Books: The Witchcraft of Salem Village

Salem, Massachusetts has really leaned into its historical association with the witch trials, so much so that almost every business in the downtown area caters to tourists looking for kitschy, witchy souvenirs (my understanding is that the place is absolutely bustling during the Halloween season).

After my friends and I digested about a dozen witch and goth-related shops, though, I felt it was time to learn some of the real history behind the tragic trials that led to the execution of 19 people (with more dying in prison or rendered paupers in the end). There are a lot of accounts of the trials, some scholarly and some less so, but a good middle ground is The Witchcraft of Salem Village by Shirley Jackson, author of The Haunting of Hill House.

The book is written for kids, so Jackson relates the events like a sad fable.  In her telling, the hysteria was caused by the lies of children, the pride and paranoia of adults, and the rigid doctrines of the Puritan faith.  There was also an absence of the basic tenets of the American justice system, such as the presumption of innocence and the confrontation of witnesses. My hope is that as long as we follow those procedural safeguards, nothing like the Salem witch trials could ever happen again.

Miscellany: Buying Pepper Spray in Massachusetts

As a lifelong Floridian, I am sometimes taken aback by the strange weapon restrictions that other parts of the country live under. When my friends and I traveled to Massachusetts, for instance, I knew that carrying a gun was out of the question, but I also learned that even pepper spray is hard to come by.  

You see, under Massachusetts law, you need a permit to buy pepper spray if you're under 18, and only an FFL can sell it.  The practical upshot is that unlike Palm Beach County, where pepper spray is available at retailers like Walmart and Target, I had to travel a solid half hour out of Boston to buy it.  Thankfully, the folks at J&J Arms had a whole rack full of POM canisters, so I was all set:

Tech: Star Fox (2026 remake)

I've written before about how the original Star Fox was one of my favorite SNES games, but the N64 installment (unimaginatively titled Star Fox 64) was great, too.  While it largely retold/rebooted the story of the first game, it introduced both the "Rumble Pak" force-feedback accessory and a surprisingly fun 4-player split-screen competitive multiplayer mode.  Since Star Fox 64, though, the series has been in a bit of a rut, bouncing between so-so sequels, spinoffs (anyone remember Star Fox Adventures?), and re-releases/remakes of the N64 game. 

Well, buckle up, Star Fox fans - they've remade Star Fox 64 again for the Nintendo Switch 2:

As far as remakes go, developer Velan Studios did a fantastic job, faithfully preserving the gameplay and level layouts of the 1997 classic, but totally re-doing the graphics and sound to the levels of a modern game. While you lose some of the now-classic cheesy voice-acting that the original had, you gain an amazing graphical overhaul that sometimes drastically changes the look and feel of a level, almost always for the better (the first level, for instance, depicts a war-torn city much better than the antiseptic, LEGO-like polygons of the N64 version).

Disappointingly, however, with the exception of the multiplayer maps, this is the exact same game you played almost 30 years ago, and it would've been nice to have some new levels and enemies to go along with the fresh coat of paint.  There's a very small amount of replay value in the form of special challenges that unlock entries for the in-game encyclopedia (in addition to the original game's medals and Expert Mode difficulty), but here's hoping Nintendo gives Velan Studios a crack at a true sequel.

Rating: 84/100

Sports: The Forever World Cup

A once-in-a-lifetime confluence of events has conspired to make this World Cup feel both ever-present and endless.  Of course, the U.S. is hosting this edition along with Mexico and Canada, but this summer is also America's 250th birthday and also the first time the qualifying field has been enlarged from 32 teams to 48 teams.

Practically speaking, that means there has been daily, wall-to-wall World Cup soccer for almost a month, with at least three matches televised a day.  If you have even a passing interest in association football, there have already been moments of high drama (underdog Cape Verde moving on to the knockout stages), shocking upsets (Germany bowed out after the group stage on penalties), and, in perhaps an effort to appease American tastes, a whole lot of goal scoring. The U.S. is scheduled to take on Bosnia and Herzegovina tonight in prime time, and time will tell whether this is the start of a generational run for the USMNT, or simply another disappointing early exit.

Music: Ivy "Traces of You" Concert review

Ivy has long been my favorite dreampop band, so when I heard that they would be playing a live show at Respectable Street, I couldn't believe my luck.  The concert would be just blocks away from my office, at an intimate, hole-in-the-wall venue, and was one of only a few stops on Ivy's 2026 "Traces of You" tour. I could understand them playing New York or Chicago, but West Palm Beach seemed like such a random city to visit - and so bizarrely convenient for me.

Respectable Street itself is little more than a bar, a small open floor, and a stage - there is some seating at the edges of the place, but for most concerts, including Ivy's, you have to stand for the whole thing. I lined up about a half hour before the show and heard the band sound-checking and rehearsing the classics, like "Undertow."  I even saw them pop out and walk down Clematis, presumably to kill some time while the opening act, Sweet Bronco, played their set.

Finally, Ivy took the stage.  As I expected, the songs were a mix of tracks from prior albums (though there was nothing from "All Hours," which I gather Dominique Durand and Andy Chase do not like) along with new material from "Traces of You." Of course, the concert was dedicated to departed bandmember Adam Schlesinger, who is gone but never forgotten.

The production was spare (a video screen and some lighting) and the arrangements were basic (along with Dominique, Andy, and Bruce Driscoll, there was a drummer and a horn player, and Adam's parts were played with a bass track), and the band showed some rust from not having played a show in 14 years. For an Ivy superfan like myself, that stuff just didn't matter.

Setlist:

Keep Moving

Thinking About You

Mystery Girl

Disappointed

Undertow

Midnight Hour

Tess Don't Tell

I've Got A Feeling

Fragile People

I Think Of You

Everyday

Say You Will

This Is The Day

Worry About You

Encore:

Get Enough

Edge Of The Ocean

Miscellany: Harriet Tubman

I've forgotten about 99% of the projects that I did in elementary school, but I do recall selecting Mariah Carey's song "Hero" to explain the life and times of Harriet Tubman, the famed abolitionist and "conductor" of the Underground Railroad:

While the song was in no way written with Tubman in mind (apparently it was originally intended for a forgettable Dustin Hoffman film), I think the lyrics still fit her life nicely, especially considering she was a devout Methodist who led herself and hundreds of people to freedom:

Lord knows (Lord knows)

Dreams are hard to follow

But don't let anyone tear them away

Just hold on (hold on)

And there will be tomorrow

In time, you'll find the way (you'll find the way)

Books: The Wrong Stuff

In this age of billionaire-backed companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin, it can be tough to recall that space travel was once the exclusive province of governments, and then really only two governments: the U.S. and the USSR. John Strausbaugh's book The Wrong Stuff (H/T to Tam for suggesting it) takes a look at the Space Race from the point of view of the Soviets.  Strausbaugh's main thesis is that far from being an implacable, bureaucratic foe whom the U.S. barely beat to the Moon, the USSR's space program was a dysfunctional mess held together by rogue engineers, jockeying fighter pilots, and a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-flaming-pants attitude - "The Wrong Stuff." 

The book mostly tracks famed rocket designer Sergei Korolev from his early successes with Sputnik and Vostok all the way through the Luna probes and his death in 1966. It was not until the end of the Cold War that Western observers would discover how ramshackle and improvised the Russian space program was. There were life-threatening technical problems with Vostok that would persist for years, ingenious but crude workarounds to make up for meager resources, and, tragically, many people whose deaths were covered up in the spirit of secrecy. While the book is of course critical of the oppressive system that the cosmonauts were stuck in, no one can deny their bravery, or their contributions to humanity's path to the stars.

Books: Moonwalk

The Michael Jackson biopic Michael lit up the box office for the past few weeks, but for any child of the '80s and '90s, even a big-budget 2026 production is but a pale imitation of the real thing. That's why I read through Moonwalk, Michael Jackson's 1988 autobiography.

Like the recent movie, Moonwalk was published in 1988, before the child abuse allegations and drug addiction that consumed the last years of Jackson's life. At the time Jackson told his story to writer Shaye Areheart, he was nearing the peak of his powers. He would play the Super Bowl halftime show five years later, he would be charged with child molestation fifteen years later, and he would die twenty years later.

The autobiography itself is pretty anodyne, as you might expect. There are some hints of the issues to come (passages where Jackson says he's never tried any drugs, explanations of why he loves the company of children, etc.).  The closest Jackson comes to being defensive is his frank admission of having multiple plastic surgeries - not a big deal, according to Jackson, since everyone in Hollywood gets work done. On the other hand, the book doesn't brag about the huge amounts of time and money Jackson donated to charity, either.

Whatever you think of Michael Jackson (and his legacy is being posthumously litigated now more than ever before, with documentaries and counter-documentaries left and right), he was the one of the greatest entertainers who ever lived. The best parts of the book go behind the scenes of his hit songs, his music videos, and his dance moves. If you've ever wondered where hits like "Billie Jean" or "Beat It" come from, or how the "Thriller" music video came together, well, this is one of the only places to hear it from the man himself.

Miscellany: 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon review - Bucking the Bronco

My Tesla Model 3 is in the shop after getting rear-ended last week, and the insurance company gods decided to troll me with a rental vehicle that is the polar opposite of a compact, self-driving EV: a four-door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car classifies the Wrangler as a "compact SUV," but this ain't a RAV4 or CRV.  First, the good: the Wrangler is probably the most durable, capable off-road vehicle available to the average consumer, with part-time four-wheel drive, body on frame construction, and a solid front axle.  With the right tires and a little preparation, you can traverse terrain straight out of, well, a Jeep commercial.

The bad? For everything but off-roading, the Wrangler is a compromise, sometimes a severe one.  As a commuter car, my example guzzled gas (around 18 mpg combined) and delivered a bumpy, noisy ride on the highway.  The engine is decent (FCA's Pentastar 3.6L V6, good for 285 hp), but the rest of the Wrangler's mechanical design, like big knobby tires and removable doors, are counterproductive in morning traffic.

As for the interior, the layout of the dashboard is clear and sensible, and the car is pretty easy to drive. 2024 was a refresh year for the Wrangler, with the biggest change being a new center infotainment touchscreen. The screen is actually well-integrated into the dash, and thankfully, doesn't displace physical controls for climate and audio.

Most of the rest of the vehicle is unchanged.  There's a fair amount of space for rear passengers and a sizable cargo area, but neither are best in class.

The primary competitor to the Wrangler is the sixth-gen Ford Bronco, first released in 2021.  The new Bronco was and is a big seller (both my uncle and my managing partner had one), since the Bronco arguably strikes a better balance between everyday driving and off-road capability. I assume the Wrangler's 2024 refresh was an attempt to add more creature comforts to what had previously been a spartan experience. I consider it mostly successful, though my car's infotainment system crashed multiple times and had to be reset in just a week's worth of driving.

All in all, I think the Wrangler was an interesting car to drive, though I'm happy I'll be getting my car back - eventually.

Miscellany: Penn & Teller: 50 Years of Magic

I never had the chance to see Penn & Teller live in Las Vegas, so when their 50th anniversary tour stopped by Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood last month, I schlepped myself over there to catch the show.

Like their long-running TV series Fool Us, "Penn & Teller: 50 Years of Magic" was a somewhat low-key affair filled with as many jokes as magic tricks. There was lots of audience participation, plenty of forcing, and some classic illusions mixed in with new material.

This is still, at its heart, a comedy magic act, and Penn & Teller haven't lost any of their comic timing over the years.  Even though they're both senior citizens now, they nimbly adapted to what the audience gave them, and the crowd was regularly laughing out loud during the routines.

For me, the most memorable trick of the night was a teleportation effect involving a credit card that I still don't quite understand. I don't know how many more tours these two have left in them, so if Penn & Teller are coming to your town, you might want to check them out.