Daredevil: No Devils, Only God

Shortly after Volume 1 . . .

Plagued by his conscience, Matt Murdock has stepped away from being Daredevil. And a lawyer. Now a probation officer, he struggles with his new life and wrestles with his faith. God gave him gifts, but it seems he must break God's laws to use them. He cares about justice, but the system is broken and the most just course may be breaking the law. As he struggles, violence rages in Hell's Kitchen, but the Kingpin may be stepping away from his dark past, too. Can people really change? What does it mean to fight for justice in a broken world?

As with the first book, I really enjoyed this one. Some great dialogue, questions, and thoughts. It doesn't provide all the answers, and gets some things wrong, but it's nice to see a comic that grapples with what is (to me) a key challenge of the superhero genre: if a person has great power, and the system is broken, when is it justified to act outside the system? 

Rating: A-

Stone Harbor & Cape May

Last week, we got the chance to spend some time with a friend at Stone Harbor, New Jersey. We took one day to explore nearby Cape May. This post looks at both.

Stone Harbor is the southern town on seven-mile island (the northern is Avalon). It features a quaint downtown strip with expected stores (food, souvenirs, and so on—Springer's ice cream, two blocks north of the strip, is a must-visit). With the island having a typical width of only 2000ft, all homes are within easy walk of both beach and bay. It is almost entirely single family homes, many of which are modern, large, and beautifully constructed, with multi-level decks and flower boxes and more. (I enjoyed the homes more than the beach itself.) This lends itself to lower population density, less crowded beaches, and a laidback atmosphere well-suited to families.

Cape May is 12 miles south of Stone Harbor as the crow flies. Cape May Point (south of Cape May proper) has a lighthouse, WWII-era bunker, sunken concrete ship, and WWII-era watchtower. Cape May itself has a nice shopping district and pretty Victorian homes scattered throughout the town.

Overall, we spent our Stone Harbor days on the beach, walking the town, enjoying the homes, eating ice cream, and playing games or relaxing with our friend. And enjoying the sunrise. Time well spent.

The Red Fox (Anthony Hyde)

Robert Thorne is a journalist living in Virginia. His old girlfriend, May Brightman, calls him from Canada one day—her father has gone missing. As Thorne travels to Toronto to help, he will soon find himself caught up in an international web that spans decades and nations—and includes secrets some will kill to protect.

I picked up this book at a yard sale over 20 years ago. I loved it then, and it was a joy to re-read it now. This is a 'comfort' thriller, with the twists and suspense expected of the genre. Written in the Eighties, I was filled with nostalgia regarding both the time (just before the fall of communism) and the setting (locations included several familiar to me, including Harrisburg and rural New Hampshire). There were implausible plot points, and sometimes it seemed to move too fast (or was hard to follow), but this is an enjoyable yarn nonetheless; a suitable summer read.

Rating: A-

P.S. one surprise was an element that was possible at publication (and the first time I read it) but has since been disproven. I won't say more, but it's an important fact for new readers.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Four years after the accident that granted them all powers, the Fantastic Four is reeling from a pleasant surprise: Sue is pregnant. But the excitement is short-lived, for a herald arrives pronouncing doom to the Earth . . . for Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, is coming. And not even this fantastic crew may be able to save the planet this time.

I liked the retro-futuristic aesthetics of the film. And it hits on important themes (sacrifice, being part of something bigger, and family). But on the whole, this one just didn't do it for me. Like the recent Superman film, we're dropped into an existing world—this is [perhaps mercifully] not another origin story, and that's okay. But the plot was so rushed that I had a hard time caring. When it scraped against important themes, it failed to deliver. Other aspects, like the music and humor, were average or ignored. And I had a hard time seeing Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic. There were certainly cool elements, and it may be the best Fantastic Four film to date. But that's not saying much.

Rating: C+

Gutted

It's been a hard year in Baltimore. A few months back, I did my annual post about the Orioles and their struggles this year. Generally, teams that have little hope of playoff contention start selling off players on expiring contracts . . . and the Orioles did so this past week, unloading a whopping nine players (see graphic for the names).*

As MLB rosters carry 26 players, that means the Orioles traded away just over a third of their team. It gutted them . . . and me. Their new-look roster:

The Orioles underperformed this year, and that's been hard to see after two-plus seasons of respectability (even excellence). And yet . . . you never want to see your team dismantled. You want to see them turn things around. There is a lesson here.

There is a time and a place to make changes. I get that. And baseball is a business. I get that too. But it is more than just numbers and wins and successes. In a way, there is a family element here impossible to ignore. Love or hate a given player, we root for a team and stick by them through thick and thin. We enjoy the success and endure the defeats. But we do so together. The situation reminds me of something my pastor said in a recent weekly email to the congregation:

Perhaps we all reach a point in life where we find our joy in the ‘doing’ of life more than in the achievements of life . . . I [now] value the experience more than the outcome. And I prioritize the people I am with over the activity I am performing. For me, it has not always been that way.

I know what he means. There was a time where I would have wanted the O's to sell off people. But now? I'd rather see Cedric Mullins (I'll miss him most) make an amazing catch in the outfield. Or Ryan O'Hearn hit a clutch home run. Or even one of the newer Orioles contribute in some way. Do I want them to win? Absolutely. But I want them to win; the "them" is now more important to me than the "win." Good thing I'll never own a major league club. 

*In return, they got 16 prospects. Most experts gave them middling grades for the deals.

The Templars (Dan Jones)

The Templars are the subject of much speculation and even conspiracy theories. In this book, Dan Jones looks at who they really were historically, from their founding in 1119 (shortly after the First Crusade), to their sudden demise in 1307. Broadly, he looks at their roles and transitions from pilgrims (knights protecting those journeying in the Holy Land) to soldiers (taking a more formal militaristic role in the defense of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and other holdings) to bankers (tending their vast estates throughout Europe and handling money transfers for royalty and wealthy) to heretics (being falsely branded by the French King in a money grab).

This was a good, accessible introduction to "God's holy warriors." Jones writes well. Having read about the Crusades long ago, this was an interesting perspective on the same era, focused on this specific Order. Parts felt a tad rushed, but this was probably necessary to cover such scope in a relatively short work. Overall, recommended.

Rating: A

Love, Part Three

Building on the previous two posts, today I want to highlight one aspect of love: its object.

Jesus says to love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39). In one passage (Luke 10:25-37), an audience member* immediately asks 'who is my neighbor?', intending to bound God's commands to only a portion of the population. Jesus responds with the parable of the good Samaritan, who cared for a stranger in need encountered on the road after two others (a priest and a Levite) passed him by. Samaritans were enemies of the Jews; by using that example, Jesus was making a few points:

- Your neighbor is everyone. Friend and stranger, those nearby and those afar.

- The priest and Levite were set aside to serve God, yet they failed in their most basic responsibilities. 

- The enemy (a Samaritan) did the right thing, which shows both common grace and that our enemies can teach/humble us.

- The Samaritan's love showed mercy, compassion, had no desire for compensation, and was personally costly. Key attributes of love.

A friend posted the below on facebook the other day,  and I think it summarizes Jesus' point in this passage nicely:

Loving others is hard. Loving enemies, even harder. Yes as God is kind to the ungrateful and evil (Luke 6:35), so are we to be.

The bar is high. How can we do this? Only through Jesus, for 'with men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible' (Matthew 19:26). In Jesus we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28), and without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). We can thus love others, be they neighbors, family, fellow church members, or even enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). And it is that last category that shows we both walk with God and understand God's love for us—for he who loves much recognizes that they have been forgiven much (see Luke 7:47). 

* a lawyer, perhaps unsurprisingly