Book Review: My Hero Academia Vol. 12 by Kohei Horikoshi

My Hero Academia Volume 12 by Kohei Horikoshi

The students work on signature moves and upgrading their costumes as a prelude to their next test--the Provisional Licensing Exam. It's another all-out battle between the students of several schools, with the top one hundred qualifiers moving on to the next round which will happen in the next volume.

The book has a lot of action but little else going on story-wise. I'm not sure there's any reason a reader couldn't just skip this volume. Only one new character is introduced and most everyone we care about makes it through the exam. It reads like one of those filler episodes on TV shows.

Slightly recommended.

Movie Review: Crawl (2019)

Crawl (2019) directed by Alexandre Aja

Haley (Kaya Scodelario) is a competitive swimmer whose dad (Barry Pepper) has been out of touch for a while. Her sister calls to find out if Haley is okay and if she has heard from their dad. Haley is at a Florida college and their dad lives about two hours south in a small condo since the divorce. The reason for the sister's call is Hurricane Wendy, a category five storm that's about to hit the area. Haley goes south to find her dad. She winds up stuck in the crawl space of their old family home (it never got sold) with dear old dad and a couple of alligators who came in through the storm drain. The basement is dry so the alligators start off walking around slowly. As the hurricane's rain gets worse, the waters rise quickly and the heroes' safety drops precipitously.

For a b-movie premise, the film has a good bit going for it. The actors do a good job and the young woman is not paraded around undressed like you'd expect in a movie like this. The strained relationship between Haley and her dad is unsurprising in its cause and its resolution. The filmmakers provide the standard emotional connection between the characters, hopefully generating some connection for the audience.  Even the red-herring helpers who show up follow the standard playbook for a b-movie horror. The alligators at least make fresh villains (sharks and zombies seem to be hogging up all the limelight lately) and are used in some creative ways. The movie is thoroughly but enjoyable average.

Slightly recommended.

Book Review: Malachy McCourt's History of Ireland

Malachy McCourt's History of Ireland by Malachy McCourt

Irishman Malachy McCourt recounts the history of Ireland by writing mini-biographies of people throughout the past 2,500 years. He starts with legendary characters from B.C. times like Finn McCool (or Fionn Mac Cumaill, if you like the more Irish spelling). The book weighs a little heavier on more modern characters. The first half covers 400ish B.C. to the Great Famine in the 1840s. The second half covers the 1850s to 2000 (the book was published in 2004), ending with Bono from U2. The book covers the artistically significant as well as the historically significant.

McCourt is an entertaining storyteller and makes the people come to life. The island had lots of newcomers who more or less took over, usually by force. The natives constantly struggled for their independence; the new people integrated with the locals and became the next people to be disenfranchised by another wave of newcomers. Relations with England were always strained (England was the closest source of newcomers, I suppose). The "troubles" of the 1900s have both roots and mirror images throughout earlier centuries. The personal stories make the history more real and immediate. The homey writing style makes the book read more like stories from a pub rather than lectures on a campus.

The book suffers a bit from overlapping stories. The same events are told two or three times with only a little shift of emphasis. For example, the Easter Rising is described three separate times in fewer than twenty pages. He also has a chip on his shoulder about the Catholic Church, leading him to the silly claim that Saint Brigid was a bishop or to blame Irish misogyny on church influence, as if bad men can't come to misogyny on their own. Even with these flaws, the book is still an entertaining read.

Mildly recommended.

Stuart Beach, Florida

While in Florida we naturally went to the beach. We spent one morning at Stuart Beach on the Atlantic coast. Earlier in the week, the surf was too rough for swimming. We assumed that the surf would be bad again so we didn't bring our swimsuits. Our plan was to go to a different beach later in the day. Unfortunately, the afternoon was rainy. Thankfully, this visit was fun.

Stuart Beach

Since the surf was heavy, the beach had a drop-off by the water. The kids loved jumping off and climbing up a sandy micro-cliff.

By the drop-off

Someone stays, someone goes to the water

A flying leap

Facing the waves

Two jumpers

Getting wet

We did not encourage our children to get wet and could not stop them. We should have just had them wear their swimsuits anyway. Oh well!

Further in the waves

A happy boy

Attempting to dry out, we went to a playground in the parking lot which was small but fun.

Playground

A whale of a ride

The bathroom had an incredible mosaic. "Save Our Coral Reefs" by Brenda Leigh depicts a fun seascape. Jensen Beach High School art students helped with creating the mural.

Dolphins swimming toward...

...a mermaid!

Another dolphin headed to a turtle

The back of the building

A big turtle

Rays and other fish

One of the doors

Beer in Florida December 2019

We visited The Crafted Keg, a bar/restaurant, on Christmas Eve at lunchtime. When we got there, they were not open. A beer delivery guy was also waiting. Someone drove up and said the other worker was out with the flu. She opened it up for us.

The Crafted Keg

We ordered our typical pretzel and also a plate of cheese and cold cuts. I ordered a flight of beer, choosing from their long list of draft beers.

My flight

Here's my list:

• #15 Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale (5.5% alcohol by volume) from Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company in Lexington, Kentucky--This beer was very tasty, even if it doesn't sound like a beer. This was my favorite of the batch.
• #18 Finn McCool (5.2% alcohol by volume) from Twisted Trunk Brewing in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida--This is an Irish Red Ale. It tasted pretty average.
• #34 Barnacled Manatee Barleywine (9.5% alcohol by volume) from Walking Tree Brewery in Vero Beach, Florida--I was expecting something a bit more zesty or impactful. I liked this brew but it wasn't my favorite.
•  #39 Night Swim (6.2% alcohol by volume) from Coppertail Brewing in Tampa, Florida--This was a nice porter that wold have gone better with some beef than what we ordered. Maybe next time.
• #48 Anoka Pineapple Shandy (5.6% alcohol by volume) from Hop Life Brewing Company Port St. Lucie, Florida--On the other hand, this was the perfect pairing with some light appetizers. Usually fruit flavors are the bane of beer but this pineapple shandy is a fine blend that was very enjoyable and fit the Florida tropical vibe.

 The bar also had a listing of ten ways that beer makes you healthier:

Why beer is good

At the grocery store I bought a six pack of Bell Cow Milk Chocolate Porter (5.6% alcohol by volume) from Jdub's Brewing Company in Sarasota, Florida. The milk-chocolatey flavor is nice and blends well with the dark robustness of the porter. I was very glad to drink it several times, though it is definitely not a "with a meal" kind of beer.

Milk Chocolate not appropriate for kids

Book Review: Houdini: The Handcuff King by Jason Lutes and Nick Bertozzi

Houdini: The Handcuff King written by Jason Lutes and art by Nick Bertozzi

Harry Houdini is without doubt the most famous escape artist of the twentieth century. He's probably the most famous escape artist ever. He spent his life escaping from handcuffs, straight jackets, prisons, and other elaborate traps that would make a Batman villain jealous. He was also a great showman. In the early 1900s, without television or radio or the internet, entertainments had to be advertised in print media or through people shouting in the streets. Houdini used these but also did publicity stunts. This book chronicles one such publicity stunt, a May 1908 jump from Harvard Bridge in Massachusetts while handcuffed.

The book tells a lot about Houdini through this one incident. He's highly devoted to his wife Bess, who often helped out on stage. Here, she passes a lock pick when she kisses him just before he jumps off the bridge. Earlier in the day, Houdini hired a new assistant. The process included a "swearing to secrecy" that was very important for Houdini. Secrecy about his methods were key to keeping Houdini's mystique. Houdini worked hard at his craft, studying all sorts of locks and handcuffs, practicing his escapes and mastering his timing. He claimed hard work was what made him capable, implying anyone else could do it, if they had the dedication of Houdini.

Houdini's personality and ability are caught vividly in this short and entertaining graphic novel.

The book also has a bibliography, notes, and a description of the creative process, a nice bonus.

Recommended.

Movie Review: The Devil's Backbone (2001)

The Devil's Backbone (2001) co-written and directed by Guillermo del Toro

Carlos (Fernando Tielve) is dropped off at a remote orphanage during the Spanish Civil War. His dad has died in the war and his tutor can't take care of him anymore. Also in the car are a pair of revolutionaries who get some hidden gold from Carmen (Marisa Paredes), the headmistress of the school. Her dead husband was a revolutionary and she's lost a leg but not her devotion to the cause. Meanwhile, Carlos makes friends with the other orphans, who tease him a bit. Then the tutor drops Carlos's bag and drives off, leaving the bewildered and distraught Carlos chasing after him. The headmaster of the school, Doctor Casares (Frederico Luppi), brings Carlos back inside, talking to him about his comic book, an adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo. Inside the orphanage, a lot of problems are bubbling under the surface. In the middle of the courtyard is an unexploded bomb that has been defused. The handyman Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega) is a bit rough with the kids, has an affair with Carmen, and is trying to steal the gold stash. And, in the pre-credits sequence, viewers see that a boy has been killed at the school. His ghost is still hanging around, scaring the kids.

The story unfolds beautifully as Carlos has more experiences with the ghost and Jacinto tries to get the gold and Casares pines for a relationship with Carmen. The complicated interactions and the threat of the war coming to the orphanage make the story fascinating and unpredictable. As usual, del Toro has a splendid eye for visual storytelling. The ghost is spooky but not very gory and not at all malevolent, though the people in the story are frightened of him. The orphanage has a lot of atmosphere. The color palette is very precise and very evocative. The movie is both delightful to watch and delightful to think about.

Highly recommended.

The movie is discussed on A Good Story Is Hard to Find podcast #223 and features me as a guest commentator. Thanks for a fun opportunity, Scott and Julie!

Also, if you want a little history on the Spanish Civil War, check out my review of The Last Crusade. I forgot to mention it on the podcast!