Heidelberg

An ancient university town, people visit Heidelberg, Germany, for one reason: the palace.  Though the town itself is charming, too . . .

A miniature of the palace, in its pre-ruin form

Townscape

Palace from Afar
The palace dominates the town from its perch above.

Palace- Gate Area
Before entering the palace proper, check out the 'kissing gate' and take in the astounding architecture.

Palace- Courtyard
Entering through the main gate, one is ushered into a scenic courtyard.  The wine barrel, accessible just off the courtyard, is (I think) the world's largest.

Palace- Structure Shots
The palace has a number of interesting structural design elements.  Note the indent on the stonework in a shot below- made by a knight in full armor leaping from a window.

Palace- Ruined Tower
One of the highlights is the tower, destroyed from within by fleeing French (if memory serves) using a breathtaking amount of gunpowder.

Conclusion
Heidelberg is well worth the trip.

Jurassic Park

Last year's Jurassic World (reviewed here) was a fun (if flawed) sequel to today's review, 1993's Jurassic Park.

The premise of Jurassic Park is simple: a millionaire figures out how to clone dinosaurs by extracting their DNA from blood found in mosquitoes (who are themselves fossilized in sap).  He sets up a park on his private Caribbean island intending to display these creatures to the masses; while showing his venture to his grandkids (and a few scientists), the dinosaurs get loose and shake things up.

I hadn't seen this movie in years, and was curious how it would stand the test of time.  Surprisingly, it fared well.  The effects- astounding then- are still excellent, and the film was well-done in most other respects- plot, music, and characters.  Though primarily an adventure/suspense flick, it even explores an interesting philosophical question: if we can do something . . . should we?  It's not all roses- it's overly sentimental in places (which Steven Spielberg, the director, has been accused of elsewhere), and some scenes appear geared more towards a younger audience- odd when you realize most of the PG-13 offering is dinosaurs chasing and eating people.  Still, overall, it holds up.

Rating: A

Priests and Warriors (Nicholas Maclean-Bristol)

As the subtitle states, Priests and Warriors is a history of the Scottish Maclean clan from 1300-1570.  In just 160 pages, the author gleans what he can from the Medieval records and pieces together what we know about this family.

I read this only because my grandmother was a Maclean, and I was interested in learning more about my heritage after visiting the ancestral stomping grounds (predominantly the Isle of Mull in the Highlands, as seen here and here).  Unfortunately, Priests and Warriors doesn't fit the bill.  Though (to his credit) the author does a good job scouring and referencing the Medieval sources, the presentation is poor and account hard to follow.  I'll summarize: the Macleans had several 'branches,' most of which were located throughout the Inner Hebrides.  They served the Lords of the Isles and fought amongst themselves (and with other clans) for land and status, just like everyone else in the Middle Ages.

A good deal of contextual history is left out, and this reader didn't have the Scottish historical understanding to fill in the gaps.  Much of the account goes over land records, tracing which faction of the clan held which areas in the Inner Hebrides at what time.  Good to have for reference; bad if you want a compelling read.  A few stories of interesting personalities and events make the work more bearable, but overall, this is one to avoid (or keep as reference, if family history is your thing).

Rating: C

Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson)

In Just Mercy, attorney Bryan Stevenson recounts his work with the foundation he started- the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI).  His story focuses on Walter McMillian, an innocent person wrongly convicted of murder and put on death row.  Interspersed with Walter's story are tales of other unfortunate situations- wrongful imprisonments, outrageously harsh sentences, racial injustice, and more.  Stevenson started EJI to deal with things like this.  In his own words (recounted from a conversation with Rosa Parks):

. . . we're trying to help people on death row.  We're trying to stop the death penalty, actually.  We're trying to do something about prison conditions and excessive punishment.  We want to free people who have been wrongly convicted.  We want to end unfair sentences in criminal cases and stop racial bias in criminal justice.  We're trying to help the poor and do something about indigent defense and the fact that people don't get the legal help they need.  We're trying to help people who are mentally ill.  We're trying to stop them from putting children in adult jails and prisons.  We're trying to do something about poverty and the hopelessness that dominates poor communities.  We want to see more diversity in decision-making roles in the justice system.  We're trying to educate people about racial history and the need for racial justice.  We're trying to confront abuse of power by police and prosecutors . . . 

As you'd expect, the entire book is valuable and poignant (it's shocking how little it can take to get some on death row or in prison for life).  The book summary (pages 289-94) is fantastic.  After relaying this heartbreaking stories, Stevenson shares why he does what he does, and why he fights for mercy over judgment.  The following are quotes, taken mostly from the summary, pasted together:

I do what I do because I'm broken, too . . . being broken is what makes us human.
Our shared vulnerability and imperfection nurtures and sustains our capacity for compassion.
. . . simply punishing the broken- walking away from them or hiding them from sight- only ensures that they remain broken and we do, too.
In fact, there is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy.  When you experience mercy, you learn things that are hard to learn otherwise.
I didn't deserve reconciliation or love . . . but that's how mercy works.  The power of just mercy is that it belongs to the undeserving.  It's when mercy is least expected that it's most potent- strong enough to break the cycle of victimization and victim hood, retribution and suffering.

Indeed, there is power in mercy.  What struck me most is that often the wrongly-convicted are the ones who show mercy to their captors and persecutors- shocking and humbling, and yet necessary for healing.

Rating: A

Joplin & Ragtime

Today's focus is on my favorite pianist, Scott Joplin, and his expertise: ragtime.

Ragtime is a style of music that relies on syncopation- that is, a 'disruptive' rhythm which can emphasize off-beats.  Wikipedia summarizes it well: ragtime "may be considered a synthesis of African syncopation and European classical music, especially the marches made popular by John Phillip Sousa."

Scott Joplin (1868-1917) did not originate the genre- but he did make it famous.  Of his 44 rags, many made it mainstream, to include Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainers.  Ragtime (and Joplin) enjoyed popularity in two periods: ~1895-1918 and after 1970, when The Sting (starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford) featured many Joplin works and brought the style back into popularity.

I've played piano for almost 30 years.  I've listened to and played many different styles of music, but I keep coming back to Joplin's Ragtime pieces- I play almost nothing else.  I love the style for a few reasons:
- it's complex.  Playing Ragtime feels like an accomplishment- it takes me weeks to learn a piece due to its sophisticated fingerings and off-beat style.
- it's happy and fun.   Ragtime is almost always happy music- you feel joy listening to and playing it.
- it's distinctly American.  You see influences in Ragtime from a variety of cultures that make up America- our African and European heritages shine through in a delightful combination.  Images of Americana can pop into my head as I play- most commonly, wild west saloons, but Americans in many other settings also experienced and enjoyed this style through the years, from sophisticated urbanites to down-home country folk.  There's something here for everyone.

As you'd expect, videos abound on the Internet of pianists playing Joplin's works.  One such I enjoy is Cory Hall- his take on Joplin's Original Rag can be seen here.  Note that Hall- like many, regrettably- tweaks Joplin's work ever so slightly.  But here, his tweak his minimal, his tempo excellent, and the overall effect enjoyable and exemplary of the genre.

To date, I can play only seven Joplin rags with any degree of competence- Maple Leaf Rag, The Entertainers, The Cascades, Elite Syncopations, Paragon Rag, Magnetic Rag, and Original Rag.  It's not easy, but it is fun and worthwhile.  The biggest temptation- one repeated often enough to elicit printed warnings by the composer- is to play this style fast.  In Joplin's own words, "it is never right to play Ragtime fast."  But, fast or slow, these tunes are a delight to hear- so listen to some today.

The Year So Far

2016 has started well.  In a nutshell, I've:

- lost 5 lbs.
I'm 10 lbs away from my goal of weighing 180 lbs.  The key for me?  Working out (more on this later) and eating less for lunch- just a large serving of mixed vegetables and fruit.  I still eat mostly what I want in the evening, but dropping the mid-day calories has made a world of difference.

- continued to minimize
It was hard, but I continue to reduce what I own.  This year, I decided to get rid of Star Wars Armada.  That was a tough decision, but the key for me has been setting thresholds.

As I've said before, there are many good things I'll never get to experience, and that's okay.  So how do I decide where to focus my efforts?  I set thresholds.  For example, my criteria for game ownership:

It must be fun, playable in less than a few hours, occupy minimal volume, played frequently, have local players willing to participate

Star Wars Armada met most of the above, but not all, and so I sold the collection and focused elsewhere.  Though it was tough, it was the right decision.

- read 12 books
I'm down to 17 books I own but haven't yet read.  Several of the remaining are heavy hitters (1000+ pages of mathematics, for example), but I'm optimistic.

- exercised more frequently
For the first time since having multiple children, I've managed to work out every day this week (except Sunday- always a rest day for me).  I was going to the gym 3 times per week (to lift weights) and trying to run on the off days; the runs rarely happened.  I now realize that I must go to the gym 5 times per week (3 lifts, 2 runs), and have my final run on the weekend.  If I don't go to the gym in the morning, it doesn't happen, so I've altered my routine to accommodate, and it's working well so far.  I also try to run up flights of stairs once per day at work, and that little bit can make a big difference.

For years, I've had  a few nagging injuries (to shoulder, lower back, and calf).  I've incorporated new weight exercises into my routine to address the shoulder and calf, with promising results.  Now if I could only figure out how to help the lower back . . .

- started practicing the piano again
I had no access to a piano in England, and played rarely in Germany.  I'm now trying to play 4-5 times per week, mostly in the evenings after the children are in bed.  The rust is coming off, slowly but surely.

- gamed more
I've started or joined multiple monthly gaming nights, some with work friends, others with Church friends.  We play Magic: the Gathering, Star Wars Miniatures, and board/card games of all kinds.  As a borderline introvert, gaming is my preferred social interaction method, and it's fun being more intentional about participating in this arena.

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I have a way to go, but things are looking up so far in 2016.

The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)

In June 1942, 13-year-old Anne Frank started keeping a diary.  A month later, as a Jew living in Amsterdam during WWII, she and her family were forced into hiding to avoid deportation.  They lived in a secret annexe above an office building with four other people, where they successfully remained unnoticed until August 1944, when the SS discovered and arrested them and their helpers.  Anne wrote faithfully in her diary until the arrest.  Broken up and taken to different concentration camps in Germany and/or Poland, Anne and everyone in the annexe (except her father, Otto) died before the end of the war, either from gas or Typhus.  After the conflict, Otto returned to Amsterdam, where a friend had found Anne's diary and gave it to him.  As Anne states several times in the diary, she wanted to be a famous writer and 'live forever' through her work; her father published her chronicles as The Diary of a Young Girl and she got her wish.

Anne's diary is world-renowned; like me, you probably read (at least portions of) it in high school.  It's impressively well-written considering the age of the author, and it's a valuable glimpse into the life of secrecy and hardship forced upon so many during that dreadful conflict.  It's also a portrait of a young girl in her formative years, and the struggles she endures (dealing with parents, relationships, and maturation) are something with which we can all identify.  Interestingly, I felt it dealt much more with these subjects than things related to the war- Anne is remarkably good-natured about her situation, and we don't get a lot of griping (like I suspected).  Instead, her account is mostly upbeat, and they make the best of what they have.  They continued their education, receiving books from their helpers, and they focused on biding the time the best they could.  It's a worthy read, made more poignant knowing Anne's fate- had she survived the war, I wonder if this would have achieved such a high level of fame.

I'll end with a quote from a poem Otto composed for Anne on her birthday while in hiding:

One's own shortcomings are nothing but fluff,
But everyone else's are heavier stuff.

Much of Anne's diary concerns relationships, and the strain living in close confines can have on them.  I feel you can summarize them from the above line- people tend to focus on the failings of others and not their own.  It's interesting to me that, in the middle of WWII, that's what people were focused on- the day-to-day tense interactions, and not the broader situation.

Rating: A