Back From Sudbury

We left for the north last Wednesday, poking along for a day in southern Ontario and staying overnight in Collingwood.  We made stops in Alvinston (Munroe Meadery) and Thedford (Twin Pines Orchard).  The latter was a first time visit, as they make hard cider from their own apples.  I came home with a jug of their original cider, as they were out of apple/pear cider.  We arrived in Collingwood just before 5 pm, checked into our hotel, and then undertook the short walk to Endswell Beer.  We had fine ales here and pizza, then took a sunset stroll on the adjacent trails.  Collingwood is a major ski resort in winter, but it sits right on Georgian Bay, so it is also a boater's paradise in summer.  There is hiking in the nearby mountains (we could see the ski runs from our hotel window), but my foot is still not up to the challenge.  However, on this 6 day journey I did manage 4 walks, two of them for forty minutes.  I had intended to take a lot of photos on this journey, but alas I forgot my camera at home.  So these few photos were taken with the android phone.

Three photos from our walk in Collingwood.  that's me in the 2nd photo, and that is part of Georgian Bay in the last one. 

 

Next day we drove to Coldwater, a small and pretty village that is a favourite stop of ours when northbound.  They have a nut roastery there that always gets our business, and a small street of very interesting shops.  Deb was able to buy an old suitcase that she needs for an upcoming film shoot.  We stayed for about half an hour before pushing on north.

 

A decorated shop in Coldwater.

 

The old mill has been kept up and is now a bar and restaurant that also sells deli items.

 

The Coldwater River flows beside the 1833 mill in the downtown area of Coldwater. 

 

Shortly after leaving Coldwater and heading north drivers cross a large bridge over an inland bay (Matchedash Bay).   Almost immediately afterwards comes another bridge with very fine views of Georgian Bay.  Immediately after this bridge one suddenly finds oneself in Northern Ontario, amidst the Canadian Shield.  It is a sudden and shocking change of scenery, and from here on north as far as one wishes to go are the thousands of lakes, rocks, and mountains of the Shield.

    We stopped again in Parry Sound for ales from Trestle Brewing, and this time finally made our first stop at Norse Brewery, several miles north of the the Sound.  Then it was a straight run into Sudbury, which is about 440 miles from our house in Amherstburg when the quickest route is chosen.  Usually heading home we take the fast route, which takes about 8 hours if traffic isn't too bad.  For European readers, this 8 hour and some 440 mile drive only covers a small portion of Ontario.  To drive to Kenora, near the border with Manitoba, from Sudbury would be another 900 miles.  Ontario is absolutely enormous, and would fit many countries into its borders.  It is also filled with parks, so that many of the best natural areas are accessible to the public.

    We got to visit with my mother (96!), my younger brother Steve, his wife Lynne, and my two nieces.  Alicia is the oldest, a soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces.  Emma Lee is the youngest, currently in Grade 11 at a high school for girls.

    We also visited Lake Penage, Deb's first visit in many decades.  We were actually given a tour of the inside by Tony, the current owner.  He has done a beautiful job with the camp, which is now accessible for most of the year.  My cousin still owns the adjacent lot with two camps, but he wasn't there today.

    It was unseasonably warm on our visit north.  Though the leaves were changing to fall colours and the smell of autumn was in the air, it was in the 80s so it didn't feel quite right.

 

Found near Norse Brewery, Nobel ON.

 

A walking trail in Sudbury that we take to reach Beard's Cafe and Bakery, and all-vegan establishment.

 

View from the deck at camp, Lake Penage.  Now owned by Tony and his wife, this is where I grew up during summers since the age of ten.  The lake is still clear and clean and very very inviting. 

 

We got to watch some TV while visiting family.  We don't subscribe to either Netflix or Disney, but they do.  We managed to finish up season 15 of Dr. Who, and are now all caught up with the series.  We also watched an 8 part series on Netflix called House of Guinness, detailing the history of the great Irish brewery from the death of Benjamin (1868) onward.  The series has good actors, some very fine writing (though it includes more F bombs than any other show I've ever watched), and some of the best night photography I've ever seen.  While I can highly recommend the series, beware that the final episode ends in a really stupid cliff-hanger.  While there will probably be a season two, it's still a terrible way to end a series that people have watched for nearly 8 hours.

 

Now showing on Netflix.  It's an 8 part series. 

 

Turning to Doctor Who, we managed to finish up the 2nd series with Ncuti Gatwa, watching episodes 3-8.  They were all pretty good, with Disney's budget allowing the show to at least equal the effects of Star Trek and its ilk.  These stories were usually much better than Star Trek, too.  The final two episodes were linked, and made a fine conclusion to Gatwa's era.  He is among my favourite doctors now, with an energy and outlook that really boosts the show.  And Varada Sethu as Belinda, his companion for several episodes, is now one of my favourite companions.  The 5th episode, "The Story and the Engine" is set in a barbershop in Lagos and features an all-coloured cast.  It uses mythology heavily in its storyline and to great advantage.  "The Interstellar Song Contest" could have used more alien songs, though it was a fun episode.

It was exciting to see Susan helping the Doctor to control his temper.  We have heard nothing of his granddaughter since she left the show back in the days of the first doctor.  She is way overdue for a reappearance.  I can't say I got too excited when I saw Billy Piper at the end of the series. A third season with Disney is likely, though I would guess that the show is far too "woke" for the present state of American entertainment.  I suppose the return of a blonde white female might be just what Disney needs to convince it to undertake another season.

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 

 

A Week In Sudbury Ontario

It has been many years since I have stayed 7 nights in Sudbury.  I was born there, living at home until age 22, when I married Deb and we moved to Windsor to attend university.  We used to come home for about six weeks in the summer, staying mostly at the family camp on Lake Penage.  But since the camp was sold many years go, we have only been back for shorter visits, to Sudbury itself at the family home.

 

The occasion this time was to spend time with Mom, helping her to go through Dad's belongings.  Most went to charity, though I came home with a few nice shirts, a cozy new bathrobe, a few books and records, and a sport jacket.  Mom is doing pretty well, though I doubt she has had much time to process Dad's passing.  Cards and flowers and visitors have kept her occupied.  Her sister will come and visit her at the end of April.  Mom will be 95 in one month, and still climbs three flights of stairs at home and does laundry, some cooking, and many other things.  We took her grocery shopping one day (she still insists on buying her own food), and to church for a mass that was said in my father's name.

 

Mom lives in the upstairs of a large 3-unit apartment building which she owns.  My brother Steve and his wife and daughter live below her.  The basement apartment has been a bar and TV room for a long time now.  Steve and his wife went for a week long cruise from Miami, so we came up north to stay with mom.  The weather was quite beastly a few days, so it was mostly an inside visit.  I read, we watched a lot of TV, went through Dad's things, looked at old family photos, and just talked.  Mom and Deb are both early risers, so they had conversations in the morning while I slept on.  A few days were quite nice, and Deb and I managed some hilly walks, mostly to a vegan cafe and bakery.

 

The household has a few channels that we don't buy, so we were able to catch up on some Star Trek series, and watch all 4 new Doctor Who specials, starring David Tenant and Catherine Tate.  there are in the first 3 specials; the 4th one stars the newest Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa.  While all four episodes were fun, they were pretty much even in quality, with nothing too exceptional.  It was nice to see Mel Bush back in action.  She was a companion to two much earlier doctors, and could scream mightily on command.

 

We watched the first episode of Picard, a series about the retired Star Fleet admiral.  it seems like he will soon be back in action.  We will likely subscribe to Paramount for a few months in order to watch the rest.  And we have now seen six episodes of Star Trek Discovery, finding it worth a look, too.  I watched the first two episodes on our flight to and from New Orleans last month, rewatching them on Mom's giant screen so Deb could see them, too.  We also watched the first episode of the most recent Lost In Space series, from 2018.  It looks promising, but as it is on Disney, we will not be seeing more until another visit to Sudbury. 

 

And finally we were able to watch Dune, the first half of the epic film directed by Denis Villeneuve, from 2021.  The director and writer were obviously heavily influenced by the exploits of T. E. Lawrence, and the film by David Lean.  The movie ends just as Jessica and Paul are being tried by the Fremen, to see whether they will live or die.  It is a good film, but not a great one.  Of course there is a lot of exposition, and comes pretty close to echoing Herbert's great SF novel.  But everything is so compressed that it is difficult to get a sense of epic.  Perhaps watching both halves together would be better, but even with this film we had to break it up over two evenings.  Fans of Herbert shouldn't have too much to complain about, and there is some hope that the second book might be filmed, too.  Now we just have to try and see Dune Part Two.

 

We watched this in Sudbury on CTV SF Channel. 

 

We have done so much travelling lately, especially driving.  Our New Orleans road trip in late March was followed by a long day trip to Ohio for the eclipse.  Then came Sudbury, which is 470 miles each way.  So for now we are done with major trips.  It's been interesting trying to maintain a full piano program during this time.  Today's practice has been a bit mechanical.

I'll finish up with another picture of Dad....

Dad in Greece. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

An Epic Weekend

And a weekend of epics!  Two epics, in fact.  But first, some local news.  Our winterless winter continues.  A cold day here and there, but mostly well above-normal temperature days.  Barely any snow all season, and very little rain.    Our indoor fun continues, regardless.  Deb has finished her most recent short film, Effigy House, and is nearly finished remodelling the bathroom.  How's that for dual projects.  A busy woman is a happy woman, or so some say.  I continue to work on my piano program.  I have had three lessons with Philip Adamson on this program so far.  We have managed to get through the Bach Prelude and Fugue (Book 2, Eb+), and the four-movement Beethoven sonata (Opus 10 #3).  It is my lifetime 12th Prelude and Fugue (there are 48), and my 11th Beethoven Sonata (there are 32).  Given another two lifetimes I might get through all of them.  Unfortunately, some complications have arisen in the piano performance group. People kept inviting others to join, and now it is too large for my liking.  I have withdrawn from it for now, and so once again am without an audience.  It was fun while it lasted, though.  But our home can no longer hold all the members, as is the case with other members.

 

In Wondrium news (The Great Courses)  we usually have two or three lecture series going on.  Right now we are watching a very good series about the Gnostic Gospels, and one about the 23 best piano works of all time.  Whereas we used to mostly seek our spiritual enlightenment (pre-Covid) outside of the house (concert halls, art museums, travel, etc.), now 90% of our searching is done within the Homestead walls.  Streaming services like Criterion and Mubi (and Prime) have a lot to do with it.  But Deb's filmmaking keeps her indoors a lot and very involved with making her artistic dreams come true.  My piano practice has become much more regular and less interrupted by day trips and longer trips.  I read at least two hours each day, which I love doing.  As to outdoor pursuits, I am still heavily involved with astronomy.  I hope to return to Iaido next month.  And our travelling days are slowly beginning to return.  But we love our home and all the varied things there are to do within in.  The less I drive places the better I feel.  Our days of being within crowded environments are quite rare compared to what they used to be.

That brings me to our epic weekend.  Saturday was the Full Winter Moon.  We usually celebrate full moon days whenever possible, and this time we went all out.  Deb cooked a wonderful spaghetti and vegan meatball early dinner, with her own no-tomato sauce.  Later we made a pumpkin pie, a kind of round cake or pie always on hand for full moon nights.  We enjoyed a roaring wood fire (luckily it was the one cold day of the week), and listened to Mozart's opera Don Giovanni.  We have an excellent 1955 version from the Vienna State Opera, and we cranked up the speakers and listened to one of our favourite operas.  There are so many fantastic arias in this opera, which is mostly comedy but has a terrific horror/fantasy element to it as well.  It was a long overdue listening event, and we both went to bed with great music soaring through our brains.

Then came Sunday.  We made this Lawrence of Arabia day.  The overture to this epic film, one of the best films ever made, is nearly as good as the one to Don Giovanni!  David Lean rather outdid himself, and the desert photography has never been done better.  We began watching at breakfast (late time on Sundays), quit at intermission for a few hours, then went back at it around 5 pm to finish up at 6:45 pm.  I was so inspired by my (3rd?) viewing that I went and purchased Lawrence's complete writings, which is part of the Delphi Classics series, for $2.99.  Whenever I come around to the "Ls" in my Delphi reading list I will commence reading the works of T. E. Lawrence.  Now I have clips from Mozart and the Lawrence soundtrack rattling around in my head.  O'Toole did a superb job in a very tough role.  Just as he begins to think of himself as godlike, he gets captured by Turks and tortured.  This totally changes his view of things, as he comes to realize not only his own mortality, but the fact that he isn't really anyone special.  The whole job of trying to unite the Arabs, many of whom were completely uneducated, and to save them from British rule, becomes as hopeless a cause as someone trying to unite the American Indians against the whites.  It was simply every tribe for itself.  It worked for hundreds and even thousands of years.  But change was coming over the world so rapidly that no one, not even Lawrence, could totally foresee it. 

Leaving Criterion Feb. 29th. 

 

We also managed to get through the final two episodes of Doctor Who, in the season that featured Tennant and Tate.  "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End" concluded the 10th Doctor's 4th season.  It pulled out all the stops, as it featured Rose Tyler, Torchwood and its three main characters, as well as Martha Jones and Unit, Sarah Jane Smith and her son (and even K-9 in a brief appearance), and other former characters.  Bernard Cribbins as Donna's granddad remains a highlight of the entire season, as does Donna herself.  She gets a brilliant role in the final episode, and aces her performance.  I wish she had lasted more than one season.

 

Besides hearing one of the greatest operas ever written, and watching one of the greatest films ever made, other fun things happened this weekend, too.  I finished reading a book of delicious stories by Clark Ashton Smith.  I began reading Solaris, by Stanislav Lem.  I did some work on my NM map collection.  Of course I also practiced my piano pieces.  And we are making good progress on Eastshade, a PC game we have been really enjoying for some time now.  We finally took our long awaited balloon ride in the game, which became a slow motion flyover of all the landscape we have covered while playing.  The balloon took us up into the mountains, and we got to climb the highest peak.  We are nearing the conclusion to the game, but I'm hoping at the end, like Myst, we'll still be able to explore the towns and forests and lakes.   I think Deb and I would be good candidates for a Mars colony, providing we had enough things to keep us busy indoors.

 

Lawrence took up two of my three festival choices for February.  I have one remaining.  Before that we watched my going away choice (before I picked Lawrence, which is also leaving Criterion this month), another neat little noir film called Backfire, from 1950.  A good story keeps most viewers guessing who the bad guy is, as we never see him until the final scene.  Three war buddies back from Europe go different ways afterwards.  One is in hospital having no less than 13 surgeries.  One of his buddies wants to team up with him and buy a ranch.  The third one runs a funeral home.  Buddy number two runs into some bad trouble, and buddy number one has to go look for him, after recovering from his last surgery.  We love watching b & w noir crime thrillers, and this one comes out better than average.  It stars a lot of familiar actors.

 

Leaving Criterion Feb. 29th. 

 

The next update should be the February reading summary, just as soon as I finish up Solaris.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 

Solaris, Take 2

The most recent version of Solaris is from 2002, directed by Steven Soderbergh.  Though it has a lot going for it, the film ends up by disappointing SF viewers.  The sets are great, the actors are good, and the music is excellent.  But instead of telling a story about a sentient ocean planet, we get a Valentine's Day love story with an unrealistic happy ending that left me scratching my head.  Was this film even a science fiction movie?  Barely.  Mostly it was about a man who made a terrible mistake, and after making the same mistake again finally gets it right.  A bit like Groundhog Day.  We learn nothing much about human ability to withstand aliens meddling with our minds.  We see nothing to convince us that the main character is a brilliant analyst/shrink.  One would think he might use some of his knowledge and experience to try to get at the bottom of this mystery.  Just what is happening?  Why is it happening.  Is there any way to communicate with the alien intelligence?  Nope.  We learn nothing.  Admittedly I did not find too much to praise in the Tarkovsky version, either (and he is one of my favourite directors).  Even Lem, the author, says that neither film gets the heart of what his novel is about.  Though I have not read the novel, I am about to.  It will be discussed here during my end of the month reading summary.  So please come back for more.

 

We know it's a SF film because George Clooney is wearing a space helmet. 

It is leaving Criterion Feb. 29th.

 

That was Deb's leaving soon choice.  I would have chosen it if she hadn't.  Her main choice was quite a different kind of film.  La Antena is an Argentinian film from 2007.  It is constructed like a 1920s German fantasy film, and is mostly silent and in b & w.  It mixes avant garde technique with a unique story telling method, and it comes off really well.  There is a lot of humour in this tale of a city whose people have lost their voice, and are about to lose words, too.  The evil man who wants to take over the world (the plot has its weak points at times) is a TV producer.  The visual effects are great fun to watch, even as the story plods along to its inevitable conclusion.  The cinematic cleverness includes using the silent screen subtitles as integral to the action within a scene.  This was the first film screened by Mubi when it began screening films in 2007.  It got off to a very good start.  Highly recommended.

A must see film for silent film fans, from 2007.  Showing again on Mubi. 

 

Before those two films came my leaving choice (my regular choice was the 1st 2-part Detective Anna).   The Beekeeper is a Greek/French film from 1986, starring Marcello Mastroianni.  To me it is a perfect example of a European film from the 1980s.  Marcello sports a Greek moustache.  He plays an aging father of three grown up children, and is about to leave his wife as the film begins.  The first 20 minutes of the film features his youngest daughter's wedding.  The wedding turns into a disaster as it rains and the party is indoors.  This opening segment would make a great short film all by itself.  Marcello is an itinerant beekeeper, who heads for the south of Greece with his hives.  He is part of a dwindling tradition of such keepers, with only about six older men still plying the trade.  The film changes gears almost immediately when a teenage girl, amazingly played by Nadia Mourouzi in her first film, hitches a ride with him.  She is a runaway, ditched by her boyfriend, and does her best to cling to Marcello, whom she must see as a badly needed father figure.  Both characters are truly messed up people, however, neither one knowing how to handle any type of relationship.  Marcello remains mostly expressionless in the film, but with him it is enough to transmit a lot of character.  He stands around like a huddled lummox a lot of the time, too.  He eventually realizes that he needs her companionship, too, but when their relationship  turns sexual things go downhill quickly.  She finally leaves him, and that pretty much means the end of Marcello.  A road movie like no other.

The film has now left Mubi. 

 

One of the better Dr.Who episodes of Series 4 with Tenant and Catherine Tate is called Turn Left.  By turning right instead of left, Donna Noble unleashes the furies, which, had she turned left, the Doctor would have dealt with.  Instead, Earth is doomed, and goes through a very unhappy ending.  In this alternate universe, the Doctor is dead.  But Rose (Billie Piper) is still alive, and helping Unit deal with all the catastrophes.  She instructs Donna on a way to undo the damage, and to go back and turn left.  Lots of fun stock footage from previous episodes.  Donna does a solo here, and holds the program together well by herself and with some help from Rose.  The previous episode, Midnight, starred the Doctor without Donna.  It was a low budget drama more suited to the stage than to TV.

We are currently watching the next two episodes of Season Two Detective Anna.

Mapman Mike