Reviews Archive

The Peaceful Warrior: (Movie) Coming Soon

April 25, 2006 · Category: Reviews

Dan Millman's bestselling novel The Way of the Peaceful Warrior -- which I've never read, but just ordered -- is coming to the big screen on June 2nd. The preview looks quite good. A few quotes: "A warrior does not give up what he loves. He finds the love in what he does." "Throw out everything you don't need in here [points to head] that keeps you from this moment. You'll be amazed what you can do." "I call myself a peaceful warrior. Because the battles we fight are on the inside." "This moment is the only thing that matters." From the ...

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Atelier Yoyita’s Portrait of Ayn Rand

April 19, 2006 · Category: Objectivism, Reviews

Artist Gloria Norris (who paints by the name Atelier Yoyita) sends along a link to her new portrait of Ayn Rand, shown below. From the artist's web site: "Yoyita is a Portrait artist working in Classical Realism in the tradition of the Renaissance, with sculptures of the Civil Rights movement, landscapes, marine art and miniatures." While my first impression of the painting was that it was not entirely flattering, my second impression was that there was something strikingly alive and vital about the subject's gaze. Draw your own conclusions! UPDATE: More about Yoyita's background as an artist: Yoyita was born in Managua, Nicaragua, Central America. ...

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Insider’s Guide to Trader Joe’s

April 15, 2006 · Category: Health, Personal, Recipes, Reviews

Kathy and I just got our very own Trader Joe's -- well, other than the 300 other people who are always in the store -- about 20 minutes away, in Albuquerque. Anybody who understands that the only proper way to sell avocados is in bags of 6 at a time, has my money. When I first moved to Los Angeles, I would shop at Albertson's first, and then stop by Trader Joe's for specialty items I couldn't find at Albertson's. At some point, however, I realized that the prices at Trader Joe's prices were almost universally lower than at the chain supermarkets -- ...

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Clarence Thomas: The Keeper of the Flame

April 11, 2006 · Category: Atlasphere, Politics, Reviews

From a new article by Hank Holzer, "Clarence Thomas: The Keeper of the Flame," that we just published at the Atlasphere: In his fourteen complete terms as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas has written 327 opinions. Despite their consistency in showing him to be a formidable intellect and staunch defender of the Constitution, his reputation among laypersons is not commensurate with his achievements. Too many members of the public have uncritically accepted the professional character assassination visited upon Justice Thomas by the liberal professional and academic legal community. I cannot count the times that people who should have known better ...

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United 93: The Original ‘Pack Not a Herd’

April 9, 2006 · Category: Reviews

Blogger Glenn Reynolds has made a theme out of cataloging the instances since 9-11 when ordinary Americans have taken their safety into their own hands -- acting, in effect, as "a pack not a herd." I am not certain that the downing of United flight 93 was the original event that inspired this phrase, but it probably was. It certainly deserved to be. In any case, Time magazine is offering up an early peek at the upcoming United 93 movie, and it further reinforces my impression that the movie will be both good and important. A few excerpts: Perhaps those who saw the trailer ...

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Homemade Pizza, Here I Come

April 2, 2006 · Category: Recipes, Reviews

Last week, on the recommendation of a particularly glowing review, I purchased Peter Reinhart's American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza. The book includes not only his engaging stories of visiting dozens of the best gourmet pizza parlors around the world, but also the best pizza-making tricks and recipes he discovered along his journey. The author's taste in pizza matches my own: Thin crust, please, and great dough gets you 80% of the way to great pizza. Reinhart also authored the acclaimed bread-baking guide The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread, so there is no doubt this man ...

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United 93, from Bourne Supremacy Director

April 1, 2006 · Category: Politics, Reviews

Based upon the preview, United 93 looks like it will be an extremely good movie. The movie was made by Paul Greengrass, the director of The Bourne Supremacy -- which was also quite good. From an interview with Greengrass: Like everybody, the events surrounding Flight 93 and the events of 9/11 had a massive effect on me. And it became pretty clear to me, after that, that I would always want to make a film about terrorism that would encompass and explore the events of 9/11. But then it's about whether it's the right time and it's about whether the families of those people aboard ...

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Eric Barnhill’s Classical Piano Improvisations

March 29, 2006 · Category: Music, Reviews

Diana Hsieh points us to Eric Barnhill's new music improvisation blog. Diana's right -- Eric's playing is just terrific. His improvisational pieces sound more interesting and varied and melodic than many songwriters' carefully composed pieces (which, if you've read Blink, won't come as a total surprise). Stop by for a listen. A good one to start with is the very Rachmaninoff-sounding Exuberant. (Andrew: If you read this, I'd be particularly interested to hear your comments, as you have a much more refined musical ear than I do.)

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Serenity Preview for Albuquerque Bloggers

September 22, 2005 · Category: Current Events, Reviews

Are you an Albuquerque blogger? You can attend an advance screening of the Serenity movie here in Albuquerque on September 28th, as long as you agree to blog something about it, good or bad, afterwards. Blogger screenings are available in a lot of other cities, too. (h/t Instapundit.) I'd be in there like swimwear, but I'm in Virginia that day. As if the trailer weren't enough, you can learn more about the Serenity movie at the Atlasphere, in our blog coverage and review of the Firefly series.

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London: How to Heal from Trauma … Really

July 8, 2005 · Category: Health, Reviews

The survivors of yesterday's massacre in London will, unfortunately, be joining the ranks of many people around the world who have suffered physical and psychological trauma at some point in their life. I recently encountered a book that does a remarkably good job of explaining the nature of trauma and the newest research on how it can be successfully treated. I would be grateful if other bloggers would help me bring this book to the attention of Londoners and others around the world who have experienced trauma. The book is titled Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal, by ...

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