Tag: Nobel Prize

Frans de Waal, News of a Kidnapping, Carrie, William Ury, and a Bible Passage

Frans de Waal, News of a Kidnapping, Carrie, William Ury, and a Bible Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on November 17, 2024

Sunday Supplement #184 (November 17th, 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:

“Human morality is unthinkable without empathy.”

– Frans de Waal

Book of the Week:

News of a Kidnapping – Gabriel García Márquez

News of a Kidnapping recounts the 1990s kidnappings, including ten prominent journalists, by the Medellín Cartel operated by Pablo Escobar.

Gabriel García Márquez covers the events, from the government’s handling of the situation to the cartel’s experiences and those they captured.

I found the read engaging but intense. In a time and place where presidential candidates and cabinet members were frequently assassinated, I didn’t know how the story would end.

I’ve featured Gabriel García Márquez in Sunday Supplement #79. I highly recommend reading the Nobel Prize-winning author’s works.

Movie of the Week:

Carrie

I’ve featured several Stephen King books in previous Sunday Supplements, but only a couple of the films adapted from his works.

The reason I haven’t featured many Stephen King movies is because I don’t believe most have captured the magic of his stories. Brian De Palma’s Carrie is one of the few that did.

Carrie was Stephen King’s brilliant debut novel. It was also the first of his stories to be adapted to the screen.

The story follows Carrie, a shy, friendless girl who is sheltered by a domineering, religious mother. After years of abuse, Carrie finally finds herself fighting back in an unexpected way.

Brainfood of the Week:

Peace Is A Process – William Ury | A Bit of Optimism Podcast

William Ury spent decades as a peace negotiator and has written several books, including the best-seller Getting To Yes.

Simon Sinek, who I have featured in several previous Sunday Supplements, is a bestselling author and speaker on leadership. His podcast A Bit of Optimism features him speaking with various people, with the aim of leaving those who listen feeling a bit more optimistic.

In this episode, Sinek asks Ury about his experiences as a peace negotiator, and they discuss how these tactics cross over in many different areas of our lives.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

– Colossians 3:12

When I read religious passages, I look for the meaning behind the passages and what valuable lessons they can impart to me.

This Bible passage discusses the importance of showing compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. It specifically refers to clothing yourself in these traits— in my opinion, so that others can see them.

These traits are more valuable when shared. Others can see these behaviors and be positively affected by them, as well as be provided with an example of how one can choose to be.

Make space for empathy in your life, and have a blessed week ahead!

Ernest Hemingway, Our Man in Havana, Hamilton, Dr. Russ Harris, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on April 14, 2024

Sunday Supplement #153 (April 14th, 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:

“Never mistake motion for action.”

– Ernest Hemingway

Book of the Week:

Our Man in Havana – Graham Greene

A few years ago, I went on a binge of reading Graham Greene books. I plan to return to his works soon because the ones I read had beautiful prose and sharp narratives.

Our Man in Havana follows Wormold, a vacuum cleaner in Cuba in the late 1950s, as he accepts the offer of a side job in espionage to help support his teenage daughter.

Wormold’s dull reports threaten to deplete the extra income he received from MI6, so he starts embellishing his accounts. The proceeding events spiral with effect.

Graham was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times and received the Shakespeare Prize and the Jerusalem Prize.

I’ve read about five of Graham’s books, but Our Man in Havana is my favorite. The novel is a fantastic mix of espionage and political satire.

Movie of the Week:

Hamilton

I’m not a big musical person. I’ve greatly enjoyed some of the classics and featured musicals in previous Sunday Supplements, but I’m a harsh critic of the genre.

Hamilton is a blast from start to finish. While it isn’t the pinnacle of historical accuracy, I think it accomplishes what it set out to achieve and can make history engaging for those who don’t typically seek it out.

The musical follows the stories of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr as each navigate the years of America’s founding fathers. This version captures a live Broadway production from Richard Rodgers Theater with the original Broadway cast.

There’s so much to appreciate about the musical, including the writing and choreography, but my favorite highlights are the performances of Leslie Odom Jr., Renée Elise Goldsberry, Daveed Diggs, and Jonathan Groff.

Hamilton holds the record for most Tony Award nominations, and this recording received the 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded).

Brainfood of the Week:

The Choice Point: A Map for a Meaningful Life | Dr. Russ Harris

Dr. Russ Harris is a psychotherapist, medical practitioner, and bestselling author of The Happiness Trap.

In this video, Harris breaks down our decisions (conscious or unconscious) into actions that move us toward our desired life or away from it.

When life is going well, choosing actions that move us toward the life we want is easier. However, life isn’t always easy, and we can get caught up in negative thoughts and feelings.

Harris’s video discusses identifying values and becoming more aware of the choice points of our actions. He doesn’t go into more detail since the video promotes his book and his classes, but identifying whether your choices align with your values seems to be the goal.

Dr. Harris’s channel has some interesting videos, not all of which end on cliffhangers. I’m curious to check out his book. The video was a good reminder of the consequences of our actions if we aren’t conscious and in alignment with our values.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Those who see action in inaction and inaction in action are truly wise amongst humans. Although performing all kinds of actions, they are yogis and masters of all their actions.”

– Bhagavad Gita 4:18

This Bhagavad Gita passage can be broken down in a few different ways. The two that stand out to me are that inaction can be a choice, and there can be senseless action.

The second one reminds me of the Hemingway quote. Often, we can mistake mindless action as meaningful. Sometimes, we need to move forward, but other times, it’s better to think about the best way to move forward before acting.

On the other hand, we can often refrain from making a choice, which itself becomes a choice. By not making a decision, we think we can avoid a situation.

I think some of the most challenging decisions we face are meaningful action and knowing the right time to act.

Do the best you can, make conscious choices, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Aldous Huxley, Love in the Time of Cholera, Seven Samurai, The School of Life, and Surah Al-Baqara 2:286

Aldous Huxley, Love in the Time of Cholera, Seven Samurai, The School of Life, and Surah Al-Baqara 2:286

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on November 13, 2022

Sunday Supplement #79 (November 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:

“Experience is not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you.”

– Aldous Huxley

Book of the Week:

Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel García Márquez

The Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez wrote many acclaimed works and has received much recognition for his contribution to literature and journalism.

Love in the Time of Cholera is one of Márquez’s better-known novels and focuses on two lovers over five decades, from the 1880s to the 1930s.

The story focuses mainly on an unnamed port city in Colombia and follows the lives of Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza.

They both fell in love when they were young, but Fermina eventually chose to marry a wealthy, upper-class doctor with some pressure from her family. Fifty years later, after Fermina’s husband’s death, Florentino declares his love again.

Love in the Time of Cholera has much depth in its pages. Many themes around love and aging are beautifully explored and well worth checking out.

Movie of the Week:

Seven Samurai

Akira Kurosawa received an Honorary Award from the Academy in 1990 for cinematic accomplishments that inspired, delighted, enriched, and entertained worldwide audiences and influenced filmmakers throughout the world.

I featured Kurosawa’s Yojimbo in Sunday Supplement #70, and in that post, I also mentioned his film Seven Samurai.

Seven Samurai tells the story of a poor village under attack recruiting seven unemployed samurai to defend the people and the town.

Kurosawa’s writing and directing, combined with a legendary performance by Toshirô Mifune, helped create a film that will forever be a classic.

The film has been remade multiple times for Western audiences, including twice as The Magnificent Seven, but the original shouldn’t be overlooked.

Brainfood of the Week:

Wisdom | The School of Life

This video starts with The School of Life describing wisdom not as a stable state but as an aspiration or goal worth striving for.

They state that there are many strands woven into wisdom. Realism is one, gratitude another, politeness, humor, and self-acceptance are some others.

The video breaks down each thread it mentions and discusses how each attribute helps contribute to wisdom.

In breaking down realism, they explain how knowing something might be difficult allows for acceptance and a calm demeanor when tackling challenging tasks.

There is much more in the full video, and I highly recommend giving it a watch. If you enjoy it, I’ve featured The School of Life in a few previous Sunday Supplements.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear.”

– Surah Al-Baqara 2:286

This passage from the Quran reminds me of how we can feel overwhelmed at various points in our lives, but we always seem to make it through those times.

These difficult moments can seem like burdens, but the more time passes, the more I can see the lessons in the experiences.

I’ve mentioned it before in previous Sunday Supplements, but many passages from spiritual texts could often be swapped without anyone’s notice.

This Quran passage seems to me like a universal message that wouldn’t be out of place in the Bible, the Vedas, or any Buddhist texts.

Know that any challenge in your life is one you can handle, and have a blessed week ahead!

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