Geocaching October 2021

A popular type of geocache is the Mystery Cache. The coordinates on the website are not the actual location of the cache, usually parking nearby the cache (though not always). The cache description has some puzzle to solve. Sometimes the puzzle involves information about the location or signs near the location (taking numbers from the sign to fill in coordinates). Sometimes the puzzle is something to solve at home before going out. Land Surveying - Area is the later sort of cache. The puzzle involves converting square feet into acres to get the last three digits for the coordinates, so easy to do at home (or even with a cell phone). I figured out the actual coordinates at home and then made the find in Savage Park. The container was extra tricky since it blended into the environment well.

Somewhere in there

A nearby shopping center has four geocaches but I was only able to find one. The Dick Maxx cache is hidden out in plain sight of all the parking lots, within sight of Dick's Sporting Goods and TJ Maxx (hence the seemingly inappropriate name).

Stores and cache all in one photo!

On a mission cache was too well camouflaged for me. The other two caches had too many muggles around them for me to feel comfortable searching, which is weird since the one in the middle of the parking lot was okay. Maybe some other day I will be back and try again.

While shopping another day, I found Ana's Cache, which was not too near the stores. The far end of the parking lot is for the Christmas rush I suppose. The only muggles I ran into were geese!

Parking area

The only ones around this end of the parking lot

In nearby parking lot is Sold Your Fit. The cache was in a classic spot with a cobwebby pen in the same spot. I guess another cacher left the pen?

View from the cache toward the parking lot

Further down the industrial park's lot is another mystery cache, LOB: Evergreen. The puzzle to solve is fairly easy but does require actual presence at the posted coordinates. After manipulating the numbers properly, I put the answer in Certitude and that website gave me the final coordinates. It's the first time I used it. The final coordinates were off in a wooded area near the industrial park.

View from the cache not toward the parking lot

Book Review: Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 9 by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo Volume 9: Daisho by Stan Sakai

More ronin rabbit tales from master storyteller Stan Sakai!

The Music of Heaven--Usagi is pestered by a group of lizards he fed ages ago. They keep following him but now they are drawn off by beautiful music. A monk with a shakuhachi (a flute-like instrument) is wandering the same area and gets to talking with Usagi about music and transcendence. It's a fascinating tale that I found touching and rewarding.

The Gambler, the Widow, and the Ronin--The gambler is a swindler from a previous story who hires tough guys to fight and kill local champs. He takes bets on who will win and is wily enough to get people to bet on the wrong guy. In the previous story, he miscalculated that Usagi would fall to his own champ. Now he's come to the village where the widow of the dead champ is scraping by as a waitress at an inn. He doesn't know who she is but when Usagi shows up, the gambler realizes he can get rid of his current tough guy who is trying to drink all their profits. The character development for the gambler, the tough guy, and the widow is amazing for a short story. Sakai can tell a lot about his people just through visuals. The story is very satisfying.

Slavers--A village is taken over by bandits led by General Fujii who forces the locals to bring in the harvest. After that, the bandits will sell off the goods and kill off the locals. Usagi runs across one villager who escaped from a group of bandits on their way to buy more rice wine. Usagi decides to help out but is caught in a trap by the bandit leader. The locals decide to help the imprisoned Usagi. They realize they have nothing to lose since the harvest is just about in. The battle goes well but the bandit leader escapes with Usagi's swords.

Daisho Part One--After an opening explaining the art and spiritualism of Japanese swordmaking, Usagi hunts down the General to get his swords back. The trail becomes hard when the General crosses a rope bridge and cuts it down before Usagi (and the rest of the General's men) can make it across. Usagi follows information to a small town that was raided by Fujii's new gang. He helps in the town, so one of the townsfolk shows him the way to the bandits' hideout. The story stops there, a nice cliffhanger ending.

Mongrels--Usagi's friend Gen comes to a town where another bounty hunter, the Stray Dog, is already hunting down the local bounty. After a respectful but tense conversation about the trade, Stray Dog buys Gen a drink and tells him to be on his way. Gen, of course, just sneaks after the other bounty hunter. Out in the wild they are about to fight when a third party shows up...Usagi and his villager guide going to the bandits' hideout!

Daisho Part Two--The three fighters team up to go after Fujii. Gen and Stray Dog will split the bounty on Fujii while Usagi will reclaim his swords. The villager leads them to a temple in the mountains where the gang is just returning from a raid. The warriors wait till dark, assuming the gang will party too much and be easier to defeat. That part of the plan works but getting Fujii becomes more complicated when Stray Dog uses an unorthodox strategy to get what he wants. It's a great finish to the story, especially when the reader finds out why Stray Dog is so ruthless a bounty hunter.

Runaways--Usagi wanders into a town where a procession is going through. The townsfolk have to make way for Lady Hirano. Hearing her name, Usagi remembers an early duty of his--escorting the woman to her marriage with Lord Hirano. Usagi had just received a letter from his father that Mariko (Usagi's childhood sweetheart) has married another. Usagi's boss sends him on the escort mission, assuming it will be easy work and time to sort things out. Unfortunately, the mission is attacked, leaving almost everyone dead. Usagi and the Lady Kinuko become runaways, trying to get Hirano. On the way, they follow a typical arc of feuding and falling for each other. Sakai deftly weaves in a myth about two stars who are separated by the Milky Way and only come together one night a year. The village Usagi and Kinuko travel through is having that one night festival, giving them a chance to bond. Sadly, things turn back to normal too soon. It's a melancholy story that is very touching and familiar.

Nature of the Viper--An old fisherman discovers a corpse on the riverbank. When he investigates, the hand shoots up and grabs him. The fisherman is frightened but he takes the man home to help him recover. Turns out, the nearly dead man is a literally washed-up old villain of Usagi's (Jei, the semi-demoniac from Book 6). He tells the fisherman a tale similar to the old Scorpion and Frog tale. Jei has the same attitude toward the fisherman. It's a great cliffhanger ending for the book.

This is another set of fine tales. Sakai tells the stories so well through images and character developments. Even familiar tropes feel fresh or personal.

Highly recommended.

Movie Review: More Classic Wolf Man Action

More werewolf treats from Universal's legacy edition DVD...

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) directed by Roy William Neil

The movie starts in Frankenstein style with two grave robbers breaking into a vault. Unfortunately, they are breaking into the Talbot vault where the remains of Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) are said to have some gold jewelry and cash. The thieves make the classic blunder of robbing the tomb of a werewolf on the night of the full moon. As soon as they open Larry's coffin, moonlight hits him, revives him, and he attacks them as the Wolf Man. He makes it in wolf form as far as Cardiff where he winds up at a hospital in human form with a head injury. The doctor and the policeman involved don't believe his story of turning into a wolf or that he is Larry Talbot (a call back to his home town revealing he died four years earlier). Larry breaks out and searches for Maleva, the gypsy woman who is the only person who knows the truth about werewolfism. She thinks that Doctor Frankenstein can help. When they get to the village of Frankenstein, the mad doctor and his son are dead. There's a cute granddaughter who might have access to Frankenstein's journal. The other locals are not interested in messing with that stuff because of their past experiences. The trio (granddaughter, Maleva, and Larry) investigates the ruins of Frankenstein castle, where they discover the Monster just barely alive. The doctor from Cardiff shows up, wanting to help Larry but then wanting to follow in Frankenstein's footsteps. Mayhem ensues.

This movie follows on from Ghost of Frankenstein, where Chaney played the Frankenstein monster. Here, since Chaney is back to being the Wolf Man, Bela Lugosi plays the Monster. Lugosi is okay in the role, though apparently his speaking lines were deleted because audiences laughed at his accent coming from the Monster. Chaney does well as the emotionally brittle Talbot and he gets more action as the Wolf Man. The plot moves along at a brisk pace and isn't too absurd. It's entertaining but hardly a must see movie.

Mildly recommended.

Werewolf of London (1935) directed by Stuart Walker

This less successful attempt to start a werewolf franchise sees an English botanist named Wilfred Glendon (Henry Hull) travel to Tibet to find a rare flower, the Mariphasa, that only blooms in moonlight. During his travel, he is attacked and bitten by a wolf-like creature. Back in London, he experiments on the flower, while his wife Lisa (Valerie Hobson) tries to keep up the couple's social life. Glendon is obsessed with the flower, along with some other botantists, notably Dr. Yogami (Warner Oland), who has followed Glendon from Tibet to London. Yogami wants the flower to cure two werewolves he knows in London. Glendon scoffs at the idea. Well, he scoffs until he turns into a wolf and attacks some poor street woman. Meanwhile, Lisa has started hanging out with a childhood sweetheart, which probably isn't a good thing for either of them considering her husband's condition.

The plot is interesting enough. The filmmakers do a lot of balancing of scenes--one horror scene is followed by a bit of comedy with minor characters. The transitions weren't jarring but the technique was overused in this film. Glendon was a less sympathetic than he needed to be. He was mildly neglectful and controlling of his wife, not an endearing trait. He also seems to have more control in his werewolf state than later werewolves, so he's a bit more responsible, also not an endearing trait. The werewolf makeup is not as bestial as the Lon Chaney look, though Jack Pierce did both. The makeup is fine but not the iconic look that would come six years later. The other weird things is the characters call the condition "lycanthrophobia" rather than "lycanthropy," which is wrong in many ways. When the first character said it, I thought I misheard, but then it was repeated and was in print!

Mildly recommended--a film for the completist.

She-Wolf of London (1946) directed by Jean Yarbrough

Soon-to-be-married Phyllis Allenby (June Lockhart) is worried about the Allenby Curse. The family has a legend of lycanthropy. A child has just been murdered in a nearby park by a large dog or other animal. She suspects herself and distances herself from her fiance (Don Porter). Her live-in Aunt Martha (Sara Haden) is very protective and supports Phyllis in her illness. Martha has to balance that with discouraging her own daughter Carol (Jan Wily) from marrying a local starving artist. As the park's body count piles up, the drama also heightens.

The movie uses a "less is more" approach to the horror elements. The attacks are barely shown; the gore and horror are only in the dialog, not in the visuals. Unfortunately, the style doesn't really deliver like it does in the Val Lewton films. Instead, it suggests the ultimate explanation of what's going on. So the ending was not the surprise twist that maybe it was intended to be. The actors do a good job but the material is more paint-by-numbers than fresh and original.

Mildly recommended--no wolf transformations or action in this one, it's more of a melodrama. 

Cute Kid Pix October 2021

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

I bought the pink Ticket to Ride train set in support of breast cancer research. The trains are fun to play with. They are bubblegum pink, so we have to be careful not to try and sample them.

A new set of trains

Includes the stations from TTR Europe

We tried them out with the Nordic Countries map which has its own trains but only three sets: white, black, and purple. The box has space for the usual five (though the Nordic map only allows three players maximum), so the box has room for the newcomers.

Matches well with the purple trains from Nordic Countries

Nordic map

I looked around the house to find a plastic bag so I could store the trains in the game box. The metal tin is nice but takes up too much space. After finding a bag, I took out the insert in the tin to see how much space there was, and there was a plastic bag for the trains!

Secret surprise!

My youngest's cub scout pack went the First Fruits Farm and harvested potatoes. The farm donates the produce to local (and not so local) food banks and soup kitchens. The shift was only two hours and it went by quickly.

Not glamorous, but good work

Book Review: Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

This book was published as "Rivers of London" in the UK, hence the cover from Amazon has a different title.

Constable-in-training Peter Grant is ready to lose the hyphenated bits of his title and join the London Metropolitan Police Force. He's worried that he'll get stuck in some boring paperwork division. He and fellow trainee Leslie (for whom he has mild lustful intentions) are on guard duty at a murder scene when Peter interviews an eyewitness to the crime. That witness turns out to be a ghost, something he's reluctant to reveal to his superiors. They find out and he's put in a secret division of the police--the magical and uncanny investigation department. He has one supervisor, DCI Thomas Nightingale, an experienced magician who teaches Peter the basics of magic as they work their side of the murder investigation. They also have to deal with a territorial dispute between two rivals--Mother Thames and Father Thames. She has the south end of the river (including most of London); he has the north end but has been encroaching. She's mad and wants the police to get things sorted. Peter has to liaison with some water nymphs who naturally also inspire lustful intentions, though Peter is warned not to get personally involved with magical beings. It's a strange start for his law enforcement career.

The book is an interesting mashup of urban fantasy and police procedural. The characters are aware of their setting, often making comments or jokes referencing Harry Potter or the Twilight series. The story is told first-person by Grant, justifying the exposition through his novice status and the comedy through his wry worldview. The humor is plentiful and lightens up the fairly graphic murders. The descriptions of London are quite vivid too. The reader has a good sense of walking around in various neighborhoods that have their own charms and squalor. Aaronovitch also does a good job showing the mundane nature of a lot of police work--waiting around or having to search through a lot of CCTV footage for what's needed. I found the book satisfying on many levels.

Recommended. 

The book is the subject of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast #269.

Halloween 2021

Here's some of the things we did to celebrate Halloween this year!

We went to Markoff's Haunted Forest, a popular spooky trail in the Baltimore/DC area. The attraction has been running for decades and has grown into (mutated into?) a huge production. The trail takes about half an hour to get through, assuming you are occasionally running in terror (which is what you want, right?). 

Entrance to Markoff's

Visitors are encouraged to come early and hang out in the bonfire area. Food and drinks are on sale and a DJ plays spooky music. Some other activities are there, like a haunted hayride (which we didn't do) and a bungee jump that was only used once while we were there. I don't know what would be scarier, the jump or climbing up the telephone pole to get to the jump.

Bungie-jump tower?

Several bonfires were going, warming up the slight chill of the night. The logs were gigantic.

Bonfire

I didn't take any pictures along the trail since that is discouraged, both for spoiling surprises and for losing phones. We had a lot of fun. 

My son's Cub Scout pack had a Halloween-themed pack meeting with lots of activities, including throwing spiders on webs and guessing the numbers of candy corn in a jar. Here is my boy picking out a spooky tattoo to wear.

His Creeper head wasn't zipped up

The school had an outdoor festival. The pumpkin patch had lots of gourds to choose from.

Creeper with his head on right

My son also decorated a bag for the bus loop candy grab (their version of trick or treating). He went with a green theme to match his outfit.

Does this sticker have enough green?

They even had a little photo op area!

Who's scariest in this picture?

Our church had a trunk-or-treat after Sunday Mass, so we had a nice haul.

Church candy!

Since our youngest was sick and our oldest were not interested, we did not trick-or-treat in the neighborhood. We had plenty of other children come to the door for candy, though we only got halfway through our bag of 335 candies. I guess we won't have any lack of dessert for the next couple of weeks!

Book Review: The Death of Captain Marvel by Jim Starlin

The Death of Captain Marvel written and illustrated by Jim Starlin

The original Captain Marvel was a Kree warrior named Mar-Vell who was scouting out the Earth as a possible conquest for the Kree empire. He became enamored with Earth (what alien in Marvel Comics doesn't?) and turned against the Kree. He adopted the name "Captain Marvel" and fought with many of Earth's heroes. He even joined the Avengers for a while. This book tells his final tale, the battle he has with an unbeatable enemy: cancer. He'd been exposed to toxic radiation years before but ignored the signs that he was getting sick. And it turns out that cancer is the one illness that no race in the universe has cured. Mar-Vell returns to his home on Titan (Saturn's moon) where he records a final testament for the Avengers. Many of Earth's most brilliant heroes come to Titan to work on a cure; the scientists of Titan also get in touch with the other species in the universe, looking for some way to preserve Mar-Vell's life.  As the title of the book suggests, things do not turn out well.

The book is surprisingly somber. Mar-Vell reviews his life, hitting the highlights of his partnerships, his loves, and his enemies. Thanos was a recurring enemy. As someone in love with death, Thanos (as a ghost or memory) becomes a key sounding board for Mar-Vell's internal monologues. Mar-Vell struggles between fighting his illness and accepting his fate, i.e. his mortality. He also wants to help his friends, especially Elysius the woman he loves, through this dark time. Even though he doesn't die in battle, he dies with his friends around him. The story is surprisingly moving and honest.

Highly recommended.