“The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves” by Matt Ridley My rating: 2 of 5 stars THE GOOD: Ridley’s first and most consistent argument is that specialization (the ability of one person or organization to do one thing while another does another thing) and exchange (the ability to trade the products of those two things) setContinue reading “Review: The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves”
Category Archives: Culture & Content
More on the Beatles
As a follow up to yesterday’s post about the Final [Fab] Four and in celebration of the UNC Tarheels basketball championship last night, here are some more thoughts on the Beatles that came from discussions in the group. First thought: even if you go back pre-Beatlemania to their time as a cover band, their potentialContinue reading “More on the Beatles”
The Final [Fab] Four
While Chapel Hill is going crazy with Final Four fever, I have been focusing my March Madness attention on a different Final Four – the Final Fab Four. A friend of mine from university drew up a bracket of 128 Beatles songs and we spent the month of March in a Facebook group devoted to theContinue reading “The Final [Fab] Four”
Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story by Alexander FreedMy rating: 2 of 5 stars I read this hoping for something that would fill in the gaps and plot holes of the movie (as the novelization of The Force Awakens did) but I was unfortunately disappointed. This book doesn’t fill in any gaps or explain awayContinue reading “Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”
Rogue One Review
Last night Katie and I attended the opening night of Rogue One and, long story short, I liked (didn’t love) it. It started off pretty weak – I was actually fighting to stay awake for the first act of the movie – but finished really strong. Overall I would give it three stars out ofContinue reading “Rogue One Review”
Jimmy Buffett the Storyteller
This weekend I took a quick trip to Paris to attend my 18th and 19th Jimmy Buffett concerts – my 9th year of seeing him in Europe! As per usual, it was a tiny venue and the concerts were very intimate – just Jimmy and several hundred fans. After a full day of tailgating (withContinue reading “Jimmy Buffett the Storyteller”
Stranger Things
Katie and I just finished watching Stranger Things season 1 for the second time and you can definitely put us on the bandwagon of people who love this series (so far). It’s a nostalgic (’80s), sci-fi, supernatural creature feature, coming-of-age tale, small-town drama, adventure. Following is a brief review, but the TL;DR version is thatContinue reading “Stranger Things”
Batman vs Superman Ultimate Edition Review
WARNING: THERE BE SPOILERS BELOW When I first saw Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, I was really disappointed. Now, having seen the “Ultimate Edition,” which features 30 minutes of additional footage that had been cut to make the theatrical release more “accessible,” I think it’s a better movie – still deeply flawed, but better.Continue reading “Batman vs Superman Ultimate Edition Review”
The Force Awakens: The Good, the Bad, and the Amazing
Per my previous post, I thought Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens was very, very good, but definitely not perfect. Below are my thoughts on the good, the bad, and the truly amazing aspects of this film. WARNING: THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD! The Good: The original cast actors bring their A game. I wasContinue reading “The Force Awakens: The Good, the Bad, and the Amazing”
The Force Awakens . . . and It Is Strong
After much waiting and anticipation, I saw Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (three times!) this weekend. TL;DR: it is very good. Spoiler-free zone: It’s no secret that I love Star Wars. I was too young to have seen the original trilogy in the theaters, but I grew up with it on home videoContinue reading “The Force Awakens . . . and It Is Strong”