Swamped

It's been busy around the old Homestead lately, but things are getting back on track.  On top of everything else, we lost internet for two days due to a faulty modem.  A new one was sent out and we are back to normal.  Astronomy has died for this lunar cycle, as a week of clouds and rain settled in last Sunday.  New moons around here always seem to be cloudy and hopeless.  I've come to expect things to go that way.  However, I managed to get out 5 times in April, and each one was a fun and exciting outing.  One of those outings was quite breezy, and I got to use my vast repertoire of profanity that night.  But the others were perfect, and even warm!

And the road trip blog is now complete.  Just click on the Road Trip link in the left margin to read a 5-part blog about our recent travel adventures.  Two new pictures were added to part 4 last night.  Many parts of the trip still resonate nicely, as any good trip should. 

In Homestead news, routine medical appointments are on going.  Deb's new glasses are ready for pick up tomorrow.  Our furnace got repaired to the tune of nearly $500.  Deb purchased a new computer for her film work, and donated the old one for our desk top use.  Everything has been transferred over thanks to her.  And I have a new cell phone, again thanks to Deb's patience with technological affairs.  The old land line in the house is now gone, with that number transferred to my phone.  We are actually saving money by doing this.  And speaking of phones, the new American phone worked perfectly on our trip.  American monthly plans allow users to save data not used each month, so we had plenty of data to use on our trip.  This meant keeping an eye on traffic buildup and construction, as well as weather.  So for now, our technological existence is going well.

In film news, here is the latest.... Deb still had a couple of choices left from her festival.  First up was a very delightful tale called Hunt For The Wilderpeople, from 2016.  A man and a large boy head for the bush when the boy is threatened with being taken back into social care.  They are chased by authorities, but find lots of sympathetic helpers along the way. The movie is funny, well acted, and well written.  Being a film from new Zealand, some of the dialogue is a little tricky to understand, but the movie is highly recommended, even though it goes a bit over the top at times.

Leaving Criterion April 30th. 

Next came another film by Douglas Sirk. All I Desire is from 1953, and is held together by more fine acting by Barbara Stanwyck.  It's a soapy tale of a woman who left her marriage and small town to try and make it big on the stage.  Invited back by her daughter to see her high school play, she has to come to grips with the different feelings her visit entails.  It's pretty good overall, but without Stanwyck it likely would not be.  She seems to melt into the role like some people fit perfectly into jeans.

 

Leaving Criterion April 30th. 

 

I stepped up to the plate with In a Lonely Place starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame in a 1950 film directed by Nicholas Ray.  It was as good as it sounds, too.  Bogart is a writer for Hollywood films.  He seems to be bi-polar, and has fits of extreme violence that he cannot control.  Grahame falls in love with him, even after he has been accused of murder.  It sounds like it might be the old story of woman clings to man no matter what.  But not here.  The ending is very dark and downbeat, perfect for the movie but so very rare in Hollywood.  Definitely off the beaten track, and worth tracking down.  Bogart can be one scary guy.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Finally, another of Deb's picks, this time from Prime.  Three Thousand Years of Longing is an adult fantasy film starring Idris Elba as a Djinn, and Tilda Swinton as the woman who releases him from his bottle.  From 2022, this surprisingly good film was directed by George Miller.  This is about as far from Mad Max as a film can get, which is probably why it garners a lot of lukewarm reviews.  The special effects are truly wonderful, and the whole thing has the feel of the Arabian Nights tales.  Very highly recommended for adult fantasy fans.  Elba is just too perfect as a Djinn with a sorrowful past.

Now showing on Prime. 

 

Until next time.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six More Weeks

 We are under a new 6 week stay at home order, just as the weather turns towards mid Spring.  Needless to say, it is not going over well with many people, who are more than a little sick of being told to stay home, yet have to go to work everyday.  Schools are shut, making daycare a nightmare for working parents.  And that includes teachers at home with their own children, who have to work all day on-line with students.  The government tried getting the police to issue random stops and fine people for being out for no good reason, which was quite a common thing in the UK during their lock down.  But here, the blow back was so fierce and loud that the government quickly backed down, especially after most police agencies said they would not do it.  Score one for the people!

Mogi continues to improve, though he still has a week to go on the cone collar.  He will still be heavily sedated all this week, though Mogi spends much of his cat life seemingly sedated anyway.

I will turn to art from the DIA first this time, before talking about movies.  Today's work comes from John Mix Stanley, a 19th C artist-explorer, most famous for his images of the west, and of the natives there.  Today's painting shows an unusual subject, one with a sense of humour along with the typical trappings of his many works.  Indians playing cards is from 1866, and shows a group of three natives passing some time while a fourth looks on from his horseback position.  I have never come across such an image before, but it reminds me of how it must have been passing time back in the days.  Cards, which we still play in many forms here at Lone Mountain Homestead, are easily carried, can be played almost anywhere, and can involve the mind is higher levels of thinking for long periods of time.  No doubt awaiting their fellow braves at a rendezvous point, this work points out the similarities, rather than the differences, between our two cultures.

 

Indians Playing Cards, 1866.  John Mix Stanley, American, 1814-1872.  Oil on canvas, 16" x 26".  Collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts.

 

Detail of central area, above.  

 

In movie news, we watched a film that has been sitting in the queue on our Prime channel for a long time.  Ex Machina is a pretty decent SF story about a brilliant man who creates a human-like AI life form, and brings in someone from his company to test and see if she can pass for human.  The story, which would fit easily into a novelette of about 40-50 pages, contains some very good dialogue, though in most ways does follow a conventional story pattern.  However, if the story on its own might not impress an avid SF reader too much, its filmed execution is quite outstanding.  The effects are very impressive, and the confined setting helps keep the story grounded and simple.  There are no convoluted plot twists or deep subtexts.  Though the ending is quite chilling, I believe that Ava will someday realize her mistake in leaving Caleb behind.  In other words, she does not have a conscience at the end of the picture, but if she continues to learn and advance by observing other humans, she just might develop one after a time.  A recommended movie, especially for SF fans.

Now showing on Prime.  

We also watched They Live By Night, a unique noir love story starring a very handsome and young Farley Granger.  He plays the part of a boy sent to prison for murder at 16.  He escapes with two roughnecks, who bring him only (he is now 23) to help him rob banks with them.  He meets and falls for Cathy O'Donnell, and their story makes up the main subject of the picture.  Of course they are fated to not live happily ever after.  The film is deep and involved, and plays like reading a very good crime novel.  Though the young couple have opportunities to escape the US and move to Mexico, they wait until it is much too late.  A very highly rated film directed by Nicholas Ray, I can easily recommend it, especially to fans of the Noir genre.

Showing on Criterion until April 30th.

 

Mapman Mike