Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker isn’t the movie anyone was looking for. J.J. Abrams certainly listened to Kylo Ren’s advice to “Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to.” The only problem is J.J. focused on “kill” and thought “the past” was just The Last Jedi. Rather than expand on the ideas introduced by Rian Johnson’s subversive and intriguing film, Rise of Skywalker walks back…
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The theme for 2019 builds on the 4Mind4Body theme from 2018, and includes an emphasis on spirituality and religion. One of the previous themes was “Live Your Life Well” which encouraged people to take responsibility for the prevention of mental health issues and informed the public that many mental health problems can be avoided by making positive lifestyle choices in the ways we act…
I read It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff after hearing it referenced on The Tim Ferriss Show in comparison to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. I loved the mental and attitude approach of Marie Kondō‘s book, and Peter Walsh has a very similar mentality but without the spirituality. Whereas many people wind up dismissing Kondō because of her zanier aspects (e.g….
Welcome to my recap of my 2017 Goodreads reading challenge. That’s right, winter has arrived, so it’s time to curl up an enjoy a good book while staying nice and warm. Hopefully this long read will provide new books to seek out for yourself, or even better inspire you to spend more time reading. Maybe it will even convince Paul to change his priorities and read some books in 2018!…
SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi follows. Another December, another new Disney Star Wars movie. While The Force Awakens and Rogue One had their detractors, The Last Jedi has attracted a vociferous reaction from irate fans. The criticism feels short-sighted and reactionary. This movie requires a tad more thought than previous Star Wars installments; it relies on its audience to fill in some key gaps. It rejects most of the…
Spoiler Warning: This It 2017 movie review contains some spoilers I rarely make it to the movie theater nowadays. Partially that’s financial, partially it’s schedule. But it’s also lack of interest in most of the fare offered at the cinema. But the end of summer 2017 offered the rare treat: two adaptations of Stephen King works. The Dark Tower was less than stellar, that was pretty much expected of a 95…
In our media saturated world, it can be nigh impossible to find the signal in the noise. That is to say, we have access to so much content all the time that it’s tough to find the music, movies, books, and games that truly speak to us, that really matter to our lives, that greatly influence and stimulate our thinking. Realistically, there is so much content that we’ll never be…
The true purpose of tidying is, I believe, to live in the most natural state possible. A wonderfully written and foundational work on the art of organization. Marie Kondō‘s book on how to tidy up your house is certainly inspirational. Her implementation of her concepts may not be for everyone (and is the cause of most of the negative reviews) but her ideas and thoughts are rock solid and provide…
In 1984, Margaret Atwood penned one of the greatest dystopian novels of all time. The Handmaid’s Tale is a terrifying look at a patriarchal society run amok. It tackles a range of important topics, including women’s rights, gender roles, religion, and tyranny. These issues are even more present in our day and age; they are unlikely to ever be solved as no real solution likely exists. But that’s how the…
“I have a cunning plan!” The sixth Transmetropolitan collection, like the previous volume, is a mixed bag. The main story, “Gouge Away,” is a strong investigative reporting tale and nicely ties together the Transmetropolitan, Vol. 5: Lonely City and Transmetropolitan, Vol. 4: The New Scum stories. Spider Jerusalem’s talents really get to shine and his articles make a huge impact after the media’s attempt to defang him with popularity. The…