Quick Movie Recap

 After finishing the 14 episodes of Berlin Alexanderplatz I have started in on the 4+ hours of extras.  Those extras include an excellent documentary that was presented in New York in 2006, when the series first hit the big screen in a fully restored version.  Directed by the original editor of the TV series, she also includes a lot of interviews with the actors, producers, and cinematographer.  It was fun to watch after having seen the entire series, though I was happy to see it at my leisure over a period of many weeks.  It was shown in one weekend in New York, and made it's way to Detroit Film theatre as well.  We gave it a miss for that reason.  Also included in the Criterion lineup is the 1931 German film of the same title, with script work done by the book's author.  Although only 84 minutes long, the old film actually gave a better feeling for the late 20s in Berlin, and included lots of action views of the city in motion.  Fassbinder could not do this, of course.  His version was all done on a vast set, rebuilt from a film Bergman had created previously.  Anyway, the short early film gets the basic story across, though very broadly.

The 1931 film version is also showing on Criterion.  

Criss Cross is a tense 1949 film noir directed by Rovert Siodmak, starring Burt Lancaster.  Yvonne De Carlo is the love interest, and Dan Duryea plays the heavy (what else would he play).  I love Lancaster, so enjoyed him a lot in this film as the unlucky driver of an armoured car who is the inside man on a botched hold up, where he was double crossed.  Not really memorable, but fun to watch.

Showing until October 31st on Criterion.

Zatoichi's Vengeance has the blind swordsman meet up with a blind priest, with some interesting interchanges between them on being blind from birth versus being blind after having been able to see first.  There is also a rather interesting portrayal of a prostitute, spurned by her former lover and forced to work as she does.  When he seeks and finds her and tries to get her to come away with him again, she has a few choice words for him.

All the Zatoichi films are being screened on Criterion. 

From 2002 Deb chose The Hours, a very watchable film about Virginia Woolf, and her novel Mrs. Dalloway.  The three female leads are pretty awesome, with a special shout out to Nicole Kidman as the troubled young writer.  It's odd how many movies lately have had tragic endings.  The music is by Philip Glass, and is quite suitable, in my opinion.

 

Showing until October 31st on Criterion. 

 

Another of Deb's picks was a 1939 film starring Carry Grant and Jean Arthur.  In  If Only Angels Have Wings it's the early days of flying mail over the Andes, and it's a dangerous job. Grant is the boss of a small airline trying to establish credibility and win the mail contract.  He seems miscast or out of sorts in the first half, though his acting improves, as does the film, in the 2nd half.  Jean Arthur is probably the most natural person in front of a camera I've ever seen.  Most of the film is shot in a run down hotel/bar/restaurant, which is also headquarters for the small airline, whose rain-drenched field lies just outside the door.  Worth a watch, with some truly amazing flying stunts and up and close and personal mountain photography from a plane.

 

Showing on Criterion until October 31st. 

 

Finally, we have Bonjour Tristesse, a 1959 film that sent the French New Wave off to a running start.  Both Truffaut and Goddard fell in love with the acting of young Jean Seberg, playing the precocious daughter of David Niven.  Another very sad ending, but we both like the film, and thought that Seberg was perfect in her role as the privileged rich white girl searching for fun.  She failed her school exams, and has no interest in retaking them.  She's happy going to parties, hanging around the French Riveria, with her main home in Paris, where she is also a clubber.  The original book was written by a girl of 18 years, and caused quite a scandal when it was published.  Recommended.

 

Now showing on Criterion until October 31st. 

 

More later. We have just put up the Samhain decorations, and are preparing dinner and getting ready to watch a movie.  Next time I will feature one or two cat art choices from the DIA, in honour of a recently lost friend.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

In Memory of Gustav ("The Cat")

Gustav, 2005 to 2020.

We had to put our little ginger buddy to sleep yesterday.  It was a very sad day.  He'd been ill with fever for about two weeks, and crashed totally on Saturday morning, likely a stroke at the very end.  He'd been 3 times to the vet, and was on meds for the fever, but we had no luck.

Unless you've lived with a cat for a long time, you can never really understand how individual they are, and how much personality they possess.  Each cat we have had the pleasure of living with (a total of five, plus Mitzi, who lived with Deb and her family before our marriage) has been a totally different critter.  They have quirks that go beyond description, and habits that can seem both maddening and hilarious.

Gustav brought much love, laughter, and entertainment to the Homestead, and was the best mouser one could imagine, seldom harming them but presenting them to us in the middle of the night in bed.  Every morning he would be allowed into the attached garage, and would take a sniff around.  Then he would come in for his morning margarine, his favourite treat.  He would take about a teaspoonful in small lumps at a time from the end of my finger, in the most gentle manner.

At night he would often come up to bed with me, snuggling close, and slowly turning over to expose his belly for a night time rub.  His eyes would get all watery and glassy after a few minutes of it, and he would purr quite loudly.  Downstairs, he would jump up on the cat perch for his daily brushing.  Five minutes of brushing and we would leave him, but he'd still be there 20 minutes later, purring just as loudly as when we were brushing him.  He loved classical music, especially baroque strings, and he loved the fireplace when it was roaring.  He would sometimes sit so close that we thought he would go up in a puff of smoke one day.

Deb had been feeding him outside one cold winter, then decided to trap him and bring him inside.  She took three days off work to stay home with him, keeping him in the cage.  He was completely wild.  She read to him, fed him, and stroked him gently through the bars with "the stick of love."  Before long he was house trained and as spoiled as most cats can get.  

Gustav was always popular with visitors, and had many young girlfriends, mostly piano students who would much rather have spent their lesson time playing, petting, and brushing Gustav than sitting with me over at the piano.

We still have Mogollon, our 5th cat.  He was also trapped in our yard, after persistently hanging around the bird feeders trying to catch his dinner.  He is old and arthritic now, though still a kitten at heart, and playful.  But the house feels strangely empty without Gustav.  And so do we.

Gustav in tummy rub position.

Top to bottom: Gustav, Mogollon, Chaco.  Only Mogi remains with us.

Gustav and Mogollon enjoy an afternoon fire and nap.

 Mapman Mike

 
 

 

Maps, Meniere's, Movies, and Music: My Path to Sanity

I didn't mention my reading pastime in the title, because it doesn't start with the letter "M".  With a full Meniere's attack coming every third or fourth day, I have a whole new outlook on life taking shape in my mind.  I was given 20 tablets of Lorezepam on Wednesday.  I need to take two at the onset of an attack.  They work like magic.  The vertigo remains under control (though there is a fierce battle for a while), and there is no nausea.  Using Gravol, I would end up with three or four bouts of nausea and vomiting, and around four hours of dizziness.  I would have no food for at least 8 hours afterwards, except for ginger tea, and feel lousy for an other day.  With this new drug, the attack is minimized in minutes, and 90 minutes after the onset I am making dinner and eating it.  I have 16 tablets left.  Then what?  They can become addictive, and if taken regularly and then stopped can cause withdrawal symptoms.  So far I've had two doses of two pills (the maximum is two pills per day), one Wednesday and one Sunday.  If only I could keep some of these in my pocket.  I never know where or when the attacks will happen.  I see my specialist in less than three weeks.  Today I had bloodwork, and I am booked for an MRI, probably not until around Christmas.  I remember Deb having her should one done on an Easter Sunday.

 

On to Maps.  There are currently three areas of interest to me currently in this subject.  First and foremost are my digital topo maps of New Mexico. about three thousand of them.  And yes, I am going carefully through each one of them, and planning hikes which I would kill to be able to carry out.  I'm already a year behind in my hiking, and fervently hope I can return to the mountains of the Southwest next Spring.  My second area of interest in maps is astronomical, namely the Uranometria Star Atlas, the most complete atlas of the heavens in existence.  In 226 charts it plots 25,800 galaxies, 1600 open clusters, etc etc, and over 280,000 stars.  This is a serious volume to own, peruse at night, and take into the field.  I often sleep with it beside me.  Thirdly come the National Geographic Maps, all available to me on-line with my inexpensive subscription to their print magazine.  Hundreds of maps of the world and space.  I particularly enjoy looking at old maps of Africa, from the deepest jungle to the vast Sahara.

 

Moving on to Movies for awhile, I just finished the 14th and final episode of Berlin Alexanderplatz.  The epilogue was nearly two hours long, an entire movie unto itself.  Experimental avant garde theatre meets 1980s television camera and editing techniques.  This might be the best two hours of televison ever made, as Hans Biberkopf enters the mad house, and must work through his problems internally, while on the surface he vegetates.  Truly wonderful execution of so many different styles, backgrounds, plots, characters--a major tour de force.  There are several hours of extras to watch next, and a 1931 film version of the book, lasting 90 minutes.  So lots more Biberkopf to come!

 

Now showing on Criterion Channel. 

 

Deb's movie choice last week was a Japanese movie from 1963. Directed by Kon Ichikawa and called An Actor's Revenge, it tells the tale of a leading male actor who plays the parts of women in traditional theatre, and his years long struggle to avenge the death of his mother and father at the hands of crooked justices and merchants.  The visuals, in wide screen and colour, are stunning.  The film could be simply watched without knowing the story.  Some of the music is quite annoying, but the story, one of sorrow and hardship, is also punctuated with some humour.  Definitely a good catch.

Now showing on Criterion Channel.

We also watched a 1950s SF, called The Atomic Submarine.  Somehow this decent little film had escaped my viewing up till now.  A flying saucer causes havoc under the north pole, and a top sub and crew are sent to put a stop to it.  The is b & w film from 1959 is not quite as silly as most such films, and was quite fun to watch.  It was only about 65 minutes long.

Now showing on Criterion, thru October 31st.

 

In music news, I continue to practice, but due to the unpredictability and frequency of attacks of dizziness I am experiencing, I am holding off on the performances, at least until I see Dr. Ling in a few weeks.  Hopefully I can continue with my working meds until the MRI.  If not, it's back to Gravol and suffering.  Our listening program marches along.  It is in five sections.  We are listening to the complete string quartets of Haydn one night, baroque records from our collection on another night (currently Geminiani Op 3 and Op 4), finishing up the Brahms complete works on a third night, and working through our opera collection on vinyl on a fourth night (currently one side left to go in Bizet's The Pearl Fishers).  Thursday and Friday evenings at 7:30 pm we are subscribed to live DSO digital concerts, which we are really enjoying.  So lots of music going on here.  As soon as the Brahms box set is complete (nearly done), we will begin the Beethoven set.  Hoping to add the Bach bo set once we get through the Haydn quartets (a while yet).

 

And I'll conclude with a rainy day photo from the DIA, taken on Woodward Ave. in Detroit, in 1955.  It's been grey and wet around here lately, and I miss Detroit.

 

    Untitled (Street Corner, Detroit), ca. 1955, printed after 1980, gelatin silver print. 
Bill Rauhauser, American, 1918-2017 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

Ides of October

It's grey, windy, and cool today, and our autumn leaf colour seems to be at or near its peak.  We were out yesterday for our haircuts, a prescription pick-up, a new phone plan for our cell phone, and groceries.  We have left Bell cellular service, and are trying something new.  We have data, texts, and phone for $25 a month right now, and might upgrade in a month or so.  A former student working in the tech department took care of us and steered into a very good deal.  Thanks, Mat!

 

In astronomy news, it's been grimly cloudy this week.  Deb came out with me Tuesday night, and we had some clear skies, but it was mostly a mess.  However, we managed to view Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and its moons, Mars, Neptune and its moon Triton, and Uranus, along with several deep sky objects.  The night wasn't a complete waste, but it had many frustrating moments. 

 

In reading news, I recently finished and reviewed my 500th book related to the Avon/Equinox series!  It happened to be the first book of a trilogy by Jack Williamson and Frederik Pohl, a very dark story but I quite enjoyed it.  Called The Reefs Of Space, it is the first in their Starchild series.  

 

In Meniere's news, things have not improved, and I am still having attacks every few days.  However, things are rolling.  I go back to see my specialist in three weeks, I have an MRI coming up (someday), and my own physician gave me a prescription to help ward off the vertigo.  I had my first chance to use it last night, and it seemed to work pretty well, even better than the Gravol I've been relying on up till now.

 

In movie news, we continue to watch all the films of the Brothers Quay that Criterion is showing.  The Comb seems to be another gem, rising high above many of the other films, though not approaching their two masterpieces (see earlier blog).  In addition to the stunning visuals of their films, the music is always at least as interesting.

 

 Two scenes from The Comb, by the Brothers Quay, now showing on the Criterion Channel. 

 

I have watched Part 13 of Berlin Alexanderplatz, and only have the 90 minute epilogue and about 7 hours of extras left to watch.  Rather a grim story, but it's nearly done.

 

Deb has had two movie picks recently.  The first was Purple Noon, from 1960, a Rene Clement take on the first Ripley novel by Highsmith, where he takes over the identity of an acquaintance and essentially steels his money, life, and girlfriend.  The film is faithful to the book right up until the end, when it substitutes a totally different ending, as movies are wont to do.  Alain Delon is quite good as the heartless and ruthless Ripley, who is out for himself and faces many challenges.  But it all seems just a bit lifeless to me.  There is great location photography, and some exciting sail boat scenes.

 

 Now showing on the Criterion Channel

Next she chose a 1941 George Cukor film starring Joan Crawford called A Woman's Face.  This is a melodrama in disguise, which begins as a crime film but switches halfway through.  Joan is scarred from a fire, and half her face is deformed.  She is currently a blackmailer, and sets out to trap a young wife who has been unfaithful to her doctor husband.  Lucky for Joan that doctor is a great surgeon, and he might be able to save her face.  Afterwards, having come under the evil influence of Conrad Veidt (who else), she is assigned as a governess to a small boy, who is the way of Conrad's inheritance.  All she has to do is kill the boy and they are home free.  Can she go through with it?  Or with her new and beautiful face, has her soul also been cleansed.  Enjoy the tense ride in a cart above a turbulent waterfalls to find out.  Hokey at times, the role is certainly different than any Ms. Crawford ever accepted, and it made her a star, her part having been refused by some big name actresses.

 

Now showing through October on Criterion.

 

I had sent out invitations to my upcoming recitals a while ago, but my Meniere's attacks are becoming so frequent and unpredictable that I have had to postpone them, at least until I see Dr. Ling, my specialist.  I've had no alcohol for weeks now, and have cut back on caffeine.  I had gotten used to the hearing loss, but suddenly this new phase has started up.  With our weather so unsettled lately, and the barometer bouncing up and down like a beachball, I wouldn't be surprised if that doesn't have a lot to do with it.  After all, with the pressure in my right ear totally messed, rapid and deep changes in air pressure could easily be causing my problems lately.  Signing off for now.  I am currently in the process of writing an astronomy article for our club's October newsletter.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

More of the Same (but different)

We finished watching World On A Wire, Fassbinder's 3 1/2 hour SF production for German television back in 1973.  The film has been restored, and came with 90 minutes of extras, including interviews (from 2010) with actors, the cinematographer, and the script writer.  It turned into a pretty neat film, part Philip K Dick, part film noir, and part James Bond thriller.  It was certainly the most entertaining Fassbinder film we have seen so far in his retrospective now showing on the Criterion Channel.

 

After that we watched a very silly Jackie Chan movie from 1978, called Spiritual Kung Fu (my fault).  Played strictly for lowlife laughs, Jackie is still likeable, and watching him in action in his youth is a study in how hard the man trained, and how good at it he really was.  His stick fighting technic against 18 monks has to be seen to be believed.  And we have been watching all of the Brothers Quay animation now showing on Criterion, including Street of Crocodiles, one of the most fascinating films ever made.  Only 18 minutes long, it has the feel of an epic one.  Very twisted and very enjoyable, with some of the best stop motion animation ever put on film, and sets that are incomparably creepy and nightmarish, this is a must see film.  It had been many, many years since we had last seen it.  As to the dozen of so others also showing, I don't remember any of them, even though we have also seen The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer, also a classic one.

Jackie Chan stars in a silly movie.

Scene from Street of Crocodiles. 

 

Scene from the Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer.

In other news, I have had two clear nights in a row, right at the start of the new session.  This means that the moon rises early and puts a stop to things, but this time after moonrise I had a chance to observe Mars, which is at its closest approach to Earth for the next 20 years or so.  And it is very close!  I had outstanding views of the surface, with more intricate detail than I have ever observed before, in a lifetime of observing.  On two previous optimum oppositions, including two years ago, dust storms have swirled, obscuring nearly the whole planet.  But this time conditions are perfect on Mars, and the views are simply breath-taking!  I also sought out Neptune, which is remarkably bright in a 12" telescope.  It is cloudy tonight, but very mild, so I am home blogging instead of observing.

 

And now, for a few works of art from the collection of the DIA (will I ever get there again?).  Christian Rolhfs (German, 1849-1938) is well represented in the DIA, though the graphics are rarely shown.  Sun and moon, here we have two opposite works by the master.  I love them both, creating moods that reflect their subjects, and making us think a bit about night and day, sun and moon, and light and dark.  As an astronomer I live comfortably in both worlds, but I love the bright sunny days as much as I love the dark, starry nights.  We truly live on a wonderful planet, possibly one of the finest in the galaxy.  Wish the same could be said for more of the human inhabitants...

 

Sunflowers, 1935, Christian Rolhfs.  Water-based pigments on heavy wove paper.  19" x 26".

 Violet Moonlight II, 1935.  Watercolour, 30" x 21.5".

Collection Detroit Institute of Arts. 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

Maps, Movies, and Music

The Beethoven CD collection arrived today, and it is really something beautiful to behold.  Even if one never listened to a single disc, it would still be a major investment.  In addition to a large book with many full colour illustrations, each of the several sections comes with a booklet with essays and full track details.  Nothing like this has ever been put out before; in addition to the complete works, there are many different interpretations of many of the main works.  For example, there are 4 complete and different sets of the 9 symphonies, and two full sets of the string quartets, three of the piano sonatas, in addition to several single works being given several times with different performers.  A miracle in a box!

The box is huge, holding 123 discs, one large hardcover book, and 9 smaller booklets.  I have died and gone to heaven.  Someday I will own the same kind of set, but of Bach's music.  I may never leave home again voluntarily. 

And speaking of mind-blowing purchases, I turn now to a brief discussion of maps.  I own a CD-ROM set of all of the maps published by National Geographic.  I've had the set for many years, but the program does not work on modern computers.  Thus I have not had access to these maps for nearly a generation now.  Recently, National Geographic has put all of their maps on-line.  They can be purchased individually, but even better is that if one buys a print subscription ($19 US), then not only do you receive 12 issues of the magazine in the mail, but you gain on-line access to their entire map collection.  even better than this, the quality of the scans is much improved over the old CD set.  So guess who recently purchased a subscription to National Geographic?  It's been an orgy of maps around here lately!

A map from 1922 that I have been perusing lately.  Sections can be downloaded and copied, too.  A Few things of note from the legend.  First, there are no roads, only railroads and caravan routes!  Secondly, many rivers on the map are marked "Unexplored."  Be still my beating heart!!

 

Small detail from a 1922 National Geographic map of Africa, one of hundreds I now have access to.  

In all the excitement we have hardly noticed that it has been unseasonably cold the past few days.  We had our first wood fire Wednesday evening, and it was a beauty.  It even attracted a cat.  The furnace got tested Thursday morning, and the 50 year old boiler is performing magnificently again.  We are all set for cold weather, though it is supposed to moderate by Tuesday of next week.  That is good news, as that is when the new astronomy session kicks off, weather permitting.

In movie news, we have each watched one of our own selections, and I watched part 12 of Berlin Alexanderplatz.  My movie choice this week was another TV undertaking of Fassbinder, a three and a half hour production shown in two parts called World On A Wire.  We watched Part 1 this week, and really liked it.  It's a fairly engrossing SF story about creating a computer program that simulates life as we know it, and people in the lab can communicate with their coded counterparts.  People on our side of the equation keep disappearing mysteriously, and no one seems to remember them.  Part 1 ends with a cliffhanger shock, so we are anxious to see Part 2 next week.

 

Now showing on Criterion.  We watched Part 1, lasting 1 hr. 45 min.

Liking it a lot so far. 

 

Deb's film choice this weekend was directed by Robert Siodmak, from 1944.  It is a well done noir film that has some very expressionist scenes, including a night scene at an El station in New York.  We also get to watch a crazy jazz set in a very small room.  Elisha Cook plays drums like a madman, and kisses the heroine, who is pretending to like him to get information from him.  Her reactions to his kisses are classic, as she will do do literally anything to free the man she loves from jail, where is wrongfully imprisoned.  Though hailed as a classic, the story is not consistent enough for me, but still worth a look.  The sets and photography are excellent.

Now showing on Criterion.

Sculpture studio.

Elisha Cook, Jr. jams on drums.

Visiting her man in prison.

My favourite scene, an el station at night, where the stalker becomes the stalked.

  

Now that we are in a suitably artistic frame of mind, I had promised to reveal some more works from the DIA collection.  I have some German Expressionist art that would fit in nicely here.  However, by coincidence I heard from Dino again today, and he sent his latest creation.  It's about as far from noir as one could get, but that's just fine, too.  Enjoy his painting of a barn swallow!  Thanks, Dino!

 

A recent work by Dino.  Beautiful capture! 

 

   Mapman Mike                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

 

September Books, and A Few Purchases of Note

On December 16th it will be the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth.  We had already planned to incorporate many of his works into our nightly listening program next year, and in addition I am embarking on a 1,000 page biography written by Jan Swafford of Beethoven, published in 2017.  A few years ago I read his work on Brahms, and was enthralled for the several months it took me to finish it.  It was like reading a novel, rather than a biography, and I am hoping for much the same with Beethoven.  There are 33 chapters, and I will read one in between every two novels I finish in my Avon/Equinox project.  So far I have read the Introduction, Chapter One (his grandfather, father and mother, and his birth) and the Appendix, which has to do with musical forms used by the composer.

 

Now part of my on-going reading.

I was getting ready to buy the complete works of Bach on CD, something I've wanted to own for some time now.  We have purchased and listened to the complete works of Delius, Britten, and we are just finishing up Brahms.  But at the last minute I put the Bach project on hold, and purchased the Beethoven collection instead.  This makes more sense just now, even though I doubt we will listen to everything (though I am stubborn and persistent).  The collection gets rave reviews, consists of 118 CDs, including multiple recordings of some works, and vintage recordings of many others.  Also, the piano sonatas and string quartets and symphonies are not by all the same people, but a mix of top performers, which I like.  Combined with my own Beethoven collection on vinyl and CD, we are pretty much set for a fun year of Beethoven! 

This set is on the way to our house!

BTHVN 2020 ‐ Beethoven The New Complete Edition (118 CD + 2 DVD +3 Blu-ray Audio) 

 

On to my September reading.  I read ten books related to my Avon/Equinox project, which now stands at 495 books read and reviewed online, and one book unrelated.  I also began the Beethoven biography, a mammoth undertaking.

 

First up was a Piers Anthony novel, as I began yet another one of his series.  Split Infinity is the first of his Apprentice Adept series, which tries to lead his SF fan base into his world of fantasy.  The novel begins as SF, and then changes to fantasy, as we hop back and forth between two worlds, though existing on different planes of the same planet.  An interesting concept, but he doesn't pull it off very well.  I really like Piers Anthony's SF writing, among the best I've ever read.  But after three of his fantasy novels, I am not a fan of his writing in that genre.  I might try one more in this series later, or not.

 

Next came a Harry Harrison non SF novel, called The QE2 Is Missing.  This is a very taut tale about the great ship being hijacked at sea, then found later with all crew and passengers missing.  The novel has a great opening, and a satisfying ending, and in between is some nail biting adventure.  Another winning combination of husband/wife team up (Harrison is great at this) to help catch the baddies.

Next came Bulmer's 1969 Stained-Glass World, a 160 page distopian novel of a drug-filled escapist future, with the world divided between Workers and Uppers.  If the workers don't work, they don't get access to their off duty dream worlds, which is the only reason they work to keep the world running in the first place.  The Uppers have access to better drugs and dreams, and whenever they want.  There are various kinds of security forces, including the toughest of them, the Revenue men.  The streets are mean, and no one ventures out alone.  Very grim, and worth a look.

An early work by E. C. Tubb was next, from 1953, called The Price of Freedom (alias Space Hunger; alias Earth Set Free).  Coincidentally, this story makes an excellent pairing with the Bulmer novel, above.  Tubb gives a very honest and grim look at a truly free society of the future, one that a good deal of Americans are always screaming for.  It is a world filled with private security and bodyguards, assassinations, raids, robberies, and mostly jungle law.  It would no doubt appeal to a certain type of weapons-loving personality, but most people would prefer what we have now, flawed as it is.  A somewhat strange book, though not nearly as strange as the Bulmer one mentioned above.  Fun to read and think about.

 

Next comes Jack Williamson's highly readable adventure story, a retelling of Theseus and the Minotaur, called The Reign of Wizardry.  If, like me, you have always been fascinated by Crete and the Minoans, then this fun novel will be right up your alley.  It gets silly from time to time, and there is one (for me) big disappointment, but all in all this is a good book to seek out in a used book store on a rainy day.

Michael Moorcock's The Quest for Tanelorn concludes his Castle Brass series (3 novels), and Hawkmoon series (4 novels).  It's only 155 pages and easy to read, and in addition to wrapping up the two series mentioned, it also sums up all of his Multiverse writings up to that time (1975).  The three Count Brass books have been added to my all-time list of favourite series, though the four Hawkmoon books, which are good but not great, must be read first.  Highly recommended!

Next came Super-Cannes: A Novel, by J. G. Ballard.  Several of Ballard's books are my favourite books of all time, and this one is right at the top of the list.  Absolutely amazing writing, the book, at 340 or so pages, left me wishing it had never ended.  He hits so many things right on the head in this book that it could provide me with an infinite number of quotes, enough for several years of those little daily tear-away calendars.  One of the best modern novels, without question.  Not SF, but worth it for SF fans anyway.

Cinema by Barry Malzberg is another novel he wrote in the early 70s for a publishing house trying to upgrade itself from publishing standard porn novels.  They got way more than they bargained for with Malzberg.  Despite the sex, which is not pornographic at all, this is great literature, and reminds me of the joke of why blokes used to buy Playboy magazine back in the day ("for the articles, man").  A young woman, a recent college grad, wants to become an actress, and instead gets herself involved in the porn film industry.  Like his previous book for the same publisher, called Screen, this one is tragically hilarious, as we watch the poor heroine get ground down until she has a breakdown.  Doesn't sound very funny, but black humour is hard to explain.  This stuff is jet black.

Last in the cycle comes James Blish, who co-wrote A Torrent Of Faces with Norman L. Knight.  Published in Galaxy Magazine as three novelettes, and expanded and published here as a linked novel, we are taken to a future where Earth is home to 1 trillion people!  Now that's what I call trying to tackle a true population nightmare!  This is a nearly perfect story, so well done and so highly readable, from 1967.  One of the great SF novels, to be sure!

Before resuming my next iteration of the Avon/Equinox authors' books remaining, I now always take a break and read something different.  I returned to my childhood again, reading The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. It is a very well crafted novella, and my only regret is that the author never returned to the theme.  How I wish he had written a sequel!  One of the greatest stories every written, and I was suprised by how well the 1960s feature film followed the author's writing.  The movie did add more things, and left out the far future segment, but overall did a great job of bringing the story to the big screen.

Lastly for September came a novel by Robert Silverberg, as I start over in my reading cycle.  To Open The Sky, like the Blish book discussed above, also consolidated some works previously published in SF magazines in the mid-60s.  Five novelettes tell the story of how interstellar travel was achieved, over a period of some 90+ years.  Many of the same characters return in each story.  It is a very imaginative and unique look at how the speed of light might someday be breached.  Sometimes the writing is a bit too straight forward and not that engaging, but overall this is a well done project.  I wish there had been one more story at the end.

 

I am currently reading a 532 page SF novel by Piers Anthony called Mute (for mutation).  Next month I'll talk about it a bit.  If this or any of the novels mentioned above are of interest, refer to my Avon/Equinox blog.  There should be a link at the top of this page, in the left margin.

Too tired right now to include art from the DIA.  Hopefully next time.  Happy October, and Happy Full Moon!

Mapman Mike