
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated The Flight Attendant in Books
Jul 22, 2019
I have loved Chris Bohjalian's books from the first one I read, Midwives.
There was a time in my life when I wanted to be a flight attendant. I'm not sure what happened that I didn't go through with it. I would have loved to travel the world seeing different places no matter how briefly. Although I here the flight attendant life isn't as glamorous as it may seem.
This book really grabbed me from the start. Cassie liked to get drunk and make bad decisions. This time she thought she found a nice guy, but who would want him dead. The FBI thinks she may have been in on it, but she's nothing but a flight attendant, not a spy. Will she continue her wild behavior, or will this incident be a wake up call for her?
Travel with Cassie all over the world as she tries to figure out her life and where it all went wrong. Will she make it out of this situation or will she spend the rest of her life somewhere she doesn't belong?

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo (2020) in Movies
Sep 6, 2020
I remember being completely drawn in by his silent character in Desperado, and then shortly after, recognising him in From Dusk Till Dawn. He's a guy who always manages to cut an intriguing and intimidating figure whatever movie he has been in.
His backstory has become just as famous, his incarceration at San Quentin in particular being pretty common knowledge.
This documentary really dives into his life story, starting with his childhood years, through his time in multie prisons, and then through his acting career and life as a changed man, and a genuinely good person. Watching Trejo speak about his life is just wonderful. The details he recalls are hugely interesting and the way he speaks about everyone he has come across through his life is respectful. He acknowledges that his life these days is a good one, and he can look back on his tougher years and find the humour in some of the shit that he endured.
All of the guests on this documentary, from fellow actors like Donal Logue and Michelle Rodriguez, to director Robert Rodriguez, to fellow inmates, to family members, all speak of him with a lot of warmth.
While Inmate #1 (a reference to some of his early acting credits) does indeed chronicle all of his misdemeanors, his difficult upbringing, his criminal life, it also shines a light on all of the good he has done since leaving prison in 1969. The amount of work he has done for his community is tremendous, and he still gives talks and lectures today, trying to help people who need it. It's an important balance in the way the narrative is told and reveals Trejo to be a pretty down to earth guy.
Its a super interesting story that's worth checking out. Long Live Dany Trejo.

The Legacy of R. D. Laing: An Appraisal of His Contemporary Relevance
Book
The name R. D. Laing continues to be widely recognized by those in the psychotherapy community in...

Kyera (8 KP) rated Noteworthy in Books
Feb 1, 2018
Pretty quickly, it looks like one of the guys might be a future love interest for Jordan, not Julian as in all likelihood the group will eventually discover her secret. I expected that they would be hurt at first, but eventually forgive her after all they've been through together. Most of my expectations came to pass, although there were slight deviations. Overall, there weren't really any big surprises or reveals in the book.
The characters are so wonderfully well written and realistic. You watch them grow, learn about themselves and find yourself grinning like an idiot when Trav does (because that boy seriously needed it). You cheer for their wins and want to personally beat up those who wrong them. You've become an honorary Sharp and these guys are your family just like they are for Jordan.
Highly recommended contemporary novel about growing up, learning about yourself, making friends and the secrets you keep. And most importantly? Music. Great read for teen/young adult readers with a small amount of profanity.

Ten Ways Not to Commit Suicide: A Memoir
Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and Darrell Dawsey
Book
In this surprising and moving memoir, the legendary rap star and cofounder of Run D.M.C. keeps it a...

Alex Wolff recommended Ordinary People (1980) in Movies (curated)

Andy K (10823 KP) rated Peppermint (2018) in Movies
Apr 14, 2019
The premise, innocent woman has her family gunned down in front of her eyes. She goes off the grid for several years and then returns to track down and administer her own form of private justice in her complete transformation into a hardened killer. Along the way she encounters the usual sympathetic cop, dirty cop, innocent bystanders and becomes a social media sensation.
It is all too familiar like the recent Death Wish and Equalizer remakes it feels like this story has been told too many times recently and better than this one. The characters (especially the villains) are so generic and unmemorable they just blend into the background.
These "take the law into your own hands" films really have to go above and beyond to deliver something unique for me to be memorable since they are so formula these days and this one definitely did not.
I did enjoy watching Jennifer Garner kick some bad guy ass, but even that was done better in the recent Atomic Blonde.
Overall, meh.

Rebecca Billcliff (2409 KP) rated Big bang theory season 11 in TV
Dec 3, 2019 (Updated Dec 4, 2019)
The characters are (to me) very one dimensional, predictable, and just plain annoying.
Add that to the later seasons, where, like all programs that has passed it's expectation date, it just starts to go down hill.
America has a bad tradition of drawing out it's TV for far to long. At an average of 20 episodes a season, and usually 6+ seasons, programs go stale, get repetitive, loose the elements that made them good, or just forget to follow through with plots and character arcs. Lost. The Simpsons. Family Guy. 24. NCIS. How I Met Your Mother. Vitualy any program suffers at least a little in the later seasons, hopefully it recovers for the final, but not always. And while many will disagree, I just felt it was lacklustre to the end.
I know lots of people love it, and I by no means hate it, it's just not for me, despite trying and wanting to like it.
Like bananas.

Go Big or Go Home: The Journey Toward the Dream
Scotty McCreery and Travis Thrasher
Book
It was just a simple singing competition that would be fun to audition for. Who knew what kind of...

Tracklements Savoury Preserves: Traditional, Handmade Accompaniments for Meat, Cheese or Fish
Book
Preserving is a wonderful way to make summer and autumn fruits and vegetables last into the winter...