Black Jack, a Film by Ken Loach

We are one day away from completing our 28-day walking program, the one we always use to go from a zero activity level (following Deb's surgery, and a very hot early July), to a basic level of walking fitness.  Today we undertook a 90 minute urban hike in Windsor.  It was sunny, pretty warm, (about 83 F) and very humid.  We stopped for lunch halfway through at Pause Cafe, a place with more and more vegan options every time we go.  He makes soup from very old recipes, and today he had one of our favourites, a cold soup from almonds from a recipe from Spain.  It is so delicious, and our bodies were ready for a cold soup today.  His gazpacho is also fearsomely good, but today it was almond soup.  We also split a large salad plate with tofu, cucumber, onions, kidney beans, and other delicious things.  By the time we were ready to leave, we were prepared for the long walk back to our vehicle, left way uptown.

Deb continues to have films shown on virtually every weekend this summer, and on into September.  We are two weeks away from attending the festival in Cincinnati, where three of her films will be screened.  One of them is nominated for an award.

Our listening program is in progress, and we have completed 70 of Haydn's symphonies, and 70 opus of both Brahms and Britten.  Next up is Symphony #71 by Haydn.

Deb's weekend movie choice was an odd little children's film from 1979, just released on the Criterion channel.  Called "Black Jack," the film is difficult to watch without subtitles (there were none).  The soft spoken Yorkshire accents are difficult enough, but the sound miking was less than good as well.   Shot on 16 mm film, it is still engaging, and the mostly outdoor settings and the costumes were absolutely perfect.  A very large man escapes death on the gallows by choking down a metal spoon before he is hung.  He awakens in his coffin, in a house where an old woman sells the bodies of such men to the local medical society.  The time is 1750, and the setting is Yorkshire. 

In his escape he kidnaps a young boy, and they disappear quickly into the countryside.  Here they encounter Belle, a young girl who is being delivered to a mad house.  When her carriage breaks down she escapes, and she and the boy (Tolly) link up and become friends.  The girl quickly loses her madness, and the two of them hook up with a "doctor" and his travelling medicine show.  From a novel by Leon Garfield, the film is worth a second viewing, perhaps after the novel has been read I have ordered a copy of the book).

 A wonderful little film from 1979, but pretty hard to understand the dialogue. 

On our trip to Detroit last Thursday we went downtown, spending some money at Vault of Midnight, a game and comic store.  I bought the complete comic of The Watchmen by Alan Moore.  The novel contains all 12 comics, as well as written fiction by the author that goes along with it.  I will read one complete comic each time I finish up a book on my Avon/Equinox list, so it will take me 12 books to complete the comic.  I'm currently reading a volume of 21 stories by Silverberg, which is nearly 400 pages long.  We also bought a new board game, called Teotihuacan: City of Gods.  It has an enormous and very attractive playing board, as well as about five thousand small pieces needed to play.  So far I have set up the board so it is ready for two players to play.  That took me two days!  We might get started tonight.

 The box.

 The game board.  For 1-4 players. 

Some possible heavy rain is predicted overnight.  Despite flooding still everywhere around us, mostly due to the high lake levels from the winter snow melt (record setting), we badly need some rain.  Just not 3", please.  Half an inch or so would be nice.

Mapman Mike

Murderers, Guns, Brexit, Climate Change, Kurosawa

As I write this at 5 pm, it appears that the two teenage Canadian murderers on the lam have been found, or at least their bodies.  No doubt done in by the flies, which can drive a person completely insane within minutes.  I am hardly qualified to get inside the head of someone who wilfully murders without motive, but killing strangers has always been a rare thing.  Like child abuse, it is usually done by someone who knows the victim.  There are very few random murders of strangers in Detroit, but there are plenty of murders.  Sometimes crossfire will kill an unintended victim, too.  Having been to Detroit hundreds of times, though mostly in better areas, we haven't even seen a gun yet.  Odds are we won't, but one never knows.  America is one of the more dangerous countries on the planet.  The price of freedom?  It is a rather high price.

Trump has split the US politically more than anyone else in my lifetime.  So have guns.  And so Brexit has split the UK more than any other event in my lifetime.  The world seems to be heading for an either/or showdown, which will result in more violence, more protests, and more damage to human relations.  This is not a world that is ready for any sort of peace.  And so it is a world that will never be able to agree on methods to control climate change, or stem the flow of greenhouse gasses.  And some people wonder why we did not wish to have children.  This crisis of humanity has been a long time in the making.  I see no hope for a solution.  As one country enables a liberal and Earth-loving leader, another one enables a right wing denier.  This is not balance, but catastrophe.  Deb and I should be able to live out our days on the planet, but adaptations are already required.  How many people/countries will be able to adapt?  We watch our Detroit River and surrounding Great Lakes at record high levels, with flooding a daily event.  Our backyard creek, which is supposed to flow into the major river, cannot.  Instead, the Detroit River now flows into our backyard.

As Kurosawa notes, in his weird, epic film "Dodes'ka-den" (the sound of a trolley moving along the tracks), poverty will never go away, and will only increase.  Climate change and violence always hit the lowest income earners the hardest, as they have less leeway and wiggle room than anyone else.  As a result, they are in the line of fire more often than anyone else.  

Kurosawa's first colour film is from 1970, and he uses colour in unique ways.  The film would have been too unrelentingly depressing in black and white, though perhaps some scenes would have worked better this way.  A small village built upon a landfill on the outside of the world, it would seem, is inhabited by a collection of rough living people living around a fresh water tap.  Shelters are made from old gasoline tins, a car, and scrap of all kinds.  The film is episodic, and examines several lives a bit at a time.  I have seen the film before, but remembered almost nothing about it, which is rather strange.  It is a memorable film, firstly for its use of colour, and secondly for its unrelenting look at the lowest class of humanity, those just barely able to scrounge a life from their surroundings.  Of course watching a depressing film makes one reflect on any manner of depressing events going on around the world at the time, so forgive me my first few paragraphs of this blog.  Of course everything will work out okay.  Brexit will be wonderful, as will another four years of Trump, and an upcoming Conservative government in Canada.  At least two murderers have been brought to a form of justice.

 Dodes'ka-den. 

In other cheerful news, typical of Detroit, the largest downtown skyscraper project has suddenly been greatly reduced in scope.  From 912 feet, it is now way, way down.  No one yet knows how low, but I'm guessing that leasing hasn't gone well.  Oh well--I always said that I wouldn't care about any new buildings downtown, as long as the major existing skyscrapers were fixed up and occupied.  At least that part has come true.  And downtown has never been more lively or beautiful since we moved here in 1976, so I am not going to complain about the height of a new scyscraper being reduced.  Detroit day was moved till tomorrow.  Looking forward to it, as usual.

Mapman Mike

Two Criterion Films

Babylon (British, 1980) did not get a release in Britain until the late 80s.  In the USA it was just released in 2019!  It was showing at DFT, and we were hoping to attend there to see it.  Then it popped up on Criterion, so we watched it at home.

 A British film from 1980, only now being released abroad. 

A London reggae band tries to win a music contest against a rival band.  All along the way, including the night of the actual performance, they are met with nearly insurmountable obstacles, not the least of which is racist cops and neighbours.  We watched the subtitled version (I don't know how you could watch it otherwise).  I'm certain that the problems dealt with 40 years ago by blacks are exactly the same as today--virtually nothing has changed.  Highly recommended, and worth a second viewing.  "Go back to your own country!"  "This is my fucking country!!" is still a mantra chanted daily in Britain and the USA.

Deb's pick was an early pre-code quickie called Night Nurse, starring Barbara Stanwyck.  She tries to defend two little girls who are slowly being starved to death for their inheritance.  In between saving them, there is a lot of drunken revelry, nurses in skimpy nightgowns, and some hard boiled violence, even against women.  Barbara is socked on the chin by an evil chauffeur played by Clark Gable.  She is befriended by a bootlegger.  There is a very bad doctor in on the plot with the chauffeur.  There are some good stare downs, and some crazy ambulance driving through the city.  A good film to remind one of what cinema was like before codes of decency were slapped on them.  Of course naughty nurses have continued on into our own time, a favourite theme of porno films.  But these nurses from 1931 are not naughty.  They are wholesome and likable, and they help sick people.

  From the novel by Dora Macy.  Starring Joan Blondell and Barbara Stanwyck, 1931. 

I seem to be caught up on my sleep, and practicing and reading have resumed.  Tomorrow we return to Detroit for our weekly visit.  I have completed my blog (see the one on the Midwest) on all of Detroit's breweries, and tomorrow I start blogging about the best taprooms for craft beer.  However, at least 5 new breweries should be open before Christmas, so the blog will continue to expand.  I do not count the suburbs; just the city.  I still haven't published the photos from Steve, Lynne, and Emma-Lee's visit.  Next time.  And I have not forgotten about landscape art in the DIA, either.  These take time.  We visited last Tuesday, to see an Impressionist show of art from Detroit and Buffalo combined.  Buffalo has some very important and iconic art, especially by Paul Gauguin.  Nice to have these works visit Detroit for the summer.

Mapman Mike

July Reading and Astronomy Bonanza

Three nights in a row of outstanding clear skies have left me pretty tired but happy.  We haven't had a streak like that since early January.  However, in January I can wrap up a three-hour session by 9:30 pm or so.  In July and early August things aren't done until after 1 am.  I've been getting to bed around 2:30 am.  Reading and piano practicing have gone out the window lately.  My eyes (and legs) last about three hours at a time at the telescope these days.  I have been consistently using my newest observing site, further from the lights of Windsor/Detroit in the northwest, and safe from the greenhouse lights in the south that are plaguing the official observatory.  I am in the shadow of a giant windmill, which varies its noise level with wind speed.  It can get pretty loud, but it is a sound I can live with.  The dark sky is magnificent, with an excellent Milky Way showing all the way to the horizon.

Last Wednesday we had our new, very expensive door installed.  Sort of.  Near completion one of the workers dropped a very heavy drill onto the silver footplate leading into the house.  It left a crater the size of the lunar Copernicus one.  So they will be back in two weeks.  They have to completely take out the new door, replace the plate, and put the new door back in.  So our screen door is not yet on, but we are (for now) sealed in tight with the new main door.  It will take them even longer when they return.

In July I managed to finish reading 13 books, 10 by authors related to the Avon/Equinox series.  Works by John Christopher, Harry Harrison, Kenneth Bulmer, E.C. Tubb, Jack Williamson, Rex Gordon (as Bennett Stanley), Hal Clement, Robert Silverberg, Michael Moorcock, and Ward Moore complete the project authors for last month.  

Bulmer's "World's For The Taking" was notable, as Earth is now in the habit of capturing Earth-like planets and inserting them into our solar system for colonizing.  A weird premise but very well handled.  Also memorable was E. C. Tubb's "C.O.D. Mars," in which three astronauts return from Alpha Centauri, the first space travellers to successfully undertake such a journey.  Expecting to return and be hailed as conquering heroes, they are instead quarantined and are sent out to orbit the sun permanently.  Some type of disease is suspected, but it turns out to be even worse.  A good version of an attempted alien invasion.

"Sea Struck," by Bennett Stanley" (alias Rex Gordon; S. B. Hough) is a fabulous tale of a sea captain trying to keep sailing his wonderful schooner for profit despite so many odds against him.  This book brings back fond memories of reading Conrad many years ago.  If you've ever wondered what it might be like to spend time at sea on a sailing schooner, than look no farther (hint: it's no picnic).  The first chapter of this book might be the best opening chapter to any book I have ever read. 

Hal Clement's sequel to "Needle," called "Through The Eye Of  A Needle," continues the story of an alien policeman living within the body of a young man who lives in the south seas.  Both books are good and recommended, though his finest work lies elsewhere (his "Mesklin" series is unbeatable).  Silverberg"s "The 13th Immortal" is a very early novel, his first written for Ace publishing.  Even way back then, the early beginnings of his famous Majipoor series can be traced in this adventure spanning several continents (North and South America, and a very futuristic Antarctica). 

I have begun reading Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius quartet of novels.  I had previously encountered Jerry in Heavy Metal Magazine back in the day (drawn by Moebius), as well as in a short story by Farmer.  Moorcock loaned out the character and asked other writers to contribute.  In addition to the four novels, Moorcock also wrote short stories.  The first book is called "The Final Programme."  It is a really fun and fascinating romp into 1960s (SF) London and the counterculture of the times.  Possibly the biggest and party party ever takes place in these pages.  In my review I said it was a cross between a Doc Savage pulp adventure, a James Bond novel, and a Highsmith Ripley story.  Great fun!  Looking forward to the next volume, in about 6 weeks time.

On the flip side of this month's Ace Double featuring the Mars story by Tubb was "Alien Sea" by John Rackham.  This is one of three books unrelated to my project authors that I read this month.  Rackam is a new name for me, and his title sums the story up nicely.  The entire book, which is quite memorable, takes place upon and within a planet that is now only ocean and floating space ship docks.  Unique and worth seeking out.  Wish it had been longer.  The opening chapter is really something.

A second non-project book I read was the first part of the SF version of the Finnish Kalevala.  "The Saga of Lost Earths," by Emil Petaja, begins the journey I completed last month, when I came across and read Book 4.  I got the first volume on Kindle, and will seek out the others, too.  Unusual and fun to read.  

The final book unrealted to my Avon/Equinox project was called "Beware The Usurpers," a violent tale from 1951 about six humans (including a blind man, a one-armed man, two elderly men, and a woman) trying to save the world from an nefarious and deadly alien invasion from another dimension.  It received praise from Robert Silverberg, and is a good example of pulp fiction at its most murderous and action packed.  I have no doubt that Farmer based his Tarzan and Doc Savage tales around material just like this.  From 1951, it was written by Geoff St Reynard (real name Robert Krepps).  If you want to know what real pulp writing is like from the early 50s, then this is for you.  Needless to say, I liked it.  if you read it you will come across another version of the Jack the Ripper legend.  This book was a sequel to a much shorter story, simply called "The Usurpers."  However, the plot of that story is summed up in this longer tale.

I just finished a novel by J. G. Ballard, but that will have to wait for the August review.  Or check out the Ballard page on my Avon/Equinox blog, and to read more about the books mentioned above (and to see their cover art).  Until next time....

Mapman Mike

3 Film Biographies by Korda

This month's weekend film festival consisted of three films from the 1930s by Alexander Korda.  Two were pretty darn good, while one was amusing but not great film making.  We started with "The Private Life of Henry VIII," starring Charles Laughton as the King.  He owns the part, and really makes Henry come to life.  He makes the man a 3-dimensional character, showing his strength and weaknesses, and giving a good attempt at making an interesting historical character, well, interesting.  This was a break through film for Korda, and is certainly worth a look.  Costumes and sets are magnificent.

 Charles Laughton is totally amazing in the lead role.  

Next came a "biography," The Private Life of Don Juan, from 1934.  The film follows the exploits of an ageing hero, one whom young women are not longer attracted to.  Part comedy and part drama, the film is watchable, but it is not great cinema.  Douglas Fairbanks plays a Don past his prime, but still trying his best to live it up with women.  Of course, as to be expected, the film and character are pretty dated.  Poor Merle Oberon has to undertake a lengthy, sexy Spanish dance, and cannot pull it off.  The costumes and sets are wonderful to see, especially Leporello's outfit.  Not essential Korda viewing, but probably likable for Fairbanks fans.  He is pretty funny in the role.

Lastly came "Rembrandt," a stunning film by Korda from 1936.  Charles Laughton gives an understated but memorable role as the great painter, sadly misunderstood and under-appreciated in his time.  How Amsterdam loves him today, though.  Especially his rejected and ridiculed painting "The Night Watch."  This is a great film, with many scenes recreating famous paintings by Dutch masters of the day, including De Hooch, Steen, and Rembrandt himself.  Highly recommended as a start of appreciating one of the truly great artists.

 Another very fine performance by Charles Laughton.  

All three films are around 90 minutes in length, and easy to view.

Speaking of films, Deb will soon have some incredible news about her web series being accepted by a notable film festival.  She will announce the news in a few weeks, but has to keep silent about it for now.

I have managed to make my memorization goals for July!  I am happy and impressed with myself.  Of course nothing sticks in there without review, review, and more review.  It gets more and more complicated the more pieces I add to memory.  My August goal is to memorize the incredibly moving 2nd movement of the Haydn Sonata, and the final piece on the program, a Waltz by Brahms.

In Valeria the Vegetarian Vampire news, I have completed writing the first of three sections to the 2nd novel.  My main idea for the 2nd novel transpires in the 2nd section, the only part of the story I really have in my mind.  It should be fun to write, hopefully getting first draft done this month. 

Mapman Mike

Catching Up

Today I enjoyed my first full 2-hr. piano practice since my eye problems last weekend.  The pieces are so large and require so much stretching that I have to go easy again for a few days.  I am still trying to meet my memorization deadline of having four pieces in my head by next Wednesday.  I plan to add two more pieces to memory in August.

It has been 8 weeks since Deb's surgery.  There is still 4X that left to go, and her healing should be well advanced.  About the time my piano program is memorized.  She returns to physio on Thursday.  We both saw doctors last week: I saw my M.D. and Optometrist on Monday, then my Optometrist again on Thursday.  I am taking drops for another five days in the right eye.  Deb had a regular check-in with her new M.D.  We both seem happy with our G.P.s, and I've always liked my optometrist.

I'll try to do a quick film watching catch up here.  We are currently amidst our fourth weekend film festival since signing on to the Criterion Channel.  This time around we are watching a trio of b & w films from the 30s, directed by Alexander Korda.  More on those at the end of the weekend.

Recently seen films include The Garden of Women, directed by Keisuke Kinoshita, a very long movie b & w film from 1954.  It started out as a bit of a soap opera in an all-girls' college dormitory, but it soon evolved into something much better.

 Garden of Women, a Japanese film from 1954. 

The main conflict of the film is between the girls, who want freedom to live.  The school keeps them locked up, their mail is read in-going and out-going, they cannot study after lights out, and having a boyfriend is definitely out.  At times the film is hard to watch, as some faces need serious slapping.  The film ends with a girl's suicide, with each side blaming the other.  In my opinion neither the students nor the staff could really be wholly blamed for her death, as she was quite mad all along.  A good film, and definitely worth a watch, despite the long running time.

The Hitch-Hiker is a silly noir film from 1953, directed and co-written by Ida Lupino.  An escaped murder hitch hikes to escape, killing as he goes.  For some reason he kidnaps two able-bodied men, but doesn't kill them.  Instead, he keeps them at gunpoint for several days.  they seem neither able to take advantage of him, nor escape, and it just gets dumber and dumber as the film boils itself away into the desert.

 From 1953 and now showing on Criterion.  This was the only American noir film directed by a woman.  

The locales and cinematography are excellent.  There is a lone Mexican policeman that is tracking the three men, and of course all the way through the film the viewer assumes that he will die in a gunfight at the end.  However, the ending is pretty good, and definitely seems to have a woman's touch and instinct.  The last five minutes are probably the best part of the movie.

Lastly comes a really strange and wonderful film called A Canterbury Tale.  From 1944, it was written, produced, and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

A memorable British film from 1944. 

Sheila Sim is probably the freshest face and most "girl next door" film actress you could ever set your eyes upon.  A stage actress, this was her first film role.  Also giving a quite astounding performance is Sgt. John Sweet, US Army, starring as Bob Johnson, from Oregon.  A small group of people come to know one another during war time in the village of Chillingbourne, along the Pilgrim's Road to nearby Canterbury.  That is the main plot, and it works quite well.  There is a silly sub-plot about the glue man, who pours glue on village women's hair if they are out after dark, in a twisted effort to keep them away from nearby soldiers, who are encamped nearby.  We see rural England at its best, and we do eventually get to Canterbury and the cathedral.

 A still from the film, a key scene featuring Sheila Sim and Eric Portman.

There are a number of short films attached to the Criterion presentation, including long interviews both with Ms Sim and John Sweet.  There is also the amazing documentary called "Listen To Britain," made during the war, showing scenes and presenting sounds from Britain in the 1940s.  Quite remarkable.  The film is definitely worth a view, especially if you are watching the British version.  We got to see parts of the American version, with a different beginning and ending, as well as shorter cuts in some of the scenes.  Skip the American version if possible.

Mapman Mike

Back On-Line

Two things conspired recently to keep me from doing very much blogging.  Firstly, I had a reaction to a new drug I had started taking.  After three doses my right eye decided to give up the ghost, and went walkabout.  I spent all day Sunday lying in bed in a dark room with a makeshift patch over it.  The eye was red, swollen, and very painful.  First thing Monday morning I got right in to see my G.P.  He sent me to my optometrist, who diagnosed a very bad case of iritis.  This can lead to blindness rather swiftly, but my body was already doing a good job of handling the situation.  By Monday afternoon, when I began taking eye drop medicine, things were already improving rapidly.  By Monday night I was able to read a bit once again, though computer screens were still painful to stare at.  Today everything is back to normal, but I have to maintain the drops for 9 more days.

The second thing that happened was the arrival of my brother Steve, my sister-in-law Lynne, and my niece Emma-Lee.  We spent Monday afternoon together, visiting at Randy G.'s house.  Emma Lee was in the pool for hours.  Today we went to Detroit with them, giving them a partial tour of some of the renovated buildings downtown.  And so things are about to return to normal.  Back to piano practice tomorrow, and the grass will finally get cut.

 Lynne, Emma-Lee, Steve, in Randy's backyard.  Photo by Randy G.

 Randy, me (squinting a lot, as my eye was still very sensitive), Deb, and those three other people.  Self-timed photo by Randy. 

I will try to write up our Detroit day soon.  However, it is now astronomy season once again, and clear skies are predicted over the next few days.  I will post when I can.

Mapman Mike