The Mandalorian Review

TL;DR The Mandalorian is an OK show with high production value and occasional flashes of brilliance, occasional flashes of inexplicably low quality, but mostly mediocrity with a shiny veneer. It’s a fun romp of mindless fun but doesn’t capture what makes Star Wars special. I usually review media properties in three sections: The Good, TheContinue reading “The Mandalorian Review”

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Review

Tonight we attended the first showing of Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker and boy do I have some thoughts. My TL;DR non-spoiler review is that the film isn’t terrible but it’s very disappointing. It was mostly a OK film but then a couple of key decisions ruined it for me. In hindsight,Continue reading “Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Review”

On Fatherhood on Father’s Day

Today was my first Father’s Day as the father of a living human child, a day of great joy and reflection. It began with a trail walk together as a family, continued with boot camp so I can try to stave off this dad bod, peaked with a Texas BBQ family brunch, and now it’sContinue reading “On Fatherhood on Father’s Day”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review

Katie and I saw Last Jedi opening night, of course, and this was my initial, knee-jerk, non-spoiler reaction: mixed feelings. Some aspects I loved; some I wasn’t so sure about. Some comedy was lol; some fell flat. Some emotional beats gave me #allthefeels; some felt unearned. Some plot points confusing but mostly good tension thatContinue reading “Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review”

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”

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”

TEDx Talk About Entrepreneurship

Last year I was honored to be asked to speak about entrepreneurship at Rice’s “Unconvention” in celebration of its centennial year. Instead of talking about lean startup, customer development, fundraising, or many of the other very well covered topics out there, I chose to focus on a framework for entrepreneurship that is, well, unconventional. MyContinue reading “TEDx Talk About Entrepreneurship”