End of Beginning of Summer

June, like many months before it, has swooshed past.  If I didn't write these posts occasionally I would never remember a single thing I did.  We finally got a good soaking this morning (Saturday), which was badly needed.  This was our first major rain in many weeks,  However, we paid for it with a very warm and extremely humid day.  Tomorrow comes actual chilly air, and with it (hopefully!) clear skies.  I plan to head out tomorrow night with the scope if it is clear.  I am doing some summer observing in Hercules and Ophiuchus this year.

 

I have decided to finally attempt to perform my year-old piano program, which I began learning last July 10th.  My right ear impairment put things off a while, as did our travelling to New Orleans for a week, and then twice to Sudbury for two weeks.  Getting back into shape after several absences is very hard work.  I wish my piano technique matched my self discipline.  I've just finished Week One of three to put final touches on the pieces.  A few of them actually improved, while others actually got worse (practicing them too fast--must slow down).

 

In movie news, it's my festival weekend.  After my usual two choices I get three festival picks.  We've watched one of mine, but before discussing that we'll have a quick look at Deb's two choices, and an earlier one of mine.  French Cancan is a Jean Renoir film from 1955.  It is a nearly perfect 'entertainment' film, in bright colour and filled with music, dancing, comedy, and motion.  If one is ever to use a lighter film for having great examples of mise en scene, this would be my choice.  The staging is wonderful, with the director having to handle so many complex scenes is smaller spaces.  There are many tender scenes, but the film will likely be remembered for its flamboyant style, especially the grand finale musical Cancan number.  Great fun, and highly recommended.  Gabin is a joy to watch, and he can dance, too!

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Deb's leaving choice was from Mubi, and Indian film called Trijya from 2019.  Many recent Indian films deal with individuals struggling within their meagre means to achieve some form of quality of life, though their lives are mostly pure labour with small reward, both financial and spiritual.  This film is quite different.  We follow a young man trained as a journalist languishing and wasted at a silly newspaper job in Pune.  We see him at a cafe table with a fellow worker.  He has to write the paper's horoscope column that week, as the normal guy is off.  The column becomes very popular, even though he dictated it off the top of his head.  His boss wants him to continue in the role, but he wants no such nonsense.  He ends up leaving Pune, going back and forth to visit his family, and then finally just going walkabout through rural India.  This is an extraordinary fine film, very different in its outlook from nearly every other Indian film I have seen.  Highly recommended.

 

Leaving Mubi soon.

Before that I had one more film chosen that has not been discussed here.  Ken Russell's Salome's Last Dance from 1988 is a fun-filled over the top version of Oscar Wilde's play, showing the author attending a private performance.  We first saw it in Detroit at the short-lived Tele Arts Theatre downtown.  Like Jean Renoir's film, above, this one is very colourful, quite funny, and unlike the Renoir, seriously demented.  Not for every taste, but if you like Ken Russel (we mostly do) and Oscar Wilde (for sure!), then this film will be found to be most enjoyable.  Lust as you've never seen it before!  And it's right from the Bible.  So it must be okay for families, right?

Leaving Criterion June 30th. 

 

Now we turn to our most recently watched film, a SF directed by Claire Denis.  High Life is from 2018, a French/German production.  If it wasn't for all the violence, the film would be worth watching more than once.  A crew consisting of death row inmates is sent on a suicidal mission to the nearest black hole, in an experiment to see if its energy can in any way be harnessed (I would submit that solar energy would be far more feasible and much cheaper).  Despite the stupid premise (would a government really spend billions on a space mission and then send out death row inmates to fulfill it?  I mean, there would be more than enough volunteers from society, would there not?  The hero of the tale was doing time for killing a friend who killed his dog.  Juliette Binoche plays a doctor who murdered her two children and her husband.  When the film opens the only survivors are our hero and his baby daughter.  The story of how the other crew members perished is told in flashback.  By the end of the film the baby has grown up to become a teenager who looks a lot like Juliette.  The film contains a plethora of shots of bodily fluids, another drawback to repeated viewing.  I liked the concept of the film, a man trying to raise a baby on an empty starship, heading towards a black hole.  Rather unique in my experience.  Recommended for SF fans, but watch out for the violence, which includes rape.

 

Leaving Mubi soon.  

 

I'll be back very soon with the June reading summary.  I am just finishing up a novel.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

The Approach of Summer

We have yet to have an extended period of heat, to which teachers county wide are likely most thankful.  Today it might reach 90 F before afternoon storms hit us, but that is nothing too severe for this area in June.  At the Homestead, because of lots of rainfall so far this Spring, the weeds etc are pretty much out of control one again.  Mosquitoes are out in force, but so are the evening fireflies!  Lots of them this year.

I forgot to mention some of the things we watched while we were in Sudbury last month.  They get many channels which we do not subscribe to.  One of them is Netflix, which has three seasons of a  recent Lost In Space series, with a female Dr. Smith who is truly evil.  We have only watched three episodes so far, but it is quite good.  Far better than the new season of Dr. Who, at any rate, showing on Disney.  We got caught up on the newest series (up to the Welsh horror episode), and while we both like the new Doctor a lot, as well as his companion, the writing has been less than thrilling.  The worst episode of anything we have ever seen on TV was "The Devil's Chord."  It was unforgivably bad.  "73 yards", the Welsh horror episode, made absolutely no sense, leaving unanswered far too many questions.  We will (likely) watch the final four episodes on our next journey to Sudbury.  But so far, the Lost In Space series blows the Doctor's newest season out of the water. 

 

In local watching news, there are two films to report.  Liquid Sky, from 1982, was Deb's leaving choice last weekend.  This remains one of the most offbeat films ever to hit the circuit, and still provides laughs and thrills today. We saw the film in the way back days, but remembered little.  The film contains hard drug use, sexual violence (much), and lots and lots of bright colours and fun but often ridiculous outfits.  There are club scenes and street scenes, but the best parts of the film are set in a penthouse apartment overlooking the Empire State Building.  Anne Carlisle plays two parts, a girl and a boy, and is always fun to watch.  The opening scene of the film sets the stage, as a flying saucer is seen approaching NYC, getting closer and closer until it finally lands on the roof of the penthouse.  Seen in scale, it turns out to be tiny, no bigger than a large dinner plate.  The alien inside gets off on a certain chemical found in heroin highs, but also in orgasms.  There you have the plot.  A German scientist is trying to study the alien.  I was often reminded of more innocent films and times, such as Beach Blanket Bingo with Annette and Frankie.  We seem to have come so far, but not in any profitable direction.  Though a fun film, several scenes are difficult to watch.

 

Leaving Criterion soon. 

 

By contrast, my leaving choice this week, also from Criterion, was The Rainbow, directed by Ken Russell and loosely based on the novel by D. H. Lawrence.  With a stellar cast of British actors, the film focuses on young Ursula (Sammi Davis) and her attempt to steer clear of conventions and predictability.  More than anything, she wants to earn her own way in life, something her father tries to discourage.  She has a brief sexual relationship with one of her teachers (Amanda Donohoe), and then with a young military engineer.  Her early attempts at being a teacher in a local school are not exactly disastrous, but any first year teacher will recognize the situation.  Though Ms Davis might not be top star material, or as proficient as some other young actresses, she brings a fiery temperament and a restrained eagerness to the role.  Her somewhat musical voice might put some people off, but her lines get delivered effectively.  There are some lovely costumes in the film, not to mention one of the finest doors I have ever seen.  Pretty restrained for Russell, and certainly worth a look.

Leaving Criterion June 30th. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

Autumn's Peak

 It's been a busy time in and around the Homestead, and the best days of autumn are slipping past.  We had four days in the mid to high 70s F this past week and weekend, and it was sunny.  A strange time was had by all.  Most importantly, there were three clear nights in a row!  Good bye reading program; good bye movie viewing.  Hello galaxies!  Today it's getting cool again, and it's grey and very damp.  I just went outside to take some photos, and here are a few of them of the Homestead yard.  Our leaf colours are peaking today, but I missed out on the sunny day photos.

Looking back towards the creek that splits our two back yards, from our deck.

Looking south towards the busy intersection, hidden by our trees.

Our laneway that leads from the front yard to the back. 

I won't bore you with medical appointments and such, but Deb has begun disposing of her mom's jewellery, both costume and the good stuff.  Yesterday she sold the good stuff, and now she is sorting through mountains of costume stuff.  Lois was a lover of bangles and shiny things, and gaudy brooches and necklaces.  Our house is still filled with her stuff, but Deb is determined to get it all out asap.

It has been a slow reading month for me as far as number of books goes, but I am still determined to finish up (someday) my main SF reading project. I am now well into my "free" reading period, mostly books still on my shelf (not many left!), and my thousands upon thousands of books on Kindle, mostly the Delphi series.

In viewing news, last week I selected 5 short films as my main selection.  The first of these was a very funny film by Gabriel Abrantes, called The Marvellous Misadventures of the Stone Lady.  It's a very well done animated film about a statue in the Louvre that goes walkabout, and well worth seeking out.  Next came a series of four ten minute or so films called Relic 0, Relic 1, Relic 2, and Relic 3.  Directed by Larry Archiampong and from 2017, these UK films are quiet and meditative, with unusual photography accompanying a narration.  From the Criterion description: "Larry Achiampong’s RELIC series moves between African and Western vistas as it ruminates on time, history, and colonialism."  We both liked these films, and recommend them if they can be found on-line somewhere.

Now showing on Criterion. 

My going away choice was called Dolemite, a blaxploitation turkey from 1975, about which the less said the better.  It had its moments, but very, very few of them.  Most of them involved outrageous pimp suits!

Leaving criterion in a few days. 

Deb's movie choices included the 1933 Penthouse, starring Myrna Loy as a gangster's doll  who helps out an attorney nail the killer of her girlfriend.  Fast moving and fun to watch, Loy is the star (once she finally appears), and went on to a great career of mystery movies.

Now showing on Criterion. 

Moving up in years (but still in b & w) came China Doll, her pick for leaving Criterion Oct. 31st.  Starring Victor Mature, Li Li-Hua, and Ward Bond, it's a war time picture that takes place in China, which the Americans used as air bases to supply their troops battling the Japanese.  Part of the series Hollywood Chinese, a survey on the history of Chinese representation in American cinema, curated by filmmaker Arthur Dong, we have now seen several of these pictures.  This one features an interracial marriage, and a child born to them.  Miss Li-Hua was a Chinese movie superstar, and this was her only Hollywood film.

Leaving Criterion Oct. 31st/22

Li Li-Hua. 

Deb also chose Ken Russell's horror comedy film Lair of the White Worm, from 1988.  It's about the fourth or fifth time we have seen it, and it's always fun.  There are some very funny lines, and some truly hilarious scenes ("Rosebud;" The Snake Lady emerging from a large wicker basket as a snake charming song blasts from the neighbour's huge speakers; Peter Capaldi piping his way to safety with a vampire policeman close behind him).  Definitely a fun film!

Now showing on Criterion. 

Mapman Mike

 

 
 

Countdown To Spring

We are enjoying another wintry weekend, with a bit of snow Friday and seriously cold temps today (high of 24 F).  But official Spring is only a week away.  The winter pictures will come off the walls, and up will go different ones.  We have already had a few very fine days, and our snowdrops have been blooming for a week or so now.  I may even start to go outdoors again next week, though mostly do begin yard cleanup and shrub trimming.  Though I do have an uphill mode on my treadmill, I would prefer to get back to Malden Hill once a week for some serious hill climbing.  Though there will be no spring hiking in New Mexico again this year, I am ever hopeful for early autumn, getting back to high country once again.  I have so many unfinished hiking projects there I would like to complete, including at least three mountain crest trails.  Two are half complete, while the third is a long one day journey.

I am currently reading my 6th book of 8 related to my Avon/Equinox project.  Once the 8 books are read I have what I call free reading for the remainder of the month.  The book I am now reading is a strange but satisfying mix of SF and fantasy, written by Jack Williamson in 1994.  I am halfway through its 349 pages, and so far so good.  There are flying unicorns, but also steam wagons, steam trains, and astronomy.  There have been good characters, and the plot so far is building solidly.  Go Jack!  He was still writing this stuff well into his 80s.  I can only hope I will still be doing similar activities during my 80s. 

Deb continues work on her latest film, about four animals running away from certain doom once they have outlived their usefulness to their human masters.  It should run under 10 minutes, and be a visual stunner.  In piano news, I continue work on my next program.  I will seek out lessons with Philip A. sometime after the 21st, before performing them for friends.  My first Valeria book is currently being translated into French, as I await any news from 3 English publishers (can take up to 6 months) where the e-manuscript was sent.

 I am still anxiously awaiting word on when testing will be dropped at the border to return to Canada.  I keep having dreams where I am in Detroit, having a great old time, and then suddenly realize that I have to find someplace to get a Co-vid test.  Of course they are all closed....

Turning to film watching news, Truffaut's Day For Night is one of his best and most accessible films.  He plays a film director dealing with the many problems encountered in such an enterprise.  No doubt these were all problems he really did encounter when making his many films.  Very enjoyable viewing.

Showing on Criterion until March 31st. 

I Was A Simple Man is a film a lot of people rave about, but it left me pretty cold.  Deb really liked it.  It is a film from Hawai'i from 2021, telling in flashback parts of the life an older man now dying.  While I liked the way the story was told, the character selected for the film turned me off to the production.  The photography is beautiful, the dialogue is mostly quiet and sensitive, and the people trying to cope with the man's death are mostly caring and concerned.  The man was a pool shark and heavy drinker, who fathered two kids.  His wife died young and it left him even emptier as a person than he was previously.  He passed off his kids to his sister-in-law, and never had anything much to do with them, despite an early closeness to his daughter.  He barely talks as an old man, refusing to tell doctors anything.  He continues to drink and smoke.  He is nearly a blank slate, and never really develops into any kind of human character.  The story itself goes nowhere, either.  But quiet dialogue, lush atmospheric music, and superb photography have a lot of people thinking that this is a really deep film.  He wasn't a simple man; he wasn't really a man at all.  He was someone who faced hardship and failed to come to terms with it, or with anything, in his long life.  To me a simple man is one who lives his life as best and as full as he is able, without self induced complications or unnecessary drama.  This person was simply flat line throughout his life, at least according to the movie.  Nothing to see here.

Now showing on Criterion. 

Next was a very entertaining film, as Guillermo Del Toro takes us on a one hour tour of his museum to pulp, horror, and SF collection, housed in an amazing building that he has customized down to the last detail.  Called Adventures In Movie Going, it's one of a series where Criterion film buff talks to different directors about film.  Del Toro talks about films that influenced him as he shows us around his palace of collectibles, a rare look inside a place that he uses for inspiration and research.  Eye popping stuff!

Next up was Ken Russell's Mahler.  Like most of his feature films, this one could have been quite good, if it had a lot less of Ken Russell and just a bit more Mahler.  Like his Tchaikovsky film seen earlier, we get the basic facts and highlights (and lowlights) of Mahler's life.  But we get a lot more, too, with some truly outrageous segments that are pretty embarrassing to watch.  The music of the composer is used liberally and quite well, showing viewers where some of his important influences came from.  It shows Alma's struggle with her own self, as she literally has to bury her hopes of becoming a composer, too.  Set in the Austrian Alps, and on board a train travelling through Austria, the film uses flashback to tell much of the story.  The flashbacks are always triggered by something happening on board the train, such as a town brass band playing at a station, or something Alma says to him.  Not essential viewing for Mahler fans, but likely more for Russell fans.

Now showing on Criterion. 

Lastly comes a strange little b & w western from 1958, called Terror In A Texas Town.  It stars Sterling Hayden as a Swedish man come to take over his aging father's homestead.  When he arrives in town, he finds that his father has been murdered, and an evil land baron (Sebastien Cabot) is out to claim the land, with the aid of a hired gunman.  The settlers and townsfolk are too scared to band together and stand up for their rights.  Only Hayden's character will stand up to the bullies.  The final showdown features the gunman with his pistols versus Hayden with a whale harpoon, facing off on main street.  Weird but strangely watchable.

Showing on Criterion until March 31st. 

We are currently in the early stages of watching Cleopatra, a 4+ hr studio extravaganza starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and everyone else in Hollywood and beyond.

And, for your final entertainment, here are a few more pics from the family slide scanning project.

One of the first pictures I took with my first 35 mm camera, an Olympus.  Younger brother Stephen and unknown sidekick.  up till now I had used a Kodak Instamatic camera.

This four wheeler belonged to my female cousin.  I had a very fateful downhill ride on it one day. 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

More Winter Pictures

I went to Kingsville again Saturday, as Deb needed assistance with a new and bigger table for her mother.  It was delivered, and I headed down to Lakeside Park to read, as well as take a short walk.  It was a sub-arctic day, with blasting winds and very cold temps.  Overnight the winds had been wild, and though they were calming down somewhat, I didn't stay out long.

An unnamed creek exits into Lake Erie, with a lot of ducks hanging about.

 Similar shot towards Lake Erie.

Two images of snow dunes, caused by fresh snow and high winds.

Snow dune #2.

 

The park is on a bluff overlooking Lake Erie.  There is open water farther out, looking south towards Ohio. 

There is one movie to report.  We watched Ken Russell's The Music Lovers, from 1971.  It is an over the top look at the life of Tchaikovsky, starring Richard Chamberlain and Glenda Jackson.  It is colourful, and it does have some basic biographical things correct, and there is a lot of the composer's music in it.  So worth a look for Russell fans, and other strange people.

Showing until Feb. 28th on Criterion. 

 

We watched an amazing concert last night, the DSO live from Orchestra Hall.  The main work was the Beethoven 7th Symphony, and they played the pants off of it.  If only the composer could be alive (and not deaf) to hear such a performance.  Next Saturday (8 pm EST) is the Mahler 1st, another top favourite work.  Our current conductor is likely the best one the orchestra has ever had (and we have been around for at least 7 of the permanent conductors).  The rapport with the orchestra is the finest anyone could wish for, and his conducting manner and technique are too perfect.  The concerts are broadcast free.  Go to DSO Live From Orchestra Hall to watch (and listen).

 

As of March 1st Canadians who are vaccinated will be able to return from the US without having to get a Covid test again.  The rule was reinstated a few months ago, and is finally lifting.  I really hope I can get over there for a day.  It will be two years on March 10th since I have visited.  I think I am finally ready to go.  Most places, such as museums and concert halls over there, still have mask requirements, thankfully. If I go over, you will read about it here, first.

 

Mapman Mike