August Doings

 August is a slightly strange month.  It's like July, but not quite the same.  Right now the sun is racing south towards Equinox, and then onward to Winter Solstice.  Nights are growing darker earlier.  The angle of the sun is now about the same as it was on April 23rd.  But what a difference.  I often wonder if Nature gets a bit sick of the seasons as they start to wind down.  Enough with the heat and humidity, already, it might say.  Let's get some cooler nights, and less intense sunlight during the day.  As a kid, August was the time of the dreaded back-to-school sales in stores, with TV ads hyping the coming end to holidays.  It was a last chance to do fun activities all over again, and then some, before returning to the classroom.  Of course teachers feel the same way as kids, so I had many extra years of August Angst.  A lifetime of it, in fact.  Not so much these days, with not even a single private student coming my way in September.

July was warm and wet, but not unduly warm.  We had 14 days when the temp reached 30 C or above, topping out (several times) at 33 C.  So not too bad.  The Homestead rain gauge received 8" of rain, which is adequate, but 5" of that came over one weekend.  Areas around us got much, much more.  It was enough to keep the mosquitoes extremely annoying this summer.  We are now into another hot and humid time period, with smoky skies added in from fires in north west Ontario, as well as B.C., California, et al.  We don't get the smoky smell, as the smoke is very high, but it messes up the skies, likely keeping our temperatures a bit lower than they should be.  It seemed a good summer to take a pass on astronomy.  Too many bugs, and the front of the car collects them by the thousands during a night drive.  Too wet, and too smoky, too.  Hopefully things will resume in September.

Last Thursday I had my fourth and final piano lesson in a series from Philip A.  He actually came out to the Homestead to teach me, and stayed for a great lunch prepared by master chef Deborah.  We have now managed to cover all of my upcoming recital repertoire.  In about two weeks or less I should be able to pin a date down for the commencement of recitals, one or two guests hearing it at a time.  I still have lots of details to work on, thanks to Philip's ultra keen ear, vast piano experience, and his manner of explaining exactly what needs to be done to improve the pieces.  So I have been motivated to practice for four weeks now, and this should continue until concert time.

In movie news, I have two picks to report on.  My regular choice for last week was L'Eclisse, the 3rd film in a loose trilogy by Antonioni.  It contains some brilliant work by Monica Vitti and Alain Delon, and some of the most alienating outdoor landscape scenes ever filmed.  Rome never looked more like a city from another planet.  I love the director's black and white work, and will continue to views these movies again and again.  There is one particular shot at the very end of the film that I especially like; a deserted street corner at night with a building, a tree, and a street light, that just seems to capture the essence of the entire film.

Now streaming on Criterion.  From 1962.

My going away August 31st selection was Fassbinder's English film, Despair, based on a novel by Nabokov.  I panicked when I first saw it on the list, since i still have a long way to go to see all the films by the director showing on Criterion.  I thought they were going to take them all off.  but so far, this is the only one, so I grabbed it first.  Dirk Bogarde puts on a slight German accent, playing the role of the CEO of a chocolate candy factory that is seeing its sales slumping in 1930 Berlin.  He takes out a life insurance policy, comes up with a silly plan to make it appear he has been murdered, and then have his wife collect the policy money and meet him in Switzerland.  The film is quite funny, obviously using many of Nabokov's lines, but overall is tragically so.  Fassbinder is not Antonioni, but I like his work.  This is one of his least difficult films to view, though it has avant garde theatrical moments galore.

Leaving Criterion August 31st. 

Mapman Mike

 

The Best Laid Plans

 When I began my indoor exercise program at the beginning of last June, I had high hopes that I would be hiking in NM in October or November.  Ha ha ha.  I stayed with the program, however, hoping I could visit the desert in Spring of 2021.  Ha ha.  Eight months later, it has become such a habit that I continue to exercise for no particular reason.  I am wonderfully fit, but staying at home.  How ironic, considering how many major hiking adventures we went on, despite being completely and totally unprepared physically.  Hiking next autumn in New Mexico?  Perhaps, though I do not have high hopes.  Nor even low hopes.

At first the vaccine announcements cheered everyone.  After all, the flu shots given each year to millions did not cause any supply/demand problems (until this past year, of course).  So no one was expecting major issues with the new vaccine for Covid 19.  Now that, at least for Canada, the vaccine seems further away than ever, a myth, if you like, the news has actually angered a lot of people.  Guess who they are angry with?  Not the company who stopped giving Canada the vaccine this week, but the government.  I guess the Prime Minister should have been making a lot of the stuff in his bathtub, or something, for just such an emergency.

Anyway, our hopes of getting the vaccine in time to enjoy a life outdoors again has slipped away.  We aren't getting our first dose, anyway, until we can be assured of getting the 2nd one within 21-28 days, so we will likely be near the very end of the line.  In the meantime, I had two outings this week.  Monday I went to Harrow for birdseed and cat litter.  Today I went out for groceries, to a store that was largely empty of shoppers.  How lucky!  Once I am back home with the loot, and I realize that I don't have to venture forth until next Tuesday (prescriptions), a very happy feeling comes over me.  Go away, world.  Don't come back until you are ready for us.

Last night the snow plows ran all night.  We awoke this morning expecting to see a lot of snow.  However, there was less than 1 cm on the ground.  Really?  Let's keep the entire highway residents awake all night, for absolutely nothing.  Even at breakfast the plows were still running up and down the highway with their plows down, on perfectly bare pavement!  Idiocy, as they must spend their allotted budget, unless they get less money next year.

In movie news, we have a winner, and a loser.  The winner (both were Deb's picks for the weekend) is called Tom Thumb (Le Petit Poucet), a fantasy from 2001.  Mixing and matching several fairy and folk tales, this is a dark, very scary movie that Criterion mistakenly put on its Saturday Matinee program for children.  Trust me, any children watching this film will need therapy afterwards.  The movie is mostly brilliant, though the music is disappointing, and no matter how fast those wolves run, they can never catch the five brothers.  Most people alive today know nothing of the real stories of the fairy tales, before they were made more palatable for children (for which, as a child once, I am eternally thankful).  This gloomy though highly entertaining feature reminded me a lot of Company of Wolves, another favourite film of mine, though this one is even darker and more violent.  The settings are absolutely beautiful, like some of the very best PC games I have played.  Highly recommended!

Now showing on the Criterion Channel.  Keep the children in a different room while watching. 

 

Next up was Le Cercle Rouge, a crime caper from 1970 directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, and starring (of course) Alain Delon.  The movie is spoiled by several head scratching leaps of (il) logic.  First we have a handcuffed criminal on board a night train (?) with a policeman escort, who escapes by picking the cuffs with a safety pin, then kicking out the window of the train (ever try to break a train window with your foot?  Then jump out that window as the train is speeding along?  Good luck!).  With police and (very slow) dogs in pursuit, he crosses a little creek about five feet across.  The dogs follow his trail to the creek, but then no one can figure out where he went, as his trail simply disappears.  Really (rolling of eyes)?  Then comes the heist, which is so complicated they would need months to prepare.  No problem.  They are ready in one or two nights.  The ending, which I will not divulge, is the worst of all, with two (or more) enormous leaps of silliness that defy description.  All one can do is shake one's head, and wonder what they were smoking in France in 1970.  Enough said.

 

                            Showing until January 31st on Criterion.  A seriously flawed movie.  

 

Following up on paintings from the last entry, today we get to see the other half of the set by Filippo Falciatore (active 1728-68).  Concert In A Garden (1750, oil on canvas, 30" x 40", unframed) appears at first to be the exact opposite of the Tarantelle image from last time.  People here are behaving in a more respectable fashion, as we get a posher clientele in this work.  However, music, nature, and love still seem to be at the centre of things.  Again, there is a feast of details to enjoy.  Similar to images by Lancret, Boucher, and Watteau, I marvel at the eccentric keyboard, and wonder how those strings manage to vibrate while turning a corner!

                        Concert In a Garden, Falciatore,  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts. 

 

                                           The central area in detail.  Love that keyboard player's outfit!

 

            Sweet nothings and secrets are being shared.  Why is that man staring at me?

                                                                Lower left corner detail.

 

                                                                    Upper centre, detail.

 

                                            Back right, detail, with strange wall and fountain. 

 Until next time....

 

Mapman Mike

 

Ides of October

It's grey, windy, and cool today, and our autumn leaf colour seems to be at or near its peak.  We were out yesterday for our haircuts, a prescription pick-up, a new phone plan for our cell phone, and groceries.  We have left Bell cellular service, and are trying something new.  We have data, texts, and phone for $25 a month right now, and might upgrade in a month or so.  A former student working in the tech department took care of us and steered into a very good deal.  Thanks, Mat!

 

In astronomy news, it's been grimly cloudy this week.  Deb came out with me Tuesday night, and we had some clear skies, but it was mostly a mess.  However, we managed to view Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and its moons, Mars, Neptune and its moon Triton, and Uranus, along with several deep sky objects.  The night wasn't a complete waste, but it had many frustrating moments. 

 

In reading news, I recently finished and reviewed my 500th book related to the Avon/Equinox series!  It happened to be the first book of a trilogy by Jack Williamson and Frederik Pohl, a very dark story but I quite enjoyed it.  Called The Reefs Of Space, it is the first in their Starchild series.  

 

In Meniere's news, things have not improved, and I am still having attacks every few days.  However, things are rolling.  I go back to see my specialist in three weeks, I have an MRI coming up (someday), and my own physician gave me a prescription to help ward off the vertigo.  I had my first chance to use it last night, and it seemed to work pretty well, even better than the Gravol I've been relying on up till now.

 

In movie news, we continue to watch all the films of the Brothers Quay that Criterion is showing.  The Comb seems to be another gem, rising high above many of the other films, though not approaching their two masterpieces (see earlier blog).  In addition to the stunning visuals of their films, the music is always at least as interesting.

 

 Two scenes from The Comb, by the Brothers Quay, now showing on the Criterion Channel. 

 

I have watched Part 13 of Berlin Alexanderplatz, and only have the 90 minute epilogue and about 7 hours of extras left to watch.  Rather a grim story, but it's nearly done.

 

Deb has had two movie picks recently.  The first was Purple Noon, from 1960, a Rene Clement take on the first Ripley novel by Highsmith, where he takes over the identity of an acquaintance and essentially steels his money, life, and girlfriend.  The film is faithful to the book right up until the end, when it substitutes a totally different ending, as movies are wont to do.  Alain Delon is quite good as the heartless and ruthless Ripley, who is out for himself and faces many challenges.  But it all seems just a bit lifeless to me.  There is great location photography, and some exciting sail boat scenes.

 

 Now showing on the Criterion Channel

Next she chose a 1941 George Cukor film starring Joan Crawford called A Woman's Face.  This is a melodrama in disguise, which begins as a crime film but switches halfway through.  Joan is scarred from a fire, and half her face is deformed.  She is currently a blackmailer, and sets out to trap a young wife who has been unfaithful to her doctor husband.  Lucky for Joan that doctor is a great surgeon, and he might be able to save her face.  Afterwards, having come under the evil influence of Conrad Veidt (who else), she is assigned as a governess to a small boy, who is the way of Conrad's inheritance.  All she has to do is kill the boy and they are home free.  Can she go through with it?  Or with her new and beautiful face, has her soul also been cleansed.  Enjoy the tense ride in a cart above a turbulent waterfalls to find out.  Hokey at times, the role is certainly different than any Ms. Crawford ever accepted, and it made her a star, her part having been refused by some big name actresses.

 

Now showing through October on Criterion.

 

I had sent out invitations to my upcoming recitals a while ago, but my Meniere's attacks are becoming so frequent and unpredictable that I have had to postpone them, at least until I see Dr. Ling, my specialist.  I've had no alcohol for weeks now, and have cut back on caffeine.  I had gotten used to the hearing loss, but suddenly this new phase has started up.  With our weather so unsettled lately, and the barometer bouncing up and down like a beachball, I wouldn't be surprised if that doesn't have a lot to do with it.  After all, with the pressure in my right ear totally messed, rapid and deep changes in air pressure could easily be causing my problems lately.  Signing off for now.  I am currently in the process of writing an astronomy article for our club's October newsletter.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

A Day In The County

Specifically, we went to Kingsville, billed as Canada's most southerly town.  Tuesday and Wednesday were both sunny days (but cloudy nights), but the wind was too strong to lure me outside much.  Some yard clean up continues, though nothing too strenuous.  Thursday was a lovely day, so we finally had an outing in Essex County.  It has been postponed since early September.  I have a beer passport (purchased for $25) that gets me a flight of samples from many breweries in the city and county.  Three of them are in Kingsville, so I managed to get one new stamp.

We ate lunch downtown there at a cafe with several vegan options.  We had soup, and split an order of gnocchi.  We had enough gnocchi to bring home for dinner.  Next we went down to the lake, where the town has a large, beautiful park right on the lake (Erie).  We walked around a bit, took some photos, enjoyed the beautiful weather and hazy sunshine, then headed back downtown for coffee (and beer).  The Banded Goose Brewery is also home to a coffee lounge, so we hit two geese with one stop.  Kingsville is the home to Jack Miner, which is now a bird sanctuary, so there is a lot of goose related stuff in town.

I had a four serving sampler.  It would normally have cost around $12, nearly half of my passport price.  But the flight was complimentary.  Their samples are 7 oz imperial, so there was a lot of ale to drink.  It took me awhile, but I managed.  I also left the premises with a very large can of one of their offerings I hadn't yet tried.  I'm saving it for Samhain.

 Two shots of Lake Erie, into the Sun, from Kingsville.

Different location.  Same lake, same Sun.

One of three craft taprooms in downtown Kingsville.  The Banded Goose is also a cafe, serving Chance coffee.

Looking out.  Another brewery taproom sits right across the street.  A new one is opening soon nearby.

Our table overlooks the brewing tanks.  French press coffee has arrived; the beer is on its way.

Two of my four samples:  the ginger beer, and the coffee one.

Tap list.  I had Kicka Ginger, Purple Haze, Brain Damage, and Cool Beanz.  I took home an enormous can of The Quaker Oatmeal Stout.  

We have a trip to Detroit planned next week, to visit a brand new brewery, as well as a viewing of the Day of the Dead exhibit at the DIA.  The excitement never stops around here.

Deb's movie pic this week was a 1968 cult movie called Girl On A Motorcycle.  Marianne Faithful isn't hard to look at when she was 22 years old.  Neither is Alain Delon at 33 years.  But there isn't much more to do than that when watching this film.  Marianne rides her motorcycle a lot, and we see her get up early, sneak off from her teacher/husband, and go to Heidelberg to meet her lover.  Since she has flashbacks on her journey from France to Germany, we often see her travelling there, over and over.  Some of the photography is quite lovely.  But then comes the inevitable psychedelic patterns over scenes of her riding, making love, and even skiing.  Though it is a drug-free movie (except for alcohol and tobacco), I'm guessing that the director expected lots of high audience members, so he tried to accommodate them.  Or something.  Well, anyway, Marianne sure is pretty, and Alain is really handsome.

One of many posters for the film.  Now showing on Criterion.  

And speaking of Criterion, this is film festival weekend!  My choice this time, and I have picked three Val Lewton b & w classics.  More later.

Mapman Mike