Our Weekly Snowstorm

Seems to be a thing on Fridays lately.  Though we are supposed to get around 5" of snow today, we've only had a little over 2" so far.  Not complaining, as it's been a relatively good winter.  Detroit (and we are not very far away) had its 7th warmest winter since records began.  What we have had, instead of cold temps and large snowfalls, is a lot of extreme wind.  But our house is gradually becoming more and more immune to such nonsense.  Two more windows to add next year, and we will be almost weatherproof for the coldest and windiest days.

Tonight (Friday) my piano professor, Philip Adamson, will complete his performance of all 32 Beethoven sonatas, a multi-year project that he began in March of 2016.  Shut down by Covid for 2 years, he is at last about to finish it up.  If our weather gets no worse we should be able to attend.  My own piano practice continues to go pretty well.  My memorization part is complete, though weak in several spots.  Another few weeks should do it.  In listening news, we are now into the late Beethoven piano sonatas, as we inch our way towards completion of that major listening project--everything Beethoven ever wrote.

Last Monday we celebrated the March full moon.  The opera for this month was Schumann's Faust, conducted by Benjamin Britten!  Some of those records we have are real treasures!  We enjoyed a nearly perfect wood fire, as we continue to burn off fallen wood from our property from many years ago.  We already have about a ten year supply, which will be added to greatly once Nathan the tree guy cleans up our yard from last month's ice storm.  On March 21st we will reduce the use of our furnace for day time heating, switching over to the wood pellet stove.  At night the furnace will still run on a low setting, and upon awakening we will heat the house to 68 F, then switch it off for the day.  Even though it's been a mild winter, it is costing us about $8 per day to heat the house, due to the high price of natural gas.  An $8 bag of pellets, by comparison, would last at least two days, and probably more.

On Wednesday we made our long delayed trip to Detroit.  Our main objective was to purchase a new US cell phone.  We already have a terrific US phone plan, and the phone works perfectly from our house, too.  Once away from the river there is no service, but we can see the cell tower across the river from our yard, so it works perfectly here for texting, phone calls, and data.  Anyway, we got a really good phone for $50 US, and were able to transfer our Detroit phone number to it without any hassle.  We pay $21 every three months for unlimited texts, calls, and some data.  The best part of the deal is that everything not used that month rolls over and accumulates.  So we have tons of data saved up from Covid days, and virtually unlimited text and calling.

We also managed to get to one of my favourite brewery taprooms in Detroit, which now shares space with our favourite bakery/cafe.  Jolly Pumpkin Brewery (photo below) has allowed Avalon Bakery to share its space.  The cafe closes at 3 pm.  We were able to share some beer, and then have coffee and cookies.  Talk about one stop shopping at its finest!!

Inside Jolly Pumpkin, facing the taps.  They now share their space with Avalon. 

 

In film news Deb has started work on her next film, a very short one (under a minute) about a small rock floating through space.  Yep; the main character in her next film is a rock.  Watch for it soon.  Tomorrow I will record part of a Schumann piano piece that she needs for it.

In film watching news, there are several to report.  My leaving March 31st choice from Criterion was the 1979 Nosferatu The Vampyre, directed by Herzog.  This might be the fourth time for us, but it has been a while.  Despite the trop ending, and the ridiculous look of the Count (harkening back to the silent version of the film), there are still some very fine moments in this film, especially the arrival at the castle, and the arrival of the Count's ship.  The ending is bothersome, because Lucy, who is the bravest person one could ever imagine, dies for nothing.  And the character of Van Helsing is totally useless, too, until the very end.  With some minor adjustments this could have been a definitive filming of the novel, but alas, it isn't.  Lots of very cute rats eating whatever it is they put down for them.

Showing on Criterion until March 31st. 

 

Deb's leaving choice was Q: The Winged Serpent, a horror film from 1982 about a dragon-like bird spreading death and panic in a very sunny and cheerful New York City.  Michael Moriarty gives the performance of his life as a demented small time crook who discovers the nest.  He steals virtually every scene he is in.  Also stars David Carradine as the detective trying to put a stop to the killings.  It's all a bit silly, but fun nonetheless.

 

Leaving Criterion March 31st. 

 

For her main choice, Deb picked four Buster Keaton shorts, each about 20-23 minutes long.  From 1920 came One Week and Neighbours.  Though both have incredible scenes and are quite funny, One Week is by far the better film.  A man and woman build a house from a kit in one week, though things don't go quite as the plans show.  The best part of neighbours has Buster trying to get across to his girlfriends house across the yard, in many ingenious ways.  The most incredible version of this is the piggyback method, where no less than three people are carried across the yard and into matching windows.  Keaton had a thing for window opening, and a version of his famous falling wall scene is in One Week.

From 1921 came Hard Luck, with its focus on suicide attempts, none of which are successful.  Like the old Looney Tunes cartoons, there were things done back in the day that could never be done today (and pass for humour).  Again, there are some very funny and original moments in the film.  From 1922 came The Electric House.  Through a diploma mix-up, Buster is chosen to install electricity and numerous gadgets to a large house (he really has a degree in Botany).  We have an escalator, a toy train that delivers food to the table from the kitchen, a dishwasher, a pool table, and many other ingenious things that make this film fun to watch.

All four (and dozens more) now showing on Criterion. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Marseilles Trilogy

Last weekend's film festival just finished up today!  Over 6 hours of movie viewing, plus about 2 1/2 more of extras.  Seeing the beautifully restored prints of this remarkable, witty and very moving film trilogy was a great way to end 2019 and begin 2010.  The writing is so good, and the story so human based, that watching it today is likely just as riveting as it was back in the 1930s.  The films took France by storm, and also did well in America.  The Criterion extras really filled in most of the gaps regarding production, and most were fun to watch.  Especially the ones with some of the actors.  There was also a lot of footage with Pagnol discussing his career.  We saw these films in Detroit more than 25 years ago.  They should be seen be everyone interested in film.  Pagnol wrote all three scripts,and co-directed the films with three different directors, including Alexander Korda on the first, and Yves Allegret on the second.  I liked those two films more than the third one, though it has it moments, too.  Minor characters enhance the films, and the outdoor photography, especially in #2 and #3, is totally amazing.  French actor Raimu as Cesar holds the whole thing together--the man is simply a fantastic actor in this role.  Many, many memorable scenes and lines.  Highly recommended!

 The first film in Pagnol's Marseilles trilogy. 

 The 2nd film.

 The concluding chapter. 

New Year's Eve was a quiet one for us.  A wood fire, music, and of course in bed well before midnight.  I did hear the fireworks from my pillow.

On Thursday we finally enjoyed an excursion to Detroit, the first in a very long time.  The weather was sunny, breezy, and very mild. We began at the DIA, focusing on a three-room exhibit about Detroit's Bruegel painting, "The Wedding Dance."  The painting is seen out of its frame, and is lit and restored so well as to literally take one's breath away when seen.  The exhibit is very detailed, and though some of the material was also present in Vienna, there we had no time to spend on what kind of brushes and paints the artist used.  Too many paintings to see.  But with an entire exhibit based around one painting, we could take our time and delve into Bruegel world.  The exhibit was packed, but like Vienna, there was no problem getting right up to the painting.  Very well done!

We ate lunch at a Mid-Town Middle Eastern restaurant.  Lentil soup, fresh baked pita bread, and baba ganoush was on the menu.  We left stuffed and happy.  We will be back to this attractive and delicious spot!  Next came a new chocolate store, where we splurged and purchased one tiny piece of vegan chocolate for $3, carefully wrapped in a tiny box.  After one tiny half bite each, it was gone.  However, it really was worth the price, and one piece would be enough for one person.  Then it was off to City Bird to replenish Deb's bath soap, and then on to Avalon Bakery for a box of their vegan cookies.

Next came a return visit to Brewery Faisan (Pheasant), my 2ns visit.  I hit the jackpot with two of the most incredible beers I have ever had the pleasure to sip.  Their Belgian inspired Tripel left me nearly speechless, as did the Paterwagen, or Robust Porter.  I came home with a 16 oz can of each.  I will return again and again and again.  Leaving the premises, we actually did spot one of Detroit's famous wild pheasants, after which the brewery is named!  No pink elephants, though.

Lastly came our coffee stop.  Out of literally a dozen spots we could have visited, we chose Anthology Coffee.  True artisans, these folk.  Our pour over was among the best we ever had.  Both ways at the border, in bound and outbound, we got right up to an agent within a minute, and were soon on our way.  That certainly makes the trip a lot more pleasant.  On every visit I am reminded of what a fantastic city sits just across the river from us.

I am currently working on writing my two essays for our January astronomy club newsletter.  Sometimes deadlines are good.  I will make it on time yet again.  To read any of these articles, visit our club website (RASC Windsor).  Just look under newsletter archives.  The newsletters are nicely put together by Steve M., and always contain some great member photography. 

Mapman Mike