Book Review: Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story by L. Myracle et al.

Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story written by Lauren Myracle and illustrated by Isaac Goodhart

The Batman villain Mr. Freeze started out as a one-dimensional character, almost a gag villain rather than a real threat. This graphic novel reimagines him as a contemporary seventeen-year old who interns at Boyle Laboratories in the city of Gotham. He loves science and trying out experiments. He tragically lost his older brother and has become extremely shy and inwardly-focused. On a visit to his brother's grave, he runs into Nora, who is visiting her mother's grave. They awkwardly connect. Nora has her own tragedy--she has a disease that is going to kill her by the end of the summer. As they grow closer, they become more intimate and more honest with each other, leading to a lot of personal drama. 

The story has nothing to do with Batman, it's entirely focused on Victor and Nora. Both of their perspectives  are presented, though both are more focused on self-doubt and self-delusion. They both want more control over their situations than they really have. They both want to live life to its fullest but are too young to understand what that really means. She has suicidal tendencies which are dealt with in sensitive ways. I wish there was better handling of their sex life, which is just taken as a given in spite of it being neither emotionally or physically healthy. They aren't really a part of a community, even of their own families. Victor and Nora only want their own good, not the good of others or even each other, making their story ultimately a tragedy. I don't think that's the conclusion the creators were going for.

Barely recommended.

Movie Review: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) co-written and co-directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein

Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) are prisoners in an Icewind Dale prison. They turned to a life of thievery to make ends meet but for a good reason. Edgin was a Harper, a group that does good (including taking down bad guys) without reward. His wife was okay with that. They had a child named Kira (Chloe Coleman). Eventually, some bad guys came for revenge on Edgin, killing his wife. Edgin had a bad year trying to raise Kira when he ran into Holga and they started a life of petty theft. They put a team together to do bigger jobs, eventually getting caught. They break out of jail and quest to save his daughter, who has been taken by the con-man from their team, Forge (Hugh Grant). Forge has basically adopted her and told lies about Edgin to win her affection and make her hate Edgin. He's also become mayor of Neverwinter, where he has a new scheme to make himself even more wealthy. He's using the help of a Red Wizard (Daisy Head) who has her own agenda. Edgin and Holga put together a new team to save the day.

The movie is a fun action romp, with plenty of comedy and action set-pieces. Fans of D&D will enjoy seeing classic creatures like an owl-bear and a gelatinous cube, along with famous places like Neverwinter and the Underdark, along with other familiar details. The story is so straightforward that non-fans won't get lost. Pine is his usual charming self. Grant makes a good villain. There are no particularly deep or resonant themes, just a fun adventure story set in a detailed and creative world.

Recommended, highly for Dungeons & Dragons fans.

Book Review: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David Hume

Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David Hume

Following the classical format of Plato and other ancient philosophers, David Hume presents his arguments around natural religion as a dialogue with several characters discussing the topic from their points of view. Natural religion is distinguished from revealed religion by Hume and most others. Revealed religion is based on revelation, either Biblical or from another religious tradition. Natural religion is what humans can discover about the divine through reason and reflection about the world around us. The characters in this dialogue take the existence of God as a given. What they discuss is the nature of the Divine Being. 

The characters in the dialogue represent various positions. Demea is an orthodox rationalist who lets his faith guide his reasoning and suppositions about God. Philo is a skeptical rationalist who holds a very high standard for what can and cannot be said about God. He gives way on very few points. In between is Cleanthes, a more philosophical theist who winds up more on the side of Philo than of Demea. Hume's personal leanings are not explicitly stated in the dialogue, but based on his other works he is much more like Philo than the other two. 

Philo argues against concepts like the rational order of the universe, saying the comparison to human creation of objects is a superficial parallel. A biological model, with the universe growing like it was a plant or animal, seems just as likely as a constructed universe, with the universe built like it was a machine. Most human attributes that are transferred to the divine nature also seem unlikely and unworthy of a divine being. Infinity is also a concept that has no real meaning for Philo, it being so far from human experience and the natures of the universe and of the things within it. Philo's point of view is the most prominent, most sympathetic in the text. Demea storms off at the end, leaving Philo and Cleanthes to summarize and finalize the conversation.

Hume's arguments are all couched from a point of view that focuses on the limits of human knowing, on a type of pessimistic epistemology (theory of knowing) that sets very sharp limits on what can be known. It's no surprise that the Divine has hardly any knowable attributes. The only surprise is that the interlocutors even agree on the existence of God when many of the arguments refuted by Philo are ones used to prove His existence (like well-ordered nature of the universe). Historically, Hume claimed he was a Christian though most people who knew him personally thought he was an atheist.

Mildly recommended--Hume gives solid reasoning but premises that are hard to agree with.

The Great Hall, Winchester, England

The Great Hall is the only surviving part of the old Winchester Castle in England. William the Conqueror built the castle, one of the first Norman castles. Through the ravages of time (mostly war), the castle is gone except for a few bits here and there. The hall is the only still-used part of the castle extant.

Entrance to the Great Hall

Interior of the Great Hall

A sign gives the history of the hall, from its founding in 1067 up to the present.

History!

One wall lists all of the members of Parliament from Winchester through the years, with the occasional name of a monarch thrown in for context.

1600s to 1800s

Recently added to the hall (in 1980s) are the Marriage Gates. These were installed to celebrate the marriage of (then) Prince Charles to Diana Spencer. They connect the hall to the law courts and offices right next door.

Marriage Gates

Just outside the hall is Queen Eleanor's Garden, named after two Eleanors, one from Provence and one from Castile, both from the late 1200s/early 1300s.

Intro to the garden

A cozy table

Flowers

A fountain

Chairs were set up for the lord of the castle inside the Great Hall.

Not sitting here

A large statue of Queen Victoria sits in the corner. It was created in 1887 to celebrate her golden jubilee. 

Queen Victoria

Queen Elizabeth II is commemorated in a bronze bas-relief from 2013 to celebrate her diamond jubilee. She is framed by the Hampshire Rose.

Queen Elizabeth II

On the back hall is a 13th century recreation of King Arthur's Round Table. During his reign, Henry VIII had it painted with the names of King Arthur's knights. Also, he had King Arthur depicted, though the face is clearly Henry's (when he was younger).

The Round Table, but not the Round Table

A table shows a model of Winchester Castle back in the day along with the city around it.

Winchester

The castle

Outside are some of the passageways from the castle. They are now underground and quite dark inside. It's unclear what they are used for.

More of the castle

We saw this art installation nearby and later found out it is the Hampshire Jubilee Sculpture. It also celebrates the recent Queen's jubilee.

Hampshire Jubilee Sculpture

The Buttercross Monument is on the High Street in Winchester. It dates back to the 1400s and was part of a market place where people sold their goods. Presumably butter was among those goods. Now people just hang out there.

Buttercross Monument

Book Review: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Vol. 4 by Hayao Mizazaki

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Volume 4 by Hayao Mizazaki

Nausicaa flees from the siege after releasing prisoners in a humanitarian gesture. The gesture is not without fruit as she has a run-in with her enemies in a great swarm of large insects. One of the enemy leaders gives her enough trust that they can focus together on the problems they share. Their world is falling into chaos slowly but surely. A deadly mold is spreading across the land, causing more death and destruction for everyone.

The story takes another interesting turn as the world faces even more apocalyptic problems. 

Recommended.

Westgate Museum, Winchester, England

The Westgate Museum in Winchester, England, was originally part of the walls of medieval Winchester. A good way to defend the city was to treat it like a castle. Winchester originally was a castle back when William the Conqueror made the city his capital. The roots of Winchester go further back in history to the Roman times, when the Roman conquerors built a fort to defend the city of Venta Belgarum. This gate is over one of the older Roman gates.

Westgate

Like many other gates I have seen, there's an entrance for pedestrians and a larger entrance for carriages, wagons, and horse riders.

The entrance to the museum is on the side and up a distressing staircase.

Going up

On the main floor are a variety of exhibits. The first thing we looked at was a spot to sort archeological items, which turned out to be trash people had thrown away like pottery shards, oyster shells, and bits of metal. Going through what was buried indicates what sort of use the area was put to.

Sorting the trash

The gate had a portcullis, the ironwork that dropped down to close the entrance at night and to defend from intruding armies. 

Portcullis chains went here?

Westgate was used for 150 years as a prison, so there are some grim items on display, like this gibbeting iron. After someone was hung, the body would be put on display to rot in public and make people afraid of crime. This particular iron was used for James Aitken (also known as "John/Jack the Painter"). He attempted to burn the docks at Portsmouth during the American War of Independence. 

Gibbeting Iron

Some axes and leg irons are also on display.

More prison items

The prisoners made some graffiti on the walls. Life must have been boring in jail.

Graffiti

The main room has a fire place for cooking year-round and heating in the cold winters.

Fireplace

An audio guide is provided by Alderman Jacob, a former mayor of Winchester who helped restore the gate and turn it into a museum in 1898. 

Alderman Jacob

Some weapons and armor are on display from the English Civil War. Other items include toy weapons (the guns can be filled with a little gun powder to make a bang!) and household items.

Armor and common items

Trying on some of the armor

Helmeted blogger

The stone panel depicting Abraham about to sacrifice his son Isaac was found in Hyde Street. The Bethel family built a mansion with stuff taken from Hyde Abbey when it was destroyed during Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. The 17th century mansion itself was demolished in the late 18th century, with this panel winding up on the street. So the panel has been around.

Abraham and Isaac

Another display shows the weights and measures used to make sure merchants would not defraud their customers.

Weights and Measures

The City Champion Costume was more for ceremonial purposes, not for someone to defend the city from invaders. 

City Champion Costume

A small staircase leads to the roof of the gatehouse, which gives views of the city.

Rooftop

View to the great hall

View down High Street

Zoomed shot of High Street

The door is not sized for modern people

The museum is not very big but that was just fine with my kids. The dress-up was fun (that helmet was heavy--real steel!) and views are very nice.

Book Review: The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells

The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells

Griffin is a scientist who is working on a way to turn living things invisible. He has two problems: his lack of funds and his lack of morals. To finance his research, he steals from his father. Griffin is afraid of "thieving" professors at his university and wants to work alone so he gets all the credit. He sets up his own lab in London. He turna a cat invisible just as his money is running out. With the landlord breathing down his neck, he decides to turn himself invisible, imaging all the freedom and possibilities he will have. To cover his escape and ensure no one steals his method, he burns down the home where he's renting rooms. He has a lot of misadventures in London, finding it hard to steal money that doesn't turn invisible like him or keep warm with no clothes (being science fiction, only his body becomes invisible). He flees to the countryside where he works on a formula to restore himself while he is wrapped up from head to foot. The locals are suspicious of the heavily bandaged and taciturn stranger. They are right to be concerned, because he has quite a temper and, for all his brilliance, not enough practical foresight to resolve his situation in a happy manner.

Wells does a great job building up suspense, starting the story in the small town inn where Griffin frantically tries to undo his experiment. His backstory is slowly revealed. The narrative focuses on eyewitness accounts, giving it a "police procedural" style long before such a genre existed. The real genre is science fiction, with an extended explanation of the mechanics of his invisibility, which is not quite convincing over a hundred years later. There's an element of horror, too, as he terrorizes people into doing what he wants. His evil streak is more his own than a result of the experiment (though one of the characters does say that the drugs involved cause mental problems). The situation serves to highlight his corruption. The story is compelling and has become a classic for a good reason.

Highly recommended--it's a quick read and Griffin is an interesting if unlikeable character.

This story was covered in Episode 311 of A Good Story is Hard to Find Podcast, go check it out!

Movie Review: The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)

The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) directed by Charles Crichton

Henry Holland (Alec Guinness) is a meek and fussy bureaucrat in 1950s London whose job is to escort gold bars from the refinery where they are shaped to the bank where they are stored. He has a very precise routine which gets eye-rolls from the guard and the driver. Every trip he thinks some vehicle is following them, rings the alarm bell, and has the guard check around the next corner to see if the car is waiting. The still water of his facade hides a plan he has been thinking about for twenty years. He has a fortune literally within his grasp but how can he steal it and get away with the crime? He lucks out when Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway) moves into the boarding house where Holland lives. Pendlebury is an artist, mostly sculpting and painting, though his day job is making touristy knick knacks, including lead Eiffel Towers that are painted gold. They are sold at the real Eiffel Tower. Holland recruits Pendlebury though they need some extra accomplices to make the scheme work. 

The movie is a charming con-game anchored by Guinness's excellent performance. He's able to switch convincingly between Holland's nebbish self and Holland's scheming self. Even though what he is doing is clearly wrong, the viewer still roots for him to succeed. The plan is well thought out and the complications are natural and lead to lots of comic moments. The movie is a comedy and gives everyone in the cast a chance to shine. The script is very clever and delightful.

Highly recommended--if you've only seen Alec Guinness in the Star Wars stuff, you need to watch this or Kind Hearts and Coronets to see what a phenomenal actor he is.

I watched this on Kanopy, a stream service available from most American public libraries. Ten free streams a month!

Salisbury Cathedral, England

The cathedral in Salisbury, England, was built in the 1200s. It was a quick build, only 38 years, though additions, minor and major, have happened over the years. The spire is the tallest in England at 404 feet. 

Salisbury Cathedral

The outside decorations are everywhere. Statues of saints abound, both local saints and historical ones from other lands.

Outer decorations

Front entrance

The West Doors are the main entrance for the church though they are only used for liturgical purposes. Visitors enter from the side.

West doors

Next to the West doors is a tomb that is highly ornate. I'd like a statue of someone weeping over my burial!

Buried in the back

The nave

On the other side of the west door is a model showing how the cathedral was built with workman from every class and trade. A video provides an interesting overview of the history, including how the location was selected. The original cathedral was in Old Sarum near a castle. They had problems with the castle as neighbors and wanted to move. They decided to shoot an arrow and wherever it landed would be the new location. The archer happened to hit a deer that ran off with the arrow, resulting in a much farther distance than anticipated!

Model of the construction

Salisbury Cathedral has the oldest working mechanical clock in the world. It does not have a face with hands but does chime on the hour. As a matter of pride, they keep it in good running order.

Oldest mechanical clock

Regimental colors are on display by the clock.

Battle flags

One of the early bishops from the area, St. Osmond, has a very simple burial vault.

Final resting place of St. Osmond

A more ornate but less fortunate tomb is that of William Longespee. He was the local earl during the cathedral's construction and died suddenly in 1226. There were rumors of murder but nothing substantiated until 1791. Then his tomb was opened and the body of a dead rat was found in his skull! The rat died of arsenic poisoning, so maybe there was something to the rumors after all?

William Longespee's tomb

The main altar is surprising simple.

Looks like we visited at Christmas

The ornate pulpit

A long tapestry shows the Magna Carta, an original of which is on display in the cathedral's chapter house (see below).

Trying to compete with Bayeux?

The cathedral is the home church of the local bishop. The bishop's chair, or cathedra, is much more ornate than the altar. 

Bishop's chair

The bishop's chair is in the Quire, the area of the church where the clergy (priests and canons) sit during services. Their chairs are also fancifully decorated.

Angel and a shy critter

A cricket!

The high altar is a little more decorated than the main altar, but not much more.

High altar

At the eastern end is the Trinity Chapel. Originally Saint Osmond was buried here. 

Trinity Chapel

Nearby I saw an icon of a painter inspired to make an icon!

No infinite regress, please!

One of the interesting customs involves new choir boys. Once they join, their head is bumped seven times on a specific stone as an initiation ritual. The stone has a head-shaped divot. My youngest apparently wants to get in. 

Knocking sense into the boys?

Another ornate tomb is for Sir Richard and Lady Katherine Mompesson from the 1600s.

Mompesson tomb

A weird fact about the cathedral is that it is very close to the water table, only 4 feet or so above it. They can actually measure it. If the water is too high, they cannot play the organ because underground piping will be flooded. The water has gotten high enough to flood the cathedral. A guide showed us how he measures the water level.

Checking the water level

The cathedral has a cloister, an open area with a covered walkway all around. The priests could process rain or shine and had a quiet spot for contemplation.

Cloister

Just off the cloister is the Chapter House. Here, clergy for the cathedral would gather for prayer, instruction, and meetings. The chapter house has eight walls with seats along the walls, including some cushions.

Chapter House

A cushion

The bishop's surprisingly uncushioned spot

The Chapter House displays one of the original copies of the Magna Carta from the 1200s. A computer display lets visitors see the detail of the document. The actual document is sealed in a glass case which is in a small tent to protect it from light. The document is made from sheepskin and the lettering was tattooed on!

Digital copy

King John's seal

On the way out, we saw a statue called Walking Madonna, cast in 1981 by Dame Elisabeth Frink.

Walking Madonna

We left by one of the gates that surround the church.

Heading back to the car

When we arrived, we came in the more famous Saint Anne's Gate, which had school children coming out!

Another gate

Walking through town we saw another, smaller church.

 Not much by comparison