Reviews Archive

Andy Garcia’s “The Lost City” Is Excellent

July 7, 2007 · Category: Politics, Reviews

Earlier this week, Kathy and I watched The Lost City (June 2006), starring Andy Garcia, who also produced and directed the movie. It's was best movie I've seen in months. The film is Garcia's own personal love letter to Cuba -- the Cuba that existed before Fidel Castro's "revolution." It is a pulsating world of lively music, palpable sensuality, and tight-knit families. The writing and acting are excellent throughout, and the cinematography is spectacularly beautiful. The movie is highly stylized -- the opposite of naturalism, you could say. Fidel Castro really takes it in the chin in this film. Predictably, mainstream movie ...

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Woodland Home

June 28, 2007 · Category: Photos, Reviews

Wow, this looks like a beautiful, cozy home to live in.

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Will Our Love Last?

June 4, 2007 · Category: Intellectual, Personal, Reviews

I just posted this over at Desiree's place, in response to her request for feedback on the book Will Our Love Last? by Sam R. Hamburg. I've not read Will Our Love Last? but the general topic of what kinds of relationships remain happy, and which ones don't, is one that interests me a lot because of my own marriage. After more than seven years together, Kathy and I remain remarkably happy together -- and, to my regular amazement, it still gets better each year. I often find myself struggling to find adequate words to share the experience with friends. Sometimes it ...

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wikiHow… How Amazing

May 28, 2007 · Category: Intellectual, Reviews

I stumbled across a stray wikiHow article a few minutes ago on Google's redesigned homepage, and was pleasantly blown away the the quality of some of their articles. I expected something kind of dry and uninspired -- typical Wikipedia stuff, you know? Instead, the articles felt inspired and even inspiring. To get a feel for what I mean, check out How to Make OpenCola, How to Stop BrainFreeze, and How to Get Gigs for Your Band. I'm impressed.

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Dell Sent Me to Hell. …Twice. Suggestions?

April 5, 2007 · Category: Personal, Reviews

I've had my current computer, a Dell Dimension 4700, for about two years now, which means it's time for me to renew my warranty coverage if I want to continue receiving technical support. Overall, their technical support -- the few times I've needed it, always right around the warranty expiration date -- has been passably good, and my current computer is working fine. At least, it's worked fine since I put the pieces back together (at my expense, since it was a rush) after my hard drive died last November. So I tried calling 877-896-5427, the phone number the technician had ...

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Iraq in Fragments – Watch the Trailer

March 4, 2007 · Category: Current Events, Politics, Reviews

From Michael Totten: I cannot recommend a film I haven’t seen. But the high-definition trailer for Iraq in Fragments knocked me out of my chair. Watch this on the biggest computer screen you have at the highest resolution. Use headphones so you can turn the volume up loud. Be amazed. I have watched this over and over again in quiet astonishment and awe of the gorgeous cinematography and artistry on display. He's right. Watch the trailer. It was the first time I've felt what Iraq is really like. I wish the movie were coming to Albuquerque so I could see it on the ...

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Travels and Travails of the “We the Living” Band

January 17, 2007 · Category: Music, Reviews

In November I finally bought a copy of the album Far from You and Your Everyday Noise by a new Wisconsin band called "The Profits" -- since re-christened "We the Living" and scheduled to release their first national album under the We the Living name in March or so. Their original album reveals an incredible musicality in their performances -- mostly acoustic stuff in the vein of John Mayer or some U2 songs -- and they happen to be Ayn Rand fans, too. In fact, lead singer and songwriter John Paul Roney is Sarah Saturday's younger brother. Since buying their Far from ...

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Enjoying Adyashanti’s “Spontaneous Awakening” Lectures

January 9, 2007 · Category: Adyashanti, Buddhism, Meditation, Reviews, Witness Consciousness

I just received my CD of Adyashanti's "True Meditation" by UPS this morning. I'm ripping it to my hard drive to put on my mp3 player. Should be able to post what I think after I return from retreat next week. In the interim, I've been listening to his "Spontaneous Awakening" lectures, which a friend gave me, and I have to say I have enjoyed them very much. Adyashanti is very easy to relate to. I get a sense of genuineness about both his person and his teachings. He speaks the truth, it feels to me. And I like ...

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“True Meditation” by Adyashanti

January 6, 2007 · Category: Adyashanti, Buddhism, Meditation, Reviews, Witness Consciousness

Just received this recommendation from a close friend who shares my interest in Buddhist meditation: Last night, I bought and listened to the first hour of this 3.5 hour program. Then I meditated for 20 minutes according to the instructions therein. Then I went to bed. I ended up spending the entire night lying in bed in a very deep state of witness consciousness, feeling the pulsations of the ego all night long, with the exception of a couple hours of sleep interspersed. And there was at least one moment of disidentification ...

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Michael Crichton on Verifying One’s Own Perceptions

September 2, 2006 · Category: Intellectual, Reviews

I'm mid-way through reading Michael Crichton's excellent novel State of Fear. Intrigued by the science in the book, I flipped to the end to check out its rather extensive annotated bibliography. There I found this statement, part of his criticism of Andy Fisher's Radial Ecopsychology: Psychology in the Service of Life. It stood out to me as a particularly profound observation on Crichton's part: In my opinion, the greatest problem for all observers of the world is to determine whether their perceptions are genuine and verifiable or whether they are merely the projections of inner feelings. I think Crichton's right; this may ...

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