Tag: Michael Crichton

Drew Houston, Congo, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Tony Robbins, and a Chinese Proverb

Drew Houston, Congo, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Tony Robbins, and a Chinese Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on September 29, 2024

Sunday Supplement #177 (September 29th, 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:

“Instead of trying to make your life perfect, give yourself the freedom to make it an adventure, and go ever upward.”

– Drew Houston

Book of the Week:

Congo – Michael Crichton

An expedition into the African rainforest near the Lost City of Zinj results in the mysterious and brutal killing of a team of American geologists.

In San Francisco, a primatologist works with Amy, a gorilla with a vocabulary of 620 signs. When Amy’s paintings resemble a Portuguese print from 1692, the Congo Project supervisor notices and prompts another expedition to the Lost City of Zinj.

Michael Crichton was a prolific writer. He wrote 28 novels, selling over 200 million copies, and wrote and directed a few films. He also created the celebrated show ER.

I’ve found most of Crichton’s work to be the epitome of embarking on a literary adventure. His bibliography is well worth exploring. I’ve featured Crichton’s work in one other Sunday Supplement, #134.

Movie of the Week:

The Peanut Butter Falcon

Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz’s written and directed feature debut follows Zak, a man with Down syndrome, who runs away from a residential nursing home to pursue his dream of becoming a wrestler.

Zak later meets up with an outlaw, who becomes his friend and coach. The two continue on their journey while attempting to avoid the people pursuing them.

The film has brilliant performances, including those from Zack Gottsagen, Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson, Bruce Dern, Thomas Haden Church, Jon Bernthal, and John Hawkes.

I’m surprised The Peanut Butter Falcon wasn’t recognized by more major festivals, but it is definitely a film worth watching.

Brainfood of the Week:

Tony Robbins | The Tim Ferriss Show

This interview from Tim Terriss’ podcast is almost nine years old, but it still packs incredible wisdom from world-famous performance coach Tony Robbins.

Tony Robbins is a #1 New York Times best-selling author, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and leading life and business strategist. I have featured him and his books in a few previous Sunday Supplements.

In this episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, Tony discusses his morning routine, diet, how he works with high-performing athletes and traders, common misconceptions about him, and much more.

This is part one of the interview. Here is the link to part 2. If you enjoy the content, check out Robbins’s work and more episodes of The Tim Ferriss Show.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“One learns more from traveling ten thousand miles than from reading ten thousand scrolls.”

– Chinese Proverb

This Chinese proverb is an excellent reminder to continue adventuring in life and not to succumb to inaction over action.

I find over-preparation an easy trap to fall into, as opposed to trusting your ability to land on your feet after taking a leap.

In modern society, so many different mediums vie for our attention and time that we can slip into vicarious living through media or reading.

Studying and preparation have their time and place, but learning from action over inaction should always weigh heavier on the scales of life.

Continue to adventure in your life, 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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Michael Crichton, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Mulan, Ken Burns, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Michael Crichton, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Mulan, Ken Burns, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on January 15, 2023

Sunday Supplement #88 (January 15th, 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.

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

Quote of the Week:

“If you don’t know history, you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.”

– Michael Crichton

Book of the Week:

The Hero With a Thousand Faces – Joseph Campbell

In The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Campbell shows his research into the many different cultures and how many mythologies contain portions or the entirety of “the hero’s adventure.”

The book can read like a textbook at times, but the research he composed is a fascinating look at the stories from many different cultures across history.

Campbell’s work also offers an interesting look at how these stories shaped our ancestors and how they guided their people.

Portions of the book discuss how these roots are present in today’s society but have also been lost in many cases.

I featured Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth in Sunday Supplement #26, which is a lighter dive into Campbell’s work. Check out whichever calls to you!

Movie of the Week:

Mulan

Disney’s 1998 version of Mulan follows a young woman who secretly takes the place of her elder conscripted father in the Imperial Chinese Army’s defense against the invading Huns.

The script and characters are expertly woven to create an entertaining and meaningful story about identity, culture, war, and family.

The Academy Awards didn’t have a category for Best Animated Feature in 1998, but Mulan was still nominated for one Oscar, Best Music. It could have easily won Best Animated Feature if the category had been around then.

Mulan stands out in the Disney annuls as one of their best and should be on anyone’s watch list if they’re looking for a fun, meaningful, and comedic animated adventure.

Brainfood of the Week:

Ken Burns – Documentaries

Instead of a specific video this week, I’m highlighting the work of documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.

Burns’s work is often produced with the National Endowment for the Humanities and is distributed by PBS.

His documentary series cover a wide array of events and pieces of history. Some of his most known series are The Vietnam War, The National Parks, and The Statue of Liberty.

Instead of putting forth a specific series, I’ll put a link here to the catalog of his work. Check it out and see which one piques your interest.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Worshippers of the celestial gods take birth amongst the celestial gods, worshippers of the ancestors go to the ancestors, worshippers of ghosts take birth amongst such beings, and My devotees come to Me alone.”

– Bhagavad Gita 9:25

This passage from the Bhagavad Gita is an interesting look at how what we worship is often where we end up.

In this verse, the Bhagavad Gita discusses the destinations of the different worshipers of the time, but you could extrapolate this pattern to modern times as well.

In Swami Mukundananda’s commentary on the passage, I thought it was interesting how he spoke about the value of being grateful for our ancestors but how an undue concern for their welfare can be detrimental.

I think it raises a prompt for knowledge and appreciation of what came before us but to learn from our past and move forward.

Learn from the past, choose the direction you want to grow, and have a blessed week ahead!

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