August Reading

Last night was a blue moon (the 2nd full moon within a given month) as well as a super moon (the moon being very close to Earth when it appears at full phase).  We try to celebrate each full moon, usually with a round dessert such as a special cake or pie (this time we have cherry pie!).  In addition, we often listen to an opera throughout that day.  Yesterday we listened to a short opera by Haydn, in two acts.  It was written for his marionette theatre at Esterhazy Palace, and is only one of two such operas to survive.  A devastating fire at the palace burned many of his original manuscripts, most of which had no outside copies.  He wrote dozens of operas that were lost forever.  Die Feuersbrunst (The Conflagration) is a comic opera that shows Haydn in a light that many listeners never get to see.  It is a very charming work, and imagining the puppets carrying out the action is part of the fun.  We also saw the super moon, finally rising above our trees around 11 pm.  It was really big!

Turning now to the month's reading, I made it through 10 books.  Five were required reading for completion of my Avon/Equinox project, and five were picked from my endless collection of other books to read, mostly on Kindle and from the Delphi Classics collection.

Robert Silverberg used 3 stories by Asimov to write different versions of them.  The Ugly Little Boy is an early story by Asimov that Silverberg has expanded into a full novel.  I talk about the Asimov story in my May reading blog from this year.  A little Neanderthal boy is essentially kidnapped by modern time travel science in order to study him.  He is assigned a nurse to look after him.  The main difference in Silverberg's expanded version is the addition of "Timmie's" tribe to the story, before, during, and following his captivity in present day Earth.  We get to see the tribe facing a grave danger, and the time spent with them is quite memorable.  As much as I enjoyed reading the Asimov story, I much prefer this version.  The ending is still somewhat open ended, but a lot more optimistic than the original could have allowed.  A good tale, well told and updated.

From 1976 comes Kenneth Bulmer's 140 page addition to the on-going sea saga of Mr. Fox, #13, Sea Flame.  He is still on land for the first half of the story, fighting the French near Alexandria in a gruesome battle based on historical truths.  Bulmer writes for Fox on land as well as he does at sea, but Mr. Fox makes things very clear that he would rather be at sea.  He has opportunity to capture some French soldiers, including a truly miserable colonel, a man who loathes Fox.  There is also a beautiful young English woman, a prisoner of the French, whom Fox frees and takes under his protective wing.  Returned to sea after the battle, Fox is assigned to take the prisoners back to England, as well as a lot of wounded soldiers.  It doesn't take long for a French ship to find them and attack, and then all hell breaks loose on board, as per normal for Mr. Fox and his crew.  With only one book remaining in the series, I look forward to its conclusion with some apprehension.  My life without a regular fix of Fox just will never be the same.  He is one of the great pulp action heroes of all time.

 

Tubb wrote at least 11 westerns, currently available on Amazon Kindle for $0.99 each!  I bought them all.  Since the Kindle price went way up on his Dumarest novels (from $4.99 each to $7.99), I have halted any further reading in that series until the price returns to something more decent. So get out your old set of spurs, your six gun, and that saddle you haven't used in years, and head out on the lonesome prairie with me for a spell.  The Gold Seekers comes from 1955, and is 117 pages long.  It is a fast read, and a darn good one.  I haven't read a western novel in many years, though I still enjoy many old western films, including the Anthony Mann directed ones (usually with James Stewart).  The hero of our story today is Marc, a former captain in the southern army during the Civil War.  With the war over and his plantation burned and kinfolk killed, he has become a lone cowboy wanderer.  After a saloon adventure (two of them, actually), he is forced to leave town.  He takes the job of scouting for a wagon train of 15 wagons and families, heading for the gold fields in California.  While all the usual western cliches are there, including plenty of Indian fighting, some of the cliches are turned on their heads.  For example, Marc has taken a 12 year old boy under his wing, training him to be a scout.  When the boy's Pa is killed by Indians in a battle, he becomes an Indian hater.  Tubb takes almost a full chapter (in a book of only 11 chapters) to explain to the boy why he shouldn't hate all Indians.  He gives a full and complete picture of the position the Indians are in due to the encroachment of the whites into their territory, including having all their buffalo slaughtered.  The only thing he omits is the giving of pox-filled old blankets to them.  I give Tubb a lot of credit here for presenting the Indian side of things.  This is a rousing good tale, and though the wagon train makes it to California, their original goal has broken apart to the point where none of them head for the gold fields; they take up farming instead.  And less than half of them have made it through the journey alive.  I am hoping his other westerns are as good as this one.

 

The Golden Barge is a dark fantasy novel from 1979, and is 120 pages long (189 pages in the paperback edition from 1979, above).  It is a flawed work by Michael Moorcock, but quite interesting nonetheless.  A man, Tallow, heads down river in a small boat, following a mysterious golden barge.  He can never quite catch it, though, and his adventures along the river make up the bulk of the book.  He sees it one day at home, and soon abandons his mother to follow the mysterious boat.  He comes across a castle and becomes involved there with a beautiful woman.  Later he becomes imprisoned in a city, held "for his own good."  After escaping, his adventures continue, and include becoming involved in a small country's revolution, finding an abandoned baby, kidnapping a young boy who he thinks can help him find the barge, and he even makes a quick journey across dimensions to a mysterious fairy land.

I believe that Moorcock was inspired by Lin Carter's fabulous Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, and if the series had continued no doubt Carter might have published this one as part of it.  A bit like Dunsany and a bit like Fletcher Pratt, and a bit like many others, including William Morris.  In turn, Moorcock may even have influenced P. J. Farmer in his memorable Riverworld series.  What is this strange tale all about?  Firstly, we all make a voyage, and it is called Life.  Along the way we make choices, choices which not only affect us, but others around us.  Tallow makes some very poor choices, some very selfish choices, and he is the cause of much death and tragedy around him.

 

Cover of the month goes to Amano Yoshitaka.  The volume contains short stories, novellas, and a novel, The Golden Barge.  Next month I will report on the shorter fiction.

Tallow seems to be searching for something mysterious, hoping to find it aboard the barge.  What does he hope to find?  Inner peace, for one thing.  His urge to keep searching is so strong that he cannot turn it off after a time, even though he has had more than enough opportunity to do so.  He is a man in search of a soul, in search of his own humanity, which continues to elude him at every bend in the river.  He is so deeply lost that he cannot find his way out, and it is difficult to blame him for the bad things that happen because of his choices.  He is what he is, and seems incapable of change.  Do you know anyone like that?  I'm certain that you do.  They are everywhere among us, causing pain and destruction as they blindly follow their own path, unseeing as they go.  Moorcock has created one of the strangest fantasy characters ever penned.  If nothing else, Tallow is unforgettable once you have met him.

 

From 1973 comes Malzberg's Night Raider, the first of 14 volumes about a lone man trying to end the drug scene in New York.  Good luck with that. One would have to be a murderer, a sadist, and a masochist.  Bert Wulff fits the bill.  A former Vietnam vet, he becomes a drug cop in New York.  But because he tries to play it straight, he makes few friends around the department.  He is shipped back to a patrol car, and is called to the scene of his girlfriend's death, apparently killed by an overdose.  He knows that she was not a user, and suspects the cartel of using her to get back at him.  Not likely.  More likely it was the NYPD that set it all up.  This might be made clear later, but in this first volume he goes after the cartel, after turning in his badge.  Malzberg takes us on a journey in this first book, as Wulff begins with the small fry.  The street corner pusher has to pay off his collector.  Wulff captures them both, tormenting them until they give the name of who they report to.  After disposing of them, he goes up the line.  And so on, until he gets the top man that we know of so far.  Six murders later, he still hasn't done much to clear up the street drug trade.  But give him time.  Though he is a lone wolf, he gets some help from a black rookie cop who partnered with him for a time.  Wulff is tough as nails, and reminds me a bit of a loose cannon version of Doc Savage.  The book is filled with violence of the vigilante kind, and moves along smartly.  It is an easy read, and follows a logical path up the chain of command.  There are virtually no women in major roles in book one.  This is a man's world.  It is a guilty pleasure to see the big men squirm under Wulff's unkindly intentions towards them, after acting so self assured and superior prior to meeting him.  Not great writing, but I'm sure the style will evolve.

 

Moving on to books by non Avon/Equinox authors, I began with F. Marion Crawford's second novel, Dr. Claudius, from 1883.  Approaching 400 pages in length, it is a sprawling tale of love and high seas adventure, in the high tradition of such writers as E R Eddison.  Women are to be adored and waited on hand and foot by men of the highest moral standards, preferably rich ones.  To be called a gentleman is likened to be called one of the gods, and indicates a man of unquestioned moral standards, and usually wealthy to boot.  Though at heart it truly is a love story, in detail this is a very amusing and highly likeable adventure.  It begins in Heidelberg, with philosopher Dr. Claudius living an isolated and scholarly life among his books, living in cheap and crowded rooms.  He comes upon a large inheritance from an uncle living in New York, though he has no plans to change his lifestyle or use any of the money.  Amusingly, this is no grey beard scholar, but a very tall, handsome, and sturdily built Swede.  A chance encounter with a beautiful woman on one of his private walks changes his entire outlook, and, of course, his life.  We get to cross the Atlantic on a steam yacht, and then we spend the rest of the story in New York and close by.  Though this is one of those books where very little actually happens, it encapsulates a lot about life in its humble pages.  Crawford himself was a friend to Isabella Stewart Gardner, and the woman in the story likely represents such a woman.  Rich reading, and rewarding.

The Blessing Of Pan was published in 1927, and is Lord Dunsany's 4th novel.  His first three novels, and many of his short stories, were published by Ballantine in the Lin Carter Adult Fantasy series back in the 1960s and 70s.  Had the series continued, Carter undoubtedly would have also published this gentle fantasy, about a parish vicar trying to save his flock from reverting to Paganism.  Like the other novels by this writer, I seemed to hit spots that were hot then cold.  Sometimes I felt that he was heading in exactly the right direction with the story, when it would take a sudden turn and I thought he was losing the thread.  But alas, Lord Dunsany knew better than me how to write a delicate tale about ancient practices returning to supplant Christianity in one small English village, and by the end of the novel I was convinced I had read something very rare, precious, and unusual.  Think of this as a kinder, gentler "Wicker Man."  The moods that this writer can create, evoking other times and other sensibilities, is most remarkable.  His descriptions of encroaching evening, and of the dawn, are rich beyond what words should be able to conjure.  There is humour in the tale, and much wisdom.  A fun book to read.

 

T. S. Eliot is a long way from Dunsany,  I read his chapbook collection (twice) published in 1917 called Prufrock and Other Observations, which includes 12 poems written between 1910 and 1917.  Born in St. Louis, he moved to England at the age of 25 (1914), settling there and eventually renouncing his American citizenship.  The lead poem of the set is "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," a man who seems to be in the skids emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  It can be seen as a devastating look at life in the modern era, and the loneliness and isolation that can ensue.  The opening ten lines seem to encompass an entire modern novel!  And much later:  

"But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,

Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter.

I am no prophet--and here's no great matter,  

I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,

And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,

And in short, I was afraid."

 

The other poems don't really compare to the main poem, though a few are humourous ("The Boston Evening Transcript," and "Cousin Nancy," and a few are quite profound, and several have lines that are entirely astounding.  Then there is the bizarre "Hysteria," which is a bit hard to describe, as a man watches a woman have a laughing fit.  The first poem, at any rate, is worth many more readings.

Next came 2 volumes of short stories by Nikolai Gogol.  Published in 1831-32, there are 4 stories in each volume, the whole called Evenings On A Farm Near Dikanka.  Gogol was born in the Ukraine, and grew up there.  These tales of peasant village life are among the best short stories ever written!  Having said that, there are small but blatant examples of anti-Semitism in nearly every story, despite there being no major Jewish characters. 

 

Vol. 1

"The Fair At Sorochinsti" is a straight forward tale about a young girl's first visit to the big wide world, as she, her father, and her stepmother visit the annual fair together for the first time.  Being 18 and sweet to behold, the young girl soon attracts the attention of a handsome young man, who determines that she must be his wife.  However, getting past the wicked stepmother is not an easy task.  A funny tale that keeps one reading until the very end.  The incredible superstitious fears of villagers is introduced in this story, which will blossom forth in future tales.

 

"St. John's Eve" is a story about the devil and how he was able to talk a young man into doing his evil deeds, in exchange for enough gold to wed the village girl whom he loves.  The story is framed humourously, but the tale itself is a classic horror one, with a very sad ending.

"May Night" nails down several aspects of Ukrainian village life.  Courting a girl is given top priority in this tale, as are the village night pranks of youths, both male and female.  Another supernatural tale makes its way into the narrative, and capturing an evil witch finally allows the village headsman's son to marry his girlfriend, Hanna.  Obviously Gogol is writing down some of the tales he heard growing up, preserving them for future generations, and building his narrative around such tales.  Wonderful atmosphere, with simple and direct writing.

"The Lost Letter" is another tale of the devil and witchcraft, and again not without humour.  A village man is given the task of delivering a letter to the Czarina in the capital city, and rides his horse towards completion of his goal.  He encounters the devil on the way, and has a very funny conclusion to his first attempt at delivering the letter, ending up back at his house, but up on the roof.  His second attempt is successful, however.  A grandfather tells this story to his grand kids, after much coaxing, as he does not relish the memory of it happening to him.  A gem of a tale.

Vol. 2

"Christmas Eve."  Many of these stories (this one is a novella) are very much like paintings by Marc Chagall--they are colourful, bizarre, folk-like, whimsical, and different from most other short stories in many ways.  This one might have been called 'The Enchanted Blacksmith,' as a young man goes far out of his way to win Oksana, the girl he desires.  His mother is a witch, the devil helps him get the Czarina's slippers, and all of this (and much else, including a lot of mayhem) takes place on Christmas Eve.  Expect the unexpected in these totally delightful early tales of Ukraine village life, seemingly unchanged from medieval times.

"A Terrible Vengeance" is a serious novella lacking any humour, and featuring some truly evil deeds.  A warped sorcerer wants to marry his beautiful daughter (I warned you), even though she is already married and has a baby son, and he goes to some pretty sick lengths before disaster strikes one and all.  An epilogue explains how it was that the sorcerer finally met his doom.  Grim but fascinating reading.

 "Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and His Aunt" is an incomplete novelette about a shy man retired from the army who returns to his family farm to work on it.  His aunt has been looking after things for him, but she can no longer manage it on her own.  She wants to see him married, but he is too shy and doesn't want anything to do with it.  The story ends abruptly, hinting at a continuation which never came.

"A Bewitched Place" is a short story about a place where nothing will grow.  Fully expecting to find a treasure beneath the ground, a man finds an old urn.  With great effort he brings it forth and rolls it home to unpack his treasure.  What was inside?  Mud.

Espedair Street, from 1987, is Iain Banks' fourth novel.  It is a mock autobiography of a fictional Scottish lad who becomes a very big rock star.  This tragi-comedy is a very fun thing to read, all 361 pages of it. Daniel Weir (as Weir, D. on his school record, and thus nicknamed "Weird") thinks he can write hit songs, and goes looking for a band to play them and make him rich and famous.  Low and behold, he finds a band and they soon land a record contract for an album.  The album turns into a great seller, and they sign a three album contract.  The tours begin, and the money pours in.  All the cliches of rock band tours are here: the fast cars, the alcohol, the drugs, the mansions and parties, the deaths.  But they are handled with Banks' usual flair for writing, leaving readers amused, shocked, and saddened, sometimes all on the same page.  Danny is 6' 6", quite homely and clumsy, and mostly likes to stay in the background.  This makes him a much more likeable character than if he'd been an egomaniac rock star, looking at himself in the mirror over and over.  We also get a nice peek at some backstreets of Glasgow, where Danny grew up.  This is a very entertaining and highly readable novel.

A Strange Disappearance is from 1880, written by mystery writer A. Katherine Green, her second novel.  The novel features Inspector Gryce, who featured prominently in her first novel.  He has a large role in this story, too, but a younger inspector relates the story and really gets the credit for solving the mystery of a young woman's disappearance.  I found this story easier to swallow than the first novel by Green, though it also suffers from that fear of scandal that seemed to foretell doom to influential families in stories from this time period and later.  For one thing, the novel is shorter and much more tightly written.  There is very little, if any, extraneous material, and much of the action takes places in two houses in close proximity to one another.  However, we do get outside of New York for a fascinating trip to Vermont, where a further mystery and adventure awaits the young inspector.  For another thing, we get to meet a young woman whose father and brother are criminals to their core, yet she remains clean and decent despite her upbringing.  They are truly ugly characters, and the mysterious disappearance comes directly from their actions.  One strange thing, though.   A girl was kidnapped, apparently for ransom, and is kept hidden.  However, no clear way to offer her up for ransom ever emerges.  Were they going to just keep her there forever, always having to guard her?  Anyway, a short and enjoyable mystery novel awaits curious readers.

In conclusion, I continue to make progress on two long term reading projects.  Joseph Jacob's 1750 page volume Complete Fairy Tales is a treasure worth seeking out.  It not only contains a ton of tales, but it is also a scholarly work where he discusses the sources and different versions of each story, and comments upon them.  I am about 60% of the way through.  My Kindle edition cost me around $3.  I am also slowly making my way through 70 Wonders of the Ancient World, a book purchased many years ago in London.  I read I through back then, but am rereading it now.  It's well worth tracking down.

An older purchase, this is a fascinating book.  I am on my second time through it.

 

An indispensable volume for lovers of fairy tales.  I am taking my time with it. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

Training

 I am one week into my hill training for the upcoming mountain hiking.  It has been a cool week, which has helped immensely.  However, the heat will be on for the upcoming week's workouts.  I was quite stiff in the legs after Day 2 training last Saturday.  Yesterday was a longer walk, completing 3.6 miles (5.8 km).  My two longest upcoming hikes in the American west are over 8 miles in length (over 13 km), with over 3,000 vertical feet added in there of ascent.  Will I make it?  Well, past history tells me yes, as these prep workouts managed to do the job in previous years.  However, I am five years older now, and haven't been to the mountains for that long.  So don't bet too highly on my success.

 

For part of the week before my first major climb, we will be in Cincinnati, and I plan to make use of the hills in that city to add a sixth week of training.  Along the way west we will hike in the Wichita Mtns in southwest Oklahoma, then move on to Palo Duro Canyon, south of Amarillo, Texas.  A few days later is Big Climb #1.  Guadalupe Peak is the highest point in Texas, and a very challenging (for me) hike.  It is almost on the state line with New Mexico.  Then comes an even higher hike in the Manzano Mountains in New Mexico.  Then comes the biggest of them all, up to Jicarita Peak in the NM Rocky Mountains, southeast of Taos.  Then a slow recovery as we take our time (for once) driving home.  Back to the flatlands, at 570' of elevation.

 

It will be an exciting trip, with or without the climbing successes I hope to achieve.  Our stay in Albuquerque this time will be very limited.  During the ten day balloon festival (mid-October), hotel room prices are way beyond our reach.  We may spend one day there, at most.  Anyway, one week of training down, four to go at home.

 

Iaido training included a three hour session of live cutting last Sunday.  It was a spectacular day for it, cool and sunny.  Eleven members turned out to cut mostly 2 litre bottles filled with water, but I brought three soaked  and rolled wara mats to cut, one for each of the senior ranks present.  My cutting was adequate, but I do need much more practice, even with the iaito.  I have been training again for two months now, and am not feeling it yet.  Only going once per week isn't the best system, either, but that is all the time I have just now.

 

This Friday the new piano will have been in the house for 4 weeks.  I use the headphones full time, and find it does help with my concentration.  Less straying and daydreaming, more work and faster progress.  I still have a full page of memory work left on Op 10 #3, first movement, by Beethoven.  I am hoping to begin memory work on the 4th movement very soon.  I am also memorizing the Chopin Nocturne in F, Op. 15 #1.  I am slowly adding in some Alexina Louie astronomy pieces to the program, too.

 

And here is the film report!  By the way, the August reading report should come out later tomorrow.  Deb's film leaving choice was called So Late So Soon, a documentary that showed two aged married Chicago artists, and how each of the them deals with aging.  From 2020, it is certainly different in approach to most films about artists, and how it shows them living at home.  She seems to be in denial of getting older, while he becomes more and more fragile as time progresses (the film covers about five years, flashing back and forth).  Not terribly fascinating, but it is watchable.  Her arrangements of furniture and assorted items within the house are rather original and fun.

 

Leaving Criterion August 31st.  

 

It's film festival week here at the Homestead, and yours truly gets to choose.  I picked two films from the Sight and Sound top 100 list again, as we continue to get through all the ones showing on Criterion.   Tied for 67th place is 1948's The Red Shoes.  Completely restored in 2009 by Martin Scorcese's Film Foundation, this film is a sight to behold!  I had never seen the complete film before, only parts of it here and there.  A truly amazing accomplishment.  I loved how film can enhance a ballet, without totally making it into a film.  The Red Shoes ballet mixes in some cool photographic techniques with the dancing in a very creative way.  Scottish actress and dancer Shearer glows in the part of a young dancer who wants to dance more than anything else.  Too bad her husband didn't think it was such a great idea.  One of the extras that come with the film shows the restoration in progress.  The before and after scenes are almost unbelievable.  Apparently the restoration, in overall opinion, looks better than the original print would have.  I can believe it!  It is a long film, but it practically zooms past the viewer.  Don't miss! A Powell-Pressburger delight!

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

The film festival continues today with Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev, and a whole slew of extras that come with it on Criterion.  And tune in tomorrow, when the subject will be books read in August.

 

Mapman Mike

 

Catch-up Time

Hello to all my readers in Singapore!  There are either a lot of you, or someone there is checking out the site a whole lot of times.  My tracking allows me to see how many hits from different countries I get, and international readers from all over the world are my main visitors.  For some reason....

It's been a very busy time of late here at the Homestead, and it will only get busier.  Thankfully, no rushing was involved.  To begin with, I had three clear nights last week, involving lots of driving.  Only one night was hampered by smoke from western fires. The nights at the windmill site are very quiet and calm, and the skies seem to be at the very edge of the Windsor/Detroit light dome.  Ideally, I would drive about 5 miles further east.  But it's already too far.  Last Saturday evening was also the most recent get together of our piano performance group.  All seven full time members attended.  They include three busy M.D.s, and four music majors.  Paula and I played a Gershwin duet, and she also played a solo.  But I had to leave before she played (and before I could play my solo), as it was a clear night and I needed a bit of light to set up my gear.  There were three Debussy pieces on the program, include a wonderful performance of "Fireworks," from Preludes Book 2, by Jim from Chatham.  There was also some Mozart (2nd and 3rd mov't of the A minor sonata), and Dr. L. played the first movement of the Appassionata by Beethoven (from memory!).  We were at Dr. B's home, playing on a 6' Yamaha.  The next get together is here at the Homestead, in September.  A few people are anxious to try the Avant-Grand.  We'll see how that goes.

I have switched Iaido nights from Mondays to Sundays.  The intense mountain hiking training program begins this coming Friday, and Saturdays and Mondays will see us drive into Windsor to hike the hills at Malden Hill Park.  I did not want to have to drive back for Iaido on Monday evenings, so I switched over to Sunday for Iaido.  This coming Sunday is cutting practice at a private home, so there will be no regular class.  Sunday mountain hiking training sessions are done at home, as are Friday ones.  Thursday is a rest day.  Wednesday will be cross-training, likely either yard work or biking.  Tuesdays are for long hikes.  Some of these can be done near here, on the rails to trails paths.  So with the exercise program and Iaido, I will be driving at least 3X a week to Windsor.  It is not my favourite drive, and gas prices are very high.  And in two weeks, astronomy nights will rear their head once again, really complicating things.

We seem to have scored a downtown hotel in Cincinnati for the late Sept. film festival there, for two nights.  Deb's film will be shown Saturday afternoon.  We will be there from Friday afternoon through Sunday noon hour.  When we leave Cinci we will be heading directly west for our road trip and hiking adventure, our first since 2018.  We will be hiking in Oklahoma, twice in Texas, and twice in New Mexico.  Two of the hikes will be among the biggest I have ever undertaken, so I am hoping the old body holds up during the training weeks ahead.  If I survive the training, I should have a good chance of doing the hikes.  The clock is ticking rapidly on my old, worn out body.

Turning to film, there are only 2 to report.  My main selection for last week was Once Upon A Time In China, from 1991.  It's a Hong Kong kung fu special, with more acrobatics per square minute of film than in any other one could imagine.  Jet Li stars as the master of a kung fu shcool, trying to deal with a rival gang, as well as the colonists, mostly British and Americans.  Of course the whites are the bad guys, but there are plenty of Chinese bad guys, too.  Despite its humour and silly situations and almost non-stop fighting, it manages to seriously get across how the Chinese were treated by the whites at the time, both in China and abroad.  Lured to America, where they were told gold could be found everywhere, the often uneducated peasants ended up with short lives ending in deep poverty and misery.  There are something like five of these films in the series, but if we do watch others there will a long time period between viewings.  The film was a bit over the top.

Now showing on Criterion.  This is part 1 of five, with many extras. 

Deb's weekend leaving choice was Six Degrees of Separation, starring Donald Sutherland, Stockard Channing, and Will Smith.  It's a talky tale of a disturbed young black man who forces himself upon a rich white couple by pretending he was mugged.  He claims to be the son of Sidney Poitier, and is so convincing that they fall for it.  Remember, this is long before e-mail and telephone scams that made us (well, most of us) much more cynical about trusting human nature.  Though not a bad film, it goes on far too long.  The acting is okay, but things are way overdone between the parents and their children away at college.  The wife's epiphany at the end is believable, as is the ending itself.  Directed by Fred Schepisi, the film dates from 1993, and is an adaptation of the play by John Guare.

Leaving Criterion August 31st. 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Ides of August

I have one beautiful astronomy night in the bag, and possibly one more to come on Friday!  I was alone with the soybeans, fireflies, and mosquitoes Wednesday night, as I ventured into the realms of Serpens Cauda, and a tiny sampling of Microsopium.  

Saturday evening is the next group piano session.  Paula is coming here tomorrow morning for one more Gershwin duet practice.  Deb had physio on Tuesday, and we made our weekly grocery run on that same evening.  Otherwise, it's been a quiet week.  Lots of rain, but it's been that kind of summer.  Good night skies have been few and far between.  We had Detroit down for a visit on Wednesday, but due to the clear skies I elected to postpone till next week, when the moon will wipe out my astronomy for two weeks.

I've been using the new piano for two weeks now, and have easily adjusted to headphones while practicing.  It's actually helping me more, since I can go over and over sore spots as many times as I like without driving Deb totally mad.  She still must hear me on the harpsichord, but the Bach is beginning to sound like music now, so it shouldn't be too bad.  How is the Beethoven sonata coming, you ask?  Slowly.  Three of the four movements are quite fast, and they are still quite slow in my fingers.  But progress inches along, day by day.  The slow movement isn't sounding too bad by now, at least.  But it won't be ready for prime time till at least the winter.  I have memorized about 3/4ths of the first movement, hoping to finish it by the end of August.  Then I can begin to gradually increase the tempo.  I hope.  The Chopin Nocturne is coming up fast, and I am adding some easy pieces now to the concert set.

In film festival news, Deb continues to rake in awards at an alarming rate.  Her two most recent Shakespeare animated shorts each came first in their category at a festival in Verona.  And Fable For Four Voices was selected for the festival in Cincinnati.  We have attended twice in earlier years, and are hoping to go again this year.  We are awaiting word on getting free accommodations, which will cinch our presence.  That trip will likely tie into our Southwest hiking adventure in early autumn, coming at the beginning of the epic journey.  More on that project soon.

In film watching news, there are five to report on.  The Girl Without Hands is an intriguing animated retelling of the Grimm story.  The animation uses a lot of wash-like technique, giving everything a continuous and very colourful watercolour look.  I have never seen its type before, and liked it a lot.  The story is brutal but handled really well.  Directed by Sebastien Laudenbach, it is a French film from 2018.  Highly recommended.

 

Showing on Mubi.  

Next came Love and Friendship, another Mubi pick, this time chosen by Deb.  Based on a novella by Jane Austen, it is impeccably handled, being witty, cutting, devious, and underhanded--and that's just from the lead female character.  Costumes and sets are perfect in every way, and the dialogue is brought off extremely well by the cast.  An Ireland/France production from 2016, it is directed by Whit Stillman.

 

Now showing on Mubi. 

 

Another leaving choice from Deb was called Things To Come, a French drama from 2016.  A middle aged woman teaches philosophy in high school in Paris (course not offered in Canada, to be sure).  After raising two children with whom she remains close, she must also look after her mentally crumbling mother.  When her mother dies and her husband leaves her for another woman, she must pick up the pieces and start her life anew.  Which she does.  She eventually finds the freedom exhilarating, and the film ends with her back in the saddle, so to speak.  An honest and intelligent film with great acting on the part of the lead, Isabelle Huppert.  Recommended.

Leaving Criterion August 31st. 

 

Odd Man Out is a Carol Reed film from 1947, part of Criterion's British Noir series.  It is a bleak and quite sadistic film, but riveting to watch, and with many oddities that make it unique in my experience.  For one thing, a lot of it is filmed at night.  And many children out playing at night is a prominent feature.  Very young children, who should be home and in bed.  And during a long and rainy night, the rain begins to turn to snow.  I've never seen that before, and it is a wonderful, though depressing, addition to the drama.  James Mason plays the leader of the Organization, an Irish group trying to disrupt British rule in an unnamed city (which is undoubtedly Belfast).  His plan to rob the payroll office of a large factory goes awry, thanks to his own incompetence and that of his driver and assistants.  He ends up shooting and killing a man, and is shot and wounded himself.  He spends much of the film hiding and slowly dying of his gunshot.  A stark film, but not to be missed.  Not perfect, but it has a lot going for it.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Lastly comes my leaving choice for this week: River of No Return, directed by Otto Preminger and from 1954. Starring Robert Mitchum, a singing Marilyn Monroe, and a bunch of Indians on the warpath who don't have much to do except try and kill people floating down the river on a raft.  It's more or less a kind of Disney adventure movie, with a cougar that attacks Mitchum, bad guys and Indians that attack Mitchum, and Marilyn and his young son who (verbally) attack Mitchum.  The least of the films in this bunch, it at least features great scenery (Alberta) and is in colour and Cinemascope.  Marilyn gets quite wet a few times, and enunciates her words very clearly.

 

Leaving Criterion August 31st.

 

That's all for now.  Check back later. 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Busy Week

The new piano is taking a bit of getting used to, but I am happily pounding away, mostly with headphones.  Deb bought me a good pair.  While I'd rather have the lid open and the volume turned up, there will be time for this once I really know the pieces.  For now, the world is probably better off not hearing what I do during my 2 1/2 hours practice each day.  The next get together is the 19th.  None of my main pieces are anywhere near ready to perform, but I will play an old duet with Paula, and I have pulled out a Venetian gondola Song by Mendelssohn to play as a solo.  I am also back to the harpsichord, and have transferred my Prelude and Fugue there.  With the touch of a button I can play the piece with Baroque tuning, which is nearly a half tone lower.  The sound is very different, and conforms much more to my impression of what Eb+ should sound like.  By pressing another button, I can re-tune the entire instrument, using a tuning common in Bach's era, and one that gives each key signature its own feel.  Not surprisingly, the new piano will do the same things, only louder.

This is one of those weeks with considerable running around.  My Iaido class was Monday night, and I am now practicing everything up to but not including black belt level.  I spent nearly 3 years learning that material back in the day, but in two months I should pretty much have it down once again.  Then, if I continue with training (undecided), I can tackle the black belt level material, and then the 2nd black belt level, where I left off five years ago.  Tuesday was grocery shopping night.  Today we were home, but it was grass cutting day.  Tomorrow we are off the see the lawyer in Kingsville, as we are updating and revising our wills.  Deb also has her bi-monthly blood work there.  Friday we are taking a load of old electronics to the recycling centre in Windsor, and Deb is getting some head shots done for her publicity photos.

In film news, there are two of my choices to report, and one from Deb.  A Chiara is an Italian film from 2021.  It begins at a family celebration, the 18th birthday of a young woman, with her friends and family all present.  It is a huge party, and takes up about 30 minutes of the film.  We are shown a family that has close ties, and gets along well together.  Another daughter (Chiara) is 15, and the youngest is about 7.  Later that night, after the party, a car explosion outside the home rouses the family.  Dad goes on the run, and Chiara, in the dark till now, discovers that her dad is part of the Mafia.  The shock to her system is something that she cannot shake, and she goes in search of her father and the truth.  The film is mostly about her own search for the truth, which causes her even more grief.  Not a completely successful film, it does show how quickly and completely once's entire life can change forever.  Swami Rotolo gives a good performance of the angry and obsessed teenage girl, faced with the choice of staying by her family, or leaving it forever.  Non-professionals play all the major roles, mostly from the same family.

Now showing on Mubi. 

My leaving choice was a straight up bio of violinist Izthak Perlman.  Simply called Izthak, it is directed by Alison Chernick, and is from 2017.  He is a performer we have heard play many times in Detroit; he even conducted the orchestra as principal guest conductor for two years, and played often at that time, too.  There is lots of music, many anecdotes, and it's fun following him around New York and the world in his motorized chair.  One of the greats, and a film to be treasured.

The film has now left Mubi. We caught it just in time. 

Deb's leaving was next.  She chose to rewatch The Fisher King, with Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams.  From 1991, it's a Terry Gilliam madcap adventure for most of the film, and as usual with the director, many scenes are overdone and do not come off well.  However, overall it is a very good film and well worth a 2nd viewing.  Bridges, as an obnoxious radio host, is directly linked to the violent death of Williams' wife.  Williams goes way off the deep end.  Once they link up, Bridges realizes that he must do right by this man, and tries to get him a date with a girl Williams is in love with.  The Holy Grail comes into the story, too, and a fire breathing horse and rider.  The effects are good, the acting is hit and miss, but mostly okay, but the ending is a bit too simplistic.  Fun at times, and a pain in the head at other times.

Leaving Criterion August 31st. 

In reading news, I am just finishing up my required books by five authors, and will soon be moving on to my free reading time.  First up is a novel by F Marion Crawford.

Mapman Mike

 

 

The New Piano

The Yamaha Avant Grande N3X arrived yesterday morning on time, and the moving went smoothly.  The old U1 left the building, and in came the new grand.  After lunch Paula arrived for duet practice, so we gave it a good workout.  She also played a solo piece by Gershwin, so I got to hear the piano from a distance.  Good stuff!

 

The new piano next to the Roland harpsichord.  It's pretty shiny. 

 

There are two things I do not like about it.  The first is that the music stand does not move forward and back like on an acoustic grand.  It also has very limited angle choice (it is down for the photo).  The second thing is that the main lid only has an open or closed position.  On an acoustic grand there is a partial opening which I would use a lot.  But there are lots of advantages, too.  For one, I can use headphones, handy when Deb is working on sound in her films.  Also handy when learning pieces by Bartok, etc, so that I don't drive her crazy with the noise levels.  And of course the volume itself can be turned down, so that I can practice quietly without headphones.  Also, I can record simply by inserting a USB stick and pressing a button.  All of the control buttons are on a sliding tray beneath the right side of the piano.  There are ten different keyboards to choose from, including two harpsichord ones.  And many adjustments can be made to the sound, including different tunings.  Even individual notes can be fiddled with.  So lots of learning ahead to get the full potential of this wonderful new instrument.

In film news, Deb's final two festival choices remain to be discussed.  Everybody Loves Jeanne is a French film from 2022 directed by Celine Devaux.  It is a romantic comedy involving a woman whose big rise to the top has just ended.  Her project to collect plastic from the ocean fails when the collector is lost at sea.  Professionally, she is through.  Her mother has recently committed suicide, and she and her brother are responsible for selling her apartment there.  On her flight to Lisbon she meets a zany old school friend (who she doesn't remember), and slowly becomes involved with him.  One of the funnier things about the film is her inner voice, represented on film by crude but hilarious animated figures.  Her subconscious is brought to life, and really adds to the film.  Very well done, and recommended.

Now showing on Mubi. 

 

Lastly comes Chico and Rita, a Spanish animated film from 2010.  The animation is beautiful and totally amazing, and the story, about two Cuban musicians, a singer and a piano player, hits a home run as well.  The music is terrific, too!  Don't miss!  Not for kids.

 

Leaving Mubi soon. 

 

Lastly, a butterfly snapshot by Deb from our day trip last week.  It was in a garden behind The Country Market in Kent Bridge.  That is all.  Signing off for now.

 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Day Tripping

We get a local newspaper that is published three times each year.  It is called "Daytripper."  It is filled with ideas for day trips by car in our area, not including anything in the USA.  We used to do these a lot more often, but we finally seem to be getting back to them.  Tuesday was a full moon, and Wednesday we celebrate Lammas.  So we went hunting and gathering.  Deb had her bi-monthly infusion Tuesday morning.  Afterwards, we went to Odd Burger, a vegan restaurant chain, which is close to her clinic.  We got a take-away and headed out onto the highway.  Lunch was at a rest stop, before moving on to the main part of the day trip.

 

We turned of at exit 117 (117 km east of Windsor), heading north to a small village called Alvinston.  We passed through an Indian Reservation on the way, stopping to fuel the car at considerable discount to regular gas station prices.  The reserve is filled with gas stations, cigarette, and cannabis shops.  Natives don't pay federal taxes on these items, so everything is much cheaper.  Alvinston is about 30-35 minutes north of the main highway, and is the home of Munro's Meadery.  We found out about this place years ago from our Daytripper newspaper, finally making our first visit today!  I just finished one of their session meads, a blueberry one, and it was too fantastic for words!!  I only bought one can of the blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry.  Now I wish I'd bought six of each.  I also bought a bottle of their dry mead, and one of their semi-dry.  They also had beeswax candles, and honey, of course.  They had a glassed in active beehive in the store, and we could watch them at work.

 

Next stop was coffee at Parks Blueberries, last visited only a few weeks ago.  I found some hard-to-locate ginger molasses cookies  to bring  home.  In addition to the store and restaurant, where you can buy anything blueberry, including blueberries, they have a u-pick-it field, which was very busy today.  I would like to bring my pet black bear here someday soon.

 

Final stop was down the road at a corner market in Kent Bridge, a four corner community.  One of the corners has an amazing bakery/market, and we left with apple crumble pie and more molasses cookies!  Here is a photo of the complete haul.  The Kool-aid pack was a fun purchase, and I will be making mango Kool-aid soon.  We used to drink this stuff by the gallon as kids, and even in university (but not mango flavour).  Since you add your own sugar, we make a semi-sweet version that is very refreshing.  Haven't had it in about 40 years!  Besides, the packet adds a nice bit of colour to the photo, taken on our front lawn.

Our haul of loot from Tuesday's day trip!  The blueberry mead is officially gone and mourned.  The dry mead is about to be opened! 

 

In film news, there is one feature and two shorts to report on.  It Always Rains on Sunday is a British film from 1947, part of a series Criterion is running called British Noir.  Again this does not fit the true definition, but so what.  It's a b & w crime film about an escaped convict on the run.  A family in Bethnal Green, London, is struggling to remain a unit.  Two teenage daughters do not get on with their wicked stepmother, who was the woman who had an earlier affair with the convict.  Of course he shows up at her door, and she tries to help him.  A decent "slice of life" film still well worth watching.  Some strange sub-plots get mixed up in the main plot, but the bad guys are all accounted for by the police in the end.  We can all sleep easier knowing that the police always get their men.  And it does rain a lot.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Deb's first film festival choices were two short films.  The first is a little SF film called Os Humores Artificiais, from 2016.  A woman and her AI drone are visiting a native community in Brazil, and doing research.  The engaging little flying AI unit falls in love with a young native girl, and asks the chief if it can marry her.  Thus ends the research project, as the chief is not amused.  But the girl stows away and gets taken back to Sao Paulo with the researcher.  She erases the memory circuits of the AI and turns it into a stand up comedian.  But true love will find a way, and the AI gets its memory back and tracks down the native girl, who has left the big city.  An enchanting film, 29 minutes long.  The AI tells some good jokes, too.

A scene from the short film showing the AI and the love of his life.

Now showing on Criterion. 

The second short also has ties to Brazil.  Called The Age of Stone, it is a French film from 2013 lasting for 29 minutes.  It is mostly a visual treat, as we watch workers at a quarry split rocks and load them on trucks.  There is also a lot of the landscape of western Brazil. However, the vast sculpture that overlooks the quarry, and is part of it, is quite unbelievable.  It is one of the strangest sights I have ever seen, and makes the film worth watching.

Now showing on Mubi. 

 

Mapman Mike