It was November 1971 that I first sat down at the piano to find out how to play it. We never had a piano at home, but my mom's sister, Aunt Pauline and Uncle Jim, had an upright. My three female cousins had taken lessons, and Melanie, then 13, was still studying. She became my first teacher, helping me through several beginner courses over the winter. And after 50 years, I can honestly say that I am finally starting to get the gist of it, though still learning every day. For normal learners like myself, there is no such thing as mastering the piano. It's always a challenge, every single day. And fun. So I'm raising a toast to 50 years of learning the classics, and thanking all of my teachers, past and present: Melanie, who was very encouraging when I began; to Stephen Sword, my high school English teacher, who became my first formal piano teacher and brought me to my Gr. 5 piano exam; to the late John Hannah, my teacher at Cambrian College in Sudbury, who brought me up to ARCT (professional) level; to Greg Butler, whom I studied with at the U. of Windsor; to the late Toma Schwartz, whom I studied with at Wayne State University in Detroit; and to Philip Adamson, my keyboard history teacher from U of Windsor, with whom I currently study whenever time allows. It takes a small village of teachers to raise a pianist!
In weather news, it's astronomy season once again. Of course it's raining. The leaves are all down on the ground now, after a few good windy days. December is just around the corner, too. compare the next photo to the same location only two days earlier. Though there were still some leaves up when I took this, a lot more had fallen. Now, as mentioned, they are all down.
The finest film we have seen in a long while was Deb's leaving Criterion Channel's Nov. 30th choice. Directed by Aki Kaurismaki, it is called The Man Without A Past, and is from 2002. A man just arriving in Stockholm is beaten badly by three thugs, and he loses his memory of who he is. Despite a few minutes of nauseating violence near the beginning, the rest of the film is pure magic, as the man lives on the outskirts of society, making friends, and living in a shipping container. The Salvation Army, Finnish Branch, comes out looking pretty decent in this film. Filled with humour and human warmth and compassion, it is a must-see film. Somehow we had missed this one back in the day.
Zatoichi's Conspiracy, from 1973, is the last (25th) Zatoichi film in the series. It plays pretty much like they all do; he arrives in a village (his home one this time) where the peasants are being oppressed by bad leaders, and he sets about making things right. There is no violence for a long time, and it begins slowly, but then it comes in a gush of blood, as expected. With the Zatoichi films now complete, I will be turning to the series starring the actor's brother, Lone Wolf and Cub, starting next month.
My going away film choice for the week was Eye of the Devil, a mostly decent British horror film starring Deborah Kerr and David Niven, along with Sharon Tate and David Hemmings, from 1966. The plot is quite similar to The Wicker Man, where a sacrifice must be made so the grape harvest will return to success. Kerr does everything in her power to save her husband's (Niven) life. We are currently viewing Deb's main choice, La Cage Aux Folles. It is her film festival this upcoming weekend, so more news will be forthcoming.
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