Book Review: Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 29 by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo Volume 29: Two Hundred Jizo by Stan Sakai

More adventures from the rabbit ronin!

The Artist--Usagi teams up with an artist who has studied outside of Japan. The artist is a wanted man (in the bad way) for bringing different styles to the Japanese art world. He plans to travel to the new capital in Edo to make his case. Usagi goes along to keep him safe, but can he? The story is less interesting than this tidbit of historical Japanese isolationism.

Buntori--Usagi has visions of a previous combat and discovers the discarded skull of a warrior. This story seems more like filler than any plot advancement or character development. I enjoyed it but it was not as good as other Usagi stories.

Murder at the Inn--Inspector Ishida is escorting a prisoner to the city when he's attacked by the prisoner's gang. Usagi comes to the rescue and travels with Ishida as protection. They take shelter from a storm in a wayside inn. Other guests are there. Late in the night, one guest is killed and suspicion goes all around. Ishida is on the case and does a good job resolving the situation. The story is well-plotted and unfolds naturally.

Two Hundred Jizo--A local artisan is making two hundred statues of the god Jizo to protect his village from bandits who are terrorizing them. He had a dream where Jizo told him to do it. Usagi is skeptical but sticks around to help with the bandits. The story plays out as faithful readers would expect, so a good read.

Ice Runners--Usagi runs into an unusual summer sight--a group is racing through the forrest carrying something obviously valuable in a covered litter. The group is attacked and Usagi leaps to the rescue. In the aftermath, he discovers they are rushing a piece of ice from the mountains to the city as a gift for a visiting dignitary. Getting that ice into town before next morning is their highest priority, even above burying their fallen comrades. Usagi goes along as security, leading to another predictable but interesting ending.

Shoyu--Usagi gets involved in a rivalry between two soy sauce (the titular Shoyu) makers. He wanders into town late at night and discovers a group setting fire to a factory. Usagi raises the alarm and helps put out the fire. The local cop is corrupt and lazy, doing nothing other than threatening Usagi as an outsider who has no real evidence of a crime. On the other hand, Usagi is thanked by the factory owner who shows him around the next day (with a full explanation of how soy sauce is made) and the adventures continue. The ending is classic Usagi storytelling.

Afterward--Stan Sakai presents a tale he couldn't work into the regular series. It was inspired by another comic artist asking why there weren't any skunks in the Usagi world. So Stan made up a typical story with a fun payoff at the end.

Recommended, highly for Usagi fans. 

Movie Review: Dracula (1931)

Dracula (1931) directed by George Melford based on the novel by Bram Stoker

No, you did not read the line above wrong. This is not the Tod Browning-directed Bela Lugosi film, though the sets and props from that film were used here. This movie was made at the same time but in Spanish with a Spanish cast. When the Lugosi crew wrapped their day, the Spanish crew came in and filmed the same scenes, often using the exact same blocking and nearly identical (except for the language) dialogue. But there are plenty of departures too, which makes this interesting to watch.

The biggest question is how does anyone compare to Lugosi as the most famous vampire of all. Carlos Villarias has a very similar face and eyes and benefitted from seeing the dailies of Lugosi's performance. He doesn't have the long, bony fingers like Lugosi (so creepy!) and Villarias's eyes are a bit more expressive. Several characters in the story note how Count Dracula reacts like a wild animal to some situations (like being confronted with a cross). Villarias looks a lot more wild and dangerous than the more smooth and suave Lugosi. It's much easier to believe the "wild animal" descriptions of him. Both versions have extreme close-ups of the vampire's eyes and both are about as expressive in those shots, though Villarias has better glances in other situations. I can't comment on Vilarias's accent since I do not know Spanish and can't tell if he affects an eastern European-flavored delivery. Even with the language barrier, I can tell he does a good job delivering famous lines like "I never drink...wine" or "Listen to the children of the night. What music they make!" He does a very good job as the Count, I found his performance very enjoyable. It's hard to compete with the now-iconic Lugosi version.

Other characters have more or fewer differences from their English-speaking versions. The most notable change is Renfield, who was played by Dwight Frye in the English version. Frye is a fairly maniacal after he is turned by Dracula in Transylvania. Frye's Renfield does not do much to support the Count in England since he spends almost all his time in Seward's sanitarium. Pablo Alvarez Rubio in the Spanish version gives a much bolder and exciting performance. He has a much more maniacal laugh and does much more in support of his master, even as he waffles at times, wanting to protect Seward's daughter. Rubio's role is much larger than Frye's, probably because he gives a much better performance. The Spanish version of Mina is called Eva and is played by Lupita Tovar. She also is more expressive and active, displaying her emotions out in the open for Juan Harker (Barry Norton). Her wardrobe is more daring too, with some plunging necklines that reminded me of the Mary Shelly look at the beginning of Bride of Frankenstein. Van Helsing and Seward are fairly similar to their English-language counterparts, though the Spanish Van Helsing looks much younger. The late confrontation between Dracula and Van Helsing, where Dracula tries to mind-control Van Helsing like he had done to so many others, is a great scene in either version, but a bit better here.

This version of the film is almost a half hour longer than Lugosi's. That half hour is full of quality material, expanding characters and giving some more creepy atmosphere. If you liked Lugosi's version, you should definitely give this a try. I borrowed a Dracula DVD from my local library that had both versions on it to rewatch the Lugosi film. I finally gave in and watched the Spanish version (I've borrowed that DVD two times). I am very glad I did. It doesn't replace the Lugosi but is a very enjoyable companion piece.

Recommended, highly for Dracula movie fans (I know book fans have a lot of concerns about the truncation of the story to fit a movie version--same problem with the Spanish version).

TV Review: Stranger Things: Tales from '85 Season 1

Stranger Things: Tales from '85 Season 1 created by Jennifer Muro and Eric Robles based on the series created by the Duffer Brothers

Set between the second and third seasons of Stranger Things, the story here introduces a new kid, Nikki (voiced by Odessa A'zion), who joins up with Eleven (voiced by Brooklyn Davey Norstedt) and her friends. Nikki's mom is a substitute teaching science at Hawkins Middle School while the regular teacher is on a short sabbatical. What isn't on sabbatical is a group of new terrors from the Upside Down who didn't get eliminated in the sealing of the rift. As the baddies attack various kids, Eleven and the gang fight them. Nikki witnesses one fight and joins up, since she's a misfit too. She's a tinkerer and has a garage full of inventions that happen to be helpful in fighting the monsters of Hawkins. But can she survive the meta-problem of being a character not in the regular continuity?

The show is animated which has strengths and weaknesses. The entire cast is replaced visually with drawings. None of the original actors have returned to reprise their roles, which is a bit jarring. The creature effects work well. The script is okay. It introduces new people and monsters and features a twist or two to keep the suspense going amidst the action. But it can't really change anything big or introduce anything really new without breaking the larger narrative it's nested into. I mostly enjoyed the show but wasn't wowed. They write the characters like they are in the live action show  but there's nothing amazing or breath-taking. 

Mildly recommended--you definitely need to see the show before watching but it's not as good as the show. I may watch Season 2 when it comes out, but it won't be a priority.

As I publish this (May 2026), this is only available streaming on Netflix.

Book Review: Monkey Business by Simon Louvish

Monkey Business: The Lives and Legends of the Marx Brothers by Simon Louvish

This comprehensive biography starts with the arrival in America of the Marx Brothers' grandparents in the 1800s. Like many immigrants, they came to New York in search of a better life. Their mother, Minnie, encouraged them in theatrical and musical careers, which in the early 1900s meant vaudeville or the theater. The brothers started locally (lots of opportunities in NYC) and eventually toured all over the country with popular routines that morphed as they went along. Sometimes they fine-tuned routines; sometimes the bigger historical picture changed things. They dropped Groucho's German teacher character during World War I. Their ambitions took them to Broadway, radio, film, and (for Groucho) television. They had long careers, only breaking apart in the late 1940s when the creative juices flowed less and other concerns (mostly family) took over their lives. Groucho had another reinvention with the TV show You Bet Your Life, keeping himself in the limelight longer than his other brothers. The narrative ends with their deaths in the later half of the twentieth century.

At first, I was worried about the book moving slowly with a lot of the pre-Brothers period being documented in meticulous detail from the sketchy records of the nineteenth century. The interest picks up as the boys come on the scene and begin doing their different characters that blend so well together. Author Louvish has done a lot of research, sorting out the the myths, mistakes, and misdirections about the Marx Brothers' lives. He does occasionally imitate the style of the Marx Brothers with some jokey passages or comments about what's happening. Some of bits are clever, some land flat. They take the dullness off some of the narrative spots where things are barely happening. 

The book is entertaining and informative, providing some insight into the personalities of the boys off-stage as well as on-stage. I enjoyed it.

Recommended, especially for Marx Brothers fans.

Congress of Gamers Spring 2026

I attended one of the local board game conventions I've been thinking about going to for years. The Congress of Gamers provides a variety of services to the DC area gaming community. They have a list of game stores, calendars of local gaming events (meetups and conventions), and advice on managing or liquidating large game collections. The main thing they do is host board game conventions. Each year, they have three convention weekends in Rockville. They also organize a summer cruise from Baltimore. I went to the Spring 2026 convention.

The main gaming area

I got there at opening time since I was selling games at the auction store. Participants sign up ahead of time to sell items they no longer want. Sellers choose three different prices for each game and as the day goes by, the price drops two times. I sold half of what I offered, so I am happy with how it turned out. I only bought one game from the store at the end of the day, so I paid the cheapest price on Gutenberg. 

After I put my games in the auction store room, I went to one of the other rooms to play games. I saw another guy who wasn't playing and struck up a conversation. We decided to try out Bohnaza, a bean growing and selling game. After reading through the rules, it seemed a little complicated to start off with, so we switched to Gizmos, which I have played many times. Another fellow joined us and we had a good time.

We put the game back and started looking at the convention library shelves again. An organizer came up and asked if we'd be interested in a learning game about to be taught in the main room. Challengers is an award-winning game where players manage a small deck of cards. The cards represent a team playing Capture the Flag. Two players fight it out each round, shuffling their decks and playing the cards. The first player plays their first card and captures the flag regardless of the card. The next player has to play cards until their point value is equal to or greater than their opponent's card. That player then captures the flag and the opponent's card goes on "the bench." The winner's last card becomes his "flag holder" card (the rest of the cards are tucked underneath it) and the first player plays cards until his total is bigger than that single card. Then the flag moves back and the flag holder and any cards under him are benched. The round ends when one player runs out of cards or has too many benched cards. In the next round, players switch who they are playing against and have another go.

The twist is each round (including the first) the players draw five cards from another set of cards and add one or two to their deck. Play decks become asymmetrical, providing drama and excitement. The new cards might have higher numbers or special powers that make the game more exciting (and hopefully winnable).

Challengers card with list of opponents and the starting deck

Too many on the bench!

It was fun to play even if I did not do very well. It seems like a game that needs a lot of players (at least an even number). The play is not too complicated, the toughest part is choosing what cards to add to your deck. Players have the option of shedding cards too, though giving up too many means losing rounds by running out of cards.

Once that was done, I wandered around a bit and then played a blinged-out version of Wingspan. The owner (people bring their own games to the convention often) bought an insert to organize the components and painted some of the inserts. He also met designer Elizabeth Hargraves, who signed the back of the birdfeeder dice tower! 

Blinged-out Wingspan

We played with the hummingbird expansion, which adds a bit of complication. A separate board keeps track of hummingbirds coming and going to the three habitats. They provide bonuses (extra food, eggs, etc.) and also move tokens on an additional scoring track.

Hummingbird expansion bits

In the picture above, you can see that my player cubes were bald eagles! The guy really went all out making his game extra-nice.

We played through and I came in second, though I thought I did worse. The game has so many sources of victory points that tracking the scores is hard. Other players excelled at getting eggs and food but I had plenty of nectar bonuses and high-value birds.

My final habitats

The whole table

It was a lot of fun. After that, I went to the auction store for the last minute sales. Then I took my purchase to the car. I had a hard time finding another game. At this point, a lot of the tournament games were going, which I was not interested in. They had a room for unpublished games, where a designer would let players try out their games to get feedback. It did not look like any designers showed up for that. I wound up hanging around until the store closed. I picked up my leftover games and the payout for the ones that sold. Then I headed home.

The convention continued on Sunday but we had too many home obligations for me to return. That's the trouble with going to local conventions, all your other obligations are still around to distract you!

Book Review: Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3 by S. Lee et al.

Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 3 written by Stan Lee and art by Steve Ditko

Spider-man has more adventures as the original Lee/Ditko run continues. The stories are okay but are starting to blend together. Peter Parker still has a lot of drama around his relationships with Liz Allen, a fellow high school student who is also pursued by Flash Thompson, and Betty Brant, a fellow employee at The Daily Bugle who is also pursued by Ned Leeds. MJ Watson, the actual girl next door, is hinted at a lot but doesn't not make her famous appearance here. Aunt May has started her campaign to get Peter to meet her. Those dramas are interesting and play off against his obligations as Spider-man. He fights the usual rogues' gallery, a less compelling part of the stories. 

The writing style is still very hyperbolic and has a lot of dialogue bubbles. The fights don't have a lot of distinctness (though Spidey still does a lot of wisecracking as he's fighting) and Peter's problems keep repeating themselves (no money, girl trouble, Aunt May overly protective and secretly sick, etc.). I thought this volume was okay but my interest is waning. I was hoping to make it to the famous one-liner by MJ but it wasn't in this issue. I guess I keep going but it's not as fun as it was at the beginning.

Mildly recommended.

Movie Review: The Running Man (2025)

The Running Man (2025) co-written and directed by Edgar Wright

Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is a hard-working man down on his luck. He's been fired from his last job when he tried to protect his fellow workers, an attempt where he got too hot-headed, a common problem for him. His wife (Alyssa Benn) works at some sort of strip club though she does not get involved with the clientele. Their daughter is sick and needs medicine that they can't afford on her salary. Ben looks at going on a game show to get money even though they are dangerous reality shows. The biggest show is The Running Man, where three contestants try to survive for thirty days, fleeing from Hunters sponsored by the show and from the general public, also sponsored by the show because they can win money if they spot any of the runners. Ben goes to the network headquarters to sign up for a lesser show but his physicality and anger make him ideal for The Running Man. He gets shafted into it with the promise of a lot of cash, especially early payouts that will help his wife and daughter. But no contestant has survived the show--the best record was twenty-nine days in the first season. Ben goes on the run, hoping to survive, with a side motivation of taking down the show or at least its sleazy producer (Josh Brolin). And to reunite with his family, who have been taken into protective custody by the show.

The simple premise gets very convoluted as the movie moves along. The setting is a future dystopia where television is run by the government and is focused on pacifying the general public into accepting the way things are (which is pretty miserable). The TV sets have cameras built in so they can monitor the viewers, though Ben knows a blackmarket guy (William H. Macy) who can set him up with a new identity and papers since he does all the blackmarket things, like selling old TVs without surveillance equipment. Ben runs into some more underground characters as the movie continues, filling out a bit of the world. But not enough to be convincing or to make a coherent whole. Many moments in the plot seem like they want to be wry commentary on the in-movie society and also our own society, but the comments are not very insightful or believable. The action sequences are fun and Powell is charming enough in the lead.

Compared to the Schwarzenegger version from the 1980s, this is a very unsatisfying movie. Schwarzenegger is much more charming and believable as the hero. The 1980s movie is kind of dumb but it doesn't have real pretensions to greatness or desires to have more than superficial comments on the dangers and lies of reality TV. This retelling wants to be more serious and hard hitting but it still has a lot of the nonsensical moments found in the earlier movie. The difference is the 1980s version aims for entertainment and hits the mark dead on. This version aims for a bigger message but is all over the place tonally and thematically. A lot of the characters want to "Fight the Man" but there's no real resolution of that for Ben or the society as a whole. Nothing really changes at the end, which could be an interesting statement like the ending of Animal Farm but the film just does a conventional wrap-up of the narrative threads. I wanted and expected more from this remake, or at least the same fun and action. The film did not make either goal, leaving it scoreless.

Not recommended.

Game Review: Holiday Hijinks Master Detective Collection Part II

Holiday Hijinks Master Detective Collection published by Grand Gamers Guild and designed by Jonathan Chaffer

The Holiday Hijinks Collection gathers a dozen 18-card escape room games designed over the past several years by Jonathan Chaffer. Each game comes in a small tuck box and contains a mystery centered on a holiday theme. The games use a website to confirm correct solutions and provide hints if players find a puzzle too difficult. The website also provides some codes and other information that might be used in the puzzles (like Morse Code or ASCII, things like that). The designs are compact and meant to take an hour or so for one or more players to solve. I reviewed the first half of the box here, now for the second half of the collection!

The Turkey Trial (2023)

Life on the farm is getting a bit crazy. You notice because you are the turkey and the human family is eyeing you up. Sneaking a peek at their newspaper, you see the story of Thanksgiving and realize that you need to escape! Fortunately the other farm animals are ready to pitch in as long as you help them with their problems. 

The Thanksgiving theme works very well and is consistently appied. A lot of the puzzles involve food, which we enjoyed. We also worked through it very fast, finishing in under 25 minutes. We didn't use any hints, another gratifying point. Have we just gotten used to the style of puzzles or are we really that good? Either way, we had a good time and are glad not to be served for Thanksgiving dinner.

The Easter Escapade (2024)

You show up for your volunteer gig at the local community center to help with the Easter Egg hunt only to find nobody else there and none of the eggs hidden! Finding the eggs and hiding them in good spots while trying to figure out what happened to your co-workers takes up all your attention for the next hour or so.

The puzzles were not too hard in this one except for one or two. Typically, a set of four eggs needs hiding in a room of the community center, so figuring out which egg goes where is eighty percent of the work. The web site is critical for this, inputting where each egg is supposed to go. Thankfully, using the website is not the challenging part. We enjoyed these puzzles, which had a good variety, and the final resolution of the story was cute. 

The Marriage Mix-Up (2024)

You run the reception hall for a marriage that is happening soon. You get there and find the place is a wreck--table assignments are all over the place, confetti has been spread too early, mass hysteria! You work your way through puzzles to get things back in order and to find the culprit.

The new twist for this is the division of players (so no solo play for this one). Almost immediately, the group has to separate out into the Bride's group and the Groom's group, each with their own cards and puzzles. Each group can talk about the cards but not show the cards to the other group. The new and interesting challenge was fun, especially trying to describe images on the cards. The puzzles are not too hard, we used zero hints. The final resolution was humorous if unlikely. A lot of fun!

The Leprechaun Larceny (2025)

You are about the celebrate March's most popular holiday, Saint Patrick's Day, at the local festival when a short man enlists your aid in a "quest for lost treasure." Naturally, the guy is a leprechaun and he wants his treasure back. So a fantastical adventure begins as you solve puzzles to find and restore his pot of gold.

The game has the usual assortment of puzzles that we found mostly easy. One or two were very challenging, blending multiple codes available on the game's website. We used two hints, which lost us half a star in the final score. We had a good time playing this, but maybe the series is running out of steam?

The New Year Nightmare (2025)

Going back to the inventor's house from The Groundhog Gambit, players get stuck in another time-looping adventure, bouncing back between Father Time and Baby New Year (though not literally). 

This game has similar duplicating puzzles like The Groundhog Gambit, which can be a little frustrating or amazing. Here, things move faster, coming in under an hour of playtime. We enjoyed it but felt more like it was a lesser copy of The Groundhog Gambit rather than an awesome sequel. We certainly had fun, but not as much fun as before. 

The Krampus Caper (2025)

Santa Claus and the Missus have gone on a tropical vacation, leaving you and Krampus to fill in for the Christmas delivery run. Krampus, being the one who delivers bad things to the kids on the naughty list, has some ideas about what to do, but also many wrong ideas. You work with him to get the North Pole production on track, get the reindeer and sleigh in order, and head off on the world-wide journey of gift giving. If you can just avoid giving lumps of coal to everyone.

This has the usual variety of puzzles that are more or less challenging while being more and more fun. We didn't have any big problems, except when we hit the rows and columns puzzle. We kept getting small details wrong until we worked it out properly. This was a fun finish to the set of calendar conundrums.

As I write this (May 2026), there are two more in the series, so maybe they will keep designing these until they run out of holidays. We will definitely be shopping for these extras, even if they won't fit in the cute box seen above.

Book Review: Darwin and Doctrine: The Compatibility of Evolution and Catholicism by Daniel Kuebler

Darwin and Doctrine: The Compatibility of Evolution and Catholicism by Daniel Kuebler

The supposed conflict between science and religion is the basis for a lot of arguments from people at the far end of both camps. Rather than meet in the middle by finding out about each other's positions, they hunker down in their trenches and lob truth bombs at each other. After several hundred years of conflict, you'd think they'd adopt a different tactic. For such people, the "I'm right, you're wrong" victory is more important than reconciling differences by finding the complicated, integrated truth together.

Daniel Kuebler seeks just such a reconciliation. Operating from the Catholic assumption that there is no genuine conflict between faith and reason, a concept that dates back at least as far as Saint Augustine, he looks at historic understandings of the issues. On the Catholic side, he details the growing understanding of the first chapters of Genesis and how a literal historical interpretation is both unnecessary and unlikely. The origin of the universe is described from a theological perspective at a time when the best science was a nascent science. Sure, a fundamentalist mentality can be found throughout Christian history. But wiser heads can also be found who have taken science seriously and made strides to reconcile the claims of science and the claims of Christianity. On the science side, Kuebler delves into the understanding of evolution as found in Darwin's writings which is quite different from what is asserted by many of Darwin's followers. Evolution is more complicated and incorporates more influences than natural selection. Other natural processes are involved. Digging into the details of current scientific thinking about evolution yields a more complicated and nuanced understanding of how species like homo sapiens came into existence and developed into prominence.

One issue in the debate is a matter of demarcation. Science is great at discovering and explaining processes in the natural world, including the relationships between living organisms (and those that used to live but have been relegated to the fossil record). Theology is great at discovering and explaining relationships between the divine and the human and how that impacts the lives of rational beings. Science and theology look at relationships of things but in different ways and with different ends in mind. They do not have two separate fields of truth, they have two related fields that can inform one another. 

This book is fascinating reading. It is written for a general audience, eschewing highly technical details in science and in theology. But the explanations get into enough detail to make their points. Also, the book is as up-to-date as can be, using the most current advances in both fields to establish how they can be reconciled with each other and provide mutual support and insight.

Highly recommended.

SAMPLE QUOTE:

"Much of the perceived conflict between evolution and Catholicism stems from a failure to distinguish what can legitimately be read from the Book of Nature and what can legitimately be read from the Book of Scripture. While scientific discovery--the 'reading' of the Book of Nature--can uncover how the planets move or how species are related, it cannot fully explain the purpose of man or answer why a universe that is order to support life exists in the first place." [p. 248]

Purple Playground Replacement

One of our children's favorite playgrounds was at the North Laurel Community Center. It was dubbed "the purple playground" because most of the equipment was a pleasant shade of purple. I've blogged about it here and here. 

The community center opened fairly recently (a little over ten years ago) and the plan was to add on a pool at some point. That time has finally come, which meant the removal of the purple playground as they extended the building to add the pool. As they were finishing up, new playground equipment came to replace the previous structures. My kids' initial reactions were, "It's not as good," though that was before they even tried it. We finally went last month to check it out.

"Green and blue playground" doesn't have the same ring to it

The area is about the same size but has a lot of different equipment, including a slightly taller slide and a sleeping bear. The bear was the first thing we saw walking in. It's clearly designed for smaller children to crawl through the log, so my kids did not do that. They did sit on the bear.

Ride 'em, cowgirl!

Shouldn't they let sleeping bears lie?

I thought one panel on the playground looked like a distressed face, though maybe I am the only one who can see it. 

Don't judge me!

A new spinning web climber is fun but not as great as the much larger structures that can be found at other playgrounds. This playground is focused on the pre-teen crowd, so I suppose they don't want anything too dangerous.

Climbing to the top is easy

Trying to get more spin

Another climber looks to me like an Apollo space capsule, but that might just be me.

Top of a rocket?

Don't take our picture!

Overall, the kids were surprised and satisfied with the new playground. We won't be coming as often as we used to when they were smaller, but we probably will go back. Or maybe play before or after visiting the new pool!

Book Review: Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Vols. 1 & 2

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Volume 1 story by Takaya Kagami and art by Yamato Yamamoto

In the not too distant future, humanity is decimated by a virus that they invented. The vampires come up from underground and kidnap children, hoping to get control of their food supply which has suddenly dwindled. The story starts with a group of orphans from Hyakuya Orphanage who are planning an escape. Mika is reluctant since he's been giving blood willingly to get favors, but that's a ruse to get access to maps and information to make the escape likely. His friend Yuichiro is a bit of a loner but goes along. The plan goes awry when the vampire Lord Ferid shows up just before they hit the exit. A battle ensues, leaving one of them to escape to the surface where all is not as it seems.

The story is an interesting and creative setup. The world is a lot more complicated than the initial premise that the orphans hear, which is a good thing. The story above ground builds a lot more structure to enable an interesting future for the series. I am hooked!

Recommended.

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Volume 2 story by Takaya Kagami and art by Yamato Yamamoto

Four years later, Yuichiro has joined the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. The army's purpose is to wipe out the vampires, something Yuichiro is ready and willing to do. To prove he's able, he has to go through academic classes and training, which is not what he wants. Worse, the teachers want him to learn teamwork, even setting him with Kimizuki, another kid who thinks he's ready and able to take out vampires. They have to pass a test to get Cursed Gear--weapons that will kill vampires. That training is a lot tougher than it seems. Meanwhile, Yuichiro's friend Mika, who supposedly died in their escape from the underground four years ago, is revealed to still be alive, though maybe not technically since he is now a vampire working against the humans.

I was a little disappointed with the story when it shifted into the typical manga school drama that's in so many other stories. By the end of this volume, it looks like they will pull out of that narrative and get back to more direct action. The developments around the Cursed Gear are interesting, since they are weapons that are possessed by demons, thus giving them enhanced power. I guess I am sticking around for more.

Mildly recommended.

 

Movie Review: Spare Parts (2015)

Spare Parts (2015) directed by Sean McNamara

Based on a true story, this movie tells the story of four Mexican teens living in America who form a robotics club at their high school. Oscar (Carlos PenaVega) wants to join the US Army but can't since he doesn't have a US birth certificate. He sees a poster for an underwater robotics competition and decides to try for that. His high school science teacher is on maternity leave and Fredi Cameron (George Lopez) is the recently-hired substitute. He's an engineer drifting from job to job and only hosts the robotics club because the principal (Jamie Lee Curtis) said no one would show up. Oscar has a lot of heart and determination so Fredi tells him to recruit some other members and then they will try. Oscar gets a math nerd and a mechanical genius since they have skills needed to make the robot work. They recruit a fourth guy who is strong enough to take the robot in and out of the water. With the crew assembled, they have to work their way through personal and project problems to make it to the competition in Santa Barbara, California.

This is a classic underdog sports story with the sport being robotics. Fredi is the inspirational coach who helps the boys make it to the competition and also help them with their personal lives and get focus for their futures. Lopez does a good job--the screenplay leans into his comedy background. The boys' undocumented immigrant status throws up lots of personal obstacles. They also face the challenge of building a functional robot with minimal resources. The story is entertaining and heartwarming if not surprising. It gets the blend of humor and drama right and has good performances all around.

Recommended.

TV Review: Secrets of the Silent Witch (2025)

Secrets of the Silent Witch (2025) created by Matsuri Isora

In Monica Everett's world, magic is created by chanting formulas and using mana. She is a horrible candidate for magecraft since she is extremely shy and withdrawn around other people, hardly ever speaking up. But she has a lot of mana and works hard, discovering how to craft magic without chanting. So she becomes the Silent Witch. Her abilities are great enough that she becomes one of the Seven Sages, the greatest magic-wielders. But she still would rather be surrounded by books than by people. She retreats to a mountain cabin where she studies and writes. This idyll is ruined when another of the Sages comes to her with an assignment. Second Prince Felix is attending school at a prestigious academy but threats have come against his life. The other Sages are too old to pass for students at the school (and thus protect the prince in secret). But Monica looks the right age because she is the right age. She reluctantly goes to the school where she needs to befriend others and surreptitiously defend the prince from any would-be assassins. 

Monica's character is very charming and sympathetic. Her awkwardness around others is a common problem, especially among teenagers. She loves books and numbers, often assessing others based on mathematical ratios or solving problems by calculating out things. She slowly gains friends, mostly people who want to help her fit in or excel at the school. Her intelligence lets her save the prince more than once while her style of interacting helps keep suspicion off of her. The show moves at a slow pace, working through various prestigious school challenges like tea parties, horseback riding, ballroom dancing, and chess. And assassination attempts. The situations provide humor as well as character and plot development. It's a very enjoyable watch.

Recommended.

Book Review: Peace Be With You! by Pope Leo XIV

Peace Be With You! My Words to the Church and the World by Pope Leo XIV

This book collects the speeches and sermons that Pope Leo XIV gave just after he was elected pope in 2025. In addition to addresses to Catholics and the world at large, many of his speeches are to various departments of the Vatican and to groups visiting the Pope. While this book superficially seems like a cash grab (publishing a lot of thematically unrelated works just to get a book out ASAP), it does provide some insights into Leo's style and influences.

He emphasizes the need for collaboration and support when he talks to the Vatican diplomatic corps, the College of Cardinals, or the media gathered in Rome. He has a real sense of the momentousness of his task and the humility to realize that he cannot do everything on his own (what pope has?). He talks about the importance of synodality, the initiative to incorporate input from all levels of the Catholic Church into the decision making and governing of the Church. The process is controversial because it does not have parameters appropriate to its purpose or even a clearly-defined goal.  

What is clear is the influence from and admiration for Saint Augustine and Pope Francis. Before he was pope, Leo was ordained an Augustinian, eventually serving as Prior General for that order. He references Augustine as much as anyone in his talks. He also cites preaching and writings of Pope Francis often. He isn't exclusive to those two sources but they clearly have a dominant influence on his thoughts. So Leo emphasizes the preferential option for the poor and the need for humble service.

The book gives some idea of the man elected pope last year (as I write). It's not a full picture, like a biography or autobiography. It's not a coherent whole on a specific topic, like an encyclical or an extended interview. But it's a start. I look forward to learning more about and from Leo XIV.

Mildly recommended.

SAMPLE TEXT:

On the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, preaching to some men about to be ordained as priests, "...the history of Peter and Paul shows us that the communion to which the Lord calls us is a unison of voices and personalities that does not eliminate anyone's freedom. Our patron saints followed different paths, had different ideas, and at times argued with one another with evangelical frankness. Yet this did not prevent them from living the concordia apostolorum, that is, a living communion in the Spirit, a fruitful harmony in diversity." [p. 233]

Cute Kid Pix April 2026

More photos that didn't make their own posts...

Since Easter Sunday was a rainy day, we did an egg hunt inside the house before heading off to Mass. Later on, we had brunch at a friend's home.

Checking the shelves

Into the living room

Geocaching took me to one of Maryland's haunted places...Cry Baby Bridge. The legend goes that a distraught young woman threw her baby into the river below to avoid the scandal of out-of-wedlock motherhood. Another version has her driving a car off the bridge and dying though her child was not found. On dark, windy nights the baby can be heard crying, or so the story goes. The other story about the bridge is that the Maryland Goatman can be seen by people hanging around after dark.

Not so scary on a sunny spring morning

Another geocache had me discovering one of the boundary markers for the District of Columbia. The markers were put down in the 1790s when a survey team that included Benjamin Banneker marked off the 10-mile square area for the capital of the newly-formed United States of America. This particular marker is now in Virginia, part of the square given back to that state.

Imprisoned boundary marker

Yet another geocache had me visiting Brighton Dam, which blocks the Patuxent River and thereby creates the Triadelphia Reservoir. Right next to the reservoir is the Brighton Dam Azalea Garden which was in full bloom.

Triadelphia Reservoir seen from the dam

Road on the dam

Azalea garden seen from the dam

Entrance sign--do not enter!

Pink and red

White close up

Brighton Dam seen from the garden

My son was in a school production of The Comedy of Errors in the role of Antipholus of Syracuse, one of the main characters. He was brilliant. They had a big cast, so they had two different sets of actors play the main characters in alternating performances. In the other cast, my son was part of the Greek Chorus that did exposition drops at the beginning, end, and wherever needed in between.

Talking

Fighting

Chorusing

Bowing

Book Review: Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man by J. Tynion et al.

Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man written by James Tynion IV, art by Dani, and colors by Brad Simpson

A new version of the horror classic The Invisible Man is crafted by James Tynion. Jack Griffin is an obsessed scientist. He's studying monocaine powder, which has very unusual properties. Griffin wants to work in secret but he shares a lab under the tutelage (and financing) of Doctor Cranley. He's also been hanging out with Cranley's daughter Flora, who believes in him and wants to get married. But Griffin is much more interested in his monocaine-based formula which will cause a living being to become invisible. As he becomes more successful, he becomes more obsessed, more secretive, and less humane than ever.

The book does a good job creating a new storyline for the classic character. His larger story arc is familiar but plenty of details have been changed, resulting in new suspense and horror. He already has sociopathic tendencies even before he's exposed to monocaine's influence. The art underlies his secretiveness and hostility, with Griffin's face typically shaded in an environment already full of blackness, figuratively and literally. This is one of the better adaptations of the Universal Monsters canon.

Recommended.

Movie Review: Thrash (2026)

Thrash (2026) written and directed by Tommy Wirkola

A massive hurricane is about to hit the Atlantic coast town of Annieville. Most people evacuate but the story naturally follows those who stay (or are caught) behind. Dakota (Whitney Peak) lost her mom a couple of months ago and is living an agoraphobic life so she doesn't make it out. Her uncle Dr. Dale Edwards (Djimon Hounsou) is a shark expert working north of the storm and sets out to rescue her with the help of a self-serving TV crew that wants to get great footage of the disaster. Lisa (Phoebe Dynevor) is a very pregnant meat company worker who leaves the local plant too late to make it out and gets trapped in her car as the waters rise outside Dakota's house. Meanwhile, three foster kids get trapped in their home when their adoptive parents insist on waiting out the storm until its too late. The big problem is sharks. They've come in with the storm surge, partly drawn by a truck full of meat-packing waste that fills the town waters (even though the foster kids live live much further out of town). The storm and the sharks menace everyone.

Director Wirkola has a track record of high-concept/medium delivery films (Dead Snow, Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters, Violent Night). He has some interesting ideas here but so many things don't make sense. When the truck of chum breaks open, why does the blood and gore go out to sea when the storm surge is pushing everything inland? Why are the foster parents getting checks from the US Treasury and not a local foster care agency? How does their "snorkel-equipped" pickup truck even work? The execution just is not well thought out. The movie is not exciting enough to cover over the big holes in believability and it takes itself too seriously to laugh off the dumb ideas. 

Not recommended--we need a better shark movie!

Food on the Spring 2026 NYC Trip

On the way up, we stopped for pizza in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. We drove a little further for dessert at The Shoppes of Premise Maid. We found a geocache, had some ice cream, and bought a treat for our NYC hostess. I had their Shoo Fly Pie ice cream in a pretzel cone. My wife called it the most Pennsylvanian thing I could order.

Entrance to heaven

"Educational" part of the store--how they make stuff

Me and my ice cream

We made it to New York in time for the dinner rush. We got ramen at Ramen Ishida Chelsea, just north of where we were staying. I had a bowl of the Plant Based Shoyu, with broth, bamboo, bok choi, corn, bell pepper, bean sprouts, and other delightful bits. It was delicious.

Fancy bowl at no extra charge!

A happy client

The second day, we had breakfast and lunch at Google NYC, so no pictures there. Then we made pasta for dinner at our home away from home, which was not very photo worthy either. The next day we had bagels for breakfast from a nearby bagel place, Sofia's. They were great. I had a cinnamon raisin bagel.

Sofia's Bagels

We were in the theater district for lunch and had to rush so we had some McDonalds (no pictures of that). For dinner, we tried out a very popular hot bar at Tashkent Market (a supermarket in the Village). I got the Kutabi with Spinach, an Azerbajani flat bread stuffed with spinach and other good things.

The store spells it "kutabi"

For dessert, we went to Salt and Straw, a local ice cream shop with custom flavors (along with classic flavors). I had the Coconut Cherry Pie with Almond Crust ice cream (two desserts in one!). They were making special salted brownie waffle cones, so I couldn't resist getting that. It was amazing. If I lived here, I would go at least once a week, if not more often. Maybe I would get a job there?

Coconut Cherry Pie ice cream

The next day was our final morning in the city, so we got bagels again (had to finish the leftover cream cheese!). If the ice cream shop had been open, I would have gone there again!

Maybe they will open one in our hometown?