We are having our first real cold spell, though it isn't too bad. It's a clear night and it's astronomy season, but I am at home. November is usually a very cloudy month here, along with December. As we are buying a new vehicle tomorrow, we had to clear out the old car and get it ready for trade-in. So no loading of the telescope. Figures it would be clear tonight, though. Getting back to the weather, tomorrow promises a bit of snow, a very late event this year. And wind. So of course we are heading to Windsor in the morning. Another medical appointment for Deb, then lunch, then off to VW. It's been seven years since we bought a vehicle. The last two have been Golf sport wagons, but this time we went for a Taos. There are several reasons why, but no need to talk about that now. It's a regular gas user. The electric cars do not fit our lifestyle yet. Hopefully next time.
I've been invited back twice now to the piano group I left last year. Still not ready, so I'll give it another miss. The pieces are currently being memorized, and I really have nothing ready to play anyway. Each time I memorize new pieces it gets harder and harder. As does walking up steep hills. I wonder why that is? I can't even drink that much beer anymore.
We had such amazing weather for our road trip, which is still resonating strongly with me (the trip and the weather). We seem to have found an ideal path for the westward journey, as well as the return one. The in between bits will differ as we explore and hike new places, but it's fun to get to know a string of towns and cities across the country where sanctuary, refuge and good times can be had. It makes the long drive so much more fun.
Since I only put up some of the photos from the trip on my travel blog, I will occasionally post one or two here. Here is one from my big hike to the top of Texas, looking down a steep drop off along the trail. No place for a Meniere's attack up here, my friends.
In film news, I'll begin with most recently watched. Soul Kitchen is a fun and funny film from Germany and 2009. A man runs a greasy spoon restaurant in a run down building, gradually and hilariously turning it into a very successful venue with creative and highly digestible food. His brother loses the place in a poker game. An unfaithful girlfriend and a bad back doesn't stop him, nor an old boat captain who never pays his rent. Enjoyable stuff from Mubi.
Before that we watched a Claude Chabrol film called The Flower of Evil, from 2003. The story is strange but engrossing. A woman is running for mayor in the French provences somewhere. Her second husband is a cheating scumbag, and hates the thought of her in politics. Her daughter and the son of the husband are getting very chummy. And old Aunt Line has a few aces up her sleeve to help them along. The French Resistance against the Nazis is brought up, someone gets killed, and Aunt Line gets an old skeleton to finally come out of the closet. There is some very fine acting, some strange twists, and an usual ending, though it is happy for most.
Before that it was time for another viewing of Tarkovsky's Stalker. Having read Roadside Picnic recently, I watched to rewatch the film. I have many quibbles with the film, but I loved much of it. The look, feel (and dark hues) of the opening and closing scenes are unmatched for dank and dreary atmosphere. We see no colour until the three travellers are in the Zone, on their way to a building with a room that offers one's greatest desire. It's probably best to not even think about the novel when watching (same with the director's version of Solaris). No one can photograph water and use it metaphorically like Tarkovsky. His dialogue gets somewhat melodramatic at times, and he really doesn't effectively show how dangerous it really is to be where they are. However, the locations are perfect, the mood is consistent and very claustrophobic, and the photography nothing less than a marvel. I wish he had played up the SF angle more, though the final scene is a good one. Definitely worth rewatching.
Mapman Mike
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