Cute Kid Pix August 2026

More photos that didn't make their own post...

We went downtown to Washington just before the Fourth of July weekend and saw a bit of the Great American State Fair festivities without actually going into any venues indoors or outdoors. We went to see the National Museum of African American History and Culture (part of the Smithsonian museums that we are working our way through). That will get its own post later, but we did see some cool stuff downtown.

Washington Monument

A mobile museum

A concert stage by the Metro entrance

Following a subway system on social media seems pathetic

We celebrated the Fourth at home with an American Flag pancake for breakfast and a cookout for dinner.

Pretty big flippin' problem

Obviously the back of the flag

Plate of meat with corn cakes and white wine

A few days later, I went geocaching at Montpelier Mansion, a house dating back to the War for Independence. George Washington visited several times!

By the back door

I went geocaching Frederick, Maryland, where Francis Scott Key is buried. It was fun for a cemetery!

Francis Scott Key Memorial

World War II Memorial

Nearby, on the campus of the Maryland School for the Deaf is the Hessian Barracks. The building dates back to the War for Independence. Captured Hessian mercenaries were imprisoned here. The building went through various other uses over the years. Right by the interpretive signs is "The Great Baby Waker," a cannon that burst in 1844 and killed its gunner. 

Hessian Barracks

Don't wake the baby!

Book Review: Daredevil vs. Bullseye by M. Wolfman et al.

Daredevil vs. Bullseye written by Marv Wolfman, Jim Shooter, and Frank Miller and pencils by Bob Brown, Gil Kane, and Frank Miller

This book has separate stories of Daredevil fighting one of his iconic villains, Bullseye.

In the first story, Bullseye makes his first appearance. He show up killing a rich man who won't pay a ransom to be spared. Prepared for this, Bullseye starts a media campaign to support his extortion/murder campaign in the hopes that future victims will pay up immediately rather than face his infallible aim. Bullseye is an expert marksman using virtually anything--guns are okay, but he can use bricks, pens, trash, virtually anything, as a lethal weapon. Daredevil has enough enhanced abilities to dodge the attacks, but can he take down a ranged enemy when he (Daredevil) is more of a melee guy? Bullseye goes for the jugular and the exposure when he fights Daredevil at Madison Square Garden while the circus is in town. The story is exciting but the dialogue is voluminous and slows down the action a bit. Also, it was clearly written in the late 1970s, with a lot of the hip and trendy lingo of yesteryear. It was an entertaining introduction for the iconic character.

In the next story, Daredevil is trailing an incognito Bullseye, hoping to corner him and find out who hired him to assassinate Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson a few issues back (and not in this volume). Daredevil switches to street clothes and follows Bullseye into a gun store. He foils the robbery but gets beaned when Bullseye throws a golf ball at him. The injury causes Daredevil to lose his radar sense. Daredevil is called out by Bullseye to a TV studio for a duel to the death on air. If Daredevil doesn't show, he'll kill the three daytime talk show hosts. Even without his radar sense, Matt heads off to the confrontation. The battle features a lot of on-again-off-again moments of Daredevil's radar sense, which seems more tied to making the fight more dramatic than to any actual physical cause. I found this less interesting than the first story.

The next story has Bullseye on the verge of a surgery to remove a brain tumor. When the tumor becomes painful, he sees everyone as Daredevil and wants to slaughter them all. He kills the hospital staff and wanders Manhattan, vacillating between trying to keep control and trying to take down Daredevil. Daredevil shows up and has a chance to kill Bullseye but his better nature kicks in.

After the surgery happens, Bullseye is in prison planning to kill Daredevil. Bullseye finds out that he's been replaced as Kingpin's main assassin by Elektra, so Bullseye targets her too. When he makes his escape, lots of fighting ensues. Bullseye's inner monologue is fascinating (Frank Miller wrote it) as he works his way through all his problems. More problems happen as he fights Daredevil, who has a very hard time not killing Bullseye.

The final story has Daredevil giving the extended monologue while he plays Russian Roulette with Bullseye, who is completely paralyzed in a hospital bed. Daredevil is pulling the trigger for his enemy as he tries to make sense of the situation, especially after dealing with a legal case where the son of his client is obsessed with Daredevil. It's another poignant moment in the narrative.

This is a mixed bag of stories, some being more interesting than others.

Mildly recommended, though more strongly if you are a Daredevil fan.

Movie Review: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) directed by Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, and Pierre Leduc

Mario (Christ Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) do their usual plumbing heroics in the Mushroom Kingdom, soon discovering the cute dinosaur Yoshi (Donald Glover). They are all invited to Princess Peach's (Anya Taylor-Joy) birthday party at her castle. During the party, Peach discovers that her sister Rosalina (Brie Larson) has been kidnapped by Bowser Junior (Benny Safdie), who wants to free his dad (Jack Black) and rule, or maybe destroy, the universe. Bowser is a shrunken prisoner of Mario and Luigi. They take him on the rescue mission where they have many strange adventures on many odd planets in their galaxy.

Even at home on a television, this movie is visually amazing, with a bright color palette and a lot of the details from various Mario games thrown in. The plot is mostly a structure to hang on the visuals and the gags, which do come at a fast pace. I enjoyed it on that level, though I imagine I won't retain much of it a week later. 

Mildly recommended--your knowledge of the Mario games will go a long way in your appreciation of the movie.

Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania

On our way home from Pittsburgh, we stopped at Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania. That is not a made-up name. It is from the Lanape/Delaware language words for "it is turned white." That description is apt for the Youghiogheny River that winds through the area. Many falls and cascades turning the river white. The area is a state park with a visitor center and several private companies that sell or rent kayaks, rafts, bicycles, etc. A few restaurants are sprinkled in. We went straight to the visitor center and saw the 20-foot Ohiopyle Falls.

Namesake falls

Our main interest was the natural waterslides not far up the road from the visitor center. We had seen a video online of people going down the slides and thought it would be fun. Then we got to the site and the adults in our group changed our mind about how safe it was. Sure, some stretches are just sluicing down flat rocks, but a lot of spots have adventurers bashing back and forth in narrow channels. The kids wanted to do the whole slide but we only let them do the bottom third.

Looks ok?

The slide is on the far side of the river here

Less okay part of the slide

Down river from the end

Our daughter and son climbed out through the freezing water to their launch point, consulting about the best way to get into trouble the slide. 

Plotting

Our daughter takes the first run

At the end

Next customer

On his way

Two exits

On his second ride

Getting help getting out

The area has a lot of fossils, old growth forests, hiking trails, water falls, and biking along the Great Allegheny Passage, a longer trail that runs through here. Maybe we'll come back to do more of the other stuff, spending more than an hour or so at Ohiopyle.

Movie Review: Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) directed by Destin Daniel Cretton

Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is back on the friendly neighborhood beat, helping the police to catch criminals, especially organized crime and super-powered types like The Hand, Scorpion, and Tombstone. Peter Parker is on his own, holed up in a rundown apartment where he builds new equipment and scans the police radio for more action. His friends )who don't remember him after Doctor Strange's spell at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home) have gone off to MIT. Ned (Jacob Batalon) is vlogging their academic adventures. Peter watches the videos winsomely, especially for the chance to see the love of his life that he abandoned, MJ (Zendaya). Bigger trouble starts brewing as an unknown assailant keeps attacking Damage Control, a government department that imprisons super-criminals (like The Hand, Scorpion, and Tombstone) and uses the bad guys' technology to make advancements for the good guys. The assailant can jump from person to person, almost as if possessing them. Spider-Man faces off against this new foe, though he has a hard time tracking the villain back to his or her own body. Frank Castle aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) helps out with one break-in attempt, providing Spider-Man with a buddy/mentor who is a bit of neither. Spider-Man also has the phone number of a police officer (Liza Colon-Zayas), so he coordinates efforts on that side of the law too.

The plot gets more complicated as it moves on, but describing it would spoil some of the surprises and nice twists. The movie does a masterful job of switching from action set-pieces to plot exposition to character development without any of the moves being jarring or out of place. The movie really shines in the interpersonal relationships. Peter struggles with his desire to reconnect with MJ and Ned. He also struggles with his partnership with The Punisher, whose modus operandi does not fit with Spider-Man's no-kill attitude. But they still have a camaraderie that is believable and interesting, even in the middle of set-piece action sequences. The actors are uniformly great in their roles (which they have been playing for years, so they've had plenty of experience). Usually, by the fourth movie in a franchise, things have gotten stale or they just run on autopilot. This is an exciting story that sets up more to come.

Recommended, highly for Spidey fans.

Rodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Garden, Pittsburgh

The Rodef Shalom Congregation has a Biblical Botanical Garden next to it. Rabbi Walter Jacob and his wife Irene started the garden in 1987. They planned for the congregation to work together on the garden as equals, so creating fellowship and community. The plan included bringing some of the Biblical realities from the past to us in the present.

A sign leading the way

Irene and Walter Jacob

Our first stop was their representation of the Dead Sea, the end of a stream that winds through the garden from their Lake Galilee. 

Dead Sea area

Looking up to the River Jordan

The euonymus compacta celastraceae represents the Burning Bush that Moses saw when he received his commission to return to Egypt and lead the Chosen People out of bondage. Behind it and to the right is hosta liliaceae, representing the River Nile.

Burning bush

On the path is a pergola overrun with grape vines. Grapes are a common fruit and used for making wine. Noah was said to be the first to have a vineyard and to make wine. The pergola provides very nice shade.

Grapes

Coming out of the vine-covered pergola

An herb garden represents many plants of the Holy Land, including poppies and almonds. This part of the garden is recommended for quiet meditation.

Plants of the Middle East

Chamomile and mustard were both used as folk medicines in Biblical times. 

Medical garden?

At the highest point of the garden is their Sea of Galilee, featuring fresh water pumped in and some fish swimming around. The waterfall makes a pleasant sound to add atmosphere to the soothing surroundings.

Sea of Galilee

The desert and its vegetation played a big part in the passage from Egypt to the Promised Land. A rock garden presents a desert-like environment. 

The rock garden

The whole garden is not very big but is a relaxing (and free) place to visit near the universities of Pittsburgh.

Book Review: Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 31 by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo Volume 31: The Hell Screen by Stan Sakai

More adventures from the rabbit ronin!

The River Rising--Usagi helps some villagers shore up the dike that protects their town. If the flooding rain wasn't bad enough, bandits rob the food stores from the village. Usagi chases after the bandits, leaving the desperate villagers to continue working. Once he catches up to the bandits, he makes a surprising discovery. The story plays out in typical fashion, though it ends with Usagi disappearing mysteriously from the village.

Kyuri--Kyuri is the word for cucumbers, which is the favorite food of kappa, the turtle-like demons that Usagi has faced before. Usagi chases after a villager who is attacked by a kappa. The kappa leaves the villager dead, so Usagi vows to destroy him. Once Usagi finds a cave with some kappa in it, he finds these kappa have a truce with the town. The new, hostile kappa is from up-river and is very troublesome. Usagi works with them to defeat the rogue kappa. It's another interesting story that resolves the prior cliffhanger.

Kazehime--Usagi is caught in a heavy storm and barely makes it to an empty shrine for shelter. As he approaches, a Neko Ninja named Kazehime falls from the sky. Usagi has had nothing but trouble from the Neko Ninja but he's too much of a humanitarian to leave an unconscious person to die from exposure. He nurses her back to health and they part ways. The story picks up three months later with another reunion of the rivals. This is another bittersweet story that is emotionally impactful.

The Secret of the Hell Screen--Usagi comes to a shrine that has some problems. The local lord is there to take possession of the shrine and its grounds, wanting to convert it to a hunting forest. The monks protest that the shrine has much more value as a place of worship where wayfarers can seek refuge. The situation gets more complicated when a death happens on the grounds. Usagi is pulled into the investigation by Inspector Ishida, who has been sent by the shogunate to moderate the dispute. The shrine is also protected by the Hell Screen, a large tapestry depicting the realm of the damned. It's claimed that the Hell Screen protects the shrine by cursing its enemies. Has the death (which is one of the lord's vassals) been caused by the Screen or is there a villain involved? Part of the story is very predictable but it is still enjoyable.

The Fate of the Elders--Usagi continues wandering as the rainy season finally ends. He travels near a village where they've clearly had a drought for a long time. On the road, he helps out a farmer and his invalid mother who are attacked by desperate marauders who have no food of their own. After driving off the would-be bandits, Usagi travels with the man and his mom to meet her husband at the top of a mountain. The story is very melancholy and has a surprise ending that is very moving.

Another fine collection of Usagi stories. 

Recommended.