November 2023 Reading Summary

 Again it was a mixed month for reading, with 5 clear nights of astronomy wiping out 5 nights of reading.  I still managed to get through several books, a few of them quite long.

Beginning with Robert Silverberg, Starborne is from 1995, and is a novelization of a 1973 short story called "Ship-Sister, Star-Sister."  I always have mixed feelings about taking a really good short story and turning into a full novel.  Why do such a thing?  Well, for one thing, it makes putting another novel out there a lot easier for the writer.  And perhaps there is an inner pull to expand on certain parts of the story that were rushed over at the time of first writing.  For this book, I go with the former reason.  Silverberg was lazy, needed to publish his novel a year, and was likely burning out from writing so many great works lately, including his enormous Majipoor series.  And besides, who would ever remember that short story from 1973?  Ah.  Welcome to the world of reprinting everything that certain authors have ever written.  Hardly anything is hidden from view anymore, and indeed with the publishing of all of Silverberg's short fiction in a marvellous series of large edition paperbacks (see my first Silverberg page in this blog), it is so.  In brief, then, the short story is pretty amazing.  But the novel adds nothing much that is needed to enjoy the tale.  Do we really need more background on the several characters aboard the first star ship sent out to colonize new worlds?  Hardly.  The best parts of the novel deal with the first two planets encountered that might be able to support human life.  These parts contains wonderful SF writing, giving a good sense of alien landscapes, and teaching us the difference between what scientific instruments can tell us about a planet, and what human feet on the ground can tell us.  If you cannot find the short story, then read the novel.  Otherwise, the short story will do just fine.

The Tides of Kregen is the 12th book in Kenneth Bulmer's huge fantasy series featuring the adventures of Dray Prescott.  Dray is now involved in a new series of adventures, and starting to learn a bit more of the strange powers that are controlling his destiny.  He has been stripped of one of his most cherished titles, and must find a way to earn back his place among his warrior brethren.  I have no doubt that he will eventually do it.  A decent addition to the story.

From 1956 comes another short (118 pages) but effective western from the pen of one of the greatest of the pulp writers of the 50s, E C Tubb.  I wonder if the author could have ever imagined that someone would read and review The Liberators (also known as "Vengeance Trail", a much better title), in the year 2023.  What remarkable times we live in.  Not so remarkable were the times that fictional General Grant lived in.  A lone Confederate general returns home after the war, to find that his plantation and home have been burned to the ground, his parents murdered by rogue Union soldiers, and his slaves have left the area.  One loyal black servant remains.  Joseph gives readers the side of what it was like to be a slave, and Tubb pulls no punches about the topic.  Joseph is a great character, and he and Grant embark on a search for the killers.  Of course the five men they are seeking are low life outlaws, and the story heads to a dusty and thirsty small Mexican town.  Into the saloon we go, and eventually one of the men is found.

The book has a tight focus, with a small number of main characters.  The action takes place in the saloon first, and then out in the wilderness, where the rest of the outlaws are tracked.  When the Indians make an appearance, again Tubb seeks to educate the reader about their customs, way of thinking, and ultimately hopeless situation that they face in their battle to keep their land.  Add to this the addition of a credible black character (Joseph the freed slave), and the defeated Confederate general, and Tubb's novel would make good reading even today, possibly even in a high school English class, where the concept of vengeance, which is central to the story, could also provide lots of room for discussion.  A quick but decent read.

From 1978 (my edition is from 1986) comes this sprawling 378 page fantasy, Gloriana, owing much to the Gormenghast books of Mervyn Peake, to whom this volume is dedicated.  Besides Peake, other influences could be Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare. Think of Gloriana as a substitute for Queen Victoria, living in the largest palace ever conceived.  Gormenghast, as sprawling as it is, would fit into one wing of Moorcock's palace, which is in London.  Also, think of some of the American colonies as still loyal to England, as is Arabia, India, China, etc.  The empire still glows mightily.

Gloriana's biggest problem is that all lovers leave her unsatisfied; she has never experienced a proper orgasm.  She has rooms and rooms of decadent sexual inhabitants, to which she visits on whims.  This is the first main fantasy novel I have read that brings sex well into the picture, and uses it as it probably is and would used; to gain loyalties and to seal bargains, as well as for pure amusement.  In that sense it harkens towards the writing of Fritz Leiber.  But like Leiber, the book uses sex, but does not dwell upon it.  Queen Gloriana soon has more problems facing her than probably any other monarch in fiction or fact.

The novel begins slowly (like Peake's series), but continues to build throughout.  There are perhaps too many characters for a single book, even such a long one, but eventually most of them will become familiar to the patient reader.  There are so many surprises and twists and turns to the plot that I won't attempt to convey anything of what takes place to move the story along.  But move along it does, to its rapturous conclusion.  The ending itself is one of the novel's biggest surprises.  Certainly one of the best fantasy novels ever written.

 

Published in 2023, Collaborative Capers contains 25 SF stories that Malzberg wrote with different authors.  There is a short interview at the beginning between the editor and Malzberg.  The volume is 273 pages long.  Most of the stories are pretty short, with the longest being about 20 pages.  It is quite a fascinating collection, with Malzberg's voice sounding very clearly in many of the stories, and more subdued in others.  It is a collection probably best read a few stories at a time, rather than at once, which is how I read it.  Two stories are connected; the rest are individual.  There is a story about the Mona Lisa, another two about Van Gogh's painting Starry Night (Stars Nit), one that mimics the writing of Falkner, there is a tie  in to Cheever, as well as a story about Mozart.  Of course the Kennedy assassination (attempt) is also in there, and a few with Jewish themes.  Many stories are light-hearted, though, like the final one, sometimes have a serious underlay.  All in all a very worthwhile collection to acquire and to read.  It is probably a good way to get introduced to Malzberg, or to enjoy him more if you find his solo writing too much to bear.  There are several stories here to which I will eventually return.

That covers the five Avon/Equinox authors, my required reading for the month.  After this I found myself footloose and fancy.  First up came an early novel by Arthur Machen.  The Secret Glory was written between 1899 and 1908, but not published until 1922.  And the final two chapters were not included in that edition, nor were they published during the author's lifetime.  It is a story about a schoolboy, 15, 5th form, at a public school.  He is a loner but must face up to the horrors of such a life, of which he is ill suited.  The story jumps back to memories he has of his late father, and their excursions into the forests and mountains of Wales.  His father instilled a love of deep Nature in his son, and Ambrose has not forgotten those lessons.  In fact, it is those past memories of walks with his father that sustain him and enable him to face the realities of day to day life at boarding school.  While everyone at school finally sees him settling in after receiving a brutal caning, he is in fact in full rebellion.  The story sometimes jumps ahead, as well, to his 18th year when he leaves the school, tries university for a half term, then virtually disappears from the map.

So many people face demeaning lives and are unable to fit into society.  Ambrose is religious, but has been taught by his father about the older Celtic form of Christianity, which he can accept much more readily than the weekly trudge to chapel and the inevitable sermon.  He keeps certain secrets of past events locked in his heart, and this clarifies his vision and sees him through his troubled years.  A quite brilliant scholar, he realizes that what he wants to learn he won't learn at university.  He is a very strange boy, and only an outsider would be able to understand him and what he seeks.  This is a compelling novel and virtually required reading for those who feel that they don't fit in, and enjoy things that most others do not.  His search for what he wants was actually completed at ten years, and he is able to use his past experience to elevate himself spiritually in the present.  One gets a strong feeling that rather than turn out scholars, sportsmen, and jolly good fellows, the public schools in England at the time were great crushers of spirit and innovation.  In Ambrose's case, he was able to stay above the worst of it, keeping his values and beliefs strong within him despite the best efforts of the system to beat them out of him.  A recommended read.

Next up was the 2nd novel by Richard Marsh, Daintree, from 1883.  I enjoyed his first novel immensely.  The Devil's Diamond, also from 1893, was a funny and very original tale (see blog entry from October 1st, 2022).  Daintree, on the other hand, is a tough nut to crack.  In fact, it just might be the worst novel I have ever read.  The story, in one sentence, concerns two sons who wish to leave the farm life behind them, despite their father's wishes that they carry on the good work.  That's it; the whole enchilada.  This novel has more bible quotations than the actual Bible.  Seriously.  Avoid avoid avoid.

I needed a reward, big time, after that.  Dave Barry came to the rescue.  Or so I thought.  His first novel is called Big Trouble, from 1999.  Barry is a very funny guy.  There are plenty of funny things in this novel, which is a crime caper a la Elmore Leonard.  But the pace is unrelenting, with things happening every single paragraph.  And there are plenty of paragraphs.  There is some good satire, especially about voting, and airport security (pre 911 days), and radio programs.  But there is also a good deal of sadism, mostly aimed at women.  And after a while the reader notices that the author is using the same few jokes over and over again (dog and toad get way too much mileage, for one example).  So despite the rave reviews, and the book being made into a film, I would not give it more than 2 1/2 stars.  The beginning showed promise, but ultimately I was left rather chilled and worn out by it all.

Lastly came a very long novel by George Meredith.  Called by some the first truly modern novel, The Ordeal of Richard Feveral is an epic by any consideration.  In many ways it is an astounding novel, and though somewhat bloated with prose in places, it does cut to the quick when needed.  A baronet raises his only son under his own devised scientific System, hoping to turn out the perfect human to sit at his side and eventually take over the estate.  Being separated from his wife, his view of women is not only very low, but he even leaves them completely out of his System.  So when Richard, at eighteen, falls in love with the girl next door, things begin to go awry very quickly.  Meredith has written a novel that was included in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series called The Shaving of Shagput, which is how I came to know him.  Last October I read his second novel, a brief and not very substantial affair.  This, his third novel, has garnered several tons of literary criticism, which quickly becomes an entire study in itself.  Definitely recommended.  What an improvement in the relating of the eternal father/son struggle compared to Richard Marsh's effort, also read this past month.

 

December reading now commences with one of Robert Silverberg's final novels, The Alien Years.

Mapman Mike

Changing Over

We are now knee deep in late autumn weather, which is a bit of a jolt after last week's sunny and very mild spell.  We are due for our first taste of snow tonight and tomorrow, which is never a welcome event here at the Homestead.  I leave water out for the birds to drink, and it was frozen for two days.  I finally was able to break the ice up today and insert the small heater that keeps the water open through most of our cold weather.  The birds are fed twice each day, and a small flock of blue jays always quietly awaits my appearance each morning.  They prefer peanuts, while the squirrels really like sunflower seeds.  The other birds eat birdseed mostly.  It's getting really expensive now to buy birdseed.  Not surprising, as most food, especially fresh fruit and vegetables, are being priced sky high.  Our inflation rate dropped to 3.1% recently, but that is only due to cheaper gasoline prices.  Everything else is going up and up.

 

With the arrival of the full moon Sunday and Monday, I am already looking forward to the December astronomy session.  Clear nights are rare in December, and if we get a few, it's usually bone chillingly cold.  But November turned into such a great session that I have some hopes for December.

 

Not much news from here at the Homestead.  Movies, reading, Deb working on her next film and me practicing piano, it's business as usual.  A week from today is supposed to be our next piano gathering.  I don't even know yet what I will perform.  Possibly Bach.  Possibly Beethoven.  Possibly Chopin.  Possibly nothing.  Lots of possibilities, anyway.

 

I'll take the film reviews here in reverse order, beginning with one that we just finished.  Deb gets five picks in a row, because it's her festival weekend.  Here are her first three.  West Is West is from 1987, and was directed by David Rathod.  Vikram comes to California from Bombay in hopes of attending university.  But his Indian sponsors are dealing with a family tragedy and are away from home.  So Vikram arrives with no place to stay.  He ends up in a small hotel (in San Francisco) run by an Indian lady.  His application is turned down by the university, and he is about to be deported.  He has been forming a friendship with a young female artist, rebelling against her family, and they manage to team up to make things eventually work.  But not in a way one might expect.  The lead actor is okay in the role of hard luck wannabe student, and the girl pulls off her role quite well, too.  Their Bollywood scene together is a very nice touch.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Before that we watched Powwow Highway again.  It seems quite popular around here.  It has many classic scenes and lines, scenes and lines that have become part of who we are and what we represent here at the Homestead.  Based on a fabulous novel by David Seals, the movie pulls few punches about life on a reservation, and the way that Whites are continually trying to exploit the resources there.  Starring Gary Farmer in a role that was meant only for him.  Highly recommended.

Still showing on Criterion. 

 

Before that came a concert performance film called Tripping With Nils Frahm, from 2020.  While I found the music quite good, the film shows Nils creating the sounds with a vast array of electronic equipment, including several keyboards.  My main problem was that he was moving around to different places so much to get the incredible effects he was producing that it greatly interfered with listening to the music.  So I gave up partway through the film, but will be sure to check out his stuff on Spotify this week.  He has also scored a few films.

 

Now showing on Mubi.  I recommend only listening, rather than viewing.
 

Before that came my two film picks.  The 2nd one was leaving Mubi soon.  It is called Bellissima, a 1951 film by Visconti.  It stars Anna Magnani as a very poor mother sacrificing everything, even her marriage, to get her five year old daughter into a film.  When auditions are called for slightly older children to play a part in an upcoming film, dozens of mothers show up with their daughters.  Anna shows up with her tiny 5 year old, telling the movie people that she is 7 and small for her age.  This is Magnani's film, and her pace and style are manic and non stop.  She talks, moves, carries on, argues, fights, and travels all in a whirlwind of motion and words.  I honestly don't know how she would ever rehearse her scenes, so perhaps she was improvising a lot.  The scene at the ballet school, for one, is priceless.  Though the ending cops out and becomes unbelievable (first that they would actually chose her little girl, with a manic mother like that, and second that she would ultimately refuse to let her daughter do the part), this is an unforgettable glimpse into post war Italy (neo realism) and the struggles that people faced to survive and try to get ahead.  Definitely worth a look.

Leaving Mubi soon.

My main choice for last week was The Crow, from 1994, and starring the late Brandon Lee.   From graphic novel to film, the transformation looks pretty good.  The story is simplistic, with good guy seeking revenge on bad guys.  There is the expected climactic duel at the end between good and evil, with a princess that needs to be rescued.  This takes place on top of a cathedral during a storm.  While more suited to comic book pages than cinema (was this film really worth dying for?), it is good eye candy.  It's not too hard to spot the bad guys, but at least the look of the film, and the constant night scenes and falling rain, give it a kind of distinction.  There are nearly as many killings as in one of the Lone Wolf and Cub or Zatoichi films, though nowhere near the subtlety those martial arts films can display at times.

Now showing on Prime. 

 

It's nice to hear that David Tenant is back as Dr. Who for a short revisit, along with  Catherine Tate.  Sadly, we will never get to see any of them, as they show only on Disney, which we will have no part of.  Streaming channels can be very good; streaming channels can be very bad.

 

Mapman Mike

 

Missing In Action

 Where have I been?  Loyal readers should be able to tell when a massive streak of clear, moonless nights has swept our county.  Not much got done this past week except observing with the 12" reflector, and writing up notes next day.  I did manage some piano practice, too, and a bit of reading, and there are films to report.  But mostly it's been a rare November spell of mild, sunny weather.  My coldest night temp was 32 F, something I can easily handle with my winter clothing gear.  The first clear night was last Sunday.  I was greeted by not one, but two detours due to bridge construction.  So my 50 minute driving time became 60 minutes each way, all week.  Sigh.  Then, after less than two hours of gleeful observing, it clouded over, despite forecasts to the contrary.  I guess Nature doesn't listen to the forecasts.  But Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were great nights.  Mercifully I had Thursday off due to clouds, but it was clear again Friday, so out I went.  It's also clear tonight, but I have surrendered.  Besides, the moon is getting quite high now.  And it's windy and cold.  And I'm burned out.  But it's a happy burned out.

Last weekend we watched Wes Anderson's Asteroid City.  It's showing on Prime!  It is a colourful and entertaining film, and good for one viewing.  His sense of style is so unique, and his use of colour is always bizarre but attractive.  His characters, however, are never deep or interesting enough for me, though there is some improvement this time.  Let's just say that he never probes very deeply into the human soul.  But he can be very entertaining, and this film is entertaining.  Probably the best alien visitation ever filmed.

Now showing on Prime. 

 

Deb's leaving choice for last weekend is called One Mile From Heaven, from 1937.  A light skinned black woman raises a white child, but by the age of five she is called out and has to go to court to prove the child is hers.  A wrenching drama where seeking out the truth will hurt one side but help the other side.  This is a very strange film, and is based on a 1925 novel.  While obviously dated (who would ever question anyone these days raising a child of a different race), it is amazing that a film was even devoted to this topic.  Bill Robinson is great as a police constable, and does a number of tap dances.

 

This b & w film is leaving Criterion Nov. 30th.  

 

My main film choice this week was a documentary starring Bill Maher, and he goes behind the scenes to tackle the world's fascination and dutiful devotion to religion.  Religulous is from 2008, and is as much comedy as it is investigative reporting.  Though focused mostly on Christianity, he tries to get at the reason people take things completely on faith rather than reason and logic.  Pretty much unforgettable, especially the leader of the Church of Cannabis.  Highly recommended, and showing on Prime.  Not terribly deep, but loads of fun.

Now showing on Prime. 

 

We hit the jackpot with my leaving choice.  Europa is from 1991, directed by Lars von Trier before he went completely off the deep end.  An American man goes to Germany just after the war in 1945 to get a job.  His uncle, a sleeping car conductor, gets him a job doing the same.  He unwittingly comes under the evil influence of the Werewolves, a German resistance group hitting back at those who are collaborating with the Americans, who are currently everywhere in the ruined country.  While the story is interesting in the traditional sense, it is the director's stylish look that really attracts viewers.  Going between b & w, colour, and some of each, unusual camera angles, his sense of time passing, the sets and lighting, and his brilliant use of rear projection, all take us into a world which we have never before experienced.  The third of his "Europa"trilogy, we are currently watching the first one.  Highly recommended.  This is von Trier at his best.

 

Leaving Criterion this month.  

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Lone Mtn Film Festival Results

It's been a week.  We are now through most of it, with only grocery shopping tonight, and Deb to physio today.  Yesterday we were early for her 8:30 am appointment at the Met hospital in Windsor, to see if her wrist had healed.  The good news is that yes, it has healed, and she no longer wears her cast. The bad news is that just over two weeks ago, the five hospitals in Windsor and surrounding areas were hacked by dark web ransom pirates.  Needless to say no money was paid out, but all computer systems are down and will have to be rebuilt from scratch.  Cancer treatments had to be scrubbed, but have slowly resumed.  So everything is currently being done on paper, including registration, diagnosis, etc.  So it took a long time for Deb to see the doctor giving her the all clear.

Monday she went for the x-ray in nearby Lasalle.  That went very quickly.  Later that morning we got our Covid boosters in Amherstburg.  That also went quickly.  Afterwards, we had another financial meeting at our bank, as we are transferring our mutual fund assets there from Primerica.  Now all of our assets will be in one place.  Until they are hacked, and we lose everything.  On Tuesday Deb got her new orthotics.  Right afterwards we went for a long walk, and they seemed to work fine for her feet.  So all is slowly becoming well and back to normal.  Next week is Deb's flu shot, and also I have a doctor appointment.  So a relatively light week ahead for us.

In film news, there are several to report.  My festival choices this month were all unrelated to each other, as no theme was chosen.  First up was number #59 on the most recent Sight and Sound top 100 movies choice.  Sans Soleil is from 1983.  Here is the blurb from Criterion, where it is showing:

Chris Marker, filmmaker, poet, novelist, photographer, editor, and now videographer and digital multimedia artist, has been challenging moviegoers, philosophers, and himself for years with his complex queries about time, memory, and the rapid advancement of life on this planet. SANS SOLEIL is his mind-bending free-form travelogue that journeys from Africa to Japan. 

Here is a quote from the director, from Wikipedia:

"On a more matter-of-fact level, I could tell you that the film intended to be, and is nothing more than, a home movie. I really think that my main talent has been to find people to pay for my home movies. Were I born rich, I guess I would have made more or less the same films, at least the traveling kind, but nobody would have heard of them except my friends and visitors."^[3] 

 

The film reminds me of something stoned people might have gone to see in the 60s or early 70s.  On certain types of drugs, the film might appear to be deep and philosophical.  But without drugs, it is actually pretty empty, perplexing, incoherent, and sometimes downright confusing.  There are so many better documentaries out there, it is hard to believe that this one has pulled the wool over so many eyes.  What most viewers take for depth is really a mostly empty look at somebody's home movies.  The gratuitous scene of a hunter killing a giraffe is inexcusable, another reason not to watch this mess of a film.

 

Now showing on Criterion.

 

Next up was a series of short films watched on Mubi.  I came across an early David Lynch film, 30' in length, starring Harry Dean Stanton.  So I chose it and decided to fill in the time of one full length feature with other shorts.  The Cowboy and the Frenchman is from 1988, and has to be one of the worst films we have ever seen.  It is pointless, humourless, and completely unredeeming.  Deb tried watching some of the director's early animation attempts, and pronounced them to abysmal to continue.  Avoid this short film, or watch it at your own peril.

 

David Lynch at his worst, now on Mubi.

Green Vinyl is from 2004, a short Brazilian fantasy film about a little girl left home alone by her working mother.  She is told not to play a certain green children's record, and the girl promises not to listen.  Of course as soon as mother leaves, she plays the record.  Mother comes home that night with an arm missing.  And so on.  Truly bizarre and unsettling, it is still a fun film to watch.  It blows Lynch out of the water, anyway.

 

Now showing on Mubi.

 

All The Crows In The World is a Hong Kong short from 2021.  It won the Palme D'Or at Cannes for best short.  A young woman goes to a party filled with middle aged, sexist men.  This is a very fun film, with lots of off kilter attitude and bizarre situations.  She ends up making friends with the one man who does not come on to her.  But he ends up being gay.  So much for male heterosexuals; this film tears them apart, with glee.  Recommended.

 

Showing on Mubi.

Ein Sof is a Mexican film from 2021.  It is 4 minutes long.  It purports to be an avant garde film, but it's just a 4 minute music video with some very strange fashions.  Even so, it is still better than the Lynch film.

 

Showing on Mubi.

Less and Less is a short film from France from 2010.  It follows the history of coin operated machines in Paris from the 60s and onward.  Tres amusant.  The one and only bagel dispensing machine is a highlight.

We finished with a Woody Allen feature film from 2014 called Magic In The Moonlight.  An arrogant magician is taken down a peg or three by his old friend, and along the way he falls in love with a young medium.  At first he is fooled into believing that she is the real thing, despite his attempts to prove her a fake.  An okay film, but nothing terribly special here, though we do get to see an elephant disappear from the stage.  Costumes and period cars (1920s) are also very good.

Now showing on Prime. 

 

And one last image before signing off for today--this is a weather map of the area just north of us from yesterday.  I think every possible form of precipitation is shown in one area of Michigan and Ontario:  green, yellow, and red for rain; pink and purple for ice storm; and blue for snow.  Very pretty.  The deep red shows heavy rain and possible hail.  I wonder how they enjoyed their day in those areas.

 

We are south of Detroit and west of Kingsville. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fading

Peak autumn colours have passed quickly, and as November roars in (more like December this past week, with actual snow flurries on Halloween), Nature begins to fade into browns and greys.  Early autumn and late autumn are really two completely different seasons here at the Homestead.  This coming weekend we lose our later daylight as we switch back to Standard time (which I would prefer to have year round).  Our Tuesday walk on the Greenway Trail was so different from the one a week ago.  For one thing, it was freezing, with a blustery breeze and 39 F.  For another, more fields had been harvested, leaving a brown and empty landscape surrounding us.  And for another, most of the leaves had blown down from around the trail.  A stark difference from65 F last week, and peak autumn colours.

 

We had our usual great Samhain festival here at home.  The decorations went up last Saturday, and will remain up until at least Sunday.  There was a wood fire, homemade pumpkin pie, great music, and the annual Tarot reading.  We each pick 9 cards from a shuffled deck.  Deb goes first, then after her reading is done the cards are placed back and reshuffled for my reading.  For the first time since we've been doing this (2004?), we both selected the same card as our year card.  I will post it here soon; it's perfect for us at the moment, at least.  In addition, we each have card that helps guide us through the 8 quarters and cross quarters of the year.  We mainly use the Arthurian Tarot, which is quite brilliantly adapted from the tradition Waite deck, but this year we will also use the Waite cards corresponding to our Arthurian picks, to deepen our reading.  The cards are never used as predictions of any sort, but rather give us something to think about for the 6 weeks that they stay out (except for the year card, which gives us something to think about for a year).

 

Here are a few phone pics of our inside decor this year.

 

These are all low light photos.  Deb was unable to carve the pumpkin this year, because of her cast.  So guess who did the honours?

Deb's rather crowded Day of Dead altar set up.  Yorick himself is sitting on a chair near centre.  The black centerpiece at the rear is a mirror covered in black cloth, a traditional Offrenda feature.

Our wood fire burns cheerily.  It was very welcome this year, as it was a cold and windy night.

This skeleton was a gift from my cousin Cathy.

 

Henry the Halloween Cat and Bruno the Gorilla team up every year for the festivities.

An old artwork of Deb's comes out but once a year.  Other art on our walls are also changed at this time.  

 

In health news, I got my flu shot last Thursday.  This Monday we both return for our Covid booster, followed by Deb's flu shot about a week later.  She is limited to the time when she can get such shots due to her infusion months.  Also next Monday Deb returns for follow up x-rays of her wrist.  Tuesday she returns to her podiatrist to get her new orthotics.  Then it's back to the hospital Wednesday morning, hopefully to get the okay to remove her cast.  Today she had to get her bi-monthly blood work done.  Afterwards, we met with our financial planner, whom we will see again on Monday.  On it goes.  If all goes well, we will go to Detroit with friends on Saturday, mainly to see the Offrenda exhibit this year before it closes.  Sunday is supposed to be the next piano get together, but I am a bit too flustered to concentrate much on piano performance just now.  I am practicing, though.

 

In film news, there are three to report.  Deb chose Lynch/Oz, a film from 2022 that explores the connections between many of Lynch's films with the 1939 version of Wizard of Oz.  This is a fun documentary, narrated by several different leading independent film directors, and copiously illustrated with scenes from Oz and most of Lynch's major works.  It makes if worthwhile to go back and see some more Lynch films.

 

Now showing on Criterion.

 

DHH is an Indian film from 2017, my leaving choice for the week.  It is a comedy drama about three young boys, about 5th grade, who hope to use magic to help them pass their exams.  One of the boys has failed three times already, and is old enough to drive a scooter.  They frequently skip out on class, and usually perform at the very bottom of their peer group.  It is a long, but highly watchable film.  Do they manage to use magic to help them pass?  You bet they do.

 

This film has since left Mubi. 

 

My main choice for the week was Company of Wolves, from 1985, and based on stories and the screenplay by Angela Carter.  Now showing on Prime/Shudder, this was probably our sixth or seventh view of the film, which tackles the darker side of folk tales very nicely.  A good cast, great sets and lighting and costumes, and decent effects for the time enhance this tale of a young girl brutally coming of age.  If you have never seen it, then I highly recommend it.  If you have, then you should know that it is well worth more than a single viewing.

 

Now showing on Prime/Shudder. 

Mapman Mike