Lifelong Learning again

 Today I returned to the lifelong learning international film course for my second (and final) session of the fall, this time showing Jacques Tati's "Trafic". Six people today, so much more lively. 

William prepares his film

 William's conceptual art this week is the presentation of cyanotypes which are supposed to be the only remaining evidence of a lost gangster film from the 1920s. The strips of paper for the cyanotypes are only  a couple feet long so he needs to select short clips from the footage he shot last week. 

Garage finished

 Mark, having recovered from covid, came and finished the last details of the garage today. All done and functional. 

Halloween displays of our own

 

I shot my Halloween film this morning using Margaret's finger puppets. I'm pleased with it, although it has some flaws due to rushing. Margaret did a great job in the yard. Last night we carved pumpkins (3). 

Impressive Halloween decorations

There is a house on Parliament Avenue that always decorates over the top for everything. We stopped and were in awe over their Halloween displays. 

More cyanotype experiments

 Figured out the hydrogen peroxide has profound and bold affect on the cyanotype process. William is still getting less than optimal results though. 

Lifelong Learning - 400 Blows

 I'm disappointed that after preparing all week to talk about Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" to the Lifelong Learning class on international cinema, there were only 3 participants. It went well though. I did talk too much and then had to run the film without break to finish on time (only 2 hours). 

William painting from the model

 Caught William in his studio and took a look at his work in progress. They are painting from the model this month but before anyone gets too excited, the subject is an older gentleman. I think William is going to do him as a fallen angel (the background and other details need to be put in). 

Science at home

 William is trying to figure out the right process for doing the cyanotype process at home. Measures very precisely, but the big picture is still a bit vague. 

William records Halloween Special

 William recorded his first one hour radio special, a two guest Halloween Spectacular with Geremy and Allan. The Sunday Funnies will air at 9:00 am this Sunday (Oct 30) on CJTR, 91.3 FM. 

Treasures in my office

 

Opened a large 35mm film can behind my desk that I thought was empty. It had a pile of 16mm spools and cores in it (no big deal) and one 35mm daylight spool which is amazing. I need these badly and only have about 7 or 8 of them No one manufactures them anymore, so I need to re-use the ones I have and hope that the lab always remembers to send them back. 

Should stay home. Didn't.

Snow came. It is wet and heavy. William needed to re-shoot his 35mm film so we went to the studio to do that. Very successful. 

 

Fixing the cabin

In the summer the big window in our cottage, which had been trouble so I had screwed it shut, was levered open with the result being that the whole thing came apart (but fortunately did not break the glass). Today I drove out there and fixed it before winter came. The whole window was out and two others were open, so the cottage would certainly have been filled with snow and the floor destroyed. I took the window frame out and re-assembled it the best I could, only to discover that my repaired version would not go back into the frame. I needed to do the whole thing again. Two times the charm, but if I have to do it again, I will need to replace it or wall it over.

On the way home, driving alone, I stopped to look at a cow that had jumped its fence. 

 

One Take Super 8 - 2022

 

Successful screening. My film prompted a number of conversations about dad. William's film looked really good and will probably be much cooler once we screen it in synch. Went for a drink at Hotel Sask afterwards. 

Norman McLaren

 Subbed for Christine this evening and talked about Norman McLaren for three hours. Went off on more than a couple tangents but I think I brought them back again in due time. 

Decorating for Halloween

 

We lost a large portion of our Halloween decorations in the garage last year but picked up a few things in the fall. I sprinkled the house with a number of them. 

Comics changed

 In the most radical shift in my lifetime, the Leader Post removed five of the ten daily comics it ran, and added fifteen (15!) new ones for a net increase of 10 or double the number of last week. Additionally, they are running the daily comics in colour for the first time in its publication history. This won't be discussed in William's next radio show (which has already been recorded) but will certainly be a topic of discussion in his October 30 episode on The Sunday Funnies on CJTR: 

Cards with dad as garage gets insulated

 

Having not seen dad in a week, I brought some cards and nuts and we hung out for a while. The nice sitting room has new furniture, thankfully. Dad likes to hold the cards and look at them but is pretty much lost when it comes to playing now. It remains a comfort, at least for a few minutes. Meanwhile, the garage insulation is all in now. 

Margaret's birthday

 Made lemon cheesecake yesterday for Margaret. We took it to her parents to celebrate a bit with them. I'm pretty beat after having my booster (covid vaccine) and flu shot both yesterday. The Filmpool AGM was today and it was more unfocused than ever, taking an hour to get through the approval of minutes. William has a drawing due tomorrow so we're sticking around the house tonight. 

Out to eat

Went out to eat as part of Margaret's birthday week celebrations. Actually was a very busy art day as i went to Moose Jaw for Marsha Kennedy's book launch, then back into Regina for Zachari Logan opening at Slate. William was running a Lego workshop at Southland through the Dunlop. 

 

Pondering Lego

 William posing for publicity shots for the workshop on Lego building he's been hired to do over three weekends starting Saturday. 

Alumni Crowning Achievement Awards

I lunched (at the Wascana Country Club) then dined (at the Queensbury Centre) today in celebration of Valerie Creighton who was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the UoR in their annual Alumni Crowning Achievement Awards. Nice events. Spoke the the university president at length. 

 

Long day at university

 William worked all day and into the evening to meet his deadline. I combed through at least a linear foot of paper, getting my office a bit more tidy than it was previously. Still a long way from clean. 

William back at his art

 Dropped in on William in his painting studio. He was asked "why can't you just follow instructions" after someone looked at his skeleton painting that he lovingly covered with skin. Today he was working on his copy of a painting which actually follows the instructions fairly closely. 

Turkey day

 Had supper at Lori's last night. Tonight I made turkey and brought it to Lori's for the second meal in a row there. Michelle and William recorded a radio show at the end. 

Deck parties

 Sharon, Michelle, and mom came over to see/inspect the garage. Mike brought his brother over. Lots of deck activity this Thanksgiving weekend. 

Cooking

 We developed the roll of 35mm film that William shot the other day (note: William has completed his WHMIS safety tests). The short end roll was clearly labeled as black and white Ilford FP4 but once we developed it (all new chemistry to the exact specs) it is thin and has an orange masking indicating that it is colour stock. I hope it works for his project. We can reshoot if it doesn't. 

Picking out lights

 Garage going well. I found some outdoor lights that I think will work well. I worry that the workers will get ahead of us and we will be the ones slowing the process. It is difficult to find outdoor lights that are not dark (metal that is). 

Amber PB and baby

 I've not seen her myself yet, but Margaret got a glimpse of Amber's baby girl. 

Recording with Sean

 William was on zoom this evening recording his radio show with his cousin Sean. William is trying to get all of his cousins to eventually be guests. Sean was in Regina the other day but so busy planning for a wedding and recovering from an injury that we didn't ask him, opting for a zoom recording with him in Saskatoon instead. 

Donut with dad

Maureen, Lori, Mom, Dad, and I went to the Everyday Kitchen for a donut. My class needed to be canceled so I was home trying to finish off the front step when Lori came by. Dad in good mood. We walked around outside for a couple minutes afterwards, which might have been better than the cafe due to the noise levels inside. 

 

Mom's birthday

 

Sharon ordered a fancy cake again for mom's birthday. This year, Lori and Maureen were both here to celebrate. 

Home painting and building

 Painted for a while. Also sawed wood to being my new front steps. It was nice to take my chop saw into the new garage to cut there, rather than on my knees on the driveway or deck. Soon I'll make this a permanent thing to do. 

Art gallery rush

After William and I shot his film, we zipped over to the Dunlop where the opening of "Building Black Civilizations II: Journey of 2000 Ships" with Ekow Nimako was happening. It was a really interesting talk about hypothetical and fictitious history and mythologies. 

When that was winding up, we jumped into the car and headed to Moose Jaw where Edward Poitras as talking about his retrospective that just opened there. The talk was cut short when a woman, just a few feet from me, got up and tripped and fell, requiring an ambulance. We didn't stay for the evening dance but did get to catch up with Helen Marzolf, vising from BC.  

 In the evening we visiting my family at Lori's. Maureen is in town for a couple days. Sean is also here, coming for a wedding even though he is mid-recovery after his motorcycle accident and subsequent blood clot. 

William film shoot

 I mentored William through the loading, handling, and shooting of a 35mm film today which will be part of a conceptual photography project he is doing.