It's been a pretty calm week around the Homestead, and we are both hoping for more of the same. Weather continues to be autumnal, and it's one of the greenest holiday periods we've ever seen. We had a lot of rain on Christmas Day, spoiling my chance for an afternoon of hiking at Point Pelee National Park. Deb wanted to spend a longer time with her mom on Saturday, so I had plans for a shorter visit, and then to go hiking. Instead, I came home for a few hours, then drove back to pick up Deb in Kingsville. Today it is bright and sunny. Of course.
I spoke with my parents at length both on Christmas Eve and Christmas night. They are both fine and doing quite well, though Dad is still barely mobile due to a bad knee. As our local Covid cases surge, it looks like we will be hunkered down in January. It's usually a good month for such activity anyway. And of course it has been continually cloudy at night, so astronomy has been a no go. At least I've been practicing piano regularly, and doing a lot of reading. I usually read about 2 1/2 hours each day, and practice piano about 1 1/2 hours each day. The exercise program continues as well, around 2 1/2 hours per week, until more is needed.
The shipping channels over here are as busy as ever, but the northern locks will likely close soon. I have seen shipping continue year round once or twice, and this might be another year for it. The Amherstburg coast guard ice breaker is in place, but there is no ice in sight yet. I read a fun article yesterday, on the Accu Weather website, about the tradition of wanting a "white" Christmas, referring to fresh, fluffy snow on the ground. I always wondered who to blame for such nonsense, and it seems I now have my target in sight. It likely all started with Charles Dickens, but since then it's gotten way out of hand. Kind of like ground hog day. People seem starved for any time of "tradition", rather than trying to establish their own, or observe the real ones that have been around for millennia, such as the solstices. It's a funny world peopled by funny people.
Our own Solstice Day celebration was a blast. It was just barely cold enough to warrant an indoor wood fire, though it was of shorter duration than other years. We sampled the first disc (of four) of Philip Glass' Music In Twelve Parts, and then listened to the CD called Glassworks, and another one called Philip Glass-Piano Works, performed by Vikingur Olafsson. He is a favourite pianist whom we heard perform in London several years ago. I already chose a piece from this collection to perform on my next next recital (probably late 2022). And tonight we will give Einstein on the Beach a go. We purchased a Blue Ray disc of the opera in early December, from Germany, and it arrived Dec. 22nd.
Just as the pandemic was getting underway in the late winter of 2020, we had booked flights to San Diego. We had to cancel at the last minute, as Deb wasn't feeling well. That week the disease exploded in California, so it's just as well we didn't travel then. We had full insurance to cancel (through Orbitz) and got a full refund on our flight, hotel, and car. So imagine my surprise when I looked at our Orbitz account recently and found out that we each have $373 in Delta flight credits, good until December 2022. I don't know if it's a mistake, or why they are there. We were refunded by the insurance company, and yet the flights are still available to us. Hopefully we will get a chance to use these credits in 2022.
Other than movie talk, that's all the news for now. So, on to movies.
My two choices last week were Heaven Can Wait, directed by Lubitsch and from 1943, and Belladonna of Sadness, an animated feature from 1973 Japan. Of the two, I preferred the Lubitsch, a gentle comedy about a man dying, meeting the devil, and telling him his life story, before being sentenced. It was in colour, and had some wonderful lines.
Belladonna is an adult animated feature, purportedly taking place in medieval times. On her wedding day, a young woman is raped by the lord of the manor and his friends. The movie is graphically sexual, though largely through symbolic images, and violent. It doesn't pull any punches, as the woman survives and slowly becomes corrupted by vengeance. The film is sometimes hard to watch because of flickering imagery, and should have come with an epilepsy warning. Some of the animation techniques created some truly beautiful and stunning imagery, often seemingly at odds with the unrelenting horror of the material. A very strange film from the psychedelic era.
Deb's two choices were also from the Leaving Dec. 31st film list, and just as opposite one another as my two choices. First up was The Mummy, from 1932, starring Boris Karloff as the reactivated man in love with his princess. It is remarkable how easily he adjusted to life in 20th C. Cairo, after having been asleep since around 1700 B C. He also has a very stylish apartment, with an indoor pool of water that gets remarkably good reception on various live channels, as well as ones from thousands of years ago. Some creepy moments, but mostly still fun, in a dusty sort of way.
Eat A Bowl of Tea is from 1989, by director Wang Wang. Based on a novel by Louis Chu, the setting is 1949 New York, just as the American government is finally allowing Chinese immigrants to return to China and bring women and families back to live. With the current local population totally male, a young man makes the journey back to China, finds a bride, and returns with her to new York. Dad immediately wants a grandson, but there is trouble on the horizon, as the son cannot seem to consummate the marriage. Mostly a funny glance back at a very weird time, there is enough drama to satisfy those without a sense of humour. Well acted, especially by the old timers.
Mapman Mike
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