Tea and Turnips

This is our turnip mug, named after the book The Rabbit and the Turnip: a Chinese Fable (illustrated by Roswitha Gruttner and translated from the German by Richard Sadler), because the picture on the cup reminds us of the story. It is a beautiful story of self-sacrificing love among the animals of the farm and woodland. When a rabbit finds 2 turnips, he leaves one of them for a friend who finds it and who also decides to give it away. We get the book out around Epiphany and read it as a story of generosity and giving. The book begins with this:

It was a cold winter morning and snow covered the ground. Little Rabbit went out to look for food and he found two turnips. He gobbled up one of them. Then he said, "It is snowing so hard, and is so cold that perhaps Little Donkey has nothing to eat. I will take my other turnip to him." He ran to Little Donkey's house at once, but Little Donkey was out. So Little Rabbit left the turnip on Little Donkey's doorstep. Then he hopped back home.

It seems to be out of print but is available used, including at Amazon.com where the picture below came from:

The tea is one of the Celestial Seasonings teas. There are several of these that I'm fond of, and the Sleepytime blend is one I've enjoyed for years. I don't notice that it makes me sleepy, so I drink it at all times of day. Most recently, I drank some this past Sunday afternoon while watching some episodes from the 2001/2002 Timothy Hutton/Maury Chaykin Nero Wolfe TV series on DVD. It is a sad loss that the acclaimed show only lasted 2 seasons. Chaykin died in 2010 on his 61st birthday.

The Cry of the Owl

The Cry of the Owl is a 2009 suspense thriller based on the Patricia Highsmith novel by the same name. It was a Christmas present from The Elder Son.

This is one bleak film. It starts creepy and gets steadily creepier throughout. I was unable to sit through it. I got up and paced and made hot tea and leaned against the wall. The Husband kept suggesting we turn it off since I was having so much trouble. The Younger Son laughed at me. I found the entire experience enlightening. We do agree that the big reveal is a throw-away scene and that the reveal should have taken place in the police station where we could have experienced it along with the main character. It seems a good film for those like me, who don't have a high degree of tolerance for suspense. I can't remember the last film I saw that had not even a hint of comic relief.

trailer:



DVD Talk likes elements of the film but says, "It's a stew made up of good ingredients, but one that is never brought to boil. The end result is a lukewarm concoction where the flavors never blend." It gets a score of 13% at Rotten Tomatoes.

The Zero Stone

When I ran across the Vintage Science Fiction not-a-challenge at The Little Red Reviewer, I thought it would give me a perfect excuse to re-read one of those early favorites that made me fall in love with science fiction.

The Zero Stone is a 1968 novel by Andre Norton. It can be read online here. Norton was one of the first sff authors I discovered, and I read several of her works early on. I'm not sure why I quit reading her books as I got older, but it may have been because I wanted to keep trying new authors and just never got back around to her. She's one of the authors responsible for my continuing love of the genre, and I think of her fondly. I was sad when she died in 2005 at age 93.

from the back of the book:

A mysterious stone, born of worlds long extinct, is the key to powers unimaginable to man —powers that could enable its owners to control the universe. Murdoc Jern, gem trader, finds that possession of the stone has led him to the center of a web of intrigue and murder.

With his companion Eet, an inscrutable feline mutant with phenomenal ESP powers, he is hunted through space, coming finally to a long forgotten planet inhabited by apelike "sniffers." There, facing the predatory sniffers, the antagonistic Patrol and the laser-guns of the Thieves' Guild, Murdoc must seek the source of the Zero Stone and bargain for his right to pursue his destiny as a free man.

The SF Reader gives the book a positive review and says, "The relationship with Eet is the strength of this book." Kirkus Reviews likes the "Good sustaining action".

There Will Come Soft Rains (film)

There Will Come Soft Rains is a 1984 Russian animated short film based on the 1950 Ray Bradbury short story by the same name. The story can be read online here and as part of the book The Martian Chronicles. You can listen to Leonard Nimoy read it here.

The short story takes its title from the WW1-inspired Sara Teasdale poem:

There Will Come Soft Rains

There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools, singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white,

Robins will wear their feathery fire,
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.

The film, directed by Nozim To'laho'jayev can be viewed online here:



I remember when I first read this story. I am still affected by it. My first exposure to the film was back in 2007, and I'm reminded of it now by the blog Need Coffee.

Penn's Restaurant

Penn's Restaurant is new here, having recently moved into the old Captain D's location on the south side of Park just east of Highland. The Husband, The Daughter and I went for lunch one day, and all of us enjoyed our food. I got the #1 fried fish combo, and it was much more than I could eat:

I sent my leftovers home with The Daughter to eat for supper. We will definitely go here again. The renovation makes the place more open and welcoming, everything is spotless, the staff is friendly and efficient, and the food is very good. I'm so glad something nice moved into that location, even if we had to lose one of the Squirrel With Red Balloon pictures.

Yelp has 2 reviews, both positive.

Their menu is online here.

Fast Five

Fast Five (2011) is the 5th in the Fast & Furious film series and the 3rd with Vin Diesel. Vin Diesel is a favorite around here, and I'll watch him in anything. While I'm waiting for Hannibal, I'm happy seeing his other offerings. I love the Riddick films.

The Younger Son gave me this DVD for Christmas. We think it's great fun and actually quite good. We're glad to hear there's going to be another.

trailer:



Rolling Stone opens with this: "Bless me father of all critic gods for I have sinned: I liked Fast Five." Slant Magazine doesn't like Vin Diesel, so who cares what their opinion of his movie is? Salon.com says,

That force of chaotic and unsatisfiable desire that Freud called the id is much closer to the surface in a movie like “Fast Five” than ever before in action-cinema history, and part of Lin’s peculiar genius is that he barely tries to conceal it.

Roger Ebert says,

What it all comes down to is a skillfully assembled 130 minutes at the movies, with actors capable of doing absurd things with straight faces, and action sequences that toy idly with the laws of physics.

DVD Talk closes by saying,

As far as action entertainment goes, Fast Five is a solid offering, despite making its protagonists nearly invincible and increasingly lawless. These are small criticisms for a movie whose 131 minutes feel like 90 thanks to its breakneck pace and pleasing mix of sets and stunts. I look forward to meeting up with these characters again in the inevitable follow-up. Fast Five proves that sometimes you can keep a good thing going.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 78%.

A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss)

A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss):



by Glasvegas

HT: Caffeinated Joe

Lili

I love Lili. It's delightful! And how can you go wrong with Leslie Caron? My problem began when I realized how long it had been since I'd seen it, started looking for it on DVD, and couldn't find it anywhere. I looked for it off and on for years, sadly unable to get it locally or online. I happened to mention my difficulty to The Husband this past Fall, and *poof*, he found it for me for Christmas! I'm thrilled!

I hadn't realized until just now that it's based on a written work.

Hi-Lili, Hi Lo:



Bright Lights Film Journal says, "... Caron and Ferrer approach their roles with such honesty and insight into the misery of unrequited love." DVD Talk says, "... there is something undeniably likable about Lili". DVD Verdict calls it "a wonderful film". Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 100%.

Incandescence

Incandescence is a science fiction novel by Greg Egan. I read the whole thing but won't ever do it again and won't ever read another book by this author without seeing a copy and previewing it first.

My science knowledge is limited to high school- and college-level biology, natural history readings, and what might be considered a very basic degree of science literacy. I get the feeling I might have enjoyed this book if I'd had a knowledge of physics, but, honestly, I'd rather not have to have a knowledge of physics to enjoy reading a science fiction book. I'm more used to science fiction books where the science is background, and I've read many a "hard" sf book that I enjoyed. In this book characters and plot are background, and the science is the thing. In a way it reminds me of Flatland, except I liked Flatland.

Also, I don't mind the occasional infodump in the service of advancing the plot, but I felt like entire chapters of this book were infodump but that the plot itself was not advanced by it. It felt like a science class attempting an experimental teaching method.

I feel like I accomplished something by making it through this book, but I'd never have made it if the book hadn't been a Christmas present from The Husband. It was even on a list of books I'd like to have, so it's my own fault. I wish I could remember where I got the recommendation from.

Sheesh.

from the back of the book:

Are you a child of DNA?

Composed of innumerable beings from a wide variety of races, human and otherwise, the vast meta-civilization known as the Amalgam spans nearly the entire galaxy–except for the bright, hot center. There dwell the Aloof, silent residents of the galactic core, who for millions of years have deflected all attempts at communication and contact. But when Rakesh encounters a traveler who claims to have been contacted by the Aloof and shown a meteor bearing traces of DNA, he cannot turn down the opportunity to explore uncharted space in search of a lost world.

On a translucent world of rock called the Splinter, deep within the sea of light known as the Incandescence, lives Roi, a member of a race lost not only to the Amalgam, but to itself. Her world is in grave danger, and it will take an unprecedented flowering of science to save it.

Rakesh's journey will take him across light-years and millennia. Roi's will take her through vistas of learning and discovery just as vast. Greg Egan's blend of dazzling speculation and gripping storytelling will leave you stunned by the wondrous vision of the far future that he has created.

__________________________________

Strange Horizons (who lays out my own complaints much better than I ever could) calls the narrative exchanges "dry and unengaging," says, "It is not that the book wholly lacks interest" and says:

...the scientific model is that they spell this significance out clearly and fully. That is what this particular scientist (Gregory Egan BSc) does in this novel. He does it all the way through. It is deadening.

SF Site says, "For all its hints of greatness and pleasing moments, Incandescence ultimately feels like a failed literary experiment" and closes by calling the book "frankly rather dull". SF Signal says, "If you don’t particularly want an awesome science lecture with your science fiction, there’s not much else here."

PU-239

PU-239 is a 2006 impossible-to-classify film about a man who is exposed to deadly levels of radiation in a secret Russian facility and what happens to him afterwards. It is a tragedy with dark comic elements, but that description doesn't do the film justice. Based on a book, which we had never heard of, the film aired on HBO. The Younger Son happened across it and was intrigued. It's fascinating, riveting even.

trailer:



via youtube:



DVD Verdict recommends it and describes it as "A magnificent drama full of introspection, destruction, gangland comedy, and nuclear material—everything you could ever want from a film!" Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 57%.

Looks Like a Cold, Cold Winter

Looks Like a Cold, Cold Winter:



by Bing Crosby

HT: Caffeinated Joe

Skinny Jeans

In my defense, I didn't realize they were skinny jeans until I tried them on. I am smarter than that. Really.

How do people wear those things?

Green Tea

This particular green tea isn't very good, but I guess the fact that it's a Kroger brand tea bag could go a long way towards explaining that. It was worth a try, but I think I'll try something a bit higher up the tea ladder the next time I buy.

I don't remember where I got the cup, and the writing on the bottom is too worn to read.

The Last Drop

The Last Drop is a 2006 WW2 adventure film starring Sean Pertwee (our favorite Hugh from the Derek Jocobi Brother Cadfael shows) as a good guy and Laurence Fox (Lewis' detective sergeant) as an evil Nazi. Our heroes are trying to rescue Dutch gold and art treasures the Nazis have plundered before it can be moved to Berlin. Many explosions occur.

trailer:



Reviews are hard to find, but The Younger Son and I like it fine.

To Winter

To Winter

"O Winter! bar thine adamantine doors:

The north is thine; there hast thou built thy dark

Deep-founded habitation. Shake not thy roofs,

Nor bend thy pillars with thine iron car."

He hears me not, but o'er the yawning deep

Rides heavy; his storms are unchain'd, sheathèd

In ribbèd steel; I dare not lift mine eyes,

For he hath rear'd his sceptre o'er the world.

Lo! now the direful monster, whose 1000 skin clings

To his strong bones, strides o'er the groaning rocks:

He withers all in silence, and in his hand

Unclothes the earth, and freezes up frail life.

He takes his seat upon the cliffs, —the mariner

Cries in vain. Poor little wretch, that deal'st

With storms! —till heaven smiles, and the monster

Is driv'n yelling to his caves beneath mount Hecla.

by William Blake (from Poetical Sketches, 1783)

They were predicting "wintry mix" for this afternoon. That usually means that we either get warm sunshine or an ice storm that paralyzes the city.

The Sum of All Fears

The Sum of All Fears is a 2002 film, rebooting the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan world of political intrigue with a much younger main character replacing Harrison Ford from the last version. Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman star in this one. I think all the films with these characters are fun and mindless entertainment. If you like explosions this movie will provide.

trailer:



Slant Magazine gives it 1 1/2 out of 4 stars and says, "Essentially, the filmmakers hope to scare an already paranoid America into seeing past the narrative dung heap". Salon.com says, "It’s the same damn Tom Clancy picture that’s been churned out since “The Hunt for Red October,” as humorless and gray and dour as its predecessors." Rolling Stone calls it "lame". Roger Ebert says,

Director Phil Alden Robinson and his writers, Paul Attanasio and Daniel Pyne, do a spellbinding job of cranking up the tension, they create a portrait of convincing realism, and then they add the other stuff because, well, if anybody ever makes a movie like this without the obligatory Hollywood softeners, audiences might flee the theater in despair.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 59%.

One Lonely Night

One Lonely Night is a Mike Hammer novel by Mickey Spillane. The Elder Son loaned this to me after warning me it would insult my feminist sensitivities. Isn't he cute? I remember the Stacey Keach Mike Hammer mid-80s TV show fondly. It was extremely sexist. At least Spillane's work has some excuse, dating as it does from the 1940s/50s. I don't require my reading material to be inoffensive. I don't have to agree with it to enjoy it.

That said, it certainly is a period piece. I'd have to say it moves from mere sexism into misogyny, including, as it does, a scene in which Hammer strips a woman naked and beats her with a belt. The act is prefaced by this,

I slid my belt off and let it dangle from my hand. I watched her face. I saw the gamut of emotions flash by in quick succession, leaving a startled expression of pure animal terror.

"Maybe you should know why you're getting this, Ethel. It's something you should have gotten a long time ago. Your father should have given it to you when you started fooling around with one of those Commie bastards who was after the dough you could throw his way instead of yourself. I'm going to lace the hell out of you and you can scream all you want, and nobody will be around to hear you but me and that's what I want to hear."

Stunning! Just stunning!

Also, I had the big mystery figured out so early that the final revelation was a bit disappointing. I will read the other 2 in the anthology The Elder Son loaned me but won't seek out others.

The White Shadow

The White Shadow is a 1924 silent film long thought lost. In 2011 the first 3 of 6 reels were re-discovered, and those have been restored so that we now have the first half of the film. One of its major attractions is that Alfred Hitchcock was involved, including in the direction.

It can be viewed online at this link, but I can't find any pieces of it that can be embedded here.

Hollywood Reporter says

Sterritt, the author of 1993’s The Films of Alfred Hitchcock, hailed the discovery as “one of the most significant developments in memory for scholars, critics and admirers of Hitchcock’s extraordinary body of work.”

The picture at the top of the post is from FilmPreservation.org, which is hosting the film online for a limited time.

19 science fiction movies that could change your life

io9 has a list of "19 science fiction movies that could change your life," describing them as "science fiction movies that challenge your preconceptions about reality and force you to rethink your place in the universe":

1. Metropolis (1927)
2. The Island of Lost Souls (1932)
3. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
4. Alphaville (1965)
5. 2001 (1968)
6. Stalker (1979)
7. Born in Flames (1981)
8. Blade Runner (1982)
9. Brother from Another Planet (1984)
10. Brazil (1985)
11. The Fly (1986)
12. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
13. The Matrix (1999)
14. Adaptation (2002)
15. Teknolust (2002)
16. Avatar (2009)
17. Moon (2009)
18. District 9 (2009) (started watching it but didn't finish)
19. Looper (2012)

Ones I've seen are in bold print.

The description above about challenging my preconceptions and rethinking my place in the universe is exactly how some of these films affected me. Some of these are thought-provoking and continue to be rewarding as I watch them again at different points in my life.

Others -for example, the first 3 on the list, Brother from Another Planet, The Fly- are fun movies I'm glad I've seen, but I can't say they affected my life in any meaningful way.

Outpost: Black Sun

Outpost: Black Sun is the 2012 sequel to Outpost. Again with Nazi zombies. How can you go wrong? In this one, folks are trying to shut down and capture the Nazi zombifying machine once again. There's a 3rd installment in the works. Not nearly as good as the 1st one, this is still watchable, re-watchable and fun.

There's  a Facebook page.

trailer:

Frog Sculpture

We were at Eastgate Shopping Center recently looking for a pair of non-skid house shoes for The Husband so that he doesn't slip on the stairs and make me a widow before my time. While we were walking along in front of the stores I saw something I had never noticed before: a large metal sculpture of a frog. It is pictured above.

It wasn't labeled, so I've no idea who put it there or if it has a name. The Husband named it "Phil".

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is a 2007 Romanian film about a student's experience in getting an illegal abortion in that country. Her roommate in the university dorm helps make the arrangements and goes with her. The film is set it 1987 when Romania's abortion laws were more restrictive and arbitrary. The friend who helps the woman get the abortion is a more accommodating person than I am; there are some she does for her friend that I'd be unwilling to do.

via youtube:



Slant Magazine calls it "an allegory that speaks to the struggles of freedom fighters gripped by the terror tactics of a political machine." Rolling Stone says, "This is great acting — you can't shake it." Wall Street Journal calls it an "elegantly crafted, brilliantly acted film". Time says, "That story is tautly, bravely acted". Spirituality and Practice concludes, "In this absorbing film friendship is the crown of life." DVD Talk describes it as "a harrowing, starkly told tale of abortion and rape in the waning years of Romania during the oppressive Ceauşescu regime." Salon.com encourages us to think about this as a thriller -a film noir- and not an abortion movie, saying,

If this was a movie about young men instead of young women, and if the illegal activity in the story involved a suitcase of money or a harebrained plot to kill someone ... then its genre roots would be no mystery.

EW gives it a grade of "A" and says,

Nothing good happens in 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, the riveting, horrifying chronicle of an illegal abortion performed in 1987 when Ceau¸escu's dictatorial hand still gripped Romania's throat. And yet no lover of greatness in filmmaking will want to look away from one of the very best movies of 2007

Christianity Today has discussion questions and says,

The film is not a pro-life propaganda film any more than it is a pro-choice one. What it is, is an honest, bracing, unflinching, compassionate work of art—superbly acted, staged, and directed

Roger Ebert praises the film in general and the acting in particular and notes, "obtaining an illegal abortion was much the same in this country until some years ago, and also in Britain". The film won awards. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 95%.

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

I don't observe the birthdays of dead people, but since Elvis Lives I can wish him a happy birthday.

If other people can believe that we didn't land on the moon and that the Earth is flat and that evolution is an atheist plot and that their god lives on the planet Kolob and that they'll be gods on their own planets after they die, then I can believe that Elvis is alive and enjoying the view from a second story window at Graceland. He'd be 78 years old today.

I mean, why do you really think they don't allow visitors up there?

Crawfish with Elvis and jazz singer Kitty White:



from King Creole, my favorite Elvis Presley movie.

Cup of Tea

Since I believe everything I read, I think I'll start drinking more green tea to build bone density. Coz I saw it on the internet, so it must be so. Right? But, honestly, I like green tea. It certainly can't hurt me.

The image at the top of the page is from Positive Med.

Leviathan Wakes

Leviathan Wakes is a 2011 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey, which is a pen name for the combined effort of 2 authors. I didn't realize the book was authored by 2 writers until just now. I had been impressed by how seamless chapter transitions were, which isn't always the case when chapters switch back and forth between points of view. I'm even more impressed now.

The book is an old-fashioned space opera, my first love in science fiction, and is the first in a projected trilogy. I am excitedly waiting for the future installments, though this book works just fine as a stand-alone. Characters are well-defined but descriptions and background information are not belabored. The plot is clear and easy to follow but not simplistic or predictable. Corporate and political shenanigans are integral to the events, but we aren't burdened by pages of exposition into the whys and wherefores of those histories. At 561 pages, I was never tempted to skim over anything, was never irritated at the author(s) and was sorry to see it end. I have no complaints, only happy satisfaction.

There is one Methodism reference on page 224 when one of the main characters says, "I was a Methodist when I was anything. What flavor are you selling?" but religion is not a major theme.

from the back of the book:

Humanity has colonized the solar system -Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond- but the stars are still out of our reach.

Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for -and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.

Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.

Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations -and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.

Kirkus Reviews describes it as "A huge, churning, relentlessly entertaining melodrama buoyed by confidence that human values will prevail." io9 calls it "a fun ride and the perfect thing for a long summer afternoon by the beach or the air conditioner". Cheryl Morgan says, "Hopefully it will also cause its readers to ponder the value of radical transparency." SF Signal says, "Leviathan Wakes’ solar system is a masterpiece of world building," "The action sequences of the novel are where the writing shines nearly as well as the worldbuilding" and, "But what this novel has most of all is simple: it’s fun!" Wired.com says,

If you’re looking for a solid science fiction story that’s not about dazzling technology and fantastical aliens, that won’t confuse you with overly-complex descriptions of the way governments and corporations work, and that won’t throw made-up words and cryptic names at you left and right… you’re going to like Leviathan Wakes.

The WSJ writes,

The story rips along, driven by two main characters who don't like each other, each of whom has his own uncompromising morality. Even more compelling than the pace, though, is the sense of possibility.

____________________________________________

I've just come across the 2013 Science Fiction Experience. The invitation at that site says,

The “rules” of the experience are simple: there are none. Remember, this isn’t a challenge. If you would like to join us in discussing any science fiction reading or television viewing or movie watching you do over the time period, please do. Although signing up isn’t required, nor is posting your reviews, I do like to be able to keep up with folks who are participating, so there will be a Mr. Linky at the end of this post and there is a Sci-Fi Experience Review Site for you to link any SF-related posts of any kind that you would like the other participants to check out. Again, this doesn’t have to be entirely book related. It really is about experiencing science fiction (and even non-fiction having to do with space or technology) of all kinds.

Sounds like fun, and I'll be trying to keep up with their posts. I might find some fun blogs to follow.

12 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies That Are Just Pure Nonstop Fun

io9 has a list of "12 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies That Are Just Pure Nonstop Fun":

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Time Bandits
3. Escape from New York
4. The Princess Bride
5. Big Trouble in Little China
6. The Fifth Element
7. Galaxy Quest
8. Total Recall (original)
9. Stargate
10. The Crow
11. Lockout
12. Dredd

Ones I've seen are in bold print. My favorite on this list is The Fifth Element, but I agree that they -ones I've seen, of course- are all fun.

Epiphany

We three kings of Orient are

Bearing gifts we traverse afar.

Field and fountain, moor and mountain,

Following yonder star.

O star of wonder, star of night,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect Light.

We celebrate Christmas through all 12 days, so we're just now moving into Epiphany. The 3 Kings are finally in place at the nativity scene, and the Christmas decorations (except for the creche) have been put into the attic.

The pieces pictured above -except for the paper angel- are mine from when I was in high school. I bought each piece and the stable separately. There are other pieces than those in the photo, but I didn't get the camels and extra sheep out this year. The angel was made by The Daughter when she was little, many years ago.

The Grandmother bought The Elder Son and The Daughter handmade ceramic nativity scenes when they were little but didn't do that for The Younger Son or my niece (The Evil Sister's only child, who is the same age as my youngest). The Younger Son will get this one when I no longer use it.

When the kids were growing up, I used to get out some wise men and star decorations and white candles for Epiphany, but I haven't done that for the past couple of years. I've always enjoyed decorating for the seasonal changes.

Obama That I Used To Know

A Somebody That I Used To Know parody:



that proves some people never understood that Obama was a moderate all along. I feel sorry for the young people who actually believed the election-year rhetoric, and I am sad at the disillusionment that might well drive some folks from political involvement for good; but you can't really believe the political rhetoric from either party. The Republican candidate wouldn't have outlawed abortion, and most election year promises are like that: grandstanding. You have to look at larger party agendas and party accomplishments from the past, and you have to look beyond any one candidate.

Do you know the story about the snake? Here it is:

A man who was about to cross a river noticed a rattlesnake snake also trying to get across. The snake looked up and said, "Could you take me across the river? I'll drown by myself." The man felt sorry for the snake but knew that rattlesnakes were poisonous. He said, "You're a snake. If I take you across the river you will bite me." "I won't bite you," promised the snake. So the man picked up the snake, put him in his pocket and carried him across the river. When they got to dry land and the man took the snake out of his pocket, the snake bit him. "You said you weren't going to bite me!" cried the dying man. "You knew what I was when you picked me up," hissed the snake.

Well, Obama's not a rattlesnake, but he was a moderate all along; and we knew what he was when we picked him up. He's been much better than the alternative, but a sainted savior and champion of far-left causes he never was. Compromising first and best is not the goal I want my president to aim for. Am I disappointed? Yes! Terribly, terribly disappointed. But to complain that he's not a flaming left-wing liberal seems a bit unfair since -as far as I can tell, he is the Obama that I used to know. The disappointment is understandable, considering what we wanted, but that's politics. He was -and is- better than the other party's alternative.

If we keep drifting right, though, I'm moving to the Green Party.

Revive Cafe

Revive Memphis was The Daughter's suggestion. We could go out to breakfast on her way to work, and they have a cereal bar she was curious about. It's on the west side of Highland at Spottswood across the street from the Catholic church.

In addition to the cereal bar, they have some muffins, an extensive bagel/spread selection, and oxygen by the minute. We had cereal and coffee. The Daughter had a bowl of mixed dry cereals, and I had 2 large helpings of some kind of bran flakes with red fruit. The staff was friendly and helpful. The cereal, well, it was cereal. You can't really go wrong serving cereal, but there's not much to say about it.

Here's the cereal bar:

Here's the oxygen bar:

They have a Facebook page.

Die Hard 2

I had never seen this one, so it was a real treat. It's less a Christmas movie than the first one, since the first one had an actual Christmas party while this only has a few Christmas decorations at the airport, but it's good enough for me.

Die Hard 2 has Bruce Willis fighting terrorists at a snowy airport while his wife is stuck in a plane running out of fuel and not allowed to land. Colm Meany (who has a Star Trek connection) is a pilot on one of the many planes in a holding pattern. William Sadler (who has a Star Trek connection) is the head terrorist. Robert Costanza (who has a Star Trek connection) is a cop.

Icicle as weapon! This does not end well. The movie, on the other hand, ends well with the good guys soundly defeating the bad guys with explosions all 'round and plenty of overflowing goodwill. Bruce Willis has been fun in everything I've seen him in.

trailer:



DVD Talk calls it "a really tight, solid film that has plenty of phenomenal action sequences, a solid script and an excellent performance by Bruce Willis." Rolling Stone concludes, "However impressively made, Die Hard 2 begins to wear thin. Though the follow-up is bigger, it's not really better. The surprise is missing." EW gives it a B- and says, "Willis once again makes an appealing superhero." Roger Ebert says, ""Die Hard 2" is as unlikely as the Bond pictures, and as much fun" and calls it "terrific entertainment". Rotten Tomatoes scores it at 65%.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

As I was looking for books that take place over the Christmas holiday season I came across Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which I hadn't read in many years. I read it first for my English class in high school probably in the Weston translation, which can be read online here. I read it again sometime during my young adult years using the Tolkien translation, which I can't find online.

from the back of the book:

The fourteenth-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the greatest classics of English literature, but one of the least accessible to most twentieth-century readers. Written in an obscure dialect, it is far more difficult to digest in the original than are most other late medieval English works. Yet any translation is bound to lose much of the flavour of the original. This edition of the poem offers the original text together with a facing-page translation. With the alliterative Middle English before the reader, James Winny provides a non-alliterative and sensitively literal rendering in modern English. This edition also provides an introduction, explanatory and textual notes, a further note on some words that present particular difficulties, and, in the appendices, two contemporary stories, The Feast of Bricriu and The Knight of the Sword, which provide insight on the poem.

There are many translations. The one I came across at my favorite local used book store is the 1992 James Winny translation. It's easy to read and leans towards accurate meaning when alliterative fidelity compromises that. No translation is perfect. I'm fine with losing some of the form in the service of meaning, though I realize some of the meaning may be in the form itself.

I won't even go into how nuts I go over the sexism displayed at the end:

But it is no wonder if a fool acts insanely
And is brought to grief through womanly wiles;
For so was Adam beguiled by one, here on earth,
Solomon by several women, and Samson was another -
Delilah was cause of his fate - and afterwards David
Was deluded by Bathsheba, and suffered much grief.
Since these were ruined by their wiles, it would be a great gain
To love women and not trust them, if a man knew how.
For these were the noblest of old, whom fortune favored
Above all others on earth, or who dwelt under heaven.

Bequiled were they all
By women they thought kind.
Since I too have been tricked
Then I should pardon find.

Giving Advice

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of sappy, inspirational pictures on Facebook telling folks how much better off they'd be if they would just

• quit complaining
• trust in the Lord
• eat right and exercise
• be more positive
• avoid the drama
• do this
• don't do that
• surround yourself with people who are good for you
• abandon anybody who is bad for you
• take risks
• be more careful
• read more
• etc.

Here's my response:

Handing out blanket advice for the world at large is a bit arrogant, don'tcha think? I'm sick of one-size-fits-all advice from folks who apparently think they know best. If you're going to give me advice, at least target it to my personal needs. That ought not to be hard; my faults are many. Just quit assuming that what would make the world better for you makes the world better for everybody else.

I, for example, don't mind if people complain, lack faith, eat unhealthy foods and get no exercise, have negative moments, are drama-filled and don't act like I think best. Maybe it works for them. It's certainly not up to me to try to make folks follow my vision of happiness.

Now you may feel free to tell me I'd be much happier without this complaining, negative, drama-filled post, 'coz that's targeted advice and might well be true. Or maybe I just need to share this particular Condescending Wonka on Facebook. Or maybe not. Yeah, probably better not.

Alastair Sim's Scrooge

The Alastair Sim interpretation of Scrooge in the 1951 A Christmas Carol is striking. Not one of the most faithful adaptations, Scrooge is nevertheless a wonderful performance. He shows a growing coldness and heartlessness as his personal business prospers, but his conversion is filled with a joy that's contagious. This version is a must-see. Kathleen Harrison plays Mrs. Dilber. Michael Hordern is Marley. Ernest Thesiger plays the undertaker.

We have a couple of quibbles with this one -mainly the big, healthy-looking Tim with full rosy cheeks, whose only claim to frailty is to use a crutch while holding one foot up behind him and hopping along on the other. To call him "Tiny" Tim is laughable, as he's almost as big as his parents.

Here's Scrooge post-conversion:


"I don't deserve to be so happy. I can't help it! I just can't help it!"

Slate Magazine calls it "the best Christmas movie ever made" and "the king of holiday films" and says, "I double-dog dare you to watch this one and not have it shoot to the top of your list of all-time favorite movies, Christmas-related or otherwise". DVD Talk says, "this film absolutely deserves its labeling as a classic" and praises Sim as "the best Scrooge I've ever had the pleasure of seeing". The New York Times closes its review this way:

In short, what we have in this rendition of Dickens' sometimes misunderstood "Carol" is an accurate comprehension of the agony of a shabby soul. And this is presented not only in the tortured aspects of Mr. Sim but in the phantasmagoric creation of a somber and chilly atmosphere. These, set against the exhibition of conventional manifests of love and cheer, do right by the moral of Dickens and round a trenchant and inspiring Christmas show.

Foster on Film declares:

This British, B&W version of the well-known story is generally considered to be the finest version by critics and viewers alike, and I agree.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it 85%.

“That’s so banjo.”

Because John Scalzi says, "the catch phrase that will sweep the Internet’s this year is “That’s so banjo.”" I'll be watching for it. “That’s so banjo” has 533 results in Google's search, including Scalzi's Whatever blog, Banjo Kazooie-related stuff, and this discussion from 2010.

The photo at the top of the post is from Wikipedia.

Patrick Stewart's Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol is Patrick Stewart's 1999 adaptation of Dickens' story. Stewart stars as Scrooge. There are reasons we particularly like this version, but there are a few bits we do not like:

• We think Christmas Present is mean, not good-hearted and certainly not o'er-brimming with the hearty goodwill of the Christmas season. He is trudging through his dutiful oversight of Christmas Day without a touch of joy. I can't imagine a worse depiction of Christmas "Spirit".

• The interchange in which Scrooge says, "I didn't know Cratchit had a crippled son," and Christmas Present replies with "You didn't ask," well, each time we get to this part we roar with laughter and say, "Pardon me, Mr. Cratchit, but do you have a crippled son?"

• The Giant Jawa-eyed Christmas Yet to Come.

• The sound of Stewart working up to his big laughing scene at the end. Gagging, maybe?

• The creepy way Stewart approaches the maid in his nephew's house on Christmas Day. Not so much awkward as, well, creepy.

We especially like the scenes in which Christmas Present visits the sailors at sea and prisoners in the jail -most versions leave this part out. We've grown to appreciate the downtrodden Bob Cratchit, whose portrayal I did not like at all at first but whose demeanor seems more realistic to me now than other versions I used to prefer, and a more good-hearted Fred than the one in this production would be hard to find.

The Younger Son keeps track of Saskia Reeves' career. She does make a great Mrs. Cratchitt. I like Edward Petherbridge, who played Lord Peter Wimsey in the PBS Mystery series back in the 1980's. In this movie, he plays one of the charity men who come to Scrooge for donations for the poor.

This Christmas Carol well worth viewing. We've seen a lot of adaptations, so we can't help but compare them. Patrick Stewart is by no means one of our favorite Scrooges, but this version has much to offer otherwise.

You can watch the scene with Marley's Ghost at Youtube.

Rumpole and the Case of Identity

Rumpole and the Case of Identity is only incidentally a Christmas show. It does take place during the season, and a Christmas party and choral concert are set at the end. We have the entire run of this series on DVD and have always gotten a kick out of it. Leo McKern is priceless, as always.

Watch Season2Episode2 in Entertainment  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

A Christmas Carol (George C. Scott)

A Christmas Carol (1984) starring George C. Scott is one of The Younger Son's favorite of the Scrooge videos. It is a good one. Scott is mean and devotedly business-like at first without being a miserly caricature and is utterly convincing post-conversion. The not-so-good parts:

• Nephew Fred just seems whiny;
• The Ghost of Christmas Present is scroogier than Scrooge and lacks any Christmas Spirit;
• Oppressive background music.

David Warner (Aldous Gajic in Grail, a Babylon 5 episode, and several characters in the Star Trek universe) is Bob Cratchit, and Susannah York is his wife. The Tiny Tim in this version actually looks like he is sickly. The woman who plays Mrs. Dilber here plays the same role in the Patrick Stewart version.

Here's the first 10 minutes:



Salon.com loves this version:

Well, Cratchits and ghosts come and go, one might argue, but every "Christmas Carol" must rise or fall with its Scrooge. And on this point the 1984 version most emphatically ascends.

Classic-Horror.com (it's a ghost story, after all) says, "the overwhelming performance of George C. Scott vaults it to a marvelous level."

It Happened On 5th Avenue

This year I was looking through our numerous Christmas DVDs and realized I had seen each one of them about a million and six times. I did what I always do when I need to know more: I googled it! I found some seasonal movies I'd never even heard of much less seen. It Happened On 5th Avenue is one of them. Alan Hale, Jr. (Skipper from Gilligan's Island) plays one of 3 WW2 veterans who figure in the plot.

This is a 1947 story of a homeless man who house-sits every winter for a wealthy man who spends winters in his other home. The problem is that the wealthy home-owner doesn't know his house is hosting a "guest" every year. This year, the unofficial house guest ends up letting several other people move in with him, including the disguised home owner. It's a bit slow moving but a pleasant low-key holiday film.

Here's a short clip that puts together a couple of scenes:



DVD Talk says,

Roy Del Ruth's It Happened on Fifth Avenue is a hive for double, triple, and quadruple-layered situational humor, easily one of the best of its kind and a real gem of a holiday picture.

TCM has an overview. MUBI has some information.

Die Hard

Die Hard counts as a Christmas movie, since it takes place over the course of Christmas Eve. It's a 1988 film starring Bruce Willis (good guy) and Alan Rickman (bad guy). Alexander Godunov is also on the bad guy side.

I've seen this several times, but The Husband had never seen it before. He objects to the violence. He also objects to considering it a Christmas movie because the season is incidental to the plot. Sensitivity to the violence is about the only thing I can think of that would interfere with enjoyment of the film, and I would argue that you'd have to be very sensitive. The Husband is quite sensitive to it, which is an endearing quality though I think it can be taken too far.

This is just great fun, and I never say "no" to another viewing.

trailer:

Slant Magazine says,

while the film's showstoppers still dazzle, Die Hard isn't a great film simply because it delivers bang for your buck; it's great because its action is built atop a foundation of wit and emotion.

Roger Ebert does not like it and concludes,

Without the deputy chief and all that he represents, "Die Hard" would have been a more than passable thriller. With him, it's a mess, and that's a shame, because the film does contain superior special effects, impressive stunt work and good performances

DVD Talk says it "set a new benchmark for action films when it exploded into theaters". It has a score of 94% at Rotten Tomatoes.

A Clubbable Woman

I was in the mood this year for some books that took place around the Christmas season but weren't typically Christmas-y. I did some searching on google and found several possibilities, one of which was A Clubbable Woman by Reginald Hill. This 1970 novel is the first book in a series of British detective mysteries that have been adapted for TV as Dalziel and Pascoe. The books were recommended by Viktoria in a comment on a previous post.

The events in this book occur in the days leading up to Christmas, with the celebration of that day being entirely incidental to the plot. I enjoyed this book. The characters are distinctive and their interactions interesting. I did find the wrap-up unsatisfying and unconvincing, but I'm willing to read more in the series to give the characters a chance.

from the back of the book:

Mary Connon was a small-town femme fatale, eager to test her allure on any man between 6 and 60. When she's found dead in her own living room, her husband - the one bloke to whom she never blew a kiss - comes instantly under suspicion. But Andy Dalziel, the gloriously vulgar savant of the Mid-Yorkshire police force, has some other ideas, and all of them center on the local rugby club - the town's social center, and Mary Connon's preferred hunting ground.

Peter Pascoe, Dalziel's young sergeant, suspects that his new boss's interest in the club has at least as much to do with access to good beer as it does with solving the murder. But while Dalziel never said no to a pint or three, Pascoe has much to learn about Fat Andy's uniquely effective methodology. With A Clubbable Woman - the first in an astonishing, multi-award-winning series - his education begins.

Kirkus Reviews closes with this:

Neither as dark nor as funny as later, better Hill, with Dalziel and Pascoe (still unmarried) not yet fully-drawn--but curious and atmospheric in its moody, rugby-centered, plodding way.

Reginald Hill died this year, and Mystery Scene Magazine has a lengthy article of appreciation, saying,

The death in January 2012 of Reginald Hill, at the age of 75, has robbed crime fiction of a towering figure, one of the outstanding British mystery writers of the past half century.

The Scrooge Ballet

I remember the first time I saw this. It was on TV, and we recorded it on VHS tape, but we never saw it aired on television again. As the tape began to show its age we started looking for it on DVD. After years of searching we finally found it, and The Husband bought it for me for Christmas one year. The Northern Ballet Theatre's A Christmas Carol tells the complete tale without words -well, almost without words, Marley's Ghost has a soliloquy and there are some songs. One of the songs is Four Pence A Day.

This is the only video clip I can find:


The dancers are so expressive you don't need words to know the story.

Babes in Toyland (1934)

Babes in Toyland is a 1934 Laurel and Hardy film also known as March of the Wooden Soldiers. There's an extensive plot summary at the Wikipedia link in the previous sentence. It's only Christmas-y by virtue of Santa's presence at the toy factory where he goes to check up on some of his orders. The Husband likes this, and we watch it every year. It's a sweet, funny old film.

trailer:



There are several edits of this movie available, some of which have serious cuts.

TCM has an overview. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 100%.

Skipping Christmas

Skipping Christmas is a short, funny novel by John Grisham. I had thought I'd be the last person left who hadn't read a Grisham novel, and I'm not actually sure this one counts since it's so different from what I usually hear about. This is a fun and quick read, perfect for a light-hearted holiday distraction.

In this book, a middle-aged couple send their only child off to a post-graduate school stint in Peru to serve in the Peace Corps. As they look to the upcoming Christmas holiday -the first without their daughter- with feelings of loss bordering on depression, they realize they could just skip Christmas entirely. They plan a 10-day cruise and announce to all and sundry that they won't be participating in the annual festivities.

from the dust jacket:

Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded malls, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That's just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they'll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty; they won't be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren't even going to have a tree. They won't need one, because come December 25 they're setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences - and isn't half as easy as they'd imagined.

A classic tale for modern times, Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that have become part of our holiday tradition.

Entertainment Weekly gives it a C+ and closes their review with this: ""Skipping" represents a departure for the king of the legal thrillers, but in this case, it's to an unworthy destination."

It's mentioned on page 65 that the Kranks are Methodist.

Snow on Christmas

Snow began falling here at about a quarter 'til midnight last night, so technically that's a Christmas snow. It didn't amount to much, with official measurements around here at less than an inch. The streets were never a problem.

It's a pretty snow.

The Bells of St. Mary's

The Bells of St. Mary's is a 1945 film starring Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers and Una O'Connor. The music is by Bobby Dolan. Bing Crosby is a priest sent to a convent school with an eye towards closing it. Ingrid Bergman, on the other hand, has her nuns praying for a miracle that'll give them the perfect new building that has just gone up next door.

This is one of my favorite Christmas movies. I'm not sure why, because I don't tend to like sentimental movies, and this is definitely sentimental.

trailer:



Variety calls it "warmly sentimental". TCM has an overview. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 94%. Time praises Bergman:

As Sister Benedict, Ingrid Bergman manages to combine beauty, great good humor and saintly dignity even while swinging a baseball bat. Taking her role seriously, Actress Bergman played it without make-up (with no damage to her good looks), visited parochial schools to see how nuns actually behave, wore ballet slippers under her robes to perfect a gliding step.

A Christmas Carol in Prose

A Christmas Carol in Prose: A Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens is better known I'm sure from stage and film adaptations. I know I've seen and enjoyed my share. The book is well worth reading or re-reading. It's a heart-warming story of a poor-in-spirit lost soul who is converted on Christmas Eve.

It has never been out of print and is available in countless editions. It can also be read online. This online edition includes the color illustrations, as does this one.

It's a must-read if you haven't already read it.

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Santa Claus is Coming to Town is a 1970 Rankin Bass stop motion TV special. It was never one of my favorites, but the kids always liked it. Fred Astaire is the mail carrier/narrator who starts off the show by opening letters sent to Santa and reading them to us. Isn't opening someone else's mail illegal? The story is told, then, to answer common questions children ask, such as, "Why does Santa wear a red suit?" Mickey Rooney voices Santa. Keenan Wynn and Paul Frees are also in this. I can't find an embeddable trailer or clips, but it's at DailyMotion:

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town by michael-moore1

I'm surprised there's so little video available for something that's so popular.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer has always been one of our favorites. I missed it the year it first aired, because I was at church, but I saw it after that. We remain unhappy that the DVD version of this has the Fame and Fortune number stuck off in a Special Features section, and the show contains some lame "misfits" reprise number we had never seen before where Fame and Fortune should be.

Sad. Very sad.

Here's the Fame and Fortune song:



Yukon Cornelius has his own fan page at Facebook.

The Night Before Christmas, by Gogol

The Night Before Christmas is an 1832 short story from the second volume of Nikolai Gogol's Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka. Not your typical children's tale of sugar plums and big happy toy-bringers, this story starts out

The last day before Christmas had just closed. A bright winter night had come on, stars had appeared, and the moon rose majestically in the heavens to shine upon good men and the whole of the world, so that they might gaily sing carols and hymns in praise of the nativity of Christ. The frost had grown more severe than during the day; but, to make up for this, everything had become so still that the crisping of the snow under foot might be heard nearly half a verst round. As yet there was not a single group of young peasants to be seen under the windows of the cottages; the moon alone peeped stealthily in at them, as if inviting the maidens, who were decking themselves, to make haste and have a run on the crisp snow. Suddenly, out of the chimney of one of the cottages, volumes of smoke ascended in clouds towards the heavens, and in the midst of those clouds rose, on a besom, a witch.

In addition to the witch, the devil makes an appearance, and, in fact, gets to be a main character in this Christmas story. The devil's first act is to steal the moon:

The devil then, as the devil it was, stole warily to the moon, and stretched out his hand to get hold of it; but at the very same moment he drew it hastily back again, as if he had burnt it, shook his foot, sucked his fingers, ran round on the other side, sprang at the moon once more, and once more drew his hand away. Still, notwithstanding his being baffled, the cunning devil did not desist from his mischievous designs. Dashing desperately forwards, he grasped the moon with both hands, and, making wry faces and blowing hard, he threw it from one hand to the other, like a peasant who has taken a live coal in his hand to light his pipe. At last, he hastily hid it in his pocket, and went on his way as if nothing had happened.

You can read it online. It is certainly not typical of Christmas Eve stories from my own reading. I'm broadening my horizons. The Husband will be so pleased! Or will he?

It has been adapted for 2 operas:

• Tchaikovsky's 1874 Vakula the Smith
• Rimsky-Korsakov's 1895 Christmas Eve

It has been adapted for film 3 times. The first is The Night Before Christmas, a fairly faithful 1913 Russian silent short directed by Ladislas Starevich. Starevich was renowned mainly for his astonishing puppet animation, but this film is primarily live action with some interaction between animation and the live action. The second film adaptation is a 1951 Soviet animated short also titled The Night Before Christmas. The third is a 1997 animated film short, also Russian and also named The Night Before Christmas.

Nutcracker

The Husband and I picked up this nutcracker early in our married life at a Christmas shop. He's one of my favorite decorations. He has a sticker on the bottom that says "Original Erzgebirge" and "made in German Democratic Republic". I used to keep him out all year, but he started showing signs of age beyond his years so I now only display him at Christmas-time.

The Raven in the Foregate

The Raven in the Foregate is the 12th book in the Brother Cadfael medieval mystery series by Ellis Peters. It's been many a long year since I last read this series, and I am re-reading the 2 that take place over Christmas. In this one the priest's body is found on Christmas morning. This book is typical of the series. I've always enjoyed the characters, the settings, the plots... I like the Jacobi interpretation. We own all the books and DVDs.

from the back of the book:

When the beloved Father Adam dies, Abbot Radulfus recommends the young priest Ailnoth for the parish of Holy Cross, known as the Foregate. Ailnoth has much to recommend him, but his zeal and lack of pity quickly alienate him from his flock. So much so that no one is truly sorry when his body is discovered in the millpond on Christmas morning.

Brother Cadfael, herbalist monk and amateur sleuth, fears murder, and because of Father Ailnoth's unholy zeal, the malefactor could he almost anyone. Worse yet, one of the prime suspects is Cadfael's friend Benet, a young man who arrived with Father Ailnoth and went right to work eagerly helping the monk in his Herbarium. With partisans of the dispossessed Empress Maud believed to he in the area, Cadfael wishes that his assistant's identity was not so clearly another piece of the mystery....

We recently watched the Derek Jacobi TV adaptation of this book, and it bears little resemblance to the book. There are some character names that are the same, and the priest does die, but otherwise the plots are quite dissimilar. The Christmas season does not figure in the tv episode.