Slow and Steady

Image from here

Recently, I was discussing with a friend how a member of my family has changed (for the better) over the years.  When I mentioned the duration required to bring about that change- decades- my friend's reply surprised me: "it's probably better that way."

We're obsessed with speed.  We want to lose weight fast, get places fast, do things fast, achieve fast.  And yet, how many crash diets work?  How many resolutions are broken?  We vow to improve, start strong . . . and fade fast.  Maybe we're taking the wrong approach.  Maybe slow and steady really does win the race.

At the halfway point of 2016, I see a trend as I look back on the past few years: I've changed for the better, but oh so slowly.  From minimizing (material possessions and weight), to better routines, to improving fitness, to a healthier approach to life, change has occurred at a turtle pace.

I continue to lose weight, slowly: I've lost 6 lbs so far this year (I lost 5 last year).  Running has improved, slowly: I'm on track to double the number of miles run (from 2015 totals).  Reduction of material items continues to improve, slowly: I have only 3 physical books left in my 'owned but unread' pile (that number was 120 a few years ago- see below chart).  Focus on the Lord is improving, slowly: I'm spending more time learning God's word and in community more.  I'm becoming a marginally better parent- ever so slowly- trying to spend more time with my kids and speak more gently to them as I guide them through life.

owned but unread books

I'm not there yet.  I haven't met my goal of dropping to 180lbs.  I need to stretch more frequently, as I'm impressively inflexible.  I have too much stuff in a number of other areas- principally movies and games- and I need to whittle those down (use it or lose it!).  I need to pray more, care for my family more, love more.  But, by the grace of God, I'm in the right direction.  And I hope the slow and steady approach will result in sustained, permanent improvement that will ultimately prove far more effective than the 'fast but fade' mentality.

The History of the Medieval World (Susan Wise Bauer)

The History of the Medieval World is volume 2 of Susan Wise Bauer's trilogy (volumes 1 and 3 deal with the Ancient and Renaissance worlds, respectively).  Here, she covers years 312 to 1129 (from the Christian conversion of Roman Emperor Constantine to the First Crusade).  The bulk of the work is on Europe and the Mediterranean region (the Middle East and North Africa), but also deals with China, India, Korea/Japan, and the Americas (in decreasing order of volume of material).

This is a good book.  Her history is largely political but also covers major developments in religion.  She focuses on the rise and fall of empires and rulers, and discusses the ever-shifting relationship between church* and state.  Bauer writes well and manages to make the complexities and inter-relationships of history simple, succinct, and understandable- quite impressive.  Like a compelling historian and storyteller, she deals not just with the "what" but with the "why" and "how" of history.  It's amazing how much Medieval history has shaped our modern world, and reading this book gave me a new appreciation for the importance of studying the past to understand the present.  This is probably the best survey history that I've read; highly recommended.

Rating:A

*by church I mean all religious institutions, regardless of faith

CCG

As one who looks forward, there's much I can't recall about my childhood.  Something that has remained with me, though, is my enjoyment of Collectible Card Games (CCGs).  I've played them for over half of my life; this is my CCG story (I explained the concept and appeal in an earlier post here).

The dust settles long after we fly down the country road.  Our 4-mile bike ride ends on a short stretch of [what passes for] a busy road in Lancaster county, and my best friend ("Justin") and I walk into the comic book store with an undisguised eagerness seldom seen outside of youth.  It's the summer of 1995.  Tales of the Jedi issues line the shelves, heralding the arrival of Star Wars as a major comic force.  In another section, several Magic the Gathering expansions are readily available.  They look enticing . . . as the world's first CCG, Magic was the introduction for many to the genre.  We buy a starter deck . . . and soon after we're hooked.

Justin and I returned to that store many times over the summer months to pick up a 'pack here and there' of Magic cards.  My favorite expansions at the time were Unlimited, Ice Age, and Chronicles.  We had no idea what we were doing, of course.  We knew the rules- mostly- but the subtleties didn't click, and my top desires were those giant creatures, often green (see example at right).  Out of ignorance, we disdained the powerful cards we had like Moxes (that, today, sell for thousands of dollars) in favor of these green commons.  Our decks weren't great . . . but we had fun, and that was the point.

Like many fads I experienced in my youth, our Magic craze fizzled over time, and I eventually gave away or pitched my cards (I shudder to think about the modern value that may have ended up in the trash).  But I wasn't done with CCGs quite yet.  My brother and I played Star Trek CCG a tad, and many others were on the horizon.

In the mid-late '90s, I dabbled in a market glutted with new CCG products based on Magic's success.  Anything and everything* got a CCG at that time- it was the golden age for the genre.  I even dabbled in the 'Christian' card game, Redemption.  But college beckoned, budgets tightened, and I put gaming on pause- for a few years, anyway.

In 2002, I stumbled across a website that was selling the Star Wars CCG on clearance.  Booster boxes that cost $70+ were going for $10-$20.  I took the bait . . . and was back in a big way (by 'big' I mean 'expensive').  I found a friend at college who enjoyed the game, and we played every Sunday.  Like with Magic, I didn't have (or try to have) top-tier decks . . . but again, we had fun.  Those game days stopped at graduation- but I wasn't done yet.

2004 saw me get back into Magic and dabble in others like Lord of the Rings CCG.  Again, other things took priority, and again (foolishly) I sold my cards.  See a pattern here?  Not the brightest bulb.  Around this time I also got into Star Wars Miniatures- a miniaturized collectible game in the vein of CCGs.

In 2008, I lived in Germany and ended up meeting friends who had all played Magic at some point.  I was back in for a third time; this time, it was for good.  I also collected and played Star Wars Miniatures and Vs. System a good deal with that crowd.

Throughout my gaming days, I've been tempted by other CCGs (living or 'dead' (no longer produced)), but few have the player pool or corporate support of Magic.  The dead ones in particular are often quite expensive (due to scarcity, not quality), and are best left alone.  Reflecting back, it's shameful how many different ones I tried (see below chart for unnecessary detail).

Like any hobby, CCGs are fun but need limits to enjoy them in a healthy manner.  The money and time they can consume is breathtaking; in hindsight, I shouldn't have cast my net so wide, nor so rashly given up collections to the few games I did like.  My current system is to keep a small collection of the four I enjoy the most (Magic, Star Wars Miniatures, Vs. System, and Star Wars CCG), and sell the expensive cards to make the hobby somewhat self-sustaining.  It's worked well, and I *think* I've finally got it down.  It just took me 20 years.

*For a list of CCGs, see here.  Boardgamegeek ranks all customizable games here.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Chronicles of Narnia are beloved fantasy classics penned by noted Christian author C.S. Lewis.  The first published book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, is the best-known and was first to be made into a movie of the same name, the subject of today's review.

When the four Pevensie children (Peter, Edmund, Susan, Lucy) are sent to a country manor to escape the WWII London bombings, they fear they're in for a dreadfully dull time.  Initially, their fears are reinforced by the reclusive lord and stern housekeeper; however, an innocent game of hide-and-seek ends up revealing another world- Narnia- that can be accessed (on occasion) through a wardrobe.  As the kids explore this magical place- where it's always winter but never Christmas- they soon realize they're in the middle of a great battle between the usurping white witch and Aslan, the rightful ruler (who happens to be a lion).  They will learn a great deal about themselves and the world as they participate in the battle, and it will take the ultimate sacrifice to prevail.

As Lewis' story is a clear allegory about Jesus, news of this film's production was greeted with both enthusiasm and anxiety by the Christian community.  Would such a film, produced by a secular company, be faithful to the book?  The answer, in my opinion, is 'mostly.'  There are differences (chronicled here), but aren't there always?  The important thing: does the movie convey the love, sacrifice, kingship, goodness, and ultimate triumph of Aslan?  I think so, and that alone makes this a film worth watching.  It is certainly a[n older] kids movie- the PG rating should suggest that- so don't expect an epic like Lord of the Rings, but there are some scary scenes, so be mindful when the little ones are around. 

Rating: A-

Gustave Doré

Gustave Doré was a 19th century French artist who specialized in breathtaking wood engravings.  An online example collection can be found here.  I was introduced to Doré when my King Arthur interest began- he produced a series of illustrations for Tennyson's Idylls of the King that blew me away (one example is below).  Doré's illustrated other classics, to include the Bible, Don Quixote, The Divine Comedy, History of the Crusades, and various children's fairy tales.  You can purchase books featuring just Doré's work- three examples are shown above (and the Amazon link here has more).  They're amazing; I recommend you take a moment to enjoy his work.

Not the Way It's Supposed to Be (Cornelius Plantinga Jr.)

In our present age, we tend to ignore, minimize, justify, or excuse our sin; it was not always so.  In Not the Way It's Supposed to Be, author Cornelius Plantinga Jr. unpacks this important topic.  His goal "is to renew the knowledge of a persistent reality . . . for slippage in our consciousness of sin, like most fashionable follies, may be pleasant, but it is also devastating."  Therefore he aims to "present the nature and dynamics of sin."  Paraphrasing his own words, in this book he defines sin, describes how sin corrupts what is good and how such corruption spreads, discusses the parasitic quality of sin, compares sin with folly and addiction, and concludes by describing two classic "postures" or movements of sin, attack and flight.

Why does understanding sin matter?

It's obvious to all (regardless of creed) that things aren't as they ought to be in this world.  Humans commit evils great and small against other humans and creation.  We "mysteriously live against the purpose of [our] existence."  We know what is good but we don't do it; we have the desire but not ability to do right (Romans 7:18).  So a study in sin is a study in reality.  Additionally, we need to understand sin to understand grace- "without full disclosure on sin, the gospel of grace becomes impertinent, unnecessary, and finally uninteresting."

So what is sin?
"Sin is culpable shalom-breaking."  Shalom means "universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight;"  it is "God's design for creation and redemption; sin is blamable human vandalism of these great realities and therefore an affront to their architect and builder."  "When we sin, we pervert, adulterate, and destroy good things."

"Sin is the smearing of a relationship." "In sin, people attack or evade or neglect their divine calling.  Sin is disruption of created harmony and then resistance to divine restoration of that harmony.  Above all, sin disrupts and resists the vital human relation to God . . ." so "a sin is any act- any thought, desire, emotion, word, or deed- or its particular absence, that displeases God and deserves blame."

Characteristics of Sin
Sin corrupts (wrecks "integrity or wholeness");
sin perverts (twists something to serve an unworthy or entirely wrong end);
sin pollutes (weakens "a particular whole entity" "by introducing into it a foreign element");
sin progresses or spreads; (it "despoils even its own agents" and yet is "remarkably generative" in that "sin yields more and more sin.");
sin is a parasite ("an uninvited guest that keeps tapping its host for sustenance.  Nothing about sin is its own; all its power, persistence, and plausibility are stolen goods.  Sin is not really an entity but a spoiler of entities.");
sin masquerades: ("To do its worst, evil needs to look its best."  We put on a happy face; a pretty picture to hide our darkness);
sin is folly ("because it is futile, because it is vain, because it is unrealistic, because it spoils good things.");
sin appears in "a pattern of alternating attack and flight.  Sinners assault other human beings or else they ignore them . . . by the sins of attack we vandalize shalom; by the sins of flight we abandon it."

Review
This is a great book, as [I hope] the above summary conveys.  I appreciate how the author explored and unpacked the depth, complexity, and consequence of sin.  For example, he looks at the relationship between sin and immorality (or addiction)- they're related but not identical- and concepts like "all sin is equally wrong, but not all sin is equally bad."  He recognizes that some aspects are a mystery (2 Thessalonians 2:7).  The book was too brief to analyze individual sins, but he does choose one (envy) to thoroughly examine; I especially appreciated that treatment.  In short, this is a good starting point to learn more about a fundamental reality that we tend to ignore.

Rating: A

The American Civil War: A Visual History (DK Publishing)

Having enjoyed DK's visual-intensive treatments of WWI and WWII, I wanted to check out their take on the American Civil War.  I wasn't disappointed.

The Civil War (1861-1865) was the bloodiest conflict fought on American soil. The Confederate States of America (CSA)- 11 southern, pro-slavery states (see map below)- seceded from the USA in 1860-61 following years of intense debates about the future of the American West and whether new states would be slave or free (the decision would affect balance of power in Congress, and hence the future of slavery in the country). After Confederate secession, USA President Abraham Lincoln declared war to preserve the union, and the conflict was on.   Over 620,000 died in the war, as state fought state and (often) brother fought brother.  As the war progressed, the issue of slavery took center stage, and the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) followed by the Thirteenth Amendment (1865) abolished slavery in America forever- though the battle for equality would be far from over.

The USA at the outbreak of the Civil War.  Note some slave-holding states were part of the Union.  Source here.

The war resulted in heroes and villains on both sides, and the conflict has been studied in detail ever since.  It produced famous generals who are now household names like Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Richard T. Sherman.  The battles- most of which were fought in the South- have been analyzed repeatedly, and the cause(s) of the war are still hotly contested (the most frequent debate centering on the role of slavery vs. state's rights).  This book covers the issues, battles, and personalities succinctly and well.  True to its title, the graphics are outstanding- with numerous paintings, photographs, maps, and other visual aids to complement to well-written text.  I was impressed with how balanced the account was, enjoyed learning about the contrasting viewpoints on why people fought.  It is an overview, so depth is sacrificed to be comprehensive in just 350 pages.  Still, this is a tidy volume that informs the reader and gives fair attention to both sides in this horrible conflict.  Recommended.

Rating: A

Building a Magic Deck

I've posted on my general enjoyment of Magic: The Gathering (MTG) here and discussed staple cards here.  Today's post focuses on a key aspect of the game: deck building.

Half of the fun of MTG (or any collectible card game) is preparing- building your deck.  Collectible card games like MTG give players complete control of  how their decks are constructed, allowing for near-infinite variety and countless strategies.  In 'normal' tabletop games, you have nothing to do or prepare before the game.  In MTG, preparation is essential if you want to have any chance of success.  So build your deck carefully- and today I'll give you high-level principles for how to do so.  There are four that I use:

1) Pick a theme (and format)

This is the necessary first step, as your theme dictates your general approach and choice of color(s) to use.  Will you be aggressive and fast-paced, or patient and controlling?  Do you prefer playing some colors to others?  We could continue to list questions . . . but the bottom line is this: you need an initial theme before anything else can happen.

Your theme can be chosen based on any number of things:

• Cards you have (or want)
• Some cards just have certain appeal to people, for all kinds of reasons (cool creature, cool ability, cool art . . . you name it).  If you have a card you love, start there!
• Combinations or synergies of interest
• Maybe it's not one card that's standing out to you, but a combination of two or more.  A synergetic combination of cards is often a staple of competitive decks, so starting here is never a bad idea.
• Expansions you enjoy
• Each MTG expansion has a theme.  It could be gothic (like Innistrad), tribal (like Lorwyn), artifacts (like Mirrodin), or lots of other things.  If a given expansion appeals to you, you may want to start there when building a deck.
• Mechanics you like
• Each MTG expansion has mechanics that feature strongly in it.  Mechanics are generally keywords specific to a certain set.  The current expansion (Shadows Over Innistrad), for example, has keywords like madness and delirium that you may want to build a deck around.
• Colors you like
• Remember that MTG has five colors of mana: white, blue, black, red, and green.  Each has its own tendencies, strengths, and drawbacks.  The color wheel below summarizes themes found in each; a good color overview (as well as good deck building tips) can be found here from the official source; the page here is also a good summary.  Some people play only one or two colors based on their preferences.

the five colors (picture sourced from pinterest)

You also need to consider the format you're playing.  There are many ways to play MTG, and the format will determine (among other things) which cards are legal to include in a deck.  You also need to remember the power level- in other words, are you competing in a pro-level tournament, local event, or playing casually with friends?  Don't bring a knife to a gunfight . . . or vice-versa.

2) Create a good mana base

There are essentially two types of MTG cards: those that produce mana (usually lands) and those that consume mana (creatures, enchantments, sorceries, instants, planeswalkers, and artifacts).  You could have the best cards in the world . . . but if you can't pay the cost to play them, they'll never see the light of day.

A typical MTG deck size is 60 cards.  Generally speaking, you want 40% of these (24 cards) to be lands.  This makes it probable that you'll draw enough of them throughout the course of the game.  If you draw too few (or too many), you'll experience 'mana screw' (too little land) or 'mana flood' (too much)- and either diminishes your chance of victory greatly.

The lands you choose are of course dependent upon the color(s) you're playing.  If you have a mono-green theme, then forests- basic lands that produce green mana- will probably suffice.  Multi-colored decks must balance the ratios of lands accordingly.  For example, if you're playing a blue/black deck, and two-thirds of the cards are blue, then two-thirds of your lands should be capable of producing blue mana.

3) Balance offense and defense

Good decks are flexible, meaning they can be victorious in a range of scenarios, under a range of conditions.  To do that, they need a mixture of offense and defense.

Offense 
By offense, I mean carrying out your theme or strategy (which you chose, at least in part, in step 1).  It could revolve around card combos, building swarms of small creatures, or myriad other things.  Whatever it is, now is the time to choose cards that are well-suited to execute your plan of attack.

Regardless of theme, you need to include a finisher- a 'bomb' of some kind.  The ultimate goal is winning- reducing your opponent to 0 life.  You can effectively carry out themes, but if you don't finish well, your decks will fizzle.  I'm very good at doing this (unfortunately).  For example, I once built a deck on a 'discard' theme.  I packed my deck with cards that forced my opponent to discard.  It worked wonderfully, in that my opponent had no cards in his hand.  However, once that was accomplished, I had no big creatures or other means of reducing his life total to 0.  So the rest of the game was a stalemate of sorts: he could do nothing, but I had no means of winning.  Remember the end goal.

Defense
By defense, I mean countering your opponent's strategy.  If you allow your opponent to do what he/she wants unchecked, it probably won't end well for you.  There are many ways to disrupt your opponent.  For example, cards that say things like:
- destroy or exile target [x], where [x] could = creature, enchantment, land, artifact, etc.
- return target [x] to its owner's hand
- counter target spell
- prevent damage
- target opponent discards [x] cards

Below are nine examples of great disruptive cards.  Note that each color tends to have its specialty (some are better at removing enchantments or artifacts, some at countering spells, some at destroying creatures, etc.).

If you don't include defensive cards, there's a chance your opponent could play something that would instantly render your strategy impossible to execute.  So heed my warning, and include these.

The ratio of offense to defense
Generally, you'll have more offensive than defensive cards, but it can vary widely.  Aggressive decks tend to focus more on offense; 'control' decks on defense (at least early in the game).  Either way, you have about 36 cards to play with (remember, ~24 of them will be lands), and I'd choose at least 20% of those to be defensive cards.

Other thoughts on balance
Your deck should probably have a mix of creature and non-creature (enchantment, sorcery, instant, planeswalker, and artifact) spells.  Again, this can vary widely, but each card type has benefits and drawbacks, so use a variety for balance and flexibility.

4) Respect the mana curve

My final tip: remember the mana curve.  Each spell has a cost- the quantity of mana it takes to play it.  Basically, some of your cards should have low cost, most should have medium cost, and some should have high cost.  It should look like a bell curve when plotted on a chart.  By low/medium/high cost, this is what I mean:

• low (cost is 0-2)
• medium (cost is 3-5)
• high (cost is 6+)

Generally, the more powerful spells cost more . . . but if you include only those in your deck, your opponent will beat you before you have chance to play them (this happened to my friend- he included only high-cost cards in his deck and lost before getting to play anything).  So choose your spells carefully.

If your initial deck design has a disproportionate number of low- or high-cost cards, it's not inherently bad- if you account for it.  For lots of low-cost cards, make sure you have some sort of card drawing mechanism to accelerate your strategy.  For lots of high-cost cards, make sure you have some sort of 'mana accelerator' (like playing creatures that generate mana, or spells that let you search your deck for more land) to play the expensive spells sooner.

The resource here gives you stats on your deck, to include the mana curve.

Conclusion

Build your deck wisely if you want to have even a chance of being successful.  There are many online resources to help- take advantage, and have fun!

Interested in reading more?  Official thoughts are here, and some deck building types here.

Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them (John Ortberg)

It is not good for man (or woman) to be alone.  In fact, "the yearning to attach and connect, to love and be loved, is the fiercest longing of the soul."  In a word, we all desire community.  "To experience community is to know the joy of belonging, the delight at being known and loved, the opportunity for giving and growing, the safety of finding a true home."  Community, the need for it, and how to build it is the subject of Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them, by John Ortberg.  All quotes presented here are from his book.

We all want and need community . . . but there's a problem: we're messed up.  "We all want to look normal, to think of ourselves as normal, but the writers of Scripture insist that no one is "totally normal"- at least not as God defines normal . . . we are predisposed to do wrong when conditions are right.  That predisposition is what theologians call 'depravity.'"  "Because we know in our hearts that this is not the way we're supposed to be, we try to hide our weirdness.  Every one of us pretends to be healthier and kinder than we really are; we all engage in what might be called 'depravity management.'"  Our dark nature is something we yearn to hide; we don't want others to know how messed up we are.  We therefore deny true community and "learn to survive through a combination of withdrawal and attack."  We either hide our issues from the world entirely (withdrawal), or lash out at others (attack) through insults, judgments, and general cruelty.  Since we were made for each other, both reactions are wrong: "they are the two expressions of the one great sin, which is a lack of love, the violation of the one great commandment."

The reality of our fallen nature, and our reaction to it, means that we're denying ourselves the community we require.  "You cannot be fully loved if you are not fully known.  You can only be loved to the extent that you are known."  Therefore, to know and be known is at once the greatest joy and fear of the human race.  We want it, we need it, but we're terrified that if people knew the truth- how we really were- we'd be rejected.  Therefore, "some people pretend they're not broken.  If you hide behind a mirage of strength and health, you may deceive people, but you will not be in true community."  So how do we proceed?

Because "the desire for community is the deepest hunger a human being can have," "the work of building community is the noblest work a person can do."  To do this, we need to "assign top priority to [our] relationships."  In [American] society today, we tend to focus on achieving . . . but connecting is equally important, and often ignored.  So how do we connect in light of our fallen natures and tendency to hide them?  We need to be transparent, honest, gracious, and loving.  We first need to realize our own state: "Jesus says the great lovers are those who have come face-to-face with their own great brokenness and have been undone by great grace."  Then, from studying how Jesus interacted with people, we learn (and the author goes over) relational 'rules of the road,' how to handle conflict and confrontation,  how to be inclusive and value all people.  In short, we learn how to love: our lives depend on it.
--------------------------

I liked this book- Ortberg brings up a lot of good points.  He unpacks Gospel examples of community in helpful, insightful ways, and his tips for building community are spot-on.  Community is so important . . . and we do it so poorly.  We all need to reflect on our need and think on how to improve community in our lives.  This book will help you do that.

Rating: A

Realms of the Unreal and Other Stories (Ambrose Bierce)

Having previously spot-read and enjoyed his Devil's Dictionary (review here), I was excited to open an Ambrose Bierce short story collection, produced by the Folio Society.  I like Bierce because of his take on humanity- I believe he accurately portrays our fallen nature in his witty and consistently-sardonic prose (check out some of his quotes to get an idea of what I mean).  He's not a Christian, but he nails human nature.  This was going to be fun.

I was wrong; I put this down after reading about 20 of the 91 stories and 80 of the 533 pages (15%).  Bierce writes well, but I couldn't take more, because it was (in a word) . . . disturbing.  In some stories, his narrators commit and report on abominable crimes with an air of nonchalance or indifference.  They'd kill their parents and destroy their friends without so much as a twinge of regret.   I found it all alarming in the extreme.  Overall, I felt . . . unhealthy reading this.  His belief that "nothing matters" shines through, and it's both sad and shocking to see.  No wonder some called him "Bitter Bierce."

Though disconcerted, I'm glad I read parts of this, because I learned something.  Those who believe the world has no meaning and who understand human nature have a complete lack of hope.  They see the problem; not the solution.  This lack leads to despair (at best) and atrocity (at worst).  Bierce rightly perceived that humans are helplessly focused on themselves, without regard for how their self-centered actions damage those around them (and ultimately come back to destroy themselves).  The world is a mess, and nobody cares as long as they get their fair (or unfair) share of resources; as long as they have a good time.  Bierce gets that- but sees no way out; he has no hope.  Therefore, nothing matters.  We, the self-centered, are responsible for caring for everything else- the Earth and everyone on it.  God help us.  And if there is no God . . . we're doomed.

I suppose I'm ranting . . . I apologize.  Anyway, I liked Devil's Dictionary  better- read that to enjoy Bierce's wit without some of the more macabre elements.

Rating: B-