By some fortuitous luck I got a chance to watch several Clone Wars episodes this week. Thus, I get to sneak in a bonus post as I countdown to Episode IX. I would have loved to watch more episodes, but I have a job, am a parent and prefer to sleep rather than binge a whole ton of TV episodes. What I did get to watch was primarily from the end of season 1 and about half of season 2, namely the episodes introducing Hondo Ohnaka, the Ryloth trilogy, the first Cad Bane story arc, the Zillo beast story arc, and the first part of the second battle for Geonosis.
Some Thoughts -While the character animation in the early seasons is basic, the lighting and effects work is outstanding. One visual that stands out is of Cad Bane standing next to a window with blinds that cast shadows in a film noir fashion. -Some of the galaxy's most memorable characters are in this show. Ahsoka is obviously an amazing character, but the supporting characters of Hondo Ohnaka and Cad Bane are masterful creations. -Anakin Skywalker in this show is far more watchable than in Attack of the Clones. He is energetic, passionate, and clearly troubled but not in a heavy-handed way. -The episode Landing at Point Rain is a visual feast and does a great job depicting the intensity of battle. Some Memories -I remember that I was in Graduate school when this show first debuted, and it was a light in the depressing darkness of endless grad school work. I hosted a couple parties at my tiny duplex to celebrate the season opener. The house was packed, but great times were had. I even convinced Melissa (my wife) to make a clone helmet cookie cake for one of the parties! -This show reinvigorated my Star Wars fandom during a time when it was starting to fade from the cultural consciousness. I was a tireless evangelist for the show, and my fandom has not abated since. I definitely cannot wait for the final season to release on Disney+ early next year! Next up, the last of the prequels, Revenge of the Sith.
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ATTACK OF THE CLONES! Where do I start.....? Some Thoughts: -This is by far my least favorite Star Wars movie. I keep trying to give it a chance to change my mind, but it has yet to be successful. Most of my dislike comes from the cartoon-y look of the whole movie. -The entire droid foundry scene feels like a video game or a goofy, animated sequence from a Saturday morning cartoon. It might have had a better home on the Clone Wars TV show. -Anakin is a straight up creeper for the first half of this movie, and then Padme has a sudden, weird change of heart about their relationship for the sake of the plot. All of the love story feels weird and forced. -I do really like the design of the clones, and the asteroid scene with Obi-Wan and Jango is one of the highlights of the film. -Actually, anything with Obi-Wan is a highlight of the film for me. I love Ewan McGregor/Obi-Wan Kenobi. They are essentially interchangeable for me. Some Memories:
-I really only have one memory of this movie. It was the only time I did not go to a Star Wars movie on opening night. I think I went the next day for a matinee. It was right in the middle of college. -I remember being fairly pumped about the movie after it ended, but it has only grown less appealing with age. -I also remember being super envious of Hayden Christensen... If I have some time this week, check back for some thoughts on a few episodes of the Clone Wars TV show. If you don't know me or haven't figured out from various parts of this website, I am a huge Star Wars fan. I do not shy away from wearing it proudly on my sleeve (and socks, ties, shoes, belts, watches, etc.). With the final episode in the Skywalker saga coming soon, I of course have to celebrate somehow. AMC Theatres are doing a 27 hour marathon starting the day before release day, but I am getting too old to sit through that much time in a theater, let alone go through the pain of taking a day off of work. What I can do, however, is an 8-week movie marathon, starting with Episode I and working my way one movie per week leading up to release day. On this space, I will share some of my thoughts and memories associated with each movie at the end of the week. All images are courtesy of www.starwarsscreencaps.com First up: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace A Few Thoughts: -The design work on Phantom Menace is incredible, and I really enjoy the visuals on a lot of the scenes that involve the juxtaposition of the technological Trade Federation with the idyllic green scenery of Naboo. -All of the establishing shots of Naboo and the capital city Theed are a fantastic use of CG animation. -Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor are a great combo and make this movie watchable. -Harrison (5 yo) watched this movie for the first time with me, and I noticed that the pacing is strange for a supposed kids movie. The beginning and end are action packed, but the middle is full of politics and lots of talking. He was definitely starting to check out in the middle of the movie. -Jar Jar Binks is still goofy and kind of annoying, but I respect the actor for doing the best he could with the role. -The podrace is still one of the best scenes in the movie, especially as I see more and more direct correlations between this scene and the chariot race scene from the original Ben-Hur movie. A Few Memories -I mostly remember that I got the privilege of seeing this movie before the rest of the general population. A friend of mine worked at a movie theater and invited me to the employees and family preview show a couple hours before the first official show. I was his "brother." As we walked out of the theater, the line to get into the midnight show went the length of the whole parking lot. -I left the theater feeling mostly positive about the movie and did not see all the negative reaction until later. The internet was still in its very early days and news/reviews did not travel as quickly as today. -I was very excited for Star Wars merchandise to hit stores again, and I have distinct memories of eyeing the pre-movie release Battle Droid and STAP deluxe action figure. I still have that toy. Next week: Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Is it good? Have my thoughts on it changed? Check back to find out!
About five years and two months ago, an event happened in the St. Louis area that incited something inside I did not know was there. I distinctly remember the news of Michael Brown's death spreading throughout the metro area, resulting in the acquittal of the officer who shot him right before Thanksgiving break. For the first time in my life (unfortunately, as I look back now), I was confronted with the reality of racism in America, and I did not know what to do with it.
I felt ignorant. I felt sad. I felt angry. I felt confused. What was the correct narrative in all the coverage? Where did I stand on issues of race of which I was so blindly unaware? These questions began to gnaw deep inside of me for the next couple of years as I led some of my students through difficult conversations about how to process the aftermath of the Ferguson protests, even as I did not know the answers to my own questions. Two years later, we were facing the most divisive and hateful season of election campaigning I had ever witnessed. Racial tensions were even higher than before, people were (and still are) getting angry about football players taking a knee, and my own feelings of discontent, unease, and anger were overwhelming me. Mostly, I felt helpless to face a problem that seemed hopeless and unfixable. I got to the point where I had to make an action step. I had heard enough podcasts dancing around the topic of racial tension in America, and I had heard the names of a few authors worth checking out, so I did what I often do when confronted with a problem, I turned to books. Books provided a way for me to engage with authors from the Black community and learn from a perspective I minimally encountered for 30+ years. One of those books has so profoundly impacted me that I have to share some thoughts about it. Thanks to my role as a volunteer in my local church's bookstore, every year I can complete training and get a voucher for some free books. I had heard about The Color of Compromise through some other media outlets and discovered that it was available with my free book voucher. The decision was a no-brainer. The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby is primarily a survey of the American church's history with racism and the various levels of complicity it has exhibited beginning with the Colonial era and leading up to the present day. Much of the history in the book was not new to me, but what struck me as the most profound was the often overlooked moderate Christians. To sum it up, one of the theses of the book was that the lack of action on the part of moderate Christians and churches throughout history actually served as complicity in the propagation of racist social structures and ideology. Unfortunately, I resonated with that. Tacit complicity was part of my story, and I had never been aware of it until recently. To add to that, several other experiences in my life the past two years have led me to an understanding of my own privilege. With all of this knowledge, I could not keep silent anymore. Toward the end of the book, Tisby has a chapter about racial tension in our present world, and he gives some practical suggestions about how to address the "What do I do" question I have been asking the last five years. On pages 194-197, He gives the acronym ARC (Awareness, Relationships, Commitment) as a system for racial justice. I have been in the Awareness category for a couple years now, but I wanted to take another step. While talking about Commitment on p. 196, Tisby says "write a blog post." When I read those words I had that uncomfortable feeling you get when you know you need to do exactly what you just read or heard, but you are a little scared. Yeah, that one. So, here is that post. I have been sitting on it for a few months now, hemming and hawing about putting off writing it, knowing that not everyone might agree with some of the ideas in the post, but also knowing that I cannot keep silent in the conversation. If reading The Color of Compromise taught me anything, I am not ok with being complicit with racism, and I challenge all of my friends and family, in the church and outside the church to stop being passive and to confront some ideas about their own privilege and the privilege of the American church. If you want some more recommendations of media to check out regarding the topic of racism in church circles, check out the book I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown and the podcast The New Activist, which is produced by International Justice Mission and includes episodes on a variety of justice and slavery topics, including race. I am also more than happy to engage further in conversation and would love to hear resources you are currently exploring. Let's keep this a conversation that the church stops disengaging or ignoring altogether. The highlight of this summer was a trip to New York City without the kids! The last time I was in NYC was in 2002 for one day on a road trip stop with some college friends. It was definitely time to visit again. The idea for this trip began last year around this time when I discovered that the American Classical League, a professional organization of Latin and Greek teachers, was holding their 100th anniversary summer institute in New York City. I also knew that they offered a lot of scholarships to first time attendees, so I started the ball rolling on applying and hoping I might receive one of them. We had also been saving credit card points to pay for some sort of trip and began planning how we might use them for this trip. Thanks to the help of some generous recommendations from colleagues, I won a scholarship and the dream became a reality.
I love museums, so naturally I could not miss the world class museums in New York City. The two big ones on my list were the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History. I went to the Met on the first day of the trip with a group of other teachers and spent several hours exploring as much of the museum as I could. I focused on a lot of the ancient art, obviously, but there were a lot of other great galleries also. I could definitely spend a week exploring everything there and still not see everything. The Museum of Natural History was a great stop as well, with the most impressive galleries being the various types of animal life. I also had to visit the Easter Island head to have a little Night at the Museum moment. Finally, I cannot talk about a trip to New York City without discussing the amazing architecture. Everywhere you turn there is a unique building to explore, both old and new. Much of our time in NYC was just spent walking around and exploring the various neighborhoods. It is overwhelming how big the city is and how diverse the experiences are around the city. From wandering the streets and open markets of Chinatown to the hipster scene in Brooklyn to the modern architecture and living space along the High Line walking path between Chelsea and Hudson Yards to the lights, tourists, and excess of Times Square, there were so many different and amazing places to explore. The best way to show everything is through some pictures. Our trip was a lot of fun with many great experiences and memories, but mostly it was worthwhile for some time spent with my favorite person and no kids! This was the first time we had done any extended travel together in the five years since we have had kids, and it was incredible. I will be talking about this trip for a long time!
Another school year came and went with great stories, great students, and tearful goodbyes. No summer would start off right without some typical end of the year celebrations. This year was no different, as we enjoyed our usual dinner at the local Italian restaurant, Acero, with great food and even better company. It was tough to say goodbye to my seniors, as it is every year, but they are a great group of people who will do great things in life. With school out of the way, summer turns into full-on dad mode. While mom continues to work throughout the summer, I have the pleasure of keeping both of the kids entertained and out of each other's hair. Unfortunately, this summer started off with a two-week period of one or more people in the family sick. Not a fantastic way to begin the summer. Once we all recovered, it was time to get out of the house. I like to at least try to get the kids out of the house every morning during the week to keep me and them from going stir crazy. If it is not too hot, we like to do things outside around the St. Louis area, but there are plenty of good indoor locations to hang out for free when the weather does not cooperate. Play areas in malls make a perfect last minute destination! The slideshow below highlights a few of the fun things the kids and I have done so far this summer. Melissa and I also got some time together (and a whole trip, but that's for another post), when we experienced the special Thursday night dinner and paddle boat date offered by the Boathouse at Forest Park. We had a fantastic and relaxing time and the weather was absolutely perfect. I would totally recommend this experience if you live in the St. Louis area. The total cost is $80, which includes two hours of paddle boat rental, as well as dinner and drinks. You can find more information about the date night here. Shockingly, I even have had a little bit of time to work on some of my own hobbies and interests, most of which you can see in upcoming posts on my other blog page, Mini Scale, but while the kids were doing gymnastics camp for three days I worked on building and painting this game crate for my Fireball Island board game. The original box is pretty terrible and does not hold all the components well, so I got the crate pictured below from The Broken Token. The project did not take a lot of work and it was a great way to spend some very rare moments of pure alone time.
Here's to an equally great second half of summer!
The other highlight (let's be honest, the main highlight) of my Spring this year was a trip to Star Wars Celebration Chicago. I have always wanted to attend a "Con," and when I found out that Star Wars Celebration was going to be in driving distance this year, I jumped at the opportunity. My sister lives in the Chicago area, so housing was free, public transportation was easy and cheap, and the whole family could come with me and spend time with relatives while I nerded out at the convention. It was a win-win-win situation! Each day brought its own highlights, so here is a brief recap of each day. Day 1 The first day of the con was a floor preview only. There were no panels or big events, just several hours to explore the booths on the showroom floor, and all of the glorious, glorious merchandise and convention exclusives. It was a good thing I had been saving money since last year in anticipation of this event... The biggest highlight of the day was just exploring all of the great vendors, and let's be honest, buying cool stuff. Day 2 The second day of the con was the first day of panels, and the big one for the day was the Episode IX panel. I did not win a lottery spot to get into this panel, but it worked out because I got to take Harrison with me today to explore the convention and make some memories. I kept the day light on panels, considering a 5-year-old does not want to sit and watch people talk on a stage. We did go to one Lego panel that was just OK and did not really keep Harrison interested. What made the day great was exploring all of the booths and photo opportunities with my son. We waited in a lot of lines and Harrison handled it pretty well, for his age. All of our memories more than made up for not watching the Episode IX panel as it aired. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day. Day 3 This day was all about the new Galaxy's Edge at Disney Parks. I attended the big panel in the morning and got to see the first reveal of the new Star Wars/Coke merchandise that will be available in the parks. Josh Gad hosted the panel, and I passed him and his entourage later in the day but did not want to be the weird guy around celebrities so I said nothing. The Galaxy's Edge booth on the show floor rotated out new previews of merchandise every day so I made sure to visit once a day to preview everything. They might as well just raid my savings account now... I also went to a panel about Lucasfilm's various VR and AR projects and got a chance to gush to the creators about how great the Secrets of the Empire experience was at the Void in Disney Springs. Oh yeah, I also bought two pairs of new shoes. All in a day's work. Day 4 Today was all about the panels for me. I started the day at the panel for The Mandalorian, the new show coming to Disney+ in November. Jon Favreau was there to share a lot about the show, including several chunks of footage that no one else has seen outside of the convention (legally, at least). Then, I just stayed in the big arena to catch a panel with Alan Tudyk and finally, a preview of the last season of the Clone Wars coming to Disney+. I got a few nice exclusive posters, a lot of great previews, and a feast of new Star Wars info. Day 5 The last day of the convention brought lots of mixed feelings. I had been in Star Wars heaven for five days and did not really want to go back to work, but I also missed my family, whom I had barely interacted with in five days. The highlight panel of the day was to honor the 20th anniversary of The Phantom Menace. I wasn't too disappointed that I did not get in, and I caught a few snippets on the video stream while I was wandering the show floor one last time. The definite highlight of the day, however, was the panel for the animated show Star Wars Resistance, where they actually screened the entire first episode from Season 2. It was a great surprise and a great way to cap off a fantastic weekend. I also got one last look at the amazing Star Wars saga mural, spanning the entire timeline from The Phantom Menace up to The Rise of Skywalker. The pictures below only do it a little justice. The whole experience was incredible and one I will never forget. I feel very privileged that I was able to attend and that my family was so gracious to let me attend. Thanks for a great weekend, Star Wars Celebration Chicago!
I have been quiet for a while, but it has been a spring for the ages and writing has been low on the priority list until now. This spring has been so eventful, in fact, that I cannot even fit the excitement into one post. I will just have to leave this one with a tease for more to come. The first excitement of the spring was something I am very privileged to do every two years for my job: travel to Italy with students! This year was my fourth trip to Italy since I have been teaching, and my colleagues and I have worked hard to create a trip that is memorable and meaningful for our students. The result is a great trip, and our students consistently come back raving about the experience. For us teachers, the trip is essentially the same every time, which I just take as a challenge to search for new experiences. This trip was no exception.
Speaking of our hotel's location, all of us teachers were thrilled to have a hotel located right in the heart of Rome for the first time. We were only a few blocks from the Piazza Venezia and the Roman Forum, and to top it off, our hotel had a beautiful balcony with a panoramic view of the city. The picture below does not do the full experience justice, but it was a highlight and a wonderful new experience.
It can sometimes feel easy to take this trip and great opportunity for granted or complain about having to visit the same places every time, but I have learned to be very intentional about looking for two things: 1) all the new experiences I listed above and many more 2) the joy and wonder of the students experiencing all of these sites for the first time. I have so many pictures with students that tell the story of their own wonderful journeys, full of smiles, awe, and wonder. The students make the experience new every time!
The time has rolled around again to embark upon great adventure for Spring Break in Italy with high school students. This trip happens every other year and always brings its share of excitement, nerves, and challenges. As one of the leaders of the trip, I always describe the experience to people who ask as "Fun Work." It is a huge privilege to be able to do this trip, but it also takes a mental and physical toll. My least favorite part about these trips is leaving my family for 10 days. Fortunately, (and also unfortunately, I suppose), my kids have been sick the last two days so I have been able to stay home and hang out with them for some extra hours before I leave. Today I read them a book I bought on the last trip to Rome all about the city of Rome and told them all about the places I will be visiting. They especially enjoyed the pictures of a bus like I will be riding on. This is my fourth time taking this tour of Italy, but it never gets old. I always see each trip with the fresh eyes of all the students, which makes the experience new every time. So, excuse me while I go finish packing. Look for some posts about the trip when I return!
This past weekend was an annual event here in St. Louis at the St. Louis Art Museum. Every year on the first weekend of March the museum puts on a show called Art in Bloom, where artists draw from a curated list of works in the museum to create interpretative floral arrangements. I have heard about this event from many friends and colleagues over the years but have not attended one until now. As of last summer, we are now museum members so we were able to avoid some of the crowds by going to a special members-only time on Saturday morning. We even made it a whole family event! I have included my two favorites below with some explanation of them. I probably would have taken more pictures, but I left my phone in my coat pocket in the coat check room. Perhaps I was able to enjoy them better that way. In this picture you can see both the original artwork and the floral interpretation. I loved this piece for its reference to Classical sculpture, as well as the ingenuity in the floral arrangement to match the shape of the original sculpture. The color choice of the flowers also made the piece very striking. My other favorite arrangement was the above piece based on an ancient Maya glyph. Once again, my taste for ancient sculpture plays into my choice, but I feel like the artist very clearly captured the essence of the Maya glyph. I particularly like the branches sticking out, as it gives the piece a feel of exploring through the brambles in the jungle and stumbling on an ancient piece of art.
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