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Where Have All the Leaders Gone? by Lee Iacocca has to be one of the most disappointing books that I have ever read.
That’s saying a lot. There are a ton of awful books out there, but the worst ones are always those that you least expect.
I watched this movie the other night, and I really don’t have too much to say. The film begins really slow which made it hard for me to pay attention. But about 30 min into the movie, the action picks up significantly. Once the action picked up the movie caught my attention and held it for the next hour. Do not expect this film to be like scrubs just because the main actor is Zach Braff. In reality this film is different from Braff’s more famous role:
To summerize quickly, I liked this film. It was a very mature piece, which dealt with infidelity and last chances. If you are looking for a movie length episode of scrubs, buy the season dvds, because this is not the film for you. Finally, Kudos to Braff for breaking with his scrubs character, and playing a more human role.
Last night I saw the latest Spiderman flick, and I was not disappointed. For those people who were disappointed, or mad because of the changes in time line in the Spiderman world, shut up. The introduction of Gwen Stacy does nothing to significantly change the story, she just as well could have been an original character, but instead directer Sam Rami chose to use an already existing Spiderman character. Also for those mad with the team work (careful word choice, I don’t want to spoil anything) if you really look at what drives the characters, the alliance makes sense. Overall I thought this was a great movie; at no point was I bored or mad. If you were a fan of the first two films, I can see no reason why you wouldn’t also enjoy this film. On the other hand if you hated the first two films, save your money because you’ll hate this one too.
Here are a few things that I noticed about this movie in contrast with Spiderman 1 & 2:
Finally if you are really interested in Spiderman, check out my post on Webslinger, a book of essays on Spiderman.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell is one of the most interesting books I have read in a long time. Amazon.com comments on this book:
“The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life,” writes Malcolm Gladwell, “is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do.” Although anyone familiar with the theory of memetics will recognize this concept, Gladwell’s The Tipping Point has quite a few interesting twists on the subject.
The tipping point essentially is the point of an epidemic, where a very small change leads to very drastic and sometimes catastrophic results. Gladwell takes his time to explain the tipping point using the examples of teen smoking, STDs in Baltimore, Paul Revere, and Vans Shoes. (More …)
After a four-thousand mile road trip, I’ve had a lot of time to read some new books and view some films. So in the next couple of days look for posts on the following items:
Please Rate Each Post.
Graduation and College are over.
Are you a Spiderman fan? Are three movie, a couple of cartoon series, and hundreds of comic books not enough material for you? If you are a true die hard fan I found a great book that is unique. Yesterday I picked up the book Webslinger: Unauthorized Essays on Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
This book is a series of essays on topics that involve or center around the Spiderman franchise. The topics range from assertion that Spiderman was a horror comic, to who would win a fight between Superman and Spiderman. (More …)
Hometown Heroes, or in this case state heroes are extremely important. Being from North Dakota, there are not many
professional baseball players from our state; Darin Erstad (Chicago White Sox), Chris Coste (Philadelphia Phillies), and Travis Hafner (Cleveland Indians) are all that come to mind ( A few years ago we might have been talking about Rick Helling too).
But this group of players leave nothing to desire. They are hard working, honest playing individuals. I was watching Darin Erstad this last week play against both the LA Angels and the MN Twins. In the Angels series, Erstad made his former team pay with his hustling plays. He went full speed into a slide that took the second baseman out, which not only saved the double play but also extended the inning. The commentators for the White Sox commended Erstad for his hard playing, and relentless effort. Proving his relentless effort, Erstad is the only Major Leaguer to win a Gold Glove in an Outfield Position and an Infield Position (Center Field and First Base respectively).
Coste’s story with the Phillies was one of the most popular last year. Coste was the 30 year old rookie who came up from the minors to hit in the .300s who could provide a spark for the offense. But this year he again found himself in the minors, but even being sent back down has not discouraged Coste from trying to make a big league roster. I remember watching Coste play for the Fargo Moorhead RedHawks, and can’t believe the path he’s taken to the major leagues.
And then there’s Hafner; a behemoth of a man who can really hit the ball. Not a great defensive player, but very hard to strike out.
In an era of Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and other players followed by constant controversy, I am very glad that the few players from my home state are known for being hustle players. While they don’t speak up a lot, they make their statements on the field, and give fans someone they don’t have to be ashamed of cheering for.
I recently saw the movie Hot Fuzz. The movie stars Simon Pegg as Sergeant Nicholas Angel and Nick Frost as PC Danny Butterman. Pegg and Frost are well known for their zombie movie spoof: Shaun of the Dead. Hot Fuzz has nothing to do with zombies, but rather it is a comedy based on action movies such as Bad Boys II and Point Break. Sergeant Nicholas Angel is a tough cop from London, who is sent to the country because he is too good (h
e was making the rest of the police force look lazy/incompetent). Once in the country, Sgt. Angel is paired with the incompetent PC Butterman, who is the Police Inspectors son. Sandford seems like a very tame town, but in the end the action is intense. Throughout the movie there are scenes borrowed from other action films like Point Break with a comedic twist (The scene where Keanu Reeves fires wildly into the air is seen on T.V., and later duplicated ). Don’t worry about the commercials and trailers they don’t ruin more than 3 minutes of the 2 hour film.
This was a great movie: it was funny, and action packed. If you are looking for running jokes from Shaun of the Dead, you won’t be disappointed. Be warned, this movie is rated “R” for a reason, there is intense violence and quite a bit of blood and gore, but if that doesn’t bother you then I highly recommend this movie. This genre of British styled spoof is becoming quite popular, and expect Pegg and Frost to be on the big screen again soon.
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andydrish 7:09 pm on May 21, 2007 Permalink |
The Tipping Point rocks… If you liked it, you will have to read “Blink” by Gladwell. It is about how to effectively use snap judgment in everyday life. To give a quick example, Gladwell talks about a man who studied relationships. He did a study and watched couples interact for 15 minutes. After breaking down each second into a
complex algorithm the man could predict with 95% certainty whether a couple would stay together or not.
What is crazy is that after doing this and breaking the process down to only 3 minutes, he could still tell with upwards of 85% accuracy! Essentially, he could sit down at a restaurant and eavesdrop on a couple beside him, and tell if they would stay together or not.
The book is full of fascinating stories and studies. If you get the chance to read Blink, let me know your opinion.
andydrish 7:10 pm on May 21, 2007 Permalink |
My bad – I just read the page of your “upcoming posts” Ha