A Big Anniversary

Last Friday was our 50th wedding anniversary.  We spent a quiet day at home but plan to party hearty in a few weeks.  My surprise present to Deb will be revealed at that time.  In the meantime, here is a photo from the big day.  We were married at Our Lady of The Pines, a small church on Lake Penage.

 

The bridal party and family leave the church.  We were heading for boats to take us back to the camp.  For our honeymoon Deb and I took over the family camp for a week, doing canoe day trips and enjoying the late August weather with swimming and saunas.  We would leave for university very soon. 

 

Sunday was board game day.  We played a round of BBC's Doctor Who game, the classic doctor version.

 

Today's board game.  The player must protect locations with various versions of the Doctor, along with his companion allies.  The player must also try to attack the sites of his opponent with Daleks, Cybermen, Silurians, the Master and so on.  It is really a card game, not a board game. 

 

In other gaming news, PC related, I'm getting the hang of Tomb Raider 1.  My reaction times are improving, as is my swimming technique.  Still lots to work on, though.

 

All of the locations are based on actual archeological material, including the incredible dolphin pool.
 From the updated version of TR 1.

 

I'm also replaying Realmyst, and though the game itself is over I continue wandering around taking photos, waiting for the light to change and the day/night cycle.

 

Moonrise in Channelwood, Realmyst.

 

In this world, Selenitic, a number of sound puzzles must be solved.  Realmyst. 

 

Train Sim World continues to occupy a lot of my time.  So far I am driving trains on 35 different routes in several different countries.  I still have many routes I have not yet used. I add a new one about once per month.  Each route has 8-10 locomotives, each with their own timetable.  Even one route could keep me busy for a year.  I am now driving over 50 different types of locomotives.  Could I really drive them on real trains?  Yup, if I had the master key and reverser handle.  No problem!

 

Hauling freight in Montana.  American freight routes are the most challenging.

 

Hauling freight through the Austrian Alps.

 

Running a passenger service on the Ilse of Wight. 

 

We have played 80 Days twice now, winning one and losing one (each by a single day).  We will play a 3rd time soon, but not to win.  It's more fun just exploring and taking bizarre routes around the world.  This is a fun game, but if taken too seriously can lead to much frustration.  Just enjoy the journey!

 

 2 screenshots from 80 Days PC game. 

 

I'll be back soon with a 4-movie update: two Sherlock Holmes films and two silent pictures. 

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

The Odyssey

First, a summary of July weather.  It's been a pretty typical month of summer weather here in southwest Ontario.  Though we have had little rain there has been plenty of sunshine and warmth.  We managed to actually go outside and walk one time.  One morning it was cloudy and only 80 F (and humid, of course), so we took advantage of it and went for a short neighbourhood walk.  That's about our July average.  We had a total of nine days where the temperature hit 90 F or higher, and four days where it stopped at 88 or 89 F.  The coolest day saw the temp hit 75 F, while the hottest was 98, twice.  So, 13 days above 90 altogether since June 1st, and seven more at 88 or 89 F.  Like I said, about average, maybe a tad warmer.  Things sometimes cool down a bit in August.  One can always hope.  Places like Vienna, Austria, have been hotter than we are this summer, which is really really strange.  And I doubt this kind of weather will simply disappear next summer. In fact...

 

The paving project on our 4-lane road in front of the Homestead is now complete, and cars are once again zooming past, this time on brand new pavement.   We get our chance to try it out tomorrow, as Deb has some routine blood work to get through.

 

There are no new films to report.  Instead, we have been watching a 1968 8-part television series of The Odyssey.  We saw bits of this many many years ago on TVO (Ontario's public TV channel), but then lost track of it.  Well, it recently received a good update and is now available to all on Youtube.  Viewers have to play around a bit to get it translated, but we managed.  It was a Dino De Laurentiis production, thus big budget.  Filmed in Italy and Yugoslavia, it was aimed at a European audience.  Different directors helped out, including the gruesome cyclops episode by Mario Bava.  We have not seen the Nolan version, and aren't really that keen to do so.  Someday, no doubt.  But this one is top notch, and worth sitting through.  Costumes, sets, locations and acting are all quite fantastic, and the pace is measured when needed, and action packed when needed.  Probably the most faithful filming of the book.  Highly recommended!

 

All 8 episodes are on Youtube. 

 

We got through our first adventure in the PC game 80 Days.  The game is a cross between the old text adventures and more modern but economical 2D adventure games.  It is a delight to play.  We managed to get around the world in 79 days, winning the bet!  We are already on our second round, trying to take a totally different route.  The game has nearly endless possibilities.  I will play at least three times for now.  By coincidence I am currently reading a Jules Verne adventure story, The Children of Captain Grant.

 

We spent a night in Cairo on our way around the world. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Highway To Heaven and Three Films

The busy four lane road in front of our house is a decommissioned provincial highway, now a county road.  Every once in a while, when the old pavement is cracked beyond repair, they repave it.  Step one is to reduce traffic to one lane in each direction.  Then they rebuild the storm sewers.  Then they wait for the paving company to have some time to do it.  That takes a couple of weeks.  Finally comes stage three, when the old pavement is literally melted where it stands and taken away in dump trucks.  Stage four is the actual repaving, followed by painting the lines, then removing the traffic cones.  The whole thing took about a month.  Today we have new pavement in front of our house, up to about a mile further towards Windsor.

 

This vast and noisy machine heats and strip off the old pavement, which is then hauled away for reuse.

 

In front is the old pavement; left behind is the base of the road.

 

Dump trucks pour hot asphalt into a "Roadtec" conveyor system, which loads up the paving machine.

Two paving machines worked in tandem to cover both northbound lanes today.  A few days ago they did the southbound lanes.

Dump trucks full of hot asphalt are lined up down the road, waiting their turn.

 

The conveyor loads one of the machines with fresh tar.

 

Rolling machines flatten out the new pavement.  The road should fully open later today.
 

As you can see, the excitement never stops around the old Homestead.  Passing ships, birds at the feeder, grass growing--it's all here!

 

We have loaded a new (for us) PC game called 80 Days.  Fogg and Passpartout set out from London and have 80 days to encircle the globe (or maybe 81).  This is a simple 2D adventure game with a steampunk twist, and it is proving to be entertaining and challenging.  The game as designed has virtually limitless replay possibilities, as they are nearly endless ways of traveling, each with their own twist.  The following postcard shows us at our most recent destination.

 

It is currently Day 37 of our 80-day voyage, and we are in Madras.  We have a good supply of funds, but we still have a very long way to go.  Beating the game isn't really the main idea of playing, however.  It's fun to visit the places, talk to different people, and enjoy the hilarious side adventures.  At one point we were clobbered by a nun and taken hostage to their nunnery.  We have promised to assist them in a particular scheme of theirs in exchange for our freedom. 

 

We are playing on Steam, which carries reviews of the game by all of the previous players.  Here is one review (complete) that cinched it for us and got us to play.  "Spent 37 days dying in the North Pole because two gay lovers were sabotaging our vehicle because we weren't communists. 10/10"  With a review like that how can one go wrong?  This is a very promising game so far.

 

Turning to films, we have the usual mix of weird things we watch and enjoy.  Including Deb's films (ha ha).  I got to see the first complete (non-sound) version of her latest film.  It is visually stunning and spellbinding and original and should make quite a splash at selected film festivals.  She is now working on details and will soon be adding sound.  Deb's website is at upper left in my margin.  Here you can keep up with all her latest creations.

 

We watched an oldie directed by Robert Altman.  A Wedding from 1978 is not the usual film title that interests us.  Altman tackles a wedding between a rich American family's daughter and a mafioso's son.  It is lavish and expensive, and the film opens in the church.  Lots of people on the groom's side, and virtually no one on the bride's side.  Altman's comedy is sometimes subtle and sometimes not.  The old bishop is a family friend and has been called out of retirement to perform the ceremony.  There are some very funny scenes here.  The reception is at the mafia homestead, and a host of Altman's favourite actors are given recurring scenes, some funny and some not.  Carol Burnett gets a lead role, getting hustled by a huge man who wants her to be his own.  It is Carol's daughter who is getting married.  There is an eccentric aunt who is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her very large gift.  When it finally arrives she gathers everyone together for the unveiling of a portrait of the bride--a nude!  Geraldine Chaplin is the organizer of events.  Also starring Mia Farrow as the bride's nympho younger sister, Desi Arnaz, Jr, Vittorio Gassman and Lillian Gish.  Actually well worth watching.

 

Streaming now on Criterion. 

 

The Pervert's Guide To Ideology is a terrific documentary from 2013, narrated by the funny and zesty Slavoj Zizek.  He uses scenes from films to illustrate the use and misuse of the term ideology, showing what it is and what it isn't.  As he talks about a particular film and shows clips, he will insert himself into the location and continue his lecture as if he is on the actual movie set.  His accent is pretty thick and it can be tricky to understand him at times, but what he says is always worth listening to.  Also mixed in are news clips from demonstrations, riots and political propaganda events.  Directed by Sophie Fiennes, this is a must see film for philosophy students and film students, or people like us who are both.  Highly recommended, and worth more than one viewing.

 

Now streaming on Kino. 

 

Most recently we watched Saturday Fiction, a Chinese film directed by Lou Ye from 2019 that started out quite promising but then degenerated into a massive shoot-em-up, where virtually all the lead characters die.  The story takes place in Shanghai a week before Pearl Harbour is attacked, and continues up to the very day.  What we get is a spy story mixed in with preparing a political play for live performance.  The two mesh well up to a point, until the film just breaks itself apart with mindless violence.  Good acting, and the b & w film is beautifully photographed.  In the end, though, it was disappointing.  There is also an awful lot of cigarette smoking.  How many films have started out great and ended badly?  Too many to count.  Are you listening Wim Wenders?

 

Streaming on Criterion until midnight July 31st. 

 

Mapman Mike