Astronomy Season Again

 In Spring, the moon comes up quite late soon after full moon, enabling the new observing sessions to begin.  4 days after full moon I was out there.  We were at the very end of a cold spell, and I was in my winter gear having a great time.  The greenhouse lights from nearby Leamington were nowhere to be seen.  My sky was priceless, and filled with galaxies to observe.  This time of year I was able to start deep sky observing at 10:25 pm.  The moon finally rose around 1 am, when I finally packed it in after a fun and successful night.  I may not be able to get to an art gallery yet, but the night sky offers just as much, if not more.  It will be clear again tonight, but I might have to pass.  With less than six hours sleep, I am not functioning well at all today.  Hopefully more clear nights will arrive soon.

Deb had a reaction to her 2nd Moderna vaccine, spending yesterday in bed with flu-like symptoms, mostly aches and pains, and extreme tiredness.  It was similar to our reactions to the Shingrix vaccine.  She is back to normal today.  As to my 2nd Pfizer shot, I only had the usual very sore arm for a day and a night.  In less than two weeks, we will both be considered fully vaccinated.  

I'm still reading from my May book list, so I will wait until at least June 1st before writing up my monthly reading summary.  But before talking about recently watched movies, here is another work of art from the DIA's collection.  Last time I showed a drawing by a French artist more famous for his etchings.  So today, I will show one of his etchings.  The Old Quarter of Vitre is from 1879, and is like stepping back in time for a glimpse of something precious and fleeting, a moment captured forever not by a photograph, but by a careful, labour intensive etching.  There are no wasted lines, and the image shows us city life of another age, and just possibly another planet, with its tall buildings emanating the skyscrapers of tomorrow.  I love images such as this one, that offer up a wealth of detail and yet maintain an overall sense of proportion, balance, and artistic integrity.

Un vieux quartier de Vitre, 1879. Maxime Lalanne, French (1827-1886). Etchng printed in black ink on Japan paper mounted on paperboard; 8" x 11".  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts.

 

Detail of left half.

 

Detail of right half.  

 

In cinema viewing, my going away film was a 36 minute black and white short film from 1982 called Illusions.  Directed by Julie Dash, it's a quick look inside a Hollywood studio office during WW 2.  A young black singer is called in to sing a song that a white woman in the film appears to sing.  She has to sing to the actress's mouthing, which is more difficult than the other way around.  She does a perfect job, and everyone is happy.  Ironically, the real singing of the song is by Ella Fitzgerald.  We gradually find out that the woman in charge of the details of the production office is a light skinned black woman.  An interesting and well paced look into minority starved Hollywood during the war.  The young black female singer is a wonderful actress, full of the energy and strong optimism of youth on the march for fame.  We all know how that will turn out.

 

Showing through May on Criterion.

 

It's Deb's end of month film festival, and she has chosen Japanese Noir as her theme.  There are three films chosen, plus her leaving May 31st choice.  So far we have watched one of the Noir pictures, and are currently viewing her leaving choice, hoping to finish it before it leaves (tomorrow).  The Noir is called I Am Waiting, from 1957 and directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara.  A young restaurant owner, a former boxer black listed for killing a man in a bar fight, waits to hear word from his brother, who is off to Brazil to buy land and then send for him.  He can't wait to leave post war Japan, but he never hears from his brother, and his own letters to him are returned to sender.  At the same time, while taking a late night walk after closing up his eatery, he stops a young girl from jumping into the water.  He brings her back to his place, puts her up, and puts her to work as a waitress.  She is mixed up with gamblers and petty thieves, and soon he is just as involved as she is.  The b & w photography in this unusual and haunting film, along with the decrepit docklands setting of much of the action, is superb. The acting is pretty solid, and while the story occasionally wanders a bit too far from the path, it is a good one overall.  Like the men in American Noir films, the hero of this one is a one man army, taking on the underworld all by himself.  A good beginning to this month's film festival.

An interior shot from I Am Waiting, 1957.

 

I Am Waiting, a Japanese Noir film from 1957, is now showing on Criterion. 

 

Mapman Mike