A Warm Autumn

Up until now it has been a very warm autumn.  Our annual indoor fire on Samhain, nearly two weeks ago, had to be limited because it was so warm outside.  We've been unable to have an autumn equinox fire for several years now.  It's finally turning a bit more seasonal, though we have yet to have a frost.  In one sense it's been a beautiful autumn.  But we've often had snow by now.  2024 is supposed to end up being the warmest on record.  For us it's been a pleasant event, so I know that we have been lucky.  No floods, no droughts, no tornadoes here. A calm year.  But it's getting difficult to read the news without hearing about devastating floods.  They are becoming nearly as common as mass shootings.  And then there are the fires, lately in California.  In New Mexico there is virtually nowhere left to hike that hasn't been badly burned either nearby or on-site.  Here is a photo of one of our favourite mountain ranges, the Manzano Mtns in NM, lying south of Albuquerque.  The entire east side, once a dense evergreen forest, is now completely gone.  It is obviously the #1 threat to human life on Earth.  Yet wars go on, oil companies go on, and people who vote rarely consider it a top priority.  It is ignored by half of the world's political parties, many of whom are currently in power.  Of course there is a solution, but who really wants one?  Anyway, we've had a lovely autumn, and I hope you have, too.

 

Once heavily forested, the Manzano Mtns east side is a lesson in devastation. 

 

Piano practice is starting to get me somewhere again, and my regular exercise regime is back full time.  I've been reading a lot, too.  It's back to a mostly indoor life.  Except for astronomy nights, and I had a few classic ones so far this month.  I now have to wait till the moon reaches full and begins to wane before I can head out again.  It's frustrating during harvest time, as the combines have a ridiculous amount of lights on them, and they often work all night.

 

In movie watching news, I begin with the most recent feature.  Reussir Sa Vie (Succeed In Life) is by the same director of last week's Gaz de France.  Benoit Forgeard's 2012 feature was his first, and he used three of his short films, united by some extra footage, to construct it.  Like his other film, this one is quite funny, puzzling, and eminently watchable.  The director stars as a filmmaker trying to complete a film.  He has no budget, no film, and no crew, except a foley artist.  The three short films often feature the same actors, but the last one stars the director.  He purports to be a computer tech helping a young student recover her lost master's thesis.  I will be on the lookout for any other films of his.  These two are showing on Mubi, but leaving this week.

 

Leaving Mubi soon. 

 

I have one more movie pick we will be watching tonight.  Here are Deb's two previous choices.  Firstly, we watched three other episodes of the very fascinating series called Self Portrait as a Coffee Pot.  Episode 4 was all about Fate; 5 was about Point of View, while the 6th dealt with WWII from a South African black perspective.  This is a series like no other, and William Kentridge achieves a near genius level of television viewing, bringing us not only inside an artist's studio for 9 half hour episodes, but also inside an artist's head.  He is a master at chalk drawings, often on a vast scale.  Anyone vaguely interested in modern art should waste no time trying to see this series.  For now, I believe it is a Mubi exclusive, which is a shame.  But they did fund it, so there.

The Practice is an Argentinian film from 2023, directed by Martin Rejtman.  It takes place in Chile, where a man teaches yoga classes.  He is going through a divorce, and is accident prone.  A young female student latches onto him, but when she is injured in an earthquake, she loses her memory.  It's a deadpan film, though often quite funny.  A slice of weird life from down south, I can recommend this as a film you will likely have never seen the like of.  Certainly worth a look.

Now showing on Mubi. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Reestablishing Routines

It's taken a week, but things are finally beginning to settle down again.  Piano practice has resumed, as has a scaled down exercise regime.  I've been working on the notebook log of the recent journey, as well as the web version.  The first blogger page is now up and running.  It can be seen by clicking on the link in the left margin, the one titled Travels West.  In addition, I had two nights of astronomy, with another one coming up tonight and possibly tomorrow night.  Sometimes there aren't enough days in the week, or hours in the day.  And last night was our annual Samhain party, with free Tarot cards chosen to help guide us through the upcoming year.  We choose one card that will be our yearly guide, and 8 others for the quarters and have quarters of the Celtic year.

 

In TV watching news, I will begin with the most recent and work backwards, with three to report.  Deb chose a nine part series called Self Portrait as a Coffee Pot:  A Natural History of the Studio.  So far, after three episodes, it seems a totally brilliant concept of exploring what goes on in an artist's studio.  The artist and director is William Kentridge, and it seems to have been a Covid project.  Working in South Africa, the series discusses Johannesburg, art, memory, feeling, awareness, and many other artistic and philosophical topics.  The first episode was pretty good, the second even better.  But the third episode, especially the last half, was totally brilliant.  Each part lasts about 35 minutes, so three episodes at a time is how will take this curious but fascinating medicine.

The series is showing on Mubi.  It uses stop motion in a very original and effective way. 

Before that we watched The Lady From Shanghai, a 1947 noir directed by Orson Welles, staring him and Rita Hayworth.  We had not seen this one in years, and we were quite disappointed.  It really isn't a very good film, though Hayworth is quite good in her femme fatale role as a bleached blonde.  The basic story, where an innocent man is tricked into taking the blame for a murder, is not very believable, and this tends to make Welle's character look quite stupid.  Of course the final mirror scene is fun, but it's brief and not really sitting through the entire picture to see.  I doubt I'll be tempted to see this film again.

 

The film has now left the Criterion Channel.
 

Earlier we watched a b & w medieval film epic from 1967 Czechoslovakia.  Marketa Lasarova is in several chapters, and takes place mostly over a winter and an early spring.  If you are one of those people who think that it would have been truly wonderful to live in back then, then this movie is not for you.  It's brutality isn't only caused by human action.  Living through a northern hemisphere winter is hard enough for some of us today; never mind the 1400s.  Then there is that muddy and wet spring.  Filmed in widescreen, it is a visual spectacle all the way.  The story mostly takes place in two small outlying walled hamlets.  They are rivals, with one of them being slightly more loyal to the distant king, and the other wanting nothing to do with a central command.  Marketa is the daughter of one of the leaders, and wishes to join a religious order.  Her father has pledged her to a nunnery, but does not have enough yet for her dowry.  Returning home she is kidnapped by the rival clan and her fortunes suddenly take a different turn.  A wandering holy man fights against a strongly pagan environment; experimental photography and images keep the pace interesting, if sometimes perplexing.  Since its restoration the film has been gaining adherents, after being mostly unseen until recent times.  Highly recommended, if you can find it showing anywhere else except Criterion.

Now showing on Criterion.

Mapman Mike