Living in Amherstburg

We have lived just north of the central part of Amherstburg since about 1990.  It is a riverside community that has good parks and a National Historic Park/Fort (Malden) that was built and manned during the war of 1812.  The town also used to give ferry access to Boblo Island, a giant amusement park now an exclusive residential community instead.  Lately downtown has become a tourist magnet, offering pedestrian-only streets downtown during the summer with some type of festival at least every other week.  The downtown area is a fun place to spend a half day, with views of the river from well cared for parks, several decent restaurants and more cafes per square mile than Vienna.  There is a good bookstore, and my old fashioned barber shop is right downtown, staffed by two excellent female barbers.  The ice cream store draws people like moths to a flame.  There are three major grocery stores and a smaller one.  Our family doctor is there.  It is a safe town, currently policed by a branch of Windsor Police.  We could live in a worse community, to be sure.

 

However, the main reason we live in this area, being the most southwesterly community in Ontario, is the easy access to a big American city (Detroit) and all that it offers.  Amherstburg is not Detroit.  And though Detroit isn't London (UK) it seems to get closer to it every month.  Covid took a bite out of our Detroit visits, and then the 2024 elected President took an even bigger bite out of it.  Since Trump was elected we have not crossed the order.  We used to cross almost every single week.  Art museums, symphony concerts, restaurants, breweries, cafes, strolling downtown and admiring the fabulous architecture were all favourite pastimes.  All gone.  Even visits to our beloved New Mexico have come to a halt.  We are far from alone.  Enough Canadians disliked America even before Trump.  But now there is a strong movement not to visit.  This is so sad for me and Deb, since we don't have a lot of running around years left in us.  We can see Michigan every day from our house.  By the time Trump is out the door (could someone nearly as bad step into his shoes?) we will be getting on in years.

 

The good side to all this is that we are rediscovering overseas destinations.  Our recent visit to London, with a possible upcoming visit to either Vienna or Berlin, has come about largely because of the policies of the sitting president.  The only downside is how much I hate flying, even when the flight goes smoothly and is on time.  Why not visit Canada you might ask?  We explore our local area quite thoroughly, to be sure.  We even make it to Toronto once in a blue moon.  But Ottawa is untouched, and Montreal has been off the radar for decades now.  These days, more Canadians are touring Canada instead of you know where, so roads are busier, cities more crowded and attractions more expensive.  We would rather remain at home working on our various projects than put up with heavy tourist crowds.  Day tripping is more our style these days, with one coming up soon, if the heat goes away.  Here is a recent temperature forecast for our area next week.

 

Not pretty.  We will be staying home a lot next week.  Anything above 75 F is too hot for us. 

 

Extreme heatwaves with high humidity are familiar to us here.  Back in our teaching days our school only had air conditioning in the central area, but none in the classrooms.  When June and September were brutally hot everyone suffered and little to no education took place.  We usually hibernate in the depth of winter these days, but also in the height of summer.  We are happy and very busy folk here at the Homestead.  But we would really like to get back to Detroit.

 

We've been gaming a lot lately, mostly PC games but every Sunday we play board games.  Today was the Traders and Builders expansion of Carcassonne, one of many fun add-ons to the main game.  With 24 extra tiles it makes the game significantly larger and longer.  Next Sunday we will try for a MECCG session (Middle Earth Collectible Card Game).  In PC gaming news we are finishing up the original 3-chapter game called Agon: The Mysterious Codex.  I continue to run Train Sim World, a different route each day.  

 

And I have restarted the original Tomb Raider games, with new and remastered versions of the first six games now out and quite inexpensive.  I have completed the training program for TR 1 though my skills are still weak.  I am currently in Level 1, exploring my way through the Andes in search of Inca secrets and treasures.  I finished part 1 with no difficulty and so far am mostly surviving part 2.  These are huge games with lots of shooting and killing, but in a weird way it's also fun to just explore after the dangers have been eliminated.  My weakness is swimming and also sudden attacks.  I tend to panic in both situations.  I am going to share a few images comparing the old original version of TR 1 with the new remake.  While the photos here are too small to really show up the differences, while playing it is like night and day.

 

Screenshot from the original 1996 version.  Note the pixels; they are everywhere.

 

The 2024 remake.  Lara moves much more smoothly, the lighting is superior and the game looks gorgeous.

  

1996. 

 

2024.

  

1996.

 

2024. 

 

In film news there is one to report.  Trade Winds is from 1938, a comedy murder mystery directed by Tay Garnett.  Frederic March is a womanizing detective sent to track murderess Joan Bennett as she flees San Francisco for various Asian ports.  Ralph Bellamy plays a rare comedy angle as a bumbling cop sent to keep an eye on March.  Bennett looks cute as a button and there is enough witty dialogue and exotic (backdrop) locations to keep viewer amused for the short running time.  So many old films worth watching that we have never heard of, this being one.

 

Leaving Criterion June 30th. 

 

I may report during the heatwave, or I may just sit in one spot in front of a fan until it is over.  Until then, I will publish my monthly book reviews very soon.

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 


 

 

Movie Catch Up

There are three recent films we watched, all of them on Criterion.  For now we gave up our MUBI subscription since we are so far behind on Criterion films.  It truly is the very best channel in the world today for lovers of film. It's the kind of channel that even in one's wildest dreams could never have been conceived not so many years ago.  And yet here it is, with the world's finest films (and some lousy ones, too), for less than $150.00 Can. per year.  Wow!

 

Most recently we watched another Martin Scorcese rescue called Kamatty (Bogeyman).  It is from India in 1979 and was directed by G. Aravindan.  It is a low budget children's fantasy film from the very south of India.  The film is quite slow moving and at times quite hypnotic.  Chanting is used throughout the film, with landscape photography enhancing the timeless effect.  It seems that the film could be taking place almost anytime, except for a few later touches of more modern times.  When Kummatty arrives in a village the children are immediately attracted to him, following him on his local travels and singing and dancing along with him.  Kummatty carries bells which he jingles while he sings and dances, but he also carries several folk art animal masks.  Once the children know him and are used to him they wish to see him do some magic.  The children put on the masks and are briefly turned into various animals.  They frolic or panic according to their nature, but are soon turned back into themselves again.  However, one boy, who was turned into a cute little dog, gets chased from the scene by another dog and misses his chance to be a boy again.  The film is quite charming, with a happy ending for all, even a caged parrot that we have felt very sorry for during the film.  I don't think kids today would enjoy the film, as it is very slow moving.  It isn't a long film, though, and is definitely worth a sit through.

 

Restored by the World Cinema Project's Film Foundation, the film is 

showing on Criterion.  As usual, Scorcese gives a short intro to the film, 

and there is a 'making of' short to go along with the package.  

 

Before that came an epic film once again rediscovered and restored by Martin Scorcese and his World Cinema Project.  The Fall Of Otrar is an historical film from Kazakhstan released in 1991.  It tells the story of how Genghis Khan was able to conquer a highly fortified and strongly defended Moslem city on the steppes of Central Asia.  There is much brutality, some of it over the top, as the story is told in often breath-stopping detail.  Essentially, a scout from Otrar is sent out to investigate Genghis, and returns seven years later with some grim news.  Though he lays out before his leader exactly how the attacks will come, and who within the walls of the city is aiding the conqueror, he is not believed and is tortured for lying.  Alas, what was foretold comes to be and the great city is left abandoned and in ruins.  Based on historical documents this is like the Kazakhstan version of Russia's Alexander Nevsky.  Otrar is even more captivating with its stronger use realism and remarkable use of sepia for much of the film, with sudden leaps into full colour, usually at night in a scene by firelight.  A major film and well worth seeking out.  Introduced by Scorcese there is also an excellent 'making of' film.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Four Nights of a Dreamer is a Robert Bresson film from 1971.  Adapted from Dostoevsky's "White Nights", the film is about a young man who prevents a young girl's suicide on a bridge at night.  They meet again the next night and become friends.  On successive nights they each tell their life story, and we learn why she was about to jump.  They become better friends and then lovers.  The story is very cynical but well worth watching.  Hailed by Criterion as Bresson's great forgotten masterpiece, this restored version is engrossing and much better than many French films from the time.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

In local news, we both had phone call check ups with our physician, Dr. Alex Shen.  Deb needs some more vitamin D, but other than that we seem to be doing well if recent blood work is any indication.  We are just awaiting Deb's latest iron test results to be certain that she is still on a steady course.  We are both exercising daily, eating better than ever and getting enough sleep.  Other than our recent jaunt to London our alcohol consumption is low.  So all seems well....

 

I enjoyed one clear night recently, the first and likely only one of the June session.  It was a late night as I can only begin observing at 10:45 pm.  But I made it to bed by 3:35 am.  Summer Solstice is just around the corner (Sunday morning for us).  No definite plans have been made, though we might do a day excursion out to some small towns nearby, and to Lake Erie.

 

In piano news it has now been about six months on the new pieces.  Progress was stalled by just over three weeks of travels recently, but I am trying to continue memorization of most of my pieces.  Now that daily practice has resumed I hope to have pieces memorized by sometime in August. 

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

Return To Zork: A Review

There are six Zork games for PC worth knowing.  Three of them are text adventures, followed by three more standard adventure games for PC.  The text adventures are hilarious though all but impossible to get very far into.  They are ridiculously difficult, mostly due to quirky inventories and how they are used. First released in 1977, Zork 1 became the father figure for most adventure games that followed.  Return to Zork, the game under discussion here, was released by Activision in 1993, in the same month that Myst was released.  Two more different games could not be imagined.  Though I love both of them, at least Myst was playable without having an IQ of 160 and a completely warped sense of what to do next in a game.  When I originally played RTZ (March 2000) I found the game impossible to get very far without hints and a newly available walk through guide, and never managed to finish it.  People would congregate on forums trading ideas as to how to progress.  Hardly anyone ever finished the game back then, and I daresay no one ever did without the solutions in front of them.

 

So this review is really of a 2026 walk through, which took us about 5 hours.  Without a walk through in hand frustration will quickly erase any humourous moments the game provides.  And it provides plenty of humour.   The game follows the lead of the text adventures in its absurdity and unabashed use of very confusing mazes.  Yes, there are several mazes and none of them are the least bit fun.  While the humour helps support the game (in walk through mode), the graphics are a complete let down.  After playing Myst and trying this game, I was hugely disappointed back in the day to see what had been done with Zork.  I might have preferred the text games at the time.

 

The game opens at the white house as the man that lives there goes out to check for mail.  Soon he, and we, are sucked into the land of Zork, and our adventure begins on a hilltop overlooking a wide valley with a road leading down towards adventure land.   It all seems so exciting and fun.

 

We arrive in Zork, greeted by a buzzard and then a wizard.  We will soon descend the road into chaos.

   

Somewhere near the beginning this place is encountered.

 

Things I really like about the game are the different characters one encounters, including a cow that eats carrots and will only give milk if your hands are warm enough.  We meet a wood fairy, a bowman, a mayor, a blacksmith, a guy with a boat to take us across to the witch, a schoolteacher, some dwarves, a drunkard who wants to share his rye, a lighthouse keeper, a comedy club manager and a waif.  Now we come to a few of the puzzles.  How about trying to figure out that one must capture several rats to power an outboard motor on a boat?  Or lighting hay on fire in a barn, after feeding carrots to a cow, so you can warm your hands and milk her using a thermos?  How about burning a bra in an incinerator to retrieve a wire in which to pick a lock?  These all very funny, but damned near impossible to figure out.

 

Be prepared to die often, get robbed, and even get turned into a bog rat a few times by a witch who needs to be appeased.  You can be killed by grues at the hotel and booed out of the comedy club (that hurts).  And don't get me started on the bat guano, or the duck Canuk, or the joke book method.  Turning to the game's music for a moment, much of it is midi fun time.  I especially liked the Fools Monument theme.  However, if stuck on a puzzle, the music anywhere can be extremely annoying.

 

Don't expect to go this game alone.  Come prepared with a very good hint system, which will get you places, though not all places, and a walk through guide.  Even with both it still took us five hours to get  through the game.  Expect to spent eternity without help.  The game ran fine on Steam though the graphics are very pixelated.  Funny and enjoyable with help.  Frustrating and maddening without. 

 

East or West Shanbar, the only towns in the game.  You will meet some fun people there.

 

The witch's cave.  Do her a favour and she will do one for you.

 

You are live at Chuckles Comedy Club.  Bring your joke book and tape recorder when you meet people in the game.

 

Looks like we are at the lighthouse.

Up top at the lighthouse, if you get that far.

 

The famous control dam #3.

  

This is one of the most difficult puzzles in the game, lowering the bad bridge and raising the good one.

 

Outside the evil wizard's palace. 

 

There is also one movie to report, another World Cinema Project film, again introduced by Martin Scorcese.  Yam daabo (The Choice) is a film from Burkina Faso and directed by Idrissa Ouedraogo.  When was the last time you watched a film from Burkina Faso?  If like me, then likely never.  Do you even know where Burkina Faso is?  I didn't (but I do now).  Before watching this incredible film I knew nothing about this country.  But I think I know something about it now.  It is a simple story using mostly non-professional actors and limited dialogue.  The opening scene and final scene are nearly identical:  a village of desperate looking people await the coming of a regular food truck.  After the opening scene we watch as a family breaks away from the group and sets out on their own to try and seek a place where they can grow their own food and raise a family.  The story follows the family into the wilderness until they finally reach a river.  They begin to prepare the land for crops and to build huts in which to dwell.  A side story about a jealous bad guy isn't really needed to hold our interest, as the family itself is fascinating to watch, both through tragedy (the youngest boy is killed by a car en route to their paradise) and triumph (their crops grow and a son is born to the daughter of the patriarch).  The film is rich in human endeavour and hardship, and not even the bleak and mostly flat  landscape can keep us from hoping for their success.  A recommended film now showing on Criterion, along with a whole host of other treasured films from the World Cinema Project.  As usual, there is a short but very good documentary about the making of the film.

 

Now showing on Criterion.

 

 

Walking with Orthotics

Deb got new orthotics a few weeks back, at the same time I got my very first pair.  It's been making a difference, especially on longer walks.  While my legs still get tired, my feet remain comfortable and painless afterwards.  We both have indoor shoes that we wear with the orthotics, switching to our outdoor pair when needed.  They are easy to switch around.  No other insoles are needed, including the ones that come with the shoes.  Anyway, we've been putting in the miles lately, despite the warming temps.  Deb hasn't walked this much in a long time and while her breathing isn't yet at optimum levels, she is managing a 19 minute mile when it's flat.  So we can gobble up six miles in two hours, plus breaks.  If it's flat.  Here are a few pics from recent walks.

  

Due to recent rains the Canard River is flooding.  It's usually a quiet woodland stream.  

 

Canard River from a bridge along the rail trail path. 

 

 

A lot of trees were flowering today. 

A lady swan was sitting on her eggs today at the edge of a small island on our lagoon walk.  Deb spotted a tiny painted turtle, newly hatched, slowly dying on the path and in danger of being stepped upon.  We were able to place him in the water, where he seemed to revive quickly. 

 

As there were no suitable nights for astronomy (the fifth month in a row), my piano pieces are charging ahead.  About half of the program is memorized more or less, but there is still a considerable amount of work to do.  It is unlikely that the Chopin Nocturne will be ready, but I'll keep working on it for the next next recital (that is two recitals from now, not a typo).

 

In movie news there are two to report, one of them a feature film and the other a documentary about the picture.  Chess of the Wind is an Iranian film from 1976 which was virtually ignored when it came out, then banned in 1979.  All of the prints and negatives were reported to have been destroyed.  The documentary tells how the a copy of the negative was found, and how the film was restored to its original condition.  Directed by Mohammad Reza Aslani, he had given up on ever hoping to see the film again.  It had brought him so much grief that he had mixed feelings when it was rediscovered many years later.  With his help the restoration can be considered a very authentic one.  It is an edgy tale of murder set within an aristocrat's house in Tehran.  The use of colour is a wonder to behold, and the story will keep viewers off balance throughout.  
Recommended viewing.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

The Majnoun of the Wind is a 2022 documentary by the director's daughter Gita Aslani Shahrestani, and is almost as good as the film.  There is a great section where the director of Chess (her father) takes us on a tour of the now abandoned house, reviewing scenes from the film where they were shot.  While the feature film stands on its own, having this documentary is a great addition for interested viewers.  Criterion also has a short intro by Martin Scorcese, whose World Cinema Project financed the restoration.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Outdoor Walking Returns

It's been a very strange Spring, with temps varying from highs of 39 F to 72 F.  We've had rain, snow, and winds.  Astronomy has been a total bust, with the one usable night far too cold to venture out.  The temps have finally settled down,  so we are finally getting outdoors.  We walked rails to trails segments yesterday and today (Thursday), and hope to continue on until it gets too hot.  Deb isn't walking fast, but she is walking.  She has a big medical appointment in two weeks, and we should know then if she is fit to travel.

Our last snowfall was in March, and it melted quickly.  This is our backyard from the back window.  In the foreground is our white lilac bush.

 

Two pics from our walk today.  To our surprise a small batch of bloodroot was blooming.  We usually don't see wildflowers till very late April.

 

The trail passes over a very large marsh, which was alive today with birdsong. 

 

In movie news there are three to report.  Have you seen a good documentary lately about moths?  We have.  Nocturnes is a 2024 film from India directed by Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan.  It follows the night research exploits of a young female scientist who is trying to determine how climate change is affecting moths.  She collects them on a plastic sheet, attracting them with bright lights.  When they land and spread their wings they are photographed (the sheet has a grid pattern) and measured.  An overwhelming number of moths are viewed, so she has to limit herself to studying only hawk moths.  The research was conducted at different altitudes in the rain forest mountains of northern India near the border with Bhutan.  The photography, both of moths and of landscape, are absolutely riveting and spellbinding.  A must see film for nature lovers and for people who like sit within nature and simply watch what happens.

 

Showing on Criterion. 

 

Next came two black and white classic Hollywood films, both leaving Criterion this month.  Barbary Coast is from 1935, and purports to tell the tale of San Francisco in the early days of the gold rush era.  It stars Edward G Robinson as the brutal owner of the main restaurant, saloon and casino.  He owns the town and lets everyone know it.  Miriam Hopkins is the first "white" woman to arrive in town (there are Mexicans), and she causes quite a stir.  Her fiancee was murdered so she is taken in by Robinson and set to work as hostess on his crooked roulette wheel.  She meets innocent gold hunter Joel McCrea and they hit it off.  Robinson goes insanely jealous.  A fun film to watch, with lots of mud, fog and rain.

 

Leaving Criterion April 30th. 

 

Lastly came a Fritz Lang film we had never seen.  It's called The Blue Gardenia and it's from 1953.  It's a murder mystery film with not very much new to say to fans of the genre.  Anne Baxter is dumped by her soldier boyfriend who is over in Korea, and she gets mixed up with Raymond Burr, a lecherous artist.  She gets so drunk that she passes out.  He is murdered.  Did the sweet girl do it?  Since we are told nothing at all until the very end, of course she did it.  But of course she didn't.  Not a great example of noir film, it was written by Vera Caspary, perhaps better known for Laura.  It is good enough to watch, though.

  

Leaving Criterion April 30th. 

 

We have started to replay a very old PC game called Zork Nemesis, from all the way back to 1996.  We had some problems getting it to run on Steam, but it seems to be mostly working now.  This was always one of my favourite games, a a very dark cousin to the much lighter Zork games.  It was the first game I played that offered a 360 degree field of view, which is what caused the Steam problem at first.   Luckily there are always geeks out there who figure out what to do when things go wrong.  Hopefully we can continue to play trouble free, though the cursor and sound sometimes give trouble.

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 
 

Nordic Noir

We had a quiet indoor birthday party for Deb on Monday.  As usual for her big day it was very cold outside, with winds gusting to 40 mph.  We enjoyed an all-day indoor party with food and movies on the agenda, along with some fine ale, whiskey and Scotch.  The movies were four b & w crime films, two from Denmark and two from Sweden.  First up was Death Is A Caress, from 1949.  For the most part it was a pretty standard plot.  A young mechanic is engaged to a bright and sweet young woman one moment, then is in love with an older married woman (not very attractive) in the next.  She gets a divorce, they get married, they quarrel often and he eventually strangles her (good riddance to her, too).  Yawn.  Not really a noir film at all.

 

Death Is A Caress.  Showing on Criterion. 

 

Next came the best of the four!  Girl With Hyacinths is from 1950.  It is extremely well written, well presented, and quite fascinating to watch.  Eva Henning is the lovely starlet at the center of the picture, portraying a lonely woman hiding a secret.  It begins with her suicide, hanging from a hook in the living room.  The neighbours find her.  She has left her belongings to them, even though they did not know one another well at all.  She was more than once in love but now can no longer commit to anyone.  Her story is told in flashbacks, as the neighbours try to piece together what happened to cause her suicide.  Eva's soldier husband, jealous at a letter she receives from "Alex" in Paris, divorces her.  Strike one for her.  She takes up with an artist, who does a haunting portrait of her.  Though she loves him he feels that she is constraining his artistic powers and sends her on her way.  Strike two for her.  Lots of night scenes here, and jazz clubs.  We finally get to meet Alex near the end of the film, and as Eva's eyes are now more open than when she fell in love as a schoolgirl, she is crushed to see what Alex had become, essentially a Nazi collaborator.  Strike three; she can handle no more disappointment.  Highly recommended.  It was worth slogging through the other 3 films to find this one.

 

Girl With Hyacinths, a must see film showing on Criterion.

 

Two Minutes Late is from 1952, about a man accused of murder.  We don't really know for awhile if he did it or not, but by the time he has been cleared, the phone call telling him that happy fact comes two minutes late; he has just murdered his insanely jealous wife.  This film is way too long and could be much improved by judicious editing.  The story and characters are interesting enough, but the pace is so slow.  A bookstore and a clock store feature in the film, and a purse left behind at one of them.  Who murdered the girl found dead in the back of the bookshop?  Watch and find out, or pay me to tell you.

 

Two Minutes Late, showing now on Criterion. 

 

Finally comes Hidden In The Fog from 1953, again starring Eva Henning in the title roll.  At the beginning she shoots her husband several times and he collapses onto the floor.  She goes on the run.  The first part of this film is quite good, but the second half is a bit of a letdown.  Once the police find her she admits to shooting her husband.  However, in an Agatha Christie twist, he was already dead from arsenic poisoning before she shot him.  No charges are brought against her.  The second part is total Agatha Christie.  The detective in charge claims to know who dunnit, and all the suspects are brought together for the final denouement.  As expected, the guilty one (somehow) turns out all the lights in the room and runs through a glass siding door (ouch), before being apprehended by waiting police outside.  To tell you the truth I've already forgotten who the murderer was.  Some guy.  An okay film, but a bit of a deflated second half.

 

Hidden In the Fog is showing on Criterion. 

 

In foot news I was able to do 15 minutes on the treadmill today, pain free.  I had been walking regularly on it before my surgery, but it always hurt.  The pain seems to be gone, though the toe is still sensitive.  I see the doctor tomorrow.  Hopefully the news will be good.  I felt so happy about my foot that we have been searching flights and trains to various locations, all non-USA destinations.  How sad to live one mile from a once favourite country and not wish to visit.  Times are strange and getting even stranger.

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January Rules the World

The hit count for this blog is currently at 147,059 since its inception on Dec. 20th 2017!  Keep those hits coming and I'll keep writing.  Views come in from virtually every country on the planet.  Now back to our regular programming.

 

January has taken over the Homestead and surrounding area.  It's very cold with worse to come, there is snow on the ground and the boiler is working hard to keep us happy.  We have entered the coldest part of January not only statistically but actually.  This happens from time to time and must be endured, but as we have already had many January days in December it's all getting to be a bit much.  We should have about three weeks of true winter left, but since weather is no longer predictable, this could go on till June.  We shall see.

 

My foot is healing up well.  I will see the doctor in three days to get an official medical opinion, but I am optimistic.  It still hurts to put shoes on, so I am unable to resume walking.  The toe is likely still swollen.  

 

My new piano pieces have now had ten hours of work put into them.  In other words, I am still nowhere.  I will give a more detailed report after the first month.  Deb is inching along on her newest short film, and is ready to commission her composer from Mexico City.  So we both have plenty to keep us busy.  We recently finished playing "Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles," a PC game from 2010.  It is packed with puzzles, many of them quite easy while others are nearly impossible to solve unless one randomly hits upon the solution.  It was actually quite fun to play, even though its relationship to Doyle's book is pretty sketchy.  Graphics were quite well done, as well as the story.

 

 

2 screenshots from the Holmes PC game. 

 

We have begun a replay of Myst III, having recently undertaken the most updated versions of Myst and Riven.  This one badly needs an update.  From 2001 we are now playing the game on Steam rather than loading 4 CDs and having to keep switching them.  At the time, this game was rendered in 640 x 480 graphics!  Hard to believe, as I still think of it as a modern game.

 

2 screenshots from Myst III. 

 

There are two movies to report, and a 9-part SF series.  First the series.  Dark Matter is from 2024 and based on a novel by Blake Crouch.  It stars Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly.  It has an interesting premise that eventually collapses in upon itself, and the series and its many tropes had us cursing the production several times.  Overall it is watchable, especially the episodes where they are traveling within The Box, a room that allows access to different realities, though closely related to the existing one.  It's fun seeing Chicago buried in snow, burnt to a crisp, covered in sand dunes, and looking very sleek and modern in a far future version of itself.  There are many loopholes in the story, and the ending, which we both liked, sure left a heck of a mess behind in present day Chicago.  Recommended, though not highly.

 

Showing on Apple TV. 

 

Two Chinese films round out this portion of today's blog.  It was inevitable that we would watch Chinese Ghost Story 3 from 1991.  Pretty much the same cast returns for pretty much the same story, along with similar scenes of utter grossness, and the familiar farcical humour.  I still recommend the first in the series.

 

Leaving Criterion this month. 

 

Wong Kar Wai has long led in the category of Chinese art film, and his 2004 film 2046 keeps that tradition alive, if not all well.  I found the film overlong and actually on the boring side, despite all the fine photography.  Billed as a romantic drama, that it is.  A man (played by Tony Leung) has many affairs with beautiful women but will not commit to any of them.  Not even the beautiful Gong Li, who comes to love him madly and deeply.  We eventually learn why he is like he is.  There was a woman for him, but she left and seems to have disappeared.  My question is this: can't a person change?  Not this guy, apparently.  The movie is stylish and great to look at, and despite the SF glimmer to the plot the number 2046 refers to a rooming house number, one which he can't seem to leave.  Watchable though not a truly great film (like so many other art films.....).

 

Showing on Criterion. 

 

Coming next: A winter birthday celebration and a 4-film festival of early Nordic noir cinema.  With the weather expected to worsen, the next post should come fairly soon.

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Doctors and More Movies

In weather news, it's way too cold, December or not.  Today's high was a sunny 24 F.  Of course we had to drive all over the place, too.  And there is still a lot of road construction, which should have ended a month ago.  Tonight's full moon is called The Cold Moon.  No kidding.

 

First stop today was Deb's rheumatologist.  Deb has been having some significant side effects to her new RA meds.  So she is now off that one and we are on to a biologic drug, which will have to be self-injected every two weeks.  After that we went to see her heart specialist, following up on some tests from a few weeks ago.  All clear on the heart front.  Deb is now free of medical appointments for almost three weeks, when she gets an ultra-sound to see if any more kidney stones are in the works.

 

After the two medical appointments we went to Best Buy.  Our brand new computer has been in for repair almost since the day we bought it back in early October.  Today they gave us a brand new one, since the previous one could not be repaired (?).  We will get it going over the weekend.

 

In an update to my foot problem, which has kept me from walking since last June, things are on the upswing.  I had another radioactive test to determine if I had any kind of bone infection.  As I have heard nothing from my GP, I will assume there is no infection.  On Wednesday I went to a foot care nurse in A'burg who managed to free me from a painful ingrowing toenail.  She seemed to think that the impact from last June jammed my toenail back into my foot.  She took care of that in about 20 minutes and I am already feeling much better.  We'll see how the treadmill walking goes tomorrow, but I am feeling confident that things are finally on the mend.  On Monday I will see my new GP.  Dr. Shen is Deb's physician and he has agreed to take me on as a patient since my doctor moved much farther away from me.  Medical news now complete.

 

In movie news there are four to report.  First come two films from one of my DVD classic films pack.  Giants of Rome is from 1964, a sword and sandal film set in the Punic wars.  Four hand picked soldiers (and a young kid stowaway) are tasked with taking out an enemy secret weapon (a giant fire throwing catapult), leading up to the famous Battle of Alesia.  Julius Caesar is under great pressure to win this one for Rome, and that pressure is transferred to the four warriors.  This is a pretty good adventure film, as the four are captured and imprisoned, break out and are then pursued by the enemy.  The climatic scene sees the weapon destroyed and Caesar marches on to victory.  Mixing actual history with fiction works pretty well in this case.

 

From my classic 50 DVD collection "Warriors." 

 

From the same collection, and also a pretty decent film for its day, comes Herod The Great, from 1959.  Herod was a cruel leader unloved by his people, and when he joins forces against Rome with Anthony and Cleopatra, his doom appears to be sealed.  But he sets out to meet his conqueror, Augustus, to convince him that he, Herod, is a valuable man to keep Rome's interests at heart back in his kingdom.  He is allowed to live and serve Rome.  Here on in it becomes a film more related to Othello, as his best friend is tortured for being unfaithful,and his wife is stoned to death.  All this happens as a famous "star" appears in the heavens, and news of the birth of a new king of Judea is announced.  Realizing that he has erred, Herod dies.  Not a great film ,but it does have its moments, and Edmund Purdom as Herod is quite good in the role.

 

From my classic 50 DVD collection "Warriors." 

 

We got to see one more Johnnie To film before they left Criterion.  Throw Down is from 2004 and is the director's hommage to Kurosawa, a director whom he reveres.  Watching a Chinese film about Judo (a Japanese martial art) can be a bit disconcerting, but this is a really fun film to watch.  Filled with humour, some incredible Judo matches (I studied Judo for a year before giving it up for Karate), it is a film without gun play, though there is plenty of action.  The three main characters consist of a young Judo expert who wishes to fight against one of the greats, though that person has fallen into gambling and alcohol addiction.  The third character is a young female singer trying hard to make it in Hong Kong.  The three characters are totally different, but they somehow bond.  There are several scenes which can be called classic ones, including the opening scene when the young girl is getting thrown out of her apartment for not paying rent; the all out Judo fight in the bar; and the scene near the end involving a red balloon.  Pretty much a terrific film, and recommended.

 

 

Throw Down, a Johnnie To film that left Criterion Nov. 30th. 

 

Lastly comes a restored version of a 1988 film from Turkey.  From the Mubi website:

 

Eleven-year-old Yekta lives in a crumbling island mansion with her strict aunts and ailing grandfather, yearning for her absent mother. As dreams and surreal visions shape her solitude, she sets out in search of a mythical seagull with a child’s head.

A cult hit in Turkey, Reha Erdem’s poetic and surreal first feature was impressively shot on an ultra-low budget yet is entirely virtuosic. Loosely based on an Istanbul myth, and shot on black and white film, with Oh, Moon! Erdem proved both his resourcefulness and his lucid cinematic vision.

 

This is a spellbinding b & w film that relates images of angels with only heads and wings, often seen in Baroque paintings, to a young girl's search for her long dead mother.  Offbeat does not begin to tell the tale here.  There are four main characters, which include the girl, her two aunts, and an older young man who for a time befriends the girl.  He is also a photographer searching for "the bird with wings and a baby's head."  A fifth character is an old man, the caretaker at an abandoned monastery, who witnesses the final ascension of the girl on the hilltop where the monastery sits.  Largely set in a crumbling and lonely mansion, the film borders on surreal at times, and at others gives unsettling views of loneliness and disconnectedness.  With its startling ending, almost echoing Picnic at Hanging Rock, this is a must film for those that love unusual but highly watchable classic films.

 

Oh Moon is currently showing on Mubi. 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Piano Pieces Six Months In

We had a really great Sawhain party last night here at the Homestead, with two attending.  Good food, some music, a wood fire.  Can't be beat.  Then came the new Celtic year Tarot readings.  We have our new year cards, as well as selections for each cross quarter.  Readings are usually based on awareness, what might be possible to strive for, as well as guidance toward any goals selected.  I'll publish my year card shortly, but it is a Grail card and I am quite pleased with it, and it will remind me to keep to the true path again this year. 

 

We took our annual pilgrimage to a cemetery this afternoon.  We started out at a new cafe for us in beautiful downtown Harrow, a small farming town several miles southeast of the Homestead.  From there we moved on to Colchester, pretty much the most southerly mainland community in Canada.  There is a small cemetery there atop a bluff overlooking Lake Erie, and they have some pretty old tombstones, as well as plenty of trees and a very lovely small chapel.  Here are some recent pics, including some from today's walk.

 

 Mural on a cafe wall, downtown Amherstburg, from the previous Sunday.  Deb orders some caffeine. The sun glass images refer to an amusement park that once dominated the summer scene in Amherstburg, but is now long gone and replaced by.... an exclusive housing project.

  King's Navy Yard Park, downtown Amherstburg, facing the Detroit River as it opens into Lake Erie.

Navy Yard Park.  All three above images were taken last weekend. 

 Colchester Beach and Harbour, overlooking Lake Erie today. 

 A lonely looking Colchester Beach.

 

 A pair of birch trees in full autumn splendour. 

 

 

 Umbrella in hand, Deb walks towards a bench overlooking the lake. 

 

 Lake Erie with small light to guide boats into the harbour. 

 

 The Colchester Cemetery and small on-site chapel. 

 

 

 Colchester cemetery, with Lake Erie in the background. 

 

In piano news, as reported in today's title I have been chopping away at my newest repertoire now for six months.  There have been interruptions in the practice routine, of course, with two trips to Sudbury, one to Toronto, and various medical days.  But things are chugging along, and I hope to be ready in six weeks.  I played through the whole program this morning and it went rather well.  Soon I will take it on the road and place the pieces on the beloved Fazioli piano of Dr. Seski, if he is kind enough to once again allow me to do so.  After tweaking that a bit I will move on to play in for Jim P. in Chatham, on his 9' Steinway.  After that it should be time to invite some friends over to hear the program.  I have cut way back on the memorization this time, and will use music for the entire first half (all harpsichord) and for the final two pieces on the second half (Philip Glass pieces).

 

In movie news there are two to report.  Invention is a film that defines the term "quirky", and thus attracts our attention and interest.  From 2024 and directed by Courtney Stephens we watch a young woman come to terms with her father's death.  He was a doctor who was heavily into quack medicine, and the only thing he left her was the patent to his invention.  The invention is an enigma, and is supposed to induce a type of trance healing that calms the mind and soothes the body.  She hardly knew her father, but comes to learn things about him as she navigates life after his death.  It's a very personal film, but manages to express a lot through its often narrow focus.  The daughter meets with people who knew her father, and very few of them have flattering views to report, other than he was very smart.  His progress with his machine was hampered by his conspiracy beliefs, as he trusted no one to help him get it to market.  As a result the entire project crashed and burned.  Is the patent a valuable thing?  Should she pursue it further, for her father's sake and her own?  Though she is quite stoic throughout much of the movie, her emotions finally get the better of her, helping her in her decision of what to do with this thing.  The film is as odd as they come, a good enough reason to recommend it.  But it's quite transfixing to watch, too, as we explore the background of this near genius man who attempted, and failed, to get rich while helping others.

 

 A quirky but fascinating film now showing on Mubi. 

 

We also watched Ken Russell's 1980 filming of Altered States, from a novel by Paddy Chayefsky (Deb is currently reading the novel; I will, too).  Though we have seen the film many times, it's one we like to return to every few years.  Both the novel and the film are loosely based on actual experiments done on people in isolation tanks, though things carry a bit further than those experiments ever did.  With effects trying to compete with 2001: A Space Odyssey (they don't), and a story that more or less goes wildly off the rails, it's still a film that we are drawn to, mostly because William Hurt's character is willing to sacrifice everything for his search for what's out there.  Despite being a complete fool, one has to admire the guy for pushing things to the absolute limit.  An intellectual science fiction film is still a very rare thing, and though this film goes well beyond what is even remotely possible in the physical sense, we still know so little about what is inside our minds that all of the evolutionary retrograding that happens physically and emotionally to Hurt could possibly happen, at least within our own minds.  Always an experience to watch, this is a film I recommend highly to SF fans.

 

 

 The film has recently left the Criterion Channel.

 

 

Mapman Mike