Book Review: Big Bangs and Black Holes by Herji et al.

Big Bangs and Black Holes: A Graphic Novel Guide to the Universe script and illustrations by Herji with theoretical background by Jeremie Francfort and Michel Mayr, translated by Jeffrey K. Butt

Providing a kid-friendly overview of the latest theories and facts in cosmology is no small task. This graphic novel covers the basics as are currently understood, with descriptions of Einstein's relativity, space-time theory, cosmic microwave background radiation, and the titular Big Bang and Black Holes. The book is honest about what is known and what is educated conjecture, a refreshing change from other more dogmatic texts. The topics are fun to think about, even if the math is so difficult that it's hard even for a trained cosmologist to do.

Recommended for kids and adults.

Movie Review: Dial M for Murder (1954)

Dial M for Murder (1954) directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Former tennis star Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) married Margo (Grace Kelly) for love and money. He's off the tennis circuit and realizes he is rather dependent on her money. His other problem is that she is in love with a crime author from New York named Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). They had an affair while Mark was in London and kept up correspondence when he returned to New York. Tony hatches a complicated scheme to have his wife murdered, using the visiting Tony as an alibi while he has someone else do the deed. But the plan does not go off according to plan, leaving Margo alive and the would-be murderer dead on their living room floor.

This classic Hitchcock thriller is based on a popular play. The story sticks mostly to the apartment with only a few of the trademark visual flourishes that Hitchcock is famous for. The complicated plotting works nicely, almost like an episode of Columbo, where viewers know who the murderer really is and the resolution is in finding the flaw in the plan or some other way to get the criminal to reveal themselves. While the movie doesn't have the bold visuals of North by Northwest or Vertigo, it still is very satisfying to watch.

Recommended.

TV Review: Lupin Part III (2023)

Lupin Part III (2023) created by George Kay

See my review of Part I here. and Part II here.

After wrapping everything up in the last season, I was worried about a third run of adventures with Assane Diop (Omar Sy), the gentleman thief who models himself on Arsene Lupin, a popular gentleman thief from French literature. The new story starts with Assane's only failure early in his career. He tried to steal the Black Pearl (not Johnny Depp's ship, but an actual pearl that is black) but wound up arrested. His past comes back to haunt him in more ways than one, so he decides to fake his own death. Ghosts don't haunt ghosts, right? After an outrageous and entertaining deception, he is ready to retire to obscurity, but then he gets some information on his long lost mother and has to follow through.

The story gets more over-the-top than previous seasons, but it is clever enough and Sy is charming enough to make it well worth watching. The focus is on his family, both his wife and son and his crime associates (on both sides of the law, no less!). They all play a role in his actions, sometimes as willing and sometimes as unwilling (or even unknowing) allies. Again, things are tied up by the end but a little tag suggests more possible adventures. Sign me up.

Recommended, this is fun escapist fare from France!

This is currently (as of November 2023) only streaming on Netflix.

Book Review: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey updated with fresh insights by Sean Covey

I was surprised to learn that this classic self-help book was first published in 1989, less than forty years ago. The advice given in it has a timeless feel; the founding principles pre-date the Me-Focused paradigm of the last fifty or sixty years. Covey did a lot of research into self-help literature from the past century, identifying a shift from improvement through building character to improvement through emphasizing personality. Rather than change oneself into someone better, modern self-help focuses on affirming oneself as good enough. Covey's return to principles and character building is a shift in the right direction. 

The seven habits focus on intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. A person needs to identify the principles that will govern their life. He encourages readers to make a personal mission statement that embodies their highest ideals. Working with the goals in the mission statement, behavior can be transformed from reactive and competitive to proactive and cooperative. While others tout the value of working together to achieve goals, Covey presents practical abilities, actions, and attitudes that make cooperation fruitful. 

The book is inspiring but also challenging. Covey gives tips and encourages readers to create a mission statement for themselves as well as for their family and their business. Covey wants readers to think about good and bad relationships and reevaluate their value and how to get the best from others who are easy or hard to deal with. He uses so many examples of clients and others who have put his recommendations to use and had amazing and surprising successes. Many self-help books focus on one technique or one insight that helped the author transform their lives; such books often read like they would not apply in your own concrete situation (just think of all the various types of diet books). This book is much more grounded and holistic, with the sort of advice that will never go out of style or not fit a certain personality.

Highly recommended.

More Alpha Geocaching 2023

A geocacher has released an ongoing series of caches following the alphabet, with twenty-six caches leading to a final cache using the numbers hidden in all the other caches. I've been working on the series on and off for about two years and am finally getting close to the end!

I found Alphabet I (Inside) - Redux inside of a tree in the park and got another clue for the final find.

Typical trail in the woods

I finished out the series with Alphabet E (Evergreen) - Redux a few days later. Making the find wasn't too hard since it was still early spring and the nearby pool was not in use yet...not even close! This series was weird, because each letter had coordinates online, but only some of them were correct coordinates for the find. These others had to be calculated from information in the other caches. It was a bit of a headache to sort out but I finished it up.

Spring had barely sprung

Then summer happened, shutting down the alpha-caching until the fall, when the woods are less thorny and weedy. Sure, the fallen leaves make a challenge. I feel they are an easier challenge to deal with.

I started up again in October with the S-T-U-V Redux series in a park in northern Columbia. They are all on one trail though in a bit of a mixed-up order. Luckily, my father-in-law was there to help. My first find was Alphabet T (Turtle) - Redux which was just off the trail. The turtle was too small to see from a distance but I did spot the container fairly quickly. The trail had a crazy big tree on one side, so I took a photo with it.

Amazing tree

Me for scale

Next up was Alphabet S (Stick) - Redux which was a tricky and fun container in a tree. While the alphabet seemed to be going backwards, the next find was Alphabet U (Under) - Redux, much further along the trail and much further from the pavement. My father-in-law made the find here and was a big help in figuring out the coordinates for the final cache, Alphabet V (Very) - Redux. Happily, ground zero was back by where we parked. Unhappily, construction was going on just off the trail (reinforcing the nearby pond?). I felt suspicious enough looking around for the cache so I didn't take any pictures. A bicyclist on the trail stopped and came over to the spot where we had just been. He seemed like he was only looking at the construction, not at the hiding spot. At least I hope so.

A river runs by it

I finally made a second search of Alphabet-I (Inside) and made the find, only to discover an empty bottle! There was no log, no number for I, and no lid. I messaged the owner. On the way to ground zero, two deer spotted me. Can you spot them?

Easy find

Less easy find

Uneasy find

The W-X-Y-Z series still awaits as does the final Alpha cache. The cacher has not created a Redux series for the end of the alphabet yet (at least as I write in November 2023).

Alpha series completed this post:

I of E-F-G-H-I

E and I of E-F-G-H-I Redux

S-T-U-V Redux

Previously completed:

A-B-C-D (and the Redux)--see this post

E-F-G-H-I, but not I--see this post

E-F-G-H-I Redux, but not E or I--see this post

J-K-L-M (and the Redux)--see this post

N-O-P-Q-R--see this post

N-O-P-Q-R Redux--see this post

S-T-U-V--see this post

Book Review: Batman Adventures: Cat Got Your Tongue?

Batman Adventures: Cat Got Your Tongue? written by various authors and illustrated by various artists

This collection of seven tales provides a scattershot view of Catwoman, the famous foe and friend (and romantic intersest) of Batman. Some of the stories feature their relationship, others just hint at or nod to it. She is an expert thief who often uses her skills for good causes but not in good ways. Her moral ambiguity is interesting and well presented. One story has her attacking a beauty products company because they use animals, especially cats, unethically in experiments. Her noble motivation is skewed by her operating outside of, and occasionally against, the law. Such behavior naturally brings the interest of Batman, who is debatably also acts outside of the law for noble motivations.

The art follows the style of Batman: The Animated Series, with its noir overtones and sharp contrasts. A lot of different authors and artists worked on this, it is surprising how tonally and visually united the set is. Though Catwoman is romantically interested in Batman, she is not drawn provocatively or graphically and readers see nothing more than a modest kiss, making this okay for kids to read. Batman is less interested in her (or less aware) and sticks to his code of honor. He's no perfect role model (something Catwoman points out more than once). They do make a fascinating pair.

Recommended.

Movie Review: Prey (2022)

Prey (2022) co-written and directed by Dan Trachtenberg

Naru (Amber Midthunder) is a young Comanche woman who wants to prove herself by the tribal tradition of hunting a great prey. Her mother and brother are mildly indulgent, with her mother wanting Naru to focus more on healing and cooking arts while her brother wants to keep her safe. It's 1719 in the Northern Great Plains when the biggest threats should be mountain lions and bears. Unfortunately, a Predator has landed in country and is doing its usual thing--fighting an opponent that seems worthy or hostile. The Predator fights some snakes and bears before it move on to human prey, both the local Comanche warriors and the French trappers who happen to be in the area (and provide some extra villains for Naru and the Predator to fight).

Moving the narrative to a historical, primitive setting is an intriguing idea for a Predator film. Too bad the execution does not match the creativity of the premise. Instead of something fresh, viewers have to go through a lot of typical Hollywood tropes. The natives are good at tracking and living in the wilderness and being unseen when they want to (or the story requires it). The female character is looked on as weak by everyone but herself until the end when she returns to the tribe in triumph. The white European males are almost entirely piggish villains that the filmmakers are happy to kill off and expect the viewers to root for their deaths. The only bright spot is the tender and nuanced relationship between Naru and her brother--they genuinely love and care for each other. They both are less appreciative of each other at the beginning but grow in understanding and interdependence. The Predator is little more than the standard hard-to-kill serial killer, any motivation or explanation of what it is doing depends on knowledge from previous films.

Not recommended--originally, I was going to have The Flash as my Thanksgiving Cinematic Turkey this year, but Prey managed to take over the "worst movie I've seen this year" position.