It has taken a while to finally get here with a few website hosting and connection issues, but I can finally share the 365ish seconds of my 40th year along with some of my thoughts about a pretty landmark year of life.
Things I noticed in the video:

• Miniature painting has definitely become my predominant hobby. I have found that I enjoy it more than building models because instead of a product sitting on a shelf I can enjoy the painted models while gaming with other people.
• My kids are obviously the most prevalent part of my life, both because they demand attention and deserve it. Also, they are cute in photos and videos.
• I don't take a lot of video at work, which is odd because I spend so much time there. I think I am generally just too busy to take my phone out and record a short video.

Thoughts from my 40th year:

• ​I feel that I have truly reached middle age but don't feel that old. I assume this is what everyone feels when they reach this age, but I hope to continue relishing the age that I am.
• This year brought some unexpected challenges as I faced uncertainty with the future of my job for the first time ever. I had to start thinking about ways I could continue to be a teacher if Latin were cut, so I added Social Studies to my certification.
• I value my friendships and relationships both younger and older than me more than I ever have. I appreciate the advice of my older friends and appreciate the chance to share wisdom with my younger friends.

Here's to new challenges and adventures in Year 41!

The time has come again to share some thoughts on all of the books I read this year. I made a goal to read 23 books and unfortunately fell short at only 19, but I still read some great books this year and am looking forward to sharing them with you. I missed my halfway check in back in June because I was in the middle of my Young Indiana Jones rewatch, so I will recap briefly all 19 books here. In addition, I will star the books that I recommend the most from the year! Here it goes in the order that I read them:

Take Back Your Family: From the Tyrants of Burnout, Busyness, Individualism, and the Nuclear Ideal by Jefferson Bethke
There were a lot of great ideas to digest in this book and it helped me see family in a little different light. A year later I'm still processing how to put into practice some of the concepts from this book.

Convergence by Zoraida Cordova
The flashback era of The High Republic novels started just ok and kind of set a mediocre tone for the whole time period.

Dune the Graphic Novel, Book 2: Muad'Dib by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Another excellent adaption of the middle third of the original Dune novel, following in the footsteps of Book 1.

The Thing Beneath the Thing: What's Hidden Inside by Steve Carter
I am a huge fan of Steve Carter and this book contained a lot of great thoughts about how we inwardly and outwardly deal with our own problems. 

***Nehemiah for You by Eric Mason***
I read this book as part of a group study and would definitely recommend it. I love to hear thoughts on the Bible from someone other than a white male, and Mason made Nehemiah interesting and accessible.

The Battle of Jedha by George Mann (Audio Drama)
I love the Star Wars audio dramas in whatever era they are set in, and this one had some great action.

Cataclysm by Lydia Kang
Another just ok entry in the phase 2 stories of the High Republic.

***Morning Star by Pierce Brown***
The Red Rising series has been one of my all time favorites, and while the first half of this novel dragged a little, the second half was fantastic.

***The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem by Jack Mitchell***
This book was a combination of two of my most favorite things in the world: Star Wars and ancient epic poetry. There is really nothing else I need to say about it. Maybe my book of the year.

***Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert***
Most people end their Dune journey with the first novel, but they are missing out in a huge way by not reading Dune Messiah. This book managed to make little amounts of action compelling through deep and interesting dialogue. Also one of my top books of the year.

Path of Vengeance by Cavan Scott
Fortunately, this book ended Phase 2 of the High Republic books quite well. Lots of great Star Wars action and interesting conflicts.

The Lost Hero: The Graphic Novel by Robert Venditti, Rick Riordan, Nate Powell
I enjoyed rereading this book through the graphic novel treatment.

***Fortune: How Race Broke my Family and the World--and How to Repair It All by Lisa Sharon Harper***
Lisa Sharon Harper is a treasure of an author, and I will continue to read anything she publishes. She managed to narrate the trauma and horror of her family history in a powerful and beautiful way.

The Son of Neptune: The Graphic Novel by Robert Venditti and Rick Riordan
Same thoughts as above for The Lost Hero.

From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi by Various Authors
I have enjoyed all of the Star Wars anniversary anthologies. As a huge fan of the Jabba's palace scene, I particularly enjoyed several stories diving deep into background characters.

The Mark of Athena: The Graphic Novel by Robert Venditti and Rick Riordan
Another fun graphic novel adaptation. I particularly have enjoyed reading these while my son reads the full series for the first time.

The Silmarillion: Illustrated Edition by J.R.R. Tolkien
I read The Silmarillion over the course of the year with a slow and methodical reading plan. I think that might be the best way to read this dense and crunchy work of Biblical proportions.

American Idolatry by Andrew L. Whitehead
A great addition to the growing pantheon of books using a critical eye at some of the traditions of American Christianity. I found some of the content of the book redundant from other books I have read recently, but this is a great intro to the deconstructing American Evangelicalism genre.

The Eye of Darkness by George Mann
The first book in the final phase of High Republic novels and by far the best in my opinion. I breezed through this book because it was so fun to read and felt like watching a Star Wars movie.

Young Indy is back in America and exploring the world of the arts in the final three episodes of the show. Each episode covers a different part of the creative arts world: jazz, broadway, film, respectively.
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Mystery of the Blues - Chicago, 1920
The first episode of the entertainment world triad focuses on Indy's early time at the University of Chicago. He is waiting tables at a nightclub where Sidney Bechet regularly plays with his band and quickly becomes enamored with jazz music. Bechet gives Indy a soprano sax to mess around with and by the end of the episode he has found a groove. Of course, mixed in with all of this, Indy's roommate (Eliot Ness, obviously) gets involved with helping Indy solve a murder at the nightclub, perpetrated by none other than Al Capone. All of that sounds awesome, and it was, but the cake topper in this episode was Harrison Ford's first appearance as Indiana Jones since Last Crusade in the prologue and epilogue of the episode. I remember how huge an event it was when I heard he was going to be reprising the role on the show. This episode also heavily influenced some of my own life choices almost as much as the pilot of the show. I decided to play the saxophone because of this episode, and for a while I really wanted to attend the University of Chicago to study archaeology. Looking back, that might be a little weird, but what can I say, Indiana Jones is a defining character in my life.

Scandal of 1920 - New York, 1920
In this episode, Indy gets a job on a Broadway production as part of the stage crew and (shocker!) juggles relationships with three different young women at the same time. I am over the revolving door of relationships aspect of this show, which tarnished my opinion of the episode overall. One standout, however, was the addition of George Gershwin as a friend for Indy. The music throughout the episode added little touches of Gershwin's music, an enjoyable easter egg, for sure.

Hollywood Follies - Hollywood, 1920
In the final episode of the show chronologically, Indy spends the summer working in Hollywood as an industry exec and then director assistant. The episode was fine and not particularly memorable, but I could tell that George Lucas enjoyed getting a little meta with the process of making movies in Hollywood. The end of the episode had an excellent reference to the classic Raiders truck chase sequence when Indy conducts a stunt on a western film by pulling himself along the underside of a carriage.
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Now that I have completed my rewatch of the entire show, here are a few thoughts:

• I understand that Indiana Jones is partially based on James Bond and his various love affairs, but I quickly tired of the repetitive love interest plot in a majority of the episodes.
• The World War I episodes were excellent television and I imagine groundbreaking for the early 90s.
• Despite its several flaws, this show was monumentally important to my development as a young kid. I do not know whether I would have the love I do for the ancient world without this show.
• I am grateful this show existed because it showed me that a life studying the humanities might be kind of cool.

Young Indy finally sees the end of World War I in this second-to-last post covering the show!
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Masks of Evil - Istanbul and Transylvania, 1918
While the first half of this episode in Istanbul was mostly forgettable, the second half in Transylvania took the show in a completely new direction. An appearance by Vlad the Impaler and some supernatural elements made this episode stand out over the others for its uniqueness. There was also some pretty graphic gore for a network TV show, which kind of surprised me. Overall, some great action and occult mystery make this episode a highlight.

Treasure of the Peacock's Eye - 1919
I have vague memories of this episode running as a TV movie back in the mid-90s, and rewatching it I understand why this episode in particular worked as a standalone TV movie. Out of the whole run of the show, Peacock's Eye has the most classic Indy elements: an historical artifact, globe-trotting, fist fights, malicisous Germans, and exotic locations. Also, Remy is back as Indy's sidekick! Their relationship was missed during the episodes where they were separated. I also enjoyed the relationship Indy develops with the anthropologist on the island and the lessons he learned about understanding cultures in their own context. Great episode overall!

Winds of Change - Paris and Princeton, 1919
I have to give the creators some credit for trying to turn the complex world of political negotiations around peace treaties into interesting TV, but it did not work. The ideas addressed in this episode are fascinating and important to think about, but they did not work well in this show. I was the most bored I have been in the show while watching the Paris half of this episode. When Indy makes it back home to Princeton, we get one more opportunity to see Indy's relationship with his dad. As you might imagine, it is still not great. I do think, however, that the way the show handles Indy and Henry's relationship is great, and I wish we could have seen more of that throughout the series.

Next up: Indy goes to college and Harrison Ford makes his first and only appearance on the show!

What started as a two-month project has now turned into an entire summer's worth of Indiana Jones! Not that I am sad about that, considering how much I love the character. My TV watching habits are also not conducive to finishing any show in a short amount of time. Here we are, however, for the next rewatch journal entry, and these three episodes are all over the place! Let's jump in.
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Espionage Escapades - Spain/Prague 1917
The two spy stories in this episode are the wackiest the show has offered so far, and one of them aces it, the other less so. The adventure in Spain was directed by Terry Jones (of Monty Python, of course), and one can easily tell from the style and humor. I loved how wacky this episode was, especially when Indy does a dance on stage as a backup part in a ballet. The spy plot was solid and involved a few good twists, but the plot played major second fiddle to the tone and style of the overall story. Loved the Python-esque humor! The second adventure in Prague was a bit of a play on The Trial by Franz Kafka, in which Indy has to deal with layers and layers of bureaucracy to get a phone for his apartment. Indy even meets Kafka himself who somewhat helps him solve the problem. Maybe I am just not familiar enough with Kafka, but I found this episode an unwelcome departure from the series as a whole and quickly grew tired of the endless paperwork trope. I have enough of that to deal with in real life...

Daredevils of the Desert - Palestine 1917
By far the highlight of this set of episodes, Daredevils follows one storyline over the course of the episode. Indy once again meets up with his friend T.E. Lawrence in a recurring character bit that I love in this show. Indy takes on a spy mission for the British posing as an Arab merchant traveling with a beautiful woman (played by the amazing Catherine Zeta-Jones!) to help prepare the city of Beersheba for British capture. This episode has intrigue, great action, and some excellent fist fights! Indy even gets to trade punches with a German soldier played by none other than a young Daniel Craig! Overall, this episode was a highlight of the series so far.

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Tales of Innocence - Italy/Monaco 1917
After a banger of an episode, we return to another somewhat underwhelming pair of stories. Both stories revolve around love, and both remind me of how mixed the show is in its portrayal of women. In the first half Indy befriends Ernest Hemingway and commiserates about being outdone in wooing a young Italian girl only to find out that Hemingway is the competition. The two men end up looking like complete fools while the females in the episode have zero characterization. On the other hand, the second half of the episode involves Indy traveling with the author Edith Wharton and discovering love outside the bounds of cultural norms. Wharton is a fascinating character who has interesting things to say about love and relationships, which is quite jarring after the female characters in the previous story. Despite being overall underwhelmed by both episodes, there was a quality spy plot in the second half that gave Indy a chance to show off some impressive deduction skills.

The war is coming to an end soon for Indy, so in the next post I will cover the final three World War I episodes. 
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Indiana Jones continues his adventures through World War I, and the viewers finally get a little break from trench warfare as Indy travels to Africa and then joins the French spies!

North Africa, 1916
First, Indy continues to find horror in the African trenches and has to deal with a commanding officer who values the mission over human life. Most importantly, Indy encounters the famous German doctor Albert Schweitzer while on the verge of death and learns a few lessons about the value of human life, regardless of what side one is on. This is one of the few older Indy episodes I have strong memories of watching as a child, mainly because the message of hope in the midst of terrible tragedy was so profound.

France, 1916-1917​
This episode starts on a bittersweet moment when Indy and Remy part to different jobs in French intelligence. Remy has the privilege of running a spy ring out of a bakery, while Indy joins the American airplane intelligence group. Of course, any trip Indy takes on this show leads him toward a famous or infamous figure from history, and this episode is no different thanks to an appearance by the famous Red Baron! Indy actually gets to witness the origin story of the Red Baron and even suggests the red paint. I enjoyed this episode for its fun spy plots and some classic Indy-style adventure and fist fights. The transition into the Intelligence force and out of the trenches was also a welcome change.

Austria and Russia, 1917.
Indy embarks on two different spy missions in the last episode for this post. His first mission involves sneaking two relatives of the Austrian emperor into the country in order to negotiate terms for Austria leaving its alliance with Germany. The second mission is in St. Petersburg where the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, are beginning to stir up trouble. Indy is trying to help prevent revolution because of its potential ramifications for the French in the war. Both episodes are tense with several situations where Indy has to make difficult decisions that put other lives in jeopardy. I found the Russia mission particularly engaging because Indy has befriended several Bolsheviks and has to juggle his job with his friendships. The Austria mission also includes a fun cameo from Christopher Lee, who plays an Austrian diplomat. Lee brings his usual level of gravitas, of course!

Indy continues his adventures as a spy in the next set of episodes, as we slowly make our way to the films!
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Get ready for an epic recap post covering three whole episodes of Young Indy! These three episodes mark the beginning of the show's transition to the terrors of World War I, which it does surprisingly well for a show from the early 90s. Indy experiences trench warfare, German imprisonment, the world of spies, and a bunch of old soldiers in Northern Africa.

Trenches of Hell, France and Germany, 1916
The first World War I episode in this show does not shy away from showing how horrific war is. This episode reminded me of Saving Private Ryan without as much graphic violence, but all the same graphic terror. I remember appreciating these episodes less when I was young and first watching the show, but as an adult now, I found this episode by far the most engaging and fascinating story so far. As a "Belgian," Indy experiences a lot of discrimination from the French and gets sent to do jobs no one else wants, including trying to capture a highly defensible location controlled by the Germans. He also watches most of his company die in the assault before being captured at the end of the assault. The story is dark and definitely reminiscent of George Lucas' anti-war tendencies. Once captured Indy is imprisoned in a German fortress and meets Charles De Gaulle. He and De Gaulle hatch several escape attempts with one finally succeeding, but the message of hope in dire circumstances shines through after a very dark first half. Fun fact: While on a short leave from the trenches, Indy meets the author Robert Graves who wrote one of my favorite novels, I, Claudius.

Demons of Deception, Verdun and Paris, 1916
The two episodes combined to make this movie have minimal connective tissue, but there are a few thematic connecting threads. First, Indy is growing more and more disillusioned with the war effort based on his experiences. Second, Indy encounters lies and manipulation from both his superior officers and those he thinks he loves. I enjoyed the first half of the episode far more than the second half as the French commanding officers are sitting in posh residences giving orders while the grunts are being led to slaughter in the trenches. Indy develops a unique perspective on this contrast by running as a courier between the commanding officers and the front lines. Ultimately, he makes a dangerous decision to stage an accident on his motorcycle in order for some attack orders to never reach the front.
In the second half of the episode Indy's dad has a connection in Paris who pulls some strings for Indy and Remy to have some leave time in the city. In a fun little cameo, Ian McDiarmid (aka Emperor Palpatine) plays the Parisian professor who offers to house Indy for a week. Of course, you cannot keep teenage Indy away from adventure, and he happens to meet and fall in love with the infamous spy Mata Hari. Their love affair was full of lies, mistrust, and a surprising amount of sexual content for an ABC show in the early 90s. The plotline was fine but not nearly as engaging as the war plot, and Indy comes across as an annoying, whiny teenager, which I suppose he still is. Also, the last 10-15 minutes of the episode had some strange flash cuts of Mata Hari in front of a firing squad, which would be very confusing if you did not know anything about her story. They were still confusing and a strange editorial choice even knowing a little of her story...​

The Phantom Train of Doom, North Africa, 1916
The final episode for today had perhaps the most "Indiana Jones" vibe to it. Indy joins up with some trope-filled old fart soldiers stationed in Africa, including Captain Selous, played by Paul Freeman (actor who played Belloq in Raiders of the Lost Ark), whom Indy had met way back when he was 9-years-old on his adventure with Teddy Roosevelt. The episode includes Germans, a hidden train mystery, a daring kidnapping and escape attempt, and lots of classic Indy blunders. Along the way Indy learns about trusting the wisdom of age (a theme I think might rear its head in the final Indy movie) and about how to be a better soldier, from a German colonel no less. This episode was a lot of fun and one of the few that seemed like it was originally meant as a two-parter. I also love that Indy's experiences in World War I take him to all the different areas of conflict in the war, however unrealistic that narrative conceit is.

Next up, Indy's adventures take him further into Africa and then back to France!
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We begin the journey into Young Indy's teenage and young adult life with the final two episodes of Volume I of the DVD set, and the first two episodes of teenage Indy's life.

Young Indy is now played by Sean Patrick Flanery, who is excellent throughout the whole series. There is enough close resemblance to the young River Phoenix in Last Crusade to make it a reasonable jump from young teen River Phoenix to older teen Sean Patrick Flanery.

The two episodes covered here are Spring Break Adventure and Love's Sweet Song and include some very pivotal moments in Young Indy's life. Let's jump into the action!

Spring Break Adventure, 1916
The adventure starts in Princeton, NJ with Indy and his girlfriend planning to go to Prom. Of course, Indy's girlfriend is Nancy Stratemeyer, who was the inspiration for the Nancy Drew character. Because of the Nancy Drew connection, this episode was primarily a mystery involving one of Thomas Edison's assistants and stolen plans for an electric car. The mystery was entertaining, and the Germans even made their first appearance in the Indiana Jones timeline as potential villains. There was also a great moment where Indy found a bullwhip and used it to escape a situation, and it was clear he had used it before (a nice callback to the prologue of Last Crusade). You also cannot go wrong with the first appearance of the classic fedora!

Following this adventure Indy heads to New Mexico to visit his cousin where they take a trip across the border to visit a brothel (somewhat surprising choice for a show on in the 90s). While there Indy gets caught by Pancho Villa and his army and meets one of the most underrated sidekicks in all Indiana Jones storytelling, Remy Baudouin. Remy is a Belgian who ended up in Mexico and was allured by the idealism of the revolution. He and Indy bond quickly. I liked how this part of the episode tackled some of the difficult questions about revolutions and how they affect everyday citizens. You saw both the romanticism of joining a revolution but also the toll it takes on the people it is supposed to help. In a surprising move, Indy decides to join the Belgian army with his new friend Remy and leave his home and high school career behind. Thus begins the core of the Young Indiana Jones series, World War I.

Love's Sweet Song, 1916
Indy's first adventure on his way to join the Belgian army and ultimately the war takes place in Ireland, followed by England. Both parts of this episode relate Indy's experience with young love. In Ireland he meets a girl whose brother is connected with the revolutionaries fighting for Irish independence, and in England he has a more serious relationship with a suffragette who gives him firsthand experience with the challenges of the fight for women's rights. Indy's relationships with women are a common theme throughout the show, but the story in England stands out for its genuine sweetness and feeling of true love. The impending war also casts a gloomy pall over Indy's story and functions as a stand-in for all the relationships that were, and still are, affected by war.

We can be thankful for the sweet tone of this episode, however, because the next episode, Trenches of Hell, takes the series in a very dark direction.

In today's set of episodes Young Indy discovers a variety of religions and gets deathly ill in the Chinese countryside, and I fall asleep while watching.

India, 1910
Young Indy travels to Benares, India (also called Varanasi) and meets a very young Krishnamurti, who takes him on a tour around all of the sacred sites in the city, representing all of the major world religions. In addition, a B plotline explores the Theosophical society through the lens of Indy's tutor, Miss Seymour. I actually found the B plot far more interesting in this part of the episode and actually fell asleep during Indy's grand tour of religions. I suppose the episode was a success in the sense that it got me to do some research on what exactly the Theosophical Society was.

China, 1910
In the second half of the episode Indy, his mother, and his tutor explore the Chinese countryside with a local guide, and Indy comes down with a really terrible case of typhoid. There were a few interesting bits about Western and Chinese medicine, but otherwise this episode was fairly bland. My only real memory of this episode was something to do with collecting trading cards or promotional material, and I either had a bunch of the China episode cards or needed one to finish my collection. 

I cannot say that I am sad to move on from the stories with the youngest version of Indy. There were a couple episodes that I really connected with and found entertaining, but I think the creators of the show had the right idea to alternate young and younger Indy episodes throughout its TV run. The upcoming six year time jump is where the show really starts hitting its stride, and I did not plan it, but the time jump came just in time for the end of the school year and more time in the summer for watching Indiana Jones! Since I have the time to watch more TV during the summer break now, I will be covering more episodes in each post.

Next up: We meet Sean Patrick Flanery as 17-year-old Indy in Spring Break Adventure!

Travels with Father or Why Indiana Jones Has So Many Daddy Issues

In today's episode Indy travels to Greece and Russia, while illuminating the difficult relationship he has with his father. I definitely found these two episodes more enjoyable than the last set, and they both tackled interesting questions of philosophy and politics in a very easy to understand manner. By far the most interesting part of these episodes, however, is the family dynamic, namely between Indy and his dad.

Greece, 1909
In the first part of the episode Indy and his dad are encouraged/forced to explore Athens and the surrounding Greek countryside together on a trip to a monastery for Henry, Sr.'s research. Henry and Indy connect over learning about philosophy and then having to navigate a tricky situation at the hanging monasteries, which brought out a lot of the father-son dynamic that made The Last Crusade so entertaining. Despite the clear distance between father and son, their time spent together in this episode hinted that the two of them have a lot more in common than even they thought. It was quite impressive how well this episode was able to capture the gradual warming of Indy toward his dad as they adventure together.

Russia, 1909
Continuing the family dynamic theme, Indy once again finds the sour end of his dad's personality in the second part of the episode when he keeps making clutzy mistakes at a fancy party. Indy is so fed up with his father that he runs away to the Russian countryside and encounters the great Leo Tolstoy, which is really what you should expect at this point in a series littered with icons of history and the arts. As it happens, Tolstoy is also running from some family drama, and the two quickly bond. I really enjoyed some of their off the cuff conversation about capitalism and communism without beating the audience over the head with it. The relationship between Indy and Tolstoy was sweet and made what otherwise could have been a pretty boring episode entertaining.

Next up: Indy heads east in Journey of Radiance!