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