The Ring of the Nibelung (P. Craig Russell)

The Ring of the Nibelung is the comic adaptation of German composer Richard Wagner's 1876 four-part opera.

Part 1: The Rhinegold
Alberich the dwarf steals the rhinegold from the mermaids guarding it.  The gold, when fashioned into a ring, promises to grant the bearer rule of the world- but that person must first swear off love.  Alberich does so and enslaves the Nibelungs to dig ever more treasure out of Nibelheim, to increase his fortune. The god Voton, meanwhile, has a problem: he promised the giants his wife's beautiful sister for their work building Valhalla.  To get out of that contract, he works with the demigod Loge to steal the Ring of the Nibelung and grant it to the giant Fafnir instead.

Part 2: Valkyrie
Voton has fathered Siegmund and Sieglinde, siblings separated as children who later become lovers when the latter leaves her husband.  Fricka, Voton's wife and the goddess of marriage, calls on Voton to avenge this wrong, and Voton turns to his dearest daughter- Brumhilde, the Valkyrie- to do so.  Brumhilde disobeys and allows Siegmund to live, forcing Voton to slay him.  Brumhilde then flees with Sieglinde- now with child- and hides her near Fafnir, who has turned himself into a dragon and accumulated vast treasure.  Voton tracks the Valkyrie down, banishes her, and curses her with long sleep, to be awoken by the first to find her.  In a last act of compassion, he guards her by a ring of fire that only the bravest can enter.

Part 3: Siegfried
Sieglinde dies in childbirth, so Siegfried is raised by Fife, a blacksmith and ugly dwarf (who is also Alberich's brother).  Siegfried knows no fear, and is so powerful he keeps breaking swords created by Fife, so he makes his own by re-making Nothung, a powerful sword wielded by his father.  He uses Nothung to slay Fafnir and claim the ring for himself.  He then enters the ring of fire to find and woe Brumhilde (who is his half-aunt, if I'm following correctly).  And he breaks Voton's staff, on which are countless treaties and agreements and (I think) the source of at least some of the god's power.

Part 4: Götterdämmerung

Siegfried leaves Brumhilde to go off around the Earth, saving any in distress.  But little does he know what's in store . . . Hagen, son of Alberich, is half-brother to Gunther, who is single and desires a wife.  Hagen convinces him to trick Siegfried into drinking a potion that makes him forget Brumhilde, and he falls in love with Gunther's sister instead.  He even agrees to help Gunther get Brumhilde as his own wife.  And in Valhalla, Voton's power is waning- the gods are falling. Only by tossing the ring back into the Rhine can the the curse be broken.  Long story short, Siegfried is stabbed in the back by Hagen, who desires the ring.  But then Siegfried is laid on a funeral pyre and Brumhilde comes and burns herself too, and the ring ends up back in the Rhine.

Review
Steeped in Norse mythology, wildly popular at one time in Germany, and an obvious inspiration for The Lord of the Rings, this was a a reasonably enjoyable tale that grew increasingly bizarre as the story progressed.  I had thought it would be closer to the tale of Siegfried as told in The Rhine Legends- the differences have me wondering which is the 'real' legend.  Back to the book- the art was superb- it almost felt like I was reading an opera.  But, like an opera, I was glad it was over.  A good adaptation can't overcome a less-then-stellar story.

Rating: B

The Dragon Reborn (Robert Jordan)

Fresh off their victory in The Great Hunt, Rand and company are hiding in the mountains, thinking on their next steps.  But when the camp is attacked, Rand grows impatient and sets off on his own.  His goal?  Callandor, the legendary sword, kept in Tear, that only the Dragon Reborn can claim.  Is he finally starting to acknowledge his destiny?  As his companions (Moiraine, Lan, and Perrin) set off after him, Mat, Egwene and Nynaeve return to Tar Valon; the former to heal, and the latter two to continue their Aes Sedai training.  But their reports of the Black Ajah- Aes Sedai turned to shadow- soon have them also setting off for Tear.  A trap is set, the Dragon comes . . . who will prevail?

Book three of The Wheel of Time continues the suspense- I couldn't put this down at times.  The sword element is obviously Arthurian, adding that inspiration to similarities already noted in Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings.  But while Jordan clearly draws from such famous forebears, this tale is clearly his own, and it's a good one.  The plot moves quickly (maybe too much so at times), and much remains shrouded in mystery.  The tale progresses.

Rating: A

Less is More

image from here

It's happening again.  Years of unchecked accumulation have produced a most unpleasant situation.  This time, it's Legos.

We have too many Legos.  Way too many.  Years ago, I went on a minimization kick (driven by desperation and need), and sold a lot of mine, keeping only my favorite sets.  I learned a lot about the value of less, and it reminded me to live simple and check my materialist tendencies. Today, my collection remains suitably sized and contained (one medium box).  My kids are another story.

I've spent the past two months going through my childrens' Legos.  They have seven large bins, gathered from decades (some are my old sets) of collecting and gifts.  It's at the point that they don't even remember what sets they have . . . embarrassing.  And painful- they're often left all over the floor, making our basement a hazard.  So, back in November, I made a pronouncement: they could each have one large bin, and we'd sell the rest.  That was when the fun began.

The kids didn't mind the edict, but the challenge was deciding what to keep, and how to minimize.  For example, do we build the sets we want and get rid of the rest?  Or build the sets we don't want and keep the rest?  Either way is difficult, requiring hours of work.  Ultimately, we decided on the former.  The process is long but I got it down to a science:
- sort legos by color, and keep them in small plastic tupperware containers or ziploc bags
- find the instructions for sets to keep, and turn to the back pages, which list set pieces by color
- use those guides to find all the pieces of a given color
- build the set once you have all (or nearly all) the pieces
- once built, put in a ziploc bag in a separate bin, and check off the list
- if you can't find pieces, record them: color, size, shape, etc.

Once all the sets were built, we kept the remaining pieces sorted (in ziploc bags) and are currently storing them, awaiting sale.  Oi.  The end is in sight.

The whole experience has been a powerful reminder: less is more.  Less is more.  Less is more.  Since completing the project,
- my kids have enjoyed/played with their remaining sets more
- we've had more space in the basement to play with Legos (and all other toys)
- the house has been cleaner and easier to maintain

With multiple children and generous friends/family, it's so easy to accumulate a ridiculous amount of toys as the years pass.  My recent experience has served as another reminder of the need to slow down, buy less, use less, and be more content.  I suspect this will be a lifelong struggle.

The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes (G.I. Williamson)

The Westminster Confession of Faith is a valuable document, as it helps to "summarize and synthesize the whole teaching of the Scripture on a particular head of doctrine" (I discuss several confessions here).  The confession itself offers only declarations, not explanations.  In his book for study classes, G.I. Williamson walks through the confession, explaining each statement.  He references different Scriptures to prove and/or elaborate upon each confessional statement, and where appropriate, discusses common questions or conflicting viewpoints on matters of doctrine.

This is a great introduction to/explanation of the confession.  Williamson writes well and succinctly.  It's a good reference for anyone studying the topic.

Rating: A

The Sandman (ETA Hoffmann)

Nathanael is in distress; he believes he's met someone very like the Sandman, the fabled monster said to visit belligerent children at bedtime to throw sand in their eyes (or remove them entirely).  This figure claims his father's life, and appears in other times as other people to wreak havoc.  His beloved, Clara, is convinced he's conjured these events up in his mind (or at least exaggerated them), and tries to rationally explain away what he's experienced.  He goes through cycles of despondency, lucidity, and panic until it all ends poorly.

I put this story on my German Reading List because Hoffmann is famous (he wrote The Nutcracker) and it sounded cool.  Mostly, it was bizarre.  The story is deliberately ambiguous and inconclusive; was Nathanael mad or not?   Reading analyses, people believe the man represented romanticism and the woman the enlightenment.  It could be.  It was suspenseful and spooky, but not as interesting as I'd hoped.  At least it was short.

Rating: C

A Praying Life (Paul Miller)

It's extremely important for Christians to pray, as prayer is "the medium through which we experience and connect to God."  And yet "most Christians feel frustrated when it comes to prayer!"  Why?  Because we're not good at it.  In A Praying Life, Paul Miller discusses this challenge and offers some insights.

Selected Highlights
"Oddly enough, many people struggle to learn how to pray because they are focusing on praying, not on God."  It's important to remember that "prayer is all about relationship. It’s intimate and hints at eternity."  "You don’t experience God; you get to know him. You submit to him. You enjoy him. He is, after all, a person."  "Jesus’ example teaches us that prayer is about relationship. When he prays, he is not performing a duty; he is getting close to his Father. Any relationship, if it is going to grow, needs private space, time together without an agenda, where you can get to know each other. This creates an environment where closeness can happen, where we can begin to understand each other’s hearts."

How do you come to God?  Truthfully.  By taking off the masks we so often wear.  "The criteria for coming to Jesus is weariness. Come overwhelmed with life. Come with your wandering mind. Come messy."  "A needy heart is a praying heart. Dependency is the heartbeat of prayer."  "So instead of being paralyzed by who you are, begin with who you are. That’s how the gospel works. God begins with you. It’s a little scary because you are messed up."  Yes, "God wants us to come to him empty-handed, weary, and heavy-laden. Instinctively we want to get rid of our helplessness before we come to God."  But in fact, "strong Christians do pray more, but they pray more because they realize how weak they are."

Jesus points to children as an example.  "How do we learn to talk with our Father? By asking like a child, believing like a child, and even playing like a child."

We may not get what we want- or what we like.  But that's not the point of prayer.  We can rest easy, knowing that "If God is sovereign, then he is in control of all the details of my life. If he is loving, then he is going to be shaping the details of my life for my good. If he is all-wise, then he’s not going to do everything I want because I don’t know what I need. If he is patient, then he is going to take time to do all this. When we put all these things together—God’s sovereignty, love, wisdom, and patience—we have a divine story."  And prayer helps tune us to that story, away from trying to bend God to our will or view him as a wish-granting genie.  "You can’t walk with the Shepherd and not begin to change."

Review

There were a lot of excellent points in this book.  Miller's story-based style is fine but somewhat less structured than I prefer, making it hard for me at times to follow the overall narrative, and some of his statements, taken out of context of the entire book, can come across as 'prosperity gospel'-ish.  That irked me a bit, but read the entire thing; it is gospel-based.

Rating: A-

Sir Lancelot the Great (Gerald Morris)

Sir Lancelot, newly knighted by his father in France, hears of King Arthur and sets out for England to join the Knights of the Round Table.  And get some really shiny armor.  He proceeds to have a long career, undefeated as he takes down recreant knights and saves damsels in distress.  Growing bored, he retires to the forest, only to return to save the Queen from a false accusation.  He can tire of or run from his destiny, but he cannot change who he is: Sir Lancelot the Great.

Another children's book on Arthurian tales, this time focusing on Lancelot (the first I read was about Gawain).  As before, Morris does a nice job presenting the character to children.  This time, the challenge is harder- he omits Lancelot's relationship with Guinevere- which is appropriate given the audience but mildly diminishes the tale.

Rating: A-

The Hole in Our Holiness (Kevin DeYoung)

The hole in our holiness, Kevin DeYoung argues, "is that we don't really care much about it."  And yet's clear from the Bible that "Jesus expects obedience from his disciples."  Why is there this gap?

Christians know that we're saved by grace through faith, and that our actions didn't play a role in that- God saved us apart from our works, and even our faith in Him is a gift from Him (Ephesians 2:8-9). So the call to holiness- to obeying God's commands as put forth in the Bible- isn't about legalism (earning salvation through works).  But it is necessary.  "Faith and good works are both necessary.  But one is the root and the other the fruit."  Why?  God is holy and expects us to be, too.  He created us for good works.  And "godliness requires exertion on the part of the Christian," for it is God who works in us. 

This was an outstanding book.  It's easy for Christians to either strive after holiness for the wrong reasons (thinking it earns us salvation), or ignore striving at all (because we distort God's grace towards us and develop a nonchalance towards the topic).  DeYoung does a great job of showing how to live as a Christian and the demand to strive for holiness.  Not because it saves us, but because we are saved.  This convicting book was a humbling wake-up call for me and read at a good time.  May 2020 see more striving and progress.

Rating: A

The Great Hunt (Robert Jordan)

The Horn of Valere has been found!  This ancient instrument, when played, is said to summon dead heroes from the age of legends back to life to fight once more.  And the enemy has it.  While Rand and his friends pursue the horn, an invasion on the west coast is terrorizing the countryside.  These armies claim to be the descendants of Artur Hawkwing, returned to claim the land.  But the locals see it differently.  Who is this army?  Who is Rand?  And will the heroes prevail?

Book two of The Wheel of Time, like the first, was quite good and suspenseful throughout.  Much remains unknown about the world and Rand's place in it, but things are building.  I look forward to the next entry.

Rating: A

So Begins 2020

This post captures my hopes for the year. 

Spiritual

- Continue to improve routines in prayer and scripture, including the family

- Finish planned readings related to church leadership

Nutritional/Fitness

- Lose 20 lbs
- Get a six-pack

- Eat no candy (baked goods are fine) except for 70% chocolate

- Drink sugary drinks only once/month

- Run 200 miles total

Financial

- Track all spending, not just personal
- Get good budgeting system in place

Reading

- Read 50 books

- Complete 80% of my German Reading List

Travel

- Take the kids to Belgium and France

- Plan a big trip (to Eastern Europe, Southern France, or Spain)

Fluency

- Learn 5000 more German words

- Complete the DuoLingo German course

- Read 5 books auf Deutsch

Games

- Host more game nights

- Play Magic: Arena no more than three days per week

To 2020!