January 31, 2010

This week’s challenge was to identify seven species of tree in one area. Not, perhaps, the most seasonally-appropriate activity. We chose today based on the weather forecast, since it was the warmest option in a bitterly cold week. Mt. Auburn Cemetery was practically deserted (we saw a photographer), and while it was nice to have it all to ourselves it was very clear why there weren’t more people around.

We played as follows: choose an interesting or pleasing tree, make a guess about it based on the field guide, and go look at the tag. Here’s how it went:

Tree #1

We guessed, correctly, that it was some sort of European Beech. In fact, it was a cultivar called Purple-Leaf Beech (Fagus sylvatica var. Atropunicea).

Tree #2

We guessed it was a Red Maple, but it was in fact a Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum var. Green Mountain). It was planted in 1986, the same year Matt was born. Okay, actually he was born sometime in the 14th century and has been surviving off the blood of the living for over half a millennium ... but hey, close enough.

Tree #3

We had no clue. We guessed, from the leftover flowerheads and seed pods we could see, that it might be some sort of buckeye (flying blindly with the guide), but it was actually something called an Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa). Since we have never been to its native China, we couldn’t really be expected to get it …

Tree #4

Hm … it’s some sort of weeping pine, we said. Let’s count the needles … 5 on each bunch. That’s white pine, right? Okay, let’s guess weeping white pine.

Booyah! It is a weeping white pine! (Pinus strobus var. Pendula.)

Tree #5

We thought it was a larch, with its long evergreen leaves. But it’s a Japanese Umbrella Pine (Sciadopitys verticillata). What’s that? Well, it is the only species in the Sciadopityaceae family, of course! Obviously. Hmph.

Tree #6

“Oh, that’s a plane tree!” “Yup.” It was indeed a London Plane Tree (Platanus acerifolia), familiar to most of us from various public places.

Tree #7

After some deliberation we guess, correctly, that it was a Red Oak (Quercus rubra). Look at all those cute little acorns!

“Tree” #8

Couldn’t identify this one beyond the color actually …. Well, that and where it was growing.

Even in the dead of winter, the cemetery was lovely. Next time we do this, we’ll try for a slightly more wild area, we think—the presence of so many wacky exotics was a bit of a pain. Then again, we would also have preferred to do it in less of a hurry, which was necessary both because it’s been a busy week and because it was too cold to linger over a field guide much. Amherst people would recognize many names among Mt. Auburn's dead: we saw a Converse, an Appleton, and a Pratt, and there's plenty more where that came from.

We also drew our latest card: the Eight of Diamonds (Visit a New Museum). Yes, it is indeed the fourth diamond in a row, and there are only 11 in play (2s and 7s are wild, remember). We’d really like some Spades (cozy domestic activities) or Clubs (crafty things) for a change … despite our best efforts most of our Hearts (physical activities) are not really winter-friendly, so it’s a good thing we’re not getting those at the moment. But … really? A month of Diamonds? Anyway, we’ll be picking a museum soon—stay tuned!

January 24, 2010

We watched another silent film last night—Der Müde Tod (Weary Death) from 1921. Wow. What a lovely movie. It is visually stunning, presumably because Fritz Lang directed it, and the special effects are amazing. (And not just “amazing for 1921,” but really great.) Sadly, as far as we can tell, the original musical score no longer survives. The edition we got our hands (inexplicably titled Destiny) had a replacement score based on German folk songs and contemporary film music, and we never knew the difference. There were also English replacements (in period-appropriate fonts) for the original German titles. It tells four stories—the bracketing main plot is about a young woman trying to convince Death to give her beloved back. She enters his domain and Death sets her the challenge of saving at least one of three other young men whose candles are about to flicker out. The film quality is less than ideal, which has the unfortunate effect of reducing some of the detail, and the story includes a little bit of rampant Orientalism and racism, but we found the story very gripping. There’s something particularly sad about watching German films from before the war: it’s hard not to think of how much of the world depicted, and of the artistic world behind it, no longer survives. Matt quoted me Johnny Cash’s line that “the culture of a thousand years is shattered with the clanging of a prison door behind you,” and I imagine something similar might be said (and probably has been said) about war. Anyway, here are some stills.

                                      

(Thanks to a Polish film blog, found at http://mojaoaza.blox.pl/html)

 And I’m sure you’re all on tenterhooks to find out what our next card will be!

We have just drawn the Queen of Diamonds: identify seven species of tree in one area. (We had to veto an Ace because Matt is shopping classes this week.) Looks like we’re going for a hike! We’ll probably be spending some time in Mt. Auburn Cemetery this week with the Sibley Guide to Trees—stay tuned!

January 21, 2010

We watched our silent film today. It was actually very hard to decide at the library, so we came home with five: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Metropolis, Phantom and Destiny. They were all made between 1920 and 1926 and are all German. (A reader suggested two American films, The General starring Buster Keaton and The Gold Rush starring Charlie Chaplin, that we would also love to see but failed to find on the shelf in our brief search of the Lamont Library.)

We decided to just watch in chronological order—the assignment is one silent film, but why stop there? This evening we saw The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, made in 1920. It is a strange and wonderful film. It was filmed on set rather than on location, and the German Expressionist (according to the box) sets tilt wildly across the screen. Between the disorienting sets, the heavy eyeliner on all of the actors, and the weirdly discordant score, it’s a deliciously eerie film. There’s also a killer twist at the end. It’s funny, Watching Silent Films always seems like such a challenge but, of course, it’s not really any harder than ordinary films and it’s very rewarding to watch good movies. Which is, of course, the point of this whole endeavor: shake us out of our routine, force us to do things we “keep meaning to,” and provide rewarding experiences. So this goes in the success category.

Stay tuned for more silent films and, on Sunday, a brand new card.

January 17, 2010

Today, we drew the 3 of Diamonds: Watch a Silent Film. It’s something we’ve been meaning to do for a while and won’t take too long, so we’re pretty pleased with the card. I’ve seen Metropolis so we probably won’t make it our “official” silent film (though we might end up watching a few). We’re considering Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Suggestions would be welcome.

January 16, 2010

Finished! Our week of Sunday crosswords ended today with February 8 2009. It was ok, but we were both somewhat fed up with the whole thing. I still feel a sense of accomplishment. Matt feels it was ultimately a waste of time. I’m glad crosswords will be something I do for fun again rather than something I have to; he’s just glad to be free of them for a while.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Week Three’s card!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Day 6 of Crossword Week, and it’s definitely starting to wear on us. Today’s puzzle (January 6 2008) was actually quite good, if tricky, but we are fed up with crosswords. There were two marbles-themed clues, an “arioso,” and a couple of mysterious textiles: lisle, which is apparently a type of processed cotton, and arnel, a synthetic of some kind. Matt got a kick out of “Dungeons and Dragons Figure” (ogre) while I giggled happily at the “accusatory words” et tu, but we’re both ready to be done. Just one more crossword tomorrow, and then we draw our next card!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

The most difficult part of the week – where I am out until 10 and have to go to work the next day on Monday and Wednesday – is safely past, and we have kept up with our crosswords! Wootles. Mostly we’ve been lucky in our random choices from the NYT puzzle archive, but today’s (January 13 2008) was a disaster. We learned that grass can be awned and you can be sprung from jail by a bailsman. Worse still was the theme: “Baby talk,” meaning “common” phrases where an “L” has become a “W.” So, “LWest we forget,” “LWake Victoria,” etc. But who the hell is Art Linkletter? Oh, I see: Canadian-American radio and television personality, born 1912. WTF.