Book Review: Adler's Philosophical Dictionary by Mortimer J. Adler

Adler's Philosophical Dictionary: 125 Key Terms for the Philosopher's Lexicon by Mortimer J. Adler

Late in his career, Mortimer Adler produced this slim volume as a companion piece and summary of his previous works in philosophy. He defines 125 key philosophical terms, explaining how they are used correctly and the common errors people make about the terms. He also explains how those terms as ideas fit into his larger body of work, and indeed into the larger understanding of reality and human experience. Even though these are philosophical terms, the field of philosophy often touches upon or overlaps other fields, such as science, politics, and theology. His explanations of how they fit in with the other disciplines is insightful and helps the reader to understand Adler's larger world view (including his Christian faith). Occasionally the reader has to slow down or repeat a reading to get the nuances of Adler's definitions but the effort is well worth the reward. The book is barely 200 pages, so even a slow reading does not take a huge amount of time.

Sample Text, from the entry on Continence and Incontinence (which is used very differently in philosophical circles than in common parlance):

We cannot understand what it means to say that man is a rational animal without, at the same time, recognizing that a rational animal is a freak of nature. The nature of a rational animal is a mixture of incompatible elements. [p. 74]

Book Review: Big Bad Ironclad! by Nathan Hale

Big Bad Ironclad! written and drawn by Nathan Hale

American patriot and colonial spy Nathan Hale continues regaling his executioners with tales from future history (because he got sucked into a book or something in the first volume--just go with it). Here he gives the story of the first armored naval vessels in the 1860s. The two most famous ones (because they were the first ones) are the Monitor and the Merrimack (renamed the Virginia), built by the United States and the Confederacy respectively. He describes not only their battles and ultimate fates, but also the long and challenging process of first convincing the respective governments to invest in armored sea vessels and then building those boats. The story is exciting and also has plenty of appropriate jokes sprinkled throughout.

Also sprinkled throughout is the story of Will Cushing, a man dismissed from the Naval Academy for playing pranks. When the American Civil War started, the Navy was desperate enough for officers that they took him back. He soon became a colorful, creative, and cunning naval officer. He had a distinguished career with many daring raids and attacks both at sea and on land, earning him the nickname "Lincoln's Commando." He was an inspiration for the Navy Seals.

As with other volumes in the series, the back includes a section describing the bits that aren't historically accurate (surprisingly few) and a bibliography so readers can learn more about the people and the ironclads.

Highly recommended!

Movie Review: Videodrome (1983)

Videodrome (1983) written and directed by David Cronenberg

In this early film of horror master David Cronenberg, James Woods plays cable TV station owner Max Renn who is looking for new, edgier content to get more people watching his channel. He rejects offers of a Japanese Samurai sex show and of an ancient Roman orgy. He is intrigued by a pirated satellite video feed seemingly from Malaysia of a show called Videodrome, where people are tortured by masked men in a red clay room. There's no plot or ongoing characters but Max can't stop watching. He starts tracking it down and begins having frightening hallucinations where inanimate objects start having organic qualities and his own body starts to change in grotesque ways (but is that only during the hallucination?). The line between reality and hallucination blurs for him and the viewers. So there's a lot disturbing body horror in the movie, much like Cronenberg's remake of The Fly.

The more interesting and more disturbing part of the movie is the corruption of his soul. At the beginning of the movie, Max is looking for horrifying exploitation content for his TV channel but he assumes Videodrome (like other TV productions) is faked--they are actors who aren't really being harmed. He goes on a talk show where the host challenges his broadcasts as debasing but he counters that it gives people an outlet for their aggression or sexual desires without harming others. He starts dating Nicki Brand, another talk show host, who is turned on by violence and harm, even showing some scars on her shoulder where previous boyfriends have cut her. When she watches Videodrome, she thinks she was born to be on it. Max is horrified by the idea. As the movie continues, he discovers more about the show and multiple people warn him to stay away from Videodrome. But the hallucinations start to change him personally. He becomes a battleground for a war of ideas between the broadcasters of Videodrome and those working against it. The ending is ambiguous which can be frustrating for the viewer but leaves a lot of room for interpretation and discussion.

There's also a suggestion that the effects of Videodrome are a next step in human evolution, creating a new flesh and merging humanity and technology. The idea is hinted at several times but doesn't get anywhere. The ending is ambiguous on this point as well.

More than just the ending is ambiguous. Several parts of the film don't make sense, making me wonder if Max was still hallucinating or not. The movie, for me, isn't so much a coherent whole as it is an interesting spark for considering various ideas such as the influence of entertainment, the role of technology in life, and the need for treating others both physically and psychically with dignity (because otherwise, things get really, really messed up!).

Parental advisory: There is a lot of graphic sexual content, violence, and gore and would easily be NC-17 if rated today. Minor cuts were made back in the 1980s; I watched a restored cut which only added two minutes, and those two minutes add a lot, if the description of the cuts from the director's commentary is accurate. This movie is for adults only, and those with a high tolerance.

I was inspired to watch this by the excellent podcast series (which is also available on YouTube) The Flicks that Church Forgot. At one point in his review of the movie, he tells listeners to stop if they haven't seen the movie and don't want to be spoiled. I had this movie in the back of my mind for a while, so I did stop and watch.

Tippecanoe Battlefield Museum, Lafayette, Indiana, Part II

More from the Tippecanoe Battlefield Museum! See Part I here.

In 1839 William Henry Harrison, hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe, campaigned successfully to become President of the United States. His candidacy included the famous "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" slogan. The campaign also included several songs, some set to traditional tunes like Auld Lang Syne. Groups would go from town to town, teaching the song and putting on a bit of a show in favor of Harrison's candidacy. It was the first big media campaign for President. At the inauguration, Harrison developed pneumonia and died just one month later.

Campaign materials!

In 1874 the Methodist Church bought the battlefield area and established a camp. The camp was a retreat for churchgoers and a place to go on summer vacation inexpensively. They built many cabins and a large gathering hall.

Items from the Methodist camp

More from the Methodist camp, including a communion dispenser in the lower right

Outside, the battlefield is a wooded area with a large, impressive monument to the U.S. military who fought.

Battle monument

Harrison

Enlisted casualties

Officer casualties

Many memorials are spread over the area showing where the officers died.

Maj. Davies memorial

Col. Owen Memorial

Capt. Baen Memorial

Lieut. Berry memorial

The battlefield is mostly empty now, with no scars from the war or traces from the Methodist camp.

The battlefield today

One building holds a small nature exhibit with some animals on display and a bird watching station.

Nature Center

I decided to do some geocaching in the area since I was getting lunch too. The nearby town is called Battle Ground and has a few shops and restaurants. I went to a diner across from the fire department. The diner had good food, though when I walked in the waitress told one table they'd better behave themselves in front of a stranger! After finishing lunch, I found a microcache that was hidden on that street. On the way back to the highway, a geocache was located just outside a business, sponsored by the business, and contained refrigerator magnets made by the business. I swapped a Gen Con button for a magnet.

The business

The geojunk

The museum, town, and geocaches made a nice break in a long drive. I'm glad I visited!

Tippecanoe Battlefield Museum, Lafayette, Indiana, Part I

Tippecanoe Battlefield Museum in Lafayette, Indiana, commemorates the battle between United States forces and a coalition of Native Americans in 1811. It's located a few miles out of town, not far from the highway. I chose this as my lunchtime stopping point driving from Indianapolis to Chicago after Gen Con.

Tippecanoe Battlefield Museum

The museum has a wide range of exhibits, starting with some pre-historic items.

Pre-historic items

The next section has displays and artifacts from the Native Americans. This tinkle cone sleeve was fun to take and shake as the sign says.

Native American sleeve shaker

Replica of bow and arrow

A typical native home circa 1800

Items from the colonial settlers are also on display.

A plow

Weaponry used during the American Revolution period

The Wye Level is a surveying instrument from the late 1700s.

Surveying equipment

The story of the battle begins in the museum next. First, the local Native Americans are described.

The nearby settlement of Prophet's Town was the home of Shawnee prophet Tenskwatawa. He and his brother Tecumseh settled there in 1805 as their tribe was pushed farther and farther west. The town had representatives from fourteen different tribes and became the headquarters of the Native American resistance to American expansion. The 1809 Treaty of Fort Wayne became a major controversy because Prophet's Town was not involved in the negotiations.

Tenskwatawa

Tecumseh

Items from Prophet's Town

The belt axe and belt knife were common tools for the natives, the axe known also as a tomahawk.

Belt axe and belt knife

The tension escalated between the Native Americans and the United States Americans. Territory governor William Henry Harrison assembled an army of about 1000 men and planned to attack Prophet's Town if need be. Tecumseh was away, still gathering forces, when Harrison marched in on November 6. Harrison arranged for a meeting with Tenskwatawa on the following day.

William Henry Harrison

A boy's uniform

1810 American Uniform

The U. S. Musket, Model 1795, with bayonet was produced by a U. S. Armory and was the standard weapon used during the battle.

Early 1800s musket and bayonet

Materials for constructing a fort

A dining set

Tenskwatawa was not a good military leader but he did get some intelligence on Harrison. He would be riding a white horse the next day. The natives decided to strike and made a pre-dawn attack on the Union camp, planning for a sniper to hit Harrison when he mounted his horse. Having a surprise attack and taking out the enemy leader would make victory much easier. As luck would have it, Harrison's second in command took the white horse and was killed. Harrison led his forces ably. The battle raged for two hours and the attackers withdrew when their ammunition began to run low.

Exhibit describing the battle

Battle map

Diorama of the battle (click to enlarge)

Prophet's Town diorama

The coalition abandoned Prophet's Town. When Harrison discovered this the next day, he ordered his troops to burn the town to the ground and confiscate any valuable materials (including a large supply of grain and cooking equipment). Without the town and the supplies, the coalition fell apart. They eventually moved back and reestablished the town.

More on the museum and the grounds in the next post!

TV Review: Daredevil Season One

Daredevil Season One created by Drew Goddard based on the characters created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett

Matt Murdock had a tough childhood in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. His mom died when he was young; his dad was a boxer who never won that much and always needed patching up. If that wasn't bad enough, one day nine-year old Matt saves another person from an oncoming car and a truck involved in the accident spills some chemicals in his eyes, leaving him blind though his other senses became more acute. His dad's boxing career continued under the guidance of the Irish mob, eventually landing him in too much trouble. Matt became a orphan. He went to law school and returned to Hell's Kitchen to practice law with his college roommate Foggy Nelson. Being a lawyer isn't enough to stop some crimes or right some wrongs, so Matt dons a mask and fights crime at night with his heightened senses and the amazing combat skills he picked up along the way. Matt just wants what's best for Hell's Kitchen because he loves his neighborhood.

Wilson Fisk also had a tough childhood in Hell's Kitchen. His dad had political ambitions when Wilson was young and borrowed money from the mob to run for office, figuring he'd make enough in kickbacks and bribes to repay the debt (plus, he'd get respect from the neighbors). Things don't work out well and Wilson disappears, only to return as a crime boss trying to fix up Hell's Kitchen after the devastation that happened when the Avengers fought those aliens in the first Avengers movie. Wilson just wants what's best for Hell's Kitchen because he loves his neighborhood.

Naturally, the two men come into conflict more than once. Matt struggles to be a hero and keep the people he loves safe. Wilson struggles to stay in the shadows as he tries to redevelop the neighborhood for a brighter future. Their paths have interesting parallels that make the well-written drama even more compelling.

The drama is very heavy, easily earning its TV-MA rating with a variety of violence including death by decapitation twice, death by burning, death by multiple gun shot wounds several times. Plenty of menace, torture, and anticipated violence add to the oppressive atmosphere. This mood is balanced out with humor, especially from Matt's law partner Foggy Nelson who does an amazing job switching from comic relief to dramatic tension in several episodes. The rest of the supporting cast is equally good.

The other tricky balancing act the show does quite well is dealing with Matt Murdock's Catholic faith. He goes fairly regularly to consult a priest, sometimes in confession. Matt's conversations deal with the borderline between good and evil that he has a hard time discerning. The priest doesn't give him pat answers but engages him in a real dialogue about the issues and presents the Catholic faith accurately and sincerely. The priest isn't quite a mentor figure but is a sounding board and, again, helps to enhance the dramatic tension in Matt's story.

The show is a very satisfying dark action drama, though I wouldn't recommend it for children. In addition to the violence (and a lot of stitching up wounds after fights), there's a fair bit of drinking and some swearing. Two affairs go on during the show but are discreetly depicted; Foggy does go on and on about how blind Matt can tell who are pretty women and implies that he sleeps with a lot of them, though we viewers never see that.

As a write this, the show is only available through Netflix streaming service. It's worth signing up for a free month just to watch, in my opinion (just remember to cancel if you don't want to continue!).

Book Review: The Black Island by Herge

The Black Island by Herge

An unregistered plane landing nearby arouses Tintin's curiosity, but the pilot and passenger want no witnesses so they shoot him. Tintin recovers quickly and sets of in pursuit. Tintin is off on another adventure, eventually winding up on the eponymous fictional Scottish isle. The story moves from set piece to set piece almost too quickly--Tintin gets injured or put in jeopardy several times and recovers so quickly that he doesn't lose the trail of the bad guys. Even for a Tintin story, the pacing seems to be a bit of a stretch. Otherwise it's an enjoyable adventure and seeing him in Scottish clothing is fun.