It has arrived. It was a long awaited event (since last November). This past week I have had to wear three different jackets to go outside. My normal winter one, a light jacket but very warm; a spring/summer jacket; and my warmest winter jacket. Our weather continues to be all over the map in the way of temperatures. We were able to add another day to our sub-zero daily highs, making it 52 now. Sudbury had a major snowstorm, along with a lot of the American Midwest, with nearly 20" of new snow. That should keep them white until at least May. We had a few flakes, but the cold really took a bite out of our spring bulbs. Hopefully they will survive. So far only snowdrops have bloomed. We are considerably behind this year.
It's kind of funny/odd, but just as our thoughts are able to turn once again to travel a new war begins, driving up the price of jet fuel and making airfares even more pathetic. Depending on Deb's next two blood work results, we had hoped to cross the Atlantic again. It would be our first time since 2019. Possible destinations include Iceland (a shorter jaunt), Vienna (a longer stay) and, of course, London. But now who knows? I had to fill up the gas tank on our vehicle yesterday, and it wasn't pretty. At least there were no lineups at the pump.
We also have a very expensive house fix coming up March 30th, as we will get our radon problem mitigated. Readings this winter went sky high, so it's time to fix it. We (mostly Deb) have been doing a house clearing, something that happens every five years or so around here. This time we are serious to get things down to a manageable level, making a possible move not only easier but more likely. There are several large apartment blocks in Amherstburg with a river view, so we likely wouldn't go far.
In PC gaming news, my wishlist continues to shrink as Steam sales continue. Great games can be had very cheaply if one awaits the frequent sales. I recently collected six great older games, paying less than $35 Can. I also added a few perks to my Train Sim World collection. After completing Black Mirror, we have moved on to a newer Sherlock Holmes game called The Awakened. It is an updated version of a 2008 game and is extremely complex and difficult to learn. We nearly gave up on it a few times, but have used a walkthru to get through parts. It uses about half the keyboard for commands and thus has a very long learning curve. We are improving, and have played a few segments with no help. Holmes and Watson are up against Cthulhu no less!
In film news, Deb has completed her most recent one. It took almost two months longer than expected due to her illness, but once she recovered things moved along well. It is another great looking (and sounding) film, and will likely do well at festivals. Watch for it on her website soon (her website link is in my upper left margin, top of this page).
In film watching news, we have completed all 30 episodes of Apple TV's Foundation. The final episode was a trope-filled wonder, with extreme violence and sadism galore. Of course another series is forthcoming, someday, which will cover all three books. From what I have read about the series the further along it gets the less it has to do with Asimov's novels. It is a great looking series, taking lessons from recent Star Trek series, and no doubt from Game of Thrones. For my money there are too many characters, too many sub plots, too much violent conflict and too little science. Asimov did not write a fantasy of the future; he wrote a science-based work of fiction. But we all know that TV viewers are too dumb to care much about science. Besides, it's more fun watching things blow up. I will get around to the first Asimov book of the series in the very near future.
We also completed a multi-season travel series hosted by Eugene Levy. Called The Reluctant Traveler the Canadian actor is supposedly brought out of his deep shell by the experiences he undergoes. However, he travels in five star luxury, meets up with important locals who show him around, and gets to see things other travelers never would see. For example, on his visit to London he spends 4/5ths of the time in Windsor in conversation with Prince William. It's fascinating to see a future king being so candid with Eugene, but really, a travel show? Hardly. He gets a private tour of the palace and grounds, then goes into town and has a pint at the pub with William. Ah yes, just like our visits to England.
And we have completed watching all 4 seasons of Monty Python's Flying Circus. When it's good it's very good. But when it's bad, it's very racist, sexist and hardly funny at all. Still, every episode offers up something memorable and hilarious. We have now moved on now to another comedy classic series, Second City TV, with some of Canada's funniest comics (John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy and many others). We also managed to get through all three seasons of the original Addams Family series. This stuff is usually lunch time viewing, as we eat.
In film news there are two to report. One of them should have been trashy and the other classy, but as things turned out, our expectations were incorrect. Women of Devil's Island is from 1962, part of our "Drive In Classics" DVD library. It sounds like an exploitation film, and there are certainly a lot of beautiful women in it. However, it is a swashbuckler and a bit of fun viewing. The women are prisoners of the revolution, sent there after their families were murdered or exiled. They are badly misused by a cruel and sadistic warden. A pirate ship comes by and attempts to steal the gold that the women work so hard to mine. In the process they also attempt to rescue the women. For the most part the women stick together and help defeat the prison guards. Sisterhood has never looked so brave and noble. Hurrah for the women of Devil's Island! While there are a few heaving bosoms, it is mostly the fancy feminine hairstyles that viewers will be drawn to.
Lastly comes Lancelot du Lac, a Goddard film from 1974. Possibly regarded as a good film, it isn't. The actors say their lines like a class of high school kids who don't want to be in drama class. The men wear armour all of the time, a ridiculous look and even more ridiculous sound. Horses gallop, jousts and battles take place off screen, the two lovers don't seem much in love, and blood spurts from all directions at times. The film is quite tedious. Watch John Boorman's Excaliber instead.
Mapman Mike
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