Book Review: Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie

Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot is called by his crime-author friend Ariadne Oliver to a quiet English town outside of London because there has been a murder. During the preparations for a Hallowe'en Party, young Joyce claimed she witnessed a murder. Eeryone scoffed at her because she is an inveterate liar and braggart. By the end of the party that night, she's been drowned in the bobbing-for-apples bucket. Who would commit such a dastardly and desperate murder? Poirot does his usual questioning of everyone in town, finding out about previous murders in the hamlet and trying to piece together what happened in the past that would cause someone to commit a crime of opportunity now.

The mystery is a fairly standard Christie case, with a lot of possible suspects that don't seem probable. Several characters leave out key information, even from what they tell Poirot, but he is able to get the separate strands together to get the whole story. I enjoyed the novel. It's not as great as Murder of Roger Ackroyd or Evil Under the Sun but makes for an entertaining read.

Recommended.

Harbour Town, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Harbour Town at the southern end of Hilton Head Island is dominated by the lighthouse (sort of). A relatively recent addition (it was completed in 1970), it has become iconic for the area. It is only ninety feet tall but still give a good view from the top (more on that further down).

Maybe it is best viewed from the water

The lighthouse is surrounded by shops and restaurants, though we did manage to find Out to Lunch, a statue of a young man reading a book and eating a sandwich. The book looked like a novel by Pat Conroy.

I might have called this, "Making Me Hungry"

The harbor is not very big but has plenty of leisure vessels.

Ground-eye view of the harbor

We paid to climb the lighthouse, which has some local historical items displayed on the way up. The first items were from the pre-colonial era, the usual primitive pottery so well made that it survives today.

Pottery from long ago

Lighthouses are managed by the US Coast Guard and the small museum has plenty of Coast Guard displays and information.

Uniform and a model ship

View from above of a larger model ship

The American Civil War left its mark on the area. Blockading Union Navy ships were able to take over some of the land and occupy forts in the area. They left a bit of junk too.

Civil War-era bottles

Occupying Northern troops

Various implements

Buttons and pipes

A diorama shows America's first golf club. The South Carolina Golf Club was located in Charleston and established in 1786. Golf is a big part of the entertainment on Hilton Head Island.

Old golfers

Another bit of Coast Guard display

The best part of the visit was the end of the climb where we had views from the 93-foot viewing deck. 

A pier

Looking down

Looking out

Daufuskie Island in the distance

The harbor

A pirate ship!

For lunch, we drove to the nearby Salty Dog Cafe which is quite popular with the islanders. The "cover dog" for the restaurant has gone through many iterations.

Will the real Salty Dog please sit up and beg?

We had the classic pretzel appetizer which was delightful and a variety of seafood items. Only the pretzel got a photo.

Salty appetizer at the Salty Dog

The restaurant complex (they have indoor seating, an outdoor bar, an ice cream shop, a t-shirt shop, and a second restaurant) has a web cam for visitors to get their picture taken!

That is me on the web cam!

The web cam is part of a geocache, so I got some exploring credit for it!

Sea Pines Forest Preserve, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

On our South Carolina trip, we went for a hike in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve, an area that includes rice fields, swamps, lakes, and a little bit of ancient history.

The sign

We parked by the walking entrance on Greenwood Drive. The first wildlife we spotted was a bird in a nest.

Guarding home

We took the Boggy Gut Trail to the Rice Field Boardwalk. Since it had rained the night before, the path had plenty of puddles for us to walk around.

The bog isn't just off the path

The boardwalk gave nice views of the dense spring foliage. We didn't see much rice. Historically, it was grown here as part of the island's plantations.

Rice swamp

More like a rice field?

Tree with mushrooms

A bit of the Boggy Gut Marsh

More bog

We were surprised to see Spanish moss in the heart of the preserve. We assumed it was something that grew just on the civilized streets of cities and towns.

Spanish moss!

The boardwalk ended at the Bridle Trail which cuts the preserve in half.

Bridle Trail

One of the features in the area is resurrection moss. The moss is brown and dry in most conditions but becomes green and lush in wet weather. Since it rained the night before, we got to see the lush, resurrected state of the moss.

Resurrection moss

The next boardwalk took us through Vanishing Swamp. The map/pamphlet gave no explanation of the name, maybe people have vanished there?

Vanishing Swamp trail

Dark swamp waters

More of the swamp

Coming out of the swamp, we walked over to Lake Joe, one of the few lakes in the preserve.

Alas, not named after me

More of Lake Joe

Near Lake Joe is the most historic part of the park. Dating back 4,800 years, a shell ring is just barely visible. The people living here made a ring about 150 to 200 feet across with a dike of shells (oyster, clam, etc.). The purpose of the rings (there are several in the southeastern United States) is not clear. It may have been a marketplace or a place for religious rituals or civic functions. The largest rings are several football fields long with walls reaching fifteen feet tall. This ring is less impressive.

Shell ring

More of the ring

More of the shells

We started walking back to the car along the Lake Joe Trail which did have several small mounds dropped by horses that have gone through the area. I did not take any pictures.

Lake Joe Trail

Traffic near the trail!

The way back was mostly the same as the way out to the shell ring. We didn't see any wildlife; I was impressed with some huge holes in the bases of trees. 

Good spot for a geocache

This was definitely worth visiting, even in occasionally rainy weather.

Book Review: Lunar New Year Love Story by G. L. Yang et al.

Lunar New Year Love Story written by Gene Luen Yang and art by LeUyen Pham

Valentina used to love Valentine's Day. Her childhood invisible best friend was Saint Valentine, a cute little cupid like on the mysterious Valentine's cards she'd get every year in the mail. Making personalized Valentine's is great in elementary school but is much less cool in high school. Her freshman effort is met with shock and rejection. Her cynical girlfriend Bernice tries to warn her to no avail. Val is a little worried about finding true love because her family has a very poor showing. Her mom passed away when she was young and her dad is okay but overprotective. High school has lots of opportunities, though, and Val discovers a love for Lion Dancing and joins Liu's Kung Fu Studio where they teach it. She meets Leslie, an awesome guy who is the best-looking guy she's ever met. They are smitten with each other. As with many high school romances, things get dicey.

The story is intriguingly told. Val's imaginary friend is initially helpful but then transforms into the historical Saint Valentine, you know, the bishop (or maybe priest) who was martyred in ancient Rome. He promises to protect her heart by taking it from her. She won't feel heartbreak because she won't feel anything. As the story goes on, a lot of family history is revealed that reinforces the idea that she is doomed to unhappiness. The ending does manage to flip things into a positive light through being honest, which I found both refreshing and accurate. 

The art is well done, with the changing tone of the imaginary friend and a lot of imaginative visuals. Val is Vietnamese and is plugged in to her hometown's Asian culture. The Lion Dancing studio is Chinese-style though one of the love interest's uncles wants them to do Korean-style dancing. At one point, Val tries to run away from her problems, joining her grandma's trip to Rome, which is really for a bunch of old ladies, so there's some Italian art and culture too! Her grandma is old-school and brings a rice maker on the trip.

Highly recommended--another great story from Yang!

Movie Review: Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Dawn of the Dead (2004) directed by Zack Snyder based on the movie by George Romero

Nurse Ana (Sarah Polley) losses her husband and child as a plague turns people into fast-moving, ravenous zombies. She flees her suburban home, eventually joining up with a police officer (Ving Rhames) and an assortment of other characters. They go to Crossroads Mall, which seems moderately secure and out of the way from the destruction and death in the city. The mall security team, led by CJ (Michael Kelly), don't want them there but an uneasy truce develops. As they try to work out what to do, more people show up and they spot a guy on a roof across the street. He's on top of a gun shop, so making friends with him seems like it will work out well. Being a zombie apocalypse movie, things do not work out so well.

The movie has the basic story beats of Romero's version from the 1980s but does not start with the heavy-handed political messages. This plot rushes to the mall where the conflicts between the humans are intense, though the high-speed zombie conflicts are even more intense. Snyder has a strong visual style and makes exciting action sequences with extreme gore. The characters discuss the usual problems, like the morality of killing someone who is bitten and will turn soon--should the person be killed before turning, be sent away, etc.? A husband and pregnant wife have a very heartbreaking denouement. The actors do a good job though the movie has few great character moments. It's more of a horror action thriller and works on that level, if you can put up with the gore.

Mildly recommended--Romero's stuff has a little more substance but this has a lot more style. If you like Snyder's stuff you will probably like this a lot.

Playgrounds from Our Trip to South Carolina

On the way down to Hilton Head, we stopped for a break at Nash County Miracle Park which had some construction going on. It also had some fun for our kids.

Most of the playground

Brave climber

Slide climber

Another brave climber

Group shot

Lowcountry Celebration Park has to be the swankiest playground we visited on our trip. The outer park is fairly typical, but inside is the Adventure Playground which features a large pirate ship as the main attraction for kids.

Typical empty fields and buildings

Atypical pirate ship (or is it a typical pirate ship?)

View from the side

The kids played hide and seek while at the playground. The youngest was able to hide above deck for a while.

Looking for her younger brother

Still safe

The playground has a patina of educational value with this sign about the history of Hilton Head Island, named after explorer (and eventual island owner) William Hilton.

Yeah, sure, the kids take the time to read this!

The park also has a large sculpture that is unidentified. It suggests the rays of the sun to me, or some fancy headdress.

Art over water

The playground has some lagoonish waters around it where we saw a turtle and and alligator.

Submerged turtle

Non-swimming turtles

Later in the day, we went to Shelter Cove's playground with fun, if less elaborate, equipment.

Awkward swinging

Looking smoother

"Who dares me to take the fireman pole?"

Stuck in mid-pole

Jarvis Creek Park has a large lake that drains water from the Main Street area nearby. The builders put in a trail around the drainage pond and a playground. The pond has alligators around it too!

Jarvis Creek playground

Climbing

Three in one photo

Two gators in one photo

A lone gator

We walked along the trail around the lake (in spite of the gator danger). The kids turned one of the swinging benches into playground equipment. They swung and jumped!

Building up momentum

A blurry landing

Hoping for a good landing

What technique!

Harbour Town at the southern end of the island has a playground that featured swings again, plus an alligator ride.

Crazy, twisty fun!

Trio of trouble

Like Paul Atreides on a sand worm!

We went back to Shelter's Cove on our last full day in South Carolina.

Getting help from big sis

Watch out!!!