Indeed it has. After finally crawling out of the deep freeze, temps have rebounded to around 50 F, and not even going below freezing during the night. One week ago it was certain death to be outside for any length of time, while today we managed a drizzly and warm long walk outdoors. It felt like our past walks did in London during the month of November. No snow or cold forecast through next week. The coast guard ice breakers have been busy, however. Last Thursday night the river was ice free, but by Saturday morning it was jammed up tight. Early in the week a strong south wind drove the ice up into the shipping channel in the Detroit River, and several ships got stuck. Everything is finally moving normally today, as the ice is rotting quickly now. It's been an interesting week of weather; we no longer have any snow left.
I am just finishing up my 14th novel for December. It's been a good month for reading, with the usual amount of gems being stumbled across. My next blog entry, likely the first one of 2023, will deal with material read in December. Piano pieces continue to improve, though some of them very slowly. I am once again trying to form a group of dedicated pianists to meet informally in the new year to try out pieces for one another. Some of my audience these days is not that literate musically, though they do love and appreciate hearing classical pieces. It's a different experience to play in front of colleagues, and in some ways more rewarding. So we'll see if anything comes of that. I am playing around with the idea of working on a major Beethoven Sonata, too, once the current set of pieces has been mastered and performed. At first it would take up all of my daily two hour practice sessions, so it is a major commitment.
In viewing news, there are four films to report. The first one is Isle of the Dead, from 1945 and starring Boris Karloff. A small group of people have to quarantine on Bocklin's famous island, due to an outbreak of plague. Superstition battles science, with Karloff siding with superstition. The film has a creepy atmosphere and good cast, and the writing is fairly intelligent. Black and white has never looked better, either.
Showing on Criterion for two more days.
Ghostbusters Afterlife was released in 2021, and is great fun to watch, especially for fans of the original movies. The granddaughter of one of the originals takes up arms against evil spirits in this very funny and somewhat scary hommage to Harold Ramis. She is 12, and is aided by Podcast, who is also 12. big brother also helps out, and his female friend. By the end, the original boys are back for the final showdown. Not to be missed!
Streaming on Prime Video.
We rewatched Gattaca, a SF film from 1997. We had not seen it in many years. Ethan Hawke plays the part of an in-valid, someone who had a natural birth with no genetic interference. He wants to become an astronaut, which is impossible under current rules, restricting upper level tasks to valids, those who have a much more perfect genetic makeup. Lots of ethical questions arise from this film, and it was well worth seeing over again.
Next came Tokyo Story, from 1953 and directed by Yasujiro Ozu. It is rated as #4 on the recent Sight and Sound best movies poll. It is one very good film. The story is very simple; elderly mom and dad visit two of their children in Tokyo. The man is a doctor and the woman is a hair dresser. Both are married, and the doctor has two boys. Also there is a daughter in law, whose husband (youngest son) was killed in the war. As it turns out, the two Tokyo children have no time to spare for the visitors, so the daughter in law takes them around Tokyo. Upon returning to their hometown after their Tokyo adventure, mom becomes ill and dies. Again, after the funeral no one has much time to spare for dad except youngest daughter, a teacher who lives at home, and the daughter in law. Another son, a railroad worker, is also a busy guy. Probably the best picture ever made about a typical family, this one happens to take place in post war Japan but could just as easily be transplanted to anywhere. The themes, problems, and issues are all the same. Everyone is busy with their lives once leaving home. The acting is superb, the camera work outstanding, and the simple story will leave viewers with lingering memories for a long time to come.
Now streaming on Criterion.
We are currently amidst my Ozu 3-film festival. The next two are earlier works from the 30s, one a silent film. More later.
Mapman Mike
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