Book to Film

February has turned into a reading bonanza, as I am well into my 13th book for this month.  In just a few more days I will be writing my summary of books read, so don't wander far till then.  One of the books I read was called The Price of Salt, written in 1952 by Patricia Highsmith, under a pen name.  it's about two lesbian lovers, a young woman of 19 and an older women in her early thirties.  She is married but divorcing, and has a little girl.  The young one is a theatre set designer, but is working the Christmas rush at a major department store.  The book was so good that I checked on line afterwards to see if it had ever been filmed, since so many Highsmith novels have been made into films (her Ripley novels, for example).  Sure enough, it had been.  And it was showing on one of our free streaming channels!

The film is called Carol, and it stars Cate Blanchett as the older woman, and features a stunning performance by Rooney Mara as the young Therese, who falls madly in love with Carol when she first sees her as a customer in the store.  Therese herself has a boyfriend who wants her to marry him and go off to Europe.  However, her heart is not in the relationship, and once she meets Carol, all bets are off with her boyfriend.  Though the book treads carefully, and there are no explicit love scenes, the movie goes all out with a major love scene between the women (is this required in all more modern movies--can nothing be suggested anymore?).  An interesting side note--Rooney also stars in the recent remake of Nightmare Alley, directed by Del Toro.  Looking forward to seeing that soon.  Another interesting side note--Rooney started a vegan clothing line called Hiraeth Collective.

Showing for free on Roku Channel. 

Since rediscovering the family colour slides from the late 50s and early 60s, I have been having a lot of fun scanning them and sending some off to close relatives.  Almost as interesting as seeing the people, is observing the background furnishings, and surrounding landscapes of Sudbury and Lake Penage, where we built a bush canp in 1962.  Lake Penage was also the location of our wedding.

Very few people know of my early start in the entertainment business.  Actually, I have been on television five times, all in Sudbury.  Here is my first appearance, wearing a dark blazer, on a local country music show.  I am supposed to be clapping rhythmically along with the music (this was live TV), but I took time out to wave to one of my off camera fans. 

Besides my TV entertainment friends, I was known to hang out with bishops, too.  I had plans around this time to be Pope someday.  However, plans change.  I never even became an altar boy.

Deb, in an early photo from the cafe at the Detroit Institute of Arts.  Gorgeous critter (and she still is). 

Piano practice continues to go really well, and most things are falling into place nicely.  The Beethoven Variations Op 34 is the first major work by the composer I have done in many years.  Instead, I have been on a Haydn spree, and will likely return to that composer once the next recital is done.  I am aiming for late March/early April for a performance date.  Last October I ended up playing four times, which is great practice, and might do that again this time, if people are still uneasy about gathering indoors.  I thought performing with a mask might prove tricky, but it was no problem.

Mapman Mike