More of the Same (but different)

We finished watching World On A Wire, Fassbinder's 3 1/2 hour SF production for German television back in 1973.  The film has been restored, and came with 90 minutes of extras, including interviews (from 2010) with actors, the cinematographer, and the script writer.  It turned into a pretty neat film, part Philip K Dick, part film noir, and part James Bond thriller.  It was certainly the most entertaining Fassbinder film we have seen so far in his retrospective now showing on the Criterion Channel.

 

After that we watched a very silly Jackie Chan movie from 1978, called Spiritual Kung Fu (my fault).  Played strictly for lowlife laughs, Jackie is still likeable, and watching him in action in his youth is a study in how hard the man trained, and how good at it he really was.  His stick fighting technic against 18 monks has to be seen to be believed.  And we have been watching all of the Brothers Quay animation now showing on Criterion, including Street of Crocodiles, one of the most fascinating films ever made.  Only 18 minutes long, it has the feel of an epic one.  Very twisted and very enjoyable, with some of the best stop motion animation ever put on film, and sets that are incomparably creepy and nightmarish, this is a must see film.  It had been many, many years since we had last seen it.  As to the dozen of so others also showing, I don't remember any of them, even though we have also seen The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer, also a classic one.

Jackie Chan stars in a silly movie.

Scene from Street of Crocodiles. 

 

Scene from the Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer.

In other news, I have had two clear nights in a row, right at the start of the new session.  This means that the moon rises early and puts a stop to things, but this time after moonrise I had a chance to observe Mars, which is at its closest approach to Earth for the next 20 years or so.  And it is very close!  I had outstanding views of the surface, with more intricate detail than I have ever observed before, in a lifetime of observing.  On two previous optimum oppositions, including two years ago, dust storms have swirled, obscuring nearly the whole planet.  But this time conditions are perfect on Mars, and the views are simply breath-taking!  I also sought out Neptune, which is remarkably bright in a 12" telescope.  It is cloudy tonight, but very mild, so I am home blogging instead of observing.

 

And now, for a few works of art from the collection of the DIA (will I ever get there again?).  Christian Rolhfs (German, 1849-1938) is well represented in the DIA, though the graphics are rarely shown.  Sun and moon, here we have two opposite works by the master.  I love them both, creating moods that reflect their subjects, and making us think a bit about night and day, sun and moon, and light and dark.  As an astronomer I live comfortably in both worlds, but I love the bright sunny days as much as I love the dark, starry nights.  We truly live on a wonderful planet, possibly one of the finest in the galaxy.  Wish the same could be said for more of the human inhabitants...

 

Sunflowers, 1935, Christian Rolhfs.  Water-based pigments on heavy wove paper.  19" x 26".

 Violet Moonlight II, 1935.  Watercolour, 30" x 21.5".

Collection Detroit Institute of Arts. 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

Maps, Movies, and Music

The Beethoven CD collection arrived today, and it is really something beautiful to behold.  Even if one never listened to a single disc, it would still be a major investment.  In addition to a large book with many full colour illustrations, each of the several sections comes with a booklet with essays and full track details.  Nothing like this has ever been put out before; in addition to the complete works, there are many different interpretations of many of the main works.  For example, there are 4 complete and different sets of the 9 symphonies, and two full sets of the string quartets, three of the piano sonatas, in addition to several single works being given several times with different performers.  A miracle in a box!

The box is huge, holding 123 discs, one large hardcover book, and 9 smaller booklets.  I have died and gone to heaven.  Someday I will own the same kind of set, but of Bach's music.  I may never leave home again voluntarily. 

And speaking of mind-blowing purchases, I turn now to a brief discussion of maps.  I own a CD-ROM set of all of the maps published by National Geographic.  I've had the set for many years, but the program does not work on modern computers.  Thus I have not had access to these maps for nearly a generation now.  Recently, National Geographic has put all of their maps on-line.  They can be purchased individually, but even better is that if one buys a print subscription ($19 US), then not only do you receive 12 issues of the magazine in the mail, but you gain on-line access to their entire map collection.  even better than this, the quality of the scans is much improved over the old CD set.  So guess who recently purchased a subscription to National Geographic?  It's been an orgy of maps around here lately!

A map from 1922 that I have been perusing lately.  Sections can be downloaded and copied, too.  A Few things of note from the legend.  First, there are no roads, only railroads and caravan routes!  Secondly, many rivers on the map are marked "Unexplored."  Be still my beating heart!!

 

Small detail from a 1922 National Geographic map of Africa, one of hundreds I now have access to.  

In all the excitement we have hardly noticed that it has been unseasonably cold the past few days.  We had our first wood fire Wednesday evening, and it was a beauty.  It even attracted a cat.  The furnace got tested Thursday morning, and the 50 year old boiler is performing magnificently again.  We are all set for cold weather, though it is supposed to moderate by Tuesday of next week.  That is good news, as that is when the new astronomy session kicks off, weather permitting.

In movie news, we have each watched one of our own selections, and I watched part 12 of Berlin Alexanderplatz.  My movie choice this week was another TV undertaking of Fassbinder, a three and a half hour production shown in two parts called World On A Wire.  We watched Part 1 this week, and really liked it.  It's a fairly engrossing SF story about creating a computer program that simulates life as we know it, and people in the lab can communicate with their coded counterparts.  People on our side of the equation keep disappearing mysteriously, and no one seems to remember them.  Part 1 ends with a cliffhanger shock, so we are anxious to see Part 2 next week.

 

Now showing on Criterion.  We watched Part 1, lasting 1 hr. 45 min.

Liking it a lot so far. 

 

Deb's film choice this weekend was directed by Robert Siodmak, from 1944.  It is a well done noir film that has some very expressionist scenes, including a night scene at an El station in New York.  We also get to watch a crazy jazz set in a very small room.  Elisha Cook plays drums like a madman, and kisses the heroine, who is pretending to like him to get information from him.  Her reactions to his kisses are classic, as she will do do literally anything to free the man she loves from jail, where is wrongfully imprisoned.  Though hailed as a classic, the story is not consistent enough for me, but still worth a look.  The sets and photography are excellent.

Now showing on Criterion.

Sculpture studio.

Elisha Cook, Jr. jams on drums.

Visiting her man in prison.

My favourite scene, an el station at night, where the stalker becomes the stalked.

  

Now that we are in a suitably artistic frame of mind, I had promised to reveal some more works from the DIA collection.  I have some German Expressionist art that would fit in nicely here.  However, by coincidence I heard from Dino again today, and he sent his latest creation.  It's about as far from noir as one could get, but that's just fine, too.  Enjoy his painting of a barn swallow!  Thanks, Dino!

 

A recent work by Dino.  Beautiful capture! 

 

   Mapman Mike