Limerick Friday #474: RIP John Lewis, Democracy -- Day 138

He signed up for pain double
To pop the segregation bubble
With his final plea
John Lewis set us free
And inspired us all with good trouble

Dimensions did collide
Separate lives unified
A truth revolution
A beautiful resolution
"Dark" overwhelmed and terrified

Legos, beach, and State
With the occasional Teenymate
Boy, can he go, go, go
With a blanket in tow
Can he really be eight?

Baseball is back, in a way
A much-shorter season they'll play
Even shorter than expected
If Marlins keep getting infected
The Mets will disappoint either way

Lies, distractions, and crock
Ignorance to the point of shock
Our government's a wreck
With no balance or check
We're the world's laughingstock

Last time ...

Day 137, Quasi-Quarantine: Cobbling Together A Mini-"Ghost"

As noted previously, we've rediscovered "Star Wars Rebels," an animated series from Disney XD. Bridging the gap between "Revenge of the Sith" (Episode III) and "A New Hope" (Episode IV), the show juggles levity and serious, canon-level scenarios with a deft balance, adding an element of fun to the proceedings.

With few sets available to represent this series, we decided to reconstruct the iconic "Ghost" as a manageable microfighter build. The best ability here was availability, and the required pieces were relatively easy to find.

We were able to look up the instructions online, scrounge up the pieces, and construct it (with a few minor color modifications).

For display purposes, OG pilot Hera Syndulla was on another mission, so Lieutenant Connix (played by Carrie Fisher's real-life daughter, Billy Lourd) had to step into the pilot's chair.

Small build, small set, few pieces ... but any filled minutes these days are priceless.

Day 136, Quasi-Quarantine: Processing The Staggering Tale Of "The Underground Railroad"

"Here was the true Great Spirit, the divine thread connecting all human endeavor -- if you can keep it, it is yours. Your property, slave or continent. The American imperative."

Colson Whitehead's blend of magical realism and painstaking detail combine in "The Underground Railroad" to create a stunning, emotional, jarring novel that speaks to American's past, present, and future. This work won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and you don't have to get many pages in before the honor immediately establishes itself as well-earned.

"'There's room enough for different notions when it comes to charting our path through the wilderness. When the night is dark and full of treacherous footing.' ... 'We can't save everyone. But that doesn't mean we can't try. Sometimes a useful delusion is better than a useless truth. Nothing's going to grow in this mean cold, but we can still have flowers.'"

The novel was largely composed of a series of vignettes that lend texture and backstory. Hitting closest to home, North Carolina was rendered as something akin to Gilead from Margaret Atwood's "Handmaid's Tale." While this representation was painful to read, it did serve to make the story even more accessible.

"Stolen bodies working stolen land. It was an engine that did not stop, its hungry boiler fed with blood ... It was still the south, and the devil had long nimble fingers."

The protagonist, Cora, experiences a fraught, heart-stopping journey that is littered with obstacles, pain, and devastation, with a wispy thread of hope running alongside and somewhat behind. Her inability to let herself love Caesar or Royal is both understandable and devastating, and the eventual revelation of the outcome of her mother, Mabel, was quasi-ironic and starkly authentic.

"Who was she? Where was she now? Why had she left her? Without a special kiss to say, When you remember this moment later you will understand that I was saying goodbye even if you did not know it."

There were a few quibbles along the way -- some metaphors felt a bit on the nose, Caesar's fate felt omitted for too long -- but they are swept away under the sheer power of Whitehead's prose. He is able to personify evil in an accessible way by placing it primarily within a few key characters, most notably Ridgeway, whose specter loomed over every moment of the book. 

The New York Times referred to the book as "almost hallucinatory" due to its "mythical dimension," and that description is apt. "The Underground Railroad" is a compelling read that can be difficult to embrace but is essential in every way -- in particular at this pivot point and nexus of the contemporary human experience.

"Who you are after you finish something this magnificent -- in constructing it you have also journeyed through it, to the other side. On one end there was who you were before you went underground, and on the other end a new person steps out into the light."

Day 135, Quasi-Quarantine: Delving Into Minifig Personalization With Griff Halloran

We've become fans of the Disney+ cartoon "Star Wars Resistance," mostly due to its irreverent style, eclectic characters, and general silliness. However, the Lego sets are limited and exceedingly expensive, so when my building partner identified Griff Halloran as his favorite, we had to get creative (our version on the right of these collage pics).

Griff is a member of the Aces, an elite pilot corps that protects the Colossus platform. He flies a modified TIE racer called the Black Ace as a throwback to his time as a fighter pilot in the Imperial Navy.

Griff is gruff and menacing, but dedicated to protecting the Colossus under Captain Doza after defecting from the Empire. His TIE helmet is tagged with white paint, and he sports tattoos to add to his aggressive demeanor.

To replicate Griff's feel, we had to paint a TIE fighter helmet, do some limb swaps for the bare-sleeves look, and add some tattoos with a tiny brush as well. The tattoos are a nifty add, if I do say so myself, especially since the "official" minifigure that comes with set 75242 does not include his ink.

We were happy with the result as our first foray into customized minifigure creation. Now that we have paint, tiny brushes, some 3D-printed helmets, and a lot of time on our hands, I suspect we'll be moving more in this direction as quasi-quarantine continues.

UPDATE [August 13, Day 151]: A request was made to repaint a new Griff Halloran on a more accurate TIE fighter pilot helmet. The result:

Day 134, Quasi-Quarantine: Constructing A Modified Wookiee Podracer

One of the fun parts of our recent building flurry has been hacking together creations with leftover parts or pieces that are just lying around.

This vehicle borrows on a podracer design, serving as a modified speeder for, in this case, Chewbacca. There are pieces from Lego airplanes, skiing sets, and car builds.

So in addition to a podracer, it's part skimobile and part fan-boat, making it a good choice for getaways, guerrilla attacks, or even just races.

Just as long as you let the Wookiee win.

Day 130, Quasi-Quarantine: Death Star Set Captures Key Scene In First Star Wars Flick

The Death Star Cannon is a small but formidable set that represents an iconic moment -- and one of my favorites -- in Star Wars: A New Hope.

In addition to the cannon, the build includes a tractor beam control tower with a minor but creative mechanism that lets Obi-Wan Kenobi disable it. 

The laser cannon itself rotates and can swivel up and down, manned by the Death Star gunner. The cannon features a spring-loaded shooter, in addition to a storage clip for additional missles.

One of the highlights of this set is Kenobi, whose absence was a major oversight in our minifigure collection. He is well-bearded, with a flowing robe and lightsaber, serene yet determined.

This set checks in at just 160 pieces, but it can (and should) be connected to other small sets and creations to help build out the Death Star, room by room. In particular, it fits well with the Death Star Escape set that we already owned.

Taken by itself, this build is not overwhelming in its presentation, nor is it asked to be. When added a centerpiece to a larger scene, it's a beaut, and the reality is that there simply aren't many sets that Lego offers in the $15 price range. 

So if you stretch your mind and look beyond what's on the box, you can turn it into something stellar. After all, as Obi-Wan himself says, "Only a Sith deals in absolutes."

Day 129, Quasi-Quarantine: Why Yes, That Is Another Beer Puzzle

The second puzzle we completed at the Outer Banks was this nifty beer puzzle (are you sensing a theme?). Unlike the other beer puzzle from earlier in quasi-quarantine, this one relied solely on labels and not bottle shapes and colors.

There were some phenomenal beer labels highlighted, and I have to begrudgingly tip my cap for the PBR inclusion. This puzzle contained a variety of both common and rare brews, and gave me a few ideas for other beers to track down as the global pandemic shows no sign of relenting in America.

7.5/10, would solve (and drink) during a quasi-quarantine again.

Day 128, Quasi-Quarantine: Building Intensity Offset By Terse Language Propel Haunting"The Memory Police"

"I had only to surrender each new disappearance to find myself carried along quite naturally to the place I needed to be."

I was unfamiliar with the brilliance of Yoko Ogawa, but recommendations of her "The Memory Police" seemed to follow me wherever I went. After I tired of interminable holds for this book at local libraries, I broke down and purchased it.

Consider it money well spent.

Set on an anonymous island, "The Memory Police" details a community living on the knife point of constant fear. It seems that, randomly, objects on the island disappear, followed by an expectation that connections to the disappeared objects must be destroyed.

How is this discard process enforced? The Memory Police, a faceless security unit that targets not only those who attempt to preserve the past, but those rare few whose memories don't obey the mandate to quickly forget the vanished items. This mandate becomes even more difficult to follow as the disappearing objects become progressively meaningful and essential.

" ... I realized now that I was already unable to remember what this thing called a rose had looked like ... Dusk was falling over the sea, and no matter how long I peered into the distance, I could no longer make out the petals."

Ogawa's work is stunning in its terse, almost harsh prose, managing to be eerie yet mesmerizing, dated yet timeless, jarring yet passive. The island where the disappearances are occurring conveys a sense of pervasive isolation, reinforced by the decision to share precious few of the narrator's hopes, dreams, and back story details.

The protagonist is a novelist in a community that has lost the importance of words, writing more to work out her internal comprehension of what is happening to her. Almost unwittingly, her novels broach the loss of loved ones, buried secrets, and mental turmoil.

Originally written in 1994 but with a translation released in 2019, "The Memory Police" possesses a dream-like quality, marked by what The Chicago Tribune calls "atmospheric horror." While the translation must have brought up a host of problems, the book is a device that works as a statement on and metaphor for fascism and its inherent loss of identity.

"People -- and I'm no exception -- seem capable of forgetting almost anything, much as if our island were unable to float in anything but an expanse of totally empty sea."

This novel mirrors the themes of George Orwell, of course, but also mixes in elements of "Children of Men," "Fahrenheit 451," and even "The Diary of a Young Girl." With its timely commentary on the terrors of state surveillance, this work will stay with you long after you're finished reading.

If you needed another reason to buy instead of wait, "The Memory Police" boasts one of the best book covers I can remember. 

Just don't get too attached ... in case it disappears.

Day 127, Quasi-Quarantine: Building A Battle On A Budget

 So one of our summer projects (amidst a marathon of Star Wars Legos projects) has been the creation of a sprawling "Battle of Scarif" that is half-build and half-minifigure battle placement. 

For context, "Rogue One" is in my top three of all "Star Wars" movies (that may be blasphemy in some quarters), and to get perhaps even more controversial, Chirrut Imwe is one of my all-time favorite characters. 

My building partner has become obsessed with the coastal defender "shoretrooper" stormtrooper (to the point that he was actively upset when the rebels blasted them in the movie).

So we fell in love with the look and feel of the Battle of Scarif. But with so many of the sets discontinued, retired, and crazily priced, we have gotten creative in the DIY realm. I mean, $120 for a 400-piece set just ain't happenin'. Especially a set with meh action functionality and that doesn't look difficult to mirror.

We started by re-creating the beach bunker, using dark grays and orange to echo the color scheme depicted in the movie. Then we repurposed characters from other sets to replicate the bad guys, even using paint to help in other areas.

We've continued to build on to the original foundation, which has rendered a somewhat chaotic scene -- peppered with downed spaceships and fallen heroes -- but one that is highly original and honors the look and feel from the movie.

All while managing to save $120 for the ABC Store.

Limerick Friday #473: Wrapping Up An Incomparable Street Drama -- Day 124

'Twas the summer of "The Wire"

Viewing a street life dire

Spent on Baltimore's corners

With hoppers, knockos, and mourners

David Simon, a genius to admire

With a sawed-off, he stood

An anti-hero with some good

Despite all the shooting

You find yourself rooting

For Omar, the ghetto Robin Hood

"Led" by an ignorant fool

And his party of pro-death ghouls

Nowhere safe from its scars

Not parks, stores, or bars

And sure the fuck not at school

The final season marked a fall

With tales and lies tall

Jumped the shark a tad

But still I'm glad

For any "Wire" seasons at all

Finished the series entire

'Twas full of grit and fire

When they said goodbye to Bug

And Dukey gave him a hug

I cried a little because that's "The Wire"

Last time ...

Day 123, Quasi-Quarantine: Careful, Man, There's A Beverage Here

A coworker and fellow "Big Lebowski" aficionado convinced me that I deserved -- nay, required -- an amazing new mug modeled on the Dude's iconic sweater.

I abided, and she was right.

It really ties the office together.

Day 122, Quasi-Quarantine: "Brown Girl Dreaming" Sweeps You Up In The Pursuit Of Identity

"no one believes a whole book could ever come
from something as simple as
butterflies that don't even, my brother says,
live that long.

But on paper, things live forever.
On paper, a butterfly

never dies."

"Brown Girl Dreaming" is a powerful, emotional, and timely collection of poems describing the childhood of a brown girl growing up in the 1960s. 

As both author and protagonist, Jacqueline Woodson is stuck between the South of her mother's family and the North of her father and her future, trying to come to terms with her own identity when home has so many complex and contrasting connotations. 

"and then there was only a roaring in the air around her
a new pain where once there wasn't pain
a hollowness where only minutes before
she had been whole."

Amidst a scramble by many to better understand the Black experience, "Brown Girl Dreaming" has emerged as a go-to recommendation for those 10 years old and up. Curious, I read it in a day at the beach and found myself incredibly moved.

This work's blend of personal experience, cultural explanation, and universal themes made me believe that "Brown Girl Dreaming" should be mandatory reading for not just elementary school students, but all of us.

"I believe in one day and someday and this
perfect moment called Now."

Day 121, Quasi-Quarantine: Saving Some Cabbage By Re-creating The Phantom From "Star Wars Rebels"

We've rediscovered the humor and family dynamic of "Star Wars Rebels" during quasi-quarantine. It's a show we watched when it first came out, but then it sort of fell into disinterest and off our radar.

Of course, the Rebels Lego sets are retired, which means even the perfunctory builds are mega-expensive. So we set about re-creating the Phantom, a "modified VCX-series auxiliary starfighter" that docks with the Ghost, the Rebel team's main ship and living quarters.

Despite its small size, the Phantom was retrofitted with a jammer, autopilot programming to always return to the Ghost, and even hyperspace capabilities. When docked with the Ghost, the Phantom could also be used as an additional gun turret.

One of the things that caught our attention with the Phantom was the ability of the wings to curl around engines on other side upon landing, giving the ship multiple configurations. We had to get clever to replicate this functionality, and we also added a rudimentary cargo bay to allow for another member or two of the Spectre team to ride along.

It's not the most elegant build, but we were happy with the outcome and it has served us well on a host of missions already. It also saved us ~$200 on the discontinued version, so everybody wins.

Including the Rebels.

Day 120, Quasi-Quarantine: Dusting Off The Ol' Wrenches

A coupla weeks back, my brothers and I decided to brave a round of socially distanced golf. Despite not having played in eight months, I broke 100 -- which is a notable feat for me -- by parring a tricky par-5 18th with this featured drive. It was one of four pars on the day for me, another highly respectable number for me.

Above all else, it was so good to be out in the fresh air with family I've been missing.

Limerick Friday #472: Flicking Matches At A Pandemic -- Day 117

An embarrassing state
Of ignorance and hate
We've made the curve fatten
Instead of flatten
You wonder if it's too late

A chill just out of reach
As we work, parent, and teach
At the end of the day
Say it's gonna be OK
But damn do I already miss the beach

Communicate like blind elves
Leave good ideas on the shelves
Have to be hopin'
We don't think this is open
Another fiction we tell ourselves

The fans were huffin'
The rivals were puffin'
Then State went on a streak
Recruiting some freaks
Then they went and hired Ruffin

"The Wire" is gritty, not tame
The problems remain the same
Times get strange
And names may change
But still the game is the game

Last time ...

Day 116, Quasi-Quarantine: A Puzzling Combination Of Beach, Beer, And Butterflies

During a recent trip to the Outer Banks, this spiffy little puzzle came in handy during a downpour that lasted for nearly an entire day.

This one wasn't overly complex, which was probably a good thing due to the level of beer being consumed. We split up the work so that one of us was piecing together the butterfly names while the other was orienting the pieces by color.

This puzzle didn't take very long to put together, but it was a welcome activity and is soothing to look at. At the time, I wasn't asking a whole lot more of a puzzle -- or from life, really.

5.5/10, would desperately complete at the beach during a quasi-quarantine again.

Day 115, Quasi-Quarantine: "The Lost City Of Z" Immerses You In A Gut-Wrenching Jungle Expedition

"In the Amazon, Fawcett marveled, the animal kingdom 'is against man as it is nowhere else in the world.'" 

David Grann is a master at unearthing historical figures and contexts, and he's at his best in "The Lost City of Z."

I was familiar with Grann's work from reading "Killers of the Flower Moon" last year, so I was prepared for the density that his style of writing can bring. While this occasionally makes relative dates difficult to follow, the overall effect is well worth the effort.

Painstakingly researched and relying at least somewhat on first-hand exploration, "The Lost City of Z" captures the obsession surrounding the search for the lost city of gold. This undertaking has claimed countless lives, and Grann's depiction of perhaps the most famous pursuer, Percy Fawcett, is full of intense, terrifying, and unfathomable accounts.

"No Olympic games contender was ever trained down to a finer edge than these three reserved, matter-of-fact Englishmen, whose pathway to a forgotten world is best by arrows, pestilence and wild beasts."

This tale works best when Grann puts us in the shoes of Fawcett, his son, and his son's friend as they put forth their most intensive quest yet. The questions of where they ended up, what happened to them, and what they may have found hang over the pages like rain-forest humidity.

"The Lost City of Z" is a quick, engrossing read that reels you in and places you in the middle of harrowing incidents and lore -- and in the middle of Fawcett's mind as his grasp on sanity slowly loses permanence.

"Those whom the Gods intend to destroy they first make mad!"

Day 114, Quasi-Quarantine: Bringing An Imperial Dropship From Idea Into Existence

A few weeks back, we realized that our inventory of "bad guy" ships was running distressingly low. We set about to create an Imperial dropship, basing the design on the open-sided clone troop transport modified with a cargo bay.

The foundation of the ship was built in Empire gray, but we edged the design with a lot of red trim to balance the look. To replicate a true Imperial feel, we outfitted the vehicle with weaponry on just about every level of the build.

The roof of the transport includes a second cockpit that serves as both a gunner's turret and auxiliary navigation. The interior holds 10 or so stormtoopers, and the cargo bay has been a popular spot to house a knockoff Captain Phasma.

I'm sad to report that most the build has already been cannibalized into other creations, so this post will have to serve as proof that it once existed. I want to believe it's demolition was incorporated into a Rebel mission, but considering my building partner, that feels like perhaps wishful and (overly elegant) thinking.

Day 113, Quasi-Quarantine, Sounds Of Social Distancing: Ondara "Vomits Up" Entire Pandemic Album

On Day 23, I wrote about Nairobi-born alt-Americana singer J.S. Ondara, whose "Tales of America" was one of the soundtracks of my early coronavirus experience.

Not content with leaving it at that, Ondara (now performing just under the last name; if you're scoring at home, he has now recorded as Jay Smart, J.S. Ondara, and Ondara) released a surprise album in May called "Folk N' Roll Vol 1: Tales of Isolation."

Described as an act of therapy by the artist, the acoustic album was written and recorded over the course of six days while Ondara was in lockdown in Minneapolis. While this pace contributes to an unrefined, on-the-nose sound at times, the urgency and desperation shine through, cementing the sheer magnitude of this accomplishment. Ondara also manages to stay mostly non-political, which is another amazing feat in and of itself.

Ondara declared that the personal is the universal, and that is evident in standouts "Pulled Out of the Market," "From Six Feet Away," and "Isolation Blues (Blame It on the Pathogen)."  Reminding of Dylan, Paul Simon, and Jack White, "Ballad of Nana Doline" is a beautiful narrative. The most poignant song for me, however, was "Lock Down on Date Night Tuesday," a haunting lamentation on the struggles to maintain intimacy during a quasi-quarantine.

It's clear that Ondara is a machine that won't be stopped by the conventions of the music industry or even a global pandemic. The album cover perfectly captures the bizarre nature of our times, while the promise of a second volume gives hope that more musical inspiration lies just down the deserted road.

Day 109, Quasi-Quarantine: "The Imperfectionists" Recalls And Honors The Dignity Of Newspapers

"We enjoy this illusion of continuity, and we call it memory. Which explains, perhaps, why our worst fear isn't the end of life but the end of memories."

"The Imperfectionists" read like an exasperated love note to journalism. Tom Rachman undoubtedly drew on a number of personal experiences in constructing this behind-the-scenes look at a struggling international newspaper against a Rome backdrop.

The book is peopled with odd, disturbed characters, rendered in a series of vignettes that eventually (partially) intertwine. As a former journalist, I recognized so many of the characters and so many of the challenges that Rachman so deftly explores.

"Here is a fact: nothing in all civilization has been as productive as ludicrous ambition. Whatever its ills, nothing has created more. Cathedrals, sonatas, encyclopedias: love of God was not behind them, nor love of life. But the love of man to be worshipped by man."

Rachman offers a few nice twists and the occasional hysterical character (Rich Snyder injected so much fun into the middle of the story), but I did have a few issues bringing these disparate pieces into a coherent whole.

Yet this is a mere quibble. In its entirety, Rachman has created a fully realized world in an easy-to-digest way, making "The Imperfectionists" a high-energy, fun read in a time that desperately calls for such things.

"The paper -- that daily report on the idiocy and the brilliance of the species -- had never before missed an appointment. Now it was gone."

Day 108, Quasi-Quarantine, Sounds Of Social Distancing: Craig Finn's Storytelling A Salve For Dark Days

Craig Finn may look like a 6th-grade social studies teacher. However, his voice quickly lets you know he's in it for real.

Most known for his work in The Hold Steady, Finn has also distinguished himself with his solo albums, including 2015's "Faith in the Future." This collection has served as a writing soundtrack for me for much of quasi-quarantine.

Essentially working as a duo here with Josh Kaufman, Finn is traditionally classified as an indie rock musician. "Faith in the Future" veers closer to an alt-folk sound to me, comprised of vignettes that honor an Americana genre.

Finn's narrative songwriting style has drawn acclaim, and he's at his best here with "Maggie I've Been Searching for Our Son" and "Newmyer's Roof." These songs possess a wistfulness that plays well in this "uncertain times."™