Astronomy Season

 As the moon wanes, astronomers look forward to crisp, clear autumn nights.  It gets dark early, so three or four hours of observing can be carried out and a full night's sleep, as well.  The only problem, of course, is clouds.  And we have plenty of them.  Farm fields are underwater just now, and the remainder of the soy bean and corn crop cannot be harvested until things dry out.  The current long term forecast is grim, with some snow predicted for next week.  Not unusual, but to miss an entire October astronomy session due to weather is more than a little frustrating.  My last observing night without moonlight interference was September 30th.  As I've said before, I'm glad I like reading, enjoy good films, and practice piano a lot.

In film news, I have three to report on.  So skip this part if you don't like the movies we watch.  First up was another African selection, this time from Sudan, 2019.  The movie features a young boy growing up in a small desert community.  At birth, his parents take him to an Imam for a blessing.  Instead, they are told that the boy is fated to die when he is 20 years of age.   Devastated, the small family leaves.  Father lives the village to find work, and is gone for over 19 years.  Mother wears black for the rest of her life.  This is a beautiful film (like the last one, from Chad), with stunning photography in a minimalist sort of way.  As the time approaches, the boy becomes increasingly helpless and distraught.  He has led a holy life, without sin, despite the best efforts of an older man in the village, a fallen believer who befriends him.  Though the story is good, it is the setting and images that linger with this viewer.

 The mother has a vision in a dream.

Now showing on Criterion.  

My leaving this month choice was Escapes, a documentary by Michael Almereyda, from 2017.  It is a minor masterpiece of storytelling, very funny for the most part, following the life and career of Hampton Fancher, a small role actor (by choice) who starred in Bonanza and many other TV shows, as well as many films.  He had long affairs with the likes of Sue Lyons and Barbara Hershey.  As a young man he studied flamenco and returned to LA to start a dance company.  And he ended up, after a totally fascinating life, producing and scripting Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott.  See this film if you ever get the chance; it's completely amazing!

Leaving Criterion October 31st/21. 

Deb's pick was one of my all time favourite classic movies, Night of the Iguana, starring Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Sue Lyons, Deborah Kerr, and an iguana, among others.  From a play by Tennessee Williams, this movie goes into areas of human frustration untouched by Hollywood.  Directed by John Huston, it is filled with black humour, some fine acting, and a story that doesn't fit any kind of mold.  Set on the outskirts of Puerta Vallerta, and starring two unforgettable young Mexican men who have no lines, but are in many scenes, shaking their maracas and dancing.  Their hilarious fight with the bus driver down by the ocean is one of many weird highlights of this bizarre film.  Oddly enough, this is where Hampton Fancher was during filming, and where he met Sue Lyons.

 

 

Night Of the Iguana, an unforgettable film (and one of my favourites) now showing on Criterion.

Turning to art, I think I will present another Durer print.  For thousands of years women have fallen prey to predatory males, and that ignoble tradition sadly carries on to this day.  The Abduction of Amynome myth is too complicated to go into here, but Neptune abducts Amynome for a time.  The print shows the moment she is captured from her place of bathing, with her distraught father calling helplessly after her.  Of course it is an excuse for the artist to portray a nude female (as most ancient myths do), and he does so unhesitatingly.  However, comma, there is more, namely the detailed landscape behind the story itself.  From a realistic watery scene with reeds and shrubs, to a high castle on a hill, there is likely much more to look at for viewers than a naked lady, though she was likely the main selling point.  Still, I can imagine a man bringing home a print of this back in the day, and trying to convince his wife that he only purchased it for the background....

The Sea Monster, alternately called The Abduction of Amynome, by Durer, 1498. (German, 1471-1528).  Engraving printed in black ink, 8" x 7.5".  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts.

 

Abducted by Neptune, Amynome looks back towards her hand maidens and her distressed father, as she is carried away by Neptune.

Detail showing Neptune, and lots of background detail.  On the bridge to the house is a man and a dog, though they are hard to see.
 

Detail of background, the most interesting part of this print (unless you are seriously into naked ladies).  

Rain continues to fall.  We have had over 3" this week so far.  With astronomy on the back burner, more films and art are likely coming soon.  This is my film festival weekend.  I might go with 30s horror films.  We'll see.  Tonight is Philip Adamson's (my piano instructor) 7th Beethoven concert in a series.  It is on-line only, and hopefully our link will work so we can watch and listen.  Once the concert is over and done with, I can contact him for lessons on my newest pieces.  Looking forward to hearing him tonight, and to lessons.

Mapman Mike

 

 

The Smell Of Autumn

 My most memorable autumn days were spent at the camp on Lake Penage.  Usually, the Thanksgiving weekend marked the final family visit to the lake for the year, and the Sunday afternoon dinner was always a highlight.  It was always cold, often gray and rainy, like today, and days were spent climbing rocks, small mountains, and walking along back logging roads.  That is where the smell of autumn buried itself deeply into my consciousness.  Damp leaves, trees shutting down for the winter, drooping plants and ground shrubs, and even the much colder lake and marshes, all contributed to this over-stimulation of my sense of smell.  So today when I go outside to feed the birds, I get a strong reminder of October days at Penage.  Having only been to New Mexico twice in autumn, I don't have enough permanent memory yet for the same kind of effect.  Plus it is usually sunny and mild there in the autumn, though nights can get very cold in the mountains.

We have had no truly cold days as yet, nothing remotely frosty.  This means that the leaves will likely not turn colour here this year, but gradually fade to a worn out yellow and then on to brown.  However, the furnace has been on low for two days now, helping to keep out the dampness and chill.  We are approaching the time of year that Tolkien's Elves called The Fading (November through early December here), but aren't quite there yet.  Things are still growing, even the grass.  But it is slowing down.

Moving on to other topics, after Deb's first year of teaching we spent seven weeks in Spain during one summer.  We were in a very hot Madrid for six weeks taking courses in Spanish and Spanish art history.  We spent the 7th week on holiday in Barcelona.  In Madrid we stayed at the university, in a dormitory, without air conditioning.  Besides classes every day, day trips and longer journeys were usually planned for weekends.  All of those trips were memorable, including ones to Avila and La Granja, to Segovia and then into the mountains, and to Toledo.  One of the other day trips took us to El Escorial, and the highlight here was the art collection.  In addition to their permanent collection, there was a small show of graphic art by Durer, including his drawings of nature and little critters.  It was a most unforgettable experience, and whenever I come across one of those works in books (many of them are housed in Vienna, in the Albertina, and are only put on display once every generation) or in museums, I am again astounded at the virtuosity of this most famous artist.

The DIA has a print of his Adam And Eve, and though not strictly a landscape, the sheer amount of Nature surrounding the two figures (not even counting their fig leaves) forces one's eye to explore every square inch of the this most famous print.  Detroit has a small truckload of Durer prints, but also has a rare drawing of a recumbent lion.  I'll be happy to show that one someday.

Adam And Eve, Albrecht Durer, 1504.  Engraving printed in black ink, 10.5" x 8".  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts.

Detail of bottom right.  The tail between Eve's legs belongs to a cat (see below).

 

 Cat and mouse detail.  This detail alone is one of the most complex prints I have ever seen.

 

A parrot of Paradise, which itself looks pretty dark and impenetrable.

 

 Eve is given an apple by you know who. What will she do with it? Pass it on, of course. That goat atop the mountain is the crowning touch for this fantastic print.

In movie news, there are three films seen recently. One was Daratt, a 1996 film from Chad. With the civil war finally ended, citizens are waiting for the results from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, hoping for punishment for the many criminal acts that were committed. Instead, a general amnesty is announced, enraging many people, and likely enabling more violence. A young man sets out to kill the man who killed his father.  This is one angry young man.  The story is a simple one, but takes unexpected turns.  However, the best thing about the film is the cine photography, as we get to see life inside N'Djamena, the capital city.  Of course it shows mostly life on the outskirts, but many of the shots are ravishing in their beauty and composition.

Leaving Criterion October 31st.  

Deb's main choice for the weekend was The Black Cat, from 1934 and starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff.  Their acting is supreme in this horror adventure film, with Lugosi a revelation.  Karloff is terrifying as a former Austrian WW1 general who committed atrocities, with Bela out for revenge against him, with an innocent couple caught in the middle.  A classic 30s horror film, and simply one of the best.

Now showing on Criterion. 

Deb's leaving choice is one of the most depressing docudramas ever made.  Dalton Trumbo was one of the infamous Hollywood Ten, a group of writers who would not tell the McCarthy inquisition anything, let alone name names of Communist Part members they might have known.  They were blacklisted, not only in Hollywood, but throughout the US.  With his career in ruins, he moved to Mexico for two years with his family, before returning to the US broke and nearly helpless to find money.  He eventually enjoyed some success under various other names, and it's amazing how many successful screenplays he wrote for movies while remaining under the radar, so to speak.  A devastating but unsurprising look at what McCarthy wrought, before his ignoble downfall.

Leaving Criterion Oct. 31st. 

Mapman Mike

 

 

A Settled Week

 Some weeks are much crazier than others, and several lately have been that way.  But this week seems a bit quieter.  My goal is to only go out of the house for necessities once per week.  Of course I seldom achieve that worthy goal, and this week is no exception.  Tuesday for groceries (one-stop shopping), and today we were out for our flu shots.  So not too extreme a week, indeed.  Of course Deb continues to visit her mom 30 minutes drive away 3 times each week, so her weeks are always busy.  This week, for example, she will be out of the house 5 of the days.  Talking with our pharmacist today while she was giving me my flu shot, she is pretty certain that the two shots of Pfizer I received (2nd dose early May) have already worn out.  The government is certainly not telling us the whole truth.  She claims that a 3rd shot will be needed, followed by a 4th one, as Pfizer is changing their formula to meet the needs of the new, more dangerous variant strains.  So we continue to behave as if we are not vaccinated.

In piano news, the new program is bubbling along nicely.  Two short Bach Preludes start things off, followed by Beethoven's Variations Op 34, then comes a Mendelssohn Song Without Words, a Schubert Impromtu, a Chopin Nocturne, and a concert waltz by Scott Joplin.  I am hoping that everything is in good shape by Winter Solstice.

In literature news, I continue to acquire Delphi complete works of authors on my Kindle.  I have added two female writers.  Kate Chopin wrote mostly short stories of Creole life in and around New Orleans, and I look forward very soon to reading some of those.  Anna Katherine Green gave us the modern detective story much as we find it today, and her work inspired the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle.  I am also looking forward to reading some of her novels and shorter fiction.  Last week I added Robert Chambers, an author I first encountered when reading the Ballantine Fantasy Series.  Some of his shorter fiction was included by Lin Carter, and I found it to be extremely well done.  I now have his complete works, ready to read.  When I listed previous authors I already have in a previous post, I may have neglected to mention P. D. Wodehouse.  While his complete works will not be available in Canada until 2026, I have a version that includes more of his works than I could possibly read in my remaining lifetime.

I just finished a terrific book by Michael Moorcock, and am currently starting another by Barry Malzberg.  After that comes some more Blish short stories, and then I will read stories from my complete collection of Lord Dunsany, followed by some by Kate Chopin.  Good reading times are here for a long while.

There are only two movies to report on today.  After Life is a Japanese fantasy film from 1998, showing us the mundane routines and bureaucracy that goes on after people die.  They report to an old building complex where several employees greet and interview them.  The dead people must come up with one single memory that they want to live with for eternity.  When chosen, that event is recreated and filmed, and then the dead are sent on their way.  A strange film, not difficult to watch, but not very mysterious, either.  It just seems to be a continuation of the mundane existence that many of the dead people have lived with already.  Some find it easy to find their happy moment, while others struggle or even fail.  This is the kind of story that might have made a great short story or novella, but as a two hour movie, it seems a bit overdrawn.

Showing on Criterion. 

Zatoichi In Desperation is from 1972, and is the strangest of the series so far.  It shows an even more ruthless and savage side of Japan than we have seen up to now, with brutality unrivalled since the middle ages.  Except for Zatoichi's killing of nearly everyone at the end (as per usual), this film shows the guilty parties getting away with murder and harassment of the innocent over and over again.  One thread of the film shows Zatoichi completely unaware of several atrocities, as he turns his attention to trying to save a prostitute, one who is conspiring against him the whole time.  And viewers will likely never forget scenes showing the village idiot.  Believing in the kind of brutality pictured is not very difficult these days, as such things continue to go on in country after country (Canada had its notorious religious schools for its Native children up until 1996, and much of the water Native peoples need for drinking today is poisoned by mining).  There is no doubt that medieval cruelties continue nearly everywhere to this day.  That doesn't make them any easier to watch in a film.  Only one more film in this series remains to be seen.

A brutal film in the series, showing on Criterion.

In music listening news, we continue to listen to our entire LP collection, still getting through Baroque music, but also continuing with the Classical period as well.  And of course the Beethoven project, our main listening effort, continues as well.  We are currently immersed in his Op 18 Quartets, with #5 up next.  And yesterday being a full moon party, we listened to Puccini's Turandot, a fabulous recording by Karajan and the Vienna Philharmonic, with Placido Domingo singing his heart out as Calaf, the man who loves to solve riddles and win a princess.  Though it is a simple but very weird story, the music is terrific!  It was too warm to have an indoor fire yesterday, but it's turned colder today.  We made a four-star apple moon cake, with enough baked to freeze half of it.

Up tonight in film watching is a 2006 film from Chad, called Daratt.  Come back later in the week to find out how the viewing went.  My film festival selections come up at the end of October, where I will continue with the Czech New Wave series.  Signing off for now, I remain

Mapman Mike

 

Autumn Again

 We have just finished up with another two weeks of summer, with mostly very warm temps.  Today it is cool and windy, and we had over 2.5" of rain on Friday and overnight Friday into Saturday.  So far we have needed no heat turned on, and other than the furnace test on September 22nd, our system is resting up for the big winter job.  Thursday Deb had a dentist appointment in Windsor, near the main riverfront trail.  I went for a very warm walk (it was 82 F) while she had her smile cleaned. I didn't see any ships, but one was docked at the Detroit terminal.  The bridge was heavy with trucks.

Geese on the Detroit River, seen from my riverfront walk Thursday.

Trucks on the bridge.  Detroit seen across the river.

  Looking towards downtown Detroit from Windsor's riverwalk.  It was a summery day. 

 

Three of the four ships I have been watching all this year are now on the upper Great Lakes.  I am watching two lake freighters, one Canadian and one American, and two salties, both registered under the flag of Marshall Islands.  One of the salties recently stopped in Detroit, coming from Rotterdam.  It is now way up the lakes somewhere, and I will watch for its return.  The other salty is currently in Vera Cruz, Mexico, and I'm hoping it makes at least one more passage past the Homestead before the season ends.  Though it's been a busy shipping season, it is about to get a whole lot busier, as grain shipments from recent harvests make their way past us on their way across the world.  With our trees properly trimmed, I now have an excellent view of the river again from home.

 

There are three recent films seen to mention briefly.  First, the Fassbinder project continues, this time with Satan's Brew, from 1976.  It's an avant garde comedy, and one that has some serious problems.  Despite the problems, it still has some very funny moments, including the physical appearance of Margit Carstensen, looking hilarious in short, curly hair, thick eye glasses making her eyes look gigantic, and a long, tight skirt and jacket that emphasizes her thinness.  It reminds me of some of the Richard Lester movies I have seen.  Though Deb quit watching early on, I persevered.  The two main problems is that his usual actors have little or no sense of how to act in comedy.  However, they get better as the story goes along, and by the end appear to be enjoying themselves in their bizarre roles.  The second problem is the on-going overt sexism, which is amazing in its outrageousness from today's standpoint.  Worth viewing?  Probably, but mostly for Fassbinder fans who want to see everything he has done.

Now showing on Criterion, the story of a writer who is not quite all there, and always in need of cash. 

 

Red-Headed Woman stars Jean Harlow, and is from 1932.  Especially in period Hollywood films, one is used to seeing bad guys and bad gals get their comeuppence at the end of the movie.  Well, Jean is a bad one, out to get a rich man away from his wife no matter what it takes.  She is a truly revolting gold digger who knows exactly how to tempt a man.  But no comeuppance.  She gets away with everything, including attempted murder.  I guess some girls are lucky that way.  Not a great film, but Una Merkel plays her part well, as Jean's loyal girlfriend.

 

Leaving Criterion soon. 

 

Lastly came Across The Pacific, a 1942 wartime adventure film starring Bogart, Greenstreet, and Mary Astor.  The action takes places just prior to Pearl Harbour, when the Japanese were trying to time their assault with a crippling explosion along the Panama Canal.  Luck for us that Bogart is ready to tackle the problem head on, despite first getting beat up so badly he would be in the hospital for a month.  No problem for our hero, who grabs a gattling gun and saves the western world.  Too bad he wasn't at Pearl Harbour, too.  Most of the adventure takes place aboard a small ship, which Bogart calls a boat.  Mary Astor has a great role with some very fun lines as the romantic interest, as well as having some private business to attend in Panama.  Greenstreet is perfect as the evil enabler of the Japanese.

An early film for John Huston, just after he directed Maltese Falcon.

Suited to today's weather, and the beginning of dangerous fall gale season on the Great Lakes, is this print by Claude Gellee in the DIA.

The Wreck, between 1635-36.  Claude Gellee, French (1600-82).  Etching printed in black ink, 5" x 7".  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

Open Border

 As I write this, we are getting another new pair of doors installed.  The storm door and solid door are being replaced in the music room.  The door leads out to a long, wide veranda, overlooking our front lawn.  It leaks heat badly in winter, and lets heat in during the summer.  We are so pleased with our replaced side front door that we decided to go ahead and get this one done, too.  It will also keep out more street noise.

As indicated in the blog title for today, the USA will finally open it's border to land visitors sometime in early November.  That means I can hopefully visit Detroit before the end of the year!  Won't that be a treat!  Speaking of outings, last Saturday Amanda was in town for a visit to her family.  We went with Deb to Kingsville, which has three breweries on its main street.  Deb went to visit her mom, and Amanda and I settled into a brewpub for lunch and some imbibing.  Original plans were to visit all three pubs, but we got stuck at the 2nd one with some fantastic ales.  Deb eventually joined us before we headed home, for more imbibing and some food.  Proof of vaccination is required if sitting indoors, which we did.

Amanda came over again on Monday, and she and I played a game of Akrotiri, a two-person game that involves earning some cash through shipping, and then splurging to build temples on Greek islands.  She beat me handily.  Deb went to visit her mom again, but returned just as our game had ended.  Amanda stayed for Thanksgiving dinner, which was taken outside on the back deck.  The weather so far in October has been very summery, and it was a spectacular day to be outside.  We played our game outside, ate and drank outside, and finally went inside as it grew dark.  Luckily, the weather today is also spectacular, as several days of rain and cooler temps are to arrive.  Our front door has been open for an hour, and will likely be wide open all morning.

In film news, we continue to immerse ourselves in films of John Huston.  In This Our Life is a Bette Davis scenery chewer, as she places the bad younger sister who runs off with here older sister's husband, leaving her own fiancee in the lurch.  She is such a fun companion that she soon drives her new beau to suicide, before returning home and trying to regain her old boyfriend, who is now in love with the older sister.  Needless to say, this was not my kind of picture, and another reason for me not to like most Bette Davis pictures (there are a few I do like).

Showing on Criterion. 

A Walk With Love and Death was our second picture recently about those wonderful medieval times.  Starring Angelica Huston as a teenage lady aristocrat whose father is killed by peasants during the 100 Years War, the film at first seems like it might be a 60s film in the Ren Fair tradition, actually turns out to be quite watchable and true to its time.  The brutality surrounding two young lovers eventually overwhelms them.  We saw the picture many, many years ago and liked it then, but were not expecting to like it now.  But we did.  It still holds up pretty well.

A young Angelica stars in the film, along with her father (who plays her uncle).  The film is in colour, on Criterion.

Mysterious Object At Noon is a Thai film (not directed by John Huston) from 2000, a slightly avante garde film that allows different character to enlarge upon an on-going story about a crippled boy and his teacher.  As expected, the story takes bizarre turns, especially when children get involved in the telling.  But the story is a mere backdrop for some totally riveting scenes of daily Thai life, both in the city and in the country.  The film kind of loses steam at the end, which the director admits happened in one of the extras we watched.  But there are parts I would watch again.  The film is one of Scorsese's World Film Project rescues.  It was shot in 16 mm and had already deteriorated considerably before restoration.

Now showing on Criterion.  

Next came The Dead, from 1987, a small masterpiece of film making by John Huston, based on one of the greatest short stories ever written (Joyce, from Dubliners).  Set in Dublin on January 6th in the early 1900s, the film captures an evening dinner party and social gathering put on by two spinster sisters every year at this time.  Starring Angelica Huston, her moment to shine doesn't come until near the end of the picture. All of the acting is first rate, as is the screenplay, strongly based on Joyce.  A must-see film, this was our third viewing (but it had been a while).

John Huston's last picture, from 1987, on Criterion. 

Lastly, and bringing readers fully up to date with our viewing, comes Huston's Freud, from 1962.  Montgomery Clift underplays the great professor, daring to go where no man has ever gone before (except the ancient Greeks), delving into childhood needs and passions that shape our later years in ways we still don't fully understand.  Susannah York places the truly disturbed Cicely, helped in one way by the good doctor, but not in other ways.  Marilyn Monroe turned the part down.  About 40 minutes were cut from the film before release.  Somber and serious, it is worth watching for some great photography and a creepy look at Vienna.

A b & w film by John Huston, showing on Criterion.

Turning now to art from the DIA (which I might be able to visit again next month!), I return to Canaletto, as promised in an early post.  The Tower of Malghera overlooks a lagoon in Venice, and was a much painted structure in the 18th C (see Bellotto's version on-line, as well as Canaletto's).  As much as I wish Detroit had either of those paintings, this print is a truly wonderful version, and would have been an affordable alternative in its day.  As interesting as the tower is, it is the actions of the inhabitants of the lagoon that provide the most interest.  The way that a great artist can use simple lines to create such a masterpiece.  I especially like the face of the tower, showing wear as the plaster has fallen off of much of it.  Great stuff!

The Tower of Malghera, Canaletto (1697-1768), between 1736 and 1746.  Etching printed in black ink on laid paper, 12.75" x 18".  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts.

Detail of right side.

Tower detail.

Detail of home and foreground.

Detail from bottom right, beneath the tower.

Detail of left side. 

Door installation continues (it is VERY noisy in here).  I will now retire to a quieter part of the house.  No piano practice this morning.

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

4 Recent Films

Actually, there are five.  But we'll get to that one a bit later.  First the Criterion Channel viewing.  We haven't seen Bergman's The 7th Seal in so many years.  Deb chose it for her weekly viewing, and we were both mesmerized by it.  It's worth the price of admission just to stare at Max Von Sydow as a knight just returned from the Crusades.  He and his squire are disillusioned men, returning to find their homeland ravaged by plague, and crackpot Christians doing everything but helping.  We had forgotten the moments of humour the film offers, remembering it only as grim and unrelenting.  But it isn't, as the final dance of death affirms.  This is one of two images of the film that sticks in the viewer's mind, the other being the chess game.  This is one of the best movies about medieval times I have ever seen.

Now showing of Criterion. 

Her leaving Oct. 31st choice was The African Queen, directed by John Huston and starring Bogart and Hepburn as two unlikely allied fighters in Africa against the Germans.  This is a great adventure film, always fun to watch.  Filmed in Africa, the role won Bogey his only Oscar.

A Hollywood classic, and a great film, too.  Showing on Criterion. 

I chose Point Blank, an unrelenting crime story starring Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson, and directed by John Boorman.  Marvin is double crossed and is shot and left for dead during a heist.  His pal and crime partner also leaves with Marvin's wife.  When Marvin survives he goes after his $93,000.  And nothing is going to stop him from getting it.  Marvin is pure ice as he goes after big guy after big guy, until the final showdown.  Not to everyone's taste, and there are some brutally violent scenes, but Marvin never once actually kills anyone, and I really liked the pacing of the film.

Lee is da man.  Showing on Criterion. 

 A lot of John Huston films are leaving October 31st, so we will be watching a lot of them.  My going away choice was called Fat City, starring Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, and, in an Oscar-nominated role as a soused barfly, the unforgettable Susan Tyrell.  As a rule, I try to avoid boxing films.  For example, I have never seen any of the Rocky pictures.  This is a boxing picture, but it is just so good in all its detail that I easily watched the entire thing, including some pretty gruesome fight scenes.  Keach is fantastic in a role that Huston wanted Brando for, giving the right amount of burnout and emptiness to the performance, as well as having some hope for a better future.  When we see him give up alcohol, return to the ring, train to get into shape,and then finally win a fight, he is given $100 for his effort from his manager.  This reality check sets him back forever, and the image below is from the final scene of the film.  There are so many good performances and wonderful small moments in the film that it is pure enjoyment and enlightenment from the get-go.

A still from the final scene of Fat City, showing on Criterion until Oct. 31st.  

And now on to the mystery 5th film.  I watched Apollo 13 in Sudbury with my brother and sister-in-law last weekend, and really enjoyed it.  I remember the events well, though I was in high school at the time, and a lot happened during the night.  There were no all-news channels, only bulletins and updates on the regular news.  The things that went wrong on that flight, and how they managed to fix them, would never be believed if this was a SF film or novel.  Truth is certainly stranger than fiction.  An excellent film.

I think we watched this in Sudbury on Netflix. 

Look for another update by the weekend.  My next project is to write the October article for our astronomy club's newsletter, which I hope to begin working on tonight.  things are slowly coming back into focus for me, as we have had a barrage of cloudy, rainy nights, with more of the same on the way.  While it is disappointing not to have any more clear nights this lunar cycle, it is also good to have my life back again.

Mapman Mike 

 

 

September Books Read

 I managed 9 books from my Avon/Equinox authors, and one from outside that project.

First up was Silverberg's A Time of Changes, a good story though perhaps overrated by its winning of the Hugo Award for 1971.  In a society where everyone thinks alike, and use of personal pronouns regarding oneself are prohibited, people (very few of them) must take a drug in order to experience thinking outside the box.  Since the drug is forbidden, as is the thinking it provokes, it is a dangerous pastime.  Silverberg wades into the "what is love?" question, and deals with it rather unsuccessfully.  I used to think such societies were too far fetched to be believable.  Now, they are found nearly everywhere in the world, especially in fundamentalist religious societies.  The story does make one think about things.

Next up was Piers Anthony's 2nd volume in his Bio Of A Space Tyranny series, called Mercenary.  While I have serious problems with the first book, I decided to try the 2nd one.  Nearly a bad mistake.  The overall story is okay, and makes for decent reading.  Until the chapter entitled "Rape."  It boggles the mind at what publishers will print if they think a work by a recognized name might sell copies.  If an unknown writer had sent this off to a publisher it likely would have gone straight to the reject pile.  At the very least, the rape chapter would have been excised or severely rewritten.  There is no real point to be made by Anthony by including this chapter, other than to point out to us that there really are women out there (in space) who want to be raped.  It's part of their culture, or something.

Next came Harry Harrison's final Eden book, called Return To Eden.  All of your favourite and least favourite characters are back, as Harrison strives to create a world made different by the lack of a huge meteor taking out the dinosaurs.  In his world, intelligent reptiles and prehistoric humans meet head on in a fight for survival of the fittest.  Though extremely well written and an absorbing story, I found myself wishing the series had not gone on so long.

Warrior of Scorpio is Bulmer's third entry in his nearly endless Dray Prescott series.  I am committed to reading the first five books, which form a subset within the 38 novels, but beyond that I make no promises.  Though good storytelling is present, Bulmer is simply riding the coat tails of Burroughs and H Rider Haggard, offering readers nothing new in the genre of big strong warrior on a hostile planet.  At least they are easy to read and pass by quickly.

Next up was E C Tubb's Twelve From Tomorrow, 12 short stories from the late 50s and early 60s.  The best stories are "Sense of Proportion," which Barry Malzberg totally ripped off for his novel called Revelations; "Greek Gift," which Twilight Zone ripped off for their episode called "To Serve Man;" and "Worm In The Woodwork," a novelette in the tradition of James Bond.  There is only one weak story in the collection.  In addition, "Last of the Morticians" is a pretty funny tale.

Jack Williamson continues to hit homes runs, this time with Lifeburst, a mid-80s novel that has a depth and scale encountered in the works of Iain M. Banks.  His concept of skywires coming down from satellites to the Earth is brilliant, and boggles the imagination.  Life in a small colony on an asteroid in the Oort Cloud is well handled, and the story features several alien races, including perhaps the scariest alien monster I have ever come across.  He even manages to give this deadly creature a sense of emotional depth.

The Dragon In The Sword completes Moorcock's 4-volume Eternal Champion series featuring John Daker.  One of the volumes is a totally magnificent graphic novel by Howard Chaykin, a favourite artists, based on a story by Moorcock.  In this final novel, which I awarded 4 stars, the champion is taxed to the max in his battle against Chaos.  One of the best ideas ever is regarding the ships that travel through shallow swamps, filled with people who spend their lives on them.  The three heroes that team up to defeat the enemy make a great trio, one female and two males.  Written several years after the earlier books, the more mature writing style helps a lot.

Next came Guernica Night by Malzberg, a short novel that probes a futuristic tendency for huge amounts of the population to commit suicide.  This one requires a second reading, at the least, as it contains many levels, and changes back and forth between three characters.  Though this is a strange novel and not a standard one by the author, it is easy to read, and what you take from it depends on your personal views and philosophy of life.  Any Malzberg is worth reading, but this is not top notch Malzberg.

Short stories by Blish rounded out my Avon/Equinox authors.  The Genius Heap focuses on artists, musicians, and those kinds of people.  they are sent off to a moon of Jupiter to live together under a grand experiment.  Only the experiment they are told about is not the real experiment.  Stories about creative types in SF are rare enough; this is a pretty good one.  Also wroth checking out is Tiger Ride.  Alien life forms can surprise, even after encountering thousands of them in my reading and movie watching.  This is one of the more ingenious creations by a SF writer, of a benign but extremely dangerous to humanity type of AI.  Good stuff!

My outside reading was Anne Hillerman's first novel, called Spider Woman's Daughter. Anne is the daughter of Tony, famous for his Navajo police novels taking place in New Mexico.  I have read all of his books, and now Anne has taken a turn at bringing Leaphorn and Chee back to life.  While treading carefully in her father's footsteps, Anne brings a female perspective to her story by focusing attention on female officer Bernie Manuelito.  It was a good read, though the ending was needlessly over dramatic.

Best cover of the month (though having very little to do with the story) goes to artist Karen Carr for Harry Harrison's Return To Eden.  Congratulations Karen!  To claim your prize, contact me here at Blogger.

This month's winner for best cover art is Karen Carr. 

In final book news, here is a list to date of Delphi complete works I have purchased for reading on Kindle.  I have already read several works from these collections, and am currently working on some short stories by Lord Dunsany.

 L. Frank Baum.

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Sir Richard Burton

James Branch Cabell

G.K. Chesterton 

Joseph Conrad

Lord Dunsany

William Hope Hodgson

George McDonald

Arthur Machen

William Morris

George Bernard Shaw

Jules Verne

H.G. Wells

At an average cost of about $3 Canadian for each volume, I am adding about one each week.  Yes, there are plenty of female authors on my wish list, too.

Mapman Mike

 

Backlog

 I am pretty far behind, and not just in my blogging.  Piano practice has almost come to a standstill, and even my reading program has slowed, but not stopped. So what's up?  All in good time.  First, turning the clock back to September 22nd, we had a very enjoyable Autumnal Equinox.  The latest heatwave broke exactly on that day, and it rained all day and was windy and cold.  And that meant we were able to have our first indoor wood fire of the season.  It's been several years since it's been cool enough to have a fire on Equinox.  What a treat!  Along with good food, some brew, and great music, we also read a bit of Tolkien.  We read The Cottage of Lost Play, from Lost Tales Book 1, as well as a poem of the same name.  The Cottage was Tolkien's initial solution to relating the tales of origin of his mythological world, and actually I'm surprised he dropped the idea, for it is a good one.

Anyway, I've never seen a season change over so fast, and exactly on the day.  First, two local images of late summer in our area.  Then I'll tell you of my first journey since Covid hit.

Amherstburg's Navy Yard Park, looking towards Lake Erie and a distant freighter at the mouth of the Detroit River.  It was a beautiful summer day in mid-September.

Lake Erie from Kingsville's Waterside Park, on a blustery late summer day. 

Last Friday (the 24th of September) I finally made my way to Sudbury, for my long delayed family visit.  It is pretty much an all day drive, nearly 500 miles NE of A'burg.  I left home around 9:40 am and arrived at around 6:30 pm.  Aside from gas and restroom stops, I made two scenery stops, one at a waterfall near Sudbury I had never visited before.  In Sudbury, living in one large building owned by my parents, is my brother Steve, my sister-in-law Lynne, my niece Emma-Lee (now 12), and my parents.  Mom and Dad live upstairs, my brother's family mid-level, and the lowest level is a guest bedroom (mine) and cozy bar.

Typical northern Ontario roadside scenery as one approaches Sudbury.

Just south of Sudbury, and well off the main road, is this lovely waterfall.  I spent about 20 minutes here, enjoying the cool northern air and the sound made by the water.

 

Part of the waterfall goes beneath this old single lane bridge. 

I had a good visit, with the weather keeping me indoors Friday night and Saturday.  It was cold, raining, and windy, so I was able to spend a lot of time with family.  Mom and Dad seem to be doing well, still managing 3 flights of stairs to get up to their apartment.  Dad's knee is bothering him, and he is currently awaiting an MRI scan and hopefully some treatment.  Other than that, everyone is fine.  Lynne works from home now since the pandemic, but Emma-Lee is back in school, starting Grade 7.  Steve works at the Ford dealer in Sudbury, at the service desk.  Saturday I visited Spacecraft Brewery, a cool place I had visited once before.  I ended up buying ten bottles/cans of beer, some made there, others from different breweries as far away as Toronto.  I also visited Beard's Bakery, a vegan cafe where all the baked goods can be eaten by the likes of me.  I got coffee and a scone to go.  I managed some reading Saturday due to the dismal weather, otherwise I would have been outside more.

Sunday the weather cleared up enough for me to take a short hike, accompanied by Emma-Lee.  Called the Rotary Park Trail, it led up to a lookout over New Sudbury and Junction Creek.  It was cold and grey, but perfect for hiking, and we had an enjoyable time.  It's the most time I've spent with my niece since ever I've known her.  She is a really nice person, extremely well brought up.  She chatted my ear off on the hike, but it was fun.

 

Rotary Park Trail, Sudbury.

 

It was still very early autumn, but a few leaves had changed already.

 

Junction Creek, from the overlook.

 

View from the lookout, partway up a pretty high mountain in Sudbury.

Mushrooms and moss captured our attention on the walk.

Emma-Lee prepares to take a photo of the mushrooms.

 

 

Emma-Lee on the rocks.

 

Young birch tree against the rocks.

Forest of young birch trees. 

 

I drove home Monday morning.  With less traffic and fewer stops, I was home by 5:30 pm, only four days behind my reading and practicing.  But wait--it's astronomy time.  It was clear Monday night, but I was too tired from driving to pack up the scope and take a long drive out to my observing post.  But it was clear Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and tonight, Friday.  I went out three nights in a row, having glorious observing sessions.  But tonight I begged off, needing some chill time.  During the day I wrote up my observing notes (I am still not finished), did some piano, and some reading.  With cloudy skies predicted for the next several nights, life should return to normal now.

If this actually happens, then I will post asap my September reading progress.  Stay tuned.

Mapman Mike