It's A F*x^#!* Winter Wonderland

February 15th is when it all ends here at the Homestead.  Except it didn't this time.  Usually we have mild temps and rain by now.  Since we've moved to this address (1989?), winter has been extended only once before.  So twice in 35 years isn't too bad, I guess.  We had some snow Wednesday overnight and again last night.  There is now about 6" of the stuff on the ground.  My daily exercise program, which usually consists of treadmill walking, stretching, etc., has now shifted to "cross-training," i.e. shovelling.  Our driveway is about 70' long, and the county snowplows leave a nice big and heavy snowbank at the foot of it.  So Thursday was a shovelling day, and today is another one.  Today's snow is heavier, though, so I am taking things in short bursts.  I've been out twice already, with perhaps two more sessions to go.

 

Speaking of sessions, astronomy was set to resume this coming Tuesday.  But take a look at these temps (in F) for the upcoming week.  Add wind to that forecast, and it's going to be another indoor week.  And being away from a city, we are usually a few degrees colder than Detroit (which comes in handy in the summer, but not in the winter).

 

 

Here are a few snapshots looking out the back door this morning.

 

That is a lilac bush.

 

A few backyard shots.  It took until mid-February, but we finally have some snow. 

 

Last week we finally finished playing all of the board games I had laid out to play on the Christmas holidays.  The final game in that stack is called Teotihuacan.  The game is loosely based on sacred rites used to build and decorate a large main temple in the prehistoric city.  We visited the actual city of Teotihuacan in the early 80s, and not only had experiences that were transcendent, but we also got the worst sunburns of our lives.  Anyway, the game is a very complex one to set up.  There are three rounds to play, so we played one round each day, leaving the table set up.  And since it took a previous day to set up the game, it actually took us four days to play.  Of course this can all be done in one long day, taking about 4-5 hours from opening the box to closing it again with everything back inside.  It's quite a fun game, so we don't mind playing once in a while, despite all the hassles of setting it up and relearning the rules.

 

The game is afoot!  In this case, Teotihuacan. 

 

The real thing.  We are sitting atop the Pyramid of the Moon, with the main (highest) pyramid at the left.  We climbed it, too.  There was a kid at the top selling coca cola. 

 

Last Friday I went and ran through most of my piano pieces in Chatham.  Jim P. has an 8'11 3/4" Steinway (9'), and having played it once before I was eager to do it again.  Jim is a piano teacher and a truly great player.  He tackles some of the biggest pieces in the repertoire, and pulls them off incredibly well.  Over two hours I ran through my program for him and he in turn played some amazing pieces for me.  These included Ravel's Jeux D'Eau, one of Bach's very difficult toccatas (E Minor), and the solo piano version Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue.  So that was a very fun afternoon!  As my program is nearing completion, it's time now to take it to Philip A., my teacher, for some final polishing and criticizing.  I'm still on the fence over performing the Bach and Couperin on harpsichord or piano.

 

In film news there is only one to report.  Mel Brooks has directed some of the silliest films to ever appear on the screen.  Spaceballs is his 1987 send up of Star Wars.  There are many jokes that fall flat, but when he hits a ringer it makes the whole thing worth watching.  And there are several ringers.  Rick Moranis is too perfect as Dark Helmet, and John Candy as the doggy friend Barf.  We hadn't seen this film for decades.  Highly recommended for SF fans who realize how deeply Star Wars itself set back the SF genre.  

Now showing on Amazon Prime video. 

 

Mapman Mike

 
 

 

 

AvantGrand Baptism

Saturday evening Deb and I hosted the monthly piano player get together.  Alde was out of town, but the other regular members showed up.  The piano was given a very good workout, beginning with Paula performing a short piece by C P E Bach, and a Prelude by Gershwin.  Next up, Jim gave a truly beautiful performance of a piece by Scott Joplin, and the piano sounded amazing under his professional sounding touch.  His brother had just passed away last week, but he had been able to record the piece and play it for him beforehand.  So he played it tonight as a memorial to him.  He followed up with the Grande Waltz Brillante Op 34 in A Minor by Chopin.  He returned at the end of the night to perform the Bach Toccata in E Minor, a major work that sounded totally incredible on the piano.  I could not have been more pleased with the sound.  Next up was Dr. Seski (our Rob Sr.), who played a Chopin Waltz and a piece by Schubert, followed by Dr. Ling, who brought the last two movements of the Appassionata  by Beethoven.  After a short break, we resumed with Rob Jr, Dr. Biswas, who played the final movement of the Waldstein sonata by Beethoven.  Again, the piano really shone here (as did Robert), as volumes of layered sound poured forth from the wide awake piano towards the small but appreciative audience.  I finished up with short pieces by Bach (on harpsichord) and Mendelssohn, and two by Alexina Louie.  And so the piano had a very good workout!  Best of all, I got to sit back and hear all different kinds of music performed on it.  Our next meeting in October will be at Jim's home, in the distant city of Chatham.

We are now deep into our final week of trail hiking preparations.  The mountains are calling, and we are nearly ready to heed those calls.  We have been fortunate in having a cool, mostly sunny month in which to prepare for the big times.  Our trip will have a prelude, as we head to Cincinnati (by invitation) to attend the film festival there next weekend.  Following that event, our vehicle will point west for several driving days.  Excitement is mounting here at the Homestead.

There are two films to report on today.  The first was Deb's main choice, a strange little film called The Eight Mountains.  It is about a lot of things, but mostly about a strong friendship between two men.  They met at age 12, one of them a mountain-raised lad, and the other visiting the Italian Alps for a month in the summer.  Filmed in 4:3 by choice (obviously), it seems to suit the film, which requires close framing some of the time.  The mountain scenery is splendid, and the film does well with the emotional bond between the two lead actors.  This could, in fact, have been a really great film.  However, the insertion of at least 6 folk guitar ballads (sung in English!) during the film is so in your face and poorly chosen, that I would have walked out of the theatre had I seen it there.  As it was, we had the mute on for at least 20 minutes of running time.  Luckily it is sub-titled, or we would have missed some of the dialogue.  Watch at your own risk to your ears.

Now showing on Criterion, with extras. 

 

My main film choice for the week was another strange little film, this one from Portugal.  Filmed in b & w, Tabu is from 2012.  It is actually two shorter films, split in the middle by a changing story arc.  The first part takes place in Lisbon.  A woman who lives next door is the only friend that a lonely and very elderly woman has.  The old woman has a live-in housekeeper.  The first story is about the woman who is the friend, but we follow the elderly woman until she finally passes away.  As she is dying she hands her friend a crumpled piece of paper with a man's name and address on it.  She wants to see this man before she dies.  Despite doing her best to find the person (he is in a nursing home), the older woman dies before they can meet up.  He does attend her funeral, and afterwards goes to a cafe with the friend, and her in-home caretaker.  There he begins to tell the story of the deceased woman, and the movie switches now to Africa, namely a plantation in Mozambique.  This is the better half of the movie, and takes place in the early sixties.  There is intrusive music here, but it is fit to purpose, as we watch a Portuguese rock and roll band perform and hang out, helping us date the time that events are happening in the flashback story.  We never return to the cafe, and the film ends when the African part of the story ends.  Of course the old man telling the story and the elderly woman who just died were lovers in Africa, even as she was married to someone else and pregnant with her daughter.  A tragedy finally separates the pair, and they are destined never to meet again.  Quite a good film, and recommended.  There is a crocodile.

 

Leaving Mubi in 3 days. 

 

That's all for now.  Iaido tonight, and back to hill walking tomorrow. 

Mapman Mike