Tag: Ted-Ed

John Wooden, In the Woods, Warrior, TED-Ed, and a Chinese Proverb

John Wooden, In the Woods, Warrior, TED-Ed, and a Chinese Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on November 10, 2024

Sunday Supplement #183 (November 10th, 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:

“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”

– John Wooden

Book of the Week:

In the Woods – Tana French

Tana French’s debut novel In the Woods won several awards, including the 2008 Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Author.

French is an American-Irish writer, theatrical actress, and longtime resident of Ireland. Her Dublin Murder Squad series, which started with In the Woods, features two Irish Detectives.

In the Woods follows Detectives Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox. Ryan keeps a terrifying childhood incident a secret but finds himself assigned to a case where a 12-year-old girl was found murdered in the same woods of his childhood incident.

French’s writing is gripping, and the story is a well-crafted mystery/thriller. I highly recommend this novel to those who enjoy the genre.

Movie of the Week:

Warrior

Gavin O’Connor’s Warrior tells the story of the youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer, who returns home to be trained by his father for a mixed martial arts tournament. This tournament puts the younger son on course to face off with his estranged older brother.

Tom Hardy plays the younger son, Joel Edgerton plays the older brother, and Nick Nolte plays the father. Nolte was nominated for the 2012 Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.

I believe the movie didn’t do as well as it should have because of the marketing campaign and trailers. It failed to show the depth of each character and their journeys in the film.

This movie has much to appreciate, including a tight script and brilliant performances. If it piques your interest, check it out.

Brainfood of the Week:

How to Overcome Your Mistakes | TED-Ed

This TED-Ed video starts by highlighting a 2019 study that invited participants to learn a mysterious invented language.

The study’s findings showed that the participants who were arbitrarily categorized as failures had a hard time doing better in the next phase of the study.

The video explains how we can avoid situations that will negatively affect our self-confidence, potentially cause pain, and make us feel demoralized or incompetent, causing our brains to stop processing new information.

At the end of the video, one of the guiding points for overcoming your mistakes is to be mindful of your self-talk.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle.”

– Chinese Proverb

This Chinese proverb reminds me of the power of practice and how any success worth achieving requires effort.

When I discovered self-improvement books, I finally understood how studying things you were interested in made learning fun.

However, if you want to learn something new, you have to be okay with failure. You have to be okay with putting in the practice, which will eventually allow you to find success.

Learn to have fun failing, move forward, and have a blessed week ahead!

Leonardo da Vinci, The Rum Diary, The Name of the Rose, TED-Ed, and a Quran Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on October 20, 2024

Sunday Supplement #180 (October 20th, 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:

“All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.”

– Leonardo da Vinci

Book of the Week:

The Rum Diary – Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter S. Thompson was an American journalist and author famous for establishing a genre of journalism called “Gonzo,” where the writer becomes a subjective central figure and participant in the narrative.

Thompson’s most famous works are probably Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas and Hells Angels, the latter being a book Thompson wrote after spending a year with the motorcycle club to write a first-hand account.

The Rum Diary was Thompson’s second attempt at a novel (it was started in the late 1950s), but it was published in 1998, a long time after he became famous.

Set in the 1950s, the story follows a journalist, Paul Kemp, who moves from New York to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to work at a major newspaper. The novel depicts a messy, violent love story involving the Americans who work for the newspaper.

Thompson wasn’t a fan of the novel and, apparently, only agreed to publish it because he needed the money. I found the book engaging and a brilliant exploration of idealism, disillusionment, and lust.

Movie of the Week:

The Name of the Rose

The 1986 film The Name of the Rose was based on Umberto Eco’s 1980 Italian novel, which sold over 50 million copies worldwide.

Sean Connery stars as a Franciscan friar, William of Baskerville, who investigates a series of mysterious deaths in a medieval abbey.

In addition to Sean Connery’s BAFTA-winning performance, the supporting cast includes a young Christian Slater, F. Murray Abraham, Valentina Vargas, Michael Lonsdale, William Hickey, and Ron Perlman.

Jean-Jacques Annaud brilliantly directed the murder mystery period piece. Check out the reasons for the film’s R rating, but definitely give it a watch if it calls to you.

Brainfood of the Week:

How To Make Smart Decisions More Easily | TED-Ed

This TED-Ed video focuses on decision fatigue. It starts by highlighting a 2011 study on judges’ parole cases and how the time of day significantly impacted decisions.

Decision fatigue occurs when there are too many big decisions in our day. When we experience decision fatigue, we become prone to errors.

The video then highlights different ways decision fatigue can impact our lives and provides strategies for avoiding it.

I find it incredible how our perception of a matter can significantly change depending on our fatigue level. This video is a good reminder to avoid overloading yourself.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“And do not (contemptuously) turn your face away from people, and do not walk through the earth exultantly.”

– Surah Luqman 18

This Quran passage speaks to staying humble in life. Arrogance and cockiness come in many different forms, and I appreciate the examples in this verse.

When I typically think of unhealthy pride, I think of boasting. The first part of the Quran verse discusses turning away from people in contempt. This is a great reminder to check your ego and not judge others.

For me, this verse is a timely reminder to quiet my mind and attune to gratitude and humility. Our perceptions are our own to control, and this verse gives examples of wayward paths.

Decide how you want to perceive the world, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Andrew Grove, Surrounded by Idiots, Notting Hill, Katherine Hampsten, and a Bible Passage

Andrew Grove, Surrounded by Idiots, Notting Hill, Katherine Hampsten, and a Bible Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on August 25, 2024

Sunday Supplement #172 (August 25th, 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:

“How well we communicate is not determined by how well we say things but how well we are understood.”

– Andrew Grove

Book of the Week:

Surrounded by Idiots – Thomas Erikson

Thomas Erikson is a behavioral expert, lecturer, and bestselling author. He has worked with executives and managers at companies such as IKEA, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola.

Erikson’s book Surrounded by Idiots was published in 2014 in Sweden and has sold over three million copies worldwide.

The Western title of Erikson’s novel, Surrounded by Idiots, almost threw me off from buying it. However, the book quickly explains that the title is intended to show how we can brush people off when we don’t understand them.

Erikson breaks down the four behavior types (Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue) that make up most people and explains how each type of person has different tendencies in how they function.

I found the book extremely practical for learning about yourself and the best ways to communicate with others.

Movie of the Week:

Notting Hill

The Roger Michell directed Richard Curtis written Notting Hill is one of my all-time favorite romantic comedy movies.

The film follows Hugh Grant’s character William Thacker and his life post-divorce as he runs his travel book shop on the famous Portobello Road Market in London, England.

One day, a famous American actress, Anna Scott, played by Julia Roberts, enters his shop, resulting in a chance encounter that sparks a bond.

Chances are you’ve heard Notting Hill’s iconic line referenced somewhere, but I won’t spoil it here. The film is a fantastic watch with a lot of laughs and a lot of heart. Check it out.

Brainfood of the Week:

How Miscommunication Happens – Katherine Hampsten | TED-Ed

Katherine Hampsten, Ph. D., is a professor of communication studies at St. Mary’s University. Her papers have received recognition from the National Communication Association.

In this TED-Ed video, Hampsten describes why miscommunication occurs so frequently and how we can minimize frustration while better expressing ourselves.

Hampsten explains how our subjective lenses and perceptual filters continually shift meanings and interpretations in our conversations.

A basic understanding of what happens when we communicate can help prevent miscommunication, and Hampsten goes over four ways to help navigate daily communication.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”

– James 1:19

This Bible passage is a good reminder for me to focus on listening and responding rather than blabbing and reacting when communicating.

I think it can be easy to fall into the trap of getting excited about what you want to say or getting bored when someone’s speaking because you want to share something or aren’t fully engaged with the other person.

Sometimes, it may just be a bad conversation, but if we are interested in communicating with others, we need to hold space for understanding.

This also helps regarding the above verse’s call to be slow to anger. If we are looking to understand, we shouldn’t close ourselves off to different points of view.

Seek to understand and be understood in communication, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Edward R. Murrow, The Day of the Locust, Frost/Nixon, TED-Ed, and a Japanese Proverb

Edward R. Murrow, The Day of the Locust, Frost/Nixon, TED-Ed, and a Japanese Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on May 26, 2024

Sunday Supplement #159 (May 26th, 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:

“Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts.”

– Edward R. Murrow

Book of the Week:

The Day of the Locust – Nathanael West

Nathanael West was an American writer and screenwriter. Although his works didn’t receive the most acclaim during his lifetime, they received greater praise as the years passed.

The Day of the Locust follows Tod Hackett, a young artist from the Yale School of Fine Arts hired to design scenes and paint for a Hollywood studio in the 1930s.

Hackett meets a variety of Hollywood stereotypes and navigates the Hollywood American Dream while meditating on those who slipped through the cracks and were disillusioned.

West’s prose is excellent, and the novel brilliantly sheds light on the darker side of human nature with a haunting narrative of chasing glamour.

Movie of the Week:

Frost/Nixon

The Ron Howard-directed Peter Morgan-written Frost/Nixon received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Achievement in Directing, and Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay.

Frost/Nixon is a dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former President Richard Nixon.

The cast of Frank Langella (Oscar-nominated for his role as Nixon), Michael Sheen (as Frost), Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Hall, Kevin Bacon, Matthew Macfadyen, Toby Jones, and Oliver Platt all put in stellar performances.

I feel like many people haven’t seen Frost/Nixon, and it has so much to appreciate. Some historical films can be overdone or miss their mark. Check out this one.

Brainfood of the Week:

3 Tips on How to Study Effectively | TED-Ed

The TED-Ed video starts by providing the example of medical students’ studies being vital to saving lives, then teases research on effective study techniques, and then moves into understanding how the brain stores information.

TED-Ed’s mission is to create lessons worth sharing through their award-winning animated shorts.

I’m a big fan of these short videos, and they tend to pack a few key learning points in each video that are worth checking out.

I don’t want to spoil too much of the video since it’s only five minutes, but I’ll mention the overview of how making mistakes can improve long-term memorization.

It reminds me not to be afraid of failure and to constantly test and update my current pool of knowledge. Check out the video and see what you pick up!

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Time flies like an arrow.” (光陰矢の如し)

– Japanese Proverb

This Japanese proverb emphasizes that life is short, goes by quickly, and doesn’t wait for anyone. It reminds us to make the best of each day.

I like breaking the proverb down further and thinking about how shooting an arrow has many components. The one that sticks out for me in this proverb is picking a target.

It’s vital to look ahead at where we’re aiming. Time goes by quickly, and if you are unaware of your direction, it can be harder to change your target the longer you wait.

Minor degrees of change each day compound and affect the direction of your life negatively or positively.

Choose how you write the chapters of your life’s story, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Victor Hugo, Stardust, Warm Bodies, Brad Troeger, and an Ethiopian Proverb

Victor Hugo, Stardust, Warm Bodies, Brad Troeger, and an Ethiopian Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on October 1, 2023

Sunday Supplement #125 (October 1st, 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:

“Life is the flower for which love is the honey.”

– Victor Hugo

Book of the Week:

Stardust – Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman’s third novel follows young Tristran Thorn, who will do anything to win the love of cold and beautiful Victoria.

Thorn even promises to fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. However, to do so, he must go across the unexplored lands beyond the wall that is their village’s namesake.

Tristran finds the realm of Faerie beyond the wall, where nothing, not even a fallen star, is what he imagined.

I featured Stardust, the movie, in Sunday Supplement #31, but the book is well worth checking out for those who enjoyed the movie or love the fantasy genre.

Gaiman is a master storyteller, and even though he is early in his novel career, this Locus Award-nominated novel showcases some of the best of his imagination.

Movie of the Week:

Warm Bodies

Jonathan Levine’s Warm Bodies is an adaptation of the Isaac Marion novel about a highly unusual zombie who saves a still-living girl from a zombie attack.

The unusual zombie, R, played by Nicholas Hoult, forms a relationship with Julie, the still-living girl played by Teresa Palmer, which sets in motion events that transform the lifeless world.

Warm Bodies had a budget of $35 million and made around $117 million at the box office. The movie seemed like it came and went, though, because not many people have seen it.

The film is a hilarious but heartwarming story that is able to craft a thought-provoking world and explore what it means to be human.

Levine is probably most known for his film 50/50, but I highly recommend Warm Bodies as I have it high up on my feel-good movie list.

Brainfood of the Week:

What is Love? – Brad Troeger | TED-Ed

The animated TED-Ed video starts by emphasizing how there is no shortage of answers for what love means.

One of the challenges to defining love is comparing it to something else or getting a biased/skewed answer.

The video explains how our environments, experiences, and expectations can influence our experiences of love.

While the video shows how there can be many different interpretations, it emphasizes the necessity for communication and openness for it to grow.

This short video from Troeger is worth checking out for a thought-provoking look at how nuanced love can be.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“When one is in love, a cliff becomes a meadow.”

– Ethiopian Proverb

When I came across this Ethiopian Proverb, I was struck by the dual nature of the interpretation.

You can view the proverb as meaning love makes difficult things easier to navigate or be reminded that love can obscure reality.

I think both are helpful interpretations. We must remember to view things from a clear perspective, but we can also take strength in action from love.

Ideally, we can see things clearly and act from a place of love.

Find the strength in love, see things clearly, and have a blessed week ahead!

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