Started: The New Teen Titans Volume Five by Marv Wolfman and George Perez

Check out this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4ft0B6Z

(This is an Amazon Associate's link.  If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)

Avengers: No Surrender: Book Review

(Book Review--Marvel Comics)

Started: December 20, 2024

(This is my first time reading this book, so according to my new rules, I'm doing this as a video only review.) 

Avengers: No Surrender: Book Review

Check out this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4iXbK38

(This is an Amazon associate's link.  If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)

2nd Maccabees (The Jerusalem Bible): Book Discussion

(Book Review--The Bible, Religion, The Classics, Blogging the Canon) 

Part of my project to read through the Bible.  

(As noted in the video, because this book is not part of the Protestant Bible, this is my first time reading through this book.  So, according to my new rules, I'm doing this as a video only review.) 

2nd Maccabees (The Jerusalem Bible): Book Discussion

I explain about my background with the Bible and my reasons for doing this read-through in this blog post here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-book-of-genesis-from-jerusalem-bible.html

The version of 2nd Maccabees I read was from The Jerusalem Bible: Reader's Edition.  Check it out on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/4fbgM92

(This is an Amazon Associate's link.  If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)

Started: Avengers: No Surrender

Check out this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4iXbK38

(This is an Amazon associate's link.  If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)

Bone: More Tall Tales by Jeff Smith with Tom Sniegoski: Book Review

(Book Review--Comic Books)

Started: December 17, 2024

(This is my first time reading this book, so according to my new rules, I'm doing this as a video only review.) 

Bone: More Tall Tales by Jeff Smith with Tom Sniegoski: Book Review

My review of Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic: https://youtu.be/gjWmm9UoSDo

Check out this book on Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/49GCTTI

(This is an Amazon associate's link.  If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)

I'm a few days late posting this, but on Monday, Mike Duncan posted this on Twitter:

Big announcement at the beginning of this weeks episode for all you Revolutions podcast fans

— Mike Duncan (@mikeduncan) December 16, 2024

And if you listen to the first 2 minutes of the episode below, you can hear what it is.

...if you didn't listen, basically Mike Duncan is announcing that he's now coming back to do more seasons of Revolutions.

This isn't a complete surprise.  Mike Duncan had always left open the possibility of coming back to do more episodes.  In 2022, someone had asked him about doing the Spanish Civil War, and Mike Duncan said on Twitter, "No, but also...yes.  Revolutions is ending with Russia. But the model is such that in five or ten years I can always just up and decide to do another series. And Spanish Civil War is high on that list."  (Those tweets are no longer available because Mike Duncan periodically deletes all his old Tweets.  But I had saved them in an old blogpost.)

Based on that old Tweet, I had been expecting that Mike Duncan would come back to do an odd season here or there in between his other projects.  But I am very pleasantly surprised to hear that he's coming back to do the series full time.

The revolutions that Mike Duncan mentions specifically in this latest episode are Ireland, Algeria, Cuba and Iran, so presumably those are the ones that are in his mind right now.  I'm also hopeful that he'll cover many more: Turkey, the Spanish Civil War, The Chinese Revolution, Vietnam, etc.  But we'll see.  Mike Duncan will ultimately do what he wants to do.

(I always find it a bit funny when people get on Twitter or go in the comments and insist that Mike Duncan cover this or that revolution.  Fans can get so entitled sometimes.  I guess that's the Internet for you.)

***************************

As much as this is good news, it does throw a monkey wrench into my neat little plan to listen to the Revolutions Podcast straight through one or two times and then to do a review of the whole series. 

But then, that's podcasting for you.  Many podcasts don't have a neat end point--they just keep going indefinitely.  And I've reviewed many podcasts and Youtube series on this blog that were ongoing at the time I reviewed them (e.g. here, here, here, here).

So here's what I'll do: I'll continue my project of listening to the entire Revolutions Podcast all the way through. (I'll probably listen through twice.)  This will include any new episodes that come out between now and when I finish the project.  Then, I'll give a general review of the whole podcast at the state it is when I finish listening to everything.

Then, I might come back to do in-depth listenings of later seasons, and post separate mini-reviews of them, the way I did with the first 10 seasons.  But I'll do this in between checking out other podcasts I am interested in.

I reserve the right to skip over any seasons of Revolutions Podcast I'm not particularly interested in (e.g. Mike Duncan's 12 episode appendix at the end of season 10, and Mike Duncan's fictional Martian Revolution).   I'll listen to them when I do my run-through of the whole series, but I won't do separate reviews of them.

**********************************************

In the interim, when it looked like Mike Duncan had finished the Revolutions Podcast, another podcaster had stepped in to fill in the gap with 20th Century Revolutions.

As he states in his first episode, he is explicitly influenced by Mike Duncan, and planning to pick up where Mike Duncan left off.

I've not made a project of listening to his podcast thoroughly (because I'm still busy finishing up Revolutions), but I've dipped in and out of a few episodes, and it sounds like he's doing really good work on this.  I've been planning on doing his podcast after I finally finish up with Mike Duncan's Revolutions.

His analytics on Youtube are really low at the moment (only a few subscribers, barely any views on each episode), so I hope he doesn't get discouraged and quit.  

A few weeks ago, I commented on one of his episodes:

It's a pity these videos don't have more views.  You're doing good work here.  I think a lot of podcasts just take time to find their audience.  Keep at it, and I'm sure you'll connect with your audience eventually.  It may take them some time to find you, but I think they'll find you eventually.

...I meant it as supportive and hopefully he took it that way.  (He never responded, and I'm not sure whether or not he appreciated the comment. I hope he didn't feel like I was rubbing salt into the wound by drawing attention to his low numbers.)  

I also have no idea what his analytics are on other platforms.  To be fair, a lot of podcasts do really low numbers on the Youtube platform (Mike Duncan included), but presumably they have better statistics on Podcasting apps.

Anyway, I have no idea how this guy feels about Mike Duncan coming back in to cover the same field he's currently covering.  Hopefully he doesn't give up.  (It'd be really great to have both of them cover the same subject area.  Then we can have 2 perspectives.)

You can show support for 20th Century Revolutions by doing all the usual social media things: subscribing, liking their videos, etc.

The website is here, Youtube channel here, patreon here.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation: Series Review

(TV Show Review)

Started: December 07, 2024

This is my first time reviewing this series, so according to my new rules, I am doing this as a video only review.

Prologue to Masters of the Universe: Revelation review--Reminiscing about Masters of the Universe

As I state in the video, my original intention was to have this video be a little bit about my thoughts on the Masters of the Universe franchise, but mostly about Masters of the Universe: Revelation.  But I ended up talking for so long about my thoughts on the franchise, that it just ended up that this video was all reminiscing about the franchise.  The next video, then, will be my review of  Masters of the Universe: Revelation 

In the video, I mention seeing in toy stores animals that turn into rocks that were released as Master of the Universe toys.  For more information about them, see here: https://youtu.be/Va_jgg4MddM?si=tdkEFqcKrHBxEl8h

See also: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2024/12/meteorbs-interesting-random-facts-since.html

and https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2024/12/as-you-might-have-seen-from-my-started.html

Article about The Dark Age of Animation: https://www.librarypoint.org/blogs/post/the-dark-age-of-animation/

Masters of the Universe: Revelation Part 1 (Episodes 1-5): Review

Links to things mentioned:

* The Avclub review (one of several reviews which claimed this was a direct continuation of the original series): https://www.pluggedin.com/tv-reviews/masters-of-the-universe-revelation/

* The video by Midnight's Edge video about how this series is not an actual sequel to the original series, because they don't own the rights to the original series: https://youtu.be/G9SJ2Yp84Lo?si=uiHsGZ8Yc-3VP072

* The Movie Bob video: https://youtu.be/-TES4G_7gyw?si=n8NPOZM7hbFI2-aU

* My review of "Happy Birthday Roboto": https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2024/12/as-you-might-have-seen-from-my-started.html

Masters of the Universe: Revelation Part 2 (Episodes 6-10): Review

Playlist HERE: 

*******************************

Check out He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Complete Original Series [DVD] on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/41tJoHd  

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: the Complete Series Remake DVD: https://amzn.to/3DkMljo

Watch He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002): https://amzn.to/3BqFd4x

(These are Amazon Associate's links.  If you buy anything through these links, I get a commission.)

Started: Bone: More Tall Tales by Jeff Smith with Tom Sniegoski

Check out this book on Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/49GCTTI

(This is an Amazon associate's link.  If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)

Meteorbs--Interesting Random Facts

Since I've been revisiting He-Man and the Masters of the Universe recently (see here and here), I've been trying to collect my thoughts on the franchise.

One of my memories as a kid is that near the end of the original franchise, the toys associated with the franchise became more and more diverse, in kind of a weird way.  I mean, the toy franchise started out fairly normal--you have a bunch of people who are good, and a bunch of people who are bad.  But near the end, you had toys that were animals who could turn into rocks.

Image from here: https://toyzinger.com/en/blog/meteorbs/

As you can see above, there were 10 of them.  5 good ones, that were on the side of He-Man and friends, and 5 bad ones, that were on the side of Skeletor.

As a kid, I remember seeing these in the toy shop, and thinking to myself, "Wow, it's been a while since I watched the He-Man cartoon. I guess the story has expanded a lot since I last saw it.  Now they've added these meteor rock animals into the story.  I wonder what kind of stories they are telling about them."

Being naive, I had no idea as a kid that the toyline was driving the story rather than the other way around.  I assumed that the writers of the TV show had created these Meteoroids for the purposing of expanding the story, and that the toys just came afterwards.  (In fact, by the time these toys came out, the He-Man show had already stopped making new episodes, and was in reruns, but I didn't even realize that.  I just assumed that new episodes must still be coming out, even though I personally had stopped watching.)

I never actually saw these Meterorbs portrayed in any of the Masters of the Universe media, but as a kid I trusted that they must be part of the story somehow, and for many years after, in my mind they were emblematic of the endless creativity of this series, and how it kept expanding its story outward in new directions. 

As an adult, however, it's easy enough to research this stuff on the Internet, and discover that the Meteorbs never appeared on the He-Man TV show.  Two of them apparently appeared in one episode of the She-Ra show.  (Even though the packaging material on the toys clearly advertised them as allies of either He-Man or Skeletor.)

And in fact, a little bit of further research shows that they were not originally Masters of the Universe toys at all, but were originally a Japanese toyline of transforming eggs from Bandai called Tamagoras, and Mattel just repackaged them as Masters of the Universe toys, and assured us kids that they fit into the storyline somehow.

The He-Man fandom page states that:

In the Marvel comics series the Meteorbs are portrayed as members of the Rock People. The Heroic Meteorbs appear among Stonedar and Rokkon. 

...which, yeah, kind of makes sense, given that both are rocks that transform into some sort of creature. 

The Rock People were another toyline which were advertised as being part of the He-Man world, but apparently only ever appeared in the She-Ra show, because the He-Man show had already stopped production when these toys came out.  As a kid, I had one of the Rock People action figures (which I must have gotten as a gift on Christmas or my birthday).  As with the Meteorbs, I had never seen the Rock People in any of the cartoons, so I didn't know how they fit into the storyline exactly, but I assumed that they were in the cartoon somewhere, and I just hadn't seen the episodes.

I also had two of the Meteorbs, Ty-Grrr and Crocobite, which I think I got for stocking stuffers one Christmas morning.

Anyway, the point of all this is to try to convey the fascination that the Masters of the Universe franchise could have on a child.  As an adult, of course, I recognize that the Meteorbs were just a cynical and lazy cash grab to milk just a few more dollars out of a dying franchise by repurposing Japanese toys, and then trying to convince kids that they were really He-Man toys.

But as a kid, you looked at all these bizarre He-Man toys in the toyshop, and thought, "Wow, is there no end to all the magical creatures that are contained within the story of He-Man."  

See also this Youtube Video:

The Meteorbs - Oddities or just misunderstood? | The Toys of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

PS--I was inspired to do this little dive into the history of fringe Masters of the Universe figures because of reminiscing brought on by this video HERE.  But I'll wait to post that until I've finished my complete review of Masters of the Universe: Revelation.

*******************

Check out Masters of the Universe #2 (The Coming of the Meteorbs! Falling Stars, Vol. 1) on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ZCxFDJ

(This is an Amazon Associate's link.  If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)

Amazon Associate's Links

These are Amazon Associate's links, meaning if you buy anything through these links, I get a commission, and you don't get charged anything extra.  So if you were thinking of buying any of these things anyway, doing it through these links is a great way to support this blog.

Links on the left-hand side are the links to the posts from which these links first originated--if you wanted to see what I thought about any of these items.  Links to the right are the Amazon Associate's Links.

Books

* Avengers: No Surrender--Link: https://amzn.to/4iXbK38

* Bone: More Tall Tales by Jeff Smith with Tom Sniegoski--Link: https://amzn.to/49GCTTI

* Masters of the Universe #2 (The Coming of the Meteorbs! Falling Stars, Vol. 1)--Link: https://amzn.to/3ZCxFDJ

* The Books Of Enoch--Link: https://amzn.to/3ZOUJ3y

* The Holy Bible: The New Revised Standard Version (Updated Edition, with the Apocrypha)--Link: https://amzn.to/4gb90NB

* The Jerusalem Bible: Reader's Edition--Link: https://amzn.to/4fbgM92

* The New Teen Titans Volume Five by Marv Wolfman and George Perez--Link: https://amzn.to/4ft0B6Z

* Wheelock's Latin: 7th Edition--Link: https://amzn.to/49CHuWU

DVDs

* He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Complete Original Series--Link: https://amzn.to/41tJoHd

* He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: the Complete Series Remake DVD--Link: https://amzn.to/3DkMljo

* J. Edgar--Link: https://amzn.to/3ZtHHHg

Amazon Prime

* He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)--Link: https://amzn.to/3BqFd4x

Started: Wheelock's Latin: 7th Edition by Frederick M. Wheelock and Richard A. LaFleur 

I've actually started this book once before--on April 04, 2018.  At that time I was using an online version of the 6th edition from Archive.org--which has since been taken down.

I then abandoned this book on January 29, 2020.

But I've decided to give it another try.

The reasons for wanting to try this again are largely the same reasons I wrote about in my original started post from April 4, 2018.  So no need to repeat myself all over again.  Hopefully I can stick with it this time.  We'll see.

Because the Archive.org version got taken down, I bought a physical copy of the book.  And I've got the latest edition now--the 7th edition.

Quizlet Folder HERE

* p.x (introduction)

* p.xi

* p.x and xi review

* p.xiv

* p.xi and xiv review

* p.xv

* p.xiv and xv review

* p.xvi

* p.xv and xvi review

* p.xvii

* p.xvi and xvii review

Check out this book on Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/49CHuWU

(This is an associate's link.  If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)

J. Edgar: Movie Review

Links to stuff mentioned:

* My review of Milk: https://youtu.be/jSB7UPocEuM

* My review of Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain: https://youtu.be/60wDLyXirTA

This is part of my so-called "Scripted Review" series, in which I make a Youtube video based on an old blogpost.  For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE:

https://youtu.be/HgneyXvRI04  

and HERE: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2018/12/vlog-scripted-book-reviews-i-ramble-on.html

In this case, the old blog post is here:  https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2013/08/j-edgar.html

Check out this movie on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ZtHHHg 

(This is an associate's link.  If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)

As you might have seen from my started post, I'm currently watching Masters of the Universe: Revelation.

I'll save my thoughts on that show for when I finish it.  But as I am watching it, I've become curious to revisit the original show.

Like everyone of my generation, I have tremendous nostalgia for the original He-man and the Masters of the Universe show.  But, like every functioning adult, I also find the show hard to sit through now that I'm all grown up.  The last time I tried to revisit this show and watch an episode on Youtube, I found it painful to get through.  I tried again today, with the same result.

He-Man Official | Happy Birthday Roboto | He-Man Full Episodes

In addition to my general curiosity to revisit the show, I particularly wanted to revisit this episode, because Roboto (W) is one of the major characters in Masters of the Universe: Revelation part 1, and I wanted to check to see if his origin story in the original cartoon syncs with what was in Masters of the Universe: Revelation.  (Spoiler alert: It doesn't sync.  But hold that for now.  We'll come back to this in a few days when I finish and review Masters of the Universe: Revelation.)

Other than that, this episode is a perfect example of why it's impossible to return to He-man and the Masters of the Universe as an adult.

I think the primary thing that kills these episodes is the slow pacing, and the jerky animation.  

That being said, it's not any worse than other animated shows from its day.  Most animated shows from the early 1980s are unwatchable.

(...although, it's strange, animated shows from the late 1980s, like Ducktales (W), still largely hold up.  And I think that's largely true of all the years that followed as well.  So animated cartoons made before the late 1980s don't hold up, but animated cartoons made during or after the late 1980s still hold up.  What was it that happened in the late 1980s?)

On the positive side, there are some things to like about the original Masters of the Universe cartoon.

Although the animation isn't very good in the sense that the character movements are jerky, the character designs are actually visually appealling.  The characters are all bright and colorful, and they look interesting.

The settings for the original Masters of the Universe were always good as well.

The planet Eternia was a bit like the Land of Oz in that it never ran out of exotic new places to go and strange creatures to meet, and the original show always had interesting landscapes for our heroes to wander across.

[Okay, granted, this particular episode isn't a great example of fantastic landscapes.  Other episodes were more interesting.  Still, I'm going to give it points for some of the interesting rock formations in the terrain, as well as some of the cool futuristic city designs.]

And then, of course, there's the music.  

...actually, let's call the music a mixed bag.  I think the original theme music is quite good, but as an adult, I can't help but notice how repetitive the soundtrack is.  By the end of one 22 minute episode, you're already sick of that theme!

************************************

According to Wikipedia: 

Despite the limited animation techniques that were used to produce the series, He-Man was notable for breaking the boundaries of censorship that had severely restricted the narrative scope of children's TV programming in the 1970s. For the first time since Ruby-Spears's Thundarr the Barbarian, a cartoon series could feature a muscular superhero who was actually allowed to hit people (although he more typically used wrestling-style moves rather than actually punching enemies), though he still could not use his sword often; more often than not He-Man opted to pick up his opponents and toss them away rather than hit them. 

...I never noticed this as a kid, but once you know to look for it, it's super obvious, isn't it?  In this episode, He-Man never punches anyone or uses his sword to hit anyone.  He uses his sword, but only to hit other objects with, never a person.

I guess you have to give the show credit for all the inventive ways they found to have He-Man fight bad guys, while seldom hitting them.

Also from Wikipedia:

In similar fashion to other shows at the time, notably G.I. Joe, an attempt to mitigate the negative publicity generated by this controversy was made by including a "life lesson" or "moral of the story" at the end of each episode. This moral was usually directly tied to the action or central theme of that episode.^[13][14][15]

...I remember those morals from when I was a kid, but watching this episode now as an adult, it strikes me that they really were shameless about it.  They produced a story with almost no edifying content at all, and then still found a way to claim it had a moral because it was about helping your friends.

************************************

Update: I googled "Why did animation get better in the late 1980s?"  I didn't find a definitive answer, but I did find several sights confirming that animation did indeed get drastically better after the mid-1980s (so it's not just my subjective opinion).  See, for example, this article: The Dark Age of Animation.

From the mid-1950s to the late 1980s, the world of animation in the United States experienced a severe quality drought. Television animation was cheaply and quickly produced and loaded with errors. Feature-length animation experienced severe budget cuts, and the number of animated movies being released was drastically reduced. Cartoons that many generations grew up watching were made with “limited animation” - a style that utilized as few frames as possible, which resulted in choppy, simplified character motions.

Etc.  Read more at the article.

On the subject of cheap animation, I notice that He-Man's transformation seems to always be the same in every episode.  So that's a good few seconds of animating money that they saved every episode.

************************************

Check out He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Complete Original Series [DVD] on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/41tJoHd  (This is an associate's link.  If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)

William, over at William's Library, has made a booktube video just for me:

The Apocrypha

Today I talk about these obscure additional bits of literature found in some Bibles.

I ask ‪@JoelSwagman‬  if he has all the additional material I show here in his Bible.

Because this video was directed right at me, and because I love talking about this kind of thing anyway, I jumped right in on the comments.  I'll reproduce the comments below:

* Hi William, thanks for thinking of me.  What a fun idea to get some dialogue going on our mutual reading of the Bible.  I'll post my thoughts to each of your questions in separate comments. 

* The Bible I'm reading is: "The Jerusalem Bible: Reader's Edition"  It's one of the official Bible's of the Catholic Church, and thus has all the Catholic books in it, but none of the other apocryphal books.  I went with this Bible out of necessity.  When I began this project a couple years ago, this was the only English version of the Bible that distributers in Vietnam would ship.  (Possibly because of Vietnam's Catholic history?)  I was originally planning to go with the NIV translation for my reread, because that's the translation I trusted the most (largely just due to the fact that it was the version in common use in my protestant upbringing--so there's some childhood bias going on.)  Anyway, once I realized I was stuck reading The Jerusalem Bible, I actually started to get excited about all the extra books I now had access to.  Although looking at your expanded Apocrypha, I'm now jealous of your Bible.  Maybe I'll do that one for my next read through.

* The books in my Bible are all the Catholic apocrypha.  7 additional books (Tobit, Judith, 1st Maccabees, 2nd Maccabees, The Book of Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus and Baruch), and then additions to Daniel and Esther.  Because this is a Catholic Bible, they are all integrated into the Old Testament, rather than being in a separate section.  The additions to Daniel and Esther are integrated into the main text, but are put into italics so that you can easily see what are the added parts and what is the original text.

* By the way, my playlist for the apocrypha is here.  (I'm slowly working my way through these books as they come up in the Catholic Bible): https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4402PS5pwe5ca_Qg--E4W-&si=quGGR3Iw9ex0LY-B

    William replied: Thank you. Question: is the additional material I showed past 2 Maccabees as I flipped the pages is an 'Appendix' at the end of your Bible? Is Psalm 151 and the Prayer of Mannaseh included in your Bible?

    I replied: No extra appendices in my version.  No Psalm 151 or Prayer of Mannaseh.

* In my protestant upbringing, we used the term "The Apocrypha" to refer to the 7 extra books in the Catholic Bible--what the Catholics refer to as The Deuterocanon.  Anything else, like The Book of Enoch, etc, was just "an apocryphal book" .  And that's how I prefer to use the terms even today, although I have to confess, I'm not sure if that's technically correct, or if that was just the common usage where I grew up.

* I wonder what the criteria for inclusion in the NRSV apocrypha is.  They obvious include more than the Catholic Bible, but it doesn't look like they include the books from the Ethiopian Bible (e.g. The Book of Enoch).  Are they just including the books from the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles?  That strikes me as a bit anti-Ethiopian, huh?

    William replied: I agree. Anti-Ethiopian. I think they were attempting to cast a net as wide as possible BUT the entire Ethiopian bible is NOT completely translated into English. So there you have your first issue.

    I replied: Oh really?  I didn't realize that!  Well, there goes my ambition to someday read all the apocryphal books.

* No books of Esdras in my Bible.  I have 1st and 2nd Maccabees, but not 3rd and 4th Maccabees.

* At least in The Jerusalem Bible, there's no prayer of Manasseh.  Not even as an addition to 2nd Chronicles.  I'm not sure if other Catholic Bibles might be different?
    William replied: Thanks for all the clarification. Now we are more or less on the same page. Perhaps you have opinions on some specifics I talked about like purgatory or how to describe the Apocrypha (my opinion being books written by gentiles for a Jewish audience)

    I replied: Just wrote most of that up now in a separate comment.

* My understanding (and I'm not a scholar either, so take me with a grain of salt) is for the Catholic Bible, these were all books that came from the Septuagint--the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible--but were books that were not known to be written in Hebrew.  (Although if you research these books individually, it gets a bit more complicated.  Some of them scholars think may have been originally written in Hebrew and then translated into Greek, and books like Tobit have been found in Hebrew in the Dead Sea Scrolls.  But at the time of the Protestant reformation, only the Greek versions were known to exist.)

My understanding is that they were probably written by Greek speaking Jews, not gentiles.  I believe Hebrew was a dead language by the time of the Jesus, so most literate people (either Jews or Gentiles) would be writing in Greek.  I could be wrong.

Judaism would later reject these books as part of their canon, but that was after the Christian bible was formed.

The church based it's Bible on the Septuagint version of the Old Testament up until the Protestant Reformation, at which point the Protestants wanted to base their Old Testament on the Hebrew scripture.

That being said, my understanding is that these books were rejected collectively, but also individually.  That is, in addition to the fact that none of these books were in the Jewish canon, there were also things that the Protestant reformers found problematic about each one of them.

Another reason for rejecting them is that the Protestants claimed that these books weren't cited as authoritative anywhere in the New Testament.  Although this last claim gets a bit controversial, as Catholics point to several New Testament verses which they claim are references to the 7 books in the Apocrypha  (I've looked at a couple of these Catholic websites, and some of the verses they are claiming to be references to The Apocrypha seem to me to be a bit dubious, but you can make up your own mind.)  The other problematic part is that the book of Jude is quoting from the Book of Enoch, so by this logic, shouldn't the book of Enoch be canonical for protestants?

    William replied: Wow! I learned a lot. Thank you! Yes, by that logic the Book of Enoch should be included. I have a cheap paperback English edition of Enoch.

* About purgatory--yeah, I don't know.  2nd Esdras is not in the Catholic Bible, so I wonder what the Catholics base their idea of purgatory on.  To be honest, I've not really thought much about it until just this moment.  I'm sure we could research it easily enough though...

*************

The Jerusalem Bible: Reader's Edition on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4fbgM92

The Holy Bible: The New Revised Standard Version (Updated Edition, with the Apocrypha) on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4gb90NB

The Books Of Enoch on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ZOUJ3y

(These are associate's links.  If you buy anything through those links, I get a commission.)

1st Maccabees (The Jerusalem Bible): Book Discussion

(Book Review--The Bible, Religion, The Classics, Blogging the Canon) 

Part of my project to read through the Bible.  

(As noted in the video, because this book is not part of the Protestant Bible, this is my first time reading through this book.  So, according to my new rules, I'm doing this as a video only review.) 

1st Maccabees (The Jerusalem Bible): Book Discussion

I explain about my background with the Bible and my reasons for doing this read-through in this blog post here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-book-of-genesis-from-jerusalem-bible.html

Links to stuff mentioned:

Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction by Lawrence Boadt: Book Review: https://youtu.be/Kzy3kstCJ_o

Flashman and the Mountain of Light by George MacDonald Fraser: Book Review

Links to stuff mentioned: 

* Introduction to the Flashman series: https://youtu.be/K2EH55L1Zsw

* Flashman Series Playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6a1zLr2frPxaOg8k0hOBlj

* The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins: Book Review: https://youtu.be/nTnAPgzMtQc

This is part of my so-called "Scripted Review" series, in which I make a Youtube video based on an old blogpost.  For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE:

https://youtu.be/HgneyXvRI04  

and HERE: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2018/12/vlog-scripted-book-reviews-i-ramble-on.html

In this case, the old blog post is here:  https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2013/08/flashman-and-mountain-of-light-by.html

Started: Masters of the Universe: Revelation

Watching Progress (Dates indicate when episodes are completed)

December 6--Episode 1: The Power of Grayskull

December 7--Episode 2: The Poisoned Chalice

December 8--Episode 3: The Most Dangerous Man in Eternia

December 9--E4: Land of the Dead, E5: The Forge at the Forest of Forever

December 11--E6: Cleaved in Twain, E7: Reason and Blood

December 12--E8: The Gutter Rat

December 13--E9: Hope, for a Destination, E10: Comes with Everything You See Here

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame: Book Review

This is part of my so-called "Scripted Review" series, in which I make a Youtube video based on an old blogpost.  For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE:

https://youtu.be/HgneyXvRI04  

and HERE: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2018/12/vlog-scripted-book-reviews-i-ramble-on.html

In this case, the old blog post is here:  https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-wind-in-willows-by-kenneth-grahame.html

From Reader to Reading Teacher by Jo Ann Aebersold and Mary Lee Field: Book Review

This is part of my so-called "Scripted Review" series, in which I make a Youtube video based on an old blogpost.  For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE:

https://youtu.be/HgneyXvRI04  

and HERE: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2018/12/vlog-scripted-book-reviews-i-ramble-on.html

In this case, the old blog post is here:  https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2013/08/from-reader-to-reading-teacher-by-jo.html

@JoelswagmanJoel I see your Shinsengumi videos are a few years old at this point but I have a question I hope you could answer for me.
I was in the episode where they see the black American ships.
I am still looking for clips of it, but do you know which episode that is?

— Loverboy5k (@loverboy5k) December 3, 2024

I'm not 100%, but I believe it was episode 1. I know it was definitely one of the first few episodes.

— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) December 3, 2024

As to the Shinsengumi TV show he's referring to, check out my review here from 2008.  I converted that review into a Youtube video in 2020, as part of my "scripted reviews project".

Awesome. Thank you!
If you ever do a rewatch, you can catch me as a trumpet player on the American ship. I’m behind the trumpet player who looks more like he’s playing jazz than the Star Spangled Banner.

— Loverboy5k (@loverboy5k) December 3, 2024

Curiosity got the better of me, and I did a search on Youtube. Is that you at 53:50? https://t.co/54FdUlbuty

— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) December 3, 2024

Shinsegumi EP1. See key point at 53:48.

Yes it was! I was in the second row from the front. Guy on the left.
I appreciate your help! pic.twitter.com/nwV8vEfE2X

— Loverboy5k (@loverboy5k) December 3, 2024

Coincidentally, the week before or the week after I was also in the Japanese movie “69.” (Set in 1969!)! I’m in the sunglasses. pic.twitter.com/z268lgGzul

— Loverboy5k (@loverboy5k) December 3, 2024

Ahh... As it happens, that's another movie I've covered in my reviewing project. See my review here: https://t.co/wew7Qc9BUP

— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) December 3, 2024

...admittedly it's not a very good review. (I like to think I'd write it a lot differently, if I was writing it now.) But the point is, I am familiar with that movie as well.

— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) December 3, 2024

That link, once again, is here. As I mentioned in the above tweet, I'm somewhat embarrassed by this review. It was typical of my reviews from this period where I tended to obsess over the politics of something, instead of reviewing the thing itself. I like to think I've moved beyond that stage now.

I liked it. Simple enough. And I’m glad to have read that and watched your video on Shinsengumi. I honestly had little idea about the projects I was in.
I knew about the American side of history in Shinsengumi but not much else. And the high school comedy part of 69.

— Loverboy5k (@loverboy5k) December 3, 2024

Thanks for reaching out. It's interesting to hear about your experiences.

— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) December 3, 2024

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins: Book Review

(Book Review--Classics)

Started: November 09, 2024

(This is my first time reading this book, so according to my new rules, I'm doing this as a video only review.) 

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins: Book Review

Esther--with additions (The Jerusalem Bible): Book Discussion

(Book Review--The Bible, Religion, Reread, The Classics, Blogging the Canon) 

Part of my project to read through the Bible.  

As noted in the video, this is partially a reread.  I've read the Protestant version of the book of Esther in my youth, but this is my first time reading the Catholic version of Esther (which has additional material).  But either way, this is my first time reviewing this book on my blog, so, according to my new rules, I'm doing this as a video only review.

Esther--with additions (The Jerusalem Bible): Book Discussion

I explain about my background with the Bible and my reasons for doing this read-through in this blog post here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-book-of-genesis-from-jerusalem-bible.html

Links to stuff mentioned:

Links to things mentioned: 

* Ironies in Esther: https://craigkeener.com/ironies-in-esther/

* Additions to Esther (in Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Esther#Additions_to_Esther

An additional six chapters appear interspersed in Esther in the Septuagint, an early Greek translation of the Bible. This was noted by Jerome in compiling the Latin Vulgate. Additionally, the Greek text contains many small changes in the meaning of the main text. Jerome recognized the former as additions not present in the Hebrew Text and placed them at the end of his Latin translation. This placement is used in Catholic Bible translations based primarily on the Vulgate, such as the Douay–Rheims Bible and the Knox Bible, with chapters numbered up to 16.^[67] In contrast, the Nova Vulgata incorporates the additions to Esther directly into the narrative itself, as do most modern Catholic English translations based on the original Hebrew and Greek (e.g., Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition). The numbering system for the additions therefore differs with each translation. The Nova Vulgata accounts for the additional verses by numbering them as extensions of the verses immediately following or preceding them (e.g., Esther 11:2–12 in the old Vulgate becomes Esther 1:1a–1k in the Nova Vulgata), while the NAB and its successor, the NABRE, assign letters of the alphabet as chapter headings for the additions (e.g., Esther 11:2–12:6 in the Vulgate becomes Esther A:1–17). The RSVCE and the NRSVCE place the additional material into the narrative, but retain the chapter and verse numbering of the old Vulgate.

Lesson for Verbs / Nouns + prepositions (Collocations with Prepositions)

(TESOL Materials--Prepositions, Collocations)

Google Drive Folder HERE

* Model Text (Created by AI): docs, pub

* Picture for Model Text

* Quizlet: Expert IELTS 6 p.74 1a Verbs / Nouns + prepositions

* Kahoot: gap-fill sentences: p.74 verbs/nouns + prepositions

* Make Sentences to Practice Vocabulary Words Using Quizziz: Write sentences using verbs/nouns + prepositions

Notes: These are materials for verb or noun + preposition collocations.  This was originally created to supplement p.74 exercise 1a of Expert IELTS 6, and the specific words in these materials reflect the words from that textbook exercise (source of, phase of, link to, expert on, designed by, symbol of, version of and available to).  However, I think these materials can also stand independently of the textbook, for any teacher who wants to do a lesson on collocations with verbs and nouns plus prepositions.  So I am posting the materials here.

Staging is as follows:

* Lead-in: Students talk about a time they used a map

* Prediction: Display photo on projector.  Get students to predict what the boy is using the map for

* Specific Information Questions: Give students a copy of the model text (page four) and the specific information questions (page 1)

* Noticing Activity: Match the Words to the Text: Remove the model text from students.  Give students a copy of the model text with the key vocabulary blanked out (page 2).  Students must then reconstruct the text using a running dictation.  

* Clarification of Meaning: Display the model text on the projector with the target vocabulary underlined (page 3).  Check that students understand the meaning use concept checking questions.  Next, match the words to the definitions with quizlet

* Clarify form and pronunciation

* Controlled Practice: Gap-Fill sentences: Kahoot game

* Semi-Controlled Practice: Make Sentences: quizziz game

What was Alex holding in his hands?

What did Alex love exploring?

What was Alex’s grandfather an expert on?

Where did the new version of the map appear?

What was Alex determined to do?

What was Alex holding in his hands?

What did Alex love exploring?

What was Alex’s grandfather an expert on?

Where did the new version of the map appear?

What was Alex determined to do?

Alex held the old map in his hands.  The old map was a _______________ endless fascination for Alex. For one thing, he was currently in a _______________  his life where he loved exploring old things. For another thing, in his mind this map was _______________  his memory of his grandfather.  His grandfather was an _______________  ancient history.   The map had belonged to his grandfather, but it had been _______________  someone unknown. The map was filled with strange symbols.  These were _______________  an ancient treasure. Alex dreamed of finding the treasure it promised. But, Alex was not the only one who had access to this map.   A new _______________  the map had recently appeared online, where it was _______________  everyone. Soon, more people would find the map, and try to solve its riddle.  But Alex was determined to solve the riddle before anyone else.

Alex held the old map in his hands.  The old map was a source of endless fascination for Alex. For one thing, he was currently in a phase of his life where he loved exploring old things. For another thing, in his mind this map was linked to his memory of his grandfather.  His grandfather was an expert on ancient history.  The map had belonged to his grandfather, but it had been designed by someone unknown. The map was filled with strange symbols.  These were symbols of an ancient treasure. Alex dreamed of finding the treasure it promised. But, Alex was not the only one who had access to this map.   A new version of the map had recently appeared online, where it was available to everyone. Soon, more people would find the map, and try to solve its riddle.  But Alex was determined to solve the riddle before anyone else.

Alex held the old map in his hands.  The old map was a source of endless fascination for Alex. For one thing, he was currently in a phase of his life where he loved exploring old things. For another thing, in his mind this map was linked to his memory of his grandfather.  His grandfather was an expert on ancient history.  The map had belonged to his grandfather, but it had been designed by someone unknown. The map was filled with strange symbols.  These were symbols of an ancient treasure. Alex dreamed of finding the treasure it promised. But, Alex was not the only one who had access to this map.   A new version of the map had recently appeared online, where it was available to everyone. Soon, more people would find the map, and try to solve its riddle.  But Alex was determined to solve the riddle before anyone else.