Skip to content

Tag: Brad Pitt

Moliére, Tales of the South Pacific, A River Runs Through It, Psych2Go, and a Bible Passage

Moliére, Tales of the South Pacific, A River Runs Through It, Psych2Go, and a Bible Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on May 7, 2023

Sunday Supplement #104 (May 7th, 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:

“If you suppress grief too much, it can well redouble.”

– Moliére

Book of the Week:

Tales of the South Pacific – James A. Michener

James A. Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific is a Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of sequentially related short stories about the Pacific campaign in World War II.

Michener wrote these fictional stories based on anecdotes he collected while stationed as a US Navy lieutenant commander.

The short stories have powerful narratives covering a variety of persons and events from the Pacific from the American perspective while offering an insight into the Islanders’ experience.

Tales of the South Pacific is a fantastic novel that, while written in 1946, offers a brilliantly deep look into the experience of the war and its effect.

The book was loosely adapted to the Broadway musical South Pacific, but I highly recommend checking out the novel.

Movie of the Week:

A River Runs Through It

Robert Redford’s A River Runs Through It is based on the 1976 semi-autobiographical novella by Norman Maclean.

The film is set in Montana, and the story follows the two sons of a Presbyterian minister as they grow up and come of age during World War I to the early era of the Great Depression.

Many themes are explored in the narrative of A River Runs Through It, including family help and helplessness, and eternal nature vs. human frailty.

The film is beautifully brought to life from the adapted script by Richard Friedenberg and stars Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt, Brenda Blethyn, and Emily Lloyd.

A River Runs Through It won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography and was nominated for Best Music – Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Brainfood of the Week:

5 Things About Grief No One Really Tells You | Psych2Go

This video from Pysch2Go is an excellent reminder of the complicated grieving process and gives five points that can often be ignored.

One of the sayings often offered to someone grieving is to stay strong. This can often be a step of avoidance or denial.

Another point from the video is that acceptance can be more complicated than admitting a loss. The process isn’t always straightforward and can happen more than once.

Check out the video for the complete insight into the five things about grief that no one really tells you. They are helpful and are worth the look.

I’ve featured Pysch2Go videos in a few previous Sunday Supplements. Their mission is to make psychology and mental health more accessible to everyone.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again, and you will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away.”

– John 16:22

I’ve found Bible passages (and many spiritual passages) to be sources of comfort or wisdom through their metaphors in relation to our life experiences.

This verse reminds me of the importance of grieving. We all experience moments of loss, but sometimes we suppress it instead of making time to process it.

By giving ourselves time and space to grieve, we give ourselves permission for the feelings of loss to be seen.

I’ve found that only by fully embracing moments of loss for a period am I able to heal and move forward back on a path of joy.

Give yourself time to grieve, heal, move forward in love and joy, and have a blessed week ahead!

6 Comments
Abraham Lincoln, Roadwork, Fight Club, Psych2Go, and a Japanese Proverb

Abraham Lincoln, Roadwork, Fight Club, Psych2Go, and a Japanese Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on August 14, 2022

Sunday Supplement #66 (August 14th, 2022)

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.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.”

– Abraham Lincoln

Book of the Week:

Roadwork – Richard Bachman

After the early success of Stephen King’s work, the author decided to publish a few books under the pseudonym, Richard Bachman.

In the Bachman books, King describes in an introduction why he created the pseudonym. The short of it was that he wanted to see if he was lucky with his first books or if lightning could strike twice.

Roadwork follows a grieving father and husband as he deals with the news that a new highway expansion project plans to demolish his workplace and home through eminent domain.

Dawes, the husband and father, begins to unravel and is unwilling to turn his house over to the government.

Most of the King books I’ve read under his pseudonym Bachman explore much darker areas of society and humanity.

Roadwork isn’t a book that should be carelessly read, but if looked at in the right light, questions about what’s important in life are there to be explored.

Movie of the Week:

Fight Club

Fight Club follows an anonymous narrator working for an unnamed car company as a product recall specialist.

The stress of his job, compounded by frequent business trips and jet lag, brings on recurring insomnia. A doctor tells him to visit a cancer support group to see what real suffering is like.

The narrator’s journey to find release and peace connects him with a fellow support group poser Marla Singer and an extremist Tyler Durden.

Fight Club delves into the themes of meaning and connection, masculinity, identity, order, and chaos.

Edward Norton plays the narrator, Brad Pitt plays Tyler Durden, and Helena Bonham Carter plays Marla Singer in the film. The cast is brilliant.

I’ve seen many people view the movie as toxic and self-aggrandizing. However, the story shows the dangers of both sides and has a Buddhism-like message of balance underneath.

The book by Chuck Palahniuk and David Fincher’s adaptation are both worth checking out.

Brainfood of the Week:

10 Signs You Lack Self Awareness | Psych2Go

This Psych2Go starts by discussing metacognition— a higher form of thinking that gives you the ability to be aware of how you think.

The video highlights how self-awareness by reflecting and evaluating your thoughts and feelings are vital to better understanding yourself.

Ten different methods are explored as indicators of a lack of self-awareness. The signs include lack of emotional intelligence, self-serving bias, and difficulty making realistic goals.

While these are worth being aware of, I thought the utility of the video comes from learning about the signs and seeing how you can incorporate or increase the inverse in your life.

Psych2Go’s mission is to make psychology and mental health more accessible to everyone. 

They create lighthearted content about psychology, mental wellness, and relatable stories, and have interviews with psychologists, professionals, and experts. 

Psych2Go’s YouTube page has just shy of 10 million followers, and their videos with over one billion total views are worth checking out.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“A frog in a well does not know the great sea.”  (井の中の蛙大海を知らず)

– Japanese Proverb.

This Japanese proverb reminds me to be aware of perspectives in my life. Just because I’m viewing something from one point of view doesn’t mean it’s the right one to look at.

The frog in the proverb can speak only from the second or third-hand experiences of life outside its well.

I’m personifying the frog in this case, but I still think it’s important to view the proverb from different viewpoints and see what meanings connect with you.

The frog can refer to oneself or others. It reminds me not to stay stuck in a well and to take the opinion of a frog in the well with a grain of salt.

This Japanese proverb was another timely reminder for me to work on my awareness of my thoughts, surroundings, and actions.

Be aware of your thoughts and actions, and have a blessed week ahead!

Comments closed
Victor Kiam, The Pillars of the Earth, Moneyball, Jim Rohn, and Surah Al-Qasas 28:54

Victor Kiam, The Pillars of the Earth, Moneyball, Jim Rohn, and Surah Al-Qasas 28:54

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on April 3, 2022

Sunday Supplement #47 (April 3rd, 2022)

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.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.”

– Victor Kiam

Book of the Week:

The Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett

Ken Follett found success as an author in the spy thriller genre. He gradually built his career over the course of a few years in the mid-1970s before becoming an international bestseller.

After a decade of building up his name in the spy thriller genre, Follett wanted to write an epic historical fiction novel.

The Pillars of the Earth focuses on the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England, set in the 12th century. It follows a monk and a man’s dream of building the greatest cathedral in the world.

While the main focus is on the characters involved with Kingsbridge, the novel’s backdrop is the war of succession in English history known as the Anarchy.

Follett brilliantly crafted a story that weaved in fictional characters with a fascinating point in English history. He also captured the development of Gothic architecture from Romanesque architecture with the construction of the church.

After solely writing and having great success in the spy thriller genre, Follett’s venture into an almost thousand-page historical epic was a risky move.

The Pillars of the Earth has sold more the 25 million copies, so it’s safe to say Follett’s bold move worked. 

Movie of the Week:

Moneyball

The trues story around Moneyball is a fascinating insight into the technological evolution involved in sports.

Oakland Athletics’ general manager Billy Beane looked to statistical analysis promoted by Paul DePodesta (Peter Brand in the film) to assemble a competitive team with limited funds.

The movie follows the Athletics’ 2002 season as Beane and Brand look to overturn baseball’s history of scouting by making decisions based on statistical models.

Brad Pitt stars as Beane, and Jonah Hill steps up in one of his first dramatic roles as Brand. Both performances are supported by the brilliant script from Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian.

The film received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for Pitt, and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Hill.

While the movie’s description may suggest that you have to be a baseball fan to enjoy it, the story has enough quality for an enjoyable watch regardless of allegiances.

Brainfood of the Week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucfKhVftN6Y

Success Requires Patience and Persistence | Jim Rohn

Jim Rohn was a businessman whose success ultimately led to others asking him to speak at events or hold seminars. 

Rohn then went on to develop his self-development business. In Sunday Supplement #30, I featured a Tony Robbins book. Robbins’ teacher was Jim Rohn.

This video is presented by the YouTube channel Motivational Stories. They aim to share lessons taught by great men and women in the form of small digestible videos.

In this clip, Jim Rohn discusses two qualities that can increase your chances of success: patience and persistence.

He describes patience as learning to handle the passing of time. It takes time to accomplish many great things, and it also takes time to change yourself.

Rohn highlights the importance of going easy on yourself as you make your journey in life. He states that lack of patience is the worst enemy of ambition.

In the video, Rohn then explains the key pointers in patience and persistence. He finishes the speech by saying the greatest gift you can give to yourself and others is personal development.

Check out the video and see if any of the information calls to you. It’s worth taking a look.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Those will be given their reward twice for what they patiently endured.”

– Surah Al-Qasas 28:54

This passage from the Quran reminds me of how there are always different ways to learn from any situation.

On the surface, I know that when you’ve worked hard to achieve something and finally reach that goal, the bliss from getting there can be even greater, knowing the process you endured.

However, I find an even greater benefit from looking back at your work and seeing that you got there in the end.

The lesson I take from this is knowing that things work out and the dots will connect when you look back. 

After seeing this, I can move forward and know that I will get to the destination as long as I put one foot in front of the other.

Keep moving forward on your journey, and have a blessed week ahead!

2 Comments
2021 © Drew Alexander Ross