Surgery Success

Deb's 2nd kidney stone removal surgery in 4 months finally happened today.  She was first on the table this morning in Leamington, which meant a very early start for us.  We left home at 5:45 am to get Deb there by 6:45 am.  She was out and back in the car well before 10:00 am and is currently at home, resting comfortably, as they say.  Or perhaps not so comfortably.  She has a stent in place for the next two weeks, and can't go far from home.  She has some happy pills to take for the first few days.  Her newest urologist is keen to discover the reason why these things are happening.  Not only did he zap a 1cm beastie this morning, but he also found two more in her kidney which he also removed.  So now we can concentrate on getting her RA back under control again, then worry about her lung blood clots.  Fun times.  Funny thing is she will likely be ready for a trip to London next month, but my foot is still holding me back.  I went off anti-inflammatory pills for several days to see how things were going.  I'm back on the pills today.  I've had no contact from my physician regarding the recent ultra sound results.  I guess I will have to contact him.

We finally watched the final episode of Season Three of Picard.  It's not that it's bad, but it's just the same old stuff over and over again, this time with the full old timer crew from Next Generation taking part.  There is nothing new in Star Trek, and there hasn't been for years.  In this series the big bad Borg are back, the writers seeming to forget that the first season was all Borg related, too.  With a full ending that saw the evil Borg queen combined with a good human, thus ending her days of tyranny.  No mention of any of that in season 3. Sigh and ho hum.  I will spoil the ending for everyone by saying that at the very last second the good guys manage to save the Universe and everyone in it, with barely a scratch suffered.  Good job you guys.

 

We've been watching a British series called Canal Boat Diaries, where "Robbie" takes on English canals by himself for five seasons of narrow boating. Robbie is a good bloke, and his boat, the Naughty Lass--a pun on the Nautilus--has many quiet adventures on the mostly peaceful canal.  Robbie is an explorer at heart, always on the move (albeit slowly) and always looking forward to the next lock or bend in the river.  The English canal system is a true marvel of the world.  While the US also had a vast canal system, it was abandoned long ago and never rebuilt for pleasure boaters.  Ontario also has a great canal system, though I have never seen a long series about it.

 

Two recent films are up next.  To The Devil A Daughter is a suitably gory Hammer film from 1976 and directed by Peter Sykes.  It has a big name cast that includes Richard Widmark as the Van Helsingish hero, Christopher Lee as the Dracula-ish villain and Nastassja Kinski as the 17 year old nun who is at the centre of the evil plot.  She was only 15, and appears in a total nude scene near the film's end.  A number of unnecessary deaths plague the film, not to mention the nude scene.  A filmy flowing gown would have been much better (for the actress, too).  It was Dennis Wheatley's second collaboration with Hammer.

 

Now showing on Criterion as part of their Nunsploitation series. 

 

We last watched Port of Shadows in May 2014, so it was high time to see it again.  From 1938 the film was directed by Marcel Carne and stars the immutable and unflappable Jean Gabin as a soldier who has deserted.  He becomes involved with the incredibly beautiful Michele Morgan, stuck working for her lusty godfather played evilly by Michel Simon.  It's a great little film filled with small but interesting characters and situations.  The film seems to centre around a small dog that befriends Gabin when he saves it from being run over by a truck.  The dog follows him everywhere and might be the most interesting character in the film.  As soon as the dog joins him Gabin's luck turns to the better.  However, the one time that he leaves him behind is the one time that his luck runs out.  The dog returns to its shadowy life in the woods, along again.  I felt sadder for the dog than for the woman who lost Gabin to a low life cheap hoodlum.  A recommended film.

 

Leaving Criterion Sept. 30th. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

2nd Recital

I had a 2nd opportunity to perform my latest recital pieces today.  Thank you to Randy, Kate, and Peter for coming by to hear what I've been up to since last July.  The chance to perform is always a welcome one, and twice in one week is even better.  When Paula and Jenn are back from their travels I will run through the pieces again.  All went pretty well, with occasional slips and lapses.  The first Bach piece went really well, and overall the Haydn was quite fresh and zippy.  The Chopin Prelude, on its own, is a powerful little piece.  The Gnossienne also went really well, as did the Debussy and Glass.  So not a lot to complain about, though I know it could have been even better.  Such is life, and such is live performance.  Here is the program:

 

Michael Ethier

Piano Recital April 2025

"Simple Ingredients"

2-part Invention #9 in f minor

3-part Invention #9 in f minor..........................................J S Bach

Sonata in C major (HOB. XVI/35; L.48)

Allegro con brio

Adagio

Finale: Allegro.........................................................F J Haydn

***********************************************

Prelude #20 in c minor.....................................................F Chopin

Third Gymnopedie

Third Gnossienne.............................................................E Satie

Prelude #6 Bk 1 (..Des pas sur la neige)........................C Debussy

Etude #20.........................................................................P Glass

Mysterious Barricades.....................................................F Couperin

 

The only piece here that I have ever performed before this month was the Couperin.  When I begin working on the new program, the first half will be all Couperin, and on the harpsichord.

 

Deb is still feeling poorly, and likely will be until the concluding half of her medical procedure is undertaken.  Next week the stent will be removed, and hopefully that will end months of pain and infections.  In the meantime, she just has to hang in there, and take a happy pill as needed.

 

As full moon approaches, we have a perfect night tonight, with clear, dry skies.  Useless, though, as far as observing with a telescope goes, thanks to the brightness of the moon.  It's been a bad year so far, with only two usable nights to date.  I have so much work I would love to accomplish before I'm too old to lift the telescope and set it up and take it down.

 

In movie news, there are two to report, as well as Season Two of Picard.  Try to imagine a scenario where Wesley Crusher, Q and the Borg come out looking okay.  All this and more, folks, believe it or not.  Crusher, Q, and the Borg provided some of the most tropy and unwanted moments in Next Generation, and the writers stretched themselves to the limit in Picard to make them come out looking pretty clean and decent.  Unfortunately, there was overuse in Season Two of Picard's childhood background, with his insane mother who ended up killing herself.  There are so many flashback scenes to his boyhood that they ended up dragging down the series.  We get to see Data's creator, and he is evil in Season Two.  I imagine he will return, but hopefully not.  One more season to go, though we will wait awhile before viewing it.  We are still also immersed in Dark Winds and Monsieur Spade.

 

L'Innocente is a costumer by Visconti from 1976.  The main reason to watch the film is to view the parade of women's dresses on display.  Most of the film's budget must have been spent on costumes.  Here is the blurb from MUBI:

In late-19th century Italy, Tullio, an insatiable aristocrat, grows bored with his wife Giuliana and neglects her for his more exciting mistress, the wealthy widow Countess Teresa Raffo. After learning that Giuliana is having an affair of her own, he becomes tormented and descends into madness. 

It's quite a long film, mostly watchable but not always.  High society shows itself, yet again, for what it really is; empty.  Tullio is a hideous character, another less than fine male role model to follow.  To make matters worse, Giannini wears one expression throughout the entire movie, his grim face.  The camera work is excellent, as are the sets, lighting, and mise-en-scene, also spot on.  Visconti is a master director, and all of his skills and artistry are on display in this extravagant film.  I won't say it's the most engaging film I've ever seen, but it's certainly one of the better looking films.  Recommended if you enjoy beautiful women in incredible clothing.

 

The film was showing on Mubi, but has now departed. 

 

The Love Witch, written, directed, and produced by Anna Biller, is a 2016 murder/horror film that tries to emulate films from the 1960s.  Drenched in rich colours, mostly reds, and filmed with humourous parodies of Hammer films and such, the movie is great fun to watch.  A beautiful female California witch uses magic potions and rituals to try to land a faithful and loving boyfriend/husband.  Her spells are successful, but she tends to overdo them, driving the male crazy after a time.  Once she realizes that he is not the guy for her after all, there is only one way to rid herself of them.  The film succeeds on many levels, and its 125 minutes running time passes quickly.  The visuals are stunning, and the lead actress is both beautiful and funny, even though she acts the sincere part, playing it pretty straight.  A must view for fans of early 60s colour horror films!  My only complaint is that she should have been a redhead.

 

Leaving Mubi in three days. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

Picard, Spirograph, and Some Film Discussion (and a snake)

The film discussion goes without saying, but I begin with Season One of Picard, the three-season 30 episode series starring Patrick Stewart.  I will begin by saying that he is old; very old.  The first season is one large story.  It concerns non-human life and its right to exist.  The Romulans wish to destroy the final outpost of AI creation, because of a legend they believe in that says destruction of other intelligent lifeforms will follow.  Captain Picard, however, believes otherwise.  The best thing about this series is that it actually wraps up at the end; there is no cliffhanger demanding that we run out and watch Season Two to find out what happens.  Many of the major characters from Next Generation (most of them) are back, including 7 of 9, Data (who is dead), and Will Riker (now married to Deanna Troy).  But new characters are also introduced, and we end up with a very motley but fun crew by the end of the season.  Without saying too much about the story, it is Star Trek through and through, with Picard getting to order Earl Grey tea, and to say "Engage," and things like that.  There is also closure relating back to Data's death in the original series.  Despite the many tropes, it was fun to watch.  I cannot think of another TV series where the lead character is so old.  Nice to see.  We will most certainly watch Season Two, after we watch the rest of Season One Discovery (15 episodes).

 

One of the toys I really wanted as an older child but never got was a Spirograph set.  There are now many different kinds and sizes of them, but I recently bought myself the original set.  Though there is not an infinite number of designs available in it, there is nearly an infinite number of designs.  So far I have barely managed to figure how to use it, and I am experimenting with single wheel designs.  One uses a tooth smaller wheel inside (or outside) a larger wheel, also toothed.  It takes a bit of practice to ensure smooth movement so the lines don't mess up.  My set includes two larger wheels, called rings, 15 wheels to use with them, 4 non-round shaped wheels (haven't got to those yet), 8 coloured markers, paper, and putty to hold down the larger rings.  Here are my earliest successes, very simple designs done with a single wheel.  Each wheel has several holes which change the design slightly when used.

 

Mine came with 8 markers.

My kit.
 

Four of my early attempts at being a Spirograph technician, first rank.  Right now I am not of any rank at all. 

 

In other Homestead news, we had a visitor to our front door this afternoon.  Deb went to see if an expected package had arrived yet, and instead found this critter looking for some shade (it is very warm and sunny today).

 

 

We were visited by an Eastern Fox Snake today.  Gorgeous critter! 

 

In film news, it was a Latin American Festival, of sorts.  Two Cuban films and one from Mexico ended up in our watch list, all of them leaving Mubi soon.  But let us begin with a Czech fantasy film called The Cassandra Cat, a colour film from 1963 and directed by Voytech Jasny.  A small town (Telc, a very famous town now) is visited by a travelling road show.  It contains a magical cat that reveals to all a person's true colour when it is not wearing its protective glasses.  Suddenly people are exposed as their true selves, and it mostly does not go down well with the locals.  This is a pretty strange film, starring a class of third graders (so cute!) who end up saving the cat from being destroyed by impinged humans.  Red people are in love; yellow and purple people are liars, unfaithful to their spouses, envious, or otherwise flawed.  Part of the Czech New Wave, it is certainly worth seeking out.  There are some fun classroom art scenes, and some very funny lines.  Children should definitely like the film, if they can sit still anymore.

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

And now to Japan.  The Black Report is from 1963, and was directed by Yasuzo Masumru.  It is a depressing crime film where a guilty man is set free, thanks to the craftiness of his defense attorney, and a rather inept and unskilled prosecutor.  It is as bit like an intense episode of Law and Order.  A bit unbelievable, as every single witness suddenly changes their testimony when they get on the stand (they were bribed and threatened by the defense lawyer).  The three sitting judges don't seem to think anything is amiss, and the prosecutor doesn't even do much about it except scratch his head.  The film goes out of its way to show that evidence doesn't matter (they had hair and fingerprints from the scene that matched the suspect), and signed and witnessed statements don't matter; only what is said on the stand matters.  And everyone knows that people don't lie.  A good ending, anyway, as the prosecutor loses his promotion and is sent to the boonies to learn something about prosecuting.

 

Leaving Mubi in 3 days. 

 

Finally, on to Cuba.  Stronger Than Love is from 1955, directed by Tulio Demicheli and filmed entirely in Cuba.  It's a distinctly Latino version of The Taming of the Shrew, and in some ways quite an interesting look at machismo culture, which is still going nowhere today.  Despite this, it's still a fun film, with doses of humour and passion, the kind of melodrama not seen anymore.  It's well acted, and the settings in the local tavern are fun to watch.  A totally forgotten film, back in the circuit.  Miroslava, the female lead, is quite a knock out, and suitably grouchy and passionate, alternately.

Leaving Mubi in 3 days. 

 

Lastly comes a Mexican melodrama directed by a female!  Streetwalker is from 1951, directed by Matilde Landeta.  I'm sure that (male) audiences in 1951 expected some kind of sleazy look at the underbelly of Mexico City, and those that trod there.  Instead we are given a feminist film that not only shows the reality of life on the streets as a single woman, but sympathizes entirely with them.  It is by no means a great film, and there are several quite terrible songs.  But it certainly is different in its outlook!  Try to find another film like it from the 1950s.  The ending turned out differently than expected, but the story does come to an interesting conclusion.  Sadly, viewers are left wondering if the woman who is not in love with her rich husband should have stayed with him.  In this case, I think yes.  But love is a strange little thing, and can make people do all sorts of illogical deeds.  Another rarity back on screen, and with Miroslava!

 

Leaving Mubi in 3 days.

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Heatwave

It lasted a week, and though the temps did not get as high as predicted, the extreme humidity made up for it.  We get a two day respite (82 F today), then more heat, then a longer break in the pattern.  Solstice day was a warm one.  We will often take a drive along the lake somewhere and have a picnic.  This year celebrations were indoors.  June was always a most unpleasant month to be a teacher here, with classrooms often getting several degrees warmer than outside temperatures.  It must have been a miserable week for many.  There was plenty of rain in the form of intense storms all around us, but we got bypassed.  It is quite dry here at the Homestead.

Deb had some medical tests to undergo last Tuesday, the only day we went outside.  They were supposed to take several hours.  I dropped her off in Windsor and met Randy G. for lunch.  We got partly caught up, as we haven't got together in a very long time.  The chosen restaurant was permanently closed.  As I looked around the plaza, there were five others to choose from.  Sigh.  No wonder it closed.

In film news, there are a few to report.  We have now finished the 2nd season of Detective Anna, all 40 episodes (there were 56 in the first season), and have now turned our attention to watching Picard, of which there are 30 episodes.  We just subscribed to Paramount Plus, which has every Star Trek movie and series in its streaming base.  It will take a while to get through.  We now have paid subscriptions to Criterion, Mubi, Prime, The Great Courses, and Paramount.  In addition, we get hundreds of free channels (many with ads) on Roku.  I've been watching Danger Man over time, with The Avengers ready to go as well.

Most recently we watched a spaghetti western called Keoma.  It isn't often that a decent film is completely ruined by the musical score.  In this case it features a female singer/narrator who just will not shut up.  She sings what we see happening on the screen, very very often.  She sings in a high soprano voice, and it is immediately obvious that she is an alto.  It is extremely painful to hear her screech out high notes.  From 1976, the film features the charismatic actor Franco Nero, who, unfortunately, also attempts to sing the narration from time to time.  In reading reviews of the film, hardly anyone mentions the music.  One critic said the score was "tone deaf," but another said it was the best part of the film.  Really!!?  Speaking of tone deaf...  We had to put the subtitles on and mute the film when the singing began.  The subtitles indicated when the singing was over, and it was safe to put the sound back on.

 

Leaving Mubi soon. 

Before that came Deb's two picks.  The first was a BBC film from 1984 called Threads.  It is a very graphic depiction of the aftermath of a nuclear war, using Sheffield England as its centre of gravity.  The story mostly follows two families before and after.  A young man gets his girlfriend pregnant and they decide to get married.  We meet the families (one working class, one a higher white collar class).  They choose an apartment and begin to redecorate.  In the background are newscasts telling of increasing conflict in the Middle East.  Things continue to bubble until the unthinkable happens.  Sheffield, as not only an important manufacturing district but also a NATO airbase, takes a direct hit.  We get a front row seat, and it isn't pretty.  Not much is held back from viewers, as the realism hits home many many times.  This is the kind of film that should be required viewing for anyone wishing to become a politician.  Of course nuclear war is still a very real possibility, especially with so many unstable leaders of countries with bombs.  But it seems as if our demise will not be a sudden holocaust, but a slow, burning death, as the planet continues to heat.

 

The film is leaving Criterion June 30th. 

 

Deb's 2nd film choice was considerably lighter in theme.  Called Camera Buff, it is a Polish film from 1979.  A worker and his wife are expecting a baby.  He buys an 8 mm camera to record the baby, but soon gets hooked into doing a film for the company where he works.  As he gets deeper and deeper into his hobby, his wife thinks that he is neglecting her and the baby.  His little film gets entered into a festival.  He attends and wins third prize, which includes a nice lump of cash.  His wife is horrified, as she realizes that he will never stop now.  She ends up leaving him, but as he now has access to a 16 mm camera, he manages to survive the breakup.  A low level comedy that might hit home to camera buffs, and other buffs as well.  Sometimes balancing work, family,  and play can be tricky.

Showing on Criterion, with a ton of the director's other films. 

 

When Jenn was over for a visit a while back, we told her about our rediscovery of the Utne Reader.  It was a brilliant and influential magazine from the 80s and 90s that we used to read a lot.  Of course it died as a print version a while back, but there is an on-line presence.  I have read three articles on line so far.  However, their Facebook page has not been updated for over two years.  I fear the online version may be going away, too.  I highly recommend that readers check it out.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

A Week In Sudbury Ontario

It has been many years since I have stayed 7 nights in Sudbury.  I was born there, living at home until age 22, when I married Deb and we moved to Windsor to attend university.  We used to come home for about six weeks in the summer, staying mostly at the family camp on Lake Penage.  But since the camp was sold many years go, we have only been back for shorter visits, to Sudbury itself at the family home.

 

The occasion this time was to spend time with Mom, helping her to go through Dad's belongings.  Most went to charity, though I came home with a few nice shirts, a cozy new bathrobe, a few books and records, and a sport jacket.  Mom is doing pretty well, though I doubt she has had much time to process Dad's passing.  Cards and flowers and visitors have kept her occupied.  Her sister will come and visit her at the end of April.  Mom will be 95 in one month, and still climbs three flights of stairs at home and does laundry, some cooking, and many other things.  We took her grocery shopping one day (she still insists on buying her own food), and to church for a mass that was said in my father's name.

 

Mom lives in the upstairs of a large 3-unit apartment building which she owns.  My brother Steve and his wife and daughter live below her.  The basement apartment has been a bar and TV room for a long time now.  Steve and his wife went for a week long cruise from Miami, so we came up north to stay with mom.  The weather was quite beastly a few days, so it was mostly an inside visit.  I read, we watched a lot of TV, went through Dad's things, looked at old family photos, and just talked.  Mom and Deb are both early risers, so they had conversations in the morning while I slept on.  A few days were quite nice, and Deb and I managed some hilly walks, mostly to a vegan cafe and bakery.

 

The household has a few channels that we don't buy, so we were able to catch up on some Star Trek series, and watch all 4 new Doctor Who specials, starring David Tenant and Catherine Tate.  there are in the first 3 specials; the 4th one stars the newest Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa.  While all four episodes were fun, they were pretty much even in quality, with nothing too exceptional.  It was nice to see Mel Bush back in action.  She was a companion to two much earlier doctors, and could scream mightily on command.

 

We watched the first episode of Picard, a series about the retired Star Fleet admiral.  it seems like he will soon be back in action.  We will likely subscribe to Paramount for a few months in order to watch the rest.  And we have now seen six episodes of Star Trek Discovery, finding it worth a look, too.  I watched the first two episodes on our flight to and from New Orleans last month, rewatching them on Mom's giant screen so Deb could see them, too.  We also watched the first episode of the most recent Lost In Space series, from 2018.  It looks promising, but as it is on Disney, we will not be seeing more until another visit to Sudbury. 

 

And finally we were able to watch Dune, the first half of the epic film directed by Denis Villeneuve, from 2021.  The director and writer were obviously heavily influenced by the exploits of T. E. Lawrence, and the film by David Lean.  The movie ends just as Jessica and Paul are being tried by the Fremen, to see whether they will live or die.  It is a good film, but not a great one.  Of course there is a lot of exposition, and comes pretty close to echoing Herbert's great SF novel.  But everything is so compressed that it is difficult to get a sense of epic.  Perhaps watching both halves together would be better, but even with this film we had to break it up over two evenings.  Fans of Herbert shouldn't have too much to complain about, and there is some hope that the second book might be filmed, too.  Now we just have to try and see Dune Part Two.

 

We watched this in Sudbury on CTV SF Channel. 

 

We have done so much travelling lately, especially driving.  Our New Orleans road trip in late March was followed by a long day trip to Ohio for the eclipse.  Then came Sudbury, which is 470 miles each way.  So for now we are done with major trips.  It's been interesting trying to maintain a full piano program during this time.  Today's practice has been a bit mechanical.

I'll finish up with another picture of Dad....

Dad in Greece. 

 

Mapman Mike