Tag: Will Smith

Maya Angelou, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Hitch, Carol Dweck, and a Tao Te Ching Verse

Maya Angelou, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Hitch, Carol Dweck, and a Tao Te Ching Verse

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on March 17, 2024

Sunday Supplement #149 (March 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:

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

– Maya Angelou

Book of the Week:

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay – Michael Chabon

Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001.

The novel follows two Jewish cousins before, during, and after World War II. Kavalier is a young artist who smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague. He joins his cousin in Brooklyn, and the two delve into the emerging comic book scene.

The cousins partner to make their own comics, and the novel follows their journey from youth to adulthood while pursuing this craft.

I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, which had amazing depth. The growth of the characters throughout the story was brilliantly explored.

For those interested in a classic American fiction novel, I highly recommend The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

Movie of the Week:

Hitch

One of my favorite Rom-Coms, Hitch, hasn’t always received the best review. I still think it is worth the watch.

The film follows a “date doctor” who falls in love with a cynical columnist while he helps a shy account try to woo an heiress.

The “date doctor” is a man, played by Will Smith, who helps other men get dates with women. I think the criticism the movie gets is usually misplaced about this concept.

My favorite element of the movie is how the story pokes fun, and sometimes in a serious fashion, about the gender roles and societal norms of the dating world.

Even though this movie doesn’t get a lot of love, I recommend it and would be curious to discuss it with anyone interested.

Brainfood of the Week:

Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck | Stanford Alumni

Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck researched the power of mindset and how we think about our talents and abilities can significantly influence our success.

Dweck discusses studies on students who exhibit a growth mindset by viewing “failure” as an opportunity to learn more versus students who viewed failure as a judgment passed on them.

The students with a fixed mindset responded that they were more likely to cheat on following exams, find others who did worse to make them feel better, or avoid more tests.

I’ve featured Carol Dweck’s book on growth and fixed mindsets in Sunday Supplement #97. If you enjoyed this video, check it out.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Knowing other people is intelligence; knowing yourself is wisdom. Overcoming others takes strength; overcoming yourself takes greatness. Contentment is wealth.”

– Tao Te Ching

I read Ursula K. Le Guin’s translation of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching a few months ago. I found its verses beautiful and thought-provoking.

This verse reminds me how vital self-work is to living a full life. We often look outside of ourselves for examples of growth, but working to better oneself can bear the most fruit.

We don’t always have control over external situations, but we do have control over how we respond to them.

I think working on yourself, healing your past traumas, and understanding your behaviors are some of the best uses of our time.

Continue to work on yourself, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Troy Palamalu, Tao Te Ching, Concussion, Jordan Peterson, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Troy Palamalu, Tao Te Ching, Concussion, Jordan Peterson, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on February 4, 2024

Sunday Supplement #143 (February 4th, 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:

“Playing professional sports, it’s important to eat healthy and take care of your body. In the offseason, rest is really important to me.”

– Troy Polamalu

Book of the Week:

Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu (Ursula K. Le Guin)

Lao Tzu was a philosopher of Ancient China and is considered by some the founder of Taoism. The Tao Te Ching is a central Taoist text.

Ursula K. Le Guin studied the Tao Te Ching for over forty years. She consulted the literal translations and worked with Chinese scholars for her translation.

Le Guin’s version has wonderful footnotes of her thoughts on various verses. I’m a huge fan of the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author and featured her in Sunday Supplement #44.

In verse form, the Tao Te Ching describes the ideal existence, the Tao, the Way. The poems of the text have much beauty and depth.

Though the text is relatively short, I took my time reading it. I found myself pondering the contents of a poem for a while, sometimes putting the book down to let the verse sink in.

Movie of the Week:

Concussion

The 2015 biographical sports drama Concussion stars Will Smith as Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who goes up against the NFL for trying to suppress his research.

Omalu’s work focuses on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) brain degeneration suffered by professional American football players.

Peter Landesman wrote and directed the film based on the exposé “Game Brain” published in GQ magazine by Jeanne Marie Laskas.

Concussion didn’t get the best reviews or make the most money at the box office, but I thought it was a story worth portraying on the screen and that there was much to appreciate.

Brainfood of the Week:

Workaholics and the Importance of Rest | Jordan B. Peterson

I’ve featured Jordan Peterson in a couple of previous Sunday Supplements with the caveat that I don’t agree with everything he says, but his lectures are worth a listen.

Peterson is a clinical psychologist and author of bestselling self-help books and more than one hundred scientific papers.

In this clip, Peterson discusses the necessity of rest. He starts by quoting the Bible’s passage on God’s creation of the world and his resting on the seventh day.

He then discusses the utility of rest. The obvious is not burning yourself out so you can’t get back to work for an extended period. The other aspect I thought interesting was rest gives you a chance to reflect.

Give the video a watch if it piques your interest. You can take away what is useful to you and disregard the rest.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“There is no possibility of one’s becoming a yogi if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.”

– Bhagavad Gita 6:16

I think this Bhagavad Gita verse is an interesting insight into the necessity of moderation in our day-to-day lives.

A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga— not solely the physical exercise popular in Western culture, but rather an encompassing group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that aim to still the mind.

Depending on the circumstances, an occasional excess or deprivation seems perfectly reasonable to me.

However, the necessity of regular sleep and a steady diet seems obvious, but it’s something we can often ignore.

Make sure you’re resting appropriately, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Nelson Mandela, Will, A Few Good Men, Cory Booker, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Nelson Mandela, Will, A Few Good Men, Cory Booker, and a Bhagavad Gita Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on February 19, 2023

Sunday Supplement #93 (February 19th, 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:

“It always seems impossible until it is done.”

– Nelson Mandela

Book of the Week:

Will – Will Smith & Mark Manson

I only read Will Smith’s autobiography the other week, but it’s still fresh in my mind as a reminder of perseverance and growth. It helps that the book is wildly entertaining too.

For those that don’t know, Will Smith is a Grammy Award-winning musician, Academy Award-winning actor, and NAACP winner.

Smith covers his journey from his youth in Philadelphia to his career as a hip-hop artist, conquering Hollywood, and all the struggles in between.

Mark Manson, the #1 New York Times bestseller of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, pens Smith’s autobiography and helps it flow while still being authentically in Smith’s voice.

I don’t put too many books on my must-re-read list, but this is one of them.

Movie of the Week:

A Few Good Men

Rob Reiner’s A Few Good Men follows a military lawyer assigned a case of two Marines accused of murder despite their claims of being under orders.

Tom Cruise stars as the military lawyer, and Demi Moore, Wolfgang Bodison, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, and Jack Nicholson all give phenomenal supporting performances.

The actors are so brilliant in the film because of the writing by Aaron Sorkin. The story and the characters are wonderfully crafted to supply a compelling drama.

A Few Good Men was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (for Nicholson).

I typically put this film on once a year, and I always find it worth the watch.

Brainfood of the Week:

Cory Booker Interview | The Tim Ferriss Show (Podcast)

I wouldn’t usually recommend a politician in a brainfood of the week since I don’t know much about politics.

However, Tim Ferriss’s podcast interview with Cory Booker is one of the more memorable episodes I’ve come across.

The interview was conducted in 2017, so it’s a bit dated, but the conversation has much worth tuning in for.

Booker talks about his mentors, receiving a Rhodes Scholarship, his participation in a hunger strike to draw attention to urban development issues, and much more.

I’ve featured Tim Ferriss’ podcast on many previous Sunday Supplements, but I’m still finding more that are worth highlighting. This is one of them.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“You have the right to work but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction.”

– Bhagavad Gita 2:47

This passage from the Bhagavad Gita makes me question the purpose behind my actions.

I think it’s an interesting prompt to consider whether or not you would pursue something if the result isn’t guaranteed.

I don’t think that means we shouldn’t want to achieve our goals, but it helps me focus more on the love of the process.

Thinking about why you’re truly engaged in any endeavor is an interesting insight into what you really want. Sometimes our surface-level wants often have much deeper needs.

Think about what you truly love in your life, nurture it, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Oscar Wilde, Blink, Men in Black, Sprouts, and a Zen Proverb

Oscar Wilde, Blink, Men in Black, Sprouts, and a Zen Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on February 12, 2023

Sunday Supplement #92 (February 12th, 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:

“Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward.”

– Oscar Wilde

Book of the Week:

Blink – Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell is a bestselling author, journalist, staff writer for The New Yorker, and public speaker.

In his New York Times bestselling book Blink, Malcolm Gladwell directs how we often think without thinking during choices that seem to be made instantly.

Blink highlights examples from psychologists who learned to predict whether a marriage will last (I featured one of their books in Sunday Supplement #69), an expert tennis coach who knows when players will double fault, as well as other intriguing cases.

The book addresses why some people are brilliant decision-markers while others end up stumbling into error.

Blink directs how our brains work in different situations and how the best decisions can appear inexplicable at first glance. It’s a fascinating book worth checking out.

Movie of the Week:

Men in Black

The 1997 film Men in Black follows an NYPD officer as he joins a secret organization that polices and monitors extraterrestrial interactions on Earth.

On the surface, Men in Black comes off as an entertaining Science Fiction Action Comedy movie. However, many deeper themes give the film an extra dimension.

The existential questions over what we assume about our world and our unconscious biases about those around us are at the core of the entertaining narrative.

The mentor figure of Tommy Lee Jones and the hero, young officer Will Smith brilliantly bring the movie’s depth to life in an exciting film for a thoughtful popcorn movie night.

Brainfood of the Week:

Experiential Learning: How We All Learn Naturally | Sprouts

Sprouts defines experiential learning as learning through experience or learning through reflection on doing and argues that it is the most natural and powerful form of education.

The video uses the example of learning to walk to show how we start out naturally doing this. It breaks down how our brain reflects on failure to help us understand how to succeed.

Musicians often perform better on most tests, regardless of what the tests measure, because of their experience of not being put off by failure.

The concept of experiential learning is pretty basic, as is the video, but it’s a powerful reminder of how we should embrace failure and see what we can learn from it.

Sprouts is a YouTube channel with over a million subscribers that makes educational videos about psychology, pedagogy, and child development.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Obstacles do not block the path. They are the path.”

– Zen Proverb

This Zen Proverb reminds me to think of the obstacles in my life from a different perspective.

Usually, when I think of an obstacle, I think of something that blocks a path or prevents someone from moving forward.

The proverb gives me the perspective of viewing obstacles as a chance to learn, deciding how to best move forward, and learning from the experience.

Sometimes obstacles can seem like hindrances, but I think in the end, they help us challenge ourselves and bring out our best.

Think about how an obstacle might be helpful, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Walt Whitman, I Am Legend, The Station Agent, How to Be a Good Friend, and 1 Corinthians 15:33

Walt Whitman, I Am Legend, The Station Agent, How to Be a Good Friend, and 1 Corinthians 15:33

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on July 24, 2022

Sunday Supplement #63 (July 24th, 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:

“I have learned that to be with those I like is enough.”

– Walt Whitman

Book of the Week:

I Am Legend – Richard Matheson

If what you know about the story of I Am Legend comes from the 2007 film starring Will Smith, you’ve experienced a version that barely takes anything from the source material.

Richard Matheson’s novel follows Robert Neville, possibly the last living man on Earth. However, he is not alone.

A plague swept across the world and turned those it did not kill into vampires. Neville struggles from isolation, depression, and alcoholism in his attempts to stay alive.

Neville alternates between a hunter in the day when the creatures are asleep and a survivor at night, hoping not to be found.

Eventually, Neville determines there must be a scientific reason behind the vampires’ origins and tries to understand the disease.

Matheson’s I Am Legend (1954) is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential works of modern zombie and vampire literature.

The book might not be for everyone, but for those who would take a recommendation from Ray Bradbury and Stephen King, check it out.

Movie of the Week:

The Station Agent

Tom McCarthy (writer of Up, The Visitor, and Spotlight) made his directing and writing debut with The Station Agent.

The film follows Finbar McBride, played by Peter Dinklage, as Finbar’s only friend dies and bequeaths him a piece of rural property with an abandoned train depot on it.

The antisocial train enthusiast moves to the new town, planning to live in solitude but finding himself reluctantly drawn into the lives of his neighbors.

The Station Agent explores depths of emotions in a thoughtful and sometimes quirky manner that makes it a special film.

In addition to Peter Dinklage’s standout performance, Patricia Clarkson and Bobby Cannavale shine in their supporting roles.

The film won the Audience Award for Dramatic Film at Sundance in 2003, made $8 million on a $500k budget, and boasts a 94% critics rating on RottenTomatoes.

Brainfood of the Week:

How to Be a Good Friend | The School of Life

I’ve featured The School of Life in four previous Sunday Supplements. Their channel has over 7 million subscribers and aims to help people lead calmer and more resilient lives.

This video explores the concept of what it means to be a good friend.

The beginning poses that we might not collectively be good at friendship because we don’t have a clear idea of what a good friend might be like.

The School of Life then delves into the areas they think are essential in a good friend.

Some of the areas that are discussed involve vulnerability, genuine interest, support, and questioning.

I think the list may not have what everyone is looking for, but I thought it was an exciting idea to list the attributes of a good friend.

Check out the video if you’d like to see what The School of Life has to say on the subject, and think about what attributes are important to you in friendship.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

– 1 Corinthians 15:33

There are many passages in the bible about friendship, forgiveness, and kindness. I believe those messages are important.

However, this passage reminds me of the dangers of letting standards slip in relationships.

Quotes like these come to mind— “What you’re not changing your choosing,” and “Be careful what you tolerate. You are teaching people how to treat you.”

I think the core of this Corinthians passage is the idea of losing your way and following someone else.

Sometimes, we can get lost and look to others for guidance and support. However, if those people are not aligned with your morals and ideals, you should look elsewhere.

Friends can be in dark places sometimes, and you can be a light for them. But dimming your light or slipping into the darkness to commiserate can be dangerous.

Make sure you are treating yourself kindly and are in a good place. If you’re not, be careful of who and what you have as influences around you.

Surround yourself with good people and good things, and have a blessed week ahead!

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