It lasted a week, and though the temps did not get as high as predicted, the extreme humidity made up for it. We get a two day respite (82 F today), then more heat, then a longer break in the pattern. Solstice day was a warm one. We will often take a drive along the lake somewhere and have a picnic. This year celebrations were indoors. June was always a most unpleasant month to be a teacher here, with classrooms often getting several degrees warmer than outside temperatures. It must have been a miserable week for many. There was plenty of rain in the form of intense storms all around us, but we got bypassed. It is quite dry here at the Homestead.
Deb had some medical tests to undergo last Tuesday, the only day we went outside. They were supposed to take several hours. I dropped her off in Windsor and met Randy G. for lunch. We got partly caught up, as we haven't got together in a very long time. The chosen restaurant was permanently closed. As I looked around the plaza, there were five others to choose from. Sigh. No wonder it closed.
In film news, there are a few to report. We have now finished the 2nd season of Detective Anna, all 40 episodes (there were 56 in the first season), and have now turned our attention to watching Picard, of which there are 30 episodes. We just subscribed to Paramount Plus, which has every Star Trek movie and series in its streaming base. It will take a while to get through. We now have paid subscriptions to Criterion, Mubi, Prime, The Great Courses, and Paramount. In addition, we get hundreds of free channels (many with ads) on Roku. I've been watching Danger Man over time, with The Avengers ready to go as well.
Most recently we watched a spaghetti western called Keoma. It isn't often that a decent film is completely ruined by the musical score. In this case it features a female singer/narrator who just will not shut up. She sings what we see happening on the screen, very very often. She sings in a high soprano voice, and it is immediately obvious that she is an alto. It is extremely painful to hear her screech out high notes. From 1976, the film features the charismatic actor Franco Nero, who, unfortunately, also attempts to sing the narration from time to time. In reading reviews of the film, hardly anyone mentions the music. One critic said the score was "tone deaf," but another said it was the best part of the film. Really!!? Speaking of tone deaf... We had to put the subtitles on and mute the film when the singing began. The subtitles indicated when the singing was over, and it was safe to put the sound back on.
Before that came Deb's two picks. The first was a BBC film from 1984 called Threads. It is a very graphic depiction of the aftermath of a nuclear war, using Sheffield England as its centre of gravity. The story mostly follows two families before and after. A young man gets his girlfriend pregnant and they decide to get married. We meet the families (one working class, one a higher white collar class). They choose an apartment and begin to redecorate. In the background are newscasts telling of increasing conflict in the Middle East. Things continue to bubble until the unthinkable happens. Sheffield, as not only an important manufacturing district but also a NATO airbase, takes a direct hit. We get a front row seat, and it isn't pretty. Not much is held back from viewers, as the realism hits home many many times. This is the kind of film that should be required viewing for anyone wishing to become a politician. Of course nuclear war is still a very real possibility, especially with so many unstable leaders of countries with bombs. But it seems as if our demise will not be a sudden holocaust, but a slow, burning death, as the planet continues to heat.
The film is leaving Criterion June 30th.
Deb's 2nd film choice was considerably lighter in theme. Called Camera Buff, it is a Polish film from 1979. A worker and his wife are expecting a baby. He buys an 8 mm camera to record the baby, but soon gets hooked into doing a film for the company where he works. As he gets deeper and deeper into his hobby, his wife thinks that he is neglecting her and the baby. His little film gets entered into a festival. He attends and wins third prize, which includes a nice lump of cash. His wife is horrified, as she realizes that he will never stop now. She ends up leaving him, but as he now has access to a 16 mm camera, he manages to survive the breakup. A low level comedy that might hit home to camera buffs, and other buffs as well. Sometimes balancing work, family, and play can be tricky.
Showing on Criterion, with a ton of the director's other films.
When Jenn was over for a visit a while back, we told her about our rediscovery of the Utne Reader. It was a brilliant and influential magazine from the 80s and 90s that we used to read a lot. Of course it died as a print version a while back, but there is an on-line presence. I have read three articles on line so far. However, their Facebook page has not been updated for over two years. I fear the online version may be going away, too. I highly recommend that readers check it out.
Mapman Mike
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