The wildfire smoke has peaked in our area over the last few days, and breathing the air has become "dangerous." It's difficult to see across the river, and the smell of burning is everywhere. For several hours over the last few days, Detroit and Chicago had the worst air quality in the world. So the world is burning. Big deal. I think I'll stop at McDonalds and get something to eat (said no one at Lone Mtn. Homestead). Despite the bad air, Detroit carried on with its annual major fireworks display. That should help things improve.
We had to visit Deb's lawyer's office today in Kingsville. The court probate certificate arrived, and next step is to get the money from Lois' estate transferred to a central holding area, where it will be distributed among her three daughters, Deb being one. It is not a very large estate, but a sizable chunk of money will find its way into our bank account in a few weeks time.
In medical news, Deb's two shots she received to alleviate her hip pains seem to have worked rather well. She will report to physio next week. And I have attended two Iaido classes. Techniques are slowly coming back to me. Being in good physical shape has eased my transition also, as I have not suffered any undue aches and pains as a result of cutting with the sword again.
In anticipation of the arrival of the new piano, we are redoing the flooring in the music room. That means moving filing cabinet and bookshelf, both major undertakings, ripping up the old carpet, getting the basic floor ready for peel and stick tile, and doing a bit of trim and baseboard painting. At some point the piano will have to be moved, too, to get at the strip of carpet underneath. The new tiles will arrived in less than two weeks. They should lay down easily in one go; then we can move everything back where it goes. Then the old piano will go out, and the new one in. I won't even talk about our outdoor project right now, except to say that the removal of vast amounts of poison ivy is underway, next to the garage and other areas.
In movie news, it is my film festival at the moment, and we have seen three out of four selected films. All were selected from the Sight and Sound Top 100 list, the ones available for view on the Criterion Channel. First up was a short film by Chris Marker. La Jetee is tied for 67th place in the list. It is not really a film, but a narrated series of still images. It is a haunting sf story about a man from a future wartime living in Paris. He is puzzled and haunted by the vision of a woman and tries to track her down. He is being used for experiments in time travel. Quite a good film and worth more than one viewing. It seems to have influenced, among other films, the recent Last and First Men we saw. Recommended.
Also tied for 67th place is a short feature film from 2000 by Agnes Varda called The Gleaners and I. It is a very original documentary picture about people who glean fields and orchards after the harvest. But it expands on this theme, even following people who glean at outdoor markets, and who rummage in trash bins for food. She uses Millet's famous painting as a goalpost, and goes from there. Highly watchable and a totally fascinating film making. Recommended.
Then came our second viewing of Godard's Contempt, from 1963 and tied for 54th place. If you like to see Brigitte Bardot's bare bottom you might enjoy this picture. If you realize that she has a fairly ordinary bottom, a somewhat tired looking face, large but empty eyes, and bleached hair, you may not enjoy the film so much. She is in most of the scenes, so despite what critics might say the film is about, it's about getting Bardot on camera as much as possible. The music is often overbearing, telling us to be sad and thoughtful often. Give me Monica Vitti any day, and Nino Rota (and Marcello). The film has two things going for it, though. The first is that Fritz Lang is in it, playing the part of a film director filming The Odyssey. The second thing is the location shots once the crew reaches Capri. Wow!
Coming soon! June reading summary! Stay tuned for this exciting event!
Mapman Mike
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