2024: A Glance Back

It was a year of loss and gain.  Wars and terrorism continue to plague mostly innocent civilians, including a horrendous Christmas market attack in Europe, and, only 3 hours into the new year, another similar one in New Orleans.  One of the biggest losses for the world in general is probably seeing Trump 6 days from the White House, winning the US election and leaving much of the civilized world aghast at what is to come.  There is no doubt that 2025 will be an interesting year, if more than a bit depressing.  It will be another year of horrible climate news, as lives and property continue to take a beating from nature's warnings that we seem not to heed.  Though there are few complaints here at the Homestead, places we love and care about are suffering badly.  The UK really took a series of hits from the climate this year, as did the US, Spain, South America, and many other locations.  California had record fires yet again, and the year turned out to be the world's warmest on record.  What is Trump's answer to all this?  Drill baby, drill.  Pump even more oil out of the ground and send it into the atmosphere.  Many times I am glad to be an old duffer; sitting around and watching the planet die will not occupy me for too many more years, at least.

 

Between Deb and I we lost 3 family members this year.  My dad passed away in March, Deb's sister during the summer, and a well-like uncle, my mother's brother, died this autumn.  I have one remaining aunt, and my mother and brother surviving me (and two lovely nieces).  Deb has one older sister still chugging along.  And while my overall health has been okay and I continue to stay fit, my bout with kidney stones really knocked me for a loop.  Hope that never happens again.  And Deb's health has hit a few bumps in the road as well.  Most telling is her inability to hike up mountains, due to some mystery condition yet to be determined.

 

R to L: Dad, Mom, Stephen, Mapman.  Probably late 1970s.  Taken at the Miller house on Lake Ramsay. 

 

R to L:  My grandfather Whitehead, born in Newcastle.  He lived till 96.  Uncle Jimmy, died at 33 in a car accident.   Recently deceased Uncle Bill.  An unknown spirit hovers behind Uncle Bill.  Don't remember noticing that before.  This was Jimmy's wedding to Ida (1974?). 

 

2024 was farewell to Deb's oldest sister, Sharon.  Left of her is Lois, Deb's mom, and Deb.
 

And now from the front.  Likely taken in the mid to late 90s (?).   We were on a local winery tour.

But we continued to travel!  After six long years we finally returned to New Mexico, and enjoyed one fine hike in the Manzano Mountains.  More visits are in the planning stages.  We undertook two road trips (not counting two trips to Sudbury), one to the deep south and one to the west.  Our first trip to New Orleans saw us visit four new states together, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.  We hit the state highpoint in those states, as well as visited some major archaeological sights.  In addition we had time to see some New Orleans attractions.  We flew to New Orleans and rented a car, thus creating a road trip as well as a visit to a major new city.  Our western trip saw us conclude a trip began in 2023.  We had to abort that trip when Deb took a bad fall in Oklahoma, with an already broken wrist.  But 2024 allowed us to complete the journey, which saw the Texas highpoint also summited.  Our return to New Mexico was taken as a good omen.

 

Our road trip from New Orleans took us to Montgomery, AL, the true beginning of the civil rights movement in the US.  This statue commemorates Rosa Parks' famous bus ride. 

 

The GPS route of my climb atop Guadalupe Mountain.  It is the highest point in Texas, and one of the biggest hikes I have ever undertaken.
 

Aside from returning to New Mexico again in 2025, we hope to get back to London UK and Vienna at least one more time in the near future, and possibly undertake a visit to a major new (for us) European city, such as Berlin.  We have access to direct flights from Detroit to several other seductive sounding cities as well. 

 

Meanwhile there are two movies to mention, both of them SF.  The Quatermass Experiment is a 2005 tv bit of flotsam from the UK that should never have been made.  Why follow a 1950s SF story so closely in 2005?  The story of Britain's first manned mission to outer space makes no sense today.  We've been there for nearly 70 years now, and this creaky rehash of a strange life form overtaking the mission and causing havoc on board and back home, works only as a 1950s story.  If it's supposed to be the 1950s, then we were fooled.  Quatermass stories are a favourite of mine, and I much rather would have had a new story rather than this dated rehash.  David Tenant and Adrian Dunbar do there best, but the actor that plays Quatermass (Jason Flemyng) is flat and hardly credible as the great man.  Probably best avoided.

Showing on Prime.

 

Turning to Arrival, from 2016, we come across a major SF film that had somehow escaped our view until now.  It is showing on Paramount, to which we recently subscribed.  This, my friends, is one of the top first contact movies ever made, and is possibly the best one.  When 12 gigantic starships land on Earth at different locations, the world is turned upside down.  Directed by Denis Villenueve from a story by Ted Chiang, this one pushed all the right buttons for great SF viewing.  Louis Banks is played by Amy Adams, a linguist tasked by the US military to communicate with the giant and mysterious heptapods.  While I have read better novels of first contact throughout my Avon/Equinox SF Rediscovery series, it is hard to find a better film on the subject.  Watch as Louise learns how to deal with the present by learning an alien language that allows her to see into her future actions.  A totally remarkable and unmissable film, and worth more than a single viewing.

Streaming on MGM.

 

Wishing anyone who stops by here a very prosperous and Happy 2025!  Good luck with that--I think you will need it.

 

Mapman Mike 

Travelling to New Mexico, Africa, and Umbria

 

 We have made many of our 38 trips to New Mexico in the latter half of August.  In our teaching days there was only mid-March, July, and August that we could travel afar.  The latter half of August was always a bitter sweet time, because following the hiking and camping trip to NM, we would be right back at work.  Many of our wedding anniversary days were spent climbing mountains and doing extraordinary hiking.   I have been leafing through my NM journals, and getting sharp pangs of "I want to go there again" lately.  Now, of course, we have the option of going in September, October, and even November, so it is doubtful if we will ever visit again in August.  August is the height of the monsoons, and can be very wet and stormy.  But I will always feel the call at this time, regardless.

Here is a photo from one of our spectacular August hikes in days of yore.  This one overlooks Georgia O'Keeffe country, not far from her home in Abiquiu, which also featured in "Breaking Bad."

My summer in Africa saw me spend several days in Accra, Ghana, studying the city up close with Google Maps.  Maps lists all the museums, shops, and restaurants, with links to visit websites and view photos, and Street View allows one to walk the streets, looking around in all directions.  Accra is a really fine city, with several veg restaurants and some lovely hotels.  It faces the Atlantic in a southerly way, and the beaches look great for strolling.  

After that I moved on to the sources of the Nile River.  I began with the Victoria Nile at Lake Victoria, lazily following it to where it becomes the White Nile, and then on to Khartoum where it joins the Blue Nile.  I then followed the Blue Nile all the way back to its source.  Reading Jules Verne's Five Weeks In A Balloon got me interested in the Nile expedition.  Realizing the extreme conditions the early explorers had to face made my desk top adventuring seem rather tame by comparison, but it was still fun, and I came to know parts of the Nile quite well.  In my explorations around Lake Tanganyika I discovered a place to stay in one of the national parks.  It is called Greystoke Mahale, and looks so good that I am literally thinking of trying to get there.  With access to jungle, chimps, the lake, and a mountainous national park, it would be the experience of a lifetime.

Greystoke, of course, is named in tribute of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan character.  As an adolescent, Tarzan was my main hero.  Those books led me to read other books about rain forests.  If I ever do go to Africa, it will be either Algeria for a desert experience, or Tanganyika for the jungle.

It's surprising how many books related to Avon/Equinox project are set in Africa.  Novels by Ballard, Spinrad, Blish, Chad Oliver, and others have whetted my appetite even further.

Greystoke Mahale main building, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.  Sleeping cabins are hidden. 

I have also spent a considerable amount of time in Perugia this summer, courtesy of Mr. Google Map.  We have a 272 page Martin Randall volume, which contains all of their 2019 escorted tours.  I randomly chose The Heart of Italy, and have been closely following the itinerary, exploring medieval cites and towns of Perugia.  The hotel is in Spello, and day trips go from there.  So far I have explored in detail Spello, Assisi, Todi, Perugia city, Foligno, Montefalco, and Gubbio.  Left to see are Orvieto and Spoleto.

                        Spello, Italy.  Image courtesy of http://www.ginamussio.com/spello-italy/ 

Hopefully all of my future travelling will not have to be virtual.  In the meantime, we are doing well at saving money for the day when we will feel safe to venture deep into the wide and wonderful world once again.

Mapman Mike

Summer's Last Hurrah

The final week of official summer is turning out to be a masterpiece of weather conditions.  Sunny, quite warm, breezy--in fact, since about mid-July we have had a very fine summer this year, missing much of the heat and humidity usually characteristic of this period.  Although it has been very very wet.  How wet?  Our grass is still growing like it's June, and I'm still chopping it back with the tractor.  The Monarch butterflies seem to be making a comeback, too.  We have seen more of them this year than in many previous years.  Not a small victory at all, but a major one.

Looking at last year's astronomy autumn work, there was none.  I observed on September 3rd, 2018, and then it got cloudy.  Exceedingly cloudy.  I next observed in January of 2019.  It was a nightmare season, and I fervently hope that it never (ever!) happens again.  

This time last year we were on our way to New Mexico for my 65th birthday celebration, which consisted of four very fine hikes, and a very long return drive.

 This a photo from last September 17th, showing me driving west towards NM. 

I timed the trip so that we would be there during a full moon (harvest), and back for some late September astronomy.  No astronomy.  Not even in October, or November.  In December we were off to Vienna, so I may have missed a night or two that week.  Anyway, I have been preparing my observing list for the next session, hoping that it will actually happen.  Autumn skies are often the best ones, as it gets dark earlier and some of the most interesting constellations are up.  There are no bugs, either.  So it will be clear this week, but the moon rises too early.  Next week, we shall have to wait and see.

Today is my mom and dad's wedding anniversary.  I talked to them both this afternoon, and they are getting on fine, though not looking forward to another cruel winter spent indoors.  Enjoy these last days of summer, and with luck it will be a mild autumn, too.  Have a happy day!  

Deb's movie pick last weekend was another Barbara Stanwyck flic, this one called Forbidden, from 1932.  It also stars Adolphe Menjou.  Not one of her best films, nor Frank Capra's.  It was based on a story by the director.  At least it was short.

 Definitely not "her greatest dramatic role."

Speaking of films, Deb went to Shetown in Detroit on Sunday to see her film screened.  That same day the same film was also screening in northern Michigan, and a different film of hers was showing in Europe somewhere.  Hard to keep track of her successes these days.  She won the audience award last week for a short film of hers that showed in Cadiz, Spain!  One would think we would be rich beyond our wildest dreams by now.  I wonder what Deb is doing with all that award money.  She certainly has a lot of certificates and laurels.

I'll try to find time to fit in a DIA painting next time--Canaletto, anyone?

Mapman Mike

September 2018

Sunday, Sept. 30th/18 

Today was as close to a normal day as I've had in three weeks.  I got to practice piano, which was an interesting experience.  My hands basically moved where they were supposed to move, but it felt like it wasn't me playing.  Very strange.  It will take several more days before I really know what I am doing again.  The listening program also resumed, this time with Brahms' Op. 53, his absolutely beautiful Alto Rhapsody, with words by Goethe.  Very few of his compositions made any immediate impact on audiences, but this one did.  A stunning piece of music! 

When I travel, the reading I bring along with me is not related to my SF rediscovery project.  Instead, I pull books from my other waiting piles.  On our recent journey to NM I finally finished up the Brahms biography.  It proved to be a most rewarding journey, and seemed like fiction much of the time.  The writer (Jan Swafford) has a real story-telling gift, and not only makes Brahms come alive in every chapter, but goes a long way to explain his very strange and off-putting character and personality.  I got the book for free several years ago for attending all of the DSO Brahms festival concerts, and have been reading it off and on since then.  The other book I brought and finished was the first book of the Solar Pons stories by August Derleth!  Often as good as the Conan Doyle Holmes stories, and frequently better, I look forward to the next batch soon.

More yard work today saw us about 30% caught up with what needs doing.  Tomorrow we will call the tree experts to come give us a hand with the bigger stuff.  The weather is perfect now for outdoor work, after a brutal summer.  I also continue to edit our trip photos, and hope to prepare some soon for printing. 

 This was the high point of our NM journey, as we huffed and puffed our way up another big beast of a mountain.

Saturday, Sept. 29th/18 

The laundry is done, the grass is cut (we had over 3" of rain in the interim)and we are (mostly) unpacked.  Two weeks with little news to read, virtually no social media, and even less piano practice and (for Deb) film making.  Normal operations should resume tomorrow.  I have begun the long and slow process of editing over 250 photos, hopefully keeping at least half of them.  We managed four great days of hiking, and more of driving.  Internet updates will take some time, as I always complete the written version first.  In the meantime, I will post some photos here as they are edited.  Check back often.

This wonderful little sculpture was seen in a window in downtown Springfield, Missouri.  It quickly became the symbol of my solo drive west, as I gained altitude each day until I reached NM!

 Autumn was arriving in the higher elevations.  Sandia Mtns., Albuquerque, as seen from the tram that took us from 6000' to over 10,000'  for our first big hike.  That downward opening is a waterfall during the monsoon season.

Friday, Sept. 28th/18 

We're Baa-aack!!  Just back from a great road trip--3689 miles and several mountains later, we have returned with a pile of laundry, and grass that needs serious trimming!  Lots of great photos to share, with maybe a few posted here tomorrow if time permits to download and edit them.  Stay tuned to this channel for more exciting updates soon!

Friday, Sept. 14th/18 

Twas the night before New Mexico, and all through the house there was much activity.  Laundry going now, packing finally begun, though things have been set aside for over a week.  It's much worse for a camping trip, but bad enough for a two week driving excursion.  It feels a bit strange teaching for two weeks, then stopping for two weeks.  As for the practicing, what can I say?  Things are good right now.  However, in two weeks probably not so much.  As to reading material, I am taking a break from my fiction project, and will be trying to finish the excellent Brahms biography I started a few years ago.  Sadly, the listening project is on hold, as my ear has reached a point where listening to music is no longer pleasant. 

I now have the ability to blog during the journey, so there might be one or two entries coming up.  Alas, no photos, as we cannot get them from the camera to the internet.  I managed one clear, very damp night of observing for the entire two week dark sky session.  Rather disappointing.  We will be in NM for my 65th birthday and the Autumn Equinox (with a fire on the outdoor patio at Sherri's B & B), and a full moon.  By the time we are back, it will be almost time to resume observing once again.

See everyone again in about 4,000 miles!

Monday, Sept. 10th/18 

Four days of clouds now, and cool temps.  Yesterday it remained in the 50s all day.  It was a total delight!  Not to fear, sunshine and warmth are returning soon.  However, New Moon has come and gone without a decent observing night.  Very few days left in the September viewing session.  Gordon (the storm, not the steam engine) is to blame for the weekend clouds.  Another incoming hurricane will affect us next weekend.

We have 4 days of hiking and exploring in NM coming up, a very exciting prospect!  Three areas involve new territory (and maps) for us, with one hike being a repeat from several years ago.  Mt. Taylor is an enormous one-time volcano that we climbed previously.  However, having just reached the summit, we were set upon by a fierce elctrical storm.  Hopefully this time we will be able to enjoy some summit time.

 Mt. Taylor, NM  rises to 11, 305', with a mile of prominence.  This will be the highest point of our upcoming journey.  Phtot was taken from our Amtrak journey to California a few years ago.

Saturday, Sept. 8th/18  

There was a time, perhaps a happier time, when Detroit belonged to us. We were the only people on the streets not begging for money.  We were trying to support small business, stay safe, and do all things cultural.  There were literally no white people to be seen outside the hallowed halls of Orchestra Hall or the Art Institute.  Definitely no babies, no children, and no dogs, other than the lean, hungry kind you wanted to avoid.  Switch to a few years later--Detroit is swamped with white suburbanites who have "discovered" Detroit, and don't mind being seen drunk and loud and belligerent at any time of day.  Dogs on leashes everywhere.  Babies!  Kids of all ages!  Is this Detroit?  There is even a version of the Croydon Boxpark, appearing suddenly on a lonely and previously empty series of vacant lots, now populated by happy suburbanites discovering a "real" city near them for the first time in their lives.

Ya, it was crazy busy in Detroit today on our visit.  We still managed to find an undiscovered vegan lunch spot near the heart of it all, and one of the best taprooms in existence, remarkably quiet today while chaos soared all around it.  We did a mailbox run to get Deb's Oscar-like statue from her win in Cincinnati, did a walk through one of Dearborn's most unique historic neighbourhoods, and managed to escape the throngs threatening to choke the city into some version of London or Manhattan.  Worst of all is the new electric scooter craze.  One day there were none, then there were billions of them, speeding up and down streets, sidewalks, and boulevards.  Rent a scooter, leave it anywhere when you are done with it, and move on.  We first noted them in Cincinnati a few weeks ago, but they are WAY more prevalent in the Motor City.  Bad news all round.  Can you imagine these things in London?  On sidewalks?  Well, folks, watch for it....

My reading mind has never been stretched so far as since I undertook the Ballantine Fantasy project, and now the Avon/Equinox SF project.  So many books I would never have glanced at, or, at most, read part of the first chapter and immediately discarded.  However, since I am now hooked on about 24 SF authors and committed to reading most of their output, I have been forced to read on through books I never would have finished.  And guess what?  I am coming out a much better person for it!  Some of these books (John Sladek and Norman Spinrad, Hal Clement and Ward Moore, Eric Frank Russell and Piers Anthony, among others, come to mind) have cranked my brain wide open in ways I thought only James Blish and Iain M. Banks could do. 

We have now had two cloudy, cool days in a row! This is big news.  Tomorrow will be Day Three!!  The remnants of Hurricane Gordon are arriving as I write, promising a full day of rain Sunday.  I will believe it when it happens....

Thursday, Sept. 6th/18

First week of teaching went smoothly.  I only have 9 students right now, down six from last year.  This is both good news and bad:  good because it means I have an easy year, and bad because it means that our travel fund will not reach its annual goal of $10,000.   This has been a very busy year for travel, with two major trips still coming up.  We went to London in the spring, then to Columbus to Origins Film Festival and Board Game Fair.  I went to Sudbury, then Deb went to Lindsay, both for family visits.  Then we went to Cincinnati.  NM coming up, and then Vienna.  So we went way over our $10,000 budget this year!  Next year will have to be more subdued, unless a few more students find their way into my studio.  Deb also had a harp student, who is now gone, so actually we are down 7 this year.  It means more astronomy chances for me, and I will likely return to Iaido in October. 

It has been a horribly hot and humid start to the school year, with temps from Sunday through Wed. at 88, 88, 90, and 92 F.  Add in gross humidity and it was a very bad time.  We stayed mostly indoors, though we managed to mostly keep up our morning walking program.  We have no choice, as some big hikes are coming our way very soon.  The kids were pretty burnt out by the time they got to me for their piano lessons.  The news reported this week that 80% of classrooms in our county are not air conditioned.  Today was much more comfortable, with cloudy skies and much lower temps.

There was a shooting this morning in downtown Cincinnati, one block from our recent hotel.  I was in the lobby of the bank where the shootings took place exactly two weeks ago.  A bit scary.

Today was Deb's blood work day; next Thursday is her infusion.

And in other riveting news, it has been a rather uncompromisingly bad observing session.  Not one night has tempted me to drive out to the observatory, mostly due to extreme heat and humidity, even at night.  Nothing promising in the near future, either.

Sunday, Sept. 2nd/18

A new astronomy session has begun, though it seems unlikely that a good night will arrive any time soon.  We are currently in yet another wave of heat and humidity, our 95th or 96th such event lately.  However, yesterday we received our biggest rain since June 19th.  The brown grass was green within one hour of the storm passing!  When this session ends in less than two weeks, we will be on our way to NM!

The storm hit us yesterday as we were visiting with Randy and Anita in the late afternoon.  There was more lightning than I am comfortable with, with several very close hits.  We left there house in Windsor as the storm was dying down, but ended up driving through another storm as we headed for home.  We chose back roads, largely with no traffic, so we had no difficulty getting home.  There was 1.6" in the rain gauge when we got there!  We had 4 days in August at 90 F or above, making the seasonal total 20 days so far, not including today.  It is supposed to be hot and humid all week.  I remember those 'back to school days' as a classroom teacher!  September can be brutal.

Randy traded in his white van, which he originally bought to transport his large telescope.  He bought a limited edition, numbered Bullitt Mustang, assembled in suburban Detroit with the engine made in Windsor.  It is way too much car for me, but Randy seems to enjoy driving it.  It rumbles pretty good, and has more power than it knows what to do with.  The car would be a lot more fun if there were legal places to drive it the way it was designed to be driven. 

Anita has been recently bothered by more pain than usual, and her pain meds are being increased to cope with it.  She is now on her newest chemo concoction, and is due for the next hit on Tuesday.  They won't know how the tumours are doing until late September, so until then we can only hope that the chemo is helping.  Best of luck Tuesday, Anita, and the several days afterwards!

My right ear has been plugged since March, but has gotten much worse since the hot and sticky weather has arrived.  It is at least 85% blocked right now, making piano practice an added challenge.  I have some memorization goals set before leaving for NM, and so far I seem on track to meet them.

Mapman Mike