TV Review: X-Men '97 (2024)

X-Men '97 (2024) created by Beau DeMayo based on the 1990s series based on the Marvel Comics

This series, a continuation of a popular cartoon from the 1990s, starts with the X-Men in crisis. Professor Charles Xavier has died, leaving a leadership gap for the team. Cyclops/Scott Summers naturally thinks he has to step up as leader, though he is reluctant since his wife, Jean Grey, is pregnant and soon to give birth. He was hoping they could live a more normal family life. The problem gets worse when Magneto shows up at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters with Charles's will. Xavier has bequeathed the leadership of the school and the team to Magneto. None of the X-Men are happy about the situation (except maybe Rogue). Scott feels he has to stay to make sure Magneto behaves. The narrative plays out from there.

This ten-episode arc covers a lot of ground. Scott and Jean have their baby though the infant is kidnapped and infected with a cyber-disease and has to travel to the future with the time-traveling mutant Bishop to get cured. Storm loses her powers in a fight and winds up on a journey of self-discovery. Jean discovers that she is a clone of the actual Jean Grey created by Mister Sinister, leading to lots of complications. The island country Genosha, set up as a mutant refuge, is trying to join the United Nations but is under attack both politically and literally. The stories move at a breakneck pace. If I hadn't read some of these story arcs in the comics, I think I would have been a little lost (seeing the movies helps a bit too). The series leans on nostalgia and prior knowledge too much, with a lot of characters lacking any development or depth. 

The animation does a good job looking like something from thirty years ago without looking cheap or rushed. The action sequences are creative, hewing to the X-Men's random set of abilities and applying them as best they can in given situations. Rogue is an exception--she never using her absorbing power, she just flies around and punches a lot of stuff.

Mildly recommended--this needs a bit of context to be appreciated. Of course, the series ends on a cliffhanger implying another season to come.

Book Review: X-Men Marvel Epic Collection Vol. 12 by C. Claremont et al.

X-Men Marvel Epic Collection Volume 12: The Gift written by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, pencilled by John Romita, Jr., Steve Leialoha, Paul Smith, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Dave Cockrum

This omnibus edition covers X-Men publications mostly from 1985, including Uncanny X-Men 189 to 198, X-Men Annual 8, X-Men and Alpha Flight 1-2, and Nightcrawler 1-4. 

A lot of these are episodic one-offs, showcasing two or three of the X-Men on an adventure. Claremont is a good writer but has a lot of dialogue in his stories. Even Wolverine talks a lot. The highlight of the collection are a two-parter called "The Gift" featuring most of the X-Men and the Canadian superhero group Alpha Flight. They all wind up in a wintery, isolated Canadian location where an amazing city has sprung up in a bubble of warm weather. Unbelievable healing has happened in the city--Cyclops can control his eye-blasts without any tech, Rogue is free from her absorbing powers (so she can touch people), Wolverine no longer has berserker rage, etc. Loki has given this "gift" to them in hopes of appeasing some even higher-up gods, though things do not work out for him. The very promising cover image of Doctor Doom fighting the X-Men is a later story and a bit of a disappointment to me. 

Woven through the stories is Storm's tragic situation--she has lost her power and returns to Africa to find out what to do. Another ongoing plot is Colossus and Kitty having relationship problems. And 1985 was the year the Beyonder showed up and had an epic story line that involved all of the Marvel universe, so he shows up in a few stories.

The collection ends with a four-part adventure for Nightcrawler, who gets sucked into other dimensions where he encounters a lot of whimsical situations and action. He fights a shark-man who is also a magician bent on gaining Nightcrawler's teleportation powers. It is very silly but also very fun.

This set is a mixed bag. Some stories I liked, some I didn't. The cover promises more than the content delivers which was disappointing for me. Otherwise this is a fine if less famous bit of the Chris Claremont X-Men era.

Mildly recommended.

Movie Review: Legally Blonde (2001)

Legally Blonde (2001) directed by Robert Luketic

Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is a California sorority girl who is so excited that her boyfriend Warner (Matthew Davis) is going to propose. When they go out to dinner, he drops the bomb on her--he breaks up because he has political ambitions and needs a woman "more like Jackie and not like Marilyn." She is devastated and hunkers down with a box of chocolates and her tiny dog in her dorm room. Her friends come to cheer her up by taking her to get manicured and pedicured. At the salon, she sees a picture of Warner's older brother who is marrying a Vanderbilt. She realizes she needs to be that kind of woman and decides to apply to Harvard Law School (where Warner is going). Even though she has the valley girl look and personality, she is also smart and determined. Her hard work (and support from her sorority sisters) pays off when she is accepted. At Harvard, she has new challenges academically and socially as everyone takes her at face value. Can she rise to the occasion, get the guy, and still maintain her golden-hearted attitude toward life?

The movie is a star vehicle for Witherspoon who gives a great performance. She has the charm and exterior of a valley girl but she struggles with her own self worth, sometimes caving in to how other people see her. While the movie starts off as a romantic comedy, the real focus is on her finding her own place and earning self-respect and the respect of others. The movie throws in plenty of school comedy and legal comedy along with a delightful subplot of a Boston manicurist (Jennifer Coolidge) who provides emotional support to Elle and gets support from Elle too. The movie is an all-around delight.

Highly recommended.

TV Review: Andor Season 2 (2025)

Andor Season 2 (2025) created by Tony Gilroy based on Star Wars by George Lucas 

In this follow-up to the first season, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) is still running missions for Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard), a well-connected conniver who opposes the expanding power of Imperial forces in the Galactic Republic. Rael has a lot of schemes going on which is eerily matched by the schemes of the Imperial forces. The season plays out over several years (a surprising number of episodes start with a "One Year Later" title card), with Cassian and Rael getting closer and closer to discovering the big secret of the Imperials while Imperial Lieutenant Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) hunts Rael and his conspiracy. 

The show distinguishes itself from other Star Wars content by its stark realism and maturity. The political intrigue and espionage are much more John Le Carre than Ian Fleming. These people get caught in tough situations, sometimes with no clear path to resolve conflicts or solve problems. Finding and keeping allies is hard; maintaining connections to family and friends is even harder. While Cassian and his side are clearly the heroes of the show, the Imperial characters also have complicated situations and difficult personal interactions. The show's lack of two-dimensional characters across the narrative is refreshing.

The show ends nicely with Cassian flying off to his role in Rogue One and a coda showing why what they do is so important. 

Recommended, highly for Star Wars fans.

As I publish this, the show is only available on the Disney+ streaming service.

The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy by Etienne Gilson

The Spirit of Mediaeval Philosophy by Etienne Gilson

Most historians of thought have a tendency to skip over what they refer to as "The Dark Ages," going straight from ancient Greece and Rome to the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods. Sure, there was some literature and art in this Christian-dominated period, but philosophy did not develop at all (so the historians claim) until people like Descartes arrived. Gilson examines if there was a mediaeval philosophy. Clearly, European thought was dominated by Christianity but it did not develop in a vacuum and plenty of authors in Jewish and Muslim traditions commented and expanded upon classical philosophers like Plato and Aristotle.

Gilson has a lot of issues to grapple with. Theological reflection was the primary interest in the middle ages, but that did not exclude the application and adaptation of philosophical ideas to their Biblical understanding of the world. "Faith Seeking Understanding" is the motivation and inspiration of thinkers from Saint Augustine to Saint Thomas Aquinas (held as the exemplar of Christian philosophy). Syncing up philosophical insights with theological insights creates a new system, built on the shoulders of what came before, but clearly going higher and in different directions from what came before.

After affirming the existence of mediaeval philosophy, Gilson runs through many other issues, showing the mediaeval Christian anthropology, including epistemological and moral concepts unknown or underdeveloped in the classical period. The meaning and purpose of human life has a tremendous shift with the revelation of a personal God who becomes man and shares in our life. The age did have a distinctive philosophy (often imbedded in the theology).

The book is a very technical and detailed discussion of these issues. Gilson is a persuasive writer but the text is dry and aimed at an audience that has a lot of familiarity with mediaeval Christianity and classical issues in philosophy. I found it tough going in spots, even with a lot of prior knowledge of the issues involved.

Mildly recommended--this requires some pre-requisites to appreciate fully.

Sample quote, the key shift that distinguished medieval thought:

"There is but one God and this God is Being, that is the corner-stone of all Christian philosophy, and it was not Plato, it was not even Aristotle, it was Moses who put it into position." p. 51

Original Wisconsin Ducks Boat Tour, Wisconsin Dells

We took a ride on the Original Wisconsin Ducks tour in Wisconsin Dells. A generous and well-connected uncle hooked us up with tickets. We arrived on a weekday, so the line was very short to get on.

Ready to ride!

The "ducks" are amphibious trucks, the kind used in World War II to land troops and supplies in places without ports. It drives along the land and can switch to cruising on a body of water. In this case, we would be floating down the Wisconsin River along with visiting Lake Delton. But all that was after we headed out on the trail, which had plenty of signs warning stray drivers that they were on the wrong path.

Private roads!

Our driver was a college student who had been working for the company for seven years, starting in other jobs before getting to be a tour guide and duck pilot.

Our first view was of statues from the demolished Chicago Board of Trade Building. Local businessman W. J. Newman bought the statues and brought them to Wisconsin Dells to decorate a home by Lake Delton. They eventually wound as part of the tour property. 

Holding up a corner in a previous life?

The drive took us into the forests flanking the river, with many little valleys, gorges, and dells. Fern Dell provides shade and cooler temperatures. The difference was noticeable, maybe as much as ten degrees.

Ferns in the valley

A bit of the rock formations in our future

The area has a lot of layered rock known as sandstone. The formations make dramatic (though not tall) cliffs. At the bottom of the dell, our driver switched gears and drove into the Wisconsin River for a look at the river.

Shifting to aquatic mode

Some of the cliffs

The small cliffs' porous rock allows plants and trees to grow easily from them. Sometimes those provide stability, sometimes more erosion. The opposite shore showed a lot of tree-lined beaches without sandstone.

Not cliffs

Growth on the cliff side

The guide told a story about one of the formations. A preacher would come in the 1800s to speak to the natives as they sailed by. The natives didn't pay a lot of attention to him until he had a piano brought in. Then he would play piano and preach, gaining more interest even if he did not gain more adherents. Eventually, the cliff gave way and the piano crashed. You can see the rock formation that looks like a piano on the right side of the picture below. So it was a shaggy dog story. 

"Piano Falls" probably wouldn't have been a good name

Another formation is called "Hawk's Bill," just at the end of Black Hawk Gorge. The driver told us it was named after a native chief--Chief Gorge. The chief had a son he named Boy Gorge. The boy had a pet monkey he called Curious Gorge. And there were a lot of other jokes spun out from there. I loved it while my children groaned.

The Hawk's Bill formation

Better view of the hawk-like top

I was surprised to see other boaters on the water. Some were water skiing, some just cruising leisurely. The river is open to everyone.

Kayakers

A turtle sunning itself

Ready to fish? Or just sightseeing?

We saw some wildlife, but only rarely. This bird below looked like a hawk but photographed like a smudge.

Bird on the wing

Are those supposed to stop ducks from landing?

As we approached an overpass, our driver turned right into Dell Creek, driving up over a small bit of land and into Lake Delton.

Looking to turn

Dell Creek

Lake Delton Dam (with a sign in case you didn't know it was a dam)

Driving into the lake

Dam viewed from the other side

The dam was built in the 1920s by W. J. Newman (the same guy who brought the statues) to create a leisure lake in the Dells. The lake became a center for local tourism, with many resorts opening along the shores along with the larger homes. In 2008, excessive rain overfilled the lake and, while workers shored up the dam, the water went over a county highway next to the dam. It washed away the ground under the road and cleared out a channel 400 feet wide. The lake drained in two hours and Dell Creek had a new course. In about a year, locals, with the help of state and federal aid, were able to repair the road and rechannel the creek. The dam was refurbished so that it could release excess water. The lake filled again and things went back to normal.

Resort "tree houses" being built to open in 2026

Crossing over the road, we went back into the forest and took a drive through a very tight gorge, with only a few inches of clearance for the duck.

Some pleasant forest (and our last view of the river)

About to run through the rocks

At the tightest point

The area was part of an estate. A fire cleared one field of trees so the owner planted new ones, in perfectly aligned rows!

Such order and precision!

We finally made it back to the Duck dock, where we saw some of the other ducks waiting to have their turn.

More ducks

The trip was a lot of fun with some jokes and some history thrown in with the beautiful natural (and artificial) landscapes.

Book Review: Usagi Yojimbo Bk. 20 by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo Book 20: Glimpses of Death by Stan Sakai

More adventures with Usagi, after he left his son...

Cooking Lesson--Young Usagi learns from his sensei a valuable lesson about dealing with hardships by cooking some food. The story is short, whimsical, and insightful.

Contraband--Usagi bumps into a dying man who gives Usagi a package to deliver to his daughter in town. Usagi is a little reluctant to be involved but the guy expires right there so he feels obligated. He's drawn into an adventure as he travels with the unopened package, which draws a lot of attention since it is contraband. The twist at the end was a total surprise and a total delight.

After the Rat--Inspector Ishida (who appeared in a few other earlier tales) investigates The Rat, a local Robin Hood-type thief who is beloved by the poor people of the town but despised by the merchants. The Rat makes the police do a lot of running around, but will he finally be caught when he is accused of murder? The tale goes quickly and has some interesting comments about society.

Samurai for Hire--Usagi gets "hired" by a rude old woman who is on the road and carrying a heavy bag. Well, Usagi carries the bag now that he is her "underling." Usagi goes along with her, putting up with her odd, annoying behavior. The story slowly gets more complicated, but not too much. It's another traveling tale with an odd character at the center.

Dreams and Nightmares--Inazuma (a female friend of Usagi's) has some intense nightmares that come into reality as she is possessed by the spirit of Jei, a particularly nasty character that Usagi killed once, but he's a demon, so he is back again as Inazuma. She is traveling with Keiko, a girl who thinks of her as her "auntie," though Inazuma has become a lot more.

Gen and the Dog--Gen is hunting the bounty on Inazuma and has competition with Stray Dog, another bounty hunter who has been a pain in the butt before. Their separate investigations lead to the same spot, but Inazuma has moved on. This reads like set-up for future story lines.

When Rabbits Fly--A local scientist is trying to get his mechanical wings to work. Ruffians make fun of him but Usagi is at least open to the idea they might work. The story is mostly a comedy with some serious moments and the usual satisfying ending.

Into the Mist--Tomoe is out with her lord's retinue on a falconing hunt. The falcon brings down some prey and the lord sends her and Lord Horikawa to recover it. As she rides out, she is enveloped in mist. Coming out of the mist, she discovers a battlefield with an army approaching. She is confused but issues orders for a tricky tactical move. Things go well until one of the flanks does not attack like it should. The battle gets shrouded in mist again and Tomoe returns to the present, where she discovers Horikawa regaling their lord with a tale about a 200-year old battle their clan lost because of the strategy of Tomoe's ancestor. Tomoe corrects the record but does not resolve her conflict with Horikawa.

Nocturnal--Sanshobo, a priest Usagi knew back in the Grasscutter saga, is head priest of his temple. A man about to take vows comes to him describing nightmares he's had about becoming a monk, specifically about a girl in the local village whom he was supposed to marry but left for the temple. Sanshobo's advice is to go to the village the next day to resolve the issue. The novice passes out, so they summon a doctor. The doctor thinks that more than exhaustion is going on; Sanshobo explains about the soon-to-be monk's guilt. The doctor says it's odd because the girl has been missing for three days. The unhappy truth is soon revealed as Sanshobo discovers the novice has been visited at night by more than nightmares. It's another good tale from Sakai. 

Vendetta's End--Matabei, who has been tracking down and killing his father's killers, comes to a town where Usagi is visiting. The new local priest has been doing much good healing people though he becomes the target of Matabei since the priest was formerly part of the gang of killers. Usagi tries to help the situation with an unexpected outcome.

I don't know what it is about Sakai and his storytelling. I just enjoy it so much, I've read almost no bad stories in the entire series. He has a good sense of people and has a wide variety of characters. A lot of people deal with death, either their own coming or another's. Sakai fills the situations with a lot of interesting ideas.

Recommended.

Movie Review: A Working Man (2025)

A Working Man (2025) co-written and directed by David Ayer

Jason Statham is Levon Cade, a single dad whose daughter is mostly in the custody of his father-in-law since his wife died. As ex-special forces, he is deemed "dangerous" by that side of the family. But Cade has given up soldiering for construction work. When his boss's (Michael Cena) daughter (Arianna Rivas) is kidnapped with no ransom demand, Cade reluctantly agrees to get her back. He hunts down what turns out to be a human trafficking organization run by Russians that has lots of layers and connections to seedy underworld businesses. Cade is all business as he works his way through their chain of command to get the girl back.

While Statham is reliably good at the action, the plot gets harder and harder to believe as the movie goes on. The set-up is solid with the intriguing mystery about why she was taken. Cade seemingly has no money but during the investigation he suddenly has all sorts of surveillance equipment, several cars, several weapons, and wads of cash to pass himself off as a drug dealer. David Harbour's role is little more than a cameo--he provides an out-of-the-way place for Cade to stash his pre-teen daughter when "things get personal." Maybe I would have put up with the ridiculous stuff if the movie had more of a sense of humor like in other Statham movies or more convincing bad guys. 

Not recommended--this isn't terrible but it doesn't offer much entertainment either. 

Geocaching August 2025

The month started with our trip to Minnesota, so we made finds along the way out.

Our first find was in Hancock, Maryland. Old National Pike Mile Marker 96 is a mystery cache that was an easy and quick find, after solving the mystery. Our next stop was the next day in Ohio at one of the rest areas along their turnpike. What Is Your Final Destination? leans into the fact that cachers would only be here because they are on the road to another destination. Nobody jumps on a toll road just to get geocaches. At least, nobody I know. At least, they haven't admitted it. Also at that stop is the multi-cache Turnpike trivia 2 which requires an NFC device and then solving a simple crossword. We walked back to the car and drove away, forgetting it was a multicache. Once the crossword was solved, we got the final coordinates. Hopefully there will be another Minnesota trip in the future and we will remember to stop here?

On our way, we took a short jog off the highway to visit Michigan where we have never cached. I found sarepo.gnitsujda.gnirots, a mystery cache that was easy to solve before we even got there. The other Michigan cache was Oaklawn Shelter at a park with a playground that my children enjoyed. 

Playground at the shelter

We drove on to Janesville, Wisconsin, where I found Circle of Friendship, 50 Below, and Thank You Rogheff from Alex after dinner (so mostly in the dark). 

One of the Janesville parks

The next day we visited UW Madison which has a garden with a cache hidden in it.

Allen Centennial Garden cache

We finally made it to Minnesota. Our first full day there I found Rainbow Colors Challenge (a cache I have been working to qualify for), Stop (at a stop sign, naturally), and MnSQ: Green Lake Cemetery (a multi-cache). The finds were fairly easy though the neighboring grass was pretty high.

Cemetery

Tramping out a trail

In Cambridge (Minnesota), I found Smell Good For Church Pt. 2, which is part of a small series in town. The container made the title make sense.

A church to smell good for

We drove down to Eden Prairie and found a lot caches, including EP Veterans Park: Semper Fidelis, a multi-cache that takes some information off a list of locals who died in service of our country. The final was on a nearby bridge where I pretended to be a maintenance worker.

Veterans Park

Daniel R. Olsen

More of the memorial

Finding the final

"She Blinded Me With Science!" was a favorite of ours, a library cache. The first stage of this multicache was under a lamp post just outside the library. Unfortunately, it was also a wasps' home, so I had to use a lot of spray to make it accessible. The message pointed to a book inside, which we found quickly and safely.

Signing the book

Leaving a Pathtag

We also found a trivia series: Sports Team Trivia #2, #4, #8, #10, #11, and #12. The solutions were tricky, which is why I didn't find the other numbers since I couldn't solve them quickly. Maybe I will work on them for that next trip. A similar challenge limited me to Training Puzzle #2 Alphabet to Numbers, Training Puzzle #4 Google Is Your Friend, and Puzzle to Solve Puzzle to Solve Puzzle. 

In Isanti, Grandpa and I found Wayside Welcome!, Hwy 65 Tour: Cambridge, MARS Evil Lead Scout, and PANDA-ACME : PTG Part 1. Then we got a beer.

Best find ever?

Then we headed home and made some finds along the way. In Wisconsin, I found Guardrail #9 in the rain (thankfully a quick find), then later on in Indiana an earthcache--Richey Woods Nature Preserve Earth Cache, Righty, IndyScan Hide #6 Trucker Sam, and I signed Emilie's 3/4 Challenge, which requires 100 finds with the numerals 3 or 4 in the title (I am at 70, so not too far).

Nature trail

Bus stop in the woods!?!

On the final push home I found I-70 EB Rest Stop Cache in Ohio. Then, to fill out my counties in Maryland, we found a couple in the panhandle that are a long way from home--Mountain Light and Footer's Dye Works. 

The mountain light!

The dye works!

Back in our home area, I found Big City Cacher Challenge X since I made it to ten big cities with an Indianapolis cache. Other mystery/challenge caches filling in my calendar were Fetchez le Vache, A Mystery About Dragons, Falling Snow, and Omnicache. I also found a traditional cache that looks like a mystery: Gur dhvpx Trb-Whfgvpr Ntrag whzcf bire 14 ynml qbt, quite the mouthful! Translated, that's "The quick Geo-Justice Agent jumps over 14 lazy dog"--why no "s" at the end?

We made a quick visit to the Museum of American History in DC and I found The DC Bioretention Cells across the street--an earthcache about rain gardens in the city.

No spoiler photo

The next week had a trip to Baltimore, where I found the garage rooftop cache Light of Baltimore 2 along with Carter's Forgotten Legacy, No Malady Here, MDCT - John Cadbury, Cenosillicaphobia #11, and LoZ Series: Theives' Den Intro. 

On the rooftop

Fun sign at a local coffee shop where I got a drink

The Cenosillicaphobia Location

I finished out the month with the multicache Calculate & Dismantle, The Maryland Virtual Challenge II, 365 Challenge, and MDCT - Domenico Ghiradelli. The MDCT is the Maryland Chocolate Trail, a series that has been mostly archived, so I won't find many more. We did stop in at the local chocolate shop and got some truffles to go. We also did the Adventure Lab: Tour of Catonsville which started near the chocolate shop. 

Random picnic bench near the 365 cache

Box of chocolates (sort of)

The month ends with 57 finds in August 2025 and a grand total of 2029 finds.