Text Book makes an interesting read
I had to read this book by John Macionis because it was the prescribed textbook. As I progressed through the pages of this large format volume the exciting content made me anticipate reading this as much as any other book.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Book Review : The Routes of Man
A unique travelogue!!!
The Routes of Man I first heard about this book on the local NPR station KERA. The author Ted Conover was being quizzed about the book's content and his experiences while compiling the book. I felt interested when I heard that the author had traveled to almost every significant nook and corner of the globe to get the data, pictures, and information about the roads he was writing about.
This is a travelogue of an individual who loves the road and explores the culture, society, economy and other aspects that make or mar the road. I am still reading it... in fact I just started and have completed the first few chapters of the 333 page volume.
Initially along I haven't liked facet of his writing, he refers to Native American tribes as Indians, which in my opinion is grossly wrong. I promptly wrote a protest note to the author and he responded in a cheeky manner that these people referred to themselves as "Indians" and that he didn't want to correct them. I don't see the reclaiming Indian identity as his duty but in my opinion he owes the world in general and particularly people from India that much that his words should not reflect that the Native American Tribes are Indians. He could quote some member of a Native American tribe as saying "We are Indians..." or whatever... but him writing... simply not done...
Will post something more once I complete the book pretty soon I guess, because it is an easy and interesting read.
The Routes of Man I first heard about this book on the local NPR station KERA. The author Ted Conover was being quizzed about the book's content and his experiences while compiling the book. I felt interested when I heard that the author had traveled to almost every significant nook and corner of the globe to get the data, pictures, and information about the roads he was writing about. This is a travelogue of an individual who loves the road and explores the culture, society, economy and other aspects that make or mar the road. I am still reading it... in fact I just started and have completed the first few chapters of the 333 page volume.
Initially along I haven't liked facet of his writing, he refers to Native American tribes as Indians, which in my opinion is grossly wrong. I promptly wrote a protest note to the author and he responded in a cheeky manner that these people referred to themselves as "Indians" and that he didn't want to correct them. I don't see the reclaiming Indian identity as his duty but in my opinion he owes the world in general and particularly people from India that much that his words should not reflect that the Native American Tribes are Indians. He could quote some member of a Native American tribe as saying "We are Indians..." or whatever... but him writing... simply not done...
Will post something more once I complete the book pretty soon I guess, because it is an easy and interesting read.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Movie Review: Cop Out
Finally an action movie with laughter
We had an opportunity to watch this move absolutely FREE, thanks to the largess of the dollar theater employees. We were late for the show at the theater and the box office was closed, instead of retracing our steps we went in and asked if we could get any tickets for any movie. The lady out there said just walk-in and watch any movie we wished. Thanking her profusely we walked in and sat for Cop Out, starring Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, and others and directed by Kevin Smith.
The way I associate Bruce Willis movies are with violence, lots of blood, destruction of public property, and related stuff. Surprisingly this movie is quite different, there is very little blood, lots of humor and little destruction. The role Bruce Willis plays is quite similar to his other movies, he is a cop, divorced from his wife. His daughter is getting married and he wants to pay for the wedding. His only asset is a valuable baseball card that gets stolen and sold to a drug dealer.
Willis and his partner Morgan catch the thief but the card is with the dealer who cuts a deal. He wants to find a stolen car which has something in it... a live girl... The rest of the movie is some car chases, few shoot outs and ends in the baseball card getting shot through. So finally Willis can't pay for the wedding after all.
In my rating I would say worth watching once.
We had an opportunity to watch this move absolutely FREE, thanks to the largess of the dollar theater employees. We were late for the show at the theater and the box office was closed, instead of retracing our steps we went in and asked if we could get any tickets for any movie. The lady out there said just walk-in and watch any movie we wished. Thanking her profusely we walked in and sat for Cop Out, starring Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, and others and directed by Kevin Smith. The way I associate Bruce Willis movies are with violence, lots of blood, destruction of public property, and related stuff. Surprisingly this movie is quite different, there is very little blood, lots of humor and little destruction. The role Bruce Willis plays is quite similar to his other movies, he is a cop, divorced from his wife. His daughter is getting married and he wants to pay for the wedding. His only asset is a valuable baseball card that gets stolen and sold to a drug dealer.
Willis and his partner Morgan catch the thief but the card is with the dealer who cuts a deal. He wants to find a stolen car which has something in it... a live girl... The rest of the movie is some car chases, few shoot outs and ends in the baseball card getting shot through. So finally Willis can't pay for the wedding after all.
In my rating I would say worth watching once.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Movie Review: Tooth Fairy
For lack of nothing else to do on Friday evening we decided to go to a movie at the dollar theater in Plano. The intent was to watch a Jackie Chan movie, but there was none playing at a night show. So we decided to watch The Tooth Fairy instead. This is a fairly entertaining kids movie... apart from a few minutes of fantastic ice skating and a some comedy frames there is nothing much worth watching in this movie. The story traces the life of an aging ice hockey star who is named the tooth fairy because he knocks out teeth of his opponents. His girlfriend has two kids, the daughter just loses one of her teeth and the mother tells the story of tooth fairy. The protagonist tries to tell her the truth in a rude manner to the chagrin of the mother. The son doesn't like this guy because he is rude, and sarcastic.
The story moves on to fairyland when the player gets called to do some community service and then after some seriously boring drama and some funny scenes the movie ends with a soulful transformation of the protagonist. I definitely wouldn't pay the regular theater ticket to watch this movie....
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Book Review: Emotional Intelligence 2.0
Guide towards enhancing self-awareness
I picked up this book at the library and started reading it out of curiosity. As I delved deeper into the book I realized that it is indeed a fantastic resource. It gives useful tips on how to become self aware, monitor our emotions and control our reactions.
Chapters in the book deal with steps and measures to identify our emotional triggers even before they take over and guide our response. The author warns however that readers should not expect overnight changes in their life or actions. This book is only a guide for those interested to become more aware of their emotions. By following steps given in the book it would be possible to control our futures.
I picked up this book at the library and started reading it out of curiosity. As I delved deeper into the book I realized that it is indeed a fantastic resource. It gives useful tips on how to become self aware, monitor our emotions and control our reactions.Chapters in the book deal with steps and measures to identify our emotional triggers even before they take over and guide our response. The author warns however that readers should not expect overnight changes in their life or actions. This book is only a guide for those interested to become more aware of their emotions. By following steps given in the book it would be possible to control our futures.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Movie Review: Charley Varrick
Fantastic Thriller without the usual Bang Bang!!!
Direction: Don Siegel
Cast: Walter Matthau, Andrew Robinson, Joe Don Baker and John Vernon
Story: Based on novel The Looters by John H. Reese
This is the story of a small time bank robber and his gang. Charley Varrick played by Matthau is a crop duster by profession but his main occupation is pulling off small bank heists in rural America. During one bank heist they run into trouble and his wife and a gang member gets killed. Surprisingly the heist yields an unusually large sum of money $750,000 and the bank declares a loss of only $1,500.
The money actually belongs to the mob and is on its way out of the country. The mob sets people on Charley and the other surviving gang member's tails. Charley is too smart to fall prey to the mob. The rest of the movie shows how Charley uses his ingenuity to get out of the spot he is in.
This is one of those family movies that has something for every member. There is drama, thrill, some violence, action, stunts, and great dialogues. If you can get hold of this 1973 film do watch it.
Direction: Don Siegel
Cast: Walter Matthau, Andrew Robinson, Joe Don Baker and John Vernon
Story: Based on novel The Looters by John H. Reese
This is the story of a small time bank robber and his gang. Charley Varrick played by Matthau is a crop duster by profession but his main occupation is pulling off small bank heists in rural America. During one bank heist they run into trouble and his wife and a gang member gets killed. Surprisingly the heist yields an unusually large sum of money $750,000 and the bank declares a loss of only $1,500. The money actually belongs to the mob and is on its way out of the country. The mob sets people on Charley and the other surviving gang member's tails. Charley is too smart to fall prey to the mob. The rest of the movie shows how Charley uses his ingenuity to get out of the spot he is in.
This is one of those family movies that has something for every member. There is drama, thrill, some violence, action, stunts, and great dialogues. If you can get hold of this 1973 film do watch it.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Movie Review: Curse of the Golden Flower
Incest, Deceit, Rivalry, and Family Disputes
This is one Chinese martial arts movie I didn't quite like. Simple reason there is far too many sub-plots for a successful story. There is a king whose second wife is having an affair with his first wife's son... rather her stepson. Then there is the son of the second wife who is totally loyal to his father who switches loyalties at the end and in the process perishes. The king knows his wife's affair with his son and wants to punish only his wife, believing that she is the cause. He poisons her slowly, a small vial everyday... the plot is revealed to the queen and she continues to go ahead and continue to take the medicine.
Then there is a twist to the plot. The prince has another lover, one of his step-mother's attendants. Quite expectedly his original lover is not happy. That girl is none other than the King's first wife's daughter, and the prince's half-sister. As if this were not enough the first wife of the king is married to his own doctor and he doesn't know it for several years. True to its name the move is accursed and ends on a sad note.
The only saving grace of this movie if any is the beautifully executed fast action, martial art stunts. Had these not been there the movie would have been a complete disaster... greater than what it is now.
This is one Chinese martial arts movie I didn't quite like. Simple reason there is far too many sub-plots for a successful story. There is a king whose second wife is having an affair with his first wife's son... rather her stepson. Then there is the son of the second wife who is totally loyal to his father who switches loyalties at the end and in the process perishes. The king knows his wife's affair with his son and wants to punish only his wife, believing that she is the cause. He poisons her slowly, a small vial everyday... the plot is revealed to the queen and she continues to go ahead and continue to take the medicine. Then there is a twist to the plot. The prince has another lover, one of his step-mother's attendants. Quite expectedly his original lover is not happy. That girl is none other than the King's first wife's daughter, and the prince's half-sister. As if this were not enough the first wife of the king is married to his own doctor and he doesn't know it for several years. True to its name the move is accursed and ends on a sad note.
The only saving grace of this movie if any is the beautifully executed fast action, martial art stunts. Had these not been there the movie would have been a complete disaster... greater than what it is now.
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