End of Winter

Yes, it is a few weeks earlier than usual, after a winter that barely was.  By far the worst episode was the three day Christmas storm, with howling winds, supremely cold temperatures, and blowing snow.  We missed the worst of the snow, garnering only a few inches that time (while Buffalo got totally buried).  Then came a few chilly days in January, and one storm that dropped 6" of heavy, wet snow.  But as of Feb. 4th, winter has vanished, replaced by an early Spring.  Usually things begin to warm up around here by the 15th of this month.  While there is no doubt we are still in for a few bouts of cold and snow, there will be nothing prolonged at this point.

Feb. 2nd was Candlemas, and the 5th was a full moon.  The 14th is Lupercalia, so it's quite a month for celebrations.  Our full moon opera this month was Verdi's Falstaff, a hilarious romp through Shakespeare, with some of the fastest moving dialogue of any opera I have ever heard.  The recording I have features the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein, with Dietrich Fischer Dieskau.  It is a beauty, on six LP sides.  Also featured at that party was a wonderful homemade blueberry cake, and a roaring wood fire.  It was actually too cold to have a fire on Candlemas, but there should be another one at Lupercalia time.

In two weeks our little piano performance group will be meeting again.  Since the last meeting I have revamped my practice schedule, including a hefty increase.  I now have time to work on the entire first movement of Beethoven's Sonata in D+, Op 10, #1.  And there is even a little time left over at the end to begin work on the 2nd movement, which is one of most incredible things he ever composed.  The harpsichord will be the focus of our next meeting, weather permitting.

In movie news, there are two of Deb's choices to report on.  First came A Kind of Loving, a 1962 film by John Schlesinger, and starring Alan Bates.  In stark b & w, the drama follows the relationship between a young man and woman who live and work in a smokestack town in England.  They initially fall in love, but then he grows bored with her.  When she becomes pregnant he does marry her, however, and off they go to a grey off season seashore for their honeymoon.  While their relationship might have stood a chance at being successful if they had lived alone, it turns into a nightmare when they move in with her shrewish mother.  However, by the end of the film they are about to live on their own, and trying to start over again.  An excellent film, suitably sombre, with excellent acting and intelligent script.  In many ways a very depressing film, there is some dark humour there, too.  Its honesty at depicting working class life is admirable.

 

Showing on Criterion until Feb. 28th. 

Next came one of the strangest films we have ever seen, and that is saying something. From 1926 comes A Page of Madness, a silent film that takes place entirely in a Japanese mental institution of the day, and on the grounds. A janitor tries to lead his insane wife to freedom, but to what end we don't know. The film's editing is as bizarre as the subject matter, as the camera tries to get inside the head of some of the patients. There is no dialogue at all, but the music by the Alloy Orchestra is top notch! Performed by an avante garde theatre troupe, the director was a former Kabuki actor. A very unsettling film, showing on Mubi.

A Page of Madness, showing on Mubi. 

I am attempting to revive my DIA landscape project here; bear with me, as the website is quite ridiculous now.  I'll begin with a Chinese landscape painting, an image possibly inspired by a view from a weather balloon back in the day.....  It's a painting meant for contemplation, beginning with the bottom part and gradually working one's way up to the highest temple near the top

Landscape in the Style of Juran, between 1620 and 1677.  Wang Jian, Chinese, 1598-1677. Ink and watercolor on paper.  Installed: 101 1/8 × 34 3/4 inches (256.9 × 88.3 cm) Image: 49 3/4 inches × 24 inches (126.4 × 61 cm) Mount: 99 7/8 × 30 5/8 inches (253.7 × 77.8 cm).

Detail of lower section.

Detail of middle section.

Detail of upper section.

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

Two Films by John Schlesinger

Each month, in addition to adding many films to its domain, the Criterion Channel also deletes several.  We are sent a list about a week before this happens, which isn't really very helpful.  But we did get to watch two b & w films starring Julie Christie, both directed by John Schlesinger .  My choice was Darling, from 1965, a film about a young woman who can't seem to find her groove.  This film was nominated for and won many awards in its day, thus proving that a many films are very much of their time.  Today, the "darling" comes across as a very shallow woman, one to whom success has come too easily.  I cannot see how anyone in an audience could have sympathy for her character, which is empty and flaccid.  Christie plays the role well, but it is a role that brings forth nothing from the viewer.  Just go away somewhere and cry, and leave us out of it.

 A well acted film, but it does not hold up well to the times. 

The second film, Deb's choice, was Billy Liar, from 1963.  Julie Christie has a much smaller role.  Even so, it is a pivotal one, and she was nominated for Best Actress, BAFTA.  Thanks to her we finally get to see who and what Billy really is--a nobody, going nowhere very quickly.  Imagine someone as beautiful and energetic and adventurous as the character played by Christie offering Billy a chance to escape his hell hole of a life in Yorkshire and come to London with her.  And refusing.  It makes for a frustrating movie experience, since we have invested time in watching this Billy character, and he simply self destructs at the end.  Not sure what the overall message was to British youth at the time, but hopefully some of them saw this pitiful character and tried to do better than he did.  As an aside, it is interesting to note that Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius character emerges in published form in 1965, tow years after this movie.  I much prefer the Jerry character, and wish several movies had been made of him.  One last note--Tom Courtenay is absolutely brilliant in the role of Billy.

This film is just finishing its run on Criterion Channel.  

It is now film festival weekend.  I have chosen #s 6, 7, and 8 from the Zatoichi movie series.  More later, along with some notes on February books read.

And now the weather.   We are just coming out of two of the coldest days of this winter, encouraged by howling winds on Thursday, and just windy on Friday.  Our new door is amazing--no leakage at all despite a straight westerly.  We also got about 2" of snow on Wednesday, just before the cold sank in.  We were expecting 3" to 6", but we are not going to complain.  Temps go just above freezing tomorrow, and then we sail into the 40s, permanently, at last.  I've no doubt that February will come out colder than January, which is pretty strange.  And tomorrow being a leap day, I will try and write a short blog.  I don not know anyone born on the 29th of February, but I do know someone who was born on the 28th.  Does that count for anything?

The California trip is still on.  We leave late afternoon Tuesday, and will return late afternoon the following Tuesday.  It will be our 2nd visit to the Pacific Ocean, and I am looking forward to meeting up with it again.  Two art museums, a model railway museum, and some mountain hiking and some ocean side hiking are in order, as well as several excursions into the downtown areas.

And now for today's art appreciation moment.  I had never heard of this artist before, and this is the only work the museum has by him, a gift of a generous donor 70 years ago (John S. Newberry).  It reminds me of something out of Tolkien's world.  The visual rhythm created is quite stunning.  I'm hoping this is on exhibit during the current "Dutch and Flemish Prints and Drawings", from the museum's holdings.

Edge of the Woods, ca 1780/89, Jacobus Van Liender (1731-1797).  Chalk and ink.

16" x 13".  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts. 

Mapman Mike