Observing Galaxies

We had two fine, very clear nights in a row on Wed. and Thursday.  It was the first time this year I felt motivated to undertake the massive setup and journey west to my secret observing site, beneath windmills in the next county over.  It was very cold both nights, being 28 F when I left for home.  The first night a serious wind chill sent me home earlier, but Thursday I managed to last the full three hours.  This time of year there are very few stars in the sky, as our planet is turned to face out of our galaxy.  But this opens up clearer views to other galaxies, and Spring observing is usually all about other galaxies.  In the two nights I managed to observe 10 new ones for my observing program.  I wonder how many other civilizations that encompasses?  It can be a very humbling hobby.  Some of the objects were tiny bare smudges, and an inexperienced observer would have seen nothing in the eyepiece.  A few others were very prominent, and even a newbie would be able to seen them easily.  But that looks like it for the April session; a week of clouds are forecast, and the moon will be too bright by the end of that time.

Tomorrow night is our Beltane celebration.  It should be cool enough to have a wood fire.  We will get our new Tarot cards then as well.  We will try to get a walk in the woods scheduled for next week, to view any wildflowers brave enough to come forth in our cooler, not very sunny weather.  The dandelions are in full bloom, at least.

In movie news, there are a few of interest to report.  I will limit my comments on The Vanishing, from 1988.  This is a very troubling horror film about the sudden disappearance of a young woman from a highway service center and rest stop.  Such disappearances have been increasing in frequency for some time, and continue to happen with fearsome regularity.  Britain seems to have many, and Mexico seems to make new records in disappearances every month.  Canada has had its share, too, as has every country.  The movie is one such disappearance explained fully, and it it not a comfortable movie to watch.  Although it likely helped some young women who saw it stay alive (by staying out of strangers' cars), it also likely promoted copycat abductions among other sociopath males.  Although I could quibble at length about some of the plot points and turns, the fact remains that this stuff happens all the time, and it leaves one feeling angry, saddened, and very upset.  You will be punished for watching the entire film.

Showing on Criterion. 

Next up was a classic Douglas Sirk melodrama with a big cast and Technicolor that will pop your eyes out.  With a star cast and a breezy plot, the film is called Written on the Wind, and is from 1956.  Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone star as bad brother and sister, heir to their father's oil millions.  They have made nothing of their lives; the business depends on Rock Hudson, who manages to keep everything afloat despite the family black sheep.  Lauren Bacall falls for Stack and his millions, and ends up marrying him.  This is highball soap opera, and actually quite fun to watch.  Malone emotes grandly during every scene she is in (hilariously, she won an Oscar), and though she is bad through and through, she does the right thing at the very end.  Her brother, not so much.  Recommended high kitsch.

Showing until April 30th on Criterion.

The film is in dazzling Technicolor, and of course is shown in a pristine print. 

I will return soon with more Homestead news, as well as the April reading summary.

Mapman Mike

 

Spring Weather

 Spring weather has once again struck here at the Homestead, and on a weekend!  We had a snowfall just a few days ago, but now it's near 80 F.  But more seasonal weather returns Monday.  Still, more yard work must be done today, and in a day or two the lawn tractor will be fired up, have its oil changed, and be pressed into action.  The car had an oil change on Thursday, and I had a busy run around day.  First to the bank to deposit a cheque, then to the pharmacy to get some prescriptions, then to the auto shop to get an oil change on the Golf.  Right across the street from the auto shop is a forested rails to trails path, so off I went on a solo walking adventure.  It was sunny and very warm.  The birds were having a major field day.  I ended up sitting on  bench for quite a while, watching and listening to a steady cacophony of birdsong.  Absolutely nothing was stirring in the woods in the way of flowers, except for a few dandelions.  We are still weeks away from the wildflower show.

As of Thursday afternoon, the woods were still in early Spring mode.  The birds, however, were something else.  What a racket! 

What film do you watch every week (answer coming up later)?  We have seen three decent films of late.  The first one was Lola, from director Fassbinder and from 1981.  One of his last films, it is filmed in lovingly lavish and garish colours.  It is a comedy of manners that deals with a supposedly upright middle aged man who is the new building commissioner for a mid size German city.  He is trying to weed out crooked dealings.  It also deals with Lola, a prostitute and singer at the city's main sinful nightclub.  She meets the director and pretends to be a lady of some quality.  He soon falls in love with her, before discovering her true persona.  But he is soon revealed to be a morally ambivalent person (something Lola is not), and by the end of the film nearly everyone has gotten what they wanted.  Not too many of Fassbinder's films are "fun" to watch, but this one is.  The lighting is a work of art.

Now showing on Criterion.

 

An example of the bizarre but eye-catching lighting from Lola. 

 

Next up was a neat little Noir sleeper film from 1949, directed by Richard Fleischer.  A counterfeit ring is broken up by US secret service agents in this intelligent and unique little film starring Lloyd Bridges, who is sprung from prison in a plot by the government to lead them to the criminals.  Lloyd plays along, then shows his true colours by trying to get in on the scheme again now that he is on the run.  He hopes to get to Mexico with his girlfriend with enough money to live there.  The finale chase and shootout is in the main LA trolley repair and maintenance shop, making for a unique ending.  Recommended.

Showing on Criterion until April 30th. 

 

Next up was the restored 1932 masterpiece Vampyr, directed by Carl Dreyer.  We chose the English text version (Criterion also has the German one), and sat spellbound for over an hour as this strange and unmatched horror chiller played on our big screen TV.  We weren't five minutes into the film when we both thought of the Brothers Quay and their weird and wonderful films.  Sure enough, when Deb checked it out afterwards, the Brothers claimed to be have influenced by this film more than any other single thing in their lives.  They jokingly claim to watch it once a week.  It helps to explain the Brothers Quay a little bit, but it doesn't help to explain Dreyer.  He had just made his iconic Joan of Arc film,then made this one.  Really?  Is that even possible?  Anyway, it is a masterpiece of horror film making, with nothing to compare to many of its scenes, including the very famous one from inside the coffin looking upwards.  We will likely watch it again soon.  The special effects are awesome, especially the ones involving shadows.  Don't miss the restored version!

A still from Vampyr, showing in 2 restored versions on Criterion.

Now showing on Criterion in a restored version. 

 

Turning lastly to art from the DIA, I was attracted by this image of ships in New York harbour by a French artist.  That is one beautiful ship!

 

New York Harbor, 19th C.  Jules Lessore, 1849-1892.  Watercolour, 42" x 39".

 

Detail of above. 

 

My late Uncle Jimmy was building a model ship similar to this one.  I used to stare at it in awe as it progressed (very, very slowly).  I don't think it ever got finished.  Speaking of ships, the spotting has been very good lately, with many of the regulars passing by once again.  I keep a specific eye on five ships, 2 from the Great Lakes and three salties.  I will devote a blog to them soon. 

I just received a message from my brother that my dad now has Covid.  More later.....

Mapman Mike

 
 

 

 

 

 

Easter

 It was cold over Easter weekend.  It snowed.  It's still cold.  But relief is nearly here, as 80F is predicted in a few days.  There is also an unsubstantiated rumour going around that it might be clear Thursday night, during an actual mostly moonless night.  How bad has it been for this astronomer?  Glad you asked.  My last officially logged observation was the night of November 7th.  It was a very cloudy winter.  When it was clear, it was much too cold and/or windy to make use of the sky with a telescope.  We'll see what happens during this two week session.

In Covid news, my brother and sister in law are both sick, though Steve is recovering slowly.  No word yet on my young niece.  I have chatted very briefly with Steve recently.  It doesn't sound like he is having much fun.  I just read that so far about 25% of Canadians have had Covid.  Obviously that is going to soar (and has been) without a mask mandate.  Our local school board has had to close some schools because of lack of staff and/or students.  They are imploring the government to reinstate the mask mandate for schools, but so far no luck (there is an election in six weeks; not that that would have anything to do with the government's decision).

Meanwhile, the daily grind continues here at the Homestead.  Here is the outline of a typical day for this blogger.

9:30 am.  Rise and shine.  Feed outside birds.  Feed inside people (two).  I make breakfast 6x weekly.

10:30 am.  First hour of piano practice.

11:30 am.  Exercise.  4x weekly it involves walking on the treadmill.  3x weekly it involves using light weights, doing stomach work, lots of stretching, and calf strengthening.

Noon.  Heat and physiotherapy exercise for my right shoulder (I tore my rotator cuff last fall).

12:30.  Free time, and lunch.  Deb goes to Kingsville 3x weekly.  On days she is home lunch is a big affair.  On the 3 days she is gone, lunch is smaller.

1:30 pm. Reading.

3 pm:  Coffee time ( 4 oz only for me; 8 for Deb).  Computer gaming or writing.

4 pm: 2nd hour of piano practice.

5 pm:  Out side birds 2nd feeding.  Free time.  Reading, writing, or watching a Wondrium lecture.

6:45 pm:  Small dinner while we watch Criterion movie channel.

8 pm:  Free time, writing or computer games.  Tuesday evening grocery shopping.

9:30 pm:  Listening to music.

10:00 pm:  Free time, NM map work.

10:30 pm: Reading.

Midnight:  Lights out.

That has remained fairly consistent for a very long time now.  I think Deb and I would be good candidates for a lengthy Mars mission.  She would likely choose to never go outside (beyond our yard) if she didn't have to visit her mom.  Her free time is spent mostly on her computer making animated films, though we do meet up at various times during the day and evening.

As Spring continues to slowly unfold, I thought I would present a painting from the DIA that captures some of that process.  We still have very distinct seasons here, though some of them are becoming more extreme.  American Impressionism was a very large movement, in many cases excelling at it, and rivaling the French.  Many American painters studied in Paris, returning home with new ideas and techniques.  By coincidence I am currently reading In The Quarter, a book by Robert Chambers from 1894, of a young American art student doing just that.  It takes place in the fin de siecle in Paris.

Unfolding Buds, 1909.  Willard Leroy Metcalf, American (1858-1925).  He would have been very close to the age of the student in Chambers' novel.  Oil on canvas, 26" x 29".  I love the muted colours, giving added warmth to the scene.

Detail of above.

 

There is only one more movie to report on today, an Indian b & w film from 1959 called Paper Flowers.  Directed by Guru Dutt.  He also stars as the main character, a successful film director who has it all, and then loses it.  It's not really a very good film, and is hampered by several ridiculous songs that seem ubiquitous to many Indian films.  Dutt is not a very good actor, either, having mostly one expression throughout the film, and (at first) a pipe perpetually stuck in his mouth, and later, a bottle of booze.  Also going against it is its length, at well over two hours.  Take out the songs and the film might be improved in many ways.  Filled with stereotypes and some plain bad humour, it is not a movie I could really recommend.  To its credit, it  sticks with a very negative ending, which must have been a shock to the audience at the time.  There are also some great lighting effect shots, and the female star, Waheeda Rehman, is drop dead gorgeous.

 

Paper Flowers, showing on Criterion.

Waheeda Rehman plays the female lead. 

 

Until next time....

Mapman Mike

 

     

 

Ice On The Birdbath

 It's been a very damp and chilly Spring so far.  It was snowing in Sudbury yesterday when I talked to my folks, and we are supposed to get some tomorrow in our area.  Meanwhile, the new astronomy session begins Wednesday.  March was a total washout, so I missed out completely on my winter constellation program.  I just checked the 7 day clear sky forecast, and the first good chance is next Saturday.  Not surprised.  Last night was the full moon (and thus Easter is today).  We could have enjoyed a wood fire, as it was cold, grey, and windy.  We did keep up with the opera listening tradition, though, and we had a moon cake!  The opera was Leonore, Beethoven's first attempt at writing opera.  Composed in 1805, it would eventually be rewritten many times, finally emerging (in 1814) as Fidelio.  But last night we heard the original version.  So we are now up to 1805 in our comprehensive Beethoven listening project!

Our Easter breakfast consisted of homemade cinnamon rolls, black cherry juice, and tea.  Along with it came the Sunday morning Bach Cantata.  We have now listened to 14 CDs worth of Bach sacred Cantatas, as well as a few of the secular ones.  Another lifelong project, ongoing and fun.  This one dealt with the disappearance of Jesus when he left his family and couldn't be found for a time.  I'll have a bit more to say about Jesus in a moment or two, when I turn to discussing movies watched.

Deb's home made cinnamon rolls.  I made tea, and poured juice (sorry, no photo available).  This is how many rolls remain after we had breakfast!  She also made icing for mine.

Turning to a more serious topic, I am finally coming around to the fact that our lives will never be the same again.  As the waves of intense Covid infections roll on (this is our 6th wave, by someone's count), we continue to avoid crowds, indoors and out.  Air travel will likely not be possible for us ever again.  Since the new strains can re-infect, sometimes in less than a month, and the risk of long Covid increases each time one catches the virus, it is something we are not prepared to gamble with.  Covid now hits the vaccinated as much as the other group, and only N95 masks will give some protection.  Herd immunity is now a myth, and cannot be achieved.

So staying home as much as possible is still going to be the norm around here.  If Deb didn't have to visit her mom in Kingsville (where there is another outbreak going on in the LTC home), she would be home except for medical appointments and groceries, which is basically what I do.  My one trip to Detroit went well, and there were no crowds.  It's always easy to find quieter places in Detroit.  Even so, it is just me going over, and only once per month, for now.  Though we had high hopes for revisiting Vienna, and getting to Berlin, that now seems a pipe dream.  It would be impossible for Deb to fly.

There has been a silver lining.  Since we haven't travelled in two years, we have undertaken some very costly repairs and upgrades to our house that might have been pushed way back otherwise.  And we really do have everything we need or could want near to us (much of thanks to Detroit).  Except for two things; the desert and the mountains.  But we can reach New Mexico, Colorado, etc by car, and by camping most of the time we can even avoid hotels and motels.  So any travelling we might undertake will likely be in a car.

In final Covid news, my brother in Sudbury came home Thursday feeling very poorly.  He tested positive, and is now isolating and suffering at home.  He works at the service desk of a large Ford car dealership, and though he is triple vaxed, wears a mask and face shield, here we are.  I just messaged my sister in law.  She hasn't seen Steve in 2 days.  Of course this puts her at risk, and Emma-Lee (13 years), and both of my parents, who live upstairs.  And I'm hoping to visit in early May (laughs maniacally).

I finished my required Avon/Equinox reading for the month of April yesterday (8 books), so I am now in my free reading period, still trying to empty my book shelf filled (for years, in some cases) with miscellaneous books.  I am currently reading Catspaw by Joan Vinge, a 450 page epic that so far reads like a 1950s pulp story.  After that, I will delve back into my Delphi Classics series.

In movie news, we have watched four since my last blog.  We had high hopes for Senso, a technicolor feature by Visconti from 1954.  Considered one of the all time classics of Italian cinema, we found it to be a dud.  The main problem with the film, which is rich in costumes and details, is that we didn't care at all about the two main characters, a selfish countess and a selfish Austrian officer in occupied Italy.  If one doesn't care about the the two main characters, and the entire film is about them, then the film is lost before it gets very far.  When their world crumbles around them, viewers had expected it.  But really, we didn't care.

Showing on Criterion in a restored version. 

Next up was a musical variety movie, with a silly plot starring Sonia Henie as a totally obnoxious young woman trying to land a husband.  Besides the decent musical numbers, there is a lot of fake skiing, and some skating.  The Glenn Miller Orchestra introduced The Chattanooga Choo-choo song, and the Nicholas Brothers sing and dance with Dorothy Dandridge. 

Leaving Criterion April 30th. 

Next was a very unusual sleeper, The Angel Levine, produced by and starring Harry Belafonte, along with Zero Mostel.  This might be Mostel's finest role, as he masterfully plays an elderly Jewish tailor trying to care for his dying wife.  Belafonte appears in his kitchen one day, claiming to be an angel.  If he is one, then he is a very troubled one.  He brings a mix of discord, enchantment, and comfort to Mostel, who always appears to be at the end of his wits with anyone and everything he encounters.  This is a very strange but compelling film by the Czech director of The Shop On Main Street, which we saw at the end of February.  Is he a real angel, or just a hood looking for some kind of redemption?  Recommended viewing.

Showing until April 30th on Criterion. 

Sticking with the angel theme, next came Pasolini's The Gospel According to St. Matthew, in a fully restored version.  We had seen it many years ago in a terrible print, where the subtitles could hardly be read.  The filming is a mixture of authentic faces of village desert people, and the incredible and barren landscapes.  Jesus also preaches a lot. The best three faces are those of the androgynous angel that appears from time to time, such as the annunciation and the resurrection, Mary in her youth, and the face of Jesus.  All were extremely well cast.  It is an earnest film, and pretty true to the scripture.  The climax is the crucifixion itself, with lamentation scenes straight from Renaissance art.  It seemed a fitting movie to watch during Holy Week.

Pasolini's annunciate angel.

Now showing on Criterion in a fully restored b & w version.

 

The Face of Jesus.

The young Mary, explaining to Joseph about virgin births and angels. 

That brings everyone up to date on doings at the Homestead.  Deb's newest film has been uploaded and will soon be entering the festival circuit.  Catch it on Vimeo; search for "A Fable for Four Voices".  You won't be sorry.

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

A Visit To Detroit

It had been 25 months, almost to the day.  But I finally made a return journey to our nearest and dearest big city.  It seemed as if I'd never been away.  My main objective was to get to the Detroit Institute of Arts, and just poke around.  The museum was quiet, and I had a major touring exhibit virtually to myself (there were some guards).  By Her Hand:  Artemisia Gentileschi and Women Artists in Italy, 1500-1800 was the major exhibit currently showing, and visiting Tuesday at noon hour seemed to be the perfect time!  Organized by the DIA and the Wadsworth Atheneum, the exhibit was beautifully presented, as always at the DIA, and I learned a lot about women artists at the time.  They were out there, struggling to prove themselves equal to male artists, and if the exhibit is any indication, they often exceeded them.  Over 15 female artists were represented in paintings, prints, and other media, including a bizarre but appealing wax diorama.

 Later, in the permanent galleries, I frequently had entire wings to myself.  There were others around, and school groups would wander by from time to time, but if I simply stood where I was for a minute, I was soon all alone again.  If felt like visiting my private art collection!  I saw some newly acquired paintings, including an early Van Gogh, the museum's fifth by that artist.  There was an image of the self portrait, and a little explanation saying that it was currently at the Courthauld Gallery in London.  I wished I was there, too!  I had a beautiful salad at the cafe for my lunch, from one of the best salad bars I've every come across. Once I'd loaded my plate and had it weighed at the cashier station, it came to $4.35!

This odd little wax figure diorama was just one of the highlights for me of the Artemisia exhibit.  Note the two bunnies in the central area, far left.  The ducks in the pond were quite cute, too.

I was often alone in the galleries and hallways. 

It turned into the nicest Spring day so far this season, with sunshine all day and temps in the high 60s.  By contrast (and more normal) it is raining today, with some serious storms on the way tonight.  This is a view from the museum, looking towards Wayne State University. 

After leaving the museum I went to a new cafe in New Centre, north of the museum by several blocks.  Called Milwaukee Cafe (it's on Milwaukee Street), they had our favourite coffee (Anthology), and I was able to get a beautiful cup of coffee and sit outside on a quiet back street, as well as purchase a bag of Anthology beans.  It had been so long!  I plan on visiting monthly for now, so I will revisit in May.

Today I went to Kingsville with Deb.  I drove to my usual spot at Lakeside Park, and took off for a walk in the neighbourhood.  I got back to the car just as heavy rain arrived, and sat through two rainstorms reading my current novel, Black Sun, by Jack Williamson.  I spotted this snoring racoon on my walk!

Hopefully he slept through the rain in some comfort. 

Deb's most recent film is now complete and ready to be uploaded.  At least until she begins her next project, I might see her a bit more often.

Mapman Mike

 

Prague And Paris

Pretty exciting title, isn't it?  Read on and find out.....

We tried to watch a Detroit Symphony Live broadcast tonight, but there was a problem with the sound, so we just abandoned it.  Thus, I have time in my busy schedule to blog.  What have I been doing?  Just the usual.  Reading, writing, blogging on other blogs of mine, practicing piano, watching movies, and watching lectures in two different courses on Wondrium.  I have watched 7 episodes of the SF literature course, and 2 of the Archaeology of North America course.  That course will focus on the two main prehistoric civilizations, namely the Mississippian Mound Builders, and the Southwest Cultures.  Both of those are right up our alley, and so far the introductory lectures have been top notch.  There are now about a dozen courses in our watch list!  It's like going back to university again as an undergraduate, but in a really comfortable chair, with a beer fridge near by.

We had a fun visit by Jenn G last Monday.  Much dark ale was quaffed, good food was munched, and the conversation was nonstop.  Jenn has an opportunity in early May to go to Paris for a month, looking after a friend's apartment who will be away.  She is hoping she can swing it!  What a great treat for her if she can pull it off! 

Now on to Prague!  Deb has a film in the Prague International Film Awards!  They had 1,600 entries, with 200 accepted as official selections.  Not too shabby.  Only wish we were going.  Once There Was A Girl has already won awards.  It just keeps going.  And her newest film is nearly in the can, too.  I have seen a finished version, but it still needs a tweak or two before being uploaded.  It should be another winner as soon as it begins entering the festival circuit.

In my own travel news, I am all set for my first visit to Detroit in over two years.  if all things go as planned, I will visit this coming Tuesday for the day.  Deb is not eligible to visit if she wishes to continue visiting her mom in LTC three times a week.  She would have to abstain from visiting for 14 days if she crossed the border, even for a few hours.  A very silly rule.  She could travel a thousand miles away within Ontario with no problem, but cannot cross the Detroit River.  What a joke. 

I am having my children's novel translated into French, for possible publication in France.  I am having a few people read the first chapters in English and French for comments.  Everything seems fine, though difficulties arise with certain expressions.  I will soon have a chat with my translator regarding this. 

In movie news, there have been several viewings, though little of major interest.  We just watched a Robert Wise movie from 1959, starring Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Ed Begley, Shelley Winters, and even Gloria Grahame!  Quite a cast.  It is a taut movie from the heist family sub genre of Noir features, with some amazing b & w photography.  Begley heads up a team of three to pull a bank job in a small city.  Ryan plays a racist crackpot.  Belafonte is great in his role, and even sings a number and plays xylophone.  The plot goes off the rail at the end, but until then it's a pretty decent little film.

Showing on Criterion until April 30th. 

Before that came the 3rd Lone Wolf and Cub feature, called Baby Cart To Hades.  This film holds the world's record for the number of men killed by a single samurai warrior in one battle.  Itto Ogami literally fights an entire army, and kills them all.  Take that, Sylvester Stallone!

Before and after shots of the big battle scene. 

Before that came two family dramas, one from 1941 and the other from 1991.  How Green Was My Valley is so dated today, despite its hard hitting attacks on two-faced chapel goers and average town people.  The action takes place in a Welsh coal mining town, and we follow the exploits of the only decent family in the entire town, it seems.  Maureen O'Hara is gorgeous, and Roddy McDowall is quite good as the child.  Watching the movie in 2022, it's impossible to believe that this film beat out Citizen Kane for best picture Oscar that year.  Even back then, I'm certain that eyeballs were rolling when the announcement was made.  Guess which of the two is still a great film, one of the best ever made.

The film appears just a wee bit creaky these days. 

Rambling Rose gives Laura Dern her chance to shine.  She plays a young woman hired as a housekeeper to a family with three kids.  More or less a comedy drama, the film also stars Robert Duvall and Dianne Ladd.  Some nice moments, but not enough to recommend the film.

Showing on Criterion. 

Before that came a Truffaut imitation of a Hitchcock film, called Mississippi Mermaid.  Starring Deneuve and Belmondo, the film misses nearly every chance to be believable and enjoyable.  In films where we don't care about the main characters (Belmondo's character is so stupid that one can't even pity him, and Deneuve's is so shallow one can't have any respect for her, either), that film is a lost cause.  It's a dumb story.  It's not trashy, just filled with ridiculous decisions and escapades.  It's the kind of film that gave European movies a bad image in the US.  Very sloppy movie making.

Showing on Criterion until April 30th. 

If the Detroit trip actually happens, I'll be back with a full report!

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

March Reading, Part 2

 My first book after reading my monthly allotment of Avon/Equinox authors' works was one from my miscellaneous shelf.  It was called Changing Planes, by Ursula Le Guinn, a book Deb appropriately purchased at the Detroit airport on one of our excursions.  It is a volume of short stories, mostly anthropological in nature, about various other planes of existence.  One can learn to get to these planes only after being stranded many times in airports.  Acquiring the knack is worthwhile, as it alleviates the boredom of such places by allowing the traveller to visit other places and other cultures.  It is a very funny and witty book, and well worth seeking out.  Don't look for deep plots or depth of character.  It seems like a type of Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, only more restrained and informative.

Next came my introduction to the writings of Algernon Blackwood, one of my Delphi Classics purchases for Kindle.  Blackwood's ghost stories influenced writers such as Lord Dunsany, H P Lovecraft, and William Hope Hodgson.  I read his first collection of tales, called The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories, from 1906.  While several of the stories are pretty standard haunted house yarns (a murder was once committed there, therefore an evil presence still lingers), a few are really quite surprising and good.  "Keeping The Promise" is a plausible tale of two students who made a pledge in blood when they were younger that the first to die would come back to see the other one.  Other unusual and worthwhile stories are "Wood of the Dead;" Smith, An Episode In A Lodging House;" and "The Strange Adventures of a Private Secretary in NY."  I am really looking forward to more by this influential author.

One of the more difficult things about undertaking the collecting and reading of (and blogging about) the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series, was not going into further depth with some of the incredible writers I encountered.  I was focussed on the series only, and not reading beyond it at the time.  Fortunately, a few authors had several volumes of their works published in that series, but some did not.  Now, as I come towards the end of my Avon Equinox project, I find I have time and inclination to go back and read more of the Ballantine authors.  One of the authors whose writing I fell in love with was Ernest Brahma.  Lin Carter published 2 of his Kai Ling books, as well as a Kai Ling novella and another short story.  Kai Lung is a Chinese story teller from long ago, and he could be found unrolling his mat under a mulberry tree in various towns and cities throughout the season.  He passes a wooden donation bowl around, then sets out to tell a tale.  This month I read the first such volume, called The Wallet of Kai Lung, from 1900.  The very first story is called "The Transmutation of Ling", and was the novella that Carter published in the Ballantine series.  I reread it joyfully, as it is one of the best of the author's stories.  He writes about a China that never was, an ancient China that he conjured up in his imagination.  The many Kai-Lung stories that he wrote are highly imaginative, very witty, and sometimes brilliant in their messages.  Somehow, the stories are never racist or condescending, and can be read easily today.  This first volume, overall, is not up to the same level of sophistication as his later books in the series (from the 1920s), except for the novella, though there are a few stories that make reading the volume highly worthwhile.

An early edition. 

Next up, I finally returned to the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs!  Between the ages of about 12-16, I collected and read everything available at the time by this author, who greatly influenced me growing up.  Tarzan was a special hero of mine, and drew my mind towards the rain forest, and on to such works as Hudson's Green Mansions, among many others.  Though I read virtually all of the author's books, I did skip out on some of the later Tarzan novels (there were 24 in all), and I never read the Mars series, for some strange reason, even though I collected it.  Anyway, I started with his first published work, A Princess of Mars, which was serialized beginning in 1912, and finally published in book form in 1917.  Just after reading it, the SF lectures series I am watching discussed this book at length!  It combines SF and fantasy, mixes in the style of western pulp stories (of which Burroughs wrote several), and leads readers into a new world from which SF would never be the same.  Using what was known about Mars in 1912 (almost nothing), Burroughs takes us on an unforgettable adventure to a dying planet filled with monstrous alien beings, animals, ruined ancient cities, and people very much like humans.  Because everything is so new, there is a lot of explanation in the story, especially the first third or so.  But once things get going, the action is non-stop.  Having enjoyed Michael Moorcock's version of Burroughs' Mars stories, it's time now for the real thing.  Great fun from the earliest days of SF pulp writing.

 

 

The first cover, art by Schooner, is included in my Kindle edition.

Song of the Lion, by Anne Hillerman, marked my second female author project for this month.  Anne is Tony Hillerman's daughter, and she has carried on his Navajo mystery series, with the same characters and locations, but focusing more on a female officer introduced by Tony but not developed.  She takes that character and runs with it, and I'm sure her father would be proud of her accomplishments.  Though we have been to NM 38 times, we have not been to Shiprock, the area where many of the tales take place.  But readers learn a lot about Navajo life by reading the books.  This story takes place in and around Tuba City, AZ, and the Grand Canyon.  An easy read, it was my choice for my day of recuperation last month from a minor medical procedure I had undergone.  I finished it in one day.

Another fabulous Ballantine author whose writing I fell in love with was James Branch Cabell.  Thanks to Delphi Classics, I now have all his works on Kindle, with original covers and interior art work.  I read his very first novel, The Eagle's Shadow, which sounds a bit like a Navajo mystery story.  It isn't.  It is a drawing room comedy, with such subtle and delightful humour and turns of phrase, that from the outset Cabell was obviously a very fine writer.  The silly plot reminded me of a book by Wodehouse I read not long ago, and would make a fine comparison between the two works (the first Jeeves book).  Both authors are very good at storytelling, and both are hilarious.  But Cabell is so sly and subtle, his prose so low key and unintrusive, and his characters so finely carved, that there can be no mistaking the two writers.  Both are essential reading, but Cabell will be a major revelation to someone who has never encountered him before.  Before being published as a book in 1904, it was serialized in The Saturday Evening Post.

Last up for March was another book from the shelf, one I've had for many years awaiting its turn.  The Necropolis Railway, by Andrew Martin, is a murder mystery story set in London in 1903, specifically in and around Waterloo Station.  It follows the exploits of a young Yorkshire lad who wants to drive trains, fast ones, and gets hired on as a cleaner in London, the first step to becoming a driver.  He cleans engines that are used to run funerals out to Brookwood Cemetery, southwest of the city.  The book gives vivid descriptions of working class life in London at the time (gruesome), and a lot about the funeral railway.  In fact, this book sparked renewed interest in the history of that railway.  A fun read, though mostly for the environment of the time.

Before leaving off, I will include a few more pictures from our summer of /82 trip to Spain.  these next images are all from Segovia.  One of my favourite pics from that trip was the one of the aqueduct.  The other two are what I call "here and there" photos.  First, from the Alcazar looking out towards a Norman church, then back to the Alcazar from the inside of the church.

Roman aqueduct, downtown Segovia, Spain.

 

Looking towards a very old church from the Alcazar.

Looking back to the Alcazar from the church interior.  

Signing off for now.  Looking forward to a visit from Jenn G. on Monday.  There will be ale tasting with snacks, and some fun conversation.

Mapman Mike

 

 

March Reading Part 1

 I managed to get through my 8 remaining Avon/Equinox authors' books close to the middle of the month, thus having time for no less than seven others not on any list.  This included three books off my miscellaneous shelf.  The count on that shelf is now 13 books remaining, with one new one to be added to it soon.  Jenn will be bringing me the latest novel by Emily St John Mandel, author of Station Eleven.  It's a uncorrected proof of the book, which doesn't come out till April 19th.  My goal is to have that shelf cleared by the end of 2022, or sooner.  I'm switching almost all my newer purchases over to Kindle now.  There is no more room in the house for books, but lots of room on the Cloud.

Robert Silverberg had a long period of burnout beginning in 1976 from writing so much science fiction.  He had already committed to writing two more novels for his publisher, and The Stochastic Man was the first of these.  The plot is tied up with politics, and trying to make a certain man into a presidential candidate.  Lew Nichols is hired as part of the team, first getting a Mr. Quinn elected as NYC major, and then leaping forward from there to make him a president.  Nichol's job is to study trends and try to make educated guesses as to what moves would benefit Quinn in the long run.  It's a pretty good novel, especially when written by a man who had a hard time facing up to the task of completing it.  The story intensifies when Nichol's meets Carvajal, a strange older man who has seen into the future, and advises Nichols on several things that will certainly happen.  Nichols writes him off as a scary quack at first, but when the predictions come true, Nichols investigates further.  An intriguing story, well told.

Executive is book 4 of Piers Anthony's Bio of a Space Tyrant series.  All of Anthony's heroes from all of his books share the same morals and characteristics, and despite this one being Hispanic, they are all quite bland and very predictable in virtually any situation.  Anthony writes this book as if it were a textbook on how to run a country, rather than a story with a plot.  Much of it is quite dry, though mildly interesting at times, such as when he isn't having sex with women, or thinking and talking about having sex with women.  But those times are rare.  I won't even go into how he manages to get a 15 year old girl to sleep with a 55 year old man, and she loves it.  It's just the author, up to his old tricks.  So far the series has been a disappointment, despite its potential to be something better.  Anthony's writing seems to slip with each passing year.  I am more often annoyed when reading him now than anything else.

It is always a breath of fresh air to read a novel by Harry Harrison after one by Piers Anthony.  In March I read One King's Way, Harrison's 2nd epic novel (470 small print pages) about Vikings and their invasion of England.  It is a truly great book, as the hero undertakes a massive circular northern journey of mythological proportions after engaging an enemy Viking ship in combat, and running aground in the marshes of coastal Germany.  The story does not seem much like historical fantasy, but it is, especially as far as religion goes.  Historical detail is accurate and fascinating, and the plot continues to evolve along with some of the main characters.  The story is brutal in many places, with little in the way of humour to break things up.  But everything feels right, and the two books read so far in this trilogy have been a wonderful and unique experience.  As much as the story is focussed on adventures and battles, it is also a fascinating read because of all the inventing that goes on; there are new and better crossbows, new and better battleships, new and bettor armour, and even vast improvements in water and wind mills.  Highly recommended for lovers of Viking sagas and early historical fiction.

I began yet another non SF series by Kenneth Bulmer, called simply Fox.  Book 1 is called Powder Monkey, and tells of the exploits and growth of a poor young boy in London, making his way in the navy by starting out as a powder monkey, essentially a boy that runs powder and shot up to the cannons during a sea battle.  When there are no battles he does just about anything, and (I mean almost anything) asked of him.  The first part of the book shows him growing up in London, and then sent to his uncle's place in the marshes to help out there.  This is a really fascinating part of the novel, but it gets even better once he signs up for navy and gets aboard a ship.  A surprisingly fine novel, and I am looking forward to #2 later this month.  By the time book 1 ends, Fox has been through adventures on land, where he saves his femal friend from being raped, and saves a British naval officer from death by Indian, and helps free his captured crew, and is engaged in a full fledged sea battle against a massive French warship.  He is about to leave the Henrietta, and to enter the service of Captain Cuthbert, the man who he saved on land earlier.  We hope things are looking up for the young man, as he has been through more in his short life than most people who live to ninety.

The Ming Vase is the title of a collection of 6 short stories by E C Tubb.  Five stories were new to me.  My favourite was called Star Haven, a novella about first contact, and a group of scientists returning to the site of a human colony to find it completely abandoned.  Where did the 500 colonists go?  As much a mystery story as a SF one, this is a brilliant bit of writing, and should have become a major motion picture.  Highly recommended.  Also quite good was a story called Trojan Horse.  A man is sent to recover a container of pills stolen from an experimental chemical factory.  The thief was the director's daughter, who lives in a maximum security apartment building.  How to get inside?  A decent story, along the lines of a private eye story.

Jack Williamson's Demon Moon was conceived and mostly written while he was on an extended trip to China.  While the whole thing reads as fantasy, the underlying structure is pure SF, and a very good mixing of the two genres.  Every thousand years, a cataclysm of planet shattering severity comes upon the land.  This had happened twice before, and is about to happen again, though previous occurrences are remembered as mostly myth.  It involves the approach of a dwarf star, a star that has some kind of intelligent entity living on it that seeks gold and other rare minerals for its survival.  The mad priests of the planet call this thing Zath, and worship it and expect its return.  By feeding it gold, they hope to be saved while everyone else perishes.  Though the story contains some flaws, I was easily able to overlook them.  The ending is nicely done, once all is explained.  The concept is brilliant, and no doubt at least a hundred other similar stories could be written, based on the author's main idea of who these people are and where they are.  All in all,  a recommended read, and certainly worthy of 84 year old Jack Williamson's well known talents.

The 3rd novel of Michael Moorcock's Elric series was read.  It is called The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, and it continues the hero's long journey of discovery, begun at the end of book one. The third story is one of pure adventure, as three men and a ship's crew seek a lost city in the jungle of a land that is only known through some very old, mistrusted myths.  Savage jungle creatures, a ruined city, a crystal-eyed giant statue, and a man living there who cannot die, are all ingredients of this almost familiar tale.  Needless to say, there are very few survivors of the expedition, and some surprising deaths.  Perhaps not the best jungle/lost city story I have read, it does have all the basic ingredients (though no women).  A good addition to the tale of Elric's year of wandering.

The 8th and final book of my first phase of March reading was Barry Malzberg's Scop.  Scop is the main character, a man obsessed with the murderous past of our civilization.  He refers to the assassination of John F Kennedy in 1963 as the beginning of the end, also calling it at one point "original sin."  Scop, like all of Malzberg's main characters, is completely insane and on a mission.  His mission is to somehow change history, so that flowers will grow in large fields, instead of the sadistic games that are played there to the death in his own time, the year 2040.  Scop is short for Scopolamine, a drug that has psychoactive properties, and was used early on ass a truth serum.  We know that Scop is in an institution, and that he somehow manages to get a transporter used to go back and witness historical events.  He fixates on the 1960s assassinations of the Kennedy brothers, King, and Malcolm X, and believes that by stopping them from happening "the present may live again," meaning that we will live in less violent times.  His madness, though recognized by the administrators, is not treated seriously when he claims that he will go back in time and change history.  Of course he is as ineffective there as he is elsewhere.  He makes one last futile attempt to save humankind at the end of the story.  The book is readable, and a highly original and unique look at the 60s assassinations, as seen by a madman.

Scop also receives my coveted Book Cover of the Month Award.  I am partial to orange.

March 2022 cover of the month.  Art by Stephen Fabian.  

I continue to enjoy my SF TV literature course, and have recently watched episodes on utopias/dystopias, the beginning of the pulp SF era, and evolution and deep time, among others.  It is truly a really fun presentation, and many of the authors talked about are ones with whom I am very familiar, including long discussions on Olaf Stapledon and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

In movie news, we finally finished up Deb's March film festival.  The 1989 documentary Forbidden City, USA is about the all-Chinese nightclub and musical revue in San Francisco, open from 1938 through the early 1960s.  It interviews singers, dancers, and the owner, along with still photos and short film clips of several of the acts.  A fascinating film, and it runs less than an hour.  It contains an astoundingly racist song about Chinese girls, sung by three white female singers.  This viewer was left boggle eyed and eared afterwards.

A fascinating documentary.  The Criterion run is now over.

The Eternal Return is a French film from 1943, an updated version of Tristan and Isolde.  If you did not know this, you would still get the feeling of an adult fairy tale in progress.  It's a bit on the rigid side, but still compelling and fascinating to watch.  Cocteau did the screenplay.  There are several extras we haven't watched yet regarding the film.  Starring a malicious dwarf, a violent drunk, and Jean Marais.

Showing in a pristine print on Criterion. 

 

Le Silence de la Mer is from 1949, an intense drama about the occupation of a small French village by the Germans in 1941.  A German officer moves in with two French peasants, an older man and his niece.  They do not speak to him, but each night when her returns from his duties he stands in front of the fire place and talks to them.  We hear the old man's thoughts, but nothing out loud from him or the niece when the German is present.  Gradually we get to know the officer, and it turns out he is a decent guy, duped by the Nazi's into thinking they are only there to help France and Europe.  When he discovers the truth about the invasion, and what plans the Nazis have for France, he undergoes a vast change in thinking.  So, too, do his unwilling hosts.  A beautiful and powerful film, with no violence or war action.

 

The 1949 film is showing on Criterion.

 

The three main characters from the film, based on a famous French novel.  A quietly powerful film. 

 

The last of Deb's choices was a young adult picture called Alan and Naomi, from 1992.  Set about the same time as the French film, this one features a young Jewish girl, about 12 years old, who saw her father get murdered by the Nazis.  Her mother and her escape Paris to Brooklyn, where her trauma remains in a severe state.  Across the hall is a young boy her age who is asked to spend time with her, in hopes of bringing her out of her trance.  While the plot is predictable and holds few surprises, the film is well done, and the two kids are excellent in their roles. 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

For my main movie choice this week we are watching the final two episodes of The Vampires, from 1916.  A film by Truffaut is coming up next.  Part 2 of March Reading will appear here very soon.

Mapman Mike