Book Review: All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley

All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley

Patrick Bringley was an up-and-coming worker in NewYork City publishing when his older brother died of cancer. Patrick reevaluated his life and wound up taking a job as a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This book tells the story of his life as a security guard, admiring and engaging with the art, the visitors, and his own sense of mortality. 

After the initial set-up, Bringley mostly focuses on the art and his job as a guard. He has a lot of time to appreciate the art. He also becomes familiar with the sorts of people who come and how best to help them. The descriptions of the background work (organizing the various shifts and locations for the guards and other workers setting up the new or rearranged exhibits) is a fun "inside baseball" look at the machinations of a museum and art gallery. It's interesting and entertaining but his personal life is mostly set aside until the end of the book.

Toward the end of his ten-year tenure at the museum, he and his wife have two children. He talks a little bit about them and they seem to be the unacknowledged catalyst for Bringley moving on from the guard job. He applies for a position as a walking tour guide in Lower Manhattan, which he is excited about for the educational and research opportunities, especially for interaction with the public in a more direct way. He's come to some closure or acceptance with his brother Tom's death, though he does not get into the details of that either.

The text is enjoyable and Bringley is an entertaining narrator. I wanted a bit more out of the book, some more depth. I don't mind having read it but probably won't read it again.

This book is reviewed on A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast #382. Check it out!

Random Bits of Easton 2026 Trip

Here's some stuff from our trip out to Easton, Maryland, that did not make its own post...

On the way out to Easton, we hit heavy traffic crossing the Bay Bridge and decided to stop for some ice cream and a bathroom break on Kent Island. We went to Sugar Doodles, which has some delightful custom flavors. I had Cow Cream, which was a delightful blend of vanilla ice cream with chocolate and peanut butter ribbons and some peanut butter cup chunks. 

Yay, ice cream!

In Easton, we went to Bonheur Ice Cream and Pie. Since we had ice cream earlier in the day, we got some slices of pie for dessert--pecan and cherry.

The slices were the same size, despite the above optical illusion

The local library was a pick-up location for a geocoin that I qualified for on the trip. The library also has a seed library, so we took some home. It also had a cool fountain.

Talbot County Library

Cool like an avacado!

The next morning I got up early to do some geocaching and got breakfast from the Bagery. The bagels were fresh and delicious and eaten before a picture could be taken!

Here's the store, at least

Part of geocaching was finding this statue of Frederick Douglass

Across from our Airbnb is Idlewild Park. It has a huge playground where our kids played for a short time. The heat was already getting to be too much at 9 on a June morning!

Playground gates

Play village?

Forts and slides

We were in town just before Flag Day and saw tons of flags up in the park.

A patriotic town

After kayaking in the morning, we got lunch back at Bonheur Ice Cream and Pie. I had the ham and potato crepe, which came with a salad. I was surprised to see the salad served on top of the crepe.

Crepe and salad

Book Review: Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #13 by Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Bones and Berserkers by Nathan Hale 

This anthology of thirteen tales runs the gamut from strict history (like the insane butler killing everyone at Taliesin in 1914) to complete fiction (Edgar Allan Poe's Hop-Frog). The framing story with American patriot Nathan Hale, his executioner, the British officer, and the African American slave, provides comedy for what turns out to be some very grim stories. The jokes take the edge off, as does the graphic novel format. Cartoon drawings of chopped off limbs or rotting corpses are a lot less graphic than photos or realistic drawings. That said, this book is really for older kids, not the very young. There's even a joke about that, explain that if you are a second-grader reading way above your level, you probably shouldn't be reading this book. I did learn a lot about a bunch of different stories and found it interesting throughout.

Recommended, but only if you can handle it!

Movie Review: The Man in the White Suit (1951)

The Man in the White Suit (1951) co-written and directed by Alexander Mackendrick

Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness) has been fired from six or seven different jobs at textile factories. He keeps sneaking in to the experimental labs and working on some concoction. His chemical ambitions are seemingly crazy--he wants to make a fabric that won't tear or wear down and it also repels dirt. He finds one factory that will back his research, with the owner Alan Birnley (Cecil Parker) being convinced by his daughter Daphne (Joan Greenwood) to give Stratton a chance. Things go well until word leaks out. Now other manufacturers and Brinley's own employees object, because once people have clothes made from this miracle fabric, they won't ever need new clothes again (or even to wash their clothes). Economic chaos will ensue, they are sure. So they want to stop him, either by buying out his rights or by some other means.

The movie is an interesting satire of a bunch of different subjects. First is the labor versus capital, which morphs over the story. At first, Stratton can only get jobs as a menial worker, so the average workers, who have fought hard to unionize, are on his side. Then Stratton gets chummy with the resident capitalist, Birnley. Once everyone realizes the consequences that are coming, labor and capital work together (or at least they try) to stop Stratton's invention. Another target of satire is the scientific community. Stratton's experiments are very expensive (getting him fired because who wants to foot the bill?) and very destructive. Stratton is a bit clueless about his impact. His ambition to create is too strong to let him see where his creation will lead. The movie also makes fun of the desire to create perfection in this life. Nothing every works out like people initially imagine.

Guinness gives a great performance, mixing a mild-mannered exterior with a intractable devotion to his vision. He's wily enough to see some problems but does not have enough foresight to beat every obstacle. The rest of the cast is good too, giving their stock roles a bit more humanity than they could have had. The comedy is good if not laugh-out-loud funny. The jokes are more subtle and situational. There's some pratfalls and physical comedy but the cleverest humor here is the ideas and whimsical twists on situations.

Recommended.

Kayaking on San Domingo Creek, Saint Michaels, Maryland

While visiting the Eastern Shore of Maryland, we rented some kayaks from Shore Pedal & Paddle and explored San Domingo Creek, a waterway on the south side of Saint Michaels. We met with the guy at Waterfront Park. He had us quickly launched after a standard safety overview and recommendations for areas to see and to avoid.

We had two tandem kayaks. The kids decided they did not want to have their own kayak, so Mom went with our youngest while I went with our daughter. 

Getting used to the oars

Just off the dock is a small boat anchored in place. It has a bunch of vegetables growing on it in pots, as if it were a floating garden. 

No humans on board

We paddled out further into the creek, exploring the variety of side ways and their waterfront properties.

Choosing where to go

Fancy, older-looking house

Moving on

We only saw a bit of wild life. Most birds were streaking through the air, making them hard to photograph. We stopped for a break in the shade by one shoreline and saw a bunch of unoccupied shells.

Bird on the wing

Shell-ters for mollusks!

Another fancy house

We were surprised to see a ship out in the middle of the creek. There was no sign of life onboard. It was 10 in the morning, so either the crew was sleeping in or they had already gone off in a smaller boat.

Looks majestic

Is it really from Juneau, Alaska?

Maybe they could have parked over here

One of the things I like to do kayaking is going underneath structures. Most personal docks are very low to the water and even a kayak couldn't fit under. We did find a taller dock.

Going under, in the good way

Just past our passageway

Passing another property

Yet another house

Pilings are out in the middle of the creek for some reason. A few of them had nests built on top. This nest looks like it is still under construction.

Needs more work

Another bird that was moving too quick

I couldn't decide if this was a better shot, so I included both

The other kayak got into the "go under the dock" routine.

Almost like going under a bridge

We knew we were back to start when we saw the veg ship again.

Back at base

I spotted a bridge not too far away, so we went for one more adventure. 

St. Michaels Nature Trail Covered Bridge

While underneath

Houses on the other side of the bridge

Going back

Since we visited over Flag Day weekend, a lot of patriotic decorations were up. It was a fun area for kayaking.

Book Review: Popcorn with the Pope by D. Baird et al.

Popcorn with the Pope: A Guide to the Vatican Film List by David Paul Baird, Andrew Petiprin, and Michael Ward

In 1995 the Vatican released a list of recommended films for the one-hundredth anniversary of the Lumiere Brothers' first public showing of motion pictures. The list isn't intended as a definitive "best of" or "Catholic Church approved" set, it's more an honoring of the medium. The intent is also for viewers to be more discerning and appreciative of movies. Rather than being passive viewers, movie watchers should engage with what they are watching in a more deliberate way. The list is divided into three categories: religion, values, and art. Each set has fifteen films. This book reviews the various films from both a Catholic and a film critical perspective. 

The book starts with an overview of the creation of the list and some commentary on the value of the list. Then each film is given an synopsis, a critical analysis, a review of its importance in cinematic history, and some discussion questions. The synopses are valuable to gage how interested a reader might be in each film, especially with films that are more obscure and less accessible, like the five and a half hour silent French feature about Napoleon (which is in the Art section because it innovated a lot of visual techniques). The historical contexts are also interesting and add some further understanding. I found the critical analysis wanting in some cases. They exhibit the typical film critic bias toward art house and foreign films, gushing with praise and insight for obscure films. More popular fare, like Stagecoach or Wizard of Oz, gets shorter shrift. The analysis is always interesting but I don't always agree with it. Also, part of the problem is the selections for the list itself. It has some films that seem like they were chosen just to have one in the genre, like the only animated film Fantasia and the only horror film Nosferatu, when other films in those genres are equals or better. The list has a lot of historical dramas and a surprising number of Italian Neorealist films. 

I found this informative but not always enjoyable. A healthy debate is a good thing, I suppose.

Mildly recommended.

Game Review: Deckscape: Dracula's Castle by dV Games

Deckscape: Dracula's Castle (2021) designed by Martino Chiacchiera and Silvano Sorrentino and published by dV Games

Deckscape is a series of games that imitate escape rooms but only use a deck of cards, not a room full of gadgets, gizmos, and gear. Each card is either a puzzle with a solution on the back or an item that can be used to solve puzzles. Unlike Unlock!, there is no app supporting game play, so only when players are sure they've solved the problem should they check the back of a puzzle card to see if they got it right. If the player is right, they just discard the puzzle card. If they are wrong, they put the card in the box to keep track of their score. At the end, fewer cards mean a better performance. 

This game has Count Vlad D. inviting the players to his castle in Transylvania to deliver a secret tome that he claims is his. The game starts with the invitation delivery and proceeds to the castle and all the surprises inside. Naturally, players don't want to give the book to the Count and must evade all his traps and fight all his minions. Escape from the castle requires a lot of creative thinking and problem solving.

Non-spoiler look at some cards

The puzzles were the typical assortment of easy, fun, difficult, creative, and inexplicable. Using only cards to run the game is okay but limited. Sometimes we were unsure of solving the puzzle but just went ahead and flipped the card anyway because we didn't want to spend more time coming up with new ideas that seemed more off-base than our current solution. So we had a lot of unsatisfying moments. One card does have hints on it but we never used it.

Compared to Exit: The Game or Unlock!, this was lacking. The app in Unlock! is often used creatively and the frustration isn't as bad with tough puzzles. Exit uses a lot of different types of puzzles, with physical manipulation of components in addition to using the cards. The Dracula theme was interesting and well-used but the execution was not our favorite.

Mildly recommended--this wasn't terrible but it didn't sell us on the Deckscape system either.