Cement--The Final Chapter

What began as a home improvement project with a strict budget became something of a nightmare for us this summer.  It began around June 5th (see that blog for some photos) when workmen arrived to replace our front stairs and repair part of the driveway near them.  They were also prepared to put fresh cement on our large front patio.  In addition to the cement work, we had ordered new eaves troughs.  Everything was budgeted at just over $10,000.  Since no travel was planned, it seemed a good time to get this work done.  Well, when all was said and done, we had spent a total of $20,000, and the front patio was never done.  Instead, we found the foundation leading into the garage had totally disintegrated, and needed to be replaced.  First, it was the year of crazy inflation, with cement being one of the worst products to buy at this time.  The price skyrocketed and availability shrank alarmingly.  

It was also the summer of nearly $3000 in unforeseen dental bills for both of us.  Deb had a tricky tooth extraction, and I broke a tooth.  So we are $13,000 poorer than expected at this point.  That is also very ironic, because we have had a large amount sitting in a savings account for years now, earning practically no interest whatsoever.  And now that savings accounts are paying decent interest rates, well, our savings account is down a lot.  And so life marches on.

Anyway, the driveway and foundation repair project was finally completed on Friday.  Huzzah!

Cement being poured onto the driveway in front of the garage.

The finished job.  However, it wasn't long before several mysterious bird footprints appeared in the fresh cement, there to remain forever more.  In about a week, the car can return to the garage.  It's been outside all summer.

In film news, there are two to report on, both Deb's choices.  Chameleon Street is a 1989 independent film based an actual Detroit conman, a drop out who impersonated a lawyer, a surgeon (he actually performed over 30 hysterectomies), a reporter, and various other professionals (I take note that he stayed away from classrooms--this guy was smart).  The film won the grand jury prize at Sundance in 1990.  Afterwards, it virtually disappeared.  It was resurrected 30 years later, and is now showing on Criterion.  The film has some very funny moments, but overall is quite disjointed.  One of the funniest scenes shows him as a dad with his little girl, threatening her with a knife.  He cuts his arm twice, then begins to cut her throat. She is remarkably calm.  Then mom pops out of the bedroom and begins to scold him for making such a mess, a mess that she will have to clean up.  Of course it is a trick knife with fake blood coming out as it cuts, but viewers don't know this until after mom comes out.  Definitely worth catching.  Watch for Mayor Coleman Young in a cameo appearance.  I so miss that cantankerous man!

Now showing on Criterion. 

For her leaving this month choice, Deb picked the taut theatrical war drama Five Graves To Cairo, starring Franchot Tone, Anne Baxter, and Erich Von Stroheim.  The Germans are marching on Cairo, and seem unstoppable.  Tone survives the desert after his tank is taken out of service and his crew killed.  He stumbles into a desert hotel, and takes the identity of a German spy, who was actually just killed in a German air raid.  Von Stroheim is superb as Rommel, and the dingy hotel setting is perfect, making the film as much noir as it is war.  Directed by Billy Wilder, it is from 1943, and is based on actual North Africa events from 1942.

Leaving Criterion August 31st. 

It is film festival weekend, the last weekend of the month.  Since it is my turn, I have selected a collection of 17 short films from Criterion, all Oscar contenders from 1953 onwards.  It will begin tomorrow.  We also have plans to watch the 2nd season of Cliff, and more M R James stories from Britbox.

Join me for my next blog, which will likely deal with the books I have read this past month.  See you then!

Mapman Mike

 

 

Replaying Myst

It's taken a few years, but I have managed to replay all 8 of the Myst games in order, including the three Uru ones!  This time I used a walk thru guide in order to properly follow the story, though most of the puzzles I still worked out on my own.  Many times I was stalled for a very long time.  However, I now have a better sense of what it is all about.  The three novels need to be read in their proper place, too, to make everything work out.  The original Myst game is now out in many different versions. The original slide slow version is still playable and remarkably good.  Next came a Masterpiece edition, with better graphics.  Then came RealMyst, with the ability to move anywhere.  In addition, there was a continuous day/night cycle in the main island, as well as in the Mechanical Age and Channelwood.  Some of the sunsets and moon rises are breathtaking, especially from different vantage points.  My favourite places to be during these times is on one of the tiny islands that surround the fortress in the Mechanical Age, as well as being high in the treetops in Channelwood on a moonlit night. There is now an even newer version, with eye-popping graphics.  I am waiting for the price to come down a bit first.  Then I might restart the entire sequence of games and books again.  It's kind of like a Lord of the Rings thing with me (not the movies--the books!)

The second game in the series is Riven, and at the time there was simply nothing like it.  It still ranks as one of the best adventure games ever created.  In these games it's all about the environments, at least for me, and Riven has acres of it.  The puzzles are sometimes fun, but often frustrating.  Walking around as a tourist is more fun.  The final puzzle of the game is almost unsolvable, and since it resets and changes each time you play, a walk thru solution doesn't work.  I've played Riven three times so far, and only managed to finish it once.  The jungle setting, with its original music, has yet to be beaten by any other computer game so far in my experience.  It's mysterious and spooky, and fun to visit.  My other favourite area to visit is Volcano Island.  No other version of Riven ever came out.  I would love to see a day/night cycle incorporated into this game.

Screenshot from Riven. 

 

Myst III Exile tried to put some story into the proceedings, a very basic one of revenge.  Again, I really couldn't care less.  But walking around the environments available was a very welcome way to spend time.  The puzzles again are often quite fun, but here the payoff for solving them was grand!  In Riven, the player got to ride some fabulous transportation devices, and Myst III upped the game for that aspect.  My favourite puzzle reward is the one with the rolling ball, where, once the puzzle is solved, the player gets the ride of a lifetime through a midway roller coaster construction.  Again there is no day/night cycle here, but several of the environments have different times of day, including a stormy twilight.  And another jungle appears, dark and dense.  Myst 3 is quite a good game, if not on par with Riven. I will replay it gladly yet again.

 

Myst 111, the opening landscape area. 

 

Myst IV Revelation again has visuals and atmosphere beyond the beyond, but by now the puzzles are getting really weird.  My favourite part of the game is just wandering around the various pods that are the home and laboratory and study of Atrus, Catherine, and Yeesha.  If there was ever a perfect paradise on Earth, these people are living there.  The story directly concerns the two sons from the original Myst (there were indirectly involved with Myst 3), and their young sister Yeesha.  There is another jungle in this game, but it's a far cry from the one in Riven.  Overall, this is quite a good game, and offers enough scenery to make it worth the time and effort to complete.

The kitchen and living area pod from Myst 4.

 

 The home of Atrus and family.  At one point in the game when the player returns here, it is night.  This is a beautiful area to explore, and worth the price of the game. 

 

The next three games are called Uru, and take place in D'Ni.  Uru Ages Beyond Myst is one of the most graphically amazing games I have ever seen!  it is a vast game, very much in the tradition of Myst.  Only now, explorers and restorers from the land above have discovered D'Ni, and are trying to make it safe for visitors.  While much remains of the city, some of is damaged and unsafe, likely due to Earthquakes.  However, the game begins in the bright desert sunshine of New Mexico, and near the famous cleft from the novels.  Getting from the bright sunshine of the desert into the cool, dark cleft is also a game highlight.  That cleft is really amazing to visit!  From there, it's down, down, and down to D'Ni, where the amazing sights and sounds never stop.  Though there are shortcut links to help get around the vast city, it's much more fun to simply walk around at leisure, enjoying the city all by oneself.

 

Uru has two additional add-ons that make the game even larger--it really is a small universe for the explorer to wander in.  Terrific graphics, and endless walking and exploring are available. There are annoying things about the game, but at least one cannot die.  Having said that, at times the player might have to make several attempts to get somewhere safely, and replaying can take some time.  Oh well.  Like I said; a walk thru guide is handy, but it won't always save you from grief.  The two add ons are called To D'Ni, and Path of the Shell.  This makes for nearly ten different environments to explore, after the game they are all accessible to the player.  This game goes where no other Myst games have gone, playing with reality in a major way.

 

Uru was supposed to be a multi player on-line game, but that never worked out.  I am so glad! I would much rather wander around these special worlds myself.  I rate Uru very highly, again not so much as a game, but as an environment worth visiting time and again.

 

Screenshot from Uru.

 

Screenshot from the expansion To D'Ni.  The entire city of D'Ni is awaiting the explorer.

 

Screenshot from the expansion path of the Shell.  This game really messes with the player's mind!

 

Myst V End of Ages is just that.  This is the final Myst game of the series.  Sadly, it's not very good.  The areas to explore are mostly small islands, though there is a chilly winter environment that proves a challenge to escape from.  On the good side, there are some nice day to night sequences, and a story, as well as a very fine astronomical setting.  But for the most part it's quite a mess, and I doubt if I will ever play it a third time.  After the Uru games, it's a major disappointment.

 

One of the effective night scenes in Myst V. 

 

In movie news, there are two to report, both being my choices.  First came The Mole Man, a 2017 documentary about an autistic man in rural Pennsylvania.  In his 60s, he lives with his mother.  He lives in a deprived area with many abandoned homes, and collects things from the homes; doors, windows, wood, furniture, toys, just about anything still usable (he has a very large collection of clocks and toilet plungers).  He has built an interconnected dwelling of 50 rooms, many of them underground, with electricity, lighting, and heat.  The film follows Ron around as he collects and adds to his buildings.  It also deals with the problem his brothers and sister are having trying to guide him to a different future.  His mother is 92, and won't live forever.  What then?  This is a really excellent film, looking closely at a man with certain gifts, who seems to belong nowhere except at home, doing what he does.  A fascinating story.

Exterior of Ron's creation.  The interiors are much more appealing.

 

Ron with some of his clocks. 

 

Leaving Criterion on August 31st is Midnight Run, a fun romp from 1988 directed by Martin Brest (Beverly Hills Cop) and starring Robert De Niro.  Along the lines of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, this film came out a year after that one.  De Niro is a bail bondsman, and must get his man from New York to LA in five days.  But the mob is trying to kill his man, and the FBI are also after him.  There's probably never been a film with more smoking and cussing, but it's fun from start to finish.  Somehow, much of the violence also seems to be quite funny.  This would make a good pairing with the earlier film, starring John Candy and Steve Martin.

Leaving Criterion August 31st. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

Ghost Stories

Late summer is descending upon the Homestead, with cooler days, earlier evenings, and a feeling that the pumpkins should be ready soon.  With our 46th wedding anniversary just behind us, it also feels that we should be in New Mexico.  When we were still teaching, late August would often be the time of our two week camping and hiking adventures in the high country, returning just in time to set up our classrooms and begin a new year of teaching.

As to Homestead news, the driveway cement finishing project is finally going ahead.  Due to a missed text message, we are nearly a month behind.  The contractor texted us with an estimate, but we never received it.  He thought we weren't interested.  I finally called him on Saturday, having to leave a message.  He called me back Monday, and the project is going ahead, to the tune of $3200.  It's been a summer of expenses.  On top of everything else (including two dental emergencies), the car sunroof is leaking again, due to jammed drains along the side.  The car is still under warranty, so it should be fixed at no further cost to us, at least.  And speaking of the car, we made our last payment last Friday!  It's now officially ours.

William Hope Hodgson is a favourite fantasy writer of mine, going back to my teen years when I began reading and collecting the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series.  I recently reread his novel Ghost Pirates, from 1909, about a ship that gets overrun by ghosts.  It builds wonderfully, with a shadowed figure being sighted, until the climax, where the ship is literally boarded and attacked by ghosts.  A very chilling read, and lots of fun to rediscover, thanks to the Delphi Classics.  I now have about 44 of them on my Kindle device, the complete works of those authors.

We also saw a pretty decent ghost story movie, with the very unlikely title of Personal Shopper.  From 2016, the film has one main actress who holds the entire film together.  Kristen Stewart (a shoe-in for our friend Amanda) is the personal shopper for a famous model, a job she does not like.  But it allows her to remain in Paris until she can solve a mystery.  Her twin brother died of a congenital heart defect there, and they had pledged to one another a sign from the beyond if one died first.  On top of it all, Stewart (as Maureen) is a medium.  She either conjures the ghosts herself, or is able to receive from them.  Del Toro could learn a thing or two from this fabulous director, who knows how to scare an audience without resorting to insanely graphic violence.  This is the second film by this director we have seen and really liked, both starring Stewart.  There is a murder, and the scene has a lot of blood, but we do not see it happen, but rather come across it unexpectedly.  Well worth seeking out!  Our print from AMC had very distorted sound, and we had to use the closed captions, which were not synced with the dialogue.

Now showing on AMC+.

Still on the them of ghost stories, we have finished watching the first 4-epeisode season of an Icelandic TV series called The Cliff.  Two detectives try to solve a murder in a remote area.  Though neither admits to anything, there are paranormal happenings occurring, and they both have strange experiences. There is a little boy who is a medium, and who says strange things to people.  He also dreams of events to happen.  Such a refreshing production compared to so many American cop dramas.  This one is well written, very well acted, quite atmospheric, and is subtitled.  Again, well worth seeking out.  We are about to watch the start of season two.

An Icelandic TV series showing on AMC+. 

Leaving ghosts aside for now, we also just completed a six part series called Alexander's Lost World, from 2013. The host, an Australian adventurer and photographer, does an incredibly fine job of leading viewers through Afghanistan in search of what remains of Alexander's conquest.  The desert locations are unrivaled for their remoteness and freedom from tourists of any kind.  Almost always he is the only white person in a town or village.  There are a surprising amount of ruins left behind, many never excavated, and some only quickly.  A good lesson in history and climate change, to be sure, but I mainly watched for the local scenery and colour.  There are also many beautiful computer reconstructions of the ruins, giving an idea of how high the civilization reached before conquest from the west.  Very engaging series.

Now streaming on Acorn TV.  It is a six part series, mostly filmed in Afghanistan. 

 

We are also watching two series on Wondrium: The Theory of Everything, and Science Fiction and Philosophy, each 24 episodes of 30 minutes.  And in a few short weeks, the Prime Tolkien series will begin.  Lots of good things to watch!

 

Sadly, the DIA has totally revamped their online art images.  It's confusing and not very user friendly.  However, I managed to extract an image of a very tiny landscape painting by a favourite Barbizon artist, Theodore Rousseau.  The Barbizon collection in Detroit is quite large, but they only show a tiny portion of it.  I usually prefer these paintings to Impressionist landscapes.  Though this is not a good example of Barbizon landscape painting, it is a fun painting to view once you are up really close to it.  It is very small.

Landscape, Theodore Rousseau, French, 1812-1867.  Oil on canvas.  Unframed size 24 cm x 32c cm.  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts.

 

Unframed image.  Inspired by Dutch 17th C landscape painting, the 19th C French artists who emulated them became known as the Barbizon school, after the small village where they would paint and meet. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

Del Toro Again

Del Toro has the means and ways to make possibly the most atmospheric and wonderful films ever conceived.  Watching a recent gothic horror film by the director, it has become obvious that Del Toro is obsessed with graphic violence.  The kind that a male teenager might get huge kicks from, and even laugh at as it happens on screen.  Del Toro's type of graphic violence is not out of place in a novel, perhaps, where one can skim through parts if desired, or simply try not to picture things too graphically.  Even in comics his style of violence could be accepted, as we are aware of the fact that this isn't real.  But when a film maker of Del Toro's creativity and magnitude hooks you into a movie, you do believe it's real.  The violence is so sudden and so shocking that it literally ruins the entire picture.  All the fabulous work he has done on sets, costumes, lighting, etc. are immediately thrown away.  What are you going to remember about the film?  Guess.  Anyway, Crimson Peak is mostly a traditional gothic tale, with a familiar, almost tired plot.  There are some very scary ghost scenes, however.  Awesome visuals, which make you forget how dumb the story is.  And then there is the over the top violence.  I hope someday Del Toro overcomes his teenage violence fantasies, and makes at least one movie before he dies that shows off his talents in a positive light.  I'd be interested in what percentage of viewers were entertained by seeing a man's head smashed repeatedly and graphically into the side of a bathroom sink, with all the accompanying blood and broken head.  Or the abysmal climax, with at least five stabbings, all very graphic and over the top.  And the two female leads have at one another with knives, a cleaver, and a shovel.  Stupidity marches on.

Now streaming on AMC+ 

 

And now for something completely different.  Deb's leaving choice last weekend was called The Balcony, a filming of a Jean Genet play that stars Peter Falk (who is pretty good) and Shelly Winters (who is awful).  Winters runs a fantasy island type of house of pleasure in a vast building.  She has many girls who work for her, and the customers (all male) pay highly for their services.  They get to act out their fantasies.  In this case there are three: one man wants to be a bishop, another a general, and a third a judge.  Outside the building the world is descending into chaos, with street battles and bombs.  Falk plays the police chief who is trying to take over everything.  Mostly quite silly now, there are several funny moments that keep up interest.  Pretty avante garde for 1963 cinema.  The language from the 1957 play was toned down considerably.  Worth a look for the curious.

 

Leaving Criterion August 31st.

 

For my main choice of the week I selected two shorter films by Les Blank from the early 70s.  They are called Dry Wood, and Hot Pepper.  Both deal with Black Creole culture in Louisiana.  The better film is Hot Pepper, which follows Clifton Chenier around to some of his gigs.  His incredible virtuosity on the accordion mixes jazz, blues, and zydeco.  The film is much more focused than the first one, which shows a variety of scenes, some very unpleasant to watch, of the rural community doing what they do.  But the Chenier film has some wonderful music, really stunning photography, and some random scenes with music in the background worth their weight in gold.  There was also a more recent short documentary to watch about making the two films.  Criterion is the only place to see stuff like this, especially in excellent prints.

The better of two Les Blank films leaving Criterion August 31st. 

 

In local news, Deb's mom Lois took a fall in her room.  She needed to have an x-ray done on her arm.  So Deb had to drive to Kingsville (30'), then follow the ambulance to Windsor (35'), stay until the x-ray happened (about 3 hours), drive back to Kingsville for the paperwork and to get her mom comfortable, then drive back home.  Not the end of her driving.  The arm was fractured, and Lois needed to return to Windsor next day at 6 am.  So Deb was up at 4:40 am, driving back to Windsor to meet her mom.  When her sling was on (they aren't going to use a cast), Deb drove back to Kingsville (Lois had transport separately arranged for her in her wheel chair), and then finally home.  Lois is in some pain, but she has pills for that.  Her arm is immobilized for three weeks, when she has to return to Windsor.  Deb is pretty sick of driving. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

The Prisoner (2009)

First some local news.  My tooth was repaired today, and it seems to be just fine again.  My wounded leg still looks terrible, but it is healing.  All bandages will come off tomorrow for a closer look.  And in some astounding news, the LTC home no longer has restrictions for visiting outside of the country.  So Deb will be able to come with me next time I cross the border for a day trip!  Yay!  And in Patti news, her older sister finally e-mailed me with a nice letter, bringing me somewhat up to date with Patti's life.  Nothing I wish to share here, but it seemed like a turbulent one, and perhaps not altogether happy.  She died of a heart attack at 60 years of age 8 years ago this month.  Thank you, Joanne!

In film news, Deb has decided to film a short SF story I wrote.  Pre-production is underway, as we try to whittle down the story to fit a short animated film.  It's a one character story, with only one major setting.  It will be a major project for Deb; most of my work is already done.

Of course we were fans of the original series from 1967, The Prisoner.  So when we first heard about a newer series, we watched it as soon as we could.  The six-part series is currently showing on AMC+, and we finished watching it yesterday.  Very little remains of the original project.  There is a village, there is a #2 and a #6, and they are in conflict over the idea of freedom and happiness.  Oh, and there is the giant white balloon that keeps people from escaping the village.

Now streaming on AMC+. 

I actually prefer the newer one to the old, which has aged quite badly.  It is a SF drama about a man fighting against a system that tries to smooth over differences, conflicts, and other rough patches one encounters in human beings.  #2 (Ian McKellen) is in charge of the village, trying to create a society based on wellbeing and happiness.  When #6 arrives (Jim Caviezel) he first tries to make him into the likeness he wishes him to be.  Eventually, however, #6 proves to be too strong, and he's sentenced to death.  However, with his failure to convert #6, combined with his failure to properly raise his son, #2 has a breakdown, and decides to leave the village in #6's hands.  Though no sequel ever came forth, it would have been interesting to see how #6's village came out.  Probably a bit on the messy side.

There is a lot of mystery to the story, and sometimes attempts at explaining things make things even thicker.  But that's okay!  It's good to have something on TV that isn't all totally explainable in the end.  But creating the village requires a full time dreamer, which changes the equation each time a new dreamer is brought in.  When #2's wife is called back to reality, the village doctor (#313, played by Ruth Wilson) takes over the job.  She has been trying to run away from a childhood trauma, with little success.  So perhaps her dream world will aid her recovery.  Or it might make a very dangerous village in which to bring forth freedom.  The series is highly recommended, and a rewatch is not out of the question.

On the Wondrium streaming channel, we have now completed our second course, this one on Archaeology of North America.  24 lectures just on US and Canadian archeological prehistoric sites.  It was brilliant!!  And tonight we watched a 90 minute 2015 documentary on that channel called Hieronymous Bosch: Touched By the Devil.  It's a behind the scenes look at putting together a centenary exhibition of the artist's paintings and drawings in his hometown of Den Bosch.  A truly remarkable film, it takes viewers right inside the details of most of his paintings.  The Prado also had a major exhibition that year, creating some conflicts.

Now streaming on Wondrium. 

And now for my two movie picks for last week.  We begin with another interesting mess directed by Terry Gilliam.  The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is from 2010, and follows the fortunes of a one coach, two horse travelling sideshow.  Dr. Parnassus is very, very old, and he has bargained with the devil for a longer life.  Of course there is a catch.  And of course he tries to beat the catch.  The film has some wonderful visuals and stunning special effects.  However, Tom Waits makes a terrible devil, and the director often goes overboard and tries to channel Monty Python a few times.  It's difficult to pinpoint where the film really fails, but it's likely in the telling of a story, which seems to get blasted apart too many times to keep putting it back together.  Worth watching for fans, but not the masterpiece it could have been.

Now streaming on AMC+. 

Yesterday was Full Moon, so it was party day/night.  It was clear, as per usual this summer, and we did see the moon eventually, through the trees.  We undertook two major projects.  The listening one was the opera Salome, by Richard Strauss.  Based directly on the play by Oscar Wilde, this is one fantastic opera!  With probably one of the best Biblical stories ever, Strauss came up with an impressive masterpiece, all taking place during the night of a full moon.  By and large I am not a fan of Richard Strauss, but I am of this opera.  With an orchestra of 100 musicians (Vienna Phil. conducted by Herbert von Karajan, with Hildegard Behrens singing the lead), this is a must hear opera.  What a world!!

And we also watched my 2nd movie choice of the week, all in one sitting.  Forbidden Planet is the quintessential 1950s SF movie, and we have seen it many, many times.  This Criterion edition was in mint condition, and the Cinemascope production is jaw dropping in its scale, beauty, and concept.  And it's got Robby the Robot, and Ann Francis is the shortest, tightest dresses one could ever imagine (all manufactured by Robby).  Two things are badly needed here: a remake, and a prequel.  Are you reading this, Steven Spielberg?

Now showing on Criterion until August 31st. 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Detroit: 3rd Visit

It was back to the Motor City on Tuesday, my 3rd post-pandemic visit.  It was a gorgeous day, and at 80 F, it was the coolest day we've had since mid-June.  Temps go back up today.  Last time I visited I was with Jenn G., and we were supposed to do a downtown exploring walk, to see what was new and what might have closed down.  It ended up raining heavily all day, so we nixed the walk.  This time I got back downtown, first time in well over 2 years.  While the city core was not as animated as before the pandemic, it was busy and active.  There were new cafes and stores, and even more rehab of older buildings going on.  One new skyscraper had been built and was just being finished, while two others are ongoing.  So things seem pretty good overall for the downtown centre.

I started out at Founders Brewery, still in a near no-man's land just northwest of downtown.  It sits on a street where parking regulations have yet to arrive.  I was able to sample three of their beers and enjoy some chips and guacamole before heading downtown.  I left the car there for the afternoon and walked the twenty minutes and began my exploring.  Here are some shots of the journey.

This is the Detroit branch of the famous Grand Rapids, MI brewery.  Their beer can be found all over the world.

Founders tap list!  I tried three of them, including two brewed on premise.  The blonde from Class 1 was actually quite good, but even better was the Witbier from Class 2.  The Belgian Triple Twist was the best of the bunch, from Class 3.  Yes, they have a lot of taps.  I was also given a free sample of the KBS 2021, a barrel aged brew, and very strong. 

I sat at the bar and chatted with the barmaid, who was getting ready for her first trip to Europe.  She was heading for Rome, where her sister was stationed for military training, and was quite excited about it.  Though I wouldn't choose August, I would love to be heading for Rome, too.  For now, I will have to make do with Detroit.  Things could be much worse.

It was a beautiful day to be walking downtown.  David Stott building on the left, a favourite of mine built in 1929.  Once abandoned, it is now residential.  At 436', it is no longer in the top ten tallest buildings in Detroit.

Another renovated building from 1913 this time, now called Chrysler House.  At 323', it was once the tallest building in Detroit.  Photo below looks up from lobby.  Closeup of lamps below that.

Looking up from the lobby of Chrysler House.

Elevator doors in Chrysler House.  There is also a fantastic vegan take away in the building.

Lamp from the lobby of Chrysler House. 

Exterior detail of Chrysler House

In the background is the Book Tower.  Once long abandoned, it has been under going a very loving restoration, and is nearly complete.  Built in 1926, it is 475' tall.  It will soon be bumped off the top ten tallest in Detroit by the new Hudson site building, which is about 1/3 of the way up at the moment.  Notice the ornamental downtown street light.

Campus Martius Park is the heart of Detroit, with a cafe, fountain, sand beach, concert and film stage, art, benches, food trucks and movable chairs and tables.  In winter it becomes a skating rink. It is one of at least seven downtown parks fully renovated and engaging visitors at a high usage rate.

 

Another view of the David Stott Building.

One of the most beautiful buildings downtown is the old, once long abandoned Metropolitan Building.  It is now restored and features a high end hotel with rooftop bar. It was built in 1925.

Later in the afternoon I returned to my car and drove to nearby Midtown, where we usually hang out.  I visited Avalon Bakery for a box of vegan oatmeal raisin cookies, and then went to a small bookstore called The Source.  Though it began as a non-fiction store, it now includes fiction.  I purchased a new hardcover book called Black Cloud Rising, historical fiction about a Black regiment in the Union army during the Civil War.  There were about ten books I would have liked to have purchased, many of them brand new titles.  I need to stay away from bookstores.  Next, I drove further north up to the New Centre, another area which is like a mini downtown.  I visited Vault of Midnight, a comic and board game store.  It used to be right downtown, but they moved here to a larger space, and likely much less expensive, too.  Half a block away was a new cafe called The Gathering, so I stopped in for coffee and a brief Messenger chat with Deb.  Deb is unable to visit Detroit due to the regulations governing LTC homes in Ontario.  She would have to stay away from visiting her mother for two weeks if she crossed, even for a few hours.

I finished up my day at Batch Brewing, a favourite haunt of mine, this being my first visit since the pandemic.  I enjoyed two light ale samples, a Mexican Lager and an English Mild.  Both were tasty, but the Mild was exquisite, and only 3.8% alcohol.  Well done!

In local news, I seem to be accident prone as of late.  On Sunday I gouged my leg on the steel rebar in front of our garage.  They are there awaiting the new concrete, when they will bent into it.  But for now they stick up, and entering or leaving the garage they are a hazard.  A moment's carelessness and I was bleeding from a long gash on my right lower leg, halfway down my calf.  It likely needed eight or nine stitches, but our ER wait times are really, really long, and I had no wish to sit all night at a hospital out clinic.  So Deb patched me up with butterfly bandages and gauze.  I managed to walk okay in Detroit Tuesday,and it seems to be healing over, but there will likely be a nasty scar left behind.  

And then last night I was biting into a piece of pizza crust when a piece of an upper molar chipped off, exposing a silver filling.  So Friday morning I am off to see our dentist.  I'm trying not to contemplate what the third event might be.

Mapman Mike

 
 
 
 

 
 

New Piano Repertoire

First the big news--it rained!  So far since yesterday we have received 1.2 inches of rain, very badly needed.  So it's back to cutting grass, beginning tomorrow.  The humidity today is unbearable, however, with the possibility of more rain to come.  We'll take it.

In other news, Patti's older sister, Joanne, has finally friended me on FB.  So maybe I will be able to find out some things about Patti, past 20 years of age.  Fingers crossed.

I have been working on newer piano pieces for just over a week now.  While the fingers aren't too happy, the brain is dancing once again.  Several years ago Deb and I attended the finest music festival we ever heard.  It was the Great Lakes Chamber Society's annual June festival, and the theme was Bach and his later influence on composers.  So we got to hear a ton of Bach concerts, along with composers who took his works and used them to make their own pieces even greater, composers such as Beethoven and Rachmaninoff.  My little brain has been ticking ever since, and I was overjoyed to discover that our complete set of Bach music CDs has a whole category of recordings on the same subject, with dozens of composers who used Bach as a rich resource for their own music.

Anyway, my newest program will feature 6 pieces by Bach on the first half.  I am going to pair a Little Prelude with a 2-part Invention, another Little Prelude with a 3-part Invention (also called a Sinfonia), and finally a Prelude and Fugue from the Well Tempered Clavier, all in the key of d minor.  This means that the first half will feature music that gradually becomes more contrapuntal and complex, until we arrived at the d minor fugue (Book 1).  Clever, huh?  Three of the pieces are quite flashy, including the lively Gigue of the Prelude and Fugue, while three are more sedate.

But wait--there's more!  The second half will feature the music of Edvard Grieg, namely his Op. 54 Lyric Pieces.  There are six of them (same as the first half of the program by Bach), though I am only working on four at the moment, but upon hearing them listeners will be able to find traces of Bach (and many others, to be sure) in the music.  Two of the pieces in the set are quite well known and popular, the March of the Dwarves, and his Nocturne. 

In movie news, there are two to report, both my choices for the week.  Blood Simple, from 1984, was the first feature film by the Coen brothers, a dark comedy/tragedy that takes place in a small Texas town, much of it in a seedy bar.  There are four main characters, one of whom is a private detective played wonderfully by M. Emmet Walsh.  He first tracks a cheating wife for the husband, who then wants his wife dead.  There are some great plot twists and tense moments, but overall viewers are led by the nose by the directors, and by the end it all becomes a bit much.  The wife and her boyfriend, a bartender at her husband's bar, are cardboard characters.  The husband is a loser in just about everything (though he did catch some nice fish), and provides much of the dark humour in the film.  Heavy premonitions of Fargo can be seen and felt in the film.  Mostly fun, but not a classic.  There are many, many extras with this film, of which we have two of the shorter ones.

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

My going away choice for this week was a silent film from 1929, starring Anna May Wong.  It was called Piccadilly, and provided a plum role for the actress.  She works as a scullery maid in a fancy London nightclub, but after the owner sees her dance, he hires her for his club.  Jealousy and murder add to the colour of this well made film.  Great sets and costumes, and Miss Wong is very pleasing to look at.  Not a bad film at all.

 

 Now showing on Criterion, until August 31st.  There are some impressive hats in this movie. 

 

Mapman Mike

July Film Festival

The fun never stops here at Lone Mtn Homestead!  We finally managed to get the 2nd part of our front steps railing installed.  There is room to put one more segment, but perhaps next year.  We are still awaiting cement work to finish off the garage foundation project.  Hopefully this week.

I've been toying with three possibilities for a near future road trip, about two weeks long.  One involves a drive to Albuquerque, but only allowing four days in NM.  This is so we can visit some places we have overlooked for too long along the way, such as Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas, as well as the Wichita and Quartz Mountains in SW Oklahoma, and Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas Panhandle.  The trip would culminate in two important hikes near Albuquerque.

If Deb were to come along on this trip, she would not see her mother for a full month.  She would not be allowed to visit until two weeks after returning from the US.  If I were to go alone (the 2nd possibility), I would fly to St Louis, rent a car, and do the trip myself, returning to St Louis to fly home.  I would be gone two weeks, but Deb would have the car and still be in touch with her mom.

Possibility #3 would see us take the long way (through Canada) to visit Winnipeg, Manitoba.  We would stop briefly in Sudbury going and returning.  We would use our own vehicle.  Deb would be gone two weeks, but be able to immediately visit her mother upon returning.  This would be a spectacular autumn drive around Lake Superior to a big Canadian city I have always wanted to visit.  We would also make an excursion to Gimli, on Lake Winnipeg.  Autumn weather could be frightful this far north, however.  So wheels in my head are turning.  A lot depends on Covid, and now Monkeypox, infection rates.

In film news, Deb chose the 8-part PBS series Around the World in 80 Days, starring David Tennant.  Though colourful and well acted, and despite following the book much of the time, I was left feeling somewhat disappointed overall.  The best episodes were the ones in France and Italy, and the one where they are stranded on a Pacific island.  The series is filled with stereotypes and cliches, much like the novel, and would likely appeal most to children who could sit through the adult moments patiently.  I would have no interest in seeing it again.  I read the novel in high school, so it's been a while.

Now streaming on PBS Masterworks.

Still no rain, but perhaps tomorrow.  Highs in the mid 90s with humidity again tomorrow.  Next time we meet here I hope to discuss my newest piano program.

Mapman Mike