane Eyre! 

We also began watching the full Zatoichi series, also showing on Criterion.  We have the first 8 on DVD, but are starting over again because it's been awhile.  The first one is called The Tale of Zatoichi, and introduces the character and many of the tropes of the series.  Unique to this one is that Zatoichi gets a full massage!  He usually gives them.  We also learn a bit about his past, and why he took up sword training.  This series is so good that I actually took up Iaido training myself.  My wife soon joined in, and we both hold the rank of 2nd degree black belt.  We, too, are bad ass!

The Tale of Zatoichi, the first of a 27 movie series starring the blind swordsman.  

Moving on to literature, it is time to encapsulate my October reading.  I made it through 14 books, though some were quite short.  Still, there was a 400+ pager in there, and a few in the 200s.  The first book finished was by James Blish, who comes at the end of my reading cycle, currently based around the authors from the Avon/Equinox SF Rediscovery Series, published in the 1970s.  Blish's book Black Easter was the last one published before the series was retired.  This month I read his very early novel called Jack of Eagles, about a man gifted with psionic powers, and the strange and uncompromising people he mixes with.  Though I loved the story, especially the part where he must climb stairs to other dimensions, I really minded the fact that all the psi people were male.  There is no strong female lead character in most of the story.  The lone woman who is there fades out of the picture after a time.  Though this isn't always a problem in 1950s SF, it happens often enough to be annoying.

After Blish, it was time to start the cycle of authors over again.  Having finished with the first four (Farmer, Kornbluth, Budrys, and Sladek, I read the next Silverberg short story collection, Vol 3, which contained his stories from 1969-1972.  At over 400 pages it took me awhile, but it was a very enjoyable while.  "Thomas the Proclaimer" is a novella worth seeking, as is one of the short stories, called "Caught in the Organ Draught."  Norman Spinrad was next, and I tackled some of his short stories.  I really enjoyed the title story to the volume, "No Direction Home," based on Bob Dylan's poem.  I have read this one in another collection of his, and still enjoyed rereading it.  "The Weed of Time" was new to me, and very fun to read.  A baby is born with the ability to speak perfectly, and to predict the future.  Highly original story, and very well handled.  Also worth seeking out is his "In The Eye Of The Storm," a story of a lone biker, in the Twilight Zone tradition.

Next came Kilian Quest, Piers Anthony's 3rd and concluding volume of his Cluster series.  I enjoyed the first book a lot; not so much the 2nd one; the third one is completely awesome!  This is a really fun series to read, though it can be confusing at times, especially vol. 2.  Even though this completes the overall story arc, he wrote two other Cluster books not directly related to the original three.  I am looking forward to those.   Next up was Dusk of Demons, a stand-alone novel by John Christopher, for young adults.  Christopher continues to obsess about post-apocalyptic scenarios, and this is a decent entry in that mode.  I wish this one had a sequel.

Harry Harrison can always be relied upon for, at the very least, an entertaining read.  His hilarious Montezuma's Revenge is a pretty good spoof of the spy story genre, written in 1972.  The author has obviously spent some time in Mexico, on a low budget.  

Another reliable author is Kenneth Bulmer.  To Outrun Doomsday is an action-packed planetary adventure from 1967 from one of the greats.  This one is unusual because it contains a good deal of humour mixed in with the more serious plot.  To quote myself from my Avon/Equinox page (which contains all the cover art for these books, and full reviews),  "This is a very good SF pulp novel, and if you like wandering across a strange planet and meeting strange people, critters, and sights, then you will likely enjoy this book."

Next in line comes E. C. Tubb, who, as a SF writer is more on than off.  I have really come to like and enjoy his writing.  Often we read above humans after they have spread to the stars, but we don't often find a book that tells about the very first interstellar voyage, and some of the prep work required.  In Tubb's Escape Into Space, we follow this privately funded expedition as it seeks out a new planet for humans to inhabit.  Surprisingly good, despite a few weak plot points.

Jack Williamson's two-volume series "Seetee" is one I've been waiting to read for a long time, as I work my way chronologically through his many novels.  The first volume is Seetee Ship, and hails from 1942.  Jack writes some of the best plots, and this is one of his really good ones.  However, his characters are pure cardboard.  At least he includes some cardboard women with his cardboard men.  Both women are pretty amazing in this story, and I look forward next month to part 2 of the series. 

I have read all the SF novels by Rex Gordon, whose real name is S. B. Hough.  But I still have a few of his early non-SF novels left to read.  This time it was a creaky story from 1954 called The Primitives.  Twin brother and sister grow up raised by a totally inept and emotionally unstable mother, and a father who seldom intervenes.  The result is two very warped kids, but through Hough's amazing ability to bring insight and understanding to his characters, we learn exactly why things turn out as they do.  Like most of Hough's work, this is a pretty amazing read.

The Lunar Lichen is an engrossing novella by Hal Clement (which I counted as a book), part of a double novel volume.  An exploring team uncovers some lunar life, perhaps, but this is mostly a human dram after one of the nine (male) astronauts has a mental breakdown during the mission.  Clement is such a good writer of SF, and I am reminded yet again how lucky I am to have discovered him.  The flip side of this volume contained The Time Trap, a fantasy adventure in the tradition of A. Merritt, by Henry Kuttner.  It dates from 1938, and marks the only non-Avon/Equinox story I read in October.

Next came The English Assassin by Michael Moorcock, volume 3 in his Jerry Cornelius series.  This entry disappointed me for several reasons, the main once being that Jerry hardly makes an appearance, and the story is held together by groups of minor characters.  I must say that Jerry's mother, one of the most hideous women in fiction, is certainly well constructed by the author.  Is she a key to the ending of the series, being most of the reason that Jerry is insane and happily creating worlds as he sits at home on his little balcony?  Next month will tell.

That wraps up the October reading highlights.  I am currently more than halfway through another book by J. G. Ballard, which should get reported soon on my blog page dedicated to that writer, and I will likely be mentioning it here next month.

Mapman Mike



 

Day Of The Dead

We paid our annual visit to some local cemeteries.  Usually we go to Woodlawn in Detroit (see last year's post), but this year we visited a few we had last seen on June 21st (see that post), as well as two new (for us) ones along the same Highway #3.  The highway is pretty scenic, as it follows the north shore of Lake Erie.  With a mixture of sun and clouds yesterday the lake looked very dramatic.  However, our mission was cemeteries, so we stayed away from the lake.

First up was the New Glasgow Pioneer Cemetery, which we have driven past many times without stopping.  Virtually all the headstones have Scottish names, with many of the settlers dying in their 30s.  Of course there are always a number of children, between 0 and ten years, also in these old cemeteries.  It was a very cold day, with temperatures averaging what they normally do in early December.  It was also quite breezy, making our stops brief, though very atmospheric. 

 New Glasgow Pioneer Cemetery, along Hwy #3 in Elgin County.

 A broken tomb pinnacle sits under a tree at New Glasgow Pioneer Cemetery.

A second new cemetery for us was the Ford Cemetery.

 Ford Cemetery.

 Abandoned house, autumn.

 Morpeth Cemetery, a personal favourite of ours for many years.

 The Morpeth Cemetery overlooks a steep ravine and creek. 

We also stopped at the Archibald Lampman cemetery, but I didn't use my digital camera there.  The film I was using finally got used up, so I will someday soon have a photo of that cemetery, too.

Back at home we had an evening visit from our young next door neighbours.  They brought over a freshly baked apple crisp.  We supplied beer and coffee!  Amanda was once a music student of mine, both at school and privately.  She was a very decent trombone player.  They also attended my last solo recital here in March.  With everyone leading busy lives, we don't see them all that often, except to wave to out in the yard.

Last weekend was my choice of films for our monthly festival.  I focused on producer Val Lewton.  We watched two of his films, as well as a TCM documentary about him, narrated by Martin Scorsese, as well as one other horror film.  First up was The Leopard Man, directed by Jacques Tourneur in 1943.  An escaped black leopard terrorizes a small New Mexican village, killing young girls.  Or it is really the leopard?  Does the title give anything away?  A suitably creepy tale, with an early, very horrifying scene of a young girl being killed as she bangs on the door of her house, with her mother slow to open it.

This film from 1943 was first up in our mini-festival last weekend. 

Next up was a French film from 1943, and directed by Maurice Tourneur, Jacques son. La Main Du Diable turned out to be an amazing little film, which neither of us had previously seen.  A painter sells his soul to become successful, but ends up fighting against the evil one, played by an amiable (at first) little man in a black suit.  The story is told in flashback, as the desperate man arrives at a secluded hotel in the Alps, searching for a ruined abbey and the grave of the man who started the chain of events in which he now finds him ensnared.  The movie is really quite good, with lots of humourous touches, some very cool surreal scenes, and movie art that isn't too bad to look at.  A sleeper gem.

Also from 1943.  

The 3rd film was called The Curse Of The Cat People, a favourite of ours not seen in a very long while.  All of the prints were pristine that we watched, thanks to the Criterion Channel, which is showing them all.  This movie is a very, very loose sequel to Lewton's Cat People, but is actually based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Aimee and Her Friend.  Lewton wanted to call it that, but the studio forced the current title upon him.  Aimee is in kindergarten and going through some childhood issues.  She invents a friend to be with her and to play with her.  A fascinating look inside the mind of a child, and an overall wonderful picture to view.

A really decent movie about childhood, at least for those of us that never really fit in.

Aimee (right) and her friend.  

Last up was a documentary about Val Lewton, who made some of the greatest b & w films ever.  He never shows the monster, but uses the viewer's imagination to help create suspense and horror.  All of his films are worth watching, and another festival of his works will likely be forthcoming.

 Lastly, we watched this TCM documentary, narrated by Martin Scorsese.  It showed

clips and talked about every film Lewton produced.

We have scheduled a long overdue Detroit day tomorrow, including a visit to the DIA to see the Day of the Dead exhibit.  So I should be reporting again, hopefully Monday evening.  Until then, signing off.

Mapman Mike