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.
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.
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.
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.
Mapman Mike
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