The Not Broken Foot, Part 1

Though it still hurts a lot after nearly three weeks of the injury, I found out today that there are no broken bones in my foot.  Not sure what it is.  Bruised bone?  Damaged tendon?  I see my own physician in two weeks.

In local news, our old backyard deck has been removed.  A new frame will be constructed Monday, and hopefully the new deck laid down soon after that.

Two photos of where our back deck used to be.  Most of the posts had rotted and need to be replaced, adding to the cost. 

 

In piano news, Jim P. is coming by Saturday afternoon to play some pieces.  I will perform a few of the harpsichord works I have been practicing.  I am approaching ten weeks since I began a new program.  I can more or less play a few of them, including two Scarlatti sonatas and one of the Scriabin,and a couple of Couperin pieces, too.  The Etude by Philip Glass is playable also.  I recently began the final work on the program, a Debussy prelude.  I have played it before, though it will still be a few weeks before it sounds like it.

 

In Train Sim World news I now own 30 different services, with several of them linked together to make longer runs.  Steam had a sale where many of them were 75-90% off, so I basically stole them.  I have only played ten so far, some of them just once.  I have a lifetime of train driving ahead of me.

 

The ruins of Berhamstead Castle lie just beside the station.

 

Driving the Bakerloo Line through Wembley.

 

An evening run from Euston to Milton Keynes. 

 

In film news there are two to report.  Never Open That Door is from 1952, another Argentinian noir based on two stories by Cornell Woolrich.  The first one is about a young woman who commits suicide because of her gambling debts and her brother's attempt to avenge her.  The second one sees a man return to his mother's house years later, a criminal on the run.  Both story endings rely heavily on irony.  Effectively photographed and directed, the film is nowhere near as good as If I Should Die... (see previous blog).

 

Leaving Criterion July 31st.
 

 Sicario is a fast paced thriller directed by Denis Villeneuve from 2015.  It deals with the problems encountered by law enforcement at the US/Mexican border, specifically in Arizona.  We also get grim glimpses of life in Ciudad Juarez, the large Mexican city across from El Paso TX.  It stars Emily Blunt as an FBI agent brought along on a bizarre and violent CIA mission to capture a major drug lord.  She is there merely as a legal proceeding, as the CIA cannot act within the USA without such an agent on board.  While she agrees to join the mission she doesn't really have an understanding as to what it will entail.  She ends up being pretty naive and a bit too much on the side of morality to do much of anything during the mission.  Lots of twists in the plot and when we finally do realize just how the CIA works, and with whom, it is more than a bit eye opening.  An excellent film, though violent and almost a horror film in places.

 

Showing on Prime. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

The English, and Aniara

Winter has yet to arrive here in Essex County.  It's been mild, cloudy, with plenty of rain.  In fact yesterday was the first time we could remember having rain on Deb's birthday.  It's usually very cold, and often snowing.  Not this year.  1.5" of rain yesterday (Thursday).  It's finally supposed to turn cold again by the end of next week.  Now that we have been spoiled by having London weather for such a long time (Dec. 27th), it will not be fun.  The birthday party was low key but fun, with lots of music.  Many more to come, we hope!

We've been resuming outdoor walks this past month, too.  We are hoping for some desert hiking this Spring, depending on Covid.  Our local county is quite bad for infections right now, though one hears very little about it.  Deb got a Pfizer booster shot this week, and all is well, with no side effects.  She has only had Moderna shots up till now.

We will be getting two new windows put in the house on February 1st.  The kitchen and bathroom ones are being replaced with Centennial Windows.  We have nearly replaced all of our older windows now.  Only two more to go after this, for next year, hopefully.  Our only concern is how cold it might be, as the house will be open in two places to the north for a morning.  Usual winds are from the southwest, and rain and snow from the east, so it may not be too bad.  Hopefully all will be well, if a bit on the chilly side for a time.

The English is a six part western series showing on Prime.  It proved itself to be a gem of a show, despite some rather intense violence, and some of the most low down characters ever encountered in fiction.  One does not often think of people from England when referring to tales of the rough and tumble world of the American west.  But this one has English characters front, side, and center, including one of two leads.  The series finale was the best episode of the batch.  Highly recommended viewing!  Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer make a great pair of heroes.  With eye popping photography, much of it was filmed in Spain, due to covid.  Some shots are from Oklahoma.

 

Now showing on Prime. 

 

 The Fallen Sparrow, from 1943, stars John Garfield and Maureen O'Hara and is a taut war time Noir.  He was captured and tortured as a prisoner in the Spanish Civil War, and is back in America and trying to find out who murdered his friend.  Garfield is pretty good in the lead, and the script is relatively intelligent.  Worth a look.

Leaving Criterion January 31st. 

 

Now we come to Aniara, a Swedish SF film from 2018, based on the epic poem by Swedish Nobel prize winner Harry Martinson.  The story is essentially the same as the book, but brought considerably up to date.  The giant passenger ship, ferrying humans to a colony on Mars, is sent off course, and its fuel has to be jettisoned.  The story focusses on one woman, the person in charge of an AI therapy being.  She doesn't get much business in her studio before the accident, but she sure gets a lot afterwards, as people adjust to their new reality.  The movie is really well done, though it will not appeal to viewers who think SF means battles in space, and aliens bent to kill all humans.  The focus is on human drama, and how the ship's inevitable outcome affects people in different ways.  The captain does his best to maintain order and discipline, and for the most part there is very little panic and mayhem.  We had to order the blue ray disc to finally get to see this film.  It has virtually disappeared since its festival run.  Highly recommended, as is the book.  It's great to know that films like this, and Last and First Men, are somehow managing to get made, even though few get to see them.

Available on blue ray. 

 

We watched a 30' film on MUBI called The Human Voice, from 2020.  Based on a play by Cocteau, it was directed by Pedro Almodovar and stars Tilda Swinton.  She has been abandoned by her lover, and is having a rather difficult time of it.  Her performance is a monologue, and done with virtuosic flair.  Her lover has also left behind his faithful dog, who is having an even harder time adjusting than Tilda's character.  This is the Spanish director's first English language film.  I'm sure there are a lot of people who can relate to this film better than I can, but I still liked it.

This short film is now streaming on MUBI.

 

My going away choice for this week is a film called My Name Is Gulpilil, from 2021.  Diagnosed with lung cancer in 2017, the actor sat down to talk with viewers, telling us (and demonstrating) what it is like to have cancer, and how much he enjoyed making films and traveling to various parts of the world as a result.  He has been in some truly remarkable films, including Walkabout, The Last Wave, and the very recent and brilliant Charlie's Country.  While it is sad to see him so weak and almost helpless, what other Australian Aborigine has lived such a life as he?  He is concerned that he is too weak to get back to his home country.  Without oxygen, puffers, painkillers, and his nurse Mary, he is virtually helpless.  Yet he remains, in some ways, independent.  He loves being in front of the camera, which may have helped his spirits at this time.  He is a man who seems to have done it all, including being arrested and jailed several times for alcohol and drug abuse.  His illness will come as no surprise to viewers.  A very remarkable man, and I'm glad to have seen many of his films.

 

Leaving Criterion January 31st. 

 

Mapman Mike