Book Review: John Paul the Great by Peggy Noonan

John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father by Peggy Noonan

The book is a well-crafted blend of John Paul II's biography, his wide-ranging theology, and Noonan's personal experience of him as a spiritual father. She goes through the details of his childhood, growing up in a Poland first occupied by the Nazis then by the Soviets. Neither invader wanted the Catholic religion to flourish, so Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II's pre-papal name) had to study in secret. He worked in a factory. The other workers knew about his vocation and supported it by taking shifts for him and hiding his study materials. He was an active young man and continued skiing, hiking, and other physical activities throughout his priesthood. He worked as a pastor, eventually rising from parish and academic work to bishop of Krakow. 

He was a key advisor during the Second Vatican Council and became the first non-Italian pope in centuries. In many ways, he led a new era in the Church and the world. He traveled extensively (typically kissing the ground as soon as he got off the plane) and inspired the faithful crowds wherever he went. His travels and messages about human freedom and dignity provided much impetus for the downfall of Communism in Europe. His example of loving others, even the man who tried to assassinate him in 1981, was widely admired. He started the Wednesday catechesis where he talked about various issues at Wednesday audiences, including his theology of the body. He kept up the work of ministering to the Church in the world until the end when he died in 2005. He had a lot of illnesses but showed the value of human life and the way to suffer with dignity and grace.

Noonan interweaves her personal experiences of John Paul (though she only met him a few times) with his story. As a young reporter in the 1980s, she went to Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City when he celebrated a Mass during his first papal visit to the United States. She wasn't very religious at the time but was still touched by his presence. She grew in faith through the years and had more fascinating encounters with the pope. She writes candidly and charmingly about these experiences.

Reading this book gives a good overview of the life and theology of John Paul II and also a glimpse into the life and theology of Peggy Noonan, a woman who admired and followed John Paul. The book is a very human portrait of both of them.

Highly recommended.

The book is discussed on A Good Story is Hard to Find Podcast #265.

Book Review: Black Widow: Marvel Team-Up by C. Claremont et al.

Black Widow: Marvel Team-Up written by Chris Claremont and others with art by Sal Buscema and others

This is another anthology of Black Widow adventures, this time featuring her working with other Marvel superheroes:

Marvel Two-in-One #10 (The Thing and Black Widow)--Black Widow is in a car chase through Central Park and almost crashes in to Ben Grimm (aka The Thing) whose on a date with his blind girlfriend Alicia Masters. Ben knocks the car out of the way and tosses Alicia to safety, but he and Black Widow are captured by her pursuers. They take the two heroes to their evil lair in the middle of the Atlantic. The bad guys plan to drop the biggest nuclear bomb ever to the bottom of the ocean, causing a radioactive tidal wave that will wipe out the American east coast. The Widow and the Thing work together to thwart the plan. The story is a fairly standard action yarn. Black Widow and the Thing make an unlikely but fun team.

Marvel Team-up #57 featuring Spider-man and Black Widow--Spider-man thwarts a gang of thieves in the post-Christmas lull in crime. They are working for the Sliver Samurai, who has some bigger, unidentified scheme. Meanwhile, Black Widow has returned to New York at the summons of Nick Fury, only to find the safe house seemingly abandoned. As she goes in search of Fury, she sees the energy blasts from the Samurai's sword. She investigates and the team-up begins. It's a fun action story but it's just the start of some other arcs in other comics.

Marvel Team-up #82-85 featuring Spider-man and Black Widow (and Nick Fury and Shang Chi)--Spider-man discovers a red-headed woman about to be mugged in an alleyway. She sure looks like the Black Widow but she claims she's Nancy Rushman, a New York school teacher. She can't remember her address or what school she teaches at, so there's a mystery to solve. Unfortunately, they are attacked by a S.H.I.E.L.D. taskforce before they can get more clues. The story spins into a larger conspiracy...pretty typical for a story from the 1970s! It's another entertaining story that moves at a good pace.

Marvel Team-up #98 featuring Spider-man and Black Widow--They are back together, this time fighting gun runners in New York City. Nothing too special about this story, other than it seemed a little short.

Marvel Team-up #140-141 featuring Spider-man, Black Widow, and Daredevil--A New York City blackout leads to rioting. Spider-man is just short of preventing a pawn shop owner from being killed by the neighborhood gang. The gang points the finger at an innocent man who is being represented by Daredevil's regular identity, lawyer Matt Murdock. Matt needs help finding proof of innocence (other than his ability to listen to someone's heartbeat and detect if they are lying). Ex-girlfriend Black Widow steps up to help Matt. Spider-man wants to investigate because he feels guilty about not saving the pawn broker. So they work together, though a bigger conspiracy is at hand. Also, Spider-man is snatched mid-story for the Secret Wars crossover, when he got the black suit that turned out to be the symbiote Venom, a whole other story. He returns to this story, which comes to a satisfactory conclusion.

Marvel Comics Presents #53--Black Widow and Silver Sable hunt the same villain in Paris, France, eventually fighting over him at the Eiffel Tower. The story is very short and fairly entertaining. It even manages to avoid the fight between the two females looking like some sexist cat fight. It's just a fun showdown between two evenly-matched fighters.

Marvel Comics Presents #70--Black Widow teams up with Soviet superhero Darkstar (A Russian mutant with Darkforce energy, whatever that is) and Starlight (another Russian hero who is under the mind-control of the Presence, an overpowered Russian who got his power from exposure to nuclear radiation). They manage to free Starlight from the mind-control so she can talk some sense into the Presence. The story is very short and feels like it serves some other ongoing narrative.

Marvel Comics Presents #93--Black Widow and Daredevil infiltrate a secret Hydra base and take it out. Another quick, fun story, especially when the Widow has to talk blind Daredevil through disarming the self-destruct bomb.

Mildly recommended--the stories vary in quality but most are fine. Nothing is a must-read; nothing made me sorry I read it.

Cute Kid Pix August 2021

More pictures that didn't make their own post...

My youngest's cub scout pack had their raingutter regatta at the beginning of August. We had plenty of fun. The kids put together a small wooden boat with a sail and then race it by blowing though a straw onto the sail, moving the boat down a raingutter. Our pack has an inflatable raingutter, making it easier to store. The pack also brought some water guns for play while other cubs were racing. Big fun was had by all.

Starting the first race

Ready for the next run

Keep it going!

August is the birth month for our youngest, so we had a party with some relatives visiting.

Looking for help from Grandpa

Blowing out the candles

Appreciating a cool present

I tried grilling veggies which I thought turned out well and definitely looked good on the plate. The rest of the family was unenthusiastic, so it may be the last time I grill vegetables.

Yum!

Brownie-Filled Cookie Experiment Part III: Combining the Two

To find out about the first parts of this project, check out Part I and Part II!

For the first batch, we tried cookie recipe #2 from the cookies and recipe #3 from the brownies (found in the linked cookbook). The brownie mix made the most delicious brownies but it is a bit liquidy.

Two doughs

The mixing of the individual recipes was easy, but combining was a little trickier. We tried two methods.

First, we made sandwiches. We had two layers of cookie dough with some brownie dough in between. They did not look very neat on the cookie sheet, a bad portent.

Two sides

Adding brownie mix

Finished, uncooked product

Tray of samples

They went in the oven as we started on the second method. For this, we made hollow cookie dough balls and filled them with brownie mix. These were more satisfactory looking, though my daughter's results looked much better than mine on the cookie sheet. Her's were smaller.

Cap and bowl

Filled

Not my neatest work

Size differences! And beauty differences!

These went into the oven on the bottom rack.

Cooking the cookies

The first cookies did not look quite done, so we extended for five minutes over the thirteen original minutes. We gave them another three minute extension and then took them out of the oven to cool.

Finished product

So they did not turn out brownie-filled, more like half and halfs. They tasted good but weren't what we were shooting for.

The second set of cookies also got some extra baking time. With the open space, we put the remaining brownie mix in an 8x8 pan to cook (rather than save it for a later batch of cookies). The pure brownies went on the top rack while the other cookies finished on the bottom.

Finished product

The second cookies looked a lot better. Obviously we need a bigger cookie sheet or fewer cookies or smaller cookie balls. They kept their cookie appearance. The cookies didn't get the height we wanted, so some still had their brownie showing.

Side view

Internal side view

These cookies tasted great and were satisfying. We want to try again with a different combination, which will be posted soon!

Movie Review: Free Guy (2021)

Free Guy (2021) directed by Shawn Levy

Guy (Ryan Reynolds) is an innocuous bank teller who goes through the same routine every day in Free City. He gets up; he says "hi" to his goldfish, Goldie; he eats cereal while watching the news; he gets the same cup of coffee from the same shop; he goes to the bank; he hits the floor each time the bank is robbed (which happens multiple times a day); he hangs out with his friend, who is the bank's security guard, Buddy (Lil Rel Howery). He has this routine because he's an NPC, or Non-Player Character, in a Grand Theft Auto-style game called Free City. The routine is broken one day when he sees the woman of his dreams (Jodie Comer) who sings a song he recognizes as she walks by. She's one of those people who wear sunglasses and don't follow a routine (i.e. an actual human player of the game). He follows her avatar around, breaking more and more out of his routine, discovering his own life, especially when he puts on a pair of sunglasses and sees all video game layer of his reality. She thinks he's another human player who has managed to mask his identity and steal the appearance of an NPC. She convinces him to level up so he can help her on missions, though she is not so much interested in game missions.

She's really Millie, a computer programmer who is searching through the game for evidence that the game producer is illegally using content she created with her partner Keys (Joe Keery). Keys has given up trying to prove the wrongdoing and even works at Soonami, the massive game corporation that sells Free City. Keys finds the company's boss Antwan (Taika Waititi) annoying but just wants to get by on his regular work routine. Keys is reluctantly drawn in to helping Millie as Guy becomes a celebrity player. He's been leveling up by helping out other NPCs and fighting against human players and NPCs as a hero in the otherwise morally bankrupt game. 

The movie follows some standard plot moves and twists and has a good sprinkling of pop culture and video game references. The special effects are very impressive and the premise allows the movie makers to have over the top action sequences. The whole "you should choose how to live your life rather than run through expected routines" message is fairly mundane and unchallenging moral to the story. The cast does such a good job living in their respective worlds that the movie is very enjoyable. It's just the sort of summer crowd pleaser that delivers a fun time.

Recommended.

Random Bits from Austin 2021

Some stuff that didn't make its own post...

We went to Dripping Springs where we checked out a local bakery and cafe called Rolling in Thyme and Dough. The coffee shop is in a house that has been converted to the shop and bakery. In addition to hot beverages and baked treats, they offer breakfasts, lunches, a weekly dinner on Thursdays, and a Sunday brunch.

View from the road

The front door on the side of the building

We ordered a bunch of baked treats. The favorite was probably the lemon bar, but everything was delicious. The pecan turnover was an apple turnover with a very generous helping of pecans. The Cadillac cookie had nuts, caramel, chocolate chips, and oats.

Pecan turnover

Cadillac cookie

Lemon bar shot through a beauty filter

We visited Bee Cave, another nearby suburb of Austin. The library was good but small and had its own version of a take-one-leave-one shelf just outside.

Would you like a book?

Out front (and all over town, apparently) is a fun bee sculpture with a literature theme.

A reading bee is better than a spelling bee, right?

Not far from Bee Cave is Lake Travis. The lake is a reservoir on the Colorado River. The lake is created by the Mansfield Dam. The dam is named after Joseph Jefferson Mansfield, a politician and civil servant who served in his community, his state, and his country.

Memorial plaque

The dam is 278 feet high and provides hydroelectric power as well as control over flooding in the area.

The dam

The bottom of the dam

No crossing here

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit (1979)

Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit (1979) written by David Fisher and directed by Christopher Barry

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) has unintentionally landed (actually, the TARDIS auto-answered a distress call) on Chloris, a planet with a lot of vegetation and some strange, gigantic eggshell fragments near where they landed. The locals have a shortage of metals, except for Lady Adrasta (Myra Francis) who has control of the only mine. The mine has played out and is now used for dumping her enemies because there's a creature in the pit. The Doctor is intrigued about what is really going on, so he and Romana (Lalla Ward) investigate, which means the typical running around, getting into trouble, and saving the day.

The story has a lot of humor (it's from the period where Douglas Adams was script editor) and has some interesting mysteries. The pacing is a little faster than usual and Romana is very sharp and in control of her part of the story. She's much more of an equal to the Doctor than a damsel in distress. The creature is a big fake blobby thing, though they gave it an appendage in the first episode that looks ridiculously phallic. They toned that down for the subsequent three episodes of this four-parter. The final episode had some extra drama thrown in after the main baddie was vanquished.

Recommended for fans of the old Doctor Who--the comedy is pretty good, except for the unintentional comedy.