It took three workers a week to complete, but the new deck is now live and ready for parties, albeit small ones. We shrank the space by about 20%, though it is still plenty of space for us. Our old outdoor table is still serviceable, but we now need new chairs. The first outdoor coffee roasting should happen later today or tomorrow! We need to do some landscaping on three of the sides, beginning today.
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and a railing. Next up is some landscaping. A roof is coming, too!
In health news Deb visited her new rheumatologist on Thursday. Deb's morning stiffness is back with a vengeance, along with persistent pain in hips, neck, and shoulders. For now she is trying some steroids, and even after one dose things are improving. Two doses down now (of 28). Update to follow. And then there is my foot. I finally get to see my doctor next week. There is still swelling and pain, and my walking is limited to very slow paces for about ten minutes. No airports for me as yet, let alone walking holidays. I am not limping as much. There is hope.
In piano news I am now ten weeks into my newest program. The first half consists of two Scarlatti sonatas and five pieces by Couperin, all performed on the Roland harpsichord. Last weekend Jim P. came by to share some of his pieces (Bach Partita and Chopin Ballade), and I managed to mostly get through my Scarlatti and Couperin. So things are progressing. The second half of my program consists of three preludes (Op. 11) by Scriabin. One of those is memorized, a second is playable with music, and the third is a work in progress. After that comes the very lively set of Romanian Folk Dances by Bartok. There are six in the suite. The final two go at a break-neck speed, so there is still work to do there, but all six are playable. Next comes a Debussy Prelude. It is three pages long and I can now play two of them reasonably well; the last page is in progress. Finally comes another Philip Glass Etude, which is now fully playable. Memorization and seasoning are the goals for the near future. Deb is continuing to work on most of my older repertoire that we had recorded in the 1990s. Some of it had degraded a lot (cassette tapes), but much was saved thanks to Deb and some software she purchased.
In film news there are three to report. Scarecrow is a 1973 film starring Al Pacino and Gene Hackman and directed by Jerry Schatzburg. It's a film that might have achieved cult status, though Hackman's character is a difficult one with which to sympathize or identify. The two men meet on a lonely desert highway in California. Hackman is just out of prison and Pacino has been working on ships for five years. Hackman has a plan to open a car wash in Pittsburgh, while Pacino, who fled his pregnant wife, is on his way to Detroit to see her and his child. They have had no contact over the years, though Pacino has been sending money. He doesn't even know if his kid is male or female. They hitchhike together and form a partnership, riding freight trains on their eastward journey. Their adventures are usually intensified by Hackman's bad temper and violent outbursts. They end up in jail for 30 days for their part in a fight, with Pacino beaten up badly in prison for refusing to have sex with another inmate. Eventually they reach Detroit, and the Belle Isle Fountain features in the climactic scene. Hackman portrays a very prickly character, with not much to like about him. Pacino, on the other hand, plays a character who wants to get his life together and seems to have grown up a lot over the past five years. While an interesting film in many ways, it is not required viewing by any means. The tragic ending doesn't help.
Also on Criterion's leaving list for July is Insomnia, a 2002 film directed by Christopher Nolan. I was surprised at how many tropes were used in this offbeat film about an LA detective (Al Pacino again, though considerable more aged) called to a small town in Alaska to help solve the brutal murder of a young girl. Pacino carries a lot of baggage up north with him, and the constant summer daylight plus his guilty conscience (he framed a suspected killer back in LA and is currently being investigated for it). Tracking the killer to a lonely cabin, he ends up shooting his detective partner by mistake in the fog. He manages to keep himself in the clear though a bunch of silly and very phony manoeuvres planting evidence in the small town (which he doesn't really know, but apparently he does). The real killer, chillingly played by Robin Williams, of course saw him shoot his partner (in dense fog) and is blackmailing Pacino in order to frame a young teenage boy for the murder. On the surface this seems like a taut and suspenseful film, which it actually is at times. But if you scratch the surface the whole thing collapses. Too many set ups (he had a bad argument with his partner the night before he shot him; Williams is the smartest crook in the universe and always a step ahead of him. The final straw is when he and Williams shoot each other to death at the end. Nice and neat. I was quite disappointed in this film, mostly in the script. Good acting and great location shooting helps a viewer get past the silly plot turnings.
An Accidental Studio is from 2019, a must-see documentary that traces the history of HandMade Films. We have seen so many of the films, though there are still several awaiting. Interviews with Eric Idle and George Harrison, along with many others, trace the beginnings of the studio from Life of Brian (1978) through to its closure in 2013. So many great cult films have emerged from here, though like most such films it took years for them to find audiences. A few films were major flops, including one starring Sean Penn and Madonna. Haven't seen that one and hopefully never will. It is showing on Acorn TV. We are looking forward to watching some of the films never seen by us. Fortunately, Criterion has a good collection.
Mapman Mike
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