It was one of the great highlights of our adventurous lives. We enjoyed a long stretch of totality, and came away stunned and imprinted by one of Nature's greatest spectacles. I have written up a blog on my astronomy blog, found in the left margin under Deep Sky NGC. There are several photos there, too. We left home at 9:15 a.m., driving to Ohio to be in the central area of totality. We were back home by 11:20 p.m., exhausted by the heavy traffic, but uplifted by what we had experienced. It is unlikely we will ever see another one, but we certainly would like to.
We also finished playing/watching Syberia 4. A game in 32 chapters, much of it is a movie with some puzzles thrown in. Most of the puzzles are fun, while a very few aren't. Overall it is a superlative game to play. It takes place in a fictional fantasy Vienna-ish city, and the graphics are really superb. The story, about Kate searching for her roots, is one of the very best in any game ever played. It is by far the best of the 4 Syberia games, and is probably one of the top five games we have ever played. If you are into PC gaming, this is one to run out and play immediately. Benoit Sokal, the creator of the series, passed away during the making of 4. The series seems wrapped up, and it is unlikely there will be another one.
In movie news, there are two to report. Apollo 11 is a documentary from 2019 by Todd Douglas Miller. Using only archival footage and dialogue from the 1969 first human lunar landing mission, this story, for me, never gets old. As the years pass and our technology zooms ahead faster than we can cope with it, it seems more and more impossible that this thing could actually have been done back then. Five times successfully, no less. A don't miss film, whether or not you were around for the actual mission. One of humanity's greatest all-time achievements.
Mambar Pierette is a 2023 film from Cameroon/Belgium, about a woman with three children trying to raise them and survive while working as a seamstress. The father is absent and gives no support of any kind. The film mostly takes place in her little shop, and her home. One night both places are flooded in a bad rainstorm. Then she is robbed of her day's earnings. Her sewing machine breaks down. Through all this she is stoic and calm outside, but reeling from the hardships inside. Directed by Rosine Mbakam, somehow the film is not depressing, and becomes a fascinating window to life's hardships, and how people somehow manage to continue despite the things that come at them from all angles. Highly recommended, the film is showing on Criterion.
Lastly came a weak Noir film called My Name is Julia Ross, from 1945. A young woman is kidnapped and gaslighted, to replace a woman who was murdered. As a result of the murder, family funds would soon be cut off. So a replacement is needed. Even though the woman (played by Nina Foch) is smart and tires everything to save herself, no matter what she does (until the very end), the bad guys are always smarter and a step ahead. I soon grew frustrated with the film, and left before the end. Deb managed to finish it, but said it just got very ridiculous at the very end.
Mapman Mike
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