Movie Review: The Vampire Bat (1933)

The Vampire Bat (1933) directed by Frank Strayer

A small European town is plagued by bats and by a killer who drains all the blood of his victims, leaving two puncture wounds on the throat. Sounds like the bats might be actual vampires? The town leaders seem to think so. Local suspicion falls on Herman (Dwight Frye), a simple-minded man who loves bats and has very poor grammar. The town isn't completely full of superstitious people. Investigator Karl Brettschneider (Melvyn Douglas) mocks the local burgomaster and his cronies for embracing an unbelievable explanation. Karl is backed up by Doctor von Neimann (Lionell Atwill) and his assistant Ruth (Fay Raye) who conduct scientific experiment in the basement of a local manor. As the investigation proceeds and Herman's behavior gets more erratic, Karl has to face some hard possibilities. 

The movie initially appears as a horror flick but the filmmakers back off from really sinister stuff and focus on the investigation. It's more of a serial killer mystery than a supernatural horror. The actors do a good job keeping things moving along, with a bit of comedy thrown in. Ruth has a hypochondriac aunt who both moves the plot forward and provides some tension-breaking laughs. The ending wraps things up pretty quickly, a hallmark of 1930s and 1940s films, especially in this genre.

Recommended, though this will be a disappointment if you want vampire horror. Even 1930s vampire horror.

NYC 2026 Trip--Central Park Bits

We visited Central Park briefly on our Spring trip to New York City. We came in the west side at West 86th Street (out of the subway, naturally). The park entrance here is very unassuming. 

The way into Central Park

This entrance brought us straight to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, the largest body of water in the park. It was built in 1862 and eventually decommissioned as a reservoir in 1993. It was named after Jackie Kennedy, who used to jog around here. The jogging trail is still there and is a little over a mile and a half long. 

JKO Reservoir

El Dorado Apartment building overlooking the reservoir

We meandered along the trails, trying to get south of West 86th Street, which cuts through the park. We found one of the many charming bridges in the park. 

Not actually over 86th

Behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art is Cleopatra's Needle. The Egyptian obelisk was originally erected in Heliopolis in 1450 BC along with another obelisk. The inscriptions were added by Ramesses II in 1250 BC. The obelisks were moved to Alexandria by Cleopatra in 12 BC to commemorate the Roman conquerors of Egypt. In the late 19th century AD, the Egyptian government gave these two obelisks away--one to the United States and one to the United Kingdom. The UK obelisk is in London.

Cleopatra's Needle

A rough translation of the inscription

Crab at the corner of the obelisk's base

Not far from the obelisk is the King Jagellio Monument. Originally made for the 1939 World's Fair by Stanislaw Ostrowski, this feature of Poland's exhibit couldn't be returned because of World War II. The statue was moved to Central Park in 1943. Jagellio was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. He defeated the Teutonic Order at the Battle of Gruwald in 1410.

King Jagellio Monument

Awesome dual-sword wielding!

A small lake called the Turtle Pond didn't have any turtles when we saw it. There were some short ladders that were labeled for ice rescues. They seemed a bit rickety for the job--maybe the intent is to scare visitors away from playing on the ice (when the pond is frozen). 

Turtle Pond

Overlooking the pond is Belvedere Castle. The castle was built in 1869 as a lookout. Now it is a gift shop, though previously it was used as a weather station. Visitors come for the views of the park. The rocky outcropping it stands on is also impressive.

Stairs chiseled into the rock

Castle Belvedere

Another view of the castle

On our way out of the park at East 79th Street, we saw Cedar Hill, which did have some cedars on it.

Cedar Hill

There is a lot more of Central Park to explore which we will definitely do on future trips!

Book Review: Predestination, God's Foreknowledge, and Future Contingents by William Ockham

Predestination, God's Foreknowledge, and Future Contingents by William Ockham, translated with introduction, notes and appendices by Marilyn McCord Adams and Norman Kretzmann

William of Ockham is most famous for his razor but he wrote a lot of other things about a lot of other topics. One interesting problem he dealt with is predestination, the idea that some people are already chosen to go to Heaven even before they have completed their earthly life. Certainty about predestination is fraught with peril and can be approached from more than one angle. 

Ockham comes at the issue from a logical perspective, discussing how future contingent situations, like the final state of one's soul, can be understood. He starts with a short discussion about whether predestination or reprobation (the opposite situation--the person will wind up in Hell) can be a real characteristic inhering in a person. A decisive answer is not forthcoming and the discussion shifts to whether a statement about a future contingent situation can be necessarily true or false. A lot of arguments can be made, for example: if Socrates was sitting yesterday, it is necessarily true that he was sitting yesterday, and thus a contingent situation (like "Socrates is sitting") can be necessarily true. Ockham works out a lot of different nuances from the argument before denying that statements about future situations have the same sort of necessity that can be attributed to statements about past or current contingent situations. 

Ockham also discusses the issue of whether God's knowledge can change. He takes it as given that God knows all truth. If a contingent truth, like "Peter is predestinate," changes to its opposite, like "Peter is reprobate," the amount of truth has not changed, just what is true and what is false. When "Peter is predestinate" becomes false, "Peter is reprobate" becomes true, so there is no more truth than before. To me, this is a lot of philosophical shell game shenanigans that are not satisfying or convincing.

The text is written in medieval style (since Ockham lived in the 1300s), with a proposed question, objections, answers to objections, and a main answer to the question. This format has the advantage of precision but it makes readability much harder for modern lay readers. Again, it was a common style 700 years ago, so he can't really be faulted for writing how everyone else did. Today's readers just need to shift their mindsets when coming to the text.

Mildly recommended--this is more of an academic text than something for a general reader.

NYC 2026 Trip--High Line Park

The westside elevated tracks in Manhattan used to transport freight beginning back in the 1930s. The trains eventually stopped in the 1980s and the city considered tearing down the tracks. But a new idea took shape. They turned a long portion into a walking park called the High Line, which opened its first section in 2009. Starting in the Meatpacking District, it winds its way up Manhattan's west coast.

The southern end of High Line Park

Initial view on getting up to the park

The park blends wild and cultivated landscaping. Many of the railroad tracks are still there as a reminder of its original purpose.

Plants taking over

Layout of the gardens

Oddly enough, the walkway passes through several buildings. The trains did too, which was an advantage for some local businesses, like a Nabisco plant that had easy access to transport.

Looks like a dead end

Surprise!

At Tenth Street there's some stadium seating with a view down the street.

Viewing the city's busy streets

A bit of midtown

Stacked parking

Several art displays also grace High Line Park, though some are more cryptic than others.

Urban Rattle by Charlie Hewitt

Works by Sopheap Pich

I was gratified to see some water towers on top of buildings. If you read Marvel comics (especially Daredevil), it seems like these are on every building in New York City.

Rooftop water towers

More gardening

In Mortal Repose by Diana Al-Hadid

Pretty big tree for the park

At 30th Street and Tenth Avenue is the High Line Plinth, a large, open area that has plenty of seating and, when I visited, a sculpture called Dinosaur by Ivan Argote. It's a gigantic pigeon (whose ancestry is from the dinosaurs) and, oddly enough, no pigeons have roosted or pooped on this statue. Maybe they are showing respect? Fear?

16-foot pigeon sighted in Manhattan!

The weather was nice when I visited, so big crowds were walking along the pathway. It's a popular spot and fun to visit.

Book Review: Destroy All Humans Vol. 6 by K. Ise et al.

Destroy All Humans: They Can't Be Regenerated Volume 6 story by Katsura Ise and art by Takuma Yokota

Down in the dumps after losing big at the Grand Prix Kyoto Magic: The Gathering competition, Kano has little interest in the new card set coming out. He starts to perk up about his undeclared love for Emi (she also has undeclared feelings for him). She makes him a Magic-themed chocolate for Valentine's Day. That encourages him to reciprocate...if he can get up the nerve. They do a lot more social stuff outside of playing the card game, including an awkward daytime visit to a dance club (hence the cover picture). 

The story is still driven by the card game but the romance is moving into center stage. I find the whole thing entertaining though I am still not convinced to get into the game. The apocalyptic worries of previous volumes have completely dropped out of the narrative.

Mildly recommended--if you've read up this far, it's more of the same.

 

Movie Review: Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Conan the Barbarian (1982) co-written and directed by John Milius based on the character created by Robert E. Howard

The early life of Conan the Cimmerian (Arnold Schwarzenegger) was brutal. His village was attacked when he was a pre-teen, with his mother and father being killed in front of Conan. He was then taken off to slavery. He wound up being trained as a gladiator, though soon enough he broke out on his own, seeking his own fate. He remembers the two-headed snake and sun emblem of the group that attacked his home, Conan hunts for them. He is out for revenge. He's joined by an archer and thief named Subotai (Gerry Lopez) and a female brigand name Valeria (Sandahl Bergman). They raid the Tower of Serpents in the next town they come to, putting the trio on the trail to a confrontation with Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones), the leader of the snake cult and the destroyer of Conan's home town.

The movie delves into the broad world of Conan, with travels to many towns and cities. Conan is a rough character, fighting with brutality and living without morals. He'll have sex at the drop of a hat with any willing woman, including partner-in-crime Valeria. Schwarzenegger embodies the hulking brutality of Conan. The action is exciting and moves at a good pace. The movie is entertaining as a no-holds-barred swords and sorcery epic. 

Recommended, but this is a hard-R rated movie, not for kids or the squeamish. 

NYC 2026 Trip--Washington Square

Right by NYU is Washington Square, a park dedicated to the first president of the United States. The most famous part of the 9.75-acre park is the Washington Arch. Originally built in wood to commemorate the one-hundredth anniversary of George Washington's presidential inauguration in 1889, it was redone in Tuckahoe marble in 1892. 

Washington Arch seen from inside the park

View from the start of 5th Avenue just outside the park

The street-facing side of the monument has two statues of Washington. Washington As Statesman Accompanied by Wisdom and Justice was added in 1918.

Washington as Statesman

The other side of the arch has Washington as General Accompanied by Fame and Valor. It was installed in 1916.

Washington as General

The park has some other statues. Garibaldi is a statue commemorating Guiseppe Garibaldi, the 19th-century leader who united Italy under one government. The statue was donated by Italian-Americans and was erected in 1888.

Garibaldi monument

A dramatic pose

On the other side of the park from Garibaldi is the Holley Memorial. It was dedicated in 1890 to honor Alexander Lyman Holley. He is credited with founding the American steel industry.

Holley Memorial

Closeup of the bust

Since we visited in late March, the central fountain was not running.

The park fountain

The park is surrounded on three sides by New York University, a private college founded in 1831, so almost 200 years old.

NYU buildings

Fountain, arch, and NYU buildings

The park does have very nice bathrooms and a park office, our visit was too early to make use of them.

Unassuming amenities

It was also too early to see any chess players, a popular hobby in the square. The chess tables were back in a corner we didn't see.

Even though it was just barely Spring, some flowers were already blooming in the garden parts of the square.

A bit of color returning