A Visit To Sudbury

I had to drive almost 470 miles from home to escape the intense heat and dryness of our area.  But it was worth it.  Cool days, with heavy rain on one of them, made the trip more than worthwhile.  Into the bargain I also got to see my family.  Five of them live in a large apartment building which Dad owns.  He and my mother live upstairs, brother Steve and sister-in-law Lynne live on the main floor, and my niece Emma-Lee has her own room in the finished basement.  Everyone seemed well and happy, especially brother Steve, who just retired from his stressful job.  I managed two hilly city walks on my visit, a welcome change from the treadmill.  I also enjoyed a very welcome sauna (160 F!) and a swim in the family salt water pool.  Life is good in the north (in the summer, anyway).

I also got to perform my latest piano program for my parents, thanks to the generosity and friendship of Marion, a former mezzo soprano and voice teacher.  Her late husband John was my piano teacher at Cambrian College, getting me from Gr 5 piano through the professional level in three years!  I played on John's practice grand piano, as a guest of Marion.

 

PIANO RECITAL

July, 2022

Michael Ethier

Prelude #1 in C major (BWV933)

Prelude #2 in c minor (BWV934)......................................J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

 

Six Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 34

Theme (Adagio)

I – (D major)

II – Allegro, ma non troppo (Bb major)

III – Allegretto (G major)

IV – Tempo di menuetto (Eb major)

V – Marcia funebre (c minor)

VI – Allegretto (F major)

Coda (Allegretto. Adagio moto)....................L. van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Song Without Words (Andante), Op.102 No. 4....................................F. Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Impromptu, Op. 90 No. 2..........................................F. Schubert (1797-1828)

Nocturne, Op. 37 No.1..............................................F. Chopin (1810-1849)

Bethena, A Concert Waltz.............................................S. Joplin (1868 - 1917) 

The program is a demanding one for me, and it was played through with no intermission.  I did speak briefly between some of the pieces.  The program is now packed away, and new material has been started.  More later on the new pieces.

Some of the audience (my mom and dad) mingles with the guest performer after the concert. 

I have one movie to report.  Though it promised much, it didn't deliver very much at all.  House of Bamboo is from 1955, and is directed by Sam Fuller.  It was in colour, and in Cinemascope.  It was filmed entirely in Japan.  It could have been a real epic film.  But it wasn't.  The plot is a lackluster gangster film, and Robert Stack as the lead actor and hero leaves much to be desired.  Deb made a promising choice, but the film simply did not live up to its hype.  Deforest Kelly plays one of the gangsters.  Overall, very colourful and with some wonderful local photography, but pretty much a disappointment.

Now showing on Criterion. 

Tonight we finished up The Name of the Rose, an 8-part series on AMC.  While some of the episodes had some filler, overall the series was first rate and highly recommended.  I read the novel too long ago for a fair comparison, but I would like to think it is a definitive filmed version.  I sincerely hope other Eco novels will receive similar treatment in the near future.  The final episode features the burning of the library and monastery, as well as a number of deaths.

I will finish up today's blog with a quick look at a painting from the DIA.  American Impressionism features a number of works equal or superior to many French ones.  Detroit has a very good sample of French Impressionism, and a fabulous group of American paintings influenced by that movement.  On The Canal, 1916 could pass as a Van Gogh, and a very good one at that.  I have a healthy interest in the American canal era, which was extensive but short lived.  By the time the canals were fully constructed and operational, railroads were already beginning to supplant them.  Major flooding eventually destroyed the entire system.

We have visited many canal sites in Ohio and Indiana (a canal went from Toledo to Fort Wayne, IN, and from Toledo to Cincinnati).  It's fun comparing photos of the era (early 1900s) to the same locations today.  There are big differences.  Especially in the towns and cities, canals were in industrial areas, with no trees, grass, or any sign of a healthy ecosystem.  Viewing these overgrown sites today can give a very misleading idea of what the era was really like (a bit like Hell).  While Robert Spencer's painting does feature a large tree, he chose to paint it without leaves, likely in early Spring.  Though this particular image is from Pennsylvania, it is easily recognized as a classic canal side image of the day, from just about anywhere in the Midwest.  I love the slightly mismatched windows in the narrow central house.  The painting is getting me interested again in visiting some more sites!

On The Canal, New Hope, 1916.  Oil on canvas.  Robert Spencer, American, 1879-1931.  Unframed 30" x 36".  Did Van Gogh visit America?  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts.

Two details from Spencer's fine painting. 

Mapman Mike

 
 

 

 

Catching Up

...we now return to our regular programming.

The first part of June, with one or two exceptions, was seasonal and even a bit on the cooler side.  But not the 2nd half.  We have already endured many days of temps that go far beyond "above average."  Not only that, but it has been very dry, and will continue so until at least Friday.  I cut the grass yesterday for the first time in two weeks, on the slight chance of predicted rain.  No rain, but the grass is cut.

Later today I am awaiting the passage of the CSL Laurentien, one of five ships I watch on a regular basis.  This will be her 7th upstream pass, heading for Thunder Bay from Quebec City.  Back and forth all summer.  Quite a workhorse.  Meanwhile, Federal Bering, which was in Windsor a few weeks ago (likely picking up salt), was then off to Scotland, and is now in Ostend.  The Federal Cedar, which spent the winter in and around South American and Mexico, is on its way to Montreal, and will hopefully take a swing up our way in the upper Great Lakes.

We are nowhere with repairs to our garage foundation.  We simply cannot find anyone interested to come and fix it.  We basically need a foundation mason, but apparently they are all busy.  Sigh.  We ourselves are assembling and putting up railings this week on the new staircase, however.  The main job is to drill 16 holes into the new cement.  We are purchasing a new drill for that job.  Pictures to follow.

In film news, we have watched three interesting documentaries lately, all of them excellent and very well presented.  We have had to subscribe to AMC+ for two months in order to watch a new series they are presenting (see below), but they also have several other good things to watch.  One of them is Jodorowsky's Dune, from 2013.  Featuring much of the concept art that was created, and nearly endless conversations with the man himself, this pre-Star Wars idea was simply way too ahead of its time.  There can be no doubt that it would have been a terrific and awe-inspiring picture had it been made.  In the end it needed 5 more million dollars, which were nowhere to be found.  Definitely a fascinating way to spend a few hours!

Now streaming on AMC+.

Another good doc showing on AMC is Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown.  Dating from 2008-09, this one is incredibly well researched, and features interviews with Guillermo Del Toro, Neil Gaiman, John Carpenter, Caitlan Kiernan, and others.  Lavishly illustrated with historical photos and art inspired by his works, this is a must-see film for fans of horror fiction.

Now streaming on AMC+. 

A few weeks ago we watched Margin, a simple film about a journey up the Amazon on a passenger ship, directed by Maya Da-Rin.  Criterion also has her film called Land, from 2009, about a city that shares a border with Peru, Colombia, and Brazil, far up the Amazon River.  She spends time in this far off city, getting in fairly deeply with some of its citizens, including some Indigenous people who have had to make major adjustments to their lives in order to survive. Well worth seeing, her work is a form of visual anthropology.

Showing until June 30th on Criterion.   

Some other films we have seen lately (Criterion) include One Day In The Rainy Season, an Indian film from 1971 directed by Mani Kaul.  Based on a play by Mohan Rakeesh, the plot concerns a young village woman who gives up her hold on her lover so he can go to court and become a famous writer.  The play has very few characters, and is entirely set within a small and very basic hut in a small village. The acting is carried out in unemotional speech, giving a timeless quality to the b & w proceedings, almost as if the words were spoken by dead people, rather than ones emotionally involved with the tale.  Unique and worthwhile.

Showing on Criterion until June 30th/22 

 

Fritz Lang's 1941 Man Hunt was next, starring Walter Pidgeon and George Sanders.  Pidgeon is a big game hunter who sets his rifle sights on Adolph Hitler.  Before he can pull the trigger he is caught and arrested.  Refusing to sign a confession to Nazi Sanders, he escapes back to England with the Germans in hot pursuit.  Though well acted and filmed tautly and expertly, the film left me a bit cold.  I think that the character of the hunter becoming the hunted could have been made a bit more realistic.  He seems to have virtually no skills whatsoever, so how he ever got close enough to Hitler in the first place remains a mystery.  The whole concept of the enemy in our midst, however, was very well done.

 

Showing on Criterion until June 30th. 

 

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart In the Land of Demons, and Black Belt Jones, from 1973 and 1974 respectively, make a good double feature of action packed mayhem.  While Lone Wolf slaughters the enemy with his trusty blade, Jones uses karate to demolish his enemies.  And they both dispose of a lot of enemies.  It's not the kind of movie pairing one might think of, but it works! Both are streaming on Criterion.

Streaming on Criterion. 

 

Streaming on Criterion until June 30th. 

 

In addition to films, we are currently involved in several series, including two sets of lecture courses on Wondrium.  We only have one left in the SF literature series, and still several more on the archeology of North America.  As one of those courses finish, we will begin a new one.

 

On Prime we are now well into the 2nd season of Undone, an animated fantasy series that is quite complex and easily one of the better fantasy screen adventures ever undertaken.  It is aimed at adults, and follows the adventures of a family of four as they unravel their past, present, and future selves.  Needless to say the plot is difficult to explain, but the acting, writing, and special effects are truly inspired.  Episodes are less than 30' each, but pack an awful lot into that time.  Highly recommended.  There are 8 episodes in each season.

Seasons 1 &2 are showing on Prime. 

 

The reason we subscribed to AMC+ was to watch their new series called Dark Winds. The first season has 6 one hour episodes.  It is so well done that a second season will be presented next year.  It features Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, Navajo police officers from Tony Hillerman's acclaimed detective series, largely set in Northwest new Mexico and Northeast Arizona.  So far we have seen three episodes, and the fourth is set for tonight.  We both love the Hillerman books (17 or 18 of them before he died, with the series now taken over by daughter Anne, who was an executive producer for the TV series), and have seen two or three earlier films based on the books.  But this series has a budget, and the production values are near to perfect.  The casting seems enlightened, especially Leaphorn. We are devouring this series!  We got my dad interested in the books a long time ago, and he should be able to watch this series on his AMC regular channel.

 

Leaphorn and Chee take on the bad guys!  Great stuff! 

 

As a bonus, we also found an 8 part series on AMC called Name of the Rose.  It follows Ecco's book much more closely than the earlier film ever did, and once again the TV production values are superb and nearly overwhelming.  It may seem odd to find John Turturro playing the lead role of the detective monk, but so far (2 episodes in), he is unbelievably good.  I have never seen medieval atmosphere so authentically depicted on the screen.  We have certainly hit gold this month.  And waiting in the wings is a 2009 version of The Prisoner, a six episode series that might prove interesting.

 

A 2019 8 part series showing on AMC. 

 

I will return with more news in a day or two.  And it close to the time when I summarize my month's reading.  Please return soon.

 

Mapman Mike