Full Moon Celebration

This full moon is known as The Coconut Cream Pie Moon. We always bake a moon cake/pie on the full moon, and this time around a lovely vegan cream pie is chilling in the fridge, along with a can of coconut milk whipped cream.  Later, there will be a wood fire, and throughout the day we will be listening to the opera of the month.  This time it is a late work by the Czech composer Janacek, called Katya Kabanova.  It's based on a Russian play called The Thunderstorm, by Ostrovsky (1823-1886).  The opera premiered in 1921, and is considered one of Janacek's finest works.  We shall see.

In weather news, it only took two days for most of our snow to leave us.  From midnight Tuesday until Thursday morning, about 90% of the snow had melted, leaving us with only the piles where we had shovelled it.  Tuesday and Wednesday saw sunshine and temps near 50 F, and that is all it took.  We can see our snowdrop buds, and they are ready to bloom.  Huzzah!

 

In health news, Deb's mom is back home from her 3-week hospital stay, and seems happy to be there.  If we are ever able to travel again, family obligations will be our first project, including trips to Sudbury and Lindsay.  We are still getting new Co-vid cases daily, and people are still dying in hospital from it.  Where are the vaccinations, you may ask?  Well, beginning Monday, the over 80s finally get their chance.  Our turn?  Possibly July.

 

In movie news, my regular weekly pick was Ali: Fear Eats The Soul, from 1974 and directed by Fassbinder.  It is his version of Douglas Sirk's 1955 All That Heaven Allows, in which an older rich woman falls in love with a young gardener, shocking the community to its foundations.  In the unforgettable German version, an older widow drops in to a bar one day, curious by the kind of music she hears when passing.  Inside she meets Ali, a worker from Morocco, and the two hit it off.  Their realistic trials and tribulations are beautifully and sensitively handled, and the movie does end on a somewhat positive note.  I really admire the way Fassbinder handles the couple's eventual acceptance by the community.  The racist grocer wants her business back, so becomes nice to her again.  Her son needs her to babysit, so he becomes nice to her again.  Her racist and nosy neighbour needs to borrow some of her locker storage space, and becomes nice to her again.  And so on.  A highly recommended film.

 

                        A beautifully composed scene from the wedding night dinner. 

 

My choice for leaving Feb. 28th was a film from 1930 called Holiday,  about a man about to marry a very rich woman.  Her father runs her life and everything around him, and intends to do the same for his new son-in-law. But the son-in-law wants nothing to do with it, and is more attracted to the older sister.  The sister is wonderfully played by Ann Harding, whose performance reminds me a bit of Bette Davis in Petrified Forest.  There are some amazingly good scenes, including the party within a party, held upstairs in the old playroom.  Well worth a look.

 

                                                                Ann Harding in 1930.  

 

For her final film choice of February (my film festival is also this weekend), Deb picked My Brilliant Career, directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Judy Davis and Sam Neil.  A fun look at growing up female, intelligent, plain, but with the highest of aspirations, in the Australian outback.  The lead performances are outstanding, and the story, simple as it is, is well told.  My question is this: is publishing a book a better result than a happy life with someone you love?  And is it not possible, somehow, to do both?

                                        Now playing on the Criterion Channel, from 1979.

I have chosen the next 3 Zatoichi films for the festival.  More on those later.

 

And from the DIA (which has remained open for much of the pandemic, but, alas, not the border to the USA) comes a painting by George Morland, one of two which the museum owns.  It shows the encampment of a Gypsy family in the wilderness, blending Dutch, Flemish, French, and British traditions in an eye-catching way.  I use to walk by these paintings on a regular basis, but it is now coming up to one year since I have visited the museum and Detroit.  And speaking of camping in the wilderness, when will that happen again?

Gypsy Encampment, George Morland (English, 1763-1804).  Oil on canvas. 19" x 24" unframed.

 

Detail of main group.

 

Detail of right side, lower.  Love those red flowers.

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy the full moon!  Spring astronomy begins March 2nd around here.  Hopefully I will be busy.

 

Mapman Mike

 

The Big Thaw

 Just after midnight (Tuesday 12:01 am), we finally rose about 0 C, after 17 full days of some serious cold for this part of Canada.  But looking back in retrospect, our Spring thaw came only 1 week late.  Even better, our usual 6 weeks of serious winter only lasted 3 weeks this year.  While the timing of the severe cold wasn't the greatest, we have survived.  Our power stayed on, our water pipes did not freeze, and our furnace worked miracles.  Had any one of those three things gone wrong, it would not have been pleasant.  See Texas news for what could go wrong.

As if to officially announce that winter is over, our mating pair of ducks returned today to the bird feeder.  The great melting of huge snow piles is now underway, and shouldn't take too long, as the sun is at a pretty high angle now.  Corresponding with this good news, our local Covid count was only 13 today.  We are hoping to leave the red zone someday.

We've had two Skype conversations with my parents, who both look well, and two or three with Lois, Deb's mom, who might be heading home from the hospital this week.  And as if to prove that it is nearly time to get out of the house and do something fun, last night I had the world's most boring dream.  It was about J cloths.  Enough said.

 

We finished playing Tunguska: Secret Files 1 last night.  We started the game last July!  It is a really long game, with so many different environments and rooms.  It's a classic point and click adventure game, with great graphics, story, and locations, and decent voice acting.  The story is quite good, actually, and Nina, the heroine, is often funny as she goes about her puzzle solving life.  The game is much better than the last Syberia (3) that we played, and also beats Longest Journey 3, though not in the graphics department.  We are about to embark on a wonderful sounding game called Dear Esther, which seems to garner rave reviews.

 

In movie news, it's my pick for tonight, and my film festival choice coming up later next weekend.  For my leaving February 28th choice I picked Dr. Strangelove.  Thanks to standout performances by Slim Pickens, George C Scott, and, of course, Peter Sellers, the movie can be watched repeatedly.  It is a true classic, and probably Kubrick's best film.

 

Showing on Criterion until Sunday.  

 

Deb's regular pick for the weekend was the latest restored film by Czech animator Karel Zeman.  Called Journey To The Beginning Of Time (1955), it tells the story of four adventurous young boys rowing up the river of time, going back in history in search of trilobites, and encountering all the major eons and critters from the ice age back as far as time goes on Earth.  It's not what we were expecting, but it is a fun little film, and the restoration is flawless.  There are half a dozen shorts that accompany it, and we get to see some of the film before it was restored.

Stop motion adventure with Karel Zeman. 

 

Deb's leaving choice was a film we both bailed on after less than twenty minutes.  Called Talk of the Town, it is from 1942 and was directed by George Stevens, starring Carry Grant, Jean Arthur, and Ronald Colman.  The film seriously got on our nerves early on, and the effect continued to worsen.  So, on to my choice tonight. 

 

Turning to art from the DIA, today I bring you some more highway robbery, at one time a lucrative hobby and occupation.

 

The Highway Robbery, 1625, Esaias Van de Velde, Dutch, 1587-1630, and Cornelius Hendriksz Vroom, Dutch, 1591-1661.  Oil on oak, 12.5" x 18". 

 

Detail of right side, showing good hiding places for robbers.

 

Detail of left side.  More dark woods.

 

Central area detail.  

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

February

It will be one to remember.  For two weeks now we have been in a snowy deep freeze.  After Monday night's 9" snowfall, we now have over a foot on the ground.  The good news is that there is enough snow to snowshoe.  The bad news is that we are too tired from shovelling to do much else physically.  I have shovelled every day this week so far, and it is snowing again right now.  The temps are supposed to go above freezing on Monday, which will make 17 days in a row staying below 0 C, not counting wind chills.  But the temps are not going to reach the daily average well into March, so we are staying below normal for a long time yet.  Wednesday's low of -22.5C broke the record here for that day.  Remember, folks, this is extreme southern Canada, not the great white north.

I had fun watching all the tension during the Mars landing today.  Personally I thought the mission would fail, due to its complexity.  But it went off (so far) without a hitch, and it was a real thrill once that confirmation came that all was well.  We have the NASA TV channel on our system, so we watched in on big screen TV.  Can't wait for the science to start now.

We have been using Skype to talk with Deb's mom, who is still in the hospital, two weeks now.  We also talked with my parents the other night, the first time I've seen them in nearly 15 months.  So if anyone out there reading this wants to Skype with us, let us know.  We are good to go.

In Mogollon news, his right eye has been changing almost daily, but at least it is not causing him any discomfort.  It grew to the size of a green grape last week, before shrinking down to the size of a pea.  We send regular photo updates to the vet.  He has an appetite, purrs a lot, and is now even coming upstairs to nap with me in the afternoon.  Drops only go in his good eye now, as his bad one is quite dead, though still physically changing.

 

In movie news, Deb's choice from the 'leaving February 28th' list was a wonky film directed by Stanley Donen called The Grass Is Greener, from 1960.  Starring Cary grant, Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr, and Jean Simmons, the best thing about the film is the hilarious opening credits sequence, though it has absolutely nothing to do with the film itself.  Billed as a 'sparkling bedroom farce,' I would consider the film a farce, at least.  I found it quite distasteful, with Mitchum too old as the rude intruder who falls for Kerr.  And why does she fall for him in the first place?  Cary Grant seems to sleepwalk through his role, with Simmons providing the only spark to the film.  Give it a miss. 

Leaving Criterion Feb. 28th. 

 

My main choice for the week consisted of several short films, totally about 95 minutes. Four of the films were by Ghanian director Akosua Adoma Owusu.  From 2005 came Adjube Kete, a six minute film following a day in the life of a young village girl, who is bullied by her family as she goes about her daily chores.  Next, from 2010 comes Drexciya, a brilliant 12 minute film about an abandoned swimming pool.  Here is the blurb for the film..... 

"Akosua Adoma Owusu draws on the Afrofuturist legends propagated by the underground Detroit-based band Drexciya—about a mythical underwater subcontinent populated by the unborn children of African women thrown overboard during the Transatlantic slave trade—for her portrait of a once-grand, now abandoned public swimming facility in Accra, Ghana."   

I think that J. G. Ballard would have loved this film.  I really liked it myself.  Next up was Kwaku Ananse, a 26 minute film from 2013, telling about a young African American woman visiting Ghana for her father's funeral.  It veers off into local folklore, and enters some lovely landscape.  Quite well done.  Lastly from this director came her Mi Brone Ba, from 2009.  This is a funny look at hair braiding, using an African tradition of practicing on little white dolls.  It is 22 minutes long, and ends with a joke that is very funny.  After these four films, I want to visit Accra even more now.  I spent a lot of time last summer wandering the streets and visiting markets using Google Maps, and I keep an eye on flights coming and going from Amsterdam, which is directly connected to Detroit.

 

Next was Touch, directed by Shola Amoo, a British director.  From 2013, it is a 12 minute SF film about a beautiful android falling in love.  A very simple film, of the kind one sees so often at film festivals.  Lastly came The Lonedale Operator, directed in 2018 by American filmmaker Michael Almereyda, lasting 15 minutes.  It is an interview with the aged poet John Ashbery.  Extremely well done and fun to watch, it is illustrated with clips from several old movies.  

 

My leaving Feb. 28th film for tonight is Dr. Strangelove.  It's been way too long....  It's also DSO night, with a Brahms chamber piece on the program.

 

For today's art image, I have chosen a favourite image of Deb taken at the Nelson Atkins Art Museum in Kansas City.  Taken a few years ago when Deb still had long hair.

 

Deb visits Kansas City, and meets a friend.  

 

Mapman Mike

 

The Big One

 Mom's younger sister, my Aunt Pauline, turns 90 today!  Born in the middle of February in Sudbury in 1931 is quite an achievement in itself, but surviving 90 years isn't too shabby an event, either.  Happy birthday Auntie!  Hope we can see you, and all the rest of the family, again someday.

Deb's mom is still in hospital, but preparations are underway to get her some home care when she is released.  That's it for the news.  Now, turning to weather....

It's cold in Texas.  Really cold.  They are not happy, and are not coping well.  I fully understand.  Our severe cold spell here in the southernmost part of Canada is now into its 11th day, and will not end anytime soon.  But wait, there's more!  Though we dodged cold weather until February 5th, we eventually got hit, and hit badly.  And so we have dodged snow storms all winter, as well.  But the snow has been slowly piling up, with a half inch here, a half inch there, and then two inches last night.  And now we are in the bullseye for the big one.  Beginning tonight at around 6 pm, and continuing until noon Tuesday, we are expecting 8-10 inches of snow.  I see much shovelling in my future, and a long wait for Spring.  The funny thing is, tomorrow our county is finally going to emerge from lockdown, and transfer back to red zone.  Restaurants are allowed to open partially, and salons, gyms, etc., all with restrictions in place.  They've been waiting months for this day, and it's going to be a bad snow day for them.  Rotten luck, for sure.

In movie news, I'm not sure what came over me when I picked March of the Wooden Soldiers, from 1934.  It's a kids picture filled with fantastic sets and characters from Mother Goose, and stars Laurel and Hardy.  There are several truly awful songs spread throughout, which don't help the proceedings very much.  Still, the sets are lovely, and the two comics are their usual selves, namely acting like two very overgrown kids.  Several of their routines are funny, and a few are not.  At least it is a short film, and it's leaving Criterion in 2 weeks.

Showing on Criterion until Feb. 28th.  

 

Deb's main movie choice for the week is called A Story of Children and Film, from 2013, compiled and directed and narrated by Scottish director Mark Cousins.   It takes a look at several movies that highlight children in the stories, including films from Africa, Iran, Europe, America, England, etc.  It must have taken a lot of work to compile and edit, and get permission for the many film clips shown.  Though it tries very hard, the film is disorganized, rambling, and easily loses focus, and while it's great fun to watch clips from so many familiar films, there are so many important films either dealt with superficially or not at all, that it's easy to see how the director got lost during his project.  It's simply too big a topic to handle in one film.  This could easily have been a ten-part TV series, beginning with early films and progressing by date, or even taking one theme per episode and working through it.  Since so many great children's films came from books, it's a wonder that this was never even mentioned in the film.  Entire sequences showing his nephew and niece at play falls pretty flat, too.

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

I'll try to return tomorrow with news of the big snowstorm of the year, and more art from the DIA.  It's almost been a full year now since I have been to Detroit and the art museum there.  What a world.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Frozen In Time

 Well, frozen, anyway.  It is garbage night, so I had to go out and place the can by the roadside.  The snow has been squeaking underfoot for a long time now, indicating very cold temps.  We haven't been near 0 C for a full week now, with about 10-12 days remaining in this very serious cold snap.  I had three stops on Tuesday to make,and Deb had her eye exam on Wednesday.  We are now snug inside again, hopefully till next Tuesday.  The kids are back in school, our Covid count is down, and things are looking up, except for the temps.  We've had a tiny bit more fluffy snow on several days, and so far our water pipes seem fine.

Deb has been getting daily updates from the hospital about her mom, and she Skyped with her again today.  So far the ship is sailing steadily onward, but we still have no idea on what may happen once she is released, assuming she beats her infection and gets her body back in some kind of decent condition.

We watched a live DSO performance tonight, a contemporary piece filled with wonderful sounds, but we have no idea what the piece was trying to convey.  Usually the conductor speaks briefly about the piece, but this guest conductor said nary a word.  The piece was 30 minutes long, and used most of the percussion instruments ever invented, including harp and piano.  This was followed by a great reading of Prokofiev's Classical Symphony.  Tomorrow is a jazz concert, and Saturday comes Bach's Brandenburg #6.  These concerts replace our home listening program on these nights.

In movie news, Deb's farewell film choice last week was an odd one, but one I really liked.  Zama is an Argentine film from 2017, taking place in the late 18th Century.  We are shown a wretched colonial outpost in backwater Argentina, one which Zama, a magistrate, badly wants to escape.  His wife and kids are in another distant city, but his hopes for transfer are continually dashed.  This seems like one of the most honest looks at unseen colonialism, and the way natives are depicted is truly remarkable.  They serve, but are surly and mostly unemotional.  Zama signs up for an expedition to track down a criminal, and begins a hallucinogenic journey that is unparalleled in my motion picture experience, and caps this brilliant film perfectly.  Highly recommended, even if most of the time viewers have no idea of what is going on.

Leaving Criterion Feb. 28th.  Highly recommended. 

My regular choice this week was Clouds of Sils Maria, directed by Olivier Assayas.  From 2014, it stars Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart, and a large part of it is set in the Swiss Alps.  It's a fascinating account of a successful, middle aged actress and her young female assistant/secretary, as the actress prepares herself for a stage appearance in London.  She played the part of the younger girl in the production when she was 18, but now she is being asked to play the part of the older woman in the play.  The film gets at the root of what it is to be a famous actress (one with a large brain and a full set of emotions), and the relationship between the two women, young and older, is a fascinating roller coaster of high energy and deep thinking.  The film comes with three extras on Criterion, namely the 1924 b & w film on which this film is partly based, showing the clouds, sky, and mountains of the Alps in ever changing panoramas.  There is a 37 minute interview with the two lead female actresses, and another 37 minute documentary with the director.  It's refreshing to see a film based mainly on female characters, especially one of such high quality.  The scenery is nothing less than astounding.

Now showing on Criterion.  

It's late, and time for me to go to bed (and read until my eyes close).  Good night.  Winter will end someday, even if Covid won't.

Mapman Mike

 

 

Deb's Mom, Mogollon, and Winter

 Lois is still in the hospital.  Deb has been talking with her, but today we managed to undertake a Skype call with her, courtesy of the hospital volunteer staff.  She appears quite run down.  Her tail bone is bothering her from a previous fall, and she is being medicated.  Not much more to say at this time.  Her doctor is supposed to call us soon, so we might know more then.  Some of our Co-vid restrictions are being lifted, but there is still no hospital visits for the near future.

Mogollon's bad eye has gone completely white, though in the earlier photo, below, it still shows some other colours.  He is in good spirits, and eating like a moderately sized horse.  He loves listening to music with us, enjoying some extensive chin scratching at the same time.  In our massive year-long Beethoven project, we have finally made it to Opus 1 tonight, his first published work.  Looking forward to three piano trios over the next several nights, mixed in with some Locatelli and Haydn.

 

The photo is a few days old, but the difference in eyes is easily apparent.  He has advanced glaucoma.  He was in pain for awhile, but seems fine for now. 

 

There seems to be no relief for us in temperatures over the next 14 days, as we will remain firmly below 0 C until at least then.  I'm hoping to begin my spring astronomy sessions in early March, so I will be praying for a major thaw.  We received about 3" of snow, so it's pretty white out there.  I am going through a lot of birdseed, and have to go fetch more tomorrow, along with regular groceries.  Yesterday Deb and I walked across the road to the river and cemetery.  It was very cold, but we have the gear when needed.  There isn't enough snow to snowshoe.  We require much more.

 

This is where our little backyard creek enters the Detroit River, both now frozen quite solidly.  Two weeks ago you could have driven a boat on the big river.

 

There is a bit of open water out there, but very little.

View of the Detroit River, in behind our little cemetery.  

 

The only gaming we have been doing lately is a PC game called Tunguska, and it's been quite enjoyable so far.  We have needed two hints, but it is mostly solvable without help.

 

In movie news, there are two to report on today.  My choice from the films leaving on Feb. 28th this time was Days of Heaven, directed by Terrence Malick, from 1978.  The film is mostly lyrical, and contains some of the most wonderful photography ever captured in a motion picture.  The story unfortunately, is spoiled by unnecessary violence, guns, etc, as most films are.  The glorification of violence, and its total acceptance by movie audiences as a logical outcome of almost any situation, is mind boggling when you start to think about it.  This film could have been a true masterpiece.  As it is, we have seen it, and likely won't see it again.  Brooke Adams is perfect in the role of the woman, and the narrating voice of the young girl is also perfect.  Richard Gere has one expression on his face throughout the entire movie.

Showing on Criterion until Feb. 28th. 

 

Next up was a pick by Deb from the main list.  Pale Flower is from 1964, and is a b & w Japanese noir feature worth checking out.  A man is released from prison for murdering someone.  He turns out to work for the Yakuza, and is soon back in the game.  While attending a gambling house he comes across a beautiful and enigmatic young woman.  She loves to gamble, and soon has him getting her into the real high stakes games.  The film is mostly centred around their relationship, a platonic one based on love of gambling.  There is some humour, but this is mostly a first rate drama, a one-of-a-kind film that is likely worth several viewings.  Next up is Deb's pick from the going away list.  Until next time.

 

Pale Flower, 1954, directed by Masahiro Shinoda.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Mother Nature's Sucker Punch

 As the countdown to spring is nearly here, winter has decided to arrive, in force.  We have dodged major snowstorms and severe temperatures all season, so far.  Just when the light begins to return, and hopes of seeing February's snowdrop flowers, it is our turn for winter.  Keeping in mind that we are the most southerly area in Canada, and that the rest of the country will be hit much harder, here is our  Detroit/Windsor forecast up to the 15th.  Spring is officially delayed.

It's already been a chilly late January and early February, with temps barely rising above 0 on only two days of the past ten.  And now this.  Worst of all, we have no snow, though a bit is supposed to arrive tonight.  Why is that important?  Because snow helps blanket the underground water pipes, and stop them from freezing.  When we lived in the town of Essex many moons ago, our water pipes froze in winter for a week.  What a disaster that was.  Try living with no water, and severe cold temps.  Though this incoming weather is far from the most severe cold we can receive, it's about as bad as it gets for this time of year.

In family news, Deb's mom is in the hospital in Lindsay, after a fall.  Deb spoke with her this morning and she sounds fine.  She has been using a walker at home, and having circulation problems.  She lives alone in a seniors condo, but it might be time to think about the next step.  She is 92.  Besides Deb, she has two more (older) daughters; one lives near North Bay, and the other one in Mexico.  No one can visit the hospital.

In local Covid news, the patients keep dying at an alarming rate, but today we are down to 20 new cases.  That seems remarkable, considering where we were just a few short weeks ago.  And people think lockdowns don't work.

In movie news, we finished up Deb's film festival weekend, and even got to watch one of mine last night.  My film choice was the final (5th) segment of Fassbinder's TV series called 8 Hours Don't Make a Day.  I am slowly working our way through all the Fassbinder material on Criterion, which is considerable.  We both really enjoyed this family series, getting a peek into industrial Germany in the 1970s.  The men work in a tool and die factory, while the women are either working (childcare, newspaper add department, bored housewife) or not.  The films do a good job of balancing the work day with the private lives of the people involved.  There is much humour, plenty of drama, and good storytelling and characters.

Deb's 3 film festival choices were unrelated to one another.  We began with Supa Modo, a Germany/Kenya production from 2018.  A young girl is dying from cancer.  She fantasizes about superheroes, enjoys movies about them, and has a vast poster collection.  She is in a hospital, but mom comes and takes her out, so she can die at home.  Sad and uplifting, there is lots of humour, and several superhero antics.  Recommended.

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Next up was The Getting of Wisdom, directed by Bruce Beresford from 1977.  Based on a popular book in Australia, it tells the sadistic story of a young girl attending a Catholic boarding school.  The movie is frustrating to watch, as the girls are continually catty and aggressive, always trying to hurt someone.  It doesn't make for great viewing, in my opinion.  It is similar in many ways to women in prison movies, with the headmistress a cruel ogre.  Anyway, suddenly, halfway through the film this girl can play piano like a master.  She never practices, hasn't touched a piano up till now, so the film switches to her as a pianist, amidst all the catfighting.  At the end she wins a major award and goes off to study in Leipzig.  Much less enjoyable than it could have been.  Much of the dialogue is very difficult to understand, as well.  It's fine when you can see the faces of the girls when they talk, but otherwise I missed a lot.  It's certainly no Picnic At Hanging Rock.

Now showing on Criterion.  

 

Lastly came Gohatto, a 1999 film by Nagisa Oshima.  One of the strangest samurai films I have ever seen, it deals with a young, beautiful, but evil homosexual swordsman, who nearly causes the school to have a major crisis.  The actor is very strange to look at, but perfect in the role as an obedient and very capable swordsman who enjoys killing.  Not sure I would recommend the film, but for samurai movie completists, it will pass the time.  Some remarkably beautiful and dream like sections.  The sword work is mostly very good.

Showing on Criterion.

 More news as it happens.

Mapman Mike