Late August

Late August and well through September is peak hurricane season.  With a doozy of a storm currently winding its way through Louisiana and Arkansas, and heat and humidity at its peak here in Essex County, you know summer is on its way out, but not like a lamb.  We are due for storms, too, courtesy of Laura.  It is pushing up Gulf moisture and very high temps and tropical humidity.  We had a bit of rain yesterday, and are due for a lot more over the next two days.  With our gardens turning into jungles, cooler weather over the weekend might actually see us out there getting some clearing up done.

Yesterday we were gone for just over an hour.  Deb had her 2nd haircut since lockdown, and afterwards we got groceries.  When we arrived home, our main intersection was clogged with emergency vehicles due to a motorcycle accident.  And our neighbour came by to tell us one of our trees had fallen across our creek.  We stay home for six months and nothing happens, but just leave for an hour.... 

In movie news, Deb's choice last weekend was a new film, screened directly to Criterion.  Called Zombi Child (a take on Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child?), the film is from 2019.  It sounded promising, but it was actually pretty boring.  Too many stories and time jumps were happening, as we went continually from Haiti in the 1960s to Paris of today to Haiti of today.  Not really worth viewing, it did put me in the mood for the best zombie picture every made, I Walked With a Zombie.  Though I have seen it recently, I feel the need to see it again.

Now showing on Criterion.

I chose a b & w film by Douglas Sirk from 1946, called A Scandal In Paris, starring George Sanders.  "If you talk of art," said Sirk, "I consider this my best picture."  Based on the memoirs of Francois Eugene Vidocq, a thief who becomes the chief of the Paris police, it is mostly a comedy, though the ending is quite dramatic.  The sets and costumes are fun, and Sanders is infallible in the lead role.  Tres amusant.

One of only 2 Sirk films now showing on Criterion.

The DIA has one of the world's best collections of German Expressionist art, thanks to its German director in the 1930s, and the Nazi obsession with labelling much of the art produced in Germany at the time as "decadent."  In an earlier post I highlighted one of Kirchner's calm landscape masterpieces, called Winter Landscape In Moonlight.  This time we'll take a quick peek at a more agitated landscape work, a print made by gouging the design directly from a piece of wood.

Road In The Taurus Mountains, from 1916, contains an abstract energy that is hard to define, but easy to relate to. There is a road.  There are trees, mountains, and clouds, too. though not the kind accepted by Nazi censors.  There is a wonderful edginess to the work, and an unsettling quality that seems to suit the term "expressionist" to a tee.  Not often on display, it is worth catching when it is.

Road In The Taurus Mountains, 1916, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (German, 1880-1938).

Woodcut printed in black on wove paper, 18" x 13".

I am enamoured with the works of this artist, and will highlight more of his works in the future.

This has been quite a day of writing.  it began with a review of the most recent SF book I finished reading, a time travel one by Silverberg.  Then it was time to work on my article for Aurora, our astronomy club newsletter.  Lastly, a new blog entry.  I hope someone is reading these from time to time, or at least scrolling through some lovely images.  Until we meet again...

Mapman Mike

Co-Vid 19 Stats

The heat is back in Essex County.  In addition to 7 clear nights in a row around new moon, which is almost unheard of, comes the heat and humidity of late August.  No rain in August worth speaking about, either.  It's hot and crispy out there.

I looked through some Covid 19 stats today.  Michigan, Ontario, and London, UK, have populations that are not dissimilar, though Ontario might have a few more people.  Ontario has had 41,400 cases.  Michigan has had 106,900 cases.  London has had 35,800.  Interesting in itself.  but now look at the deaths:  2800 for Ontario, 6700 for Michigan, and 6900 for London.  Looking closely at this data, it seems that if you live in Ontario you have a 1:15 chance of surviving the disease.  In Michigan, you have a 1:16 chance.  But in London, your chance of surviving is only 1:5.  Seriously? What is up with that?  Extracting data for Toronto and Detroit, in Toronto your chance of surviving drops to 1:13, and in Detroit that drops to 1:10.  Anyway, I found the stats interesting.  And I'm happy to be in Ontario, and outside of Toronto. 

My film choice last week was Wim Wenders' masterpiece, Wings of Desire.  We hadn't seen the film in a very long time (1987?), and were hoping it lived up to our memory of it.  It did.  Observing angels cannot feel or experience what humans can, and once in a while one of the flock decides to come to Earth and see what it's all about.  It's difficult not to fall in love with Solveig Dommartin as a circus trapeze artist, and that's what happens to Bruno Ganz, causing him to depart the world of observers forever.  Some of the script is a bit obtuse, and a few important points don't come across as well as they should, but overall it's a wonderful and uplifting film.  And surprise!  Wenders allows a happy ending, no doubt learning his lesson from the feedback he received regarding Paris, Texas.  Dommartin died in Paris of a heart attack at the age of 45.  She was born in Algiers.

 Now showing on Criterion. 

I watched episode 9 of Berlin Alexanderplatz alone, as Deb has given up on it.  I remain fascinated by the times (Weimar Republic) and the character.  Will I read the book?  Ask me when this is all over, in about a month or so.  It's Deb's movie pick tonight, and I don't know yet know what it is.  Next weekend is my pick for the end of the month film festival.  So more movie news to come.

Our listening lesson has been disrupted by 5 trips out with the telescope lately.  We recently heard Brahms Op 122, 11 organ preludes that are so wonderful that I can't believe I've never heard them before.  They will now be filed under favourite pieces to hear.  We continue to hear the Corelli concerti grossi, alternating with early Haydn quartets.  And we are also making our way through Verdi's Aida.  With Deb's Shakespeare film in the can, she is now working on her next short film, based on an old folk tale.

Mapman Mike

Travelling to New Mexico, Africa, and Umbria

 

 We have made many of our 38 trips to New Mexico in the latter half of August.  In our teaching days there was only mid-March, July, and August that we could travel afar.  The latter half of August was always a bitter sweet time, because following the hiking and camping trip to NM, we would be right back at work.  Many of our wedding anniversary days were spent climbing mountains and doing extraordinary hiking.   I have been leafing through my NM journals, and getting sharp pangs of "I want to go there again" lately.  Now, of course, we have the option of going in September, October, and even November, so it is doubtful if we will ever visit again in August.  August is the height of the monsoons, and can be very wet and stormy.  But I will always feel the call at this time, regardless.

Here is a photo from one of our spectacular August hikes in days of yore.  This one overlooks Georgia O'Keeffe country, not far from her home in Abiquiu, which also featured in "Breaking Bad."

My summer in Africa saw me spend several days in Accra, Ghana, studying the city up close with Google Maps.  Maps lists all the museums, shops, and restaurants, with links to visit websites and view photos, and Street View allows one to walk the streets, looking around in all directions.  Accra is a really fine city, with several veg restaurants and some lovely hotels.  It faces the Atlantic in a southerly way, and the beaches look great for strolling.  

After that I moved on to the sources of the Nile River.  I began with the Victoria Nile at Lake Victoria, lazily following it to where it becomes the White Nile, and then on to Khartoum where it joins the Blue Nile.  I then followed the Blue Nile all the way back to its source.  Reading Jules Verne's Five Weeks In A Balloon got me interested in the Nile expedition.  Realizing the extreme conditions the early explorers had to face made my desk top adventuring seem rather tame by comparison, but it was still fun, and I came to know parts of the Nile quite well.  In my explorations around Lake Tanganyika I discovered a place to stay in one of the national parks.  It is called Greystoke Mahale, and looks so good that I am literally thinking of trying to get there.  With access to jungle, chimps, the lake, and a mountainous national park, it would be the experience of a lifetime.

Greystoke, of course, is named in tribute of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan character.  As an adolescent, Tarzan was my main hero.  Those books led me to read other books about rain forests.  If I ever do go to Africa, it will be either Algeria for a desert experience, or Tanganyika for the jungle.

It's surprising how many books related to Avon/Equinox project are set in Africa.  Novels by Ballard, Spinrad, Blish, Chad Oliver, and others have whetted my appetite even further.

Greystoke Mahale main building, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.  Sleeping cabins are hidden. 

I have also spent a considerable amount of time in Perugia this summer, courtesy of Mr. Google Map.  We have a 272 page Martin Randall volume, which contains all of their 2019 escorted tours.  I randomly chose The Heart of Italy, and have been closely following the itinerary, exploring medieval cites and towns of Perugia.  The hotel is in Spello, and day trips go from there.  So far I have explored in detail Spello, Assisi, Todi, Perugia city, Foligno, Montefalco, and Gubbio.  Left to see are Orvieto and Spoleto.

                        Spello, Italy.  Image courtesy of http://www.ginamussio.com/spello-italy/ 

Hopefully all of my future travelling will not have to be virtual.  In the meantime, we are doing well at saving money for the day when we will feel safe to venture deep into the wide and wonderful world once again.

Mapman Mike

Fitness

 This is probably the first time in my adult life that I am fairly fit without a good reason.  Up until now I have always required a goal to get my body moving, such as preparing to climb a certain mountain in New Mexico, or getting ready for some long distance walking elsewhere, such as London, UK.  And if 2020 was even a bit more normal, I likely would have done spring hiking in New Mexico, and perhaps would be getting ready for autumn hiking there as well.  So much to do in the mountains, and so little time.  But as it stands, I am now completing my 10th week of indoor fitness for no apparent reason, other than my health.  I have never been attracted to exercise for exercise sake.  But what's a flabby, unfit guy to do?  Well, there are two choices.  Get rid of the flabby bits, or allow them to grow flabbier.  So I am now ready for some serious walking (not climbing--that takes a separate, intense 5-6 week training program after basic training).  But, alas, there is nowhere to go.  It will be interesting to see what happens to me over the next few weeks.  Either the movie will be called "Mapman Stays Fit," or "Return of the Flab."  Stay tuned to find out which.

I have now finished writing my 2nd Valeria novel, "Valeria and The Crimson Star."  Planned as a series of three short books about a vegetarian adolescent girl whose parents are age-old former vampires.  A third book, which I will likely begin shortly, will be called something like "Valeria and the Transylvanian Castle," as her family takes a vacation to some old haunts of her parents.  It's been fun writing about Val, her family, and her closest friends.  She is quite a sensible young girl, somewhat normal considering her background, and she lives in a vast tree house built upon Gertrude, her talking tree friend.  Her father and uncle are scientists and inventors, and her mother is a herbal specialist, but still learning.  Anyway, Valeria 2 is ready for its close up.  I will be sending it to a few select readers in the near future for comments and corrections.

My movie selection for last week was the next in a series of films by Fassbinder.  We have now reached what is called his Douglas Sirk stage, where he came heavily under the influence of that great Hollywood director (who was German, by the way).  The movie was called The Merchant of Four Seasons, from 1971, about a married man with a small daughter who sells fruit to earn his living.  He drinks heavily, and seems to be carrying a heavy burden.  We don't find out what that burden is until later, when he meets up with an old legion buddy who comes to work for him, and stay with him.  Unlike Wim Wenders, at least Fassbinder is sometimes kind enough to give some of the people in his story a happy ending.

Now showing on Criterion.  

 We also watched Part 8 of Alexanderplatz, a pretty fascinating, grim look at Germany between the wars, through the eyes of a former convict, who served four years for killing his girlfriend.  Hans Biberkopf is supposed to be just a bloke who takes what comes.  After 8 1/2 hours, he now feels like a relation.  7 hours to go...

Deb chose a shorter film by Kathleen Collins, called The Cruz Brothers and Miss Malloy.  From 1980, it runs just 49 minutes.  Three Puerto Rican brothers, orphaned at an early and now looking after themselves, of a sort, are given temporary employment by an elderly woman in their village.  She wants her once grand house and gardens restored to pristine condition, and then she wants to invite everyone over to a grand ball.  The eldest boy speaks frequently with his dead father, who tries to keep the boys going.  It's a strange little comedy film, based on short stores by Henry Roth, an immigrant American writer.

Now showing on Criterion.

Haven't heard from Dino lately, so I will go ahead with another landscape from the DIA.  Here it is...

 

The Wreck, 1854, Eugene Louis Gabriel Isabey, French.

Oil on canvas.  Unframed 38" x 30".  Collection

Detroit Institute of Arts.   

This is one of those paintings that really grabs you as you pass through the Romantic period galleries.  The house and the brownish colour scheme recall works by Teniers the Younger, as do the clothing worn by some of the peasants.  But this is a Teniers action movie, and not a still life depiction of peasant drinking and smoking.  Isabey has created a mini-masterpiece of raw motion and emotion, as the fierce gale throws the ship onto the shore and people recover or try to help in the rescue of the survivors.  It's like something we see today too often on the 6 pm news.

Detail of the human response to the tragedy.

 

It looks like it's time to abandon ship!  A great depiction of a wrathful sea.

 
                            The steadfast old house, offering protection from the elements.

That's all for now.  I still haven't talked about my trip to Africa, courtesy of Google Maps and various websites.  I've since added some Italian hilltop towns in Umbria to my touring!  Maybe next time...

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 

Stage 3 Arrives

 We are the last county in Ontario to be allowed to move to Stage 3 (Stage 1 being the most severe).  It makes little difference to us, since one of us has an auto-immune disease.  And though I am really starting to miss my visits to Detroit, and it seems highly doubtful that I will get to New Mexico this autumn, I am still fine staying home.  Reading and practicing are all going well, and the movies from Criterion just keep on coming.  Deb is deep into her latest Shakespeare film, and my 2nd Valeria novel is nearly done its rewrite.  So it will be status quo around the Homestead.  Maybe a day trip or two once the kiddies are back in school, and if we can get Deb's cough fixed.

I got a phone call from my M.D. this morning, informing me that my latest blood work results were nothing less than perfect.  I am happy to hear it, and have just started Week 10 of the indoor fitness program.  I am anxious for a long walk outdoors, but it's still too warm and humid anyway.

On Sunday afternoon Randy G. stopped by for a visit.  It was scorching hot, but we sat underneath the trees on our front lawn, with a lovely breeze off the river, and sat around and talked for nearly two hours.  Randy is a fellow astronomer I have known since about 1978, and a music lover and loyal attendee at my concerts.  I showed him the new eyepiece set, which has really taken my observing to a new dimension.  These eyepieces give the impression of actually being in space, rather than just looking at it from afar.

As I write, some fierce storms are about 3 ours west, and heading our way.  Chicago just got socked, and looks as if Detroit is next . We are currently playing Middle Earth The Lidless Eye card game, a second try at learning the new game.  We will continue later; now it's time for some dinner.

In movie news, we watched Museum Hours, the 2nd time we have seen this wonderful little film.  It's more an ode to Vienna than a real film, with an extremely thin story backed by plenty of images of the city, and especially of the Kunsthistoriches Museum, and especially the Bruegel paintings.  The city images are not glamourized at all, and Vienna doesn't even seem all that attractive.  It's just a city with working people, and it's December, an off season for tourists.  More than anything else, this film was responsible (after our first viewing several years ago) for finally getting me to book flights to Vienna, and see the city and the Bruegel paintings.  We have now visited twice, with at least one more visit planned, and have now seen almost all the extant paintings by the master.

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

I reconnected with Taeko S. on Facebook, after thinking about her on Hiroshima day.  Of course we have a standing invitation to stay with her in suburban Sydney.  They are currently doing huge renovations on their house.  Her husband is Australian, whom we met in Windsor at a dinner party, but I would love to meet her daughter, who is a music major!  Who knows, it might happen.  I would give a lot to have a dark sky view of the southern constellations.

 

Mapman Mike

Hiroshima Day

I have only ever read one book about that day, and watched one film.  The book was a really old one, published not too long after the bombing.  It was written, if I remember correctly, by a Look Magazine writer, and contained several articles that had appeared there.  The articles were all based on eye witness accounts from survivors, and read like the most unbelievable horror story ever written.  I read the book several times, and also lent it out often.  It is missing from my shelf, so it is likely gone for good.  But not the memories of it.  The movie I saw was Japanese, called Black Rain, and it dealt with survivors from the outskirts, and how they all died prematurely from radiation posioning.

It's sad to think that most people know little to nothing about Hiroshima, at least on an up close and personal basis.  Deb and I met Taeko, a Japanese student at the time, on our U. of Windsor summer trip to Madrid.  She was living in Windsor back then, going to school.  We hung out together a lot and became good friends.  She was from Hiroshima, and her dad had gone to ground zero the day after the blast.  She didn't have much to say about the bombing, except how sad it made her to think of it, but she said that the peace monument in Hiroshima is certainly worth a visit.  Perhaps I'll get there someday.

This might be a good time to post another recent painting of Dino's....  As far as I know it is untitled.

A recent painting by Dino, which he calls The Migrants.  It's a very tranquil piece, and the colours are very soothing.

In movie news, we have watched two films recently.  Deb's weekend pick last time is called When Pigs Fly, from 1993.  It's a strange little ghost story about a single man and his dog who receive a chair as a gift.  Along with the chair comes two ghosts, a murdered woman (played by Marianne Faithful) and a little girl who died of fever in the chair, rocked by her mother.  It's a sweet film, though of course the climax had to include a hand gun and some shooting.  Aside from this, it's a good watch.  It is not a horror movie, but sort of a sly comedy, with drama.

Now showing on Criterion.

My choice was a documentary by Wim Wenders, from 1985.  Called Tokyo-Ga, it seeks to find glimpses of Japanese life that might still survive, based on the films of Yasujiro Ozu.  We recently saw that director's film Good Morning, but still have several of his major films to view.  Wenders was making Paris, Texas at the time.  During a break in shooting he went to Tokyo and shot his footage, but it was not edited for two years afterwards.  It's a fascinating, albeit narrow, look at the great city, and also includes an interview with Ozu's favourite actor, and his camera man.  Not a great film, but there is lovely photography, a guest appearance by Werner Herzog, atop the Tokyo Tower, and a nice tie in with Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train.

Now showing on Criterion Channel.

Mapman Mike

July Reads; July Temps

Welcome to August.  Still in Stage 2 here in Essex County, the only place in Ontario that remains so.  And with good reason.  We are home except for grocery shopping and medical appointments.  And my first haircut since February!!  It's really short at the moment, and should last a few months again.  Deb had a chest x-ray last week, and next week goes for her annual mammogram. Her cough is persisting, and her shortness of breath.

Deb won another film award today.  Or should I say I did!  Best Narration for her Red Death animation short!  Now I have to rent a tuxedo and write a very long acceptance speech, thanking all my voice coaches over the long years I've been....

July was a warm one.  We had 19 days that reached 30 C or higher.  The highest temp was 35 C.  No records broken, but it was warm, with no relief.  In June we had 11 days of 30 C or higher.  August is starting out wet and much cooler--I can live with that, at least until the next astronomy session begins, around the 10th.

I read 11 books in July, 9 or them related to my Avon/Equinox project, with two not related.  I read my third SF novel by John Rackham.  He keeps appearing on the back of some of my Ace Doubles.  This one was called Treasure Of Tau Ceti, and proved to be quite an enjoyable planetary adventure, in the old tradition.  Three characters, one of them a very strong and capable female (yay!) go through an awful lot of misery to gain a very valuable hidden treasure.  Very enjoyable novel!

The other non-related book was Five Weeks In A Balloon, by Jules Verne.  While it is an outrageous adventure story with its own merits (and faults), it is also a grand recap of the explorations of Africa by European whites up to that time.  I have read two Verne novels lately, and have enjoyed them far too much.  Others will follow.  I will have a lot more to say about Africa in an upcoming post.

E. C. Tubb's The Luck Machine began my regular reading program for the month.  I've now read 23 books by this author, and have enjoyed many of them.  This one is a farcical comedy that would likely have made a pretty decent movie.  A crazy scientist invents the machine, which can be worn on the wrist like a very large watch (think Garmin).  It brings good luck to the wearer, and the thing is tried on a very unlucky and unloved male teacher from a boys' school, during summer break.  When it appears to work, the scientist and his cohorts try to get the machine back from the teacher, and that is when most of the humour ensues.  Very silly, but makes a nice break from all the serious SF I read.

Next was a novel that was started by Jack Williamson.  He was unable to finish Star Bridge, after writing the first 170 pages and getting blocked.  He sent the manuscript to James Gunn, who finished it and polished it up.  It's a pretty great story that resurfaced in the 1980s, after having influenced a number of writers, including Farmer.  The first half is especially fine, and it's somewhat surprising that Jack could not think of a way out.  Gunn's latter section is good, but not as good as the whole opening section.

From 2003 came Hal Clement's last novel, a really brilliant and highly enjoyable one called Noise.  A Polynesian Earth colony survives on a watery planet, and is visited by a linguist from Earth who wants to learn how the languages might be changing.  He elarns a whole lot, and so do we!  Like many of Clement's works, this is one of the best SF novels ever written.  Highly recommended, and very sophisticated writing.

Count Brass is my 17th book by Michael Moorcock, and it's more or less the first of a three-volume direct continuation of the post-apocalyptic Hawkmoon series.  I liked the book, perhaps even more than the original series, and look forward to the next two books in the series.  It's a mixture of fantasy, magic, and science that seems to combine really well.

The Kindness Of Women, by Ballard, is a sequel of sorts to his more famous Empire Of The Sun.  He recaps some of his boyhood experiences in Shanghai, must then takes off for post-war England, and even spends some time in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan!  After reading both of these fascinating and extremely well-written books, it is much, much easier to understand where his fiction writing is coming from.  Yes, he has deep issues stemming from a very abnormal childhood.  But to what a use has he put these issues!  A stunning read!

Next came some short stories by Barry Malzberg, under one of his many pseudonyms, namely K. M. O'Donnell.  One half of an Ace Double, the book was called Final War and Other Fantasies.  They were all early works, and not my favourite thing to read, though a few them were pretty brilliant.

Blish's Mission To The Heart Stars is a somewhat inferior sequel to his outstanding The Star Dwellers.  This time we visit the Galactic Hegemony, which turns out to be a pretty disappointing bunch.  The sequel reads like a really good Star Trek episode, and is a pretty good story.  But I had expected even better things from this writer.  There is a pretty good introduction by his daughter.

This completed another round of my series, so after reading the Verne novel mentioned above, I restarted with Silverberg.  Those Who Watch is a pretty tense read, about three benign alien observers (conveniently in human form) who crash land in New Mexico.  The story of their individual adventures in survival makes up the story, and it's a pretty good one.  One of the story threads is particularly good, the one where a young native boy from a Pueblo befriends the wounded astronaut.

Next came Piers Anthony's 2nd Xanth installment, called The Source of Magic.  I am now more convinced than I was even after the first book that I am done with series.  That will save me reading about 40 of his books.  They are his most popular creations, so that should tell you something about the state of fantasy writing, and the author's ability to insert himself into it.  Basically the series is one long joke.  And only one joke.  After over 700 pages now of hearing the same joke, I think I can safely say stay away from this series.  I'm surprised it's not a major motion picture franchise.

In movie news, my pick for the week was another film by Fassbinder.  Beware Of A Holy Whore is from 1970, his 5th film, and chronicles the making of a movie in an exotic location.  Part avant-garde theatre and part cinematic experimentation, it's filmed in glorious colour.  Fassbinder again stars in it, as assistant director.  Despite some painful moments, it is quite watchable, and might be his best film so far.  Though that is not saying a lot.  He was so prolific that I doubt I will get through his entire oevre, but I will keep at it.  We also watched part 6 of Berlin Alexanderplatz, which gets more painful with each episode.

Now showing on Criterion.

Next up, my summer in Africa.

Mapman Mike