Book Review: Black Hammer Vol. 3 by J. Lemire et al.

Black Hammer Volume 3: Age of Doom Part 1 written by Jeff Lemire, art by Dean Ormston, colors by Dave Stewart, and lettering by Todd Klein

Now that Lucy, the daughter of the original Black Hammer, has taken up her father's weapon, she remembers where the heroes of Spiral City really are--not on a farm just outside a small town called Rockwood. Just as she's about to spill the beans, she's transported to (another) alternate reality, from which she will have to find her way back to the farm. The other heroes go looking for her. Abe and Mark get distract from their search when their love lives unexpectedly get back on track. The others have limited success, especially the robot Talky Walky who is put out of commission by someone who doesn't want the truth of where they are revealed.

Lucy's bizarre adventures through imaginary alternate realities are fun and weird. She eventually gets back to where everyone else is with the shocking revelation of where they really are. It makes a fun twist and I can't wait to read more of their adventures, now that their mundane lives are suddenly made much more interesting.

Recommended.

School Spring Concerts 2019

My eldest children had their school spring concerts recently, featuring many fine pieces of music. The  school bands performed at a local high school which has a theater with a stage and audience seating. The location was much better than the elementary school's cafetorium (yes, that is what they call it--cafeteria and auditorium in one).

The orchestra in a proper venue

My daughter's group, the fourth grade Advanced Orchestra, played three individual pieces, followed by a full orchestra (including the third graders, who are new to orchestra) rendition of Queen's We Will Rock You. Here's the highlights:



Later, my son performed with the school's band. I managed to spot him as he was coming in.

Taking a seat on stage

They played three pieces quite well, including Circle of Life from The Lion King.



We had fun and look forward to more concerts in the future.

FRES Carnival 2019

Forest Ridge Elementary School had its annual spring carnival, which is irresistible to our children. Well, mostly irresistible. As we walked in, we saw some food trucks. We had just come from our godson's First Communion lunch and were full up on food. We were not hungry at all.

The food trucks getting business from other people

The star attractions of the carnival were the inflatable obstacle courses and race track. We spent a long time enjoying those.

Inflatable attractions!

First, they tried the race track. Blown up horses have to bounce along a plastic sheet from the starting gate to the finish line. Whoever can bounce the best (which includes going straight forward) wins.

And they're off!

Winning by a hand

A lone rider

A lone winner

I thought the obstacle course would be too challenging for the pre-scholar but he wanted to go anyway. He ran against his big brother. Big brother naturally won, but my youngest was able to finish the course without any help, so it was definitely a victory for him.

Brothers almost neck and neck

Big brother in the lead

Little brother facing a big challenge

About to slide down

He made it to the end!

The older children went back inside for the carnival games. The youngest tried out the last bouncy castle, which was another short obstacle course. Unfortunately, he could not get up the ladder/staircase inside. I cheered him on. Each attempt resulted in sliding down the side. When the time was up, he was supposed to get out. I argued with him about going backward through the course. That's when it happened. The gas powering the generator that powered the air pump ran out. So the air pump stopped. And the inflatable started to deflate. The operator went in to get him. The moment was scary. We all managed to stay calm and everything turned out alright in the end. My son was a little upset but physically fine.

The collapsed inflatable (after my son got out)

We went inside to see what the other kids were up to and try out some carnival games.

Bowling

Putting

Using extra strokes

Fishing

Hitting the spot

Each game cost one checkmark on the kid's play card. Once the card was all checked off, the card was turned in at the prize table. Picking something out was like a bonus carnival game.

Having a ball choosing a ball

The carnival was exciting and fun. The kids tried the cake walk but didn't win. That's fine because we wound up with leftover First Communion cake which has lasted us for quite a while.

The gym slowly emptying out

We are enjoying the signs of summer coming. This carnival is one of the first.

Book Review: The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green

The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green

Robin Hood is a perennially popular figure. His adventures are legend and it is hard to tease out the historical truth from the fanciful embellishments that have accumulated over eight hundred or so years. This book is not really interested in the history (see this book for a historical investigation) but is a great compilation of the legends both famous and little known.

The story begins with the birth of Robert Fitzooth in Sherwood Forest. Son of a noble Norman father and Saxon mother, young Robert is born to nobility with a clear sympathy for both Normans and Saxons. He grows up learning all sorts of skills. When King Richard the Lion-hearted goes off to the Crusades, his brother Prince John begins to oppress the poor and take advantage of his high office for personal gain. Many nobles toady up to John but Robert goes rogue. He becomes Robin Hood and has his band of Merry Men in Sherwood rob the rich and give to the poor.

This Robin is an idyllic gentleman. He never molests women, not even the evil ones; he takes care of the poor and downtrodden. He's also a manly man, able to shoot an arrow straighter than anyone and nearly always able to beat others with a sword or a quarterstaff. His wedding to Marian is interrupted by Sir Guy of Gisborne, so that Robin and Marian can never be truly married until the return of the king. They live a chaste life in Sherwood, having adventures of a wide variety.

The stories are a bit episodic. Robin meets the famous Merry Men one by one, usually in some sort of friendly combat. More obscure characters like Allin-a-Dale (not just made up for the Disney cartoon!) and Much, the Miller's Son, are highlighted and become re-occurring characters. Famous scenes like escapes from castles or tournaments are interspersed with less famous, like Robin's encounter with a witch. The story does go on past the return of King Richard and the final union of Robin and Marian. Robin has a noble and tragic death that's a bit shocking because of the general lightness and fun of the rest of the book.

The book doesn't have a lot of depth but it is very entertaining and moves along quickly and captures that spirit of adventure that is so characteristic of most Robin Hood retellings.

Recommended.

Book Review: My Hero Academia Vol. 5 by Kohei Horikoshi

My Hero Academia Volume 5 by Kohei Horikoshi

The competition between the first year superheroes continues as the individual contestants go to the final four. The focus shifts from the main character, Midoriya, the quirkless (i.e. powerless) teenager who wants to be a hero and has received the power of All Might, currently the most popular hero. The focus is on Todoroki, another first year student who inherited his quirks from his parents. His dad is Endeavor, a fire-wielding superhero who is number two to All Might's number one. Naturally dad wants his son to be not only better than him but also better than All Might. Todoroki's mom has ice powers, so Todoroki is split--he has both fire power and ice power. But he's shunned his fire power because of his anger at his dad. That issue is explored in depth with Midoriya being a catalyst for change in Todoroki. But is the change for the better or for the worse?

The surface story of the rivalries between the students in the stadium is interesting enough. The deeper story of Todoroki's motivation gives this a lot more emotional and intellectual heft and interest. The bad guy conspiracy to take down heroes is revisited, keeping that narrative from being forgotten. Overall, this issues is better than the usual.

Recommended.

Movie Review: Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Avengers: Endgame (2019) directed by Anthony and Joe Russo

After failing to stop Thanos's plan to kill half the living things in the universe, the few remaining Avengers band together and take him out. But they still aren't satisfied. They try to move on with their lives. The devastation is very hard on everyone. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has settled the few remaining Asgardians on Earth but hardly provides any leadership. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) has settled down in the country with Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow). Captain America (Chris Evans) is trying to get people to move on with their lives, but both regular people and superheroes. When Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) returns from the quantum realm, he has a crazy scheme to save everyone. The other Avengers are desperate enough to try anything, so they go with it in hopes of changing things back to normal.

The story is a sprawling epic that rewards faithful viewers who have watch the twenty or so previous films. A lot of previous characters and plots are revisited in a clever and satisfying way. Some are given short shrift (Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) is basically a deus ex machina plot aid, not really a person) but not too many. Legitimate moments of suspense are balanced out with humanizing comedy and impressive action sequences. The ending wraps up a bunch of plot threads nicely while leaving new opportunities open (though some look more promising than others).

Highly recommended.

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello Part II

A continuation of yesterpost...

We followed the north cellar passage into Monticello's basement.

Secret passage!

This area under the house was mostly for storage, including the wine and beer cellars. And the bottom of the dining room dumbwaiter!

Storage cellar

Diagram of the dumbwaiter

Practicing the delivery

It doesn't go upstairs anymore

Jefferson's daughter Martha took over managing the household for her father in 1782 when his wife died. She worked with Burwell Colbert, a slave who helped run the household and was a personal servant to Jefferson. She's depicted handing over keys to him.

Giving the keys to Colbert

Trying out a key

The beer storage

Down the other secret passage (going out the other end of the house), we discovered the south pavilion. This area had the food preparation and preservation rooms. First, we saw the kitchen which was added around 1809. Jefferson used a lot of the technology, ideas, and equipment from his time in Europe (he was Ambassador to France in the late 1780s).

A very modern kitchen for 1809

The main preparation area

Lots of pots and pans, some foreign

Just beyond the pavilion is the various gardens that grew fruits and vegetables for the house.

The practical gardens

Just above the gardens is Mulberry Row, where much of the day to day work was done on the plantation. Several workers (slaves, indentured servants, and free men) lived here and had workshops.

Slave quarters

The location of the wash house is now a gravesite for Rachel Phillips Levy. The Levys bought Monticello and maintained it for a good portion of the late 1800s. The Thomas Jeffferson Foundation bought the property from the Levys in 1923 and took over the preservation of the estate.

Levy grave

The view back to the house is less than spectacular from here.

The south pavilion

One recreated workshop is the "storehouse for iron" where items like cups were made. Basically, anything needed on the plantation could be crafted in metal there.

Storehouse for iron

Cupmaking tools and diretions

Also recreated is a typical servant's house.

Servant's house

Inside the servant's house

Back up on the West Lawn is a fish pond. Jefferson built it to stock with fish. It was a good source for fresh fish needed while entertaining the many guests who came to the house.

Fish pond

View of Monticello from the west lawn

The west lawn has a walking path. Flowers were in full bloom and fragrance, making it very delightful for strolling on an April afternoon.

Flowers

The pathway

Flowers by the fish pond

Visitors have the choice of walking back down the hill to the visitor center or riding the shuttle bus. By this point, the children were wiped out so we rode down. One stop along the way is the Jefferson Cemetery, where Thomas and many of the family are buried. We took a drive by picture of the spot.

Jefferson's grave

Back at the visitor center, we did a little shopping and a visit to the restrooms before heading off. We loved visiting and highly recommend going to Monticello.