Movie Review: The Fourth Wise Man (1985)

The Fourth Wise Man (1985) directed by Michael Ray Rhodes

Artaban (Martin Sheen) is a Magi in Persia who has seen the signs foretelling a new king of the Jews. He wants to join his three friends, Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior, on their pilgrimage west to find this child prophesied to be a ruler of the world. Artaban's father (Ralph Bellamy) wants Artaban to stay and be the next ruler of the Magi, a prestigious and prosperous position. Artaban insists on going so the father sends a trusted slave, Orontes (Alan Arkin), on the trip, promising him freedom if Orontes returns his son safely to Persia. Artaban sells all his goods and buys two rubies and a pearl of great value to bring as gifts for the new king. The delay in departing means Artaban misses the three magi's caravan and he has to finance his own, forcing him to sell one of the rubies. He's always one step behind the messiah, no thanks to the very reluctant Orontes. They wind up at a leper colony outside Jerusalem where Artaban uses his medical knowledge to alleviate the suffering. He also helps them to plant crops and become self-sufficient. Orontes grumbles about this life for thirty years until he finally discovers that Jesus is in Jerusalem and is clearly the Messiah Artaban is looking for. By this point Artaban is old and having heart problems, but still he goes to try and complete his mission.

The short novel The Other Wise Man by Henry van Dyke was published in 1895 and has been adapted numerous times in the following century. This TV movie has some good production values, with authentic desert settings and period clothing. Arkin's role is mostly comic relief, complaining about the delay in returning to Persia. Sheen gives a good performance as a man driven by mission who starts living a Christ-like life without ever meeting Christ. The plot has no surprises and ends with an Easter encounter between Artaban and the risen Jesus which ties a bow on the theme of serving your fellow man. It is a heart-warming tale if not particularly challenging or surprising.

Mildly recommended. I enjoyed this but I am not sure I will rewatch it.

The movie is available for streaming on Formed, a Catholic streaming service.

Book Review: When a Loved One Dies by Suicide by E. Shoener et al.

When a Loved One Dies by Suicide edited by Deacon Ed Shoener and Bishop John P. Dolan and published by the Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers

With the death of our son Jacob, we have been looking out for resources to help deal with the loss. Several people recommended this book (with its accompanying video series) for a contemporary Catholic viewpoint. While Church teaching has not changed on suicide, understanding of the nuances of situations has increased. In many cases, mental illnesses and psychological disorders have a dramatic impact on the freedom people exercise in making choices. With a firm eye on pastoral concerns, this book provides ideas and examples to help those grieving the loss of a loved one to suicide.

Each chapter focuses on one person's experience dealing with the loss of a loved one. No one has an easy time, though often the hardships show up in surprising ways. Sometimes co-workers or friends become more distant or act as if nothing has happened. But for the grieved everything has changed and feelings of guilt and abandonment can be exacerbated. The person explains how they have processed their thoughts and emotions, coming to a better place after the shock and horror of the first days, weeks, months, and even years after the loss.

While the book is focused on Catholic teachings, perspectives, and experiences, a lot of the content is valuable to anyone dealing with the suicide of a loved one. The people talk about understanding the mental state and challenges their loved ones faced (many struggled with depression or bipolar disorder). They struggle to understand why God would allow this to happen and what does it mean for their own lives. This book gives pathways to hope, to peace, that don't require membership in the Catholic Church (though certainly fellow Christians can follow 90 per cent of the way). We are Catholic and found it helpful, though the road ahead is long.

The book has a video series that goes with it on the Formed streaming service.

Kayaking in Annapolis March 2025

We rented kayaks from Paddle Annapolis, a small company on the Eastport peninsula at the end of March 2025. With a spring break vacation in Virginia Beach looming, we wanted to practice our skills before hitting more challenging work much further down the Chesapeake Bay. 

The company has a small and easy launch into Spa Creek.

Mom and youngest getting into their kayak

A successful launch

She launched earlier

Spa Creek is on the south side of downtown Annapolis, where the Capitol and the Naval Academy and the tourist bits are located. The creek is lined with lots of large and impressive houses, along with numerous personal docks and boats.

Downtown thataway!

We headed up the creek, leaving downtown for the return trip since the wind would favor us on the way back.

Ships near the launch area

We had fun going under Compromise Street/6th Street bridge (which we drove over to get to the kayak place).

Nicely in sync

Crossing on the left

I went through the middle of the bridge, the draw bridge part, and enjoyed seeing the signs. I am not sure what the speed limit sign is (miles or knots or metric) but I am sure I was not exceeding it.

If you need the phone number at this point, you are in trouble

Interesting height gauge

Looking up at the road

On the other side, traffic was not too busy. We had fun waving to larger boats going in the other direction.

We had this boat surrounded (see the blue kayak on the other side?)

Some fancy houses

A mega-house

Snacking on the water was fun though I had trouble docking with the other boats in the middle of the water.

Powering up for more rowing

Two thirds of our fleet

More houses and docks

Doesn't want her picture taken

More photophilic

Houses ready for high water

A dog barking at us

We saw the Charles Carroll House from the water, with the spire of Saint Mary's Catholic Church behind it.

Historic home

Going back under the bridge

On the way back under the bridge, we turned left at the Annapolis Yacht Club to paddle down Ego Alley, a small branch of Spa Creek leading into downtown.

Annapolis Yacht Club

The Naval Academy

The gas station!

We saw some birds on the water but it was hard to get close enough to get a picture before they would scatter. The ducks by downtown were more photophilic.

Sittin' on the dock of the bay

Hoping for some droppings?

The downtown waterfront

More of the same

On the way back to the kayak rental place, I was able to photograph one of the birds that hangs out on the buoys. 

Watch out for that other boat!

This Harry-Potter themed boat made me laugh.

Is it the broom or the ball?

After returning our kayaks we headed back to an old favorite, the Iron Rooster, for lunch. I ordered the Crab Hash, which was delightful.

An earned meal

TV Review: Il commissario Montalbano (1999-2021)

Il commissario Montalbano (1999-2021) directed by Alberto Sironi based on the novels by Andrea Camilleri

Inspector Salvo Montalbano (Luca Zingaretti) is the head of police in Vigata, a fictional town on Sicily. His life would seem to be idyllic with his seaside home where he goes for a swim every morning. But people being people, plenty of crimes occur even in an idyllic seaside town. His station has a lot of other officers who help him investigate, from the lowly (and comic relief) Catarella (Angelo Russo), who answers the phones and does computer work (a rarer skill in the early 2000s) to Augello (Cesare Bocci) and Fazio (Peppino Mazzotta), the main subordinates who do a lot of the leg work. Montalbano occasionally deals with his supervisor, a police chief with political ambitions from a nearby town. The cast also includes Montalbano's long-distance girlfriend Livia (Katharina Bohm) who comes to visit often and is just as often put off by Montalbano because of his duties. So she's long-distance and long-suffering. An assortment of other characters recur, like his cook and some other friends.

The police work is more like a cozy mystery, with a lot of interviews and figuring out what happened based on evidence and testimony. Each show has some action sequences, typically a group of officers searching a building or area for a suspect or a vital clue. Sometimes there is a car chase, though Italian driving being what it is, a lot of the times I was nervous watching how aggressively they drove in the tight streets of the town even when they weren't chasing someone. They mysteries are satisfying, usually having two or three different crimes that tie together by the end of the episode.

The first ten episodes represent the first four seasons of the show (from 1999 to 2002). The episodes range from an hour and a half to two hours, so basically each one is a feature-length movie. The entire series is 37 episodes spanning over twenty years, with most years having two or four episodes and some years skipped. I've enjoyed them immensely (the one where he adopts a dog who was the seeing-eye dog of a murdered blind man was my favorite) and will keep watching.

The show would probably be rated TV-MA in America, because a lot of topless women show up, sometimes in sexual situations that are brief but striking. They have appeared in almost every episode I have watched so far. Is all Italian TV like that? The characters use salty language sometimes too. The violence is fairly minimal, like on Columbo or Murder, She Wrote. It's there but it is not particularly gory and is usually off-screen.

Recommended--highly for adults.

This series is available streaming on Kanopy, available from local libraries.

Book Review: Destroy All Humans Vol. 2 by K. Ise and T. Yokota

Destroy All Humans, They Can't Be Regenerated Volume 2 written by Katsura Ise and illustrated by Takuma Yokota

See my review of Volume 1 here!

To improve their standing in the Magic: The Gathering world, teens Kano and Sawatari go with their local MTG store owners to Tokyo during summer break to play at the DCI Tournament Center. The center has MTG tournaments all the time. The only downside is that the center is full of adults, a bit off-putting for the teens. Kano finds another youngster, Yakumo Suwabara, at a table by himself. He strikes up a conversation and they play a casual game where Kano easily defeats Suwabara. Once the contest is started, Sawatari and Suwabara are paired off. Suwabara is a bit nervous to play a pretty girl but he plays well because he was just using a "fun deck" earlier. The tournament ends with an unacknowledged love triangle between Kano, Suwabara, and Sawatari. The drama plays out from there.

The plot moves in an expected direction. The characters are charming enough to keep it engaging. The Japanese world of MTG is interesting to see, though I really know nothing about the American world of MTG, so it is all new to me. The game play is depicted well, imagining the monsters from the cards attacking opponents. Kano and Sawatari's slow blossoming romance is fun to see. I look forward to the next volume.

Recommended.

Movie Review: The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

The Hitch-Hiker (1953) co-written and directed by Ida Lupino

This harrowing film noir based on actual events follows two friends (Edmond O'Brien and Frank Lovejoy) who are driving to Mexico for a fishing weekend. They pick up a hitch-hiker, Emmett Meyers (William Talman), who has been on a nation-wide crime spree. He kidnaps those he picks up, eventually killing them for their money. Meyers wants them to drive him to a certain town, though he plays some games with them on the way. The friends are caught in the moral quandary of trying to protect each other while also coming up with a way out that isn't what Meyers is planning.

This tightly-paced film (clocking in at only 71 minutes) keeps the tension high. Talman does a great job as the menacing and intelligent Meyers. He clearly has a lot of practice manipulating whoever he has kidnapped. The larger manhunt is shown through the police investigation and radio news, just enough to know how close the law is to getting them. Meyers also knows how close, which puts pressure on him, subsequently putting pressure on the friends as well. The Mexican countryside is expansive and bleak, leaving little hope to the friends and the viewers. It's an exciting story that goes quickly but stays with you.

Highly recommended.

Brookside Gardens March 2025

We visited Brookside Gardens to enjoy the spring weather (80 degrees Fahrenheit in March!). The flowers weren't quite blooming yet but the gardens are still a peaceful place to visit. A lot of people were there enjoying the first taste of summer-like weather.

We saw a couple of spheres, one of which is part of a geocache.

Metal sphere in the Maple Terrace

How much patience to put this together?

The Wedding Gazebo does host special events but it is in the middle of the gardens. The white and purple flowers around it are lovely.

Wedding Gazebo

Flowers close up

Other early bloomers

By the Children's Garden is a bug hotel, a happy home from which pollinators do their job.

Plenty of vacancies

The garden has a small labyrinth nestled between two ponds. 

Pond with island and labyrinth

Walking the labyrinth

Can you spot the turtle in the pond?

Easier in real life

Also, it blends in with the water

Beautiful trees by the garden

Out by the road is the 40th Anniversary Grove, another quiet spot for relaxing. It is a bit out of the way from the rest of the gardens and was empty!

The stream that separates the Anniversary Grove from the rest

Sitting area

The gardens also have a virtual geocache, so I took a picture by the Formal Garden and Greenhouses.

Getting geo-credit

Typically, we visit Brookside in the winter for their Christmas lights. It's nice to come in the daytime and in warmer weather to enjoy the garden part of the gardens.