Book Review: Bringing Up Geeks by Marybeth Hicks

Bringing Up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kid's Childhood in a Grow-Up-Too-Fast World by Marybeth Hicks

Parents left and right complain about the influence of American culture on their children, if they are paying attention to that influence at all. Kids are expected to grow up faster and faster, with the latest gadgets and the sexiest fashions. A reasonable adult recognizes this situation as at least unhealthy. Kids should be kids for as long as possible, not for as short as possible. Marybeth Hicks offers an alternate view from her perspective as a mother of four along with a lot of research she has done into child-raising issues.

Her idea is that children should be GEEKs. Not the classical definition of geek, but acronymically as Genuine, Enthusiastic, Empowered Kids. Rather than following the popular crowd, which to a large extent is led around by media and celebrity culture, she advocates children figuring out what they like for themselves and pursuing those ends. To find what is fun and fulfilling, kids need to develop a love of learning which helps make good choices about what to try and what to pursue. Parents should support those interests and gently guide kids away from the harmful stuff. One key tactic is to have a family life centered on the family, i.e. hanging out at home and learning to love and support one another. With that foundation, kids have an easier time being themselves at school and other activities. It makes them better friends.

The book was written in 2008, so some of the cultural references have faded, like Bratz dolls or Myspace. The principles are easy to discern and apply to contemporary life and culture. She organizes her advice into ten rules, ranging from "Raise a Brainiac" to "Raise a Faithful Kid." The rules are applicable in any culture and are very valuable as our modern culture shifts in all sorts of directions, many of which a smart parent does not want their children to follow. 

The writing is homey and very straightforward. The book centers on examples and storytelling rather than charts and statistics (though she does support her ideas with research and references). A couple of times I felt like she was being too sarcastic or overemphasizing a point, but those were minimal. 

Recommended.

Book Review: Lifeline by James Stenson

Lifeline: The Religious Upbringing of Your Children by James Stenson

After a life raising his own children, teaching at schools, and talking to friends with families, James Stenson wrote this short book full of practical advice on parenting your children. He describes the attitude parents need to have going into parenting. Clear rules and direct communications with children are key. Religious life naturally dovetails with this, given that God wants us to live in joy with Him in the afterlife. Living a spiritually fruitful life translates into a virtuous present life. Stenson gives a lot of practical advice on how to handle discipline, friends, television, and many other aspects of raising children.

The writing style is all over the place. At times it tries to be very modern sounding; at other times it sounds like an advice volume stereotypical of the 1950s. Both can be good but the mixture is weird. He starts off discussing virtues using the classical names of the theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) but for the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) he gives them dumbed-down names (judgment, responsibility, courageous perseverance, and self-mastery). I can understand that philosophical terminology needs clarification for a lot of modern readers but making those clarifications are very easy to do. Maybe a good editor could have smoothed out these rough gearshifts.

The book has lots of advice, some better than others. The reader can take what they know is best and put it into action. Also, it's reassuring to hear some advice that you already use in raising your children. The advice is a mixed bag but mostly very good advice.

Slightly recommended.

Book Review: If Aristotle's Kid Had an iPod by Conor Gallagher

If Aristotle's Kid Had an iPod: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Parents by Conor Gallagher

A popular internet parenting meme is "Steve Jobs didn't let his kids have an iPad." I've never taken the click-bait since I don't have any idea whether Jobs was a good parent or not. Sure, he's a brilliant entrepreneur and a smart guy, but that doesn't make him a good dad. Then I saw the title of this book and knew I wanted to read it. Aristotle did have a son, Nicomacheus, for whom his Nicomachean Ethics is named. Unlike Jobs, Aristotle does have a legacy of human education and perfection. But is it relevant in today's times?

Conor Gallagher argues that Aristotle's legacy is relevant today. He follows the Nicomachean Ethics but uses modern scientific studies and pop culture to show the validity of Aristotle. Gallagher cites various fascinating psychological experiments from the 1960s (including Milgram's Experiment, where people kept delivering electric shocks to strangers just because they were ordered to, and The Stanford Experiment, where students volunteered to role play a prison for two weeks and those playing guards became abusive and authoritarian while the "prisoners" broke down) showing how people can make rapid shifts in their moral behavior based on external circumstances. He explains Aristotle's four moral characters (the virtuous, the strong-willed, the weak-willed, and the vicious) by showing how Socrates, Frodo Baggins, King David, and Darth Vader are examples of each.

Gallagher shows the relevance to parenting too. Aristotle's system depends on developing virtues (which are good habits of acting) and fostering true friendships (where friends seek the good of the other, not their own good). Children are bundles of passions that need to be guided by reason. At first, they don't have enough experience or education to think things out on their own, so parents need to guide them. Reason and passion should work together for the true good, not just for personal pleasure (a la Tony Robbins) or the most pleasure for the most people (a la John Stuart Mill's utilitarianism). A great help in achieving that good is finding friends who aren't just useful to some end or fun to hang out with, but who really want the good for their friends. Such friendships are not frequent but are important. Parents need to keep an eye on their friends and encourage the best friendships.

The book ends with some fun quizzes and resources for further research if parents are interested. Overall, this book is a great introduction to Aristotle's moral theory and a great help in applying that theory to raising kids today. The style of writing is more personal and less academic, making it easy to read (much easier than reading Aristotle, I assure you!).

Book Review: 1-2-3 Magic by Thomas W. Phelan

1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12, Revised 4th Edition, by Thomas W. Phelan, Ph. D.

1-2-3 Magic presents a parenting plan broken into three different jobs--controlling obnoxious behavior, encouraging good behavior, and strengthening parent/child relationships.

The book is mostly focused on job one, controlling undesirable behavior like arguing, tantrums, sibling fights, whining, and so on. The technique is fairly simple. When a child exhibits obnoxious behavior, the parent tells them calmly, "That's a one." If the behavior continues, the parent gives them a two and then a three, which means a time out or some other disciplinary action (the author recognizes that a time out can't be given in every situation). The idea is that the parent doesn't argue or plead with the child to stop their behavior, the parent just gives the number without emotion or discussion. This prevents escalation and anger (which is not productive) for the parents. Phelan often refers to a classic parents' blunder: assuming one explanation of why something is wrong or annoying will somehow persuade the child to stop, what he calls the Little Adult Assumption. The underlying idea of Phelan's solution is that kids need direction and not instruction when they are misbehaving. Some children will push back against the system but plenty of techniques and examples are provided to deal with those situations.

The book also describes how to establish positive routines to encourage good behavior, especially at tricky times like getting up in the morning, getting out of the house, getting chores done, getting homework done, and getting to bed. Some nice practical techniques are introduced.

The final section goes over ways to get closer to your children, including how to listen attentively and how important one-on-one time is. A new chapter on children and technology has been added.

This book provides a lot of practical advise and we are trying it out with the kids now. My only criticisms of the book are (1) the tone and (2) the basic assumption behind it. I found the tone of the book a bit condescending. For example,  when he talks about the Little Adult Assumption (which comes up several times) he basically says, "Aren't you an idiot for thinking that way?" That's especially tedious when he falls into the same assumption in his own book (see the sample quote below). I had to put the book down a couple of times just because I found the writing style annoying.

My other problem is that the book is more focused on behavior modification rather than moral formation. Sure, we all want our children to behave, especially in public, but the system seems to apply to anything the parent decides is annoying rather than only to misbehavior. Also, delaying any explanations until the child is calm enough to understand might disconnect the explanations from the behavior too much. With a little tailoring, though, I think the system will work well for us.


Sample Quote, where the author hangs himself by his own petard, or he describes the anticipated reaction from the kids after the 1-2-3 system is explained:

Expect the kids to sit there and look at you like you've just gone off your rocker. Some kids will poke each other and exchange knowing glances, as if to say, "Well, it looks like Mom went to the library again and got another one of those books on how to raise us guys. Last time she stuck to it for about four days, and Dad never did anything different at all. I think if we stick together and hang tough, we should be running the house again inside of a week, right?" [p. 74]

Game Review: Argh!

Argh! The Nail-Biting, Treasure-Stealing Pirate Game! published by Fat Brain Toy Co.

Argh! is a push-your-luck card game with a pirate theme. Players try to collect more treasure than each other and not get caught by the pirates. Each player takes turns drawing cards one at a time from a pile in the middle of the table. The draw pile is called "Plunder Island."

J in mid-game

Certain cards are treasure cards, like gems or chalices or other pirate booty. Others are treasure chests. These are put face up in front of the player until scoring happens. Still other cards let players "Score some loot!" by taking all of one type of card from one other player (all the keys from J, for example). The set of cards is the pirates. If a player draws a pirate card, they have to stop drawing and the next person gets their turn.

Sample cards (the Argh! flag is the back of the cards)

A player can decide to stop drawing before a pirate card shows up and then gets to score the treasures collected. Treasure chests are worth three points each. Other treasures require at least three cards in order to score points. Points are given for the number of cards of each type. Any sets of card that have fewer than three don't score and are left in front of the player. So if J has drawn three chalices, four gems, two keys, and a treasure chest, he score three points for chalices, four for gems, three for one treasure chest, for a total of ten points. The two keys stay in front of him and could be stolen by other players if they draw the "Score some loot!" card. Play continues to a certain number of points depending on the number of players. In a two-player game, once one person hits fifty points, the other player has one last turn to try and beat that score.

The game is fun and fits the pirate theme nicely. It plays from two to six players and the games are pretty short, about ten to fifteen minutes. J has an unfair advantage in that he is more willing to press his luck and keep drawing cards even when he could score a couple of three sets. He's won every time I've played him.

Zombie Apocalypse Appropriateness:
This game is not suitable for solo play unless you're schizophrenic (in which case, is it really solo play?). It is just a deck of cards and a small rule book, so it is pretty portable and easy to learn. The owner could squeeze in a game with newly found friends.

Book Review: Bro-Jitsu The Martial Art of Sibling Smackdown by Daniel H. Wilson

Bro-Jitsu The Martial Art of Sibling Smackdown by Daniel H. Wilson

In a surprising departure for Daniel H. Wilson, Ph.D. in Robotics from MIT, he's written a book about how siblings fight each other for family supremacy (or just for fun). He doesn't look at the whys or wherefores, just what they do to each other (e.g. punching, kicking, taunting, double dog daring, cat butting, etc.). The book is divided into sections on offensive techniques, defensive techniques, and psychological warfare. It has the same tongue-in-cheek style of his other short books like Where's My Jetpack? and How to Survive a Robot Uprising.

Wilson also discusses when to bring in parents as referees and when not to. These tidbits are especially helpful as a parent so I can discern when someone is trying to get out of trouble or get someone into trouble. It will make parents better managers of sibling relationships.

This book is a fun read and brought back sibling warfare memories. I just can't let it fall into the hands of my four- and six-year olds. They don't need any more ideas on how to get on each others nerves!

Sample Text: The Sacred Vow of Bro-Jitsu [pp. 9-10]

• I promise I will never hit my sibling in the face, even if (s)he always breaks my stuff and gets away with it, too.
• I will strive to physically and mentally torture my siblings to make them stronger, better people. But I will do my best to never injure or scar them permanently.
• I will never team up with outsiders against my sibling because we are joined by an unbreakable bond of kinship. Plus, I will be in a lot of trouble with Mom if anything ever happens to my sibling.
• I will continue to refine and improve the techniques of Bro-Jitsu long after reaching adulthood so that my siblings will never grow soft--and so that they will never forget how freaking awesome I am and how much they totally suck.

Movie Reviews: Recent Shakespeareances

Here's a couple of Shakespeare movies we happened to see recently.

The Merchant of Venice (2004) directed by Michael Radford


The movie begins with some information about the treatment of Jews in Elizabethan-era Venice. They live in a walled-off ghetto. They have to wear red hats when they go outside the ghetto. They can't get regular jobs so they wind up being money lenders, only charging interest on loans is considered usury so they have to be crafty in how they are paid back. With this information, I expected a much more sympathetic portrayal of the main villain, Shylock. Al Pacino plays Shylock. Viewers might expect a larger-than-life, scenery-chewing performance. Pacino's performance is nicely toned-down, only exploding occasionally for effect. It was probably the best thing about the movie. Seeing Pacino in this role is what drew me to to the film.

The plot is faithful, at least as I remember it from reading the play in high school. Basino has fallen in love with Portia but doesn't have enough money to impress her (or so he thinks). He borrows money from Shylock on his older friend Antonio's credit. Shylock loans 3000 ducats for three months. If Antonio forfeits, Shylock may take a pound of flesh from Antonio's body. Antonio is pretty sure his ships that have gone trading (he is the merchant from the title) will be back long before three months with the money to pay back.

Basino goes off to woo Portia. Portia is an orphan and her wealthy father left specific instructions on who should be her husband. The successful suitor has to chose from three caskets which one has her image in it. The caskets are gold, silver, and lead. Some other suitors fail but Basino wins by guessing it's in the lead casket. There's a marriage and much rejoicing.

Meanwhile, Antonio's ships all fail to return and Shylock is ready to get his revenge (what he calls justice) by legally killing Antonio. Antonio had been both dismissive and abusive of Shylock for years because of his Jewish faith, so Shylock demands recompense. A big court scene finishes that story-line where Shylock argues for justice over mercy and virtually the rest of the cast argue for mercy, even when Basino returns with 6000 of Portia's ducats as repayment. Things end poorly for Shylock.

The production values are quite high and the setting seems like authentic 1600s Venice. Overall the performances are good and Pacino does stand out for his atypical performance. The movie definitely gave a more sympathetic portrayal of Shylock without revising the ending. I do have a few reservations about it (see the advisory below).

Parental Advisory--in addition to the religious tensions in the film, there's an awful lot of topless women. None of the major characters are topless but often there are topless (presumably) prostitutes in the back of street scenes for no apparent reason. One scene is set in a brothel with some heavy petting going on and more topless women. Also the movie suggests that there is some homosexual attraction or relationship between Basino and Antonio, though the most graphic it gets is a kiss on the mouth between the two. I don't remember anything about that in high school and it seems an odd interpretation since they didn't do anything with it (e.g. they could have portrayed Antonio as a hypocrite for despising the Jew Shylock while he also is part of an unpopular minority). This movie is best for older teens.

Love's Labour's Lost (2000) directed by Kenneth Branagh

I have not read this play or seen a production aside from this movie, but it definitely follows the wacky antics in plays like Much Ado About Nothing. The King of Navarre and three friends swear a public oath to study philosophy and other esoteric subjects while foreswearing women for three years. Naturally they do this just before the French princess comes to visit with three of her lady friends who all have had past associations with the King's three friends. A lot of comedy ensues as the men try to stay with their vows but also woo their women in secret.

The twist here is the setting is a 1930s musical. In fact, the story is set in the 1930s, so World War II is looming on the horizon for all the characters. And what I presume is the role of the chorus is taken over cleverly by short black-and-white newsreels filling in the back story (much like the TV reporter at the beginning of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet). The songs are classic jazz-era tunes from Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, the Gershwins, etc. The singing and dancing are good but not stellar (except for a fabulous "I Get a Kick Out of You" by Timothy Spall's Don Armado). The cast gives fine performances, hitting the right blend of serious and silly and sensual.

The story is pretty light but very enjoyable and fits really well with a classic Hollywood musical treatment.

Parental advisory: There is one sensual dance scene with no nudity but a lot of touching. Otherwise the romantic intrigues are fairly benign.

Book Review: Captain Dad by Pat Byrnes

Captain Dad: The Manly Art of Stay-At-Home Parenting by Pat Byrnes

Most parenting books can be categorized as either inspirational or practical. Some books focus on how great it is to be a parent or the rewards hidden among the diapers, food fights, starting school, etc. Other books tackle specific problems and give practical advice on how to solve them. The categories often bleed into each other (we were inspired by one potty training book that talked about challenges with much older kids--glad it wasn't us!). Captain Dad is a humorous/inspirational book that gives many practical tips, some serious, some not so serious. 

The book comes from the less common perspective of a stay-at-home dad who has been raising two girls while his wife works as the state Attorney General. The author is a cartoonist, which means he works from home with flexible hours. It was natural for him to stay at home with the children. As a first-time parent, the task is a lot more than he bargained for, in demanding and delightful ways. As a dad, there are certain barriers (where are the baby changing tables in public? Mostly in the ladies' room, not very helpful for dads) and awkward situations (joining playgroups or going to the park as the only dad among lots of moms) that provide both humor and practical advice. I especially liked the idea of a dad just leaning his back against a wall as if sitting and using his lap as a changing table--that's the sign of a really tough man.

The book reads a little bit like the best of his blog posts, but they are woven together well to create a larger whole. The book can be read in bite-size chunks over several days or weeks, giving the reader a chance to enjoy it every day for quite a while. It is full of illustrations too, including some cartoons that originally appeared in the New Yorker. They are delightfully whimsical and add to the comic punch of the writing.

The book is very entertaining for dads and moms, validating the difficulty of raising children in our world and the bemusement needed to deal with how the world looks at us parents, stay-at-home or not.

SAMPLE TEXT:

The Parent's Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the grace to accept the things that cannot be cleaned,
the courage to clean the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference. [p. 215]

TV Reviews: Various Odds and Ends

Since we've had a free month of LoveFilm, we've been watching a bunch of TV shows streaming. Here's some recommendations/reflections:

• The IT Crowd--a hilarious comedy about two male IT workers and their female boss who has been busted down the corporate ladder, left in charge of the IT department. Their offices are in the basement and include something or someone behind a strange door marked "Keep Shut." They have all sorts of corporate and regular life shenanigans. The show is laugh-out-loud funny but a bit sweary, so it's not for the kids. Grown-ups are going to love it, especially geeky grown-ups.
• V, Season 2--back in America I watched the first season of this reboot of the 1980s alien invasion miniseries. Then we were moving and I missed the second season, which I wasn't too worried about because it was a good, not great, show and they killed my favorite character at the end of Season 1. I saw Season 2 available on LoveFilm and watched the ten episodes. It clearly was canceled early though they managed to finish out the story. The last few episodes were all over the place (lots of plot threads abandoned and started with little sense or logic), but the last ten minutes of the last episode was surprisingly good, though I suppose some viewers would not be happy with it. It definitely ended the series and made it worth the wobbly episodes.
• Castle--a fun detective show with the ever charming Nathan Fillion in the lead. He plays a crime fiction writer who teams up with a New York City detective (female, naturally) to do research on how investigations really go. The mysteries are interesting enough though the family drama and comedy makes the show shine.
• Dead Set--a grim zombie satire where the Big Brother production in the UK is overrun with zombies. My full review is here, but let me just say it is not for the faint of heart or stomach.

Also, we've rented a couple of shows:

• Band of Brothers--the ten-episode miniseries following a company of World War II soldiers from their training in America to the battles they fought in Europe. The acting is solid and the story is compelling. I'm usually not a fan of shaky, hand-held camera work--too often I feel film makers want the film to "look real" but the technique is so noticeable (to me at least) that it has the exact opposite effect. There's a lot of shaky camera work here, but the style fits with the chaos of the battlefield quite well (and action sequences in general, hence the Bourne movies are so good while using it). Each episode starts with some interviews of the real men involved, setting up the stories well. Since it's soldiers fighting a war, the show has swearing and battlefield gore. And there's one sex scene, which I guess is a contractual obligation for shows originally on HBO.
• Foyle's War--another WWII show, though this is a detective series set during the early 1940s in Hastings, England. Christopher Foyle is a police inspector with a personal driver and an assistant investigator who was recently injured in the war. Foyle also has a son who is an RAF pilot and features in some of the episodes. The mysteries are okay but too often they highlight vital clues giving away what would in other series be craftily buried in a scene or in dialogue. The real attraction of the show is two-fold. First, the actors are really good. Michael Kitchen plays Foyle with nice subtlety and yet is quite expressive. His driver was drafted from the army, and she too has a great blend of reserve and spunk, making for natural and enjoyable comic relief at times. The other attraction is the period setting, and more so the period plotting. The vintage cars and lifestyle are fun elements and make you believe it is the 1940s. The plots often involve things that happened during the war, like the development of radar or espionage training. The DVDs include special features on the real history behind the episodes.

We've also watched some shows on the BBC's iPlayer, though I'll save them for another post.

Movie Review: Iron Sky (2012)

Iron Sky (2012) directed by Timo Vuorensola

Here's a little Bronte break for those who need it! It sort of follows from the 1940s weekend though, right?

MPAA rating

R for language and some violence

ZPAA rating

Teens and up

Gore level

2 out of 10--One instance of bloody coughing and one head shot with bloody spray.

Other offensive content

Lots of bad language; some sex references; unsympathetic portrayal of world leaders, especially the President of the United States (maybe that isn't so offensive!).

Synopsis & Review

What if the Nazis built a base on the far side of the moon and evacuated some people there just before the end of World War II? And they were finally ready to come back and take over the Earth in 2018? And the first American astronaut captured by them was black? This premise is the sort of crazy comedy that appeals to me. At the end of our LoveFilm free month, I watched this movie on their streaming service.

The movie starts well with many broad comic strokes. Astronauts are sent to the moon by the President of the United States (who looks and talks like Sarah Palin) in a bid to raise her profile and help her re-election. So naturally the black guy is a model, not an actual astronaut. He'll look good in political advertisements. The actual astronaut on the trip scans around for Helium-3, a mythic power source that the American government wants. He is killed almost immediately by the moon Nazis, whose base he has discovered. The Nazis grab the black astronaut (though they can't tell his skin color because of his helmet) and take him back for questioning. The guy who captured him is planning a coup so he can be the new fuehrer on the moon base. This wannabe Adolph also has a schoolteacher girlfriend who becomes involved in the plot. Hijinks ensue.

The comedy works pretty well for the first half, mocking the shallowness of both the Nazis and the American president and even the United Nations. Exploring the moon base with its odd mixture of retro and futuristic technology (they still have gigantic, room sized computers in 2018!) and the silly Nazi culture (they have a ten-minute version of Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator which is edited down to make it look like Chaplin admires Hitler). Some of the Nazis eventually sneak to Earth to get more advanced technology (e.g. cell phones) to complete their fleet of flying saucers.

The second half of the film runs out of steam. The Sarah Palin gags just repeat themselves and aren't funny anymore. The launch of the Nazi attack on the earth is pretty cool-looking but it peters out too. The movie becomes formulaic and uninspired, which is a shame since it showed so much promise in the beginning.

If you want, you could watch half the movie. About the time they go see The Great Dictator on earth is when you can switch off. Nothing more to see here!

Movie Trailer

Book Review: Catholic Family Fun by Sarah A. Reinhard

Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative, or Clueless by Sarah A. Reinhard

One of the challenging things about having kids is what to do with them. When they are infants, the process is pretty straightforward--sleep, eat, clean up, change diapers, maybe play or read--a seemingly endless cycle. But eventually the cycle ends. They walk and talk and grab and wonder and move stuff around and ask you where they put it. Having activities to keep them occupied and to help them grow as persons is necessary for everyone's sanity. But how to keep those activities fun for kids and parents? And how to sneak in some faith when you can?

Enter stage right Catholic Family Fun, a new book by Catholic blogger and podcaster Sarah Reinhard. She provides an array of activities sorted into various categories, like activities at home, things to do outdoors, ways to start stories or skits, ways to serve in your local community, etc. For each activity, she'll add in "Faith Angle," "Wide Angle," and "Make It Your Own" bits of advice on how to customize the activities. The index sorts the activities based on cost and by preparation time and by duration. The book is a very handy reference, allowing a parent to hop right into something good.

I found the book reassuring. One of the activities is "Be 'Crazy'" which is just like what it sounds. Let the children run around, say silly things, laugh, and have fun. I struggle with this because it is quite chaotic and drives me a little crazy. But the kids are having fun and as long as they aren't hurting themselves, why not? My children are three and five as I write this, so they are a little young for some activities, like performing skits or volunteering at local charities. But that time will come and it's nice to have ideas and encouragement beforehand.

Faith-related ideas are woven throughout the book. Even in unlikely places. One outdoor activity recommended is creating obstacle courses. J used to watch a lot of Ninja Warrior and still wants to do physical challenges and courses like the Japanese contestants do on the television show (we used to watch a lot of clips online). She recommends building a course based on Old Testament stories, like using a sandbox and a wading pool to have contestants flee the Egyptians as in Exodus. Or a saint theme--I would do St. George, so we could slay a dragon!

The book also has a web site with links to resources. The materials there are also helpful (especially the links to recipes for St. Lucy's Eyeballs which is appealing to me, because, well, you know). We have done a sort-of Seder on Holy Thursday for a while (we grill a leg of lamb and have unleavened bread and salad). I think we are ready to up our game this year and the web links on the books site will be very helpful.

I highly recommend this book. It has a lot of wonderful ideas but isn't too long or too complicated. The index is especially helpful in finding things to do when only a certain amount of time is available.

Book Reading Plans for 2013

Since last year's plans for reading worked out pretty well (all except one, with plenty of other books thrown in), I thought I'd make some plans for 2013. Here's a couple of categories:

Zombies: I need to catch up on the zombie lit that has been accumulating on my shelf, like...

• Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall--A Star Trek convention is overrun by real zombies. Fun mash up of zombies and Star Trek fandom.
• Pay Me in Flesh by K. Bennet--Zombie lawyer in Los Angeles has tough cases and hard times.
• Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez--Zombies keep pestering a diner, whose owner hires a vampire and werewolf to take care of the problem. But there's more than just that (at least according to the back of the book).
• Night of the Living Dead Christian by Matt Mikalatos--An allegory of Christian transformation, possibly a Pilgrim's Progess through a zombie apocalypse?
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Zombie Jim by Mark Twain and W. Bill Czolgosz--Another one of those re-writes of a classic throwing in zombies, a la Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. But will it be as good?

English authors: Having lived here for a year and half now, I think I should catch up with some classics of English literature, or at least some famous authors, like

• Ecclesiastical History of the English People by the Venerable Bede--Written in 731 chronicling the early English Church. I saw Bede's burial spot in Durham Cathedral!
• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll--Why haven't I read this book yet? I've seen a couple of movie and television adaptations, but not read the original.
• Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer--May be tough but I want to try.
• Brave New Family by G. K. Chesterton--It's been too long since I've read some Chesterton. This book is the one I brought from the USA.
• Sir Thomas More by William Shakespeare--I saw this in the Shakespeare museum bookstore and the title caught my eye. It's an unpublished, unfinished play that apparently was too controversial for its time. Judging by the title page, Shakespeare was more of a collaborator than primary author.
• Are Women Human? by Dorothy L. Sayers--a slim volume of witty essays by Sayers.
• Blessings in Disguise by Alec Guinness--Autobiography of the famous actor including his conversion to the Catholic faith! (Could probably fit in the next category)

Faith: Recent presents that I have put on high priority reading are the following:

• Book of Psalms, translated with commentary by Robert Alter--Great scholar on a favorite book from the Bible.
• Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures by Benedict XVI--A timely work on the proper relationship of religion and Western culture. Hard to go wrong with something the current pope has written.
• Render Unto Caesar by Charles Chaput--A timely work on the proper relationship between religion and politics by the archbishop of Philadelphia, who is perhaps more likely to go wrong than the Pope, but don't count on it!
• St. Benedict and St. Therese by Dwight Longenecker--A timely work on the proper relationship between Benedict's "little rule" and Therese's "little way." Another favorite author and a blogger who is a former Anglican minister, now a Catholic priest.
• Catholic Family Fun by Sarah Reinhard--A timely work on the proper relationship between faith and family happiness. Making faith fun in a family setting is a great idea and this book looks to have lots of practical ideas, activities, and adventures. This author is a lay person, so the book is listed last but will probably be read first so the suggestions can be put to use. The last shall be first and the first shall be last, right?

I'm also thinking about Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series (a Christmas present!), Susanne Cooper's Dark is Rising series, and Kim Stanley Robinson's Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy. We'll see how the year progresses!

Also, I'm signing up for a graphic novels challenge which will be in the next post!

Book Review: Celebrating Christmas by Rev. Jude Winkler

Celebrating Christmas by Rev. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv.

This book is part of a series published for Catholic children. Celebrating Christmas is more of a cultural primer than a doctrinal download. Along with the familiar stories of St. Nicholas/Santa Claus, St. Boniface and the first Christmas tree, the first manger scene by St. Francis, etc., are other traditions less familiar or completely new (at least to me), such as the good witch Befana in Italy who does the toy delivery instead of Santa. It's interesting to read about different traditions around the world.

Some of it is a little dated, like the nowadays less certain assumption that December 25 was chosen by the early church to replace a pagan holiday. The art is so-so, not really bad and not really outstanding either.

If you have kids under ten and run across this, I recommend picking it up. It's not expensive and could inspire some new traditions in your home.

TV Review: The Secret of Crickley Hall

The Secret of Crickley Hall (2012) directed by Joe Ahearne

For Christmas Eve, why not watch a ghost story? It's a popular tradition in England to read ghost stories on Christmas Eve, then at midnight open the door to let the ghosts out and the spirit of Christmas in.

The Secret of Crickley Hall is two ghost stories in one! The show starts with Eve, an overworked London mother who takes her young son Cam to the playground. She sits on a bench and tries to get some work done. She doses off for just a minute. When she snaps awake, no one is left in the playground. She can't find Cam anywhere. The police are brought in. They search in vain. Naturally she blames herself for the loss and is inconsolable. Eleven months later, her husband decides to take a job in the country so Eve and his two daughters won't be around home and the playground when the anniversary of Cam's disappearance comes. They rent a very inexpensive country house, Crickley Hall.

Why is it so inexpensive? Surely you've guessed, it's haunted. The hall was used as an orphanage during World War II. The headmaster was overly strict (i.e. he used his cane far too much) and a new, young teacher stirs things up when she questions his methods. We find out that the headmaster and all the children drowned in a flash flood in 1943. The spirits are not at rest and they reach out to the troubled Eve with the promise that Cam is still alive and they know where he is. So the story of the events leading up to the flood is told with the modern mystery involving the ghosts and the missing boy.

While this story travels a lot of familiar ground (grief over a lost child, skeptical husband and believing wife, abusive orphanage situation, isolated manor house, crazy old coot warns them not to stay in the house (especially the children, THE CHILDREN!!!!), spooky sounds in the house, creepy basement with a big hole in the floor (this time, it's a well)), it doesn't feel repetitive. The characters are different enough from the standards that they are engaging and you care from them. The skeptical husband is especially interesting. Even though he's sure there's no such thing as ghosts, he sees the damage caused by the nightmares of his daughters and the increased stress of his wife. He wants to leave just for peace, not because he's afraid of ghosts. When a medium is brought in, he is very reluctant because he thinks she is a con artist. He finds out about another paranormal expert who stayed in the house and found nothing. So he tracks him down just to convince his wife. Other characters are equally well drawn.

The atmosphere is nicely creepy. The music is a bit too much at times but they do know when not to use it. The phantom children are barely seen in outline, a new way to depict ghosts. The performances are good all around and the dual story line allows for both upbeat and downbeat endings in the story (though one story line is cryptically upbeat and detached from the story).

I enjoyed watching this show, though if you are like my wife and don't like seeing children in peril, this is not for you.

The show is available as three hour-long episodes, though not on DVD as I write. It's available on iTunes or at Amazon through the link below.

Brewery That Caters to Zombies!

Okay, really, this brewery is called Brains. I had to look twice at the bottle in the grocery store to make sure it wasn't "Brian's" or "Brans" or something else less meaningful to me. They brew in Wales and claim to be the Welsh equivalent of Ireland's Guinness. From their web page:

Like Guinness in Ireland, Brains is the beer of the nation. From the renowned SA to the legendary Dark, through to the award winning SA Gold, Brains beers have become famous throughout the world.
As well our traditional cask ales and draught smooth ales, several brands are available in bottles, cans and mini-kegs to be enjoyed at home.

I did bring some home in bottles from the store as soon as I figured out the spelling is right. Here's what I sampled.

SA Gold is "a full-flavoured golden ale, hops are added late in the brewing process giving it complex and refreshing citrus aromas and flavours." Now any regular reader of this blog knows that I have a dislike for citrusy-flavored beers. But this beer is not that citrusy. The flavor is bright and refreshing. It would be great for after mowing the lawn or while grilling on the barbeque.

The other bottle I bought was The Rev. James, a dark and nutty ale described this way on the bottle: "Full-bodied and warming, the Rev. James is rich in palate, spicy and aromatic with a deeply satisfying finish. Pairs well with hearty meats or nutty dishes." I had it by itself and it is distinct and delicious. It is dark without being bitter and aromatic without being fruity. I would definitely drink this again. Oh, and for the curious, on the web site they explain who Rev. James was:

The Rev. James is steeped in history. Acquired after the purchase of Crown Buckley, Rev. James is brewed to an original recipe from an 1885 book. The beer is named after one of the original owners of Buckley Brewery, the Rev. James Buckley, a business man with two conflicting roles – saving souls and satisfying thirsts.

They knew how to make beer back in 1885!

So if you need a Halloween beer with at least Brains on the label if not in the bottle, check these out!

Book Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I reread this in anticipation of the movie coming up in December. It is a classic tale of a fish out of water exploring the greater fantasy world he lives in, much like Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter. Bilbo Baggins is the fish, though he is much more unwilling than Luke or Harry to explore the fantastical world in which he lives. As a Hobbit, he lives in a comfortable hole in the ground where life goes on at a leisurely pace. There's plenty of time for meals, smoking, meals, drinking, and more meals. Then he's visited by the wizard Gandalf, who is helping some dwarfs organize an expedition. Gandalf wants Bilbo to go along, partly to break the unlucky number of dwarfs (thirteen), partly because he thinks Bilbo will be useful. They head off across Middle Earth to the Lonely Mountain, where the dwarfs once ruled. The dragon Smaug turned out the dwarfs and turned their underground kingdom into his lair. The head of the dwarfs, Thorin Oakenshield, is a descendant of the rightful king and is going to take their kingdom back.

Like most of these stories, at first Bilbo is out of his depth. But he quickly becomes more resourceful, using his wits and his growing bravery to get out of the various tricky situations he and his companions wind up in. At one point he is separated from the group in the caverns of the Misty Mountains and has a delightful battle of wits with Gollum, a wretched creature who loses his preciousss ring to Bilbo. The ring becomes quite pivotal in The Lord of the Rings. But that is another adventure.

This story is very well written. The descriptions are vivid and the world is well-crafted. The characters are interesting and the situations have plenty of humor and drama. The style of writing is a little old-fashioned, as if it were an epic, though some places the author addresses the reader (like, "for you it would be very strange if...") almost like he is a storyteller with an audience listening to him speak. I'm sure it will be wonderful to read this to my children in the coming years.

Zombies Improving Our Culture

There's a nice article on how awesome zombies are even if you are a parent (like me) or a Christian (like me). The author starts off her essay like this:

Zombies seem to be de rigueur these days, which is fine by me.  I love just about anything zombie-related, plus I am convinced that the surge in zombie popularity the past few years spells very good things for our culture at large.

Read more goodness on her blog (she even loves good beer!).

h/t to B-Movie Catechism

On a related topic, I saw a good video on the legitimacy of scary Halloween costumes on Jimmy Akin's blog:



h/t to Simcha Fisher who has an excellent article on the various legitimate ways to celebrate Halloween which included the link to Akin's video.

Oh and check out this hilarious because it's true cartoon at Captain Dad about evil ingredients for a witch's brew.

Wilde On Forgotten Classics

I have another recording up at Forgotten Classics! This time I read The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde. It was a fun story and I am looking forward to doing more.

Book Review: Hellboy Vol. 11: The Bride of Hell and Others

Hellboy Volume 11: The Bride of Hell and Others by Mike Mignola (and others!)

This trade paperback collects half a dozen or so short adventures of Hellboy throughout his career with the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). The book features a variety of great comic artists, including Richard Corben and Kevin Nowlan, working on interesting stories. It is dedicated to "the twin masters of the ghost story--M. R. James and J. Sheridan Le Fanu." Mignola channels the history of horror storytelling quite well. His stories are always fascinating to me because they blend Lovecraft's Cthulu mythos with a lot of other mythology, folklore, history, and fantasy.

In addition to the title story about a woman seemingly sacrificed to the lust of the Devil, the collection also contains a personal favorite, "Hellboy in Mexico, or A Drunken Blur." He teams up with some luchadors (Mexican wrestlers who were inspired by the Virgin Mary) to fight a plague of monsters by day and drink a lot at night. The story has a lot of humor and pathos. (See my review of a follow-up story here.) Another fun story, "Buster Oakley Gets his Wish," involves some American mid-western teenagers messing with the occult and getting more than they bargained for. Hellboy's investigation is hilarious and action packed. All of the stories have a great blend of horror, humor, imagination, and action.

The trade paperback format is a great way to enjoy these stories because each tale has a one-page description of the origin of the story, what is factual, what is taken from other stories, and what Mignola made up himself. Also included in the back of the book are some sketches and early design work for the monsters and the creepy locations with comments by Mignola and the other artists. It gives a nice peek into the creative process.

Parental content advisory: there's some mild swearing and taking the Lord's name in vain; lots of blood and gore though not too realistic; some occult practices though they are depicted in a negative light. It's a horror comic, what do you expect? I'd recommend early teens and up.

FaithWorks Newsletter

Father Dwight Longenecker is one of my favorite contemporary authors. I've reviewed his book, Listen My Son, which is an inspiring work applying St. Benedict's rule for monasteries  to home life, especially for contemporary fathers like me. Now he is starting a free weekly e-newsletter providing practical tips for living and growing in the Catholic faith. The newsletter is called FaithWorks. The page for signing up is here.

Here's his synopsis of the latest issue:

This week my main article is the beginning of a series entitled Finding Forgiveness. One of the main problems many people have is that they are burdened with problems from the past. They are burdened with guilt, with bad memories, with regrets for things they have done and things that have been done to them.

They've been to confession and they know God has forgiven them, but the problem is they still don't FEEL forgiven! There are ways to deal with this problem, and I'd like to suggest a few in this article and in the articles in the weeks to come.

Have you learned how to listen to the voice of the Lord? The second article is the beginning of a series on contemplative prayer. We're getting started on this topic this week, and I'll be writing much more on prayer and how to pray in the weeks ahead.

The newsletter isn't very long. I read it in under five minutes. And it comes to your email, so you don't have to check a blog or blog reader to see if a new one has published. Best of all, it provides some spiritual nuggets to help you along the way. Check it out!