Clear Slies and Galaxies

 I have no idea exactly how many galaxies I have seen, though from time to time I do total my list, which exceeds two thousand.  That's a lot of galaxies, but a mere drop in the bucket as to what can be seen from dark skies.  Last night I logged another dozen or so, including Messier 87, an impressive bit of distant light if ever there was.  I began to be interested in astronomy in November 1968, one month before Apollo 8 would circle the moon with three astronauts and return safely to Earth.  In July 1969 astronauts first landed safely and walked on the moon.  So it can be said that my life as an amateur astronomer has the Apollo program to thank for it.  Newcomers are always astounded when they have their first look at the moon through a telescope.  It is the ideal place to begin the hobby, even with a pair of binoculars, as I did as a teenager.  Of course as time goes on and interest deepens, the moon becomes a bit of a curse, as its light drowns out the fainter, more elusive targets one can see with a telescope.

My first telescope was a plastic model of the Hale 100" telescope, with a mirror of just under 3".  It was in bad shape when I got my hands on it, and its tiny plastic eyepiece confirmed it as a toy, not a scientific instrument.  But it worked, and I got closer to the moon then I ever thought possible.  In 1971, with my interest growing, my parents bought me a Tasco 4.5" reflector.  It was like getting a full drum set, only much quieter.  I was in heaven (literally and emotionally), and my observing became a clear night event, though not during Sudbury's merciless winters.

Somehow during university we managed to scrape together funds for an 8" reflector.  This has larger eyepieces, making observing much easier on the eyes during extended sessions, and gathered 4x the light of my previous scope.  I was now in the big leagues, part of the dream team of amateur astronomers.  During university years, and then teaching years, astronomy became mostly a summer thing, as it involves staying up quite late.  Over the years I hauled the scope to school and gave several classes of students and their parents glimpses of some of the sky's major sights, such as the moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and some of the brighter deep sky objects.

I finally upgraded again in 2013, purchasing as 12" reflector that fits neatly into our vehicle and can be set up in about ten minutes in a dark sky site.  I've had to travel farther and farther to reach dark skies, and someday soon I hope to live somewhere I can see a dark sky from my back yard.  At that point I would likely move up to an even bigger scope, such as an 18".  Among astronomers this is called aperture fever, and is quite common.  No cure has ever been found.

Anyway, last night I had a most enjoyable observing session, my first for this month.  With luck the weather will hold and I will get one more chance on Friday. 

In movie news, I am behind again on my reporting.   After my Czech festival, I got to have my 2 normal weekly choices.  I chose another Zatoichi movie, #19, called Samaritan Zatoichi.  He helps those less fortunate and kills a bunch of bad guys.  One would have hoped that by now a new kind of story might have been chosen, but no, it's more of the same.  Like that Peanuts cartoon when Lucy holds the football for Charlie Brown to kick.  Hope springs eternal, but all for naught.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

I followed up with a very short film directed by Preston Sturges, a comedy from 1940 called Christmas In July.  A man is tricked into thinking he has won a coffee slogan contest, and the prize of $25,000.  The trick is so convincing that even the company president is fooled, and hands over the check.  Fun times ensue as (of course) a major spending spree ensues. 

Showing until May 31st on Criterion. 

 

Deb choose a film by Canadian wacko man Guy Maddin.  The Green Fog is an hommage to all of the films set in San Francisco, and there are a whole lot of them.  He takes clips from the films, often removing the sound and replaying tiny snippets many times over, and attempts to fashion a short feature (61 minutes) from it.  Fun to watch at first, I quickly grew tired.  Perhaps as a 20 minute film short it might have been more successful.  Even as a film and TV buff, recognizing most of the characters and many of the films, I still lost interest after a time.  No real attempt was made to fashion a story from the clips, and my mind had really nothing to grab hold of, except image after image.  The added music is quite good.  I class it as a very interesting, though failed, experiment.  What younger viewers would think of it, who have not been exposed to classic films, I know not.

 

Now showing on Criterion.
 

Deb's going away choice has to be one of the best films ever made.  The 1970 The Railway Children is about the most perfect film for children ever made, and eminently rewatchable countless times.  I have seen it at least three times now, and enjoy it more each time.  Jenny Agutter was brilliantly directed by Lionel Jeffries, giving a tour de force performance as the oldest child of three, having to cope while their father is wrongfully imprisoned.  Her acting is understated and restrained, but her emotions come through perfectly.  Superb acting by the mother, too, and the other two children, and Bernard Cribbins, as the station porter.  A truly enchanting film, and highly recommended.  The pace of the film certainly harkens back to a different era of movie making, as well as the subject matter.

 

Showing on Criterion until May 31st.  

 

Lastly, on to this week's main pic for yours truly.  We watched Irma Vep (1996), a bizarre French film about French film.  It stars Maggie Cheung as a Hong Kong actress playing the role of a latex-suited vampire, supposedly a remake of an early silent film.  The film is in French, but as Maggie doesn't speak it, there is also a lot of English.  Although the film purports to be about a lot of things, with some random film conversation thrown in the mix, I think it is mostly about a film director wanting to see Maggie wearing the latex suit.  She does look rather sexy in it, I must admit.  Though we do get a sense of behind the scenes sniping, the overall lack of good organization in making a French film, and the fact that French film actors are not treated as stars, the camera is on Maggie so much that it turns out to be a film mostly about her and her good looks.  Not a bad film by any means, but not a great one, either.

 

Now showing on Criterion.
 

This Mapman Mike signing off for now.

 

 

 

Lone Mtn Homestead Leisure Time Pursuits

Monday, October 15th/18 

With students fleeing piano lessons this year, I am way down in both numbers and hours.  It means a lot less travelling abroad next year, with possibly no major trip on the horizon after Vienna.  I can live with that for now, since it affords me more opportunities for observing, reading, writing, listening, practicing, gaming, and every other pursuit that interests me.  Teaching music for 37 years has never been boring or a disappointment, but I'm certain I will survive with many fewer students.  In fact I have no urge to even advertise open positions.  It is what it is.  If there is less money for travel, so be it.

We have been playing a visually astounding PC Windows game called Obduction, from the people who brought you Myst.  It started out quite great, with decent puzzles and mind-blowing graphics.  Now the graphics are decent and the puzzles are mind-blowing.  We have no hope of finishing the game, even with a very sketchy walk through.  We are stuck in a hell, nicknamed "the gauntlet," which appears just before "the maze."  The puzzles have been beyond Mensa level, which is evident from the comment boards, where virtually everyone has resorted to the walk through, often, like us, without luck.  Game designers apparently have not learned valuable lessons even today.  Needless to say we will not be purchasing their newest game.  On my older upstairs computer I am playing a very old game called The Last Express, which came out around the same time as Myst.  It runs perfectly on the old computer, and is quite fun, as you embark on the Orient Express in Paris, and become involved in a murder and mystery on board as the train travels past different stations.

Music home listening continues on three fronts.  We have finished with the first 40 Symphonies of Haydn, as well as up to and including the Op. 53 of Brahms and Britten.  Brahms Op. 54 coming up later tonight!  

Astronomy has been a disaster due to incredibly hazy and/or cloudy weather.  October is usually the best time to observe, and this month there was not a single good night to do so when the moon was out of the way.  In 2016 from July through October I was able to get out and observe 29 times.  In the same period of 2017 (a very bad year) I went out 16 times.  This year my grand total is 10!  I fear that I see a trend here, and it's not a pretty one.  So it is even more important that I am able to get out on almost any clear night, thanks to two less evenings of teaching.  The moon is waxing now, so of course it is wonderfully clear tonight.....

My Avon/Equinox reading project is still going great guns.  My right eye cataract is worsening, so it will need fixing.  I will try to arrange for the surgery right after our Vienna trip.  I currently have an appointment with my optometrist on Oct. 31st.  He will then refer me to a specialist, hopefully Dr. Emara, who did my left eye a few years ago.  Anyway, I am still reading like a demon.  I finished three books on the NM trip, including the enormous biography of Brahms.  I just recently discovered that the same author penned a Beethoven biography that was recently published.   Sounds like a must-read!  In the past two weeks I have finished and reviewed 8 books!  I am currently reading an early one by Robert Silverberg, having just finished a really fascinating one by Hal Clement.  Clement is a hard-science writer; he chooses an interesting situation on an interesting planet and then goes about demonstrating how things work there.  He  wrote a short series (two novels and three stories) about the planet Mesklin and its caterpillar-like inhabitants, and it proved to be one of the most fascinating discoveries so far in my reading project.  I have read the first novel (Mission of Gravity) and two short stories.  The novel was absolutely mind-blowing!  I have discovered so many fabulous authors in this reading project (see my Avon/Equinox page for a full blown discussion)!

My only current writing project is trying to finish the NM Trip #38 journal.  It's nearly done.  the problem is that I physically write this, and I find that I cannot write for more than 30 minutes at a time.  It should be finished soon, and I will begin work on the web version.  In other writing projects, I have a good start on my 2nd Valeria the Vegetarian Vampire story, and hope to finish it before winter is out.  With two short books in hand and ideas for at least two more, that will be the time to approach publishers.  Once published, Hollywood should snap up the film rights, and we will live the high life in California!  We will still visit Canada occasionally.