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Tag: Hugo Award

Barbara Hall, Childhood’s End, Eddie the Eagle, Matt Cutts, and a Japanese Proverb

Barbara Hall, Childhood’s End, Eddie the Eagle, Matt Cutts, and a Japanese Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on April 17, 2022

Sunday Supplement #49 (April 17th, 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:

“The path to our destination is not always a straight one. We go down the wrong road, we get lost, we turn back. Maybe it doesn’t matter which road we embark on. Maybe what matters is that we embark.” 

– Barbara Hall

Book of the Week:

Childhood’s End – Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke is probably most known for his A Space Odyssey series, but his entire bibliography of over 50 novels, novellas, and short story collections is worth checking out.

His standalone novel Childhood’s End tells the story of Earth’s citizens after the Overlords appear suddenly over every city.

The alien entities are superior to humans in every capacity. They benevolently take the reins of the human race, unify the earth, eliminate poverty, and end war. 

As humanity begins to enter a golden age, questions arise around the cost of the Overlords and their forced Utopia. It’s clear the Overlords have a plan, but the endgame is a mystery.

Many elements of the story raise questions about the purpose of life, the future of the human race, and the problems of a Utopian society. 

Childhood’s End was nominated for a retroactive Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2004, 50 years after its original publication, and it still reads brilliantly today.

Movie of the Week:

Eddie the Eagle

Eddie the Eagle tells the story of Michael “Eddie” Edwards and his journey to becoming an Olympic athlete.

The film is a fictionalized account of the true story of Edwards and drifts away from actual events with certain narratives, but the simple movie hits its mark.

Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman star as Eddie and coach Bronson Peary. The real-life Eddie confirmed that Bronson is a fictional character but helped bring out the message of his story.

Eddie the Eagle is a film that you can watch with the family. The overall message of trying for something and giving it your all might come through cheesy at times, but it’s fun and uplifting.

This movie is on my list of pick-me-ups. It is worth adding to your watchlist and checking out on a day when you need a lighthearted and positive message.

Brainfood of the Week:

TED-Ed | Matt Cutts – Try Something New for 30 Days

Matthew Cutts is a software engineer whose resume includes former Administrator of the United States Digital Service as well as various roles at Google.

Cutts got in a rut but found inspiration in Morgan Spurlock’s 30-day experiments. However, instead of taking on various social experiments, he looked to things he always wanted to do.

The software engineer went on to take on multiple 30-day challenges. 

Cutts found the months were much more memorable instead of flying by. His self-confidence also grew from the completion of each 30-day challenge. 

In the video, Cutts prompts you to think about something you’ve always wanted to add to your life and try it for the next 30 days. 

In Sunday Supplement #8, I highlighted James Clear’s Atomic Habits. His book is an excellent resource for building or removing habits.

What’s something you’d like to try for the next 30 days?

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.”

– Japanese Proverb

This Japanese proverb reminds me of the foolishness of doing something or not doing something depending on how we’d be seen.

The quote brings to mind the image of a school dance where people are lined up against the walls and an empty dance floor in the middle.

For a long time, I would be one with my back against the wall pretending that any social engagement was stupid or pointless.

Finally, I realized that I would never go anywhere or accomplish anything if I didn’t try.

This Japanese proverb is a perfect push for us to get out on the dance floor. The best part is that we get to decide what music to listen to and what moves to make.

Check off something on your to-do list, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Rachel Wolchin, A Wizard of Earthsea, The Last Duel, The Art of Improvement, and Proverbs 24:16

Rachel Wolchin, A Wizard of Earthsea, The Last Duel, The Art of Improvement, and Proverbs 24:16

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on March 13, 2022

Sunday Supplement #44 (March 13th, 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:

“It’s not how we make mistakes, but how we correct them that defines us.”

– Rachel Wolchin

Book of the Week:

A Wizard of Earthsea – Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin was an American novelist whose career spanned from the late 1950s until her death, aged 88 in 2018.

Le Guin was the first woman to win both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel for her work The Left Hand of Darkness.

A Wizard of Earthsea is the first novel in her classic Earthsea Cycle series. It tells the story of Ged, the greatest wizard in the archipelago of Earthsea, when he was a reckless youth known as Sparrowhawk.

In his quest for knowledge and power, the young Ged meddles with dangerous dark secrets and releases a wicked shadow upon the land.

The novel then follows Sparrowhawk as he journeys forward to master the words of power and eventually face the shadow he loosed upon Earthsea.

There are other novels in the series worth reading, but the first one can be read as a standalone and is worth checking out.

Movie of the Week:

The Last Duel

Ridley Scott came out with two films in 2021. While House of Gucci received more attention at the box office, The Last Duel came and went without much notice or praise.

The movie tells the story of Sir Jean de Carrouges’s duel to the death with his squire Jacques Le Gris after Carrouges accuses Le Gris of raping his wife, Marguerite. 

The Last Duel gets broken up into three chapters. The first tells Carrouges’s version of events, the second tells Le Gris’s, and the third tells Marguerite’s.

Oscar-nominated writer Nicole Holofcener and Oscar-winning writers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon penned the script for this medieval tale.

Adam Driver, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck all put in brilliant performances, and Jodie Comer stole the show in the final chapter as Marguerite.

While this film didn’t make much of an impression upon its release, it was one of the best films of the year, in my opinion. It told a simple story in a clever way. 

If you’re interested in a lengthy period piece, put the film on your to-watch list.

Brainfood of the Week:

This is How to Overcome Your Fear of Failure | The Art of Improvement

The Art of Improvement is a YouTube channel that makes videos on self-care and self-improvement techniques. I’ve previously featured the channel’s videos in Sunday Supplement #30 and #34.

In this video, the topic is how to overcome failure. The video starts with a story about Picasso sketching on a napkin. A woman sees him about to throw it away and says she’ll pay for it.

When Picasso says the napkin will cost her $20,000, the woman protests how can he charge that much for something that took him two minutes to draw. Picasso responded that it took him 60 years to make.

The lesson of the story is that mastery takes time. The video then explains how we need to be able to make mistakes without giving up to move forward with a practice.

Failure ultimately becomes something people can fear. The comfort of the known becomes a safety net that we adapt to avoid trying new things that could prompt failure.

The video later explains the Stoic philosophy around the sphere of choice. Broken down, it falls into the categories of things we can control (internal) and things we can’t control (external).

We must learn to focus exclusively on the internals and let go of all things we cannot control. 

There are more tidbits in the video that I do not cover here. It’s only seven minutes and worth the watch to pick them up.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“For the righteous fall seven times and rise again.”

– Proverbs 24:16

This bible passage makes me think about how we respond to our mistakes. I think it’s easy to view the quote as a simple reminder never to give up, but it can say much more.

I’m drawn to the word rise when I read this verse. When I searched the meaning of the word rise, I found the definition of moving from a lower position to a higher one.

For me, I think that means more than getting up when you fall. It means to rise above where you were before you fell.

I think that we can learn much from our mistakes. Even if all we can do is move on, not worry about the past, and look to the road ahead, we have made progress and have risen.

How we handle our falls shapes our perception of our lives. I’m working on seeing the opportunities to rise when I encounter my trip-ups.

Find the opportunity to rise from a perceived fall, and have a blessed week ahead!

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