Meddle may or may not have been released on this day in 1971. Sources do not agree though I seem to have Bing's AI giving today's date. Regardless, here's a seasonal song from the Floyd. (OK, it's really evergreen, if you ask me.)
30 October, 2026
29 October, 2026
Coming soon, 28 October 2026:
Seen at a screening of The Devils.
I went to the theater without a ticket and found that there were only 3 or 4 seats left out of 46 or so. How nice to see a Ken Russell flick that's 50 some-odd years old nearly selling out late in a 2 week run. The audience proved to me a mix of old and young, which was also good to see.
I'd never seen The Devils in its bowdlerized version and so this director's cut was all new for me.
It's 163something and the French city of Loudun has lost its governor which leaves the local priest, Father Grandier, in charge. Grandier may be the sexiest priest in all of France as he is bedding the lay ladies left and right. Plus the abbess of the local convent, Sister Jeanne des Anges, is barely able to contain the lust in her heart that she has for him. But he is at loggerheads with Cardinal Richelieu who wants to tear the city's walls down and bring it to heel along with all of the other cities that have a modicum of independence.
When Baron Jean de Laubardemont comes to town with his 17th century demolition equipment, Grandier is left with no choice but to have his archers threaten the baron and his men. Loudun's walls are saved. For now.
Grandier marries one Madeleine De Brou in secret but their conjugal alliance becomes known to Sister Jeanne who turns insanely jealous. Throw a "witchfinder" into this tense situation and you get an orgiastic "exorcism" at the church while Grandier is away. Upon his return he is tried and - quelle surprise - is found guilty of witchcraft.
For his part, Grandier is introduced to us as a philanderer having impregnated a young Loudunian lady. He doesn't seem to care and abandons the mother of his child. But he has his come to Jesus moment, I suppose you could say, after marrying De Brou. During the scene where Sister Jeanne's flock are thrown into heat and defile the church in a frenzied fit of debauchery, scenes of Grandier out by a lake blessing bread and having a private moment of devotion are intercut with it.
Upon his return he is accused of all manner of transgressions by Sister Jeanne and others whose strings are pulled by the witchfinder and the baron. Grandier admits his failings but denies their scandalous accusations until his fiery end.
All of this is done with Russell's typical hyper-stylized visual aplomb. The city is largely made of white brick while the church has an ebony interior. There's some really nice use of short lenses so many scenes present 2 or more faces at once to the viewer. I was impressed with all of the camera movement and the staging as well. Cinematographer David Watkin not only followed characters but also allowed them to step into the frame or to a new position within it. There were a few really nice crane shots as well. Just a lot of variety in the shots, sometimes natural looking, sometimes ostentatious just as Ken Russell likes it. Vanessa Redgrave is great as Sister Jeanne. She's obsessed and seemingly always on the brink of madness.
And then there's Mr. Beefcake himself, Oliver Reed. He's rakish and chews some fine scenery (although the true chewer here is Michael Gothard as the witchfinder, Father Pierre Barre, who looks like he came straight from the set of Easy Rider), has some tender moments with Madeleine, and then lets loose with righteous anger.
I adored The Devils. It is a wonderful mix of beauty, visual perversity, and, if not an anti-papist message, then a clear warning about the admixture of religion and secular power.
Onto the trailers! And, man, they really stuck it to us. 10 of them.
Doctor Who returns to theaters! Good lord, it's been 20+ years since the show came out of hibernation. This is a great story from the NuWho era.
Coming soon, 7 October 2026 - ...an iron curtain has descended between Queen and their fans...
Seen before a screening of Queen: Budapest.
I enjoyed it and hadn't seen much of Queen live before this. Freddie Mercury could really grab the attention of a crowd and hold it. Quite the showman. John Deacon's perm made me chuckle - please never let 80s fashions ever come back into style.
"Tie Your Mother Down", "In the Lap of the Gods… Revisited", and "Seven Seas of Rhye" made for a rockin' medley of some really old tunes near the beginning of the set. Of the newer songs, "Hammer To Fall" stood out for me as it just rocked. 80s Queen pre-The Miracle is really hit or miss for me because of the synths and drum boxes and all of those sounds which have aged so poorly. Here, though, a lot of that plastic sheen is gone, replaced with something grittier that allows the melodies to really shine through. And so I really enjoyed songs such as "I Want to Break Free" and "A Kind of Magic".
Brian May's guitar solo stood out for me. It was simply a nice mix of pyrotechnic shredding, quieter/more melodic passages, and some crazy effects interludes. The whole thing hung together somehow and didn't slow things down or seem out of place.
The movie looked and sounded great. Seeing the band up on the IMAX screen was a real treat.
Onto the trailers!
I really hope this actually gets screened as AMC is good at showing trailers for movies that never grace their screens. Lame. This screened at Cinematheque last week but I was ill and couldn't attend so I am hoping that AMC makes good on their promise.
Another concert film. Sadly I am not a George Michael fan.
Cooler by the lake
Earlier this month I went to Chicago for a family gathering that included some folks from the West Coast whom I do not get to see often. The occasion was to mark the birthdays of a couple cousins of mine, including one who was one of the first people to tell me that life gets better after divorce, but also the retirement of one of them and his husband.
Lots of eating and chatting plus some pinochle which was not cutthroat. It's nice to spend time with family and, with some getting up there in age, I try to savor these moments since I know that some of these folks won't be around all that much longer.
Before going to the soiree, my mother and I took a little walk along the lake by that park area between the Foster and Montrose Beaches. It was a temperate fall day and there was a cool breeze blowing along the path. Lots of people were out enjoying the sun before it cools down and becomes all rainy.
The first Pan de Muerto of the season
While it took a couple of tries, I did find some Pan de Muerto. It had been a couple years since I'd bought any and my first attempt to procure a loaf was at the last place I had bought one, Monona Bakery. Unfortunately, I discovered that the new owners don't appear inclined to make the stuff. However, a trip to Pan & Pan Bakery (& Mexican Cuisine) yielded a couple mini-loaves.
Delicious!
I want to get a little shrine together for All Souls' Day but it occurs to me that I no longer have any physical photos of Grabby and Piper. I shall have to find a way to get a couple printed.
Seasonal kolaczki
Ideal Bakery's autumn trifecta of kolaczki are delicious!
What about winter kolaczki? How about prune, mincemeat, and quince?
Spooky supermarket
A non-Halloween sign that takes on new meaning this time of year. Seen at Viet Hoa.
A feast of colors
Unfortunately, I've been to UW-Hospital a few times recently but I was reminded that, not only do they offer excellent care, but they also have some really neat artwork adorning their walls such as this one.
This is A River Runs Through by Madison-born Daniella Willett-Rabin. Isn't it lovely? I love the feast of colors here and how they are in patterns - the quilt and the wallpaper. Lots of animals on display too with some on the quilt, the horses on the painting behind the woman (with her gorgeous, flowing hair), and outside the window. With all of the red and orange, the painting feels "hot", it feels active, alive.
I just noticed how a river not only runs outside the window but through the middle of the quilt and how the one on the quilt is positioned so that it seems like the one outside flows through the window to the inside. Neat.
Beautiful.
20 October, 2026
R.I.P. Delta Beer Lab
Word has come out that Delta Beer Lab on Madison's south side is set to close next week.
The Lab will end regular operations at its taproom at 167 E Badger Rd on Sunday then will stay open for limited hours next week to sell its remaining packaged inventory. The Lab is also rolling out its final beer, SUPERNOVA West-Coast IPA, to mark the closure.
...
"Persistently rising inflation year after year has led to reduced consumer spending nationally and locally, while operational costs, including labor, have continued to rise," founder and chief beer officer Tim "Pio" Piotrowski said. "We fought as hard as we could, but we have ultimately run out of resources."
I shall miss the chance of drinking their unfruited Gose.
19 October, 2026
Song of the day, 19 October 2026
I spent the past few days at Gamehole Con where I ran 3 Call of Cthulhu scenarios. Many died and lots of sanity points were lost. So I am in the mood for some Lovecraft-inspired sounds.
11 October, 2026
10 October, 2026
09 October, 2026
Walk away from the tyranny of convenience
A couple fine podcasts for your listening delectation:
The first is entitled "The Joy of Walking" from BBC radio's The Documentary. It's partly about how the simple act of going for a walk has multiple benefits to stories such as one about a doctor who has integrated walks with patients into their healthcare regimen.
The second is from CBC's Ideas podcast - "The inconvenient truth about convenience culture". An interesting jeremiad against the onrush of AI and the concept of letting machines do everything for us, generally speaking.
It looks at the view that embrace of convenience is a progressive one, one that indicates you welcome the future which, by definition, is better than the present. There's also the proposition that convenience is anti-human, essentially, but also incredibly difficult to opt out of.
Lots of food for thought.
Song of the day, 9 October 2026
While I haven't given the new Son Volt the proper listening to that it deserves, the lead off track is an instant classic.
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