The Year in Review

As is my custom, I find it helpful to reflect upon the good and the bad of 2022.  I start the year with goals; this post looks back at some of them and considers other factors we experienced this year.

Our year was defined by several factors:

- a return to 'normalcy' (meaning most pandemic-related restrictions or requirements were dropped by late spring)

- our van dying

- our kitchen flooding

The first was wonderful. Though I had COVID twice (during Christmas 2021 and in May 2022), both times were very mild. Loosening restrictions was such a relief; taking off the mask at the gym was a particular joy. Though we are still in the pandemic, technically, I am hopeful that 2023 will be the first fully "normal" year we've had since 2019.

Our van dying was unexpected and unpleasant. We had owned it for 8 years (and were hoping for several more). Buying a vehicle in this market, with pandemic-related supply chain delays, meant we had to wait over two months for a replacement. We managed with one car for about a week . . . I biked in to work most of those days, but was quickly exhausted. We were saved by friends who loaned us their car for more than two months. We are so thankful for their generosity. We picked up the new car in November and have loved it.  

Around the same time as the van problem, our kitchen flooded, which was another 'fun' wrinkle. We noticed warped laminate floor boards in our kitchen . . . we asked several handy people about the cause, but nobody could isolate the problem. We eventually determined that the refrigerator had two intermittent leaks (internal and external). The water from that had soaked through the laminate and hit an older linoleum floor, spreading out throughout the whole room and damaging the family room floor as well. Our insurance company has been great to work with- we're getting a new floor and cabinets- but supply chain difficulties mean this won't get fixed until February.

Though the last quarter of the year was dominated by the aforementioned challenges, the rest of the year was pretty 'standard.' It was nice to see the kids adapt quickly to life back in America and develop new friendships (or rekindle old). We feel settled, which isn't a guarantee when you move. We are blessed. On to goals:

Spiritual
My goals here:

- Be disciplined in prayer/scripture routines (and keep tracking them to encourage it).
- Teach the family.
- Take a more active leadership role in church.
- Redeem the time. By which I mean wasting less of it.
- Overcome two besetting sins.

Scripture was fine. Prayer was more sporadic- easily done when in my routine, but easily dropped when routine was altered (due to vacation or other factors). Need improvement there.

Teaching the family happened sporadically. I tried a variety of methods, but always inconsistently.

I started leading a community group at church (in addition to the men's ministry), and am considering other leadership roles. This one is going okay.

I still waste too much time.

I now have more besetting sins. Okay, not really- just the same ones. Need progress here.

Overall there is a lot of room for improvement here.

Nutritional/Fitness

My goals here:

- Get (and keep) weight under 185 lbs.
- Complete 240 workouts (run, bike, gym, soccer, hikes, etc.).
- Eat less sugar/carbs/food in general.

I keep going the wrong direction; I'm now at 199 lbs. I did a test in July (when I weighed 197) that indicated I should lose 11 lbs, which seems to hold to what I've experienced in the past: ~185 lbs is my 'happy weight' and remains the goal. I did put on some muscle this year, which could account for a few of the pounds I gained, but certainly not all. 

I did complete 274 workouts, which is satisfactory. I consider myself "fit fat," meaning I'm in decent shape and can do cardio and weights without problems. I just need to lose some pounds. Most workouts were runs, gym, bike rides, and yardwork. Included 2021 totals for reference:

2021: 63 runs for 134 miles, 115 gym workouts, 43 bike rides for 539 miles, 8 soccer games

2022: 38 runs for 91 miles, 113 gym workouts, 68 bike rides for 1061 miles, 7 hikes for 30 miles, 43 mow/yardwork, 5 misc.

My diet was poor—it's the same old culprits of too many calories (overall) and too many sweets (in particular). Need to improve there.

Financial
My goals here:

- Get good budgeting system in place.
- Follow it.

It's hard to budget when a vehicle dies and kitchen floods. Little progress here.

Reading
My goals here:

- Read 40 books.
- Focus on fantasy (a number of series) and American history/literature.
- Pick another topic and 'get smart' (i.e. read a few books) on it.

No problem here; I read 52 books, and got my 'owned but unread' pile from 33 down to 11 (until  Christmas put that number up to 15). My post here caps this year's book recommendations. I did not really pick another topic, but did a series of posts on the content we consume that was challenging and fun to investigate.

House

My goals here:

- Finish the basement.

Nope- kitchen flood dominated house, though we did also get some work done in the backyard to improve drainage. We have plans to do this in 2023, with the help of friends.

Language
My goals here:

- Continue studying Spanish.

This went well. It is easy to do DuoLingo every day. My stats (which they sent to me as of 30 November, so they do not account for the last month) indicates that I:

- completed 671 lessons (I do two per day on average)

- was in the top 4% of DuoLingo users

- spend 2333 minutes learning (7 minutes per day)

- learned 882 words and practiced 3199 sentences

Games
My goals here:

- Play the 12 games in my 'owned but unplayed' pile.
- Minimize game collection to what I play regularly.
- Build a cube for Magic.
- Have more game nights.

My 'owned but unplayed' pile now stands at four. I did some minimization and built a cube for Magic. (That was fun and I hope to build a few more this year.) I re-started my church's game nights, and one day hope to move them to my house (if we can get the basement finished). Overall, these goals went pretty well.

Conclusion
Looking across the seven categories above, I failed in about half of my objectives. Here's to a better 2023. "Never stop starting."

Thus Concludes 2022

Another reading year "in the books." This post recaps the year and presents what I consider the best of the bunch.

I read 52 books this year, totaling 18,272 pages- about 50 pages a day. My average rating was 91/100.

Of the 52 books, 0 were audiobooks, 0 were eBooks, and 0 were borrowed from the library or friends. By genre, I read 22 fantasy books (a stated focus for the year), 15 on religion (some with a political bent), 3 graphic novels, 3 literature, 3 history, and a smattering of others.

My fantasy focus was fun but fraught with frustration, finally finishing* The Wheel of Time series after being tempted to quit. I love fantasy, but I found making any genre a reading focus is harder for me than (say) doing country-based reading lists. I need to oscillate between categories or I get burned out. I had intended to finish my 'owned but unread' fantasy books this year, but I burned out on the genre so I'll look to close those out in 2023.

Here are my top ten reads from this year:

**James K.A. Smith: How to Inhabit Time

Brandon Sanderson: the Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series (especially The Knights of Crystallia)

Robert Jordan: A Memory of Light

**Neil Postman: Amusing Ourselves to Death

Velma Wallis: Two Old Women

**Giboney et al.: Compassion & Conviction

Jay Stringer: Unwanted

**Paul Miller: The J-Curve

Richard Bauckham: Jesus and the Eyewitnesses

**Adler & Van Doren: How to Read a Book

The five with two asterisks I found particularly helpful and recommend them for those interested in spiritual growth and self-awareness/improvement.

On the whole, this was a good reading year. May 2023 bring further works of excellence. Happy reading!

*amusingly alliterative, no?

Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians

Book six of the Alcatraz Smedry series. Picking up from last time . . . Biblioden has what he needs to destroy the Free Kingdoms forever. And Alcatraz is a blubbering mess, fully focused on his failure and cowardice. Even years later, he is too distraught to recount the tale, so Bastille has taken up her pen to finish the story. Can Alcatraz and Bastille find a way to defeat the Ancient Scrivener- or is all lost?

Here we have the satisfying conclusion to the series. Like the rest of the stories, it is whimsical, absurd, funny, and yet poignant and profound in places. I loved it. I highly recommend the entire series to children and adults alike.

Rating: A 

Spurs Nation (Various)

Spurs Nation is a look back at "major moments in San Antonio basketball" in the modern era as recorded in the San Antonio Express-News. Starting with drafting David Robinson and ending in 2016 (when it was released), it collects and publishes (in full color) select articles that chronicle the Spurs' rise to a major basketball power. As you'd expect, the focus is on the five championships ('99, '03, '05, '07, '14), so most of the book is articles written about the finals games.

A lifelong Spurs fan, I was intrigued by this book and picked it up when I was in San Antonio. Basically, I was interested to see how a story would look when written without any knowledge of the future. While some of the articles displayed a hope (yet laced with uncertainty) about what the future held, most of them were too focused on the moment and prone to exaggeration (as, perhaps, news stories trend). Spurs win a finals game? Much rejoicing. Spurs lose? Much anguish. Coach Pop is great, Coach Pop is on the hot seat, and so on. And this was revealing- it is how we tend to live our own lives. Too much in the moment and too little on the big picture (in my opinion)- though I must stress being in the moment (with all the ups and downs) is also important.

Overall, it's pretty good, but could have been better. I enjoyed the journey looking back at some amazing Spurs players, teams, and achievements. I only wish the book would have included sections to fill people in on gaps in the story. They had (say) an article about game one of the Western Conference semifinals but then fast-forwarded to another year or series, without any word on how that given series ended. Brief sections between such gaps could have brought the reader up to speed pretty easily and created a more coherent narrative.

The book ended, fittingly (but unknowingly), the year Tim Duncan retired. Manu Ginobili would follow two years later, and Tony Parker would follow him out of town (though Parker played one more year, for Charlotte). Thus was the Spurs' "Big 3" disbanded. Kawhi Leonard, heir apparent, also left in 2018, leaving the Spurs in an unfamiliar position of no stars and few prospects. They would make the playoffs one final year (2018-19) before failing the qualify the year following, ending their NBA-record consecutive playoff appearance run at 22 years. It's been rough ever since. But their five championships over a 15-year stretch, playing good team ball with solid fundamentals and without off-court drama, is a run we will enjoy for a long time to come.

Rating: B

Trekking the World

Today's review is of the 2020 release, Trekking the World. For 2-5 players, it takes 30-60 minutes.

Overview

In Trekking the World, players (per the publisher) "compete to be the ultimate globe trotter by racing to visit world-renowned locations and collect rare souvenirs along the way." 

game components; image from here

After completing the setup and drawing four 'trek' cards, you do the following on your turn:

1) Move (by discarding one trek card that dictates the exact number of spaces you must move)

- If you end on a space that has a souvenir cube (a colored cube placed randomly at the start of the game), take it and put it on your suitcase in the corresponding color slot. These can earn you points at the end of the game.

- After taking a souvenir cube, if your continent has no more cubes, you get a region bonus token with a hidden number of points on it.

2) Choose one action to perform:

- Draw two trek cards

- Take a tour (earn a destination card by being at that card's location AND discarding trek cards with the corresponding icons shown on the destination card)

- Journey (discard two trek cards with matching icons to do the ability stated in the Journey Log, in the upper-right corner of the map above)

Then the next player clockwise takes a turn. The game ends when either 

a) 5 of the 6 region bonus tokens are taken, or

b) A player takes their fifth destination card

Points are totaled and highest wins!

Review

This is a self-billed 'light' strategy game, designed for both gamers and non in mind, and I think it accomplishes that. I like the game for what it is. There seems to be a lot going on, but my kids were able to pick it up after a round (they are pretty seasoned gamers), and it moves quickly. This is a 'point salad' game, meaning there are a lot of ways to earn points, which is nice. Overall, this is a solid choice.

Rating: B+

Ransom Notes

Today's review is of the 2021 release, Ransom Notes. For 3-6 players, it takes 30-90 minutes.

Overview

In this party game, each person has a metal plate and handful of random word magnets. One player draws an displays a card explaining a situation on it. The other players use their word magnets to assemble a 'suitable' response on their plate. The player who drew the card collects the answers, reads them aloud, and decides which response is best. All used words go back in the box, then the next player (clockwise) draws a card and the next round begins. The person with the most 'correct' responses wins! I think!

box back, showing components and example; image from here

Review

As with most party games, the intent here isn't to win but laugh a lot and have fun. And it accomplishes that. The bizarre responses can be absolutely hilarious. And it is fun to use a limited pool of words, which forces creativity (and enhances the hilarity). That said, I ding this for two reasons: 

- it is rated 17+, so be careful. Some mature themes possible.

- they should have a 'basic' word pool of common articles, prepositions, pronouns, etc. Though the odd sentences are hilarious, some are incoherent when you lack the basic words.

Rating: B

Decrypto

Today's review is of the 2018 release, Decrypto. For 3-8 players, it takes 15-45 minutes.

Overview

In Decrypto, you and your teammates are codebreakers, trying to break your own teammates' cryptic words and intercept (correctly guess) your opponents'. If you get yours wrong twice, you lose, but if you intercept theirs twice, you win!

back of box, showing components; image from here

The concept is straightforward enough: your team can see four randomly-chosen words in slots 1-4 (see back of box illustration above). On a turn, one teammate draws a 'disk' card with some permutation of three numbers (3.4.2, 1.3.4, etc.). That teammate looks at the words correponding to the numbers drawn and chooses one word to describe each, presenting them in that order to their team, who then guess the associated numbers. Using the back of the box as an example, "3.4.2" corresponds to cocktail, sombrero, and dragonfly. So the teammate might say "drink, hat, bug," and his team will (hopefully) guess 3.4.2. If they guess something different, your team gets one wrong, and if that happens twice, you lose. But the other team also gets a guess (without seeing/knowing the words in the slots)- and if they guess 3.4.2, they get 'intercept' the message, and if that happens twice, they win. So the challenge here is to pick words that will enable your team to guess correctly without being too obvious and tipping the other team off to the real words. If the game has not yet ended, the next turn starts, with the next teammate (in clockwise order if you wish) drawing a disk card and having to provide cryptic yet descriptive words. 

Review

Very nice game. This one really makes you think. It is especially difficult if you get two words that have some similarity (like "boat" and "water"). And both sides are writing down which words correspond to which numbers, so as the game progresses, you have to be increasingly careful not to tip off the other team- being cryptic is key, but not so cryptic that your own team is thrown off. Similar in spirit/concept to Codenames, I can't decide which one I like better . . . but I'm leaning towards this one.

Rating: A  

Last Defense!

Today's review is of the 2020 release, Last Defense! For 2-6 players, it takes 20 minutes.

Overview

Invasion! You and your neighbors have to fend off attacks from aliens, robots, and others menacing the town. You do so by rescuing scientists trapped under obstacles. But you have only 20 minutes . . . can you do so in time?

back of box, showing the components; image from here

On your turn in Last Defense!, you roll two dice to determine the number of tools you draw and spaces you can move. Draw that number of tools, move up to that many spaces, and (if you stop on an obstacle) flip over the obstacle to reveal which tools it will take to overcome it. If you have the tools to do so, discard them and the obstacle to save the scientist (put the token on your character card). Play passes clockwise, and everyone does what they can to collect scientists. When you end your turn in the town square, deposit the scientist there. 

An app-assisted game, Last Defense!'s app will tell you when a new monster enters the city (and where to place it). Like obstacles, each monster has a series of scientists you need to have in the town square to defeat it. When you have the combination of scientists required, discard them to defeat a monster. If you can do this for all monsters before time runs out, you win!

Review

A tower defense game, this is okay. It is simplistic and clearly geared towards children. My kids enjoy it, which counts for a lot. For adults, there are better games out there. But it is a good introduction to this type of game.

Rating: B-

Echoes of Eden (Jerram Barrs)

In Echoes of Eden, Jerram Barrs provides some "reflections on Christianity, literature, and the arts." After background material on "God and humans as creative artists," he looks to build an understanding of what it means to practice, approach, and appreciate/judge art as a Christian. He discussed 'echoes of Eden' (see below) and the concludes by looking at 5 artists (and their key works): C.S. Lewis (Narnia), J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings), J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter), Shakespeare (Macbeth), and Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice).

In 1 Timothy 4:1-5, "Paul insists that . . . all the gifts of creation-are good and holy, for God himself has declared them to be so." "Man and woman, God's image bearers, are made to be sub-creators following after their Creator." Thus "We may describe a Christian undersatnding of the arts in the following way: Our work in any field of the arts will be imitative. We will be thinking God's thoughts after him." So "Christian artists need to regard themselves as creatures of God, using gifts given by God, delighting in the world made by God, needing the help of other artists, doing their work to the glory of God, and devoting their labors to the enrichment of the lives of others." 

It's important to note that artists serve not themselves, but "serve the needs of other people and to bring some help, enrichment, consolation, and encouragement to their lives." Through the gifts of an artist, "We may experience more of the wonder of God's world as we read and so enter into someone else's perspective on this world. This is true in all the arts . . . [artists see] something of the world that we do not see, and so as we look or listen or read, we are enriched by each artist's vision." "In the enjoyment of others' creativity, I enter into a vision and richness beyond my own: 'familiar things made new, and new things made familiar,' to paraphrase Samuel Johnson." C.S. Lewis would agree, and argues that art can include delving into fantasy/fictional worlds: "The value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by 'the veil of familiarity.'"

We should learn to recognize the value in art from all, as "God has given his creative gifts to believers and unbelievers alike." As John Calvin eloquently put it, "The human mind, however much fallen and perverted from its original integrity, is still adorned and invested with admirable gifts from its Creator. If we reflect that the Spirit of God is the only fountain of truth, we will be careful, as we would avoid offering insult to him, not to reject or doncemn truth wherever it appears."

Ultimately, Barrs argues that "All great art will echo these three elements of Eden: (1) Eden in its original glory, (2) Eden that is lost to us, and (3) the promise that Eden will be restored." He repeats this several times using different words:

• "as a principle that the themes of all great art . . . are the world and human life as they came from the hand of God; the world and human life as they now are subject to sorrow, sin, and death; and the world and human life as we long for and look forward to their restoration."
• "all great art contains elements of the true story: the story of the good creation, the fallen world, and the longing for redemption."
• "What we are calling echoes of Eden is like this, for as soon as we experience a memory of the glory of Eden, there is also a sense of deep sadness intermingled with the glory, for any true echo will have both the beauty that was ours and the sorrow of its loss."
• "the three fundamental themes . . . [are] the beauty of creation, the appalling reality of evil, and the universal human longing for redemption and a better world."

----------

I enjoyed this book. I was pleased to see my approach/thoughts on the matter (the "content consumption" posts I did in October) largely align with Barrs. I gained from his insights and am thankful for them. The most value is found in the first half, where he does a good job explaining core concepts on how we should value and approach art. The second half, where he evaluates five authors, is also of value, but felt less structured and more conversational/meandering. And the book ends abruptly; I wish he had included a final chapter to wrap everything together. Overall, though, it is a good read.

Rating: A-

Ramen Fury

Today's review is of the 2019 release, Ramen Fury. For 2-5 players, it takes 30 minutes.

Overview

Ramen noodles are so delicious, with so many proteins, veggies, and flavors to choose from. Can you maximize points based on your combinations?

the cards; image from here

In Ramen Fury, each player has three bowls to fill. On your turn, you have two actions, and you can use them to draw cards (from the deck or pantry), play cards to your bowl, 'eat' your bowl (turn it face-down), restock the pantry (the four face-up cards you can choose from), or even steal from other players' bowls (twice per game, using the spoon tokens). And you can play chili peppers on your own or others' bowls.

the game at start; image from here

To eat your bowl, you must have at least one flavor and one other ingredient. You can have up to four ingredients and exactly one flavor in a bowl. Your flavor determines how the bowl is scored. Once ready, use an 'eat' action to flip your bowl over. Once a player has flipped their final bowl, each player gets one more turn, then points are scored.

a player's game in progress; image from here

The flavors (fury, soy sauce, chicken, beef, shrimp) determine whether you get points for chili peppers, unique veggies, matching ingredients, unique proteins, or sets of veggie/protein combos, respectively. Only eaten bowls can count towards point totals. The most points wins!

Review

A set collection game with some twists (you determine which set(s) are relevant to you based on the flavors you choose), this game is okay. There are a number of set collection games out there, and while the twists are appreciated, this didn't feel unique enough to merit a higher ranking. It isn't bad, but it doesn't contribute anything special to the genre.

Rating: B-

The Dark Talent (Brandon Sanderson)

Book five of the Alcatraz Smedry series. Fresh off their adventure last time . . . though the Librarians are in retreat, all is not well. Alcatraz's father has charged off on a quest to bring the Smedry Talents to the entire world, and his mother is determined to stop him, convinced it will destroy the world. Alcatraz is stuck in the middle, not sure who to trust . . . and there's another problem. Biblioden, founder of the Librarians and known as the Scrivener, is rumored to have returned, and is intent on keeping the Hushlands in censored darkness. It will all come to a climax in the Highbrary- the main library (a complex of caves under Washington, D.C.). Who will prevail?

The series concludes . . . kind of. I liked this the same as all the others- it is funny/absurd, witty, some good messages, and family appropriate. My only dig is that the book really doesn't conclude the series . . . the sixth book (just released a few months ago), supposedly does. And it's in hardback, in a format different from the others I own. My torment is palpable. Should I buy it now, or wait, hoping they release the paperpack in a matching way? ARRRRRRRRGH.

Rating: A

The Shattered Lens (Brandon Sanderson)

Book four of the Alcatraz Smedry series. Fresh off their adventure last time . . . though our heroes foiled the Librarian's plot, Mokia remains under siege and near the breaking point. And the knights of Crystallia cannot help-or can they? If someone of the Smedry line happens to be in the land, the knights might come to his aid . . . but Alcatraz wouldn't possibly walk into a war zone. Would he?

But something other than war is afoot. Alcatraz's parents are independently trying to unlock the secrets of the Smedry talents- but for very different reasons. Who is right? Whom should Alcatraz help? And was that previous sentence grammatically correct?

More of the same here. It's fun, it's funny, it's even wise. Really enjoying the series and can't wait to see how the series concludes.

Rating: A

The Knights of Crystallia (Brandon Sanderson)

Book three of the Alcatraz Smedry series. Fresh off their adventures last time . . . Alcatraz finally gets to visit the free kingdoms- a wonderful world where glass technology and fantastic creatures enable all sorts of amazing things. And he learns shocking information about his family and history. But all of this fades to the background as a new menace arises . . . the Librarians have called for a truce to end the war. It has promise but seems dangerous- and the cost (giving up the land of Mokia) may be too high. As the council ponders what to do, Alcatraz and friends uncover a plot that may bring ruin to them all. Can they stop it in time?

Written in the same style as the others, book three has the wit, humor, and absurdity that I love about the series. But it also has wisdom- probably more than the others- and some very clever plot devices. Probably my favorite so far.

Rating: A+

The Scrivener's Bones (Brandon Sanderson)

Book two of the Alcatraz Smedry series. Here, our hero must descend into the Library of Alexandria (yes, it secretly survived and was moved to a new location) to find his long-lost father. The main problem: the library is staffed by Curators who demand your soul should you check out a book. And they are determined to keep Alcatraz and his friends there forever. And also, those evil 'normal' librarians are also hot on their heels.

Like the first volume, this was full of wit, absurdity, cleverness, and fun. I didn't like it quite as much as the first, but it was still solid.

Rating: A-

Trogdor!!: The Board Game

Today's review is of the 2019 release, Trogdor!!: The Board Game. For 1-6 players, it takes 30-60 minutes.

Overview

In this cooperative game, you take turns controlling Trogdor. The goal? Help him 'burninate' the countryside, cottages, and peasants! But look out: the land will fight back. Peasants help heal burninated land, knights damage Trogdor when he enters their space (or vice-versa) and can repair cottages, and the archer can shoot him from afar. Can you and your team decimate the land before the people take you down?

game in progress; image from here

To set up, place a 5x5 grid of tiles, non-burninated side up, and place peasants, villages, knights, and the archer according to game instructions. Give each player a 'keeper' (role) card, item card, and action card. These give you special abilities that will aid you. Put Trogdor on the center tile, and you're ready to begin!

On your turn, you draw an action card and choose one (the one you drew or the one in your initial hand) to use. This dictates your special ability and action points for that turn. Then use your action points to move, burninate land/village/peasants, chomp peasants (gain health), or hide (to avoid taking damage). Then the game has a turn; using randomized movement cards, peasants are placed [taken from Trogdor's health] and move one square, potentially healing burninated land. Then knights move based on the random pattern showed on that same movement card, wrapping around the board when required. 

Turn proceeds in clockwise order. You all win if at any point every tile and village are burninated, and peasants are gone. The game wins if the knights and archer can kill Trogdor before that happens. 

Trogdor's health meter is peasants; when he 'chomps' them, he gains a health. When peasants die in any other way (like by being burninated), they are placed in the void- off the board, in other words. When Trogdor takes damage, remove a peasant from his health and place him into the void. So there are many ways to remove peasants from the game, and only one way to add them to Trogdor's health- by chomping them.

Review

I recently reminisced about Homestar Runner and mentioned this board game, based on a character created in a Strongbad Email. If you like the humor of that web series and are familiar with Trogdor, you will probably enjoy this game, which is chock-full of references to that email specifically and the Homestar universe in general. The rules and wording on the cards assumes it so be so; I'm not sure this would make sense to those unfamiliar. I recently introduced my kids to Trogdor, and they were quite amused. (And now running around the home screaming "Trogdor!!" in a heavy metal voice, just like the web short. My wife is thrilled.) Bottom line: you should know Trodgor before you play this game.

Assuming you know Trogdor, how is the game? It's pretty good. I didn't have high expectations, but this one has some nice elements. The modular tile board is nice, the game moves quickly, and it is fun. I found myself talking in Strongbad's voice throughout for the full experience, which (oddly) does enhance things. There is a heavy luck component- the randomized movements of knights means you cannot strategically place Trogdor, so this is very much a press-your-luck social game more intended for the enjoyment of the theme than the execution of deep strategy. 

Rating: B+

The Making of Middle-Earth (Christopher Snyder)

In The Making of Middle-Earth, Christopher Snyder takes us through the three 'worlds' of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien:

- "the physical world in which he was born and educated, and in which he taught, wrote, made friendships, worshipped, and raised a family."

- "the intellectual realm where Tolkien spent much of his time, beginning with his first fascination with fairy stories through his adult obsessions with Northern languages and legends."

- "the world most familiar to Tolkien fans: Middle-earth, a land of elves and dark powers and Tom Bombadil."

In sum, Snyder summarizes the first two worlds (providing a brief Tolkien biography and summary of the history/literature/languages he loved) and shows how they influenced the third world. He walks us through the best-known works (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings), but also The Silmarillion, The Children of Hurin, and other Tolkien tales. He then discusses the movies (both the animated versions, from the '70s/'80s, and the Peter Jackson films) and 'Tolkieniana' in general. 

I enjoyed this book- particularly the insights into Tolkien's influences. There are historical and literary inspirations behind the characters, places, and stories in the Tolkien books that I never noticed before.

I also liked that the book covered these topics briefly, without delving too deeply into any of them. (There are a ton of footnotes for those who wish to do so.) Overall, this is a nice book for the Tolkien fan who wants to learn more but does not want to dedicate their life to studying the man.

Rating: A-

Andor: Season 1

Cassian Andor, the Rebel operative who died retrieving the Death Star plans in Rogue One, gets his own prequel television series in Andor. This 12-episode tale follows him through the years immediately preceding the movie- his troubled past, his difficult present trying to sell stolen Imperial technology, his run-in with Luthen Rael (who tries to get him to join the Rebels), his involvement in a Rebel heist, his subsequent flight to avoid such a life, a later unrelated arrest/escape, and the forebodings of his future. But it's not just about him. We also get a look into Luthen's and Mon Mothma's work for the Rebels- one in the shadows, the other as a senator on Coruscant. And we even get some insights into the Imperial perspective through Syril Karn, obsessed with finding Andor, and Dedra Meero, an Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) supervisor. Can a rag-tag band group of Rebels coaelesce to overcome Imperial might- or is it too little, too late?

This show has its share of fans and critics. My kids called it "good but boring." It was certainly grittier and less action-packed than your typical Star Wars fare, focusing instead on the suspense, sacrifice, and machinations required of those planning a Rebellion. I liked it overall, though I thought there were some plot points that seemed forced or poorly explained. And I could get confused with keeping all the characters and storylines straight. 

Ultimately, I see the show's primary value in its portrayal of sacrifice. Multiple characters give of themselves in varied ways for the Rebel cause. Perhaps the most poignant moment of the whole series is this exchange (copied from here):

Lonni Jung: And what do you sacrifice? 

Luthen Rael: Calm. Kindness. Kinship. Love. I've given up all chance at inner peace. I've made my mind a sunless space. I share my dreams with ghosts. I wake up every day to an equation I wrote 15 years ago from which there's only one conclusion, I'm damned for what I do. My anger, my ego, my unwillingness to yield, my eagerness to fight, they've set me on a path from which there is no escape. I yearned to be a savior against injustice without contemplating the cost and by the time I looked down there was no longer any ground beneath my feet. What is my sacrifice? I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my decency for someone else's future. I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see. And the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude. So what do I sacrifice? Everything!

Powerful.

Rating: B+

Meaning & Futility

As mentioned in the previous post, I gave a devotional message this past January. The below is a transcript. I apologize for any formatting oddities.
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I mentioned in my previous talk that being amongst castle and abbey ruins gave me a great sense of peace and heightened awareness of the tension in our lives between meaning and futility. I’d like to explore those concepts more now for the devotional. This will not be one text but a survey throughout the Scriptures, and we’ll start at the beginning, looking at this topic through the lens of the four-chapter gospel.

CREATION

In Genesis, God creates the earth and everything in it. He gives man a unique station and charge: 

Genesis 1:26-28: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 

This is what we call the ‘cultural mandate.’ God’s command to fill the earth, subdue, and have dominion imply the need for organization, delineation of responsibility, and collaboration- in other words, culture. This is the general mandate, true for all. It’s not bounded by age or role. And it shows that our creation had purpose- meaning. We weren’t here just to be here- we have an important role to play as stewards of the earth, responsible for its growth and thriving.

For Adam and Eve specifically, we see what that means in Genesis 2: 

Genesis 2:15: The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

There’s no tension at this point because there’s no sin. We have purpose and aren’t constrained by curse. But things didn’t go well for long.

FALL

We know the story- Adam and Eve sinned, breaking the relationship with God. The penalty is spelled out in Genesis 3: 

Genesis 3:17-19: And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

In the fall, the cultural mandate doesn’t change- we are still to be fruitful and multiply and subdue and have dominion- but there are two new realities introduced due to the curse:

1. The ground (creation) is cursed. It will fight back! There will be pain and failure and futility.
2. Man is cursed and will die. We will return to dust. And sinfulness now pervades our being.

So now we see the tension. The command to build and do meaningful work, but also the reality of pain, futility, and death. And sin- we want to be owner, not steward, of God’s creation.

Humanity has wrestled with this tension throughout our history, and Solomon offers a helpful exploration of this topic in Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-3, 12-14: The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? . . . I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 2:16-20: For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, Solomon here is grappling with the tension between desiring to do something meaningful and the reality of death, dissatisfaction, and uncertainty. Our work can be vexing and seem pointless. Even if our work is successful in our lifetime, what follows? He recognizes that we have the eternal in us, saying 

Ecclesiastes 3:11: He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 

Solomon is struggling with this tension. That we know there is more but see decay all around. He ‘gripes’ about this for a while, until concluding 

Ecclesiastes 12:13: The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

We don’t know if Solomon delights in, or is resigned to, this statement. It’s a statement of faith either way- obey the Lord, even when it appears pointless or painful.

How does Jesus change things?

REDEMPTION

Jesus’s life and work revealed God’s plan. Jesus was the promised Messiah, delivering us from our sins by dying in our stead. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13), and Jesus cried out on the cross that “it is finished” (John 19:30). How does the finished work of Jesus- His death and resurrection- affect the tension we experience between the eternal and temporary?

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Colossians 3:1-3: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

1 Peter 22b-25a: . . . love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

We see here the tension still existing, but in a different sort of way. We- still in perishable bodies on a cursed earth- have died and been raised with Christ. We see this concept of perishable ‘putting on’ imperishable more in 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-49, 50, 53:
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body . . . 42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. . . 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

What does this mean? How should we then live in this ‘already but not yet’ mindset? Jesus shows the way.

RESTORATION

Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross is finished. But He came to do more. “The purpose of redemption is not to escape the world but to renew it.” – Tim Keller

This makes sense of Jesus’s work before He died and rose again. We see in Matthew 6:33 and 20-21, respectively, that Jesus says to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and to lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. But this is not a call to ignore the world.

We know that Jesus did all things well (Mark 7:37), and we’re commanded to do the same. We read in 1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. And in Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Look at how Jesus Himself lived that out in the Gospels: he healed the sick, fed the hungry, restored the infirm, brought the dead to life. Jesus shows through His work and His commands that He is tying the temporal to the eternal. He is showing that His ultimate purpose is not only redemption- but also restoration. And it is there that the tension is resolved.

The call to participate in the work of restoration is what gives our perishable work eternal significance. When Jesus healed and fed,

“Jesus was showing that he has the ability to deliver on his promise of new heavens and a new earth. As his disciples, we are to go out into the world and work to bring about flourishing in everything we do, giving those around us the hope of the way things could be. As Christians, we are called to live lives so transformed by this four-chapter gospel that others will see in it the possibility of their own transformation and the world’s.” – Hugh Whelchel (ATN)

And Jesus says in John 14:12, Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

This claim- shocking at first glance- is talking about is his restorative work, not redemptive. Since His departure and sending of the Spirit, He has worked through His church- millions of His people- do to works greater in quantity than what He did as one person. And we see the end state in Revelation:

Revelations 21:1-6: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

Conclusion

What we do matters. And is a vanity. It fades, it is temporary, it may fail or seem futile. But it is significant. We live in the ‘already-not yet’ tension of the last days.

An eternal perspective gives value to our earthly work- what we do matters, so we give ourselves to the things that matter. We work, we bring out the potential, we heal, we build things of beauty. These efforts and achievements are not to be objects that we worship, but offerings of our worship. Bringing them to God as stewards. Pointing everyone to the final restoration; preparing the way. Not knowing what God will do with them but working as faithful servants and remembering 1 Corinthians 15: 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

So as I stroll through the ruins, I’m reminded of these things. Glory, work, beauty, futility, eternity. I see echoes of the past ringing down through the present. The same God was with these people. The same God guided them through good and bad, through building and failing, through health and pandemic, through peace and war. Their work of those who have come before did not last in a physical sense, but yet has eternal ramifications. We can therefore entrust our souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Post-talk thought: Ruins are echoes/reminders of the past. Our perishable works are echoes/reminders of the future.

References

-         R.C. Sproul (general editor), The Reformation Study Bible (RSB), English Standard Version.  Ligonier Ministries, 2005, ISBN 978-1-59638-136-0

-          Hugh Whelchel, All Things New (ATN). Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics, 2016, ISBN 9780096425797

-          John Frame, Systematic Theology (ST). P&R Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-1-59638-217-6.

Ruins

Having recently posted my talk for a recent church event, called Ignite, I realized that I had never done so for the same event we held in January. Here it is. The pictures were the powerpoint presentation.

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Good morning everyone. Most of you know that I spent 10 of the last 15 years living in Europe- in Germany and England. I miss many things about our time there, and I’d like to share with you today one aspect in particular: ruins of castles and abbeys. We’ll start with castles.

Castles became increasingly prevalent in Europe from ~1000AD. Castles were popular for obvious reasons. They protected borders, trade routes, strategic spots, people, and goods. They could house armies and be a base for nearby raiding. And they were numerous- at one point, there were ~20,000 castles in Germany- the most in Europe.

Castles reigned supreme for centuries, but it would not last. With gunpowder and advances in technology, artillery could break through stone walls by the 1400s, and the structures gradually became obsolete (though still effective even in Napoleon’s time- some castles were used against him and destroyed by his army as they swept through Europe in the 1800s). Today, what remains are four types of castles: real (never destroyed or seriously altered), restored (rebuilt, often in more modern styles), romantic (built after the age of fortification, in the 1800s), and . . . ruined.

Today 80% of German castles are in a state of ruin (and half of those have only ground-level foundations (if that!)). Some have disappeared entirely; we know about them only through literature. Castles were expensive to upkeep; when they became obsolete, they were abandoned or auctioned off. They decayed naturally, or were used as a quarry- it was a valuable source of dressed stone for local residents.

Abbeys
Hundreds of monastic communities developed in Great Britain starting in the 1100s. Over the centuries, some of these had become impressive estates, with beautiful buildings and ample land for crops or livestock. In fact, monasteries owned over 25% of all cultivated land in England.

In the 1530s, the Reformation swept through England. In 1534, the English parliament broke from the Papacy and established King Henry VIII as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Two years later, Henry started disbanding religious houses in what would be called the Dissolution of the Monasteries. He ultimately shut down about 800. He took their money and removed the roofs of their buildings, stripping the valuable lead and rendering them uninhabitable. Much was lost- libraries, artwork, and livelihoods for ~7,000 people. Historians disagree on the motive- money was one obvious factor (Henry made £500M in today’s money through this act), but reform may have also been on Henry’s mind. Regardless, it created many abandoned religious sites that fell to ruin and can be seen to this day. 

So What? 

Be it castles or abbeys, I love ruins. I like them more than intact structures of antiquity. I am at peace amidst the decay. Why? I think it’s because ruins show us an important truth about our reality- they are powerful examples of the tension between God’s commands to build and flourish, and our finite and seemingly vain existence. The grass withers, the flower fades. Yet our work has meaning and purpose well beyond our own lifespans. We’ll explore this more in the devotional I’ll give shortly [which may be my next post].

Homestar Runner

the regulars featured in Homestar Runner animations

I recently saw an ad were everything was 50% off at the Homestar Runner store. That name took me down memory lane . . . care to walk with me?

Launched in 2000, Homestar Runner is an online animated web comedy series featuring a zany cast of characters. Per its Wikipedia entry, "it uses a blend of surreal humour, self-parody, and references to popular culture, in particular video games, classic television, and popular music." The 'main' toons featured Homestar Runner and his friends as they did random things, but the site soon branched out and had several 'side' series.  You can view the entire toons catalog or go directly to selected sections (number produced in parentheses following):

- Main Toons (21)

- Shorts (~100) 

- Holiday features (74)

- Strong Bad Emails (209), where the show's snarky bully answered fan email

- Teen Girl Squad (15), a poorly-animated show about four teen girls drawn and voiced-over by Strong Bad

As indicated by quantities, the most popular section was the Emails. 

Some toons were great; some were meh. (Ultimately, this is one of those series you need to be in the mood for, like Monty Pyton.) I generally enjoyed it for its randomness and parody of pop culture. But the very best thing about this was who I was watching it with.

I shared a townhome with two friends from 2003-2005, and watching Homestar was a recurring group activity. I think Strong Bad emails came out every Tuesday, and we would huddle around the computer in delightful anticipation as it loaded. We'd then explore the other sections for new videos. It was a great time. Here were some of our favorites:

- Marshie the Marshmallow, a talking marshmallow trying to sell you the product in normal times or on special occasions like Malloween commercial

- Cheat Commandos, a GI Joe parody

- Trogdor, the one-armed dragon who would eventually get his own board game (in real life)

- Limozeen, the heavy metal band who would eventually get their own TV show . . . in space

I moved out in 2005 when I got married; Homestar isn't my wife's brand of humor, and so I fell away from it. So did the creators- they took a long break (with no warning or news) for years, only coming back recently (and then, only occasionally). Though its glory days are in the past, I remember it fondly for what it was and the fellowship it enabled.

Railroad Rivals

Today's review is of the 2018 release, Railroad Rivals. For 1-5 players, it takes 30-60 minutes.

Overview

In the golden age of railroads, twelve main companies spread their networks across America. Railroad Rivals is a tile-drafting and tile-laying game where you work to expand your city connections while investing wisely in company stocks. Order matters- at the start of each round, you will have a chance to bid to be first player. But bid too much and you may find yourself behind the competition. Do you have what it takes to succeed?

game in progress; image from here

For the sake of example, let's say you are playing a four-player game. Each player is dealt three city tiles. Each city has a railroad company named on each side and a load value (the number of load randomly drawn from a bag and placed on the city when that tile is laid). Four more city tiles and four stock tiles are laid out in public view. 

Select Tiles

In player order, select a city OR stock tile. Once all four players have chosen, then you select again, choosing the opposite category of what you selected the first time (so select a stock OR city tile).

Place City Tiles

In player order, place a city tile onto the common map. It must be placed adjacent to an existing tile, and the touching sides must have matching railroad companies. Lay your train across these tiles to indicate that you own the route. Randomly draw the number of load cubes listed on the city tile and place it there.

Deliver Goods

In player order, deliver one load between connecting cities and remove it from the game. Whoever owns the connection you deliver the load through gets 3 points (if the load cube's color is the first to be delivered this round), or 2 (if the color was delivered for the second time) or 1 (if three or more times). Then advance the stock of that railroad company by one on the scoring board.

To set up for the next round, lay out four more city tiles and four more stock tiles. Then players bid for the right to go first using the points they have accumulated. The winner pays the points and shifts their position to first (pushing the others down one but maintaining their order). The next round begins. Play continues until all cities are gone. Then stock values are added to the final score (if I have 3 stocks in the PRR and it is worth 5, I get 15 more points). Highest score wins!

Review

This is a neat little game. It is simple enough to understand but has enough choices to make it hard to master. Sometimes you are stuck without being able to place a city (if your city sides don't match any exposed on the common map), and when that happens you cannot place a train or deliver goods, leaving you at a marked disadvantage. That knocks it down a peg in my book, but it is a solid choice overall and is a nice dose of nostalgia for train enthusiasts to boot.

Rating: B+