Indoor Pursuits

It's still cold, and hasn't risen above 0 C since January 19th.  It is scheduled to rise above on Tuesday, for one lousy day, and return to severe cold.  However, since we are still missing out on the big snowfalls, I am not complaining too bitterly.  To help keep me warm I have been expanding my road trip blog (link above left), with thoughts of New Mexico desert and mountains uppermost in my mind.  One or two ships pass by every day, but always preceded by an ice cutter.  The American and Canadian coast guards are keeping one narrow shipping lane open in the river.

American coast guard ice cutter, during a brief snowstorm on the Detroit River.  Two ships are due southbound later today. 

It's been a while since I have posted an art image from the DIA.  Today's artist emigrated from Scotland in the 1800s and settled in Detroit.  There are several works by this unique landscape painter, more influenced by European traditions than American.  Here is my favourite painting by him.

Graveyard By The Sea, ca 1875. Robert Hopkin, 1829-1909.  Oil on canvas.  Unfamed 45" x 54".  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts.

In film watching news, we are in the midst of Deb's film festival weekend.  Earlier in the week I had chosen three more episodes of the slightly bizarre but fun 1915-16 serial Les Vampires, about a criminal gang in Paris being hunted by a reporter.  We have finished episode six.  Irma Vep has been captured by a rival gang leader, and has been hypnotized into killing her boss.  Four more episodes remain.

My leaving this month choice was a short, very fast paced film called The Big Steal, from 1949.  Jane Greer is a marvel as an independent woman tracking down her fiancee in Mexico, after he borrowed two thousand dollars from her and disappeared.  She gets mixed up with Robert Mitchum and William Bendix in this amusing road movie, with probably the most intense car chase scene in any movie to that date, and likely well beyond.  Filmed in Mexico, the movie packs a lot of fun and adventure into 70 minutes.

Leaving Criterion January 31st. 

 

Deb's pick to start off the weekend was called Ace In The Hole, starring Kirk Douglas as a much-fired big city newspaper man on the lookout for his big story break.  He ends up in Albuquerque, working for the paper there.  He is on his way to cover a rattlesnake hunt when he comes across a disaster story in the making.  A man is trapped in an old mine, and soon Douglas is running the show.  And what a show it becomes.  This is likely the most cynical movie of all time, and a true pain to watch.  There are no good reporters, and certainly none who can dig out the real story here, which is Douglas and a crooked sheriff trying to extend the trapped man's agony for a full week by drilling to his rescue, instead of getting him out the normal way in 16 hours or less.  Filmed west of Gallup, NM.  It must have been quite a production, from Billy Wilder.

Showing on Criterion until Jan. 31st.

I'll be back soon with the January reading summary.

 

Mapman Mike

 

A Frigid Wonderland

Our intense cold spell has gotten more intense.  Yesterday and today are the coldest days so far.  It was 9 F when I went out to feed the birds at 10:30 am, though sunny and not windy.  Yesterday I went to Kingsville with Deb, in need of more bird seed.  We have been going through a lot of the stuff of late, including for several ducks who stop by after sunset each night.  I went to Lakeside Park to read.  It was so warm in the car just from sunlight that I had to open windows.  I went for a ten minute stroll and took some photos, too.  You lucky readers will get to see them in a moment.  We went out a second time last night for groceries.  We have been shopping the local stores at 8 pm lately, along with only three or four other customers.  It's a great time to go pick up food.

Lake Erie from the bluff overlooking Lakeside Park, Kingsville.  There is still open water a ways out there, by the shoreline areas are solidly frozen.  There is still some shipping going on, but always accompanied now by a coast guard ice breaker. 

 

Critter footprints on Lake Erie.

More footprints in the snow.

 

A small stream (what New Mexicans would call a river) winds through the park before emptying into Lake Erie.

Open water is becoming scarce.

 

A very chilly babbling brook.  Lakeside Park, Kingsville. 

 

In movie news, there are two films to report.  Peter Weir's Year Of Living Dangerously (1982) doesn't seem to have much of a punch anymore.  The world seems to be coming under right wing dictatorship more and more, and the leaders seem to get more and more cruel.  Taking place in the mid 1960s in Java, Mel Gibson is helped to get a big story by Billy, brilliantly played by Linda Hunt (who won an Oscar for her role).  Gibson falls in love with (a seemingly anorexic) Sigourney Weaver, and the plot thickens.  It is a good movie, and it does try to highlight the problem of starvation in a country run by a dictator.  However, it just seems to be lacking something essential.  It's aim is good, the target is worthwhile, so maybe it's lacking something in plot and execution.  Not having read the novel perhaps doesn't help my judgement.

Showing on Criterion until Jan. 31st. 

 

We also watched a creaky 1960s b & w Sherlock Holmes film starring Christopher Lee.  Filmed in Berlin and dubbed, it's still a pretty good entry, and Lee isn't bad as Holmes.  Moriarty steals an Egyptian necklace said to once have belonged to Cleopatra, and Holmes must put a stop to this nonsense.  Sherlock Holmes and The Deadly Necklace was directed by Terrance Fisher, of Hammer fame.   From 1962, it's worth catching if you can.  We found it on the Roku TV channel, which now has about 7 billion things on it I would love to watch.  With a decent Watson, a good Moriarty, and some atmospheric settings, it was worth seeing.

 

We found this 1962 feature on the Roku TV channel. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

Cocteau's Masterpiece

But first, the weather.  It has finally snowed!  We received 1" on Jan. 1st, and 2" so far today.  More is coming tomorrow.  It's white and very fluffy, so not hard to shovel.  Except what the snowplow leaves behind, which is like neutron star material.  Our longest cold wave of the season continues, and will do so until Feb. 2nd, according to the long term forecast.  That means we don't rise about 32 F.  In fact, we haven't come very close to it lately.  By the time some seriously cold temps arrive on Tuesday and Wednesday, there should be enough snow on the ground to protect our water pipes.  There were many birds around looking for a free meal.  Several even took a bath in the big dish I keep heated outside.

It's a bright white world today, with 2" of fluffy stuff.

Our front cedar tree looks very decorative today.  The bird silhouettes are stuck on our two picture windows to stop birds flying into the glass.

A red-bellied woodpecker has been around the house for a week or so now.

A goldfinch and sparrow on our sunflower seed feeder.

Goldfinch. 

My film choices last week were the first three episodes of Les Vampires, a 1915 French silent serial, and Laura, Preminger's brilliant film of a dead girl who isn't dead.  The Vampires has 10 parts, varying in length from 15' to 40', each one a complete story, and not the cliff hanger type preferred by American studios.  A gallivanting reporter takes on the criminal organization known as The Vampires, including the ever elusive Irma Vep.  So far it is quite enjoyable, and I am looking to more parts next week.

Now showing on Criterion.

Irma Vep relaxes at home, after a long night of criminal activity.

My leaving choice was Laura, from 1944.  Again, it had been far too long since we had seen this noir gem.  Clifton Webb as Waldo Lydecker steals every scene he is in, which is most of them.  Gene Tierney is perfect as the sweet woman who wouldn't hurt a fly, and Dana Andrews is okay as a cop who falls in love with Laura, as he investigates her murder.  There are more quotable lines from this film than almost any other movie, most of them given by Waldo Lydecker.  Many priceless moments, and overall a really good film, worth multiple viewings.  Vincent Price gets a well deserved punch in the stomach.

Leaving Criterion January 31st.

In other movie news, Deb selected Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast, in a restored print that brings it fully to life.  The ultimate fairy tale movie, there is no snow, but an autumnal desolation pervades the film.  Jean Marais' Beast is a legend, and for good reason.  His voice, his make up (up to 5 hours per day!), his eyes, and his manner of moving, are perfect for this part.  There were a number of short extras, too, well worth watching.  We had not seen this film in perhaps 30 years.  Thank you Criterion.

Now showing on the Criterion Channel.

Jean Marais is the Beast. 

Mapman Mike

 
 

Home Heating

Our house seems cozier this year, no doubt due to our new front door.  We are slowly getting all the worst spots of air leakage sealed.  The door makes things quieter, too.  Even on the windiest and coldest day of the year a few weeks back, only the upstairs bedroom above the garage was suffering.  Our thermostat in winter is set at 68 F during the day, and 66 F at night.  Our ancient gas boiler keeps cranking out the hot water on demand.  We should really throw a party for it.  We have a humidifier running in the living room, and another one inside the piano.  Our wood pellet stove is still out of commission.  A guy was supposed to come and look at it, but then he got Covid, and he hasn't called back.  As long as the power stays on, we are good to go.

Last night was a full moon, so we baked a cake (apple, round), listened to an opera (Das Rheingold), and enjoyed a wood fire.  While Deb was in Kingsville visiting her mother in the afternoon, I went across the road to the river to take a few photos. There was a bone gnawing wind blowing onshore, and I nearly froze to death in the fifteen minutes I was outside.

It was a raw day at the Detroit River.

Shipping season is nearly over, and most ships are heading to winter berths.  Some of the final destinations listed on my shipping website include "The Batcave," "Somewhere Warm," and, still my favourite, "Hotel Toledofornia."

The A. M. Anderson heads south for the winter.  She will dock east of Cleveland at a safe harbour along Lake Erie.  Her bow sports giant icicles.  Grosse Ile, MI lies across the river from us.

A view of Lone Mountain Homestead from the small cemetery across the road. 

 

Deb's main movie choice last weekend was called Radio On, billed as a rare British road movie.  produced by Wim Wenders and filmed in b & w, it is the antithesis of the 60s angry young man movie.  It could be billed as the late 70s emotionless young man movie.  It's frustrating at times because of its lack of anything or anyone to grab hold of, but it eventually works a kind of hapless charm on the viewer.  Some of the photography is very good, both interiors and exteriors, and the unique combination of both that is used.  There is very little plot, and no character development.  The main character is as lifeless as his surroundings.  While not quite a zombie, he does appear to sleepwalk through much of his life.  A mostly quiet film, and certainly unique.  There is a lovely scene featuring Sting at a gas station.

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Her going away choice was called Scandal Sheet, from 1952.  Broderick Crawford is superb as the editor of a big New York newspaper.  Since he took it over it has become a scandal sheet, but the circulation has improved wildly.  His cub reporter keeps bringing him good stories, usually gained unscrupulously at crime scenes.  He is looking for a big story, one that will make him famous.  By the end of the movie he has found his story, though not one he was ever expecting.  The supporting actors are top notch, including Donna Reed.  Easily classified as a pulp noir film, it's pretty good.  Definitely a sleeper.

 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

Dead of Winter

The three weeks following January 15th are the statistically coldest days of our short winter in Essex County.  We are just coming out of our upteenth severe cold spell, which this time lasted two days.  We will have an extended breather until Thursday, when the next cold spell rolls in.  All without any snow.  However, as I write this, a monster storm is tearing through areas south of us.  It's effects will barely glaze our area, but will hit Toronto and Ottawa hard, with plenty of snow, anywhere from 10" to 16".  We could get 1", which would be welcome as ground protection. Today was almost a perfect January day.  The temperature rose to 31 F.  It was sunny, and there was barely any wind.  All that was missing was some snow, and it would have been a perfect winter day, suitable for snow shoeing.  Here is the weather map as of 4:30 pm Sunday.  Detroit and our county is at upper left.

A good illustration of one big mess, heading north.  We might get grazed. 

In shipping news, all Great Lakes locks are now closed for the season.  Three of the lakes can be navigated without locks:  Erie, Huron, and Michigan.  That includes Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers.  there are still a few ships passing by, but they all seem to be heading to winter berths.  The photo below shows the Manitowac.  It's destination was listed on my website as "Hotel Toledofornia."  Hilarious!

The Manitowac heads for its winter berth in Toledo. 

In movie news, I chose the next feature directed by Fassbinder.  From 1978, it was called In A Year of 13 Moons, and concerns the affairs of one very screwed up trans person.  The main problem with this very bold drama is that it is virtually impossible to have any sympathy with the main character, who has painted herself into a corner.  Her emotions aren't much beyond the teenage high school stage, and even if it weren't an adult but a teen being depicted, it would still be hard to empathize.  The film gets better when she goes to apologize to the man she once loved for comments she made in a recent magazine interview.  This is the most bizarre part of the film, but also the most fun.  Supposedly it was Fassbinder's favourite of his films, possibly because he had a personal attachment to it.  Fassbinder's gay lover committed suicide before filming.

Now showing on Criterion. 

Angel Face is from 1953, directed by Otto Preminger and starring Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons.  This is a really great little noir, with intelligent dialogue and plausible outcomes.  Simmons is the deranged young beauty who wants to kill her stepmother.  When new boyfriend Mitchum, hired as the family chauffeur, refuses to get involved, she undertakes things on her own.  They both end up getting arrested and tried for murder. There are moments when dark-haired Simmons can be saved.  But her lawyer doesn't listen to her guilty pleas, and Mitchum doesn't believe her when she tells him she plead not guilty to save him (which is true).  After the trial he wants no part of her at all.  Period.  What's a psychotic girl to do?  The ending must have been shocking at the time.  it appears on some top 10 film lists, including that of Godard (8th best American sound film).  Definitely worth catching.

Showing on Criterion until January 31st. 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Case of the Missing Snow

 Not that I'm complaining.  We haven't had any significant snow since November 28th, and even that wasn't really significant.  There are vast snowstorms out there, but they are passing right on by.  The west coast and the east coast continue to get hit, however.  Our temps have been on the mark for January so far, if a bit on the cold side.  We continue to get two or three days of bone chilling temps, then one or two days of relief, when the mercury climbs above 32 F.  We are just finishing up our 2nd "warm" day in a row, and are about to head back down into some terrible cold once again.  With no snow on the ground, water pipes are in danger of freezing and bursting.  Snow acts like a blanket for plants and hibernating animals, too.  We need some snow, as much of a nuisance as it is.

My new reading and computer eyeglasses were ready today, so I headed across town to fetch them.  They are perfect in every way, and include a coating to reduce blue light computer glare.  I have already used them for reading, piano practice, and computer work.  I made it a multiple task journey today, getting the car washed, filled with gasoline, and also returned a bunch of beer cans and bottles.  Amherstburg was almost sunny when I left and returned, but as I neared Tecumseh it began to get quite foggy.  There was a breeze off of Lake St. Clair, and the area near the lake was foggy.  Ships continue to pass by.  The St. Lawrence Seaway and locks are closed for the season, though salties can still get to Quebec.  I'm not sure when the Soo Locks will close for the season, but I would guess soon.  It's been very cold farther north.  There is a lot of ice on the river near us, but ships are getting through without difficulty.

I continue to work on the newest blog, detailing our many road trips to New Mexico.  Part 2 of the Amanda trip is almost done, as the three of us climbed our highest mountain ever up to that point.  I will post when it is up and ready for viewing.  Turning to film watching news, grab your popcorn and sit back.  There are only two recent views to report on here.

Deb's leaving Criterion Jan. 31st choice. 

It seems we can't get enough of Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr around here lately.  Add in Peter Ustinov for fun, some Australian scenery, lots of sheep, some horse racing, plenty of drinking, and Americans doing Aussie accents, and you have a two hour family adventure movie.  From 1950, it contains no surprises, though the ending strays a bit off the path.  Good acting and some silliness contribute to the overall proceedings.  Not a bad film, but not a great one, either.

For her main coice of the weekend, Deb selected four short stop motion animation films from Niki Lindrith Von Bahr.  All her animations feature anthropomorphic animals dressed and acting like humans.  They sometimes contain haunting songs.  They vary in length from 5 to 15 minutes.  Two were quite good, and two not so much.  She seems to put a huge effort into her sets and backgrounds, the finest of these in The Burden (2017).  It begins with singing fish, but quickly gets better and better.  Some of the dancing sequences are a bit suspect for stop motion; we surmise that other methods were used for these scenes.  It's a pretty unforgettable film.

Scene from The Burden. 

Tord and Tord has a running time of just under 11 minutes, and is from 2010.  It concerns two neighbours who meet by chance, become friends, and go on to make up their own short form language.  Besides just being totally weird, the film is also quite funny at times.

Scene from Tord and Tord.  

The other two films were less successful, and included Bath House (2014), and Something To Remember (2019).  We are nearly done the next film by Fassbinder.  More on that later.

Turning to art from the DIA, I have never heard of Felix Cavalli.  But his Fantastic Landscape With Peddlars, 1793, caught my eye.  I will be looking into his work a bit more closely.  Fantasy and fairy tales pop out of this one, and it would make a great paperback cover for such a book.  In fact, a story could easily be written about the present scene, and might be fun to do.

Fantastic Landscape With Peddlars, 1793.  Felix Cavalli, Italian.  Gouache and watercolor with pen and black and brown ink over a preliminary drawing in graphite, with a decorative border of pen and black ink, on buff antique laid paper.  9" x 12".  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts.

 

Detail of left side.

                                                        Detail of central area, with peddlars.

Detail of right side. 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

Medical Update, and Some Films

 But first, the weather.  We have been below freezing again since Wednesday, late afternoon.  Tonight (Saturday), it is supposed to rise above freezing, lasting 24 hours.  Then Sunday it all falls apart again, as the next severe cold front moves in.  As long as the winds are low, we are cozy no matter what the temperature.  But once the winds fire up, our old house shows its weaknesses.  Most windows have been replaced, and are the best you can buy, as well as the two front doors.  They let nothing in or out.  The attic and basement are well insulated, too.  But the walls have never been upgraded, as well as four windows on the north side, and one on the east side.  Gradually it will all get done.  Next up for replacement are the kitchen and bathroom windows (north side).  So each winter we get more and more prepared, for either extreme cold or extreme heat.

In medical news, Deb had her infusion on Thursday.  Around the corner and at the same time I went for my regular eye exam.  My prescription changed by 1/4 of a grade over three years, so I am doing quite well.  I am in bad need of new glasses; the old ones are falling apart, and I stepped on my back up pair during an astronomy session a while back.  But new ones are on the way, about 10 days from now.  Just up the road from Deb's arthritis doctor is a vegan fast food place, where we usually get a take out lunch.  So after both appointments were done, we did just that.  It was the coldest day of the season so far, but it was sunny and bright.  The upcoming cold front will see even worse temperatures on Monday and Tuesday of next week, before it again moderates.

I have partially torn a rotator cuff tendon in my right shoulder.  This happened last June, lifting weights in the basement.  I finally saw my doctor in December, and he sent me for x-rays and ultra sound.  The tear was revealed, as well as some bursitis in the shoulder.  So I will be seeing two specialists at some point.  The bursitis one is Deb's arthritis doctor!  He knows me from my visits with Deb to his clinic.  However, I'm not certain the bursitis is a problem just now.  The pain I feel is likely from the tendon tear, as well as the loss of my full range of motion with the right arm.  The tendon doctor I will see is the one who operated (very successfully!) on Deb's shoulder, when she had the same problem (caused by Iaido).  Things won't happen very fast, but I did get an appointment in early March for the bursitis so far.  With most elective surgeries on hold in Ontario, it could be a while before the tendon doctor can do anything for me.  In the meantime, I am becoming quite adept with my left hand and arm, choosing to rest my right one whenever possible.  Some days are pain free.  On others, there is pain, especially if I do something stupid, like try to reach out with the right arm.  So far we have had no serious snowfalls; it might be a challenge to move snow off the driveway.

Yesterday was the first day we saw ice on the Detroit River.  Ships are still moving, but there are less of them.  today I caught an oil tanker heading down river from Sarnia.

The Algonorth heads southbound in front of our house today.  A bit of ice can be seen near the shore on the river.  The view is from our south front window, looking southwest.  The cemetery across the road can be seen, too. 

In movie news, I have a film festival of three films on which to report, as well as my two regular choices.  Let's get started.  First, the Philip Glass opera, at 4 1/2 hours, put us pretty far behind.  So I chose short films for my bi-monthly festival.  Two were from the Czech New Wave series on Criterion.  This marks my fourth (at least) viewing of Milos Forman's The Fireman's Ball.  And each time I see it I am totally amazed at this little masterpiece of film.  It could also be called the Train Wreck (In Slow Motion), as the annual gathering organized by the village firemen totally unravels, and a good time is had by no one.  For the longest time it was the only Czech film readily available to western viewers, and the prints were old and very scratchy.  This one was pristine, and the colours were vivid.  The opening scene is the hall, getting set up for the ball, pretty much sums up how things will go.  A true classic, and not to be missed.

Now showing on Criterion.

Capricious Summer, from 1968, was directed by Jiri Menzel (Closely Watched Trains), and is one of those films that seems to pay hommage to many other directors and films.  Three men, one of whom owns a bathing shack on a muddy river, sit around waiting and watching for girls to arrive and go swimming.  Suddenly a travelling show wagon passes, and a young man crosses the narrow river on a pole, advertising his upcoming show in the village.  The men make the effort to take in his tightrope act, and each one falls for his partner, the young woman who collects money from the viewers.  The three men each end up having their own adventure with the girl, including the canon, wearing his collar.  It is quite a good film, and the humour is subtle and refreshing, as is the film.

Now showing on Criterion, as part of the Czech New Wave series.

Next came Cocteau's Blood of a Poet, a restored print of the 1930 film that blew minds in its day.  It's still fun to watch, especially once the artist has passed through the mirror into the hotel hallway.  Great fun!  We saw it so many years ago in Detroit.

Now showing on Criterion. 

Having recently watched all of the Zatoichi movies, it was now time to turn our attention to his brother's series, Lone Wolf and Cub.  Based on the manga series, which I own and have read, the films follow the story line quite closely.  The first film is called Sword of Vengeance, and is from 1972.  It gives the back story in flashback, as the current adventure unfolds.  Lots of violence, comic book style, and some great sword work.  The photography is really well done,and the locations beautiful.  It doesn't resemble Zatoichi at all in style or look.  We'll be watching one of these each month.  The young kid is really cute, too.

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

My final choice was A Pistol For Ringo, a spaghetti western from 1965, with music by Morricone.  It seemed to go well with the samurai movie.  Both had exceptional amounts of killing and violence, and seemed lifted right out of comic books.  Silly but fun, in a weird way.  I grew up with western movies and TV shows, and still find myself oddly attracted to them from time to time.  there is a sequel to Ringo, too, so stay tuned.  Ringo is an outlaw, but one who always manages to get acquitted of his crimes, including shooting people.  When a gang of Mexican bandits robs a bank and takes over a farmhouse with hostages, Ringo goes in to help.  He messes up a lot, and people still die, but in the end he kills the entire gang.

 

Showing on Criterion until Jan. 31st. 

 

Well, I'm off to enjoy the 24 hour thaw, before the next Arctic blast descends upon the Homestead.  Until next time, amigos.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Two Films With Deborah Kerr

 It's already been an unusual winter, and it's only early January.  We are currently locked into a freeze-thaw cycle, each one lasting around two days.  We just came out of a two-day cold spell, with temps failing to rise above freezing.  It went above today, and will stay above tonight.  Then tomorrow, something called an Alberta Clipper will descend upon us.  It will bring wind, snow, and temperatures that will fall throughout the day.  It will remain below freezing again until sometime Saturday, when the process will repeat itself.  So far at least, the cold has not been mind numbing.  No doubt that will come soon.  The shipping lanes are still open, though there are now far fewer ships passing by.  No ice floating on the river yet, either.  Soon.

In Co-vid news, Ontario is keeping all children home from school for two weeks.  It has closed restaurants and bars to sit down customers.  Entertainment venues are once again closed, as are gyms and casinos.  Indoor groups limited to 5; outdoors 10.  Another round, like our freeze/thaw cycle.  As usual, we are happy to stay home.

Deb's two recent film choices both stared Deborah Kerr, an actress I like and enjoy watching.  She has been popping up a lot lately in our viewing.  The first film stars her and Robert Mitchum  stranded on a south seas island during WW2.  He is a beached marine, and she a stranded nun.  Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison is from 1957, directed by John Huston (another name that has been popping up a lot here of late).  It is in Cinemascope and colour, and is very well acted by both principals.  There is actually a good ending to this one, too.

Now showing on Criterion. 

Sometimes a film appears and disappears the same month.  Such is the case with The Chalk Garden, a melodrama starring Deborah Kerr, Hayley Mills, and John Mills.  Hayley, 16, is being raised by her grandmother, and taught to hate her absent mother.  Kerr is the new governess who recognizes her earlier self in Hayley, and tries to help her.  John Mills, the consummate civilized actor, plays the faithful servant.  He gets one dramatic scene to play with his daughter, and it's a pretty good one.  Kerr's low key performance is a good foil to Hayley's overwrought one, as the child who hates everything and everyone, or so she claims.  Worth catching to see Hayley trying to stretch herself and spread her wings as an actress.

Showing in January on Criterion. 

If you have another moment or two, here is another work of art from Detroit's collection.  I got a mailing from them today.  There are two big exhibits coming up this year: Artemisia Gentileschi and Women Artists in Italy, 1500-1800; and Van Gogh in America, with 60 of his paintings.  Hopefully we will be able to attend both exhibits.  The first one runs from Fe. 6th to May 29th, and the 2nd from October 2nd to January 22nd of next year.  Meanwhile, here's another sample...

The Archangel Michael, 1836.  Watercolour over graphite pencil.  Franz August Schubert, 1806-1893.  15 3/8" x 9 7/8".  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts.

This is one of Schubert's more interesting works, as he models his Michael after Donatello's David sculpture.  Attention has been lavished on the wings and the armour, and even the laces on the boots.  The Da Vinci-like landscape background recalls that master as well.  The work also seems to presage the Pre-Raphaelite painters in England, getting organized 8 years after this work.  It's never been on display to my knowledge.

Upper half detail.  Michael doesn't seem to be concentrating too much on his task.  The detail in the wings and armour indicates that some time was spent on this work.  Michael has just stepped out of a Renaissance Italian painting.

Lower half showing the dragon (poor little thing) and the laced up boots. 

Mapman Mike