Tag: Harry Potter

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The Best and Worst of 2019

By Jim Spiegel

It’s been another exciting year, and we want to thank you all for reading and, if applicable, posting comments on our blog. Once again, we would like to close out the year with some summary remarks about good and bad stuff related to film, music, books, sports, food, and family.

 

Film Experiences

Jim:  Most of the new films I saw this year were good. The biggest loser of the year was Joker. Yes, Joaquin Phoenix’s acting is superb, but the script is poor, the violence is gratuitously graphic, and the plot has more holes than a cheese grater. Ugh. But a big thumbs up for the film Us, which is freaky scary but somehow fun at the same time. From here on out, I’ll be seeing every Jordan Peele film as a matter of principle. I enjoyed Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and consider it an appropriate finish to the nine-part saga that took four decades to complete. But the best film I saw this year was Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, a superbly written who-dunnit which isn’t impeded by its star-studded cast. A close runner-up was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Who can build a comical, poignant, and redemptive story around a despondent fading Hollywood star and the Manson murders in the ill-fated summer of 1969? Quentin Tarantino, that’s who.

Amy:  Several of my best movie experiences were with Jim this year so we have quite a bit of overlap with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, though I wasn’t as keen on it as Jim, Knives Out, which I thought was great, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I did have some small screen experiences that were quite good: Unbelievable, Great British Baking Show, The Good Place, and Monk were a few of the shows I enjoyed this year.

 

Food and Music

Amy’s Best Food Experiences of the Year:  Like most exceptionally delightful food experiences, the one that tops my list this year was a combination of delicious food, wonderful company, and conversation enjoyed in an ideal setting. Jim, some of the kids, and I were invited to join a graduating student and his family for dinner at Bluebeard in downtown Indianapolis. The food was simple but quirky in its creativity (roasted cauliflower and mint!) but one of my favorite parts of the evening was that rather than ordering individual meals, we got a few bites of everything. It was a night we won’t soon forget shared with people dear to our hearts. A close second was a breakfast shared with Sam while visiting him in Bolivia. A good croissant with homemade jam is hard to beat but throw in a son you haven’t seen in months who can’t wait to share with you all of his adventures and it’s a meal to remember.

Jim’s Best Musical Experiences of the Year:  This was an exciting year for new album releases by many of my favorite artists, including the Black Keys’ solid but not ground-breaking Let’s Rock, the Avett Brothers’ sometimes preachy Closer Than Together, and Taylor Swift’s Lover, which I reviewed on this blog a few months back. My favorite album of the year was Vampire Weekend’s Father of the Bride. It is a rich, thoughtful, and memorable record—perhaps the band’s best, which is saying a lot. But the highlight of the year for me was seeing Bob Dylan in concert at Ball State’s Emens Auditorium in November. This is the sixth time I’ve seen Dylan in concert, and I continue to be amazed at his endless rearrangements and reinventions of his songs. Incredible.

 

Sports

Jim’s Favorite Sports Moments of the Year:  I loved watching Drew Brees break two NFL records in the same game two weeks ago, as he eclipsed the all-time career touchdown passing mark and had the all-time highest completion percentage for a single game (29 for 30!) in the New Orleans Saints’ defeat of the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football. Incredible.

Amy’s Favorite Sports Moments of the Year:  I watched Andrew play a lot of basketball this past winter which is always a treat, especially when there is fresh popcorn involved. He also treated me to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the NFL playoffs which was a pleasure.

Jim’s Most Disappointing Sports Moments of the Year:  The New Orleans Saints were robbed of an NFC championship and Super Bowl appearance due to a blown pass interference call against the Los Angeles Rams last January (which did result in a league rule change, which I guess counts for something). This makes for the second consecutive year in which the Saints have finished their season in heartbreak fashion, as the 2017-18 season ended with the “Minneapolis Miracle.” Ugh. The retirement of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was another disappointment, but hope was renewed by the emergence of Jacoby Brissett as a solid starting quarterback, only to be dashed by a rash of injuries to several Colts offensive players. Oh well.

Amy’s Most Painful Sports Moment of the Year: Seeing Joe Maddon dismissed as the Cubs manager was a knife to the heart. Andrew Luck’s retirement has seen my interest in the Colts fall to zero, having grandfathered him after Peyton.

 

Good Reads

Jim:  As usual, most of my reading this year pertained either to classes I was teaching or publication projects I was working on. Regarding the latter, I read dozens of journal articles and book chapters on divine and human agency, in preparation for a book chapter I’ve nearly finished on George Berkeley’s view on the subject. As for new reads for classes, I enjoyed Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Ethics, a work that is especially intriguing because it was written during the final years of Bonhoeffer’s life when he was wrestling with one of the most excruciating of moral issues, namely how to respond to a tyrannical national leader. Knowing that Bonhoeffer ultimately took part in a plot to kill the Nazi Führer casts a fascinating light on his discussion of the legitimacy of civil disobedience. My favorite book among those I read this year was James Waller’s Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing—a work that is as insightful as it is disturbing regarding human nature.

Amy:  My reading this year is clearly delineated into two eras: pre-working and post. In the first category are some of my favorite reads in quite some time: The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis,  Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce and Rules of Civility by Amor Towles and several by P. D. Wodehouse. The post-working era is dominated by books on sales and business which I would never have predicted enjoying but which have taught me a great deal, both professionally and personally. A few favorites have been: Sell or Be Sold and Be Obsessed or Be Average by Grant Cardone, The Entitlement Cure by John Townsend, and The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make by Hans Finzel. I also listened to the entire Harry Potter series while driving for work and loved every magic filled minute of it despite the fact that J. K. Rowling uses the word “sniggered” entirely too often.

 

Best 2019 Family Memories

Jim:  Like his older brother, Bailey, did a few years ago, our son Sam spent the Spring semester living in La Paz, Bolivia attending Highlands International School. It was fun to witness his personal development through this experience and especially thrilling to hear him speak Spanish fluently upon his return in June. Then this past Fall semester we hosted a friend that Sam made during his time in Bolivia. It was fun knowing that the experience here in the U.S. for Sam’s friend would be as life-changing as was Sam’s experience in Bolivia.

Amy: I got to visit Sam in Bolivia this spring which was a thrill. Being gone so much for work this fall has honestly made any time with the kids feel like a gift, except when I’m tired and they are being annoying—ha ha. Our Christmas felt special with Bailey home from college and watching the kids connect with one another more as adults than kids; their shared humor, conflicting opinions, and overall weather-beaten affection is something to behold.

 

Best Kids’ Quotes of the Year

As usual, most of the best quotes of the year come from Maggie:

  • Maggie: “What’s the difference between a Presbyterian and a normal person?”
  • Bailey: “I could spice up cardboard and make it taste better than anything you’ve ever eaten.”
  • Maggie: “If you don’t do anything wrong, then you won’t get caught doing it.”
  • Maggie (Regarding my giving her some spending money): “Dad, you’re like a young male grandma.”
  • Maggie (after my sugar-holic daughter hypocritically lectured me about the sugar content in a food product I was buying): “I don’t obey the rules, but I know the rules.”

 

New Year’s Resolutions

Amy:  To continue to introduce more discipline into my time management. To figure out how to keep up my love of reading and cooking despite working full-time. To be ambitious in my Bible reading plan for this year.

Jim:  To pray more, to fast more, and to remember that this world and our time in it is, as Kanye West puts it, a “God dream.”

 

Happy 2020 everyone!

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The Best and Worst of 2011

By Jim Spiegel

2011 was another exciting year, and we want to thank you all again for reading and, if applicable, posting comments on our blog.  Here are our annual summary remarks about good and bad stuff related to film, music, books, politics, and family.

Best Film Experiences:

  • Jim:  Tree of Life was easily my pick for the year’s best film.  Emotionally gripping and theologically profound, with brilliant directing by Terrence Malick and superb acting all around—even by the child actors.  See my October 3 post for a full review.  But I also loved Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  Riveting action and great intellectual stimulation.  Can’t say that about too many films.
  • Amy: Not my favorite year for movies but Winter’s Bone was definitely a bright spot or albeit a rather dark, bright spot. It has haunted me. I wanted to choose the latest version of Jane Eyre but couldn’t forgive the poor handling of the last 30 seconds.

Worst Film Experiences:

  • Jim:  Batman: The Dark Knight.  Yep, I’m a few years late on this one.  I planned to avoid it altogether, but finally gave in at the request of a friend.  It was just as bad as I feared.  Yes, Heath Ledger’s performance was excellent.  But the screenplay is dull, and the overarching theme of the basic goodness of human beings is, well, just false.  Am I taking it too seriously?  Not as seriously as many hardcore Batman fans, I’m afraid.
  • Amy: I have to agree with Jim on this one. It was dull, so very dull. But at least it was super, super long. I would also throw in Thor and Black Swan, both featuring Natalie Portman. Still trying to figure out if she can really act or not.

Best and Worst Musical Experiences of the Year:

  • Jim:  The Black Keys’ El Camino is an instant classic.  Just when you thought these guys couldn’t get any better (after last year’s album, Brothers), they blow us away with this effort, produced by Danger Mouse.  It’s still soul-tinged blues rock, but bit more polished and radio ready.  Can’t wait to see these guys live in Cincy on March 2.  As for the worst, it’s easily Rebecca Black’s Friday.  Or does she win for “Most Nasal Vocal Performance of the Year”?  Gotta love the lyrics.  “We so excited!”
  • Amy: My musical experiences are much more low brow than Jim’s, though I wholeheartedly agree regarding The Black Keys. Mostly I listen to the stuff the kids are into (Party Rock Anthem and Uprising) and whatever will keep me moving on the treadmill. I have been rolling in the deep with Adele and no one can accuse her of being low brow. My worst experience involved creating the perfect Christmas playlist for the “Jingle Bell Jog” (a 5k held to benefit lighthouse trips) only to be stuck in front of the Taylor Women’s Cross Country singing “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” I don’t know which was worse: not being able to hear Sufjan Stevens’ amazing version of “I Saw Three Ships” or the obvious fact that they were not winded at all.

Jim’s Favorite Sports Moments of the Year:  The Detroit Tigers winning the American League Central Division was definitely a thrill.  But, even as a non-Denver sports fan, following the Tim Tebow-led Broncos’ comebacks for much of the NFL season was pretty exciting, too.  Watching him scramble while trying to find an open receiver has been fun, but its been just as fun watching football pundits scramble to find ways to justify their hatred of the guy.

Jim’s Most Disappointing Sports Moments of the Year:  It was hard to watch the Texas Rangers dispatch the Tigers in the ALCS two months ago.  (After their World Series heartbreak, I bet they wished they’d been bounced earlier.)   Watching the Saints lose to the lowly Seahawks in the NFL playoffs last January was tough too.

Amy’s Best Eating Experience of the Year:  Oven-roasted tomato soup topped with a slice of French bread and cheddar cheese. It’s just a bubbling pot of love!

Amy’s Worst Eating Experience of the Year:  This would be a tie between two experiences, one which involved not eating. On the way to Jim’s mom’s house, we stopped at Subway for lunch. Faced with a long line and with Cracker Barrel gift cards burning a hole in our collective wallet, we hustled the kids back into the van. Faced with an even longer line, we hustled the now really hungry and annoyed kids back into the car. Lots of whining and a 45 minute car ride later, we met with an even longer line and gave up on the Barrel altogether. Ten minutes down the road, Chick-fil-A came to the rescue. The other experience was least dramatic and involved my forcing the fam to eat whole wheat oatmeal pancakes only to discover they weren’t exaggerating when they said they were “awful.” Sorry guys.

Satisfying Reads of the Year:

  • Jim:  In the scholarly category, I loved Roger Scruton’s Beauty, an insightful and elegant little book, aesthetically satisfying in a way the subject matter deserves.  Also, I enjoyed Craig Evans’ Fabricating Jesus.  It works as an introduction to Jesus studies and New Testament scholarship, as well as a powerful critique of many of the popular biblical skeptics (e.g., Bart Ehrman).  And as for general audience stuff, I appreciated Wesley Hill’s Washed and Waiting, a deeply personal reflection on living as a celibate homosexual.  I highly recommend this for anyone who struggles in this area.
  • Amy:  One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp has deeply inspired me as a believer and a writer. On the non-fiction front, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand was amazing, especially given the author’s back story. I enjoyed Killing Lincoln and 1776 and for pure pleasure reading The Hunger Games was a great story if not perfectly executed.

Political High Point of the Year:  Jim: Were there any high points?  Amy: Yes, any time Chris Christie opened his mouth.

Political Low Points of the Year:  Anything having to do with the “Occupy” movement.  As if all the rapes, deaths, theft, and property destruction, weren’t enough, we still haven’t heard a coherent position statement from OWS folks, particularly regarding why they take their protests to “Wall Street” rather than Capitol Hill.  Come on, ya’ll.  And what’s the deal with those creepy masks?

Best 2011 Memories of Our Kids:

  • Our summer trip to the Indiana Dunes and then, via train, to Chicago (notwithstanding Andrew’s nausea at one point—happily we got him to a trash can before he “tossed his groceries”).
  • Going to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 with Bailey.
  • Watching all our kids ride the “big” roller coasters at Dollywood.
  • Seeing Sam give his first public performance as a percussionist (on bongos).  He has so much rhythm, we’re wondering if he might have been accidentally switched with a Brazilian baby at the hospital nine years ago.

Most Satisfying Shared Experiences of the Year:

  • Jim:  Helping to edit Amy’s fantastic first book.  Can’t wait till May, honey-bunny!  (BTW, will you share some of the royalty money with me?)
  • Amy:  Redoing our upstairs bathroom. (BTW, yes but only if you promise not to spend it on anything practical.)

New Year’s Resolutions:

  • Jim:  To take my wife out on more dates and read more John Updike essays.
  • Amy: To have more in-house dates with my husband that don’t require a babysitter or me folding laundry.  And to read the entire New Testament, even the really convicting parts.

Happy 2012 everyone!

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Book Notes

By Amy Spiegel

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot: This one has taken me a long time to get through. I have been listening to it in bits and piece for months but finally finished it this month. Skloot does an amazing job in telling the story of Mrs. Lacks and the cell line created from her cervical cancer cells, marrying the personal tragedies and triumphs of the Lacks family with the tragedies and triumphs of the scientific research that resulted from Mrs. Lacks’ cells. Skloot also perfectly walks the tightrope of raising important questions regarding research involving human cells without attempting to provide all the answers.

Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell: While not a great literary work, this book kept me up nights, desperate to know how Luttrell managed to survive an ambush by Taliban forces during which his fellow SEAL teammates were all killed. More than the story of his survival, I was fascinated with an inside look at SEAL training and the almost superhuman resolve, strength and character it takes to make it through. Saying that this book has deepened by gratitude and admiration for those who defend our freedoms seems like the ultimate understatement, but words are inadequate so that will have to do. (Heads up: This book is rather heavy on foul language, as one might expect.)

Decision Points by George W. Bush: Jim may wish he never gave this book to me for Christmas because George and I are sneaking off and staying up late discussing topics ranging from his decision to quit drinking to his rise to the presidency. Okay, not really George himself but one certainly feels as though one is having a one on one conversation with him while reading the book. Why, oh why, could he and his administration not be this articulate while in office?!? If you like W, you will love the book. If you think you hate W, you might be surprised.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout: Given the political views expressed in this book, Ms. Strout would probably be outraged to see her book being reviewed just below President Bush’s, but such is life. This book was a strange mixed bag for me. I thought, aside from the jarring political commentary, the characters were well-developed and interesting people. The title character was at times a bit contrived to fit the story. Like many books I don’t particularly enjoy, it made for great discussion at book club.

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling: I realize that you would have to have been living under a rock not to have heard of these books. But having recently read through the series again, but this time with Bailey (our son, age 11) who is reading them for the first time, I have to give them a plug. Well written, funny and touching; all the things a good book should be. Now I just have to get over the bitterness I am harboring towards his classmates who told him the ending before he even started Book 7.