Tag: Academy Awards

Heraclitus, Slade House, Lost in Translation, The Art of Improvement, and a Dhammapada Verse

Heraclitus, Slade House, Lost in Translation, The Art of Improvement, and a Dhammapada Verse

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on January 21, 2024

Sunday Supplement #141 (January 21st, 2024)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“No man steps into the same river twice, for it’s not the same river, and he’s not the same man.”

– Heraclitus

Book of the Week:

Slade House – David Mitchell

Every nine years, in an alley down the road from a British pub, a unique someone who’s different or lonely will be extended an invitation to Slade House.

The novel spans five decades, starting from the 1970s, and the people who enter Slade House find that they don’t want to leave but later learn they can’t.

David Mitchell’s Slade House is an excellent blend of paranormal fiction with elements of horror that combine for an enthralling read.

I’ve featured one other David Mitchell book, Cloud Atlas, in Sunday Supplement #35, and though the books are wildly different, the quality of writing is of the highest caliber.

Movie of the Week:

Lost in Translation

Sophia Coppola’s Lost in Translation focuses on a faded movie star’s and a young woman’s experience of disconnection in their respective marriages.

The film is set in Japan, where the faded movie star, Bob, goes to promote a whiskey, and the young woman, Charlotte, accompanies her husband on a business trip.

The two disillusioned Americans keep bumping into each other on their respective trips, and an unlikely kinship forms from their search for connection.

Coppola won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, Billy Murray as Bob was nominated for Best Actor, and the film was nominated for Best Picture.

Brainfood of the Week:

4 Zen Stories That Will Change How You Think About Life | The Art of Improvement

I’ve featured The Art of Improvement in a few previous Sunday Supplements. Their videos focus on self-improvement and feature a variety of topics based on various sources.

This video starts by stating we sometimes get stuck overthinking and worrying in life, and an easy way to get out of a negative thought loop can be experiencing a good story.

The Art of Improvement video then tells four short zen stories: The Farmer’s Horse, The Learned Man, The Couple on the Donkey, and The Move.

Each story is a fun little parable with a lesson worth listening to. The end of the video reminds us that if you’re in a funk, stories can help you change your perspective.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Before long, alas, this body, deprived of consciousness, will lie on the earth, discarded like a useless log.”

– Dhammapada 41

At first look, this Dhammapada verse can be a little disheartening and a downer. But looking at it a little deeper gives me much to take away from it.

The obvious lesson is that we all die one day, and we should make sure we live a full life before we do. But I think the power of this lesson comes from the idea that we shouldn’t fear failure or negative experiences.

Along with the bumps and bruises of living life, this verse points out consciousness as a significant marker of life. We often go through life with periods of unconscious behavior, and this verse reminds us to try and stay as conscious as possible.

Continue to experience life consciously each day, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Nadia Comăneci, The Dark Tower Series, The Theory of Everything, Sadhguru, and Matthew 6:21

Nadia Comăneci, The Dark Tower Series, The Theory of Everything, Sadhguru, and Matthew 6:21

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on January 7, 2024

Sunday Supplement #139 (January 7th, 2024)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don’t lose the passion and the love for what you do.”

– Nadia Comăneci

Book of the Week:

The Dark Tower Series – Stephen King

If you’re new to my blog, you might not have seen me feature Stephen King before. For those who have read the blog consistently, I apologize for another Stephen King entry.

I’ve featured eight Stephen King books before this, but The Dark Tower Series was the start of my reading King’s works. They are arguably his magnum opus, and many of his other stories tie into the world of The Dark Tower.

Roland Deschain, a member of a knightly order known as “gunslingers” and the last of the line of “Arthur Eld” (his world’s analogue of King Arthur), attempts to seek the Man in Black in a world that has “moved on.”

Roland’s journey crosses over many worlds, including our own. The tale blends dark fantasy, science fiction, western, and horror genres.

There’s no easy way to describe The Dark Tower in short, which is surprisingly one of his lesser-read works. I believe it to be his best writing and can’t recommend it more highly.

Give the series a try (read at least the first two books). King spent over thirty years completing the series, which should show how important it was to him.

Movie of the Week:

The Theory of Everything

Stephen Hawking was a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was the director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge.

The Theory of Everything is a 2014 film that captures Hawking and his wife, Jane Wilde’s relationship, as they met at University in the 1960s through their struggle with Hawking’s diagnosis of motor neuron disease.

Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones star as Stephen Hawkins and Jane Wilde. Redmayne won the Oscar for Best Actor, and Jones was nominated for Best Actress.

The film was nominated for three additional Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay.

Anthony McCarten adapted the script from Jane Hawking’s novel Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen. It’s a powerful story and beautifully captured in the 2014 film.

Brainfood of the Week:

Playfulness and Passion | Sadhguru

Sadhguru is an Indian yogi and bestselling author. His YouTube page has over 11 million followers and over 1.5 billion video views.

Sadhguru begins the video by talking about how playfulness can often be frowned upon as childish. He then explains how being too serious makes everything about you.

Approaching problems with a sense of playfulness will also help you not get overwhelmed by the difficulties you encounter. By being playful, you are not becoming entangled in the problem.

At the end of the video, Sadhguru talks about passion and being consumed by it. He discusses how burning passion opens up new possibilities.

I’ve featured Sadhguru in a few previous Sunday Supplements. If you like this video, check the other posts out.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

– Matthew 6:21

This Bible passage from the Book of Matthew discusses how we shouldn’t store our treasures on earth but should store them in heaven. It then states the verse above.

I believe this verse speaks to the passions and love we have in our lives.

Whether toward the ones we love or our pursuits of meaningful achievements, the treasures should be in the doing and not tied to the outcomes.

As I’m starting my 2024 journey, I’m focusing on bringing as much love to the people in my life and my passions as possible.

Bring love and passion to the treasures of your life, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Jackie Robinson, A Walk in the Woods, True Grit (2010), After Skool, and a Japanese Proverb

Jackie Robinson, A Walk in the Woods, True Grit (2010), After Skool, and a Japanese Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on December 31, 2023

Sunday Supplement #138 (December 31st, 2023)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Many people resented my impatience and honesty, but I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.”

– Jackie Robinson

Book of the Week:

A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson

In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson recounts his curiosity about the Appalachian Trail and his decision to traverse it, accompanied by his old friend Stephen Katz.

The pair are not suited to the long journey of the trail and end up discarding much of their starting load.

Their journey includes some history and ecology of the trail, funny encounters with humans and animals, and some honesty about their abilities and the overall outcome of the trek.

I read A Walk in the Woods while I was still in high school. I remember it being one of the first books to make me laugh out loud, almost every chapter.

Movie of the Week:

True Grit (2010)

True Grit tells the story of a stubborn teenage girl, Mattie Ross, as she tracks down her father’s murderer with help from a U.S. Marshall and a Texas Ranger.

Hailey Steinfeld made her feature debut as Mattie Ross, Jeff Bridges played the U.S. Marshall, Matt Damon the Texas Ranger, and Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper the villains.

The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

I haven’t seen the original True Grit with John Wayne, but Ethan and Joel Coen’s 2010 remake is one of my favorite Westerns.

Brainfood of the Week:

The Power of Radical Honesty | Dr. Anna Lembke | After Skool

Dr. Anna Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, has published over a hundred peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and commentaries, and sits on the board of several state and national addiction-focused organizations.

In this video, Lembke focuses on how telling the truth improves our lives. She explains how radical honesty helps limit compulsive overconsumption and can be the core of a well-lived life.

We are wired at an early age to lie. The wiring fluctuates as we grow older, and we can gravitate toward honesty, but the temptations of lying can be exacerbated in modern society.

Lembke explains how radical honesty combats the pitfalls of lying, promotes awareness of our actions, and fosters intimate human connections. I can’t recommend the video more highly.

After Skool is a YouTube channel that animates videos as the backdrop to various life lessons presented by various individuals and texts. I’ve featured them in two other Sunday Supplements.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Good medicine tastes bitter.”

– Japanese Proverb

I think this Japanese proverb is pretty straightforward, but I like the reminder that what might be best for you doesn’t always go down well at first.

Advice and honest assessment can be this way. It can be difficult to critique your decisions openly or to take advice that may be hard to follow.

However, I think this proverb has another side that can argue that medicine that will get the job done doesn’t have to be bitter.

I think it’s important to know when to deliver news starkly or with a little cushion to it, but bitter medicine shouldn’t be avoided when necessary.

Take an honest look at your past year, make actionable plans to improve your 2024, and have a blessed year ahead!

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Helen Keller, The Bartimaeus Sequence, The King’s Speech, Motivation2Study, and an African Proverb

Helen Keller, The Bartimaeus Sequence, The King’s Speech, Motivation2Study, and an African Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on December 17, 2023

Sunday Supplement #136 (December 17th, 2023)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road… unless you fail to make the turn.”

– Helen Keller

Book of the Week:

The Bartimaeus Sequence – Jonathan Stroud

The Bartimaeus Sequence is a fantasy series set in London in the late 1900s/early 2000s and set in an alternate history where the effects of magic, magicians, and demons have altered changes through the past of cities, countries, events, and technology.

Magicians are trained to summon demons to do their bidding. Throughout history, various individuals and empires have used demons to obtain power. The most recent nation to dominate is the British Empire, where a ruling elite of magicians holds all the power.

Jonathan Stroud’s first book in the original trilogy follows a young magician’s apprentice as he tries to take revenge on a magician who humiliated him by summoning a powerful demon to steal the magician’s magical amulet.

The apprentice and the demon then uncover a plot of espionage, murder, blackmail, and revolt to seize power and overturn the government.

I highly recommend this series. I’ve only read the original trilogy (the fourth book being a prequel), but it’s one of my favorite works of fiction and has a story that stays with me. The growth of the main characters throughout the trilogy is one of the best I’ve ever read.

Movie of the Week:

The King’s Speech

Tom Hooper’s The King Speech tells the story of Britain’s King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne, and the speech therapist who helped him overcome his stutter.

I don’t know how historically accurate the movie is, but it is a masterfully executed piece of storytelling in the medium of film.

David Seidler’s script, Danny Cohen’s cinematography, Tariq Anwar’s editing, Jenny Beavan’s costume design… everything in this film is from the top drawer.

Colin Firth as King George, Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth, and Geoffrey Rush as speech therapist Lionel Logue steal the show in their respective roles.

The story is quite simple at its core, but it won Best Picture at the Oscars for a reason. That was one of four wins, and it had eight additional nominations. Check it out if you haven’t yet.

Brainfood of the Week:

Elon Musk Motivation Speech 2022 | Motivation2Study

In this video, Motivation2Study compiles a number of different Elon Musk interviews and speeches around perseverance and asking the right questions.

Whether you like Musk or not, there are many things in this compilation video he says that are worth listening to.

Motivation2Study is a YouTube channel with over four million subscribers and over three hundred million video views.

Their mission is to inspire, educate, and help students of all ages with both lack of motivation and mental health awareness. Check out their YouTube page if you enjoyed this video.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“There are no shortcuts to the top of the palm tree.”

– African Proverb

I like the simplicity of this proverb, but it also fills my imagination with different scenarios of how one could climb to the top of a palm tree.

Having been a tree climber for most of my youth, I still smile and try to give it a go when I find myself with the urge and the time to climb.

But now I find that I have to think about the best way to climb the tree. Sometimes, it’s not straightforward, and I imagine that some kind of tool, shoe, assistance, or great strength would be needed to climb a palm tree.

At the core, the proverb shows that to climb to the top of the palm tree, you have to keep climbing. You can always give up and climb another tree, but if you persist smartly, you should be able to find a way.

Keep pursuing the goals you want to achieve, be smart about it, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Carl Jung, Timeline, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rich Roll Podcast, and a Quran Passage

Carl Jung, Timeline, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rich Roll Podcast, and a Quran Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on December 3, 2023

Sunday Supplement #134 (December 3rd, 2023)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate; it oppresses.”

– Carl Jung

Book of the Week:

Timeline – Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton was a legendary author and writer. He wrote 28 novels, and his books have sold over 200 million copies. He also wrote and directed a few films and was the creator of ER.

Crichton’s most famous work is probably Jurassic Park; however, my favorite novel of his is probably Timeline.

Timeline tells the story of a group of history students who travel to 14th-century France to rescue their professor.

The students get wrapped in the workings of a secretive multinational corporation after they find an astounding discovery at a medieval site. What started as a rescue mission turned into a fight for survival over 600 years ago.

Timeline was made into a campy 2003 film starring Paul Walker, Frances O’Connor, and Gerard Butler. While it’s a fun watch, the book is lightyears better, and I recommend it for a fun read.

Movie of the Week:

Fiddler on the Roof

I only recently saw Fiddler on the Roof, and it’s always an amazing experience to see a classic in Cinema and find that it stands the test of time.

The story follows a Jewish peasant with traditional values in pre-revolutionary Russia who contends with marrying off three of his daughters with modern romantic ideals while growing anti-Semitic sentiment threatens the village.

I’m not a huge musical fan, but the songs and numbers in Fiddler on the Roof were excellently crafted to further the story in a dramatic fashion.

The film won three Oscars (Best Music, Best Sound, and Best Cinematography) and was nominated for another five, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director.

If you haven’t seen Fiddler on the Roof, you’ve probably inadvertently come across many references to the film. It’s a classic in Cinema history for a reason.

Brainfood of the Week:

Change Your Brain: Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman | Rich Roll Podcast

I’ve featured Rich Roll in a few previous Sunday Supplements, both as an interviewer and an interviewee.

Roll is a vegan ultra-endurance athlete who changed his life at 40 after struggling with drugs, alcohol, and unhealthy living. His podcast has been consistently among the most downloaded/listened to podcasts in recent years.

In this episode, Roll interviews neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman. I just recently featured Huberman’s podcast in Sunday Supplement #131, but this episode was worth another highlight.

Huberman discusses the process of decision-making, addiction, and much more in this episode. The link starts halfway through the episode at a point I think makes a good hook.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.”

– Quran 13:11

I haven’t repeated a spiritual passage in a Sunday Supplement until this one. I first highlighted this Quran passage in Sunday Supplement #22 in another post about change.

For me, this passage speaks to the necessity to change ourselves first before we can expect things around us to change.

I often think of the metaphor of butting your head into a brick wall when you could find another way around.

Sometimes, you need to break down walls, but reflecting on how you can change yourself first can be the best answer to getting unstuck from a negative perspective.

Look for ways to change yourself that will improve your life, and have a blessed week ahead!

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