Go Birds

That was satisfying. Yesterday the Eagles won the Super Bowl by clobbering the Chiefs, 40-22, and it wasn't that close (they were up 40-6 before putting in their reserves and yielding two late TDs). This post looks at their year.

The Team

Two years ago, the Eagles lost the Super Bowl to the Chiefs. That team was amazing but fell short. (Still, there are lessons in a loss.) This year's team featured 20 players from that roster (by my count) plus 33 others; turnover happens quickly in the NFL (consider: only 4 players remain from their last Super Bowl victory in 2018). The depth chart is below: note two injuries on defense (to Nakobe Dean and Brandon Graham) affected, but didn't deter, the Birds from success.

The Highlights

There are many . . .

Offense

- Saquon Barkley

What a player. What a pickup. Coming over as a free agent from the New York Football Giants, signing Saquon was considered a risky move by some given his age. It wasn't; he rushed for over 2,000 yards in the regular season, had several amazing playoff performances, and modeled humility to boot. He won the NFL offensive player of the year for his achievements.

He is a true team player and talent, the latter of which is perhaps best epitomized by his 'reverse hurdle' earlier this year:

- The Offensive Line

The Eagles have a history of strong offensive lines, and this year was more of the same. Lane Johnson, Mekhi Becton, Cam Jurgens (who replaced Jason Kelce), Landon Dickerson, and Jordan Mailata simply dominated. Mekhi in particular has a powerful story—written off as a bust, he came to Philly and resurrected his career. He could be seen crying often on the sidelines in thankfulness and joy.

- The Regulars

Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert have put together a string of successful seasons in Philly. It's fun watching them play.

Defense

- What a turnaround. Last year, the defense sputtered and looked lost. This year, they were the best. And defense wins championships. There was elite talent at every level, and new coordinator Vic Fangio put them in position to be successful. Several players drafted from years (Nakobe Dean, Nolan Smith, Jalen Carter, Milton Williams) past stepped up and performed at higher levels; free agents pickup Zach Baun went from special teams player to an all-pro; and this years' draft picks transformed the secondary from one of the worst units to one of the best.

This defense completely dominated in the playoffs, with a +13 turnover margin in four games. In the Super Bowl in particular, they looked unstoppable. 

Staff

- Nick Sirianni, head coach redeemed. 

Nick had a rough year in 2023, watching his hot 10-1 Eagles skid to a 11-6 finish and first-round ouster in the playoffs. There was talk of firing . . . instead, he stayed on and changed his approach. With two new coordinators and a new mindset, it worked. He righted a team that felt lost last year . . . quite an achievement. Generally, you don't come back from losing the locker room . . . Sirianni did.

- Howie Roseman, GM extraordinaire.

I don't know how he does it, but Howie finds ways to draft well, supplement through free agency, and sign the key players to long-term extensions in fair (but team-friendly) deals.

- Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio, new (to the Eagles) coordinators.

After last year's trainwreck, the offense and defense needed makeovers in the coaching department. Enter Kellen and Vic. The offense looked off at times, but found ways to win through it all. The defense skidded to a 2-2 start but caught fire and never looked back. 

The Amusing

- A.J. Brown's Book Club

During a lackluster game (where Brown was frustrated by a lack of targets), he was spotted on the sideline reading a book.

The book ("Inner Excellence") became an instant bestseller.

- ELGSES

During the playoffs, Philadelphia's mayor led a crowd in an Eagles chant, only to mis-spell Eagles during it. The Internet reacted predictably.

- "Exciting Whites"

Reed Blankenship and Cooper Dejean, two players in the Eagles secondary, are they only two white people on the defense. They became known as "exciting whites" based off of a meme about wine (read more about that here). You can buy shirts, folks.

- The fans

Eagles fans don't disappoint. Memes and videos about them don't, either.  

- Go Birds

This is a phrase specific to the region around Philly, and is the east coast version of 'aloha.' It means basically whatever you want it to mean.

The End

It is nice to see the Birds get their second championship in seven years. But even better is the way they played together this season. Throughout, it was clear you could describe the team with one word: "unselfish." Different players dominated different games. Everyone stepped up. And now . . . they are the champs. Go Birds.

The Monster in the Hollows (Andrew Peterson)

Shortly after book two . . .

Having escaped Kimera last time, the Wingfeathers cross the Dark Sea of Darkness to take haven in the Green Hollows, a land safe from the Fangs of Dang. There, the kids enroll in school and try to adjust to a new and peaceful life. But trouble seems to follow them wherever they go . . . there is a monster in the Hollows, and it will stop at nothing to destroy them.

The last book was suspenseful throughout; here, we get a breather for most of the book until the tension ramped up towards the end. Overall, it was excellent. There were a few plots points that were rushed, but the twists and backstory were both surprising and welcome. Another winner.

Rating: A

Batman, Volume 3: Death of the Family

He's back. After a year away from Gotham, The Joker has returned with a vengeance—and he is after Batman's 'family' (Alfred, Robin, Nightwing, etc.). The Clown Prince of Crime seems even more deranged than usual, determined to destroy everything the Dark Knight holds dear . . . will he succeed?

This was a good story, but it caught me off-guard; I thought this volume would conclude the Owls story line from last time. Instead, apparently that arc was done (for now) and the series shifted gears. That surprise aside, this was an intriguing (and occasionally gross) psychological tale about these archrivals, with a few twists to boot. 

Rating: A-

Batman, Volume 2: The City of Owls

Continuing from volume one . . .

The Court of Owls—the fabled secret society said to have ruled Gotham for decades—is real. Their assassins, called Talons, are everywhere. And their target is Bruce Wayne. Owls can feed on bats . . . but this is no ordinary creature of the night. Does Batman have what it takes?

This second volume continues the excellent story, with more enjoyable twists along the way. Collecting six issues, the first four were outstanding, with five and six being side stories that seemed like filler (unless they will play a role in the conclusion of the arc). But overall, highly recommended.

Rating: A

Batman, Volume 1: The Court of Owls

The Court of Owls is a well-known children's poem and old wives' tale in Gotham. The rhyme suggests that the real rulers of the city are these members of a secret organization . . . but Gotham is Batman's city. Or is it?

I quite enjoyed this mystery/adventure; it has familiar elements to Batman stories but intriguing twists as well. The story was great; the art was decent. I look forward to the next volume.

Rating: A

The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writing (Edgar Allan Poe)

Edgar Allan Poe is a renowned American author, perhaps best known for The Raven poem and tales of the macabre (though he also did detective and other types of stories). The Tell-Tale Heart collects and presents a portion of his works:

- 16 short stories (including classics like The Fall of the House of Usher, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Murders in the Rue Morgue)

- 1 full-length novel (The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym)

- 15 poems (including, of course, The Raven)

I read half (everything but the full-length novel).

Poe is an excellent writer; his prose is beautiful. I had a hard time following his meaning in some works. His subject, at least in this selection, seemed repetitive: premature burial was often on his mind, as was mourning, illness, and death. He also wrote several works related to adventures on tumultuous seas (which I didn't realize) and a few detective stories. Overall, this is a nice collection and features tales/poems that should be known to most Americans. 

Rating: B

My Little Scythe

Today's review is of the 2017 release, My Little Scythe. For 1-6 players, it takes 60 minutes.

Overview

In My Little Scythe, your goal is to earn trophies! There are eight possible categories; the first player to earn four trophies wins.

You control two animal miniatures. Each turn, you choose one available action (it cannot be your action from the previous turn): 

- move: independently move your two figures 1-2 tiles on the map.

-- if you enter a space with a gem or apple, it becomes yours (but limits your movement). 

-- if you end on a space with a scroll, you can 'explore', drawing an exploration card and choosing an option on it.

-- if you enter a space occupied by an opponent, a pie fight ensues! Deduct your friendship score by one (you started it!). Using your pie meter, secretly choose how many pies you commit to the fight, and supplement it with a pie card if able. Higher pie score wins! Both sides deduct their pie meter by how many they chose respectively, the loser teleports back to their starting square, and the winner keeps all the apples/gems on the hex.

- seek: roll dice and place gems/apples in the corresponding regions rolled. If you place an item on a hex occupied by an opponent, you gain friendship!

- make: turn in your gems/apples to draw magic cards, upgrades, or increase your pie level.

game in progress; image from here

You gain trophies in eight different ways, which include:

- reaching a friendship score of eight, 

- reaching a pie level of eight,

- completing two exploration cards, 

- having two upgrades, 

- having three magic cards, 

- other things I forget.

Review

I enjoyed this light-hearted take on the much more serious Scythe game. It is competitive, but also "compelled cooperative" in the sense that you need to help others to advance your own scores. That was a cool concept. And I quite enjoyed the 'friendship score,' a variant of which I may mandate in my own household ("want screen time, kids? You need to do 5 nice things for each other to be eligible"). It makes me want to try the grown-up Scythe game.

Rating: B+

Changed into His Likeness (J. Gary Millar)

Jesus Christ saves us from our sins—but he doesn't leave us there. In  many and varied ways, the Bible speaks* of our need, ability (through Christ), and mechanisms God uses, to transform our lives. In Changed into His Likeness, J. Gary Millar surveys the Scriptures and historical theology to develop a robust biblical theology of personal transformation. He argues that the Bible articulates the following theology in this area:

1. Humans are created in the image of God as complex, relational beings. As a result of the fall, every part of us is damaged; and, as a result, failure and frustration are our universal experience.
2. God's long-term, covenantal commitment to change and restore every part of our being is unwavering, but in the Old Testament this transformation remains a future prospect.
3. With the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, change becomes a reality for those who are united to Christ by faith, as as the Spirit does his work. Through the gospel, the Spirit brings us to life through faith (making us 'positionally holy'), awakening a new desire for him and knowledge of him, and then continues his work of remaking us in the image of Christ throughout our lives.
4. Through our personal meditation on the Bible (guided by our conscience, which is being restored), hearing the Word preached, seeing it illustrated in the sacraments and lived out in the context of the church, and being driven back to the gospel through the fullness of our lived experience (including suffering), God advances his work in us.
5. This process is often painful, always gradual and is immeasurably rich, as we live a life of continuing repentance and faith (or mortification and vivification).
6. This process of transformation continues in every Christian as we press on, until we go to be with Christ or he returns in glory. Then we will be like him.

We could perhaps summarize the summary: "we are created by God, are much-loved children of God and are being transformed to enjoy life with him for ever." And "the way to be transformed, then, is to meditate on the word, respond to it in repentance and faith, and to keep going to the end," recognizing that to do so, we need both God (Philippians 2:13, John 15:5) and each other (Ephesians 4:11-16): "the church is the context in which (and a means by which) God transforms us." 

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This is a great book. Millar does a good job surveying and summarizing both the Scriptures and thinkers throughout the ages. As there are different facets to change, sometimes it felt (necessarily) repetitive or overlapping, but such is needed to fully flesh out the nuances. As with the only other book I've read in this series so far, this is a winner.

Rating: A

*see Romans 8:28-29, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 3:1-10, Philippians 2:12-13, and Philippians 1:6 among others

Skeleton Crew: Season 1

Set five years after Return of the Jedi . . .

Wim and his friends live a peaceful, if boring, existence on At Attin. But all that is about to change . . . for a chance discovery will send them on an adventure of a lifetime. Now if only they can find their way home . . . it's a big galaxy out there.

I can't review this fully without revealing some spoilers, so I'll keep it high level. There is a cool story here (or elements of one) and some fun characters (like the droid SM-33). It is basically Star Wars meets Indiana Jones and/or golden age of piracy. But it is at its heart a typical coming-of-age tale—a Disney channel special set in the Star Wars universe—where kids rule the day (and magically know how to do things) and adults are either helpless bystanders or bad guys to be outsmarted.* That annoyed me. The cool elements raise the grade for me, but it could have been so much better.

Rating: C+

*One reviewer called this "Goonies in space." That's it in a nutshell.

Forever Evil (Various)

The Crime Syndicate—"malevolent doppelgangers" of the Justice League—have come to Earth and declared it theirs. The Justice League has been defeated and is missing . . . and the Syndicate appears victorious. The only ones standing in their way? Lex Luthor and other supervillains. Can the bad guys save the day?

This is the first volume in a mini-series that appears to be a cross-over with other titles in The New 52 line (a 2011 revamp of all DC Comics titles). I picked this up at the library because it is well-regarded and popular enough to headline an expansion in the DC Deckbuilding Game, so I wanted to learn more about the story. It was fine. The art was good, the story was mildly intriguing, and there were elements of redemption that were worth reflection. I didn't understand why the Crime Syndicate had to be counterfeit  copies of the Justice League heroes, but perhaps there are [likely-unintentional] echoes of the Biblical notion that sin and evil are corrupted versions of good things.

I believe familiarity with other story arcs in The New 52 line would have been helpful here and heightened my understanding and enjoyment. But as a stand-alone tale, it was decent.

Rating: B-

North! Or Be Eaten (Andrew Peterson)

Shortly after book one . . .

The Igibys are safe in a forest hideout . . . but not for long. The Fangs are on their trail, so north they most go. But how can they prevail, when they have to find a way across the Mighty River Blapp, evade the fearsome Stranders, stay hidden in Dugtown, and survive the icy prairies on the way to Kimera? The journey itself is perilous, and with secrets and traitors at every turn, hope may fade. Yet they have no choice if they are to survive.

Here, the series takes a markedly serious turn—the silliness (from book one) is toned down and the suspense continues throughout the whole book with barely a moment to breathe. The story is starting to come into focus, with a powerful message and wisdom accompanying the adventure. Peterson does a good job progressively revealing the reason for some strange things seen in the first volume. I really enjoyed this one.

Rating: A+

Han Solo & Chewbacca: The Crystal Run (Part 2)

Picking up where Part 1 left off . . .

Han has been left for dead, injured and abandoned on a random world. Chewie is locked up on a prison planet. And yet, the heist they were working continues . . . can they heal, escape, reunite, and hit it big?

This one is better than the first part, but only just. There are some interesting moments, and cool tie-ins or references to characters seen in Solo and Episode VII, but the relevance to the wider story is still unclear and conclusion is open-ended and unsatisfying . . . until/unless they tie up loose ends and have some sort of point. 

Rating: C+

Han Solo & Chewbacca: The Crystal Run (Part 1)

In the days before the Rebellion, smuggler Han Solo and his sidekick Chewbacca work for Jabba the Hutt. He sends them (with an old 'friend') on a heist that could yield the payday of a lifetime. But such things are never easy . . . with twists and surprises galore, can our heroes win . . . or even survive?

There was also a one-shot "Life Day" issue at the end of this, where Han and Chewie reflect back on this wookiee holiday through the years.

Meh. It has been nearly four years since I last read a Star Wars graphic novel*. Things like this remind me why. I was at the library yesterday and picked up some graphic novels; this one looked promising. It was . . . uninspiring. The art was fine, the story oh-so-very predictable, and I'm not quite sure what the point was. (That said, I hope to cover part 2 tomorrow to see if there is a satisfying conclusion.)

Aside: in a universe like Star Wars, any tale should either

1) develop the overall story arc in some meaningful way, or

2) explore a side character/event in a meaningful way (that may impact the overall story OR have a message of some sort)

I felt like this graphic novel did neither. 

Rating: C-

*The Force Unleashed II

The War of the Rohirrim

200 years before Bilbo Baggins and a certain ring . . .

Helm Hammerhand rules in Rohan, and trouble is brewing. A Dunlending lord is set on his son (Wulf) marrying Helm's daughter (Hera). Unwilling, Helm fights the lord and banishes Wulf, who swears vengeance. Years later, he'll get his chance . . . and Helm's people will flee to a familiar fortress, the Hornburg, and try to survive the ensuing siege. Will they survive? Or is hope lost?

This movie was a mixed bag for me. It was exciting to see another film set in Middle-Earth. The animation style (anime with realistic backgrounds) was cool if jarring/disorienting at times. The plot was . . . underwhelming and cliche. It also borrowed too heavily from the original Lord of the Rings films, packing in plenty of scenes/plots/phrases as a deliberate homage to that trilogy (in places, it felt like they simply mashed elements from the films together, put them into anime style, and put it on the big screen). The main message was "women are powerful, too," which was fine. It had its moments, but overall, I rate this just above the third Hobbit movie and below everything else (to include Rings of Power). 

Rating: C+

So Begins 2025

image from here

Happy New Year! As is my custom, this post lays out goals for the year. The goals themselves are in italics, with explanation following in regular font.

Spiritual
- Be disciplined in reading/prayer routines (and reduce putzing).

- Do devotionals with the family twice a week.  
- Serve better, but in fewer roles.

- Focus more on others. Figure out balance with competing needs.

I fritter away too much time by 'putzing' (meaning a few minutes web surfing here, a few minutes playing a game there, etc.). In 2025, I want to minimize that and replace it with better routines. A subgoal here is devotionals (books broken into daily readings): I have three I want to read personally in 2025, plus one I want to do with the family.

I am also stretched too thin right now, and there are some big changes coming for my work and my wife's. So I need to step back in a few areas so we can manage everything in a way that glorifies God and blesses others. I don't know what that looks like, but some things need to change.

Nutritional/Fitness
- Get (and keep) weight under 185 lbs.

- Eat more fruit/vegetables. Eat out less.

- Improve gut health.
- Complete 270 workouts; bike 1200 miles.

I want to lose 5-7 lbs, eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, figure out what is going on with my gut, and keep working out consistently. I would love to bike 1200 miles this year.

Reading
- Read 50 books.
- Read 15 works at my American Reading List.
- Minimize my owned-but-unread pile

I've done 50+ books the last few years, and this should be easily reached. My American Reading List is 200 books; I'm about a third done and aim to read 15 more this year. And it is always good to not let unread books accumulate in the home.

Household Management
- Minimize stuff in the home.

- Figure out ideal home organization.

- Buy less/budget better.

I get stressed with all the clutter around the house. I want to find a way to minimize it and keep it out of sight. Part of that is home organization; we have a few areas that we want to re-work to improve their appearance and utility. And buying less is always wise.
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The goals above are not earth-shaking . . . I should be able to hit all of these. To 2025!