Since full retirement for me at the end of August 2019, my life has been one extended long weekend. And yet so ingrained is the ritual of having two days off work (though not always during school teaching, when we often spent music time with students on weekends), that I still continue it today, though mostly tongue in cheek. Deb has returned to a sort of half day work week, three times each week. The only time she gets two days off from visiting the home where her mother resides is on Thursdays and Fridays. So her weekend begins Wednesday night, and ends Friday night. I am able to stick to the old schedule, so my weekend begins Friday night and ends Sunday night. How are my weekends different from the regular work/play week? They differ very slightly. On Friday, after my final hour of piano practice, I announce that my weekend has begun. Deb rolls her eyes. Saturday nights we watch DSO Live From Orchestra Hall at 8 pm, pretending we are in Detroit and watching the concert there (more about visiting Detroit for real in a moment). Sunday mornings we have a special breakfast and listen to a Bach Cantata as we eat. Deb makes waffles one week, and I make French toast the next week. Sunday is also the day I do the laundry. And that's about it, folks. The party is 24/7 around here, let me tell you.
Deb has received her 3rd Moderna vaccine shot, and I will be able to book my 3rd Pfizer beginning December 13th. Once I triple fully vaccinated, I will consider a day trip to Detroit to visit the DIA, and stop and pick up some ale at a favourite taproom/shop. Canadians can now visit across the border without having to have a test in able to return. A phone app must be downloaded to show when returning as proof of vaccine. They don't accept paper. This may all change yet again, due to the Omicron variant, plus the fact that Michigan is one of the world's hot spots now for Covid. Nothing can ever be certain until the world is 100 % vaccinated. In other words......
There are three film views to briefly report. Deb's going away choice was Kazan's 1976 The Last Tycoon, with a terrific performance by Robert De Niro as a successful but bullying Hollywood studio boss. It has a cast filled with big stars, including Tony Curtis, Jeanne Moreau, Robert Mitchum, and many others. The film starts out okay but really bogs down once De Niro falls for a beautiful face, and can't live without the woman. However, she can live without him, and eventually does so. It's an age old tale, retold yet again. There are a few fine moments, and it's fun seeing all the famous faces, but overall this is not so great a film.
Antonioni's 1982 Identification of a Woman has a story that isn't too far off Kazan's. A directionless movie director walks around for two hours not really knowing what he wants (besides sex, of which he wants a lot, and we get to see most of it in graphic detail), and ruining his chances with women every chance he gets. He is an older man, selfish and set in his ways, and not liable to change any of them for anyone. There are some lovely shots of Rome and Venice, some great interior shots, and far too many sex scenes. We more or less get the point after one such extended scene, but I guess the director really wanted us not to miss out on any fun. The editing in this film is often bizarre, jumping abruptly from one scene with two people to the next day in a scene with the same two people. Not a film I would likely rewatch.
1975's Dick Richards' film Farewell, My Lovely stars Robert Mitchum as one of the best Philip Marlowe actors ever seen. He is so perfect in the role, and the script allows much more of Chandler's wit and insight that ever seen before. Moose Maloy hires Marlowe to find his "Velma." The plot thickens, is stirred, shaken, and tossed about, and Marlowe ends up with several bumps on his head, and a few other inconveniences besides. Charlotte Rampling makes a perfect stand in for Lauren Bacall, and there are some great old cars, too. Quite an amazing film! Also starring Harry Dean Stanton and Sylvester Stallone.
Mapman Mike
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