Movie Review: The Jeweller's Shop (1988)

The Jeweller's Shop (1988) directed by Michael Anderson based on the book by John Paul II

This intergenerational story starts in Poland 1939 as young people head off on a mountain hike. Friends Andre (Andrea Occhipinti) and Stephane (Ben Cross) are taken with Therese (Olivia Hussey) and Anna (Jo Champa). The two couples are interested in marriage but face the looming prospect of World War II. Stephane and Anna move to Canada where he can finish his medical studies and start their married life. Andre and Therese stay in Poland, visiting the titular shop kept by an enigmatic and wise jeweller (Burt Lancaster) who sells them wedding rings and gives them advice on their future lives. Andre dies in the war. Therese is pregnant. She moves to Canada after the war to build a new life as a piano teacher. The children of the two couples grow up and become enamored of each other. The 1960s are a very different time and they face hard challenges as they consider getting married.

The story is an interesting melodrama and has a lot to say about marriage and marital happiness. Stephane and Anna struggle as their family grows, drifting apart from each other even as they work hard to provide a home to their children. Their daughter is worried that all marriages are like her parents' marriage and does not want to go down a road to unhappiness with Therese's son. He struggles without a clear example of what it means to be a man and a husband, that is, without his father's presence. These genuine, real world problems are viewed through the lens of John Paul II's theological musings on the family (the book was written before he became pope), showing an understanding that acknowledges the hard work needed for marriage and the greater beauty that can be found in a healthy, fruitful marriage. No marriage is ideal and no marriage is doomed to misery. But marriage is important and must be taken seriously. The view is refreshing and hopeful.

Recommended.

Book Review: The Witness of Early Christian Women by Mike Aquilina

The Witness of Early Christian Women: Mothers of the Church by Mike Aquilina

Aquilina has written many books about early Church history. Here, he profiles many women who were examples of the radical shift in attitudes towards women instituted by Jesus Christ. In the ancient world, women were, at best, secondary people. They had no direct influence over government and could not testify in court. They were esteemed for their beauty and their ability to bring new men into the world. By contrast, Christ treated women as equals and ministered to them as much as to men. Only one male disciple was at the foot of the cross; four to six women were there (including His mom). In the first four centuries of the Christian era, many women witnessed to their Christian faith in diverse ways.

Aquilina groups these mothers of the church according to those ways. Some were martyrs to the faith, including popular ones like Saint Agnes, Saint Perpetua, and Saint Felicity. Others are less famous, like Saint Thecla, who was a contemporary of the apostle Paul. Her story comes down from the earliest centuries though The Acts of Paul and Thecla are not canonical. Like many other virgin martyrs, she defied her parents' and her society's wishes, refusing to marry and instead following a life a prayer into her old age.

Other women were writers and thinkers, roles almost unheard of for women in antiquity. Proba the Poet wrote an epic in the Roman style but she retold Christ's life. Saint Marcella started a monastic group for herself and other women, learning and praying together. Aquilina includes Saint Monica in this group, who not only prayed for her son Augustine's conversion but also argued with the great doctor of the Church. 

The final group is independent women, of whom Saint Helena is the most famous. She was the mother of Emperor Constantine, the ruler who legalized Christianity in AD 313. Helena embraced the Faith and went to the Holy Land to find the sites where Jesus lived and died. She ran the expedition herself, the first archeological effort in Israel, which had fallen into ruin. I found Egeria the Tourist the most charming. She wrote letters to her community at home (southern France), describing her pilgrimages to holy sites around the Mediterranean. She was free to travel and had no regular group with her. No male companions are ever mentioned. She climbs Mount Sinai and visits Thecla's tomb, drawing inspiration and grace from her adventurous life.

This book is a quick read at 160 pages. It provides a lot of interesting insights into how the world changed for the better with the coming of Christianity and how women played important roles in the early Church. Aquilina's style is easy to read and he presents many passages from ancient texts describing these mothers of the early Christian Church.

Highly recommended.

Review: Holy Women You've Never Heard Of

Holy Women You've Never Heard Of by Dr. Elizabeth Klein and Dr. Jessica Murdoch

This original content from Formed (a Catholic video streaming service) caught my eye. Doctors Elizabeth Klein and Jessica Murdoch host a short series about female saints from the past two thousand years you probably have never run across. I knew about two of them, so I met three new sisters in the Lord through this series. The visual is just the two doctors at a desk having a conversation, describing the lives and virtues of these women who should be better known. 

Episode One is about Saint Macrina the Younger (died 379). She's actually the older sister of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa. The family is described as the "second holiest family" by the hosts. Basil and Gregory are famous especially in the Orthodox and eastern churches. Macrina took over managing the family's affairs when their father died. She was engaged but her fiance died before the wedding. She took this as a sign that she should be devoted to a life of virginity and Christian perfection. She took care of their mother and managed their various estates, paying taxes in three different provinces and to the imperial government. She turned the main estate into what today would be a retreat center. She developed a semi-monastic prayer life and gave hospitality to other Christians who would visit. She often gave good advice to her brothers. Her life story is known through The Life of Macrina by her brother Gregory.

Episode Two is about Saint Mary of Egypt (344-421). Her job was prostitution, which she enjoyed a lot, living the life of a party girl. She decided to leave Egypt on a sort of anti-pilgrimage to Jerusalem where she would be a temptress for actual pilgrims. She tried to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher but was prevent by an invisible force. She had a moment of conversion, confessed her sins, and went into the desert beyond the Jordan River to live an ascetical life. Years later, a priest discovered her and gave her communion after hearing her life story. She asked him to come back the next Easter so she could receive again. When he came back, she was dead with a note to the priest. He spread her story, which is very popular in Eastern churches. The commentators brought up the insights that no matter how decadent you think modern times are, there's been plenty of similarly decadent times before. More important, no matter how vile a lifestyle one has, God always offers forgiveness and redemption. He loves all of us, even the most hardened sinners.

Episode Three is about Saint Scholastica (480-543). She was the twin sister of Saint Benedict, the founder of western monasticism. Benedict went to live as a hermit in the Italian hinterlands only to be followed by others who wanted to imitate his holiness. Scholastica also went into the wilderness and drew a crowd of women. Benedict made his famous Rules for a monastery; his sister used them for hers about five miles away. They would meet in a farmhouse once a year for pious conversations. At their last meeting, she wanted him to stay, but he demurred. She then prayed to God. A sudden, violent storm came up, preventing Benedict from returning to his monastery.

Episode Four is about Brigid of Sweden (1303-1373; also known as Bridget or Birgitta). She was the daughter of royalty and had a vision of Jesus as a ten-year old. She raised a family with a pious husband. They had eight children, including a saint. She had a good reputation in their society. She and her husband split up so he could join a monastery while she founded a new order, the Bridgettines. She went on a pilgrimage to Compostela and had more visions. She even advocated for the pope to return from Avignon to Rome, much like Catherine of Siena. She had two vocations, an unusual situation. As her life circumstances changed, she changed with them. She did what God wanted her to do in her life.

Episode Five is about Blessed Marie-Anne Blondin (1809-1890). She grew up in Quebec on a farm. She learned to read and write at the age of twenty. She formed an order to teach the rural poor so they could benefit from getting an education as she did. The order grew quickly. The bishop assigned a young priest to help but he turned out to be controlling and made false accusations against her. The bishop eventually sided with the priest and asked Marie-Anne to step down from leadership of the order. She was very reluctant but obedient. She spent the last forty years of her life in humble service to the order. She carried a bitter cross for a long time. She is a great example of living a mundane life with charity. A subsequent chaplain found out about her heroic virtue (this was after she died) and gathered a lot of information about her, the beginning of her canonization process.

I found the series very entertaining and easy to watch. The set-up with just two speakers talking to each other is fine since each episode is ten to fifteen minutes long. It would have been nice to throw up some icons or other images on the screen, but it was not really necessary. 

Recommended.

The series is available on Formed, a Catholic streaming website. My local parish sponsors subscriptions for parishioners; maybe yours does too?

 

Merriweather Sculptures

Merriweather Post Pavilion is a concert venue in the heart of Columbia, Maryland. The outdoor stage has a large lawn in front of it and a lot of concession booths on the perimeter. The area also has several interesting sculptures on the outer edge of the lawn. They have been put up relatively recently (since 2015; the venue was built in 1967).

Right by the lawn is Madre della Pace, or "Mother of Peace." It was crafted by Washington, D.C., artist Robert T. Cole for a 2003 competition in Florence, Italy. His sculptures came back to the United States the next year. Personally, I would never have guessed the title of the piece, though clearly it represents a female. She does not seem particularly peaceful.

Madre della Pace

A slightly different angle

Nearby is another of Cole's works from the Italian competition. Padre del Tempo translates as "Father Time." He's looking back at Mother though his motorcycle is pointed the other way. I wonder if Cole had this positioning in mind when he made the sculptures.

Padre del Tempo

Ready to role

French artist Bernard Pras was commissioned for some sculptures of musical artists. His style uses abandoned objects and seemingly random bits of junk. This first one is Dolly Parton, though her image is only visible from a certain angle. I like forced perspective art for its imaginative use of objects to create an image if you are in just the right spot.

Where is Dolly?

Looking from the right angle

Another forced perspective sculpture is Jimi Hendrix, the famous American guitarist and rock star. The work is a homage to his Isle of Wight album cover.

Is that a car wreck or...

...Mr. Hendrix?

The lead singer from Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant, is less mysterious, though still cobbled together from a lot of bric a brac.

Robert Plant

Miles Davis, the famous Jazz trumpeter and innovator, is also on display.

Miles Davis

Not too far away is Tina Turner, another music icon who has played here at Merriweather.

Tina Turner

I was curious about the sculpture behind her on the hill. I guess it is a music fan?

No matter which perspective you use, it still looks like a fan, not a person

View of the stage from the fan

Book Review: Justice League Dark Vol. 3 by J. Lemire et al.

Justice League Dark Volume 3: The Death of Magic written by Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes and art by Mikel Janin

John Constantine and the rest of Justice League Dark mount a rescue operation to get Zatanna and Timothy Hunter from an alternate dimension where magic is abundant. When the crew gets there, they are all affected by the magic, including Deadman becoming alive again, Madame Xanadu becoming old (she's been living for centuries and now starts looking like it), and Constantine becoming uncharacteristically honest (with comic results). Only Frankenstein's Monster is unaffected, presumably because he is a creature of science, not of magic. The alternate dimension has a crusading army of scientifically-advanced people who fight with all things magical, thus making them enemies of Justice League Dark. Meanwhile, Timothy has been hailed by the local magical creatures as their king. He leads them as an army against the science people. The story is exciting and filled with lots of drama and fun action.

A second story details the theft of Constantine's House of Mystery, which causes all sorts of nightmarish horrors all over the world. The Justice League Dark has to set things right, with some help from The Flash and Swamp Thing. This story is interesting but does not have the epic feel of the first story, though they try to pass it off as such.

Mildly recommended.

Movie Review: Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) co-written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has a new mission--he needs to track down half of a special key that is part of a larger conspiracy that threatens the whole world though his employer doesn't know what the key unlocks. Just it is a big threat. Viewers have seen where the key goes in a pre-credits sequence where a new AI system on a stealth Russian sub goes rogue and scuppers the sub. The AI has been infiltrating many intelligence agencies from many countries, making it a valuable weapon for whichever country can get control of it. Ethan's mission is to find the key and return it to HQ. Ethan, who has had a problem with going rogue before, decides he needs to destroy the AI if he can find the original source code. A lot of action and hijinks follows with an unresolved cliffhanger ending (not a spoiler since the movie's title ends with "Part One").

The plot is the usual over-the-top nonsense that comes from this franchise. The execution is so much fun, it makes up for the daftness of the story's core. Ethan has to get the old band back together, so Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Rebecca Ferguson are back. Grace (Hayley Atwell) is an exceptional thief who is also after the key for a mysterious employer (guess who?), so Ethan crosses swords with her before he winds up working with her and recruiting her for the Impossible Missions Force. The action sequences are fun and over-the-top, so fitting with the story and the series as a whole. Cruise is his usual charming self and the rest of the cast also shines. The movie is an entertaining popcorn romp. Even though it is only half the story, it is still almost three hours long. I never found myself bored watching it, so it is like the Peter Jackson King Kong, which was way too long but I find it hard to recommend what to cut out.

Recommended.

TV Review: Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes (2021)

Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes (2021) co-written and co-directed by Petter Holmsen

Live Hallangen (Kathrine Thorborg Johansen) has been killed in a remote area outside the small Norwegian town of Skarnes. Her family runs the local funeral parlor so they are used to dealing with death. The one thing they were not prepared for was Live waking up on the autopsy table. The police (Kim Fairchild and Andre Sorum) are apologetic about the mistake; Live's dad starts acting strange at the revelation. His behavior is not nearly as strange as Live's--her senses are very heightened and she has an insatiable urge for human blood. She works as a nurse at an old-age home, so maybe she can get her fix on the side?

The show starts off as a horror-comedy hybrid with some genuinely shocking and uncomfortable horror moments. Initially, the police are comic relief though the more viewers get to know them, the less funny they are. Their switch into serious characters gives them a lot more humanity and thereby sympathy. Unfortunately, Live's story arc goes from the tragic victim of the situation to a somewhat unsympathetic woman trying not to get in trouble for the things she does, some of which are not in her control. She finds out her mother had a similar problem that led to her suicide. Live's dad knows about what's happening and tries to cremate Live to stop the problem. She escapes and accidentally kills him, causing a lot of problems. The funeral home has a lot of debt and her brother Odd (Elias Holmen Sorensen) has a very hard time managing the situation. He's the most sympathetic character, struggling to keep his wife happy and his family business together. The situations slowly spiral out of control. The show has a lot of plot holes and very unbelievable moments (like her escape from the crematorium's incinerator) that don't help in enjoying the proceedings. I found the happy ending a little forced and unlikeable. It seems like there's room for a sequel but I have no interest in watching more.

Not recommended.

Currently (March 2024) streaming only on Netflix. 

Book Review: The Tale of Snow White and the Widow Queen by J. Pageau et al.

The Tale of Snow White and the Widow Queen written by Jonathan Pageau and illustrated by Heather Pollington

The story of Snow White has been immortalized by the Disney film from the 1930s. Based on a Grimms' fairy tale, everyone knows the tale of a young princess driven from the castle by a jealous and vain step-mother with a magic mirror (and other magics, as it turns out). This adaptation fills out some of the story, giving more background to Snow White's true parents, her birth, and her life under her step-mother. Many of the elements are familiar from other fairy tales (Snow White becomes a servant in the castle like Cinderella; the temptation with the poisoned apple is explicitly paralleled with the Garden of Eden temptation; etc.). The storytelling also uses the rule of threes several times to great effect, giving it a sense of classic fairy tale narrative. The story becomes fuller and richer in Pageau's telling.

The illustrations are even better. Pollington has worked in film art departments for Guillermo del Toro, among other filmmakers, and has an unerring sense of visual storytelling, especially in the folk-lore or mythic modes. The full-page images convey important story moments with many details thrown in. Visual motifs are reused to good effect, like the parallel between Snow White's mother's deathbed and Snow Whites' glass coffin.  The illustrations are delightful and fascinating.

Highly recommended--this is the start of a series of fairy tales retold by Pageau and I am sure to get future volumes.

Old Town Annapolis

My wife and I did some touring around the oldest buildings in Annapolis courtesy of two Adventure Labs, one identifying homes of Maryland's signers of the Declaration of Independence and the other identifying the oldest buildings.

Our first stop was the Charles Carroll House. Charles Carroll was the third "Charles Carroll" to live in the area. His grandfather, Charles Carroll the Settler, was from Ireland and was the first of the family to come to the colonies. Charles's father, Charles Carroll of Annapolis, was involved in the colonial government along with maintaining farms in the area. He gave his son, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, some land to build a country house (now at The Shrine of Saint Anthony in Ellicott City, Maryland).  Charles still lived in this house when he was in town, often practicing law and participating in the government. In addition to signing the Declaration, Charles Carroll of Carrollton served in the state government and helped to found the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. When he died in 1832, he was the last surviving signer. He was also the only Catholic to sign the Declaration. See inside the house here.

Charles Carrolls' house

Likely built in 1738, the Jonas and Catharine Green House was their home. They published the Maryland Gazette from their home starting in 1740, the forerunner of the current Capital Gazette. Jonas held various jobs around town, including postmaster, city councilman, and vestryman at St. Anne's Parish. He died in 1767 but Catharine kept on printing the Gazette. The home is now a private residence.

The Green House (not actually green)

As we walked to our next destination, we saw an alleyway with someone's front door at the end. I hope these other buildings weren't originally here, the layout seems very inconvenient. I wonder what kind of furniture is in their house?

Maybe they have a back door on the other street?

The Maryland State House was built in the late 1700s. In 1783 and 1784 Annapolis was the United States Capital. General George Washington resigned his military commission in this building in 1783 and the Treaty of Paris was ratified here in 1784. The building is still in use as the seat of the state government, though it is undergoing an exterior renovation. They put up some clever screening to make it look the way it should. 

A modest Capitol

View from the side

Interestingly, the State House, while dating back to the 1700s, is only the 25th oldest building in town. The nearby Old Treasury Building was constructed in 1735-1736 by Patrick Creagh and it issued the first paper money in the colonies. It's the oldest public building in the capital but is also currently under renovations.

Old Treasury Building

Another interesting random bit we ran across was this micro-bench with some toys on it.

Naval Academy fans

The Shiplap House dates from 1715. It is not named after a person. The siding is of varying widths, called "Shiplap" back in the day. The building was originally a tavern; later it became a home for various merchants, artists, and artisans. Now it is office space for Historic Annapolis.

Shiplap House

Nearby we saw a little display of Annapolis life in the 1700s, including a diorama of the harbor.

Downtown with the Carroll House in the lower right

The harbor

The Sands House is by the harbor and is believed to have been built in 1681, making it the oldest wooden frame house in the area. When originally built, it was right by the water. As the harbor gradually filled in, the house is now a block from the water. The name comes from John Sands, who owned the house in 1771 and used it as a tavern.

Sands House

William Paca (1740-1799) was another signer of the Declaration. Before, he served in the colonial legislature and formed the Sons of Liberty with Samuel Chase in 1765. He was Maryland's third governor. The house was owned by private families up to 1901, when it was bought and converted into a swanky hotel called Carvel Hall. In 1965, the hotel closed and the house and lands were purchased by Historic Annapolis and the State of Maryland, turning it into a historic site. See the inside here.

William Paca house

Another signer, Samuel Chase, was an Annapolis lawyer in the 1760s. He was elected to the General Assembly and started construction of a Georgian mansion. He did not have the finances to finish it and sold the property to Edward Lloyd IV in 1771. So the house is known as the Chase-Lloyd House. It was owned privately until 1886, when Hester Chase Ridout willed it to be a safe haven and home for elderly women. It served in this capacity until 2020.

Chase-Lloyd House

The fourth and final signer, Thomas Stone, practiced circuit law (riding from Port Tobacco through Frederick and to Annapolis) in the colonial period. He and his family lived in Charles County, Maryland, for a long time, moving to this house in 1783. The house was originally owned by Stone's uncle, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, who bought the house back in 1787 when Stone died. The house is known as the Peggy Stewart House (named after a famous ship that was burned in Annapolis harbor much like the Boston Tea Party) and is a private residence.

Peggy Stewart House

As we walked back to the car, we saw a house we thought was creepy looking. The photo does not do it justice (or maybe I should write "injustice"). It struck as as the sort of house that would be haunted or feature in a horror film.

The camera adds innocence

Book Review: She-Hulk Vol. 2 by C. Soule et al.

She-Hulk Volume 2: Disorderly Conduct written by Charles Soule, storytelling by Javier Pulido, and colors by Muntsa Vicente

See my review of Volume 1 here.

The legal and action adventures of She-Hulk, aka Jennifer Walters, continues. A scientist friend who is not a superhero has developed a shrinking and enlargening ray but is having trouble monetizing it because his partner doesn't want to. The partner has also disappeared, presumably having shrunk himself. She-Hulk calls on Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man, for consultation but he insists on joining in the adventure. After that's resolved, Captain America comes to Jennifer's office with a case he needs help with. Steve Rogers is being sued for a wrongful death dating back to the 1940s. He needs representation. Too bad the lawyer for the other side is Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil. If that wasn't bad enough, Cap doesn't want to settle outside of court or get off on a technicality, making things more challenging for Jennifer. This volume concludes with a wrap-up of the "Blue File" storyline.

The "Blue File" story goes very quickly, I think because the series was ending before the creators were ready. The other stories are a good blend of fun and drama. Soule does a good job with the legal situations and language. He also captures the spirit of adventure and goofy charm of She-Hulk. The art isn't great as drawings but some of the layouts are very well done.

Recommended.

Movie Review: The Miracle Club (2023)

The Miracle Club (2023) directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan

The local parish in Ballygar, Ireland, is sponsoring a talent show whose first prize is two tickets on a trip to Lourdes, France. The show's organizer died just before the event but they keep it on in her memory. The organizer's estranged daughter Chrissy (Laura Linney) has come from America for the funeral, a surprise to everyone in town, especially Chrissy's childhood best friend Eileen (Kathy Bates). Chrissy finds an envelop from her mom with an apology for what caused their division and a ticket for the Lourdes trip. Initially, Chrissy does not want to go and the ticket winds up with Eileen, who secretly thinks she has breast cancer and hopes for a cure. A young mom (Agnes O'Casey) with a mute son has won the tickets and wants to take him to the shrine hoping to find a miraculous cure. Her husband does not want her to go, just like Eileen's husband. They both head off anyway along with Lily (Maggie Smith), an old lady still mourning the loss of her dead son who had a relationship with Chrissy. The story of their lives, their angers, and their regrets slowly unfolds during the trip to France and at Lourdes where things aren't quite what they expected.

The charming and intriguing premise is squandered as the movie moves along. Ballygar looks very stereotypical mid-1900s Ireland (the movie is set in 1967) as are the attitudes of most of the characters. They have a lot of anger underneath that comes out occasionally for dramatic effect. A lot of issues and old hurts are eventually resolved through the hardships of the journey more than from any miraculous occurrence in France. None of the characters (including the priest) have a genuine faith, they are just more or less nice people trying to satisfy their own needs, which may wind up helping others. The movie has some funny bits (the trailer falsely sells this as a comedy) but the story is not very inspiring. The actors are good in their roles. I just wish their characters were less superficial. They are in a better place when they return home without really earning it.

Not recommended.

TV Review: Reacher Season 2 (2024)

Reacher Season 2 (2024) adapted for television by Nick Santora based on the novel Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child

Before Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) was a wandering do-gooder, he was in the US military heading an investigative unit. Some of his buddies from the unit have been found dead. Their bodies were discovered in the middle of a New York State forest with injuries that indicate they had been tortured and then thrown out of a helicopter. A member of the unit finds out and alerts everyone else to come to New York City for one last investigation. A third member of their team is also missing but no body has turned up. Their investigation leads them to a shady military technology company whose security is headed by Shane Langston (Robert Patrick). Viewers discover immediately that Langston is the mastermind behind the killings. He's trying to cover up some pending deal he's got going. The conflict gets hot and heavy as the conspiracy gets bigger.

This series has a much bigger supporting cast for Reacher. A lot of flashbacks to the military unit fill in the characters' relationships (and pad out the eight-episode series). Viewers see some of the bad guy's plans but not enough to fill in all the gaps that Reacher's team struggles to discover. Reacher has a testy relationship with a New York City cop, Guy Russo (Domenick Lombardozzi). Russo is caught between corrupt cops (including his higher ups) and Reacher's outside-the-law shenanigans. Russo is the most interesting and most sympathetic character in the show. Sure, Reacher is fun to watch but he has plot armor and his physique, while amazing to look at, seems like it would be a hinderance to running, jumping, being stealthy, and other action hero attributes. The show throws in some sex scenes for him just because that's expected though they are more implausible than usual and unnecessary to even minor subplots. 

The main plot moves along at a good pace though it is impossible for viewers to guess where it is going because the answers are a bit improbable. The action scenes get over the top, especially in the final episode, where he does some things that don't seem likely for even the most capable normal human being. The show feels a bit like a mild version of Fast and Furious, with its Road-Runner-like action sequences that are enjoyable but also laughable (interesting trivia from wikipedia--the first Road Runner cartoon was called Fast and Furry-ous). The show is enjoyable but it is eye-candy not soul-nourishing. The show has too many unbelievable moments to be taken seriously like it wants to.

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Socrates' Children Vol. IV by Peter Kreeft

Socrates' Children Volume IV: Contemporary Philosophers by Peter Kreeft

See my review of volume I here, volume II here, and volume III here.

Kreeft concludes his survey of philosophy with thinkers from the past 150 years. The philosophers are grouped topically rather than ordered chronologically. Existentialists, pragmatists, phenomenologists, and analytic philosophers are presented in sets, making them a little easier to understand with their similar (though often contrasting) ideas. This scheme works well since modern thinks have more complicated philosophies that are easier to understand in their immediate contexts.

This book is not as good as previous volumes. One difficulty is his struggle to resist just quoting the thinkers rather than explaining their theories. Sometimes he intersperses his own comments, other times he just leaves the reader with a core dump. After excellent summaries and commentaries in the first three volumes, this one is occasionally disappointing. Sometimes Kreeft provides a list of recommended books by an individual thinker, sometimes he does not, in a seemingly haphazard manner. 

Kreeft concludes with five philosophers in the Thomistic school. They follow Thomas Aquinas, but like Aquinas, build up from previous foundations, incorporating knowledge and ideas from other thinkers. Obviously Aquinas had no access to modern existentialism or phenomenology, so using the best from the new fields is certainly a plus. The final thinker covered in the book is G. K. Chesterton, whom Kreeft readily acknowledges is not thought of as a philosopher. Chesterton was an essayist and pundit in the early 1900s and is known for his witty style and commonsense insights into all sorts of topics. Chesterton is another thinker who gets more quoted than commented. Kreeft provides enough to justify Chesterton's joining the ranks.

This volume ends with a nice call to action by readers to take on these great ideas and discern which ones are true and applicable in life.

Recommended.

Geocaching February 2024

I started the month off planning to find a mystery/unknown cache every day, a goal for a challenge cache nearby. My first was OCCT #6: Cached in 1/2 of United States Challenge. I've actually cached in 26 states, so I was overqualified! The Odenton Cooperative Challenge Trail provided a lot of finds for this month.

Part of the OCCT trail

A house that still has Christmas decorations!

The second day I found Random Wiki Puzzle: Falcon Stakes, which was easy to solve and find in the field.

Then I found OCCT #10: Globetrotter Challenge, which requires the cacher to have a distance of at least 100,000 miles between all caches found. I guess the honeymoon in New Zealand and visiting Europe helped out a lot!

A part of the OCCT trail

Continuing with the alternating pattern, I found Random Wiki Puzzle: Kuroda Seiki, again in Odenton. I found it on a Sunday afternoon at a dead end next to a busy intersection with no sidewalks. Amazingly enough, a muggle came walking by, forcing me to wait a bit before I returned the cache to its hiding place.

Filling one of my last empty days on the calendar, I found OCCT #27: Traveler Apprentice 3 Country Challenge, Strays Series 1: Cats Cat Name: Ziggy, and the Monday morning coffee meetup, in reverse order. The cat was very cute.

Ziggy

To switch things up, I found a challenge not on the OCCT. ZIP Code Region Challenge requires a cacher to have finds in all of the ten major ZIP Code zones in the United States. We've traveled enough to qualify!

On a day I didn't need a mystery cache, I found a multi-cache called Dorsey Cemetery. After finding how old someone was when they died, I was able to find the final cache. Unfortunately, the final cache was out in the open and had a block of ice inside...a pyramid-shaped block of ice! I was unable to sign the log but made the report to the owner.

Dorsey Cemetery

Open Cache

A hard log to sign

Afterward, to fill in my year calendar of traditional caches, I found Mad City Cache, which is near an independent coffee shop not too far from the Dorsey Cemetery.

My mystery cache run continued with Whirling Wonder - A Pi Day Problem. The puzzle was about helicopter blades on Mars (there's an atypical subject) which I had solved last month, thanks to help from the internet and a calculator. The find was not too hard and was near the observatory at Alpha Ridge Park.

A small observatory

Also nearby and also by a coffee shop was Cinnamon Cache, a traditional I needed for, you guessed it, filling in my traditional calendar. The cache location was a little creepy thanks to a skull (non-human) that was right next to the cache.

Yikes!

The next day I found another Random Wiki Puzzle: Doug Baldwin (Ice Hockey) to keep my calendar going. Then I found another Random Wiki Puzzle: 2016 Wheelchair Doubles Master, another Odenton find. I also found the nearby Feel the Power, a traditional cache to fill another day.

Powerful path

I took most of the family to Annapolis for ice cream and a cache, the CAM 2023-King William's School (St. John's College) mystery cache. We wandered around the campus gathering information and made the find in an extra-special hiding spot.

Gathering information

My reward

I went back to alternating Random Wiki Puzzles and OCCT caches with RWP: Oscar Jacobson, OCCT#28: Traveler Intermediate 10 Country Challenge, and RWP: Sheridan Snyder.

Hidden benches in back of a building

Beaver dam along the OCCT

Mixing things up, I found Gots me a knew souveneer (sp?!?) and HC Soccer Series: Blandair Park (which avenged an earlier DNF!). The soccer cache was near some soccer fields but I went on a snowy morning and there were no players even though it was a Saturday!

Unused fields

I am not the only one crazy enough to wander through the park

The next day my youngest had a birthday party in Eldersburg, Maryland, which was new territory in my geocaching adventures. I found nine caches in two hours, it would have been eleven if I hadn't had two DNFs. All We Wanna Do Is Eat Your Brains (!), HTML King 2, Celebrate 100 TIE Events (that's Tuesdays In Eldersburg), Power of Caching, 10 Eats (with a jammed container), Standard typical ordinary parking lot cache, Time to Play IV & Read (at the local library), Frustrating (which was not), and Heat Streak #1 (I will have to do more of this series next time I'm in the area). 

Jammed container

View from the cache to the library

Part of a DNF

I continued my mystery month with Sudoku Series #3 which was fun to solve and to find. The next day I discovered HC Soccer Series - Troy Hill Park and Bonny&Read which had a tight log that needed tweezers for extraction.

Another pair of non-traditional finds were Shark Attack! and HHHC: Waverly Tenant Farm Ruins. The later is the remains of a house behind some condos, an amazing discovery in suburban Maryland. 

Tenant house in ruins

Waverly Mansion still in good shape

This was not a boating accident!

MD Wells Run Restoration Project Earthcache is in College Park, Maryland, near the main campus of the University of Maryland. Wells Run doesn't look that great, maybe since it's February, but the water is good enough for ducks! Nearby, I also found Little Walks, and Talks about University Park which is also on Wells Run.

Not sure I would swim in that water...

I went back to Gorman Park for more of the Alpha Redux series, finding Redux-Y and Redux-W on the same day that I found the mystery cache Gilford Park Knapsack Problem. The view from the final part of the mystery cache was great. I finished of Redux-X and Redux-Z the next day.

Nice trail markers

View from Guilford Knapsack finale

Later, I went back to College Park to find a mystery called Bridge Budget Buster and a traditional called My Black History Cache... (placed in honor of Black History Month).

A path by caches

I found another OCCT cache, #8 Virtual Find Challenge, which only requires one virtual cache to qualify. I achieved that long ago. The next day I logged #11--Unknown/Mystery Challenge Novice 100 for another mystery and Cenosillicaphobia #3 for a traditional on the bigger calendar. Cenosillicaphobia is the fear of an empty glass, so naturally there's a brewery nearby.

I don't think I've tried any of their brews

Since this year is leap year, I was planning on doing a variety of caches on the 29th. Geocachers consider it a bit of a high holy day, since often challenges are based on calendar days and this day is only once every four years. I went to a morning kick-off event that had a raffle (I won a travel bug tag). Then I headed off on my own to Masonville Cove by Baltimore harbor, which has an earthcache and a traditional cache by the water. Then I headed south to BWI which has a virtual cache that requires a photo by the airport with something that identifies it. I chose the Thomas Dixon viewing park which has a nice sign and little traffic to deal with (and no tricky parking). Then I drove to the Odenton Library for a CITO event, which is Cache-in, Trash-Out. We picked up garbage in the parking lot and around the perimeter of the library. The woods contain an older mystery cache that requires a hundred-day caching streak. The container was gone (six people looked for it while they gathered trash). One of the cachers knows the owner and said it would be alright to make a replacement cache. I took credit since I made the hundred-day streak back in the summer and fall. Then I found a multicache at a church nearby the library, teaming up with another cacher who had come from the CITO event. I struck out on my own to find a Wherigo cache that was solvable from home (usually a cacher needs to be out in the field to get the solution). The same street has one of the Adventure Labs I've been working on, so I found that as well. My tenth and final cache was a letterbox in White Marsh Park (but not one of the Simpsons ones). 

At the meetup

Soon to be in the field, once I attach it to something

Vernal pool at Masonville Cove

Trash collector at Masonville Cove

Eagle nests, also at Masonville Cove

Credit for the airport virtual

CITO success

Cool house between the library and the church

Adventure lab location

Old-school caching for the letterbox!

I end the month with a full calendar and 1093 caches in total.

No white boxes!

My new project is to find a traditional cache on every day of the year. Currently, I need about twenty or thirty spread out over the next nine months (January and December are already covered!). It won't be too hard, I hope!