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BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated The News: A User's Manual in Books
Aug 5, 2018
I believe this book has the wrong title. Let me explain.
Despite having the title “The News: A User’s Manual”, the book reads like a wish-list of how de Botton wants news journalists and media editors to present and publish the news. Furthermore, if it was intended to be read by the layperson, de Botton must have had the dual intention of increasing the lay reader’s vocabulary. Several of the words I looked up in my offline dictionary app weren’t to be found.
I liked how his views were presented though - this short book is split into 8 main topics: politics, world news, economics, celebrity, disaster, consumption and a conclusion. Each topic is split into further sub-topics, and each of the points being made in these sub-topics is numbered and lasts about a page. This organization doesn’t disrupt the fluidity, however, and the way that points are made in such small sections provides the perfect opportunity to pause and reflect on each point made.
It presents the author’s views on what the news should ideally be and how it can enrich us. He made numerous valid points, but for the purposes of this review, I will concentrate on those I consider to be the most important. The book is written for a British audience, using several British news story excerpts to highlight de Botton’s points. His points are all well put and I didn’t really want to have to paraphrase them for this review for that very reason.
Firstly, the perception that political news is boring is not a minor issue. Often there is an important matter which fails to engage us, and we can react more strongly to matters which affect very few people.
Another valid point is how the process of the reader developing views on serious issues on which so little information is actually conveyed, makes us feel like we are being ruled by crooks and idiots who seem to be ignoring logical solutions. The news fails to explain why difficult decisions are so difficult.
On celebrity news, de Botton portrays hero worship as childish and demeaning, a sign that we find ourselves inadequate. He argues that celebrity news should be used as a self-improvement tool, focusing on what we can learn from the individual.
De Botton believes that the purpose of dramatic tragedies should be so we can compare ourselves to the villain, that the stories read like fables and imparted a moral statement. We are a hideously flawed species, he says, and the criminals need to be humanized if we are to learn anything from these kinds of stories.
And on that note, I shall say I have learned something from this book. The contrast de Botton demonstrates between how the news is portrayed and how it ought to be to best enrich us, will ensure I will take his comments into consideration when I read/watch the news or am deciding on my personalization of news received on news apps. The purpose of the editors may be to sell advertising space, but my intention in perceiving the news is to obtain a fair and accurate perspective of the world around me.
Despite having the title “The News: A User’s Manual”, the book reads like a wish-list of how de Botton wants news journalists and media editors to present and publish the news. Furthermore, if it was intended to be read by the layperson, de Botton must have had the dual intention of increasing the lay reader’s vocabulary. Several of the words I looked up in my offline dictionary app weren’t to be found.
I liked how his views were presented though - this short book is split into 8 main topics: politics, world news, economics, celebrity, disaster, consumption and a conclusion. Each topic is split into further sub-topics, and each of the points being made in these sub-topics is numbered and lasts about a page. This organization doesn’t disrupt the fluidity, however, and the way that points are made in such small sections provides the perfect opportunity to pause and reflect on each point made.
It presents the author’s views on what the news should ideally be and how it can enrich us. He made numerous valid points, but for the purposes of this review, I will concentrate on those I consider to be the most important. The book is written for a British audience, using several British news story excerpts to highlight de Botton’s points. His points are all well put and I didn’t really want to have to paraphrase them for this review for that very reason.
Firstly, the perception that political news is boring is not a minor issue. Often there is an important matter which fails to engage us, and we can react more strongly to matters which affect very few people.
Another valid point is how the process of the reader developing views on serious issues on which so little information is actually conveyed, makes us feel like we are being ruled by crooks and idiots who seem to be ignoring logical solutions. The news fails to explain why difficult decisions are so difficult.
On celebrity news, de Botton portrays hero worship as childish and demeaning, a sign that we find ourselves inadequate. He argues that celebrity news should be used as a self-improvement tool, focusing on what we can learn from the individual.
De Botton believes that the purpose of dramatic tragedies should be so we can compare ourselves to the villain, that the stories read like fables and imparted a moral statement. We are a hideously flawed species, he says, and the criminals need to be humanized if we are to learn anything from these kinds of stories.
And on that note, I shall say I have learned something from this book. The contrast de Botton demonstrates between how the news is portrayed and how it ought to be to best enrich us, will ensure I will take his comments into consideration when I read/watch the news or am deciding on my personalization of news received on news apps. The purpose of the editors may be to sell advertising space, but my intention in perceiving the news is to obtain a fair and accurate perspective of the world around me.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated the PC version of The Evil Within 2 in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019
The Evil Within 2 is not only a worthy follow up to the original game but is easily one of the best survival horror games ever created in my opinion. The game takes place three years after the events of the first game and follows protagonist Sebastian Castellanos as he deals with the aftermath of his experiences in the first game. Sebastian is reeling from his prior experiences as well as a personal tragedy and has hit rock bottom.
When a former partner offers Sebastian a chance to rectify many of his issues and reclaim what he lost he reluctantly takes the opportunity even though he has to again deal with the mysterious mobius organization. Sebastian is tasked with entering a virtual world simulation known as “Union” to locate the missing operatives who had been sent in previously as well as something of a personal nature to Sebastian.
Once entering the world, it is clear that something has gone horribly wrong as all manner of nightmare inducing creatures roam the land, killing all they encounter. As if this was not bad enough, there is also a mysterious figure that seems to be leading the chaos and seems to delight in toying with and killing all he encounters.
Sebastian must locate weapons, supplies and other survivors in order to craft what he needs to survive and find his way back home. Along the way he will have to deal with puzzles, limited ammunition and supplies, and a never ending assortment of creatures looking to shred him to pieces whenever they can.
The game not only has amazing visuals and sounds, the story are very compelling and drew me into the scenarios faster than the first game did. I loved the detailed world that Sebastian found himself in and loved exploring locales ranging from churches to garages along the way.
The game did require me to adjust my usual run and gun style of play as supplies are not infinite so discretion is the better part of valor as avoiding a fight is often much wiser than confronting enemies.
Playing on the PS4 Pro, the game ran smoothly and looked amazing and while I did need a bit to get used to the controls and combat system, if you have played the original it will come back to you quickly.
I found myself enjoying the sequel even more than the original as it grabbed me from the start and did not let go. While there are puzzled in the game that have to be solved in order to progress, I did not find them as frustrating as some in the past game such as trying to turn a wheel to raise a gate while waves of enemies attacked my ammunition depleted character.
Not only did I enjoy pretty much everything about the game, I would go so far as to say it was one of my favorite releases of 2017 and is a contender for end of year awards as far as I am concerned. I am really interested to see where Bethesda will go next with the series as this was a highly enjoyable game.
http://sknr.net/2017/11/19/evil-within-2/
When a former partner offers Sebastian a chance to rectify many of his issues and reclaim what he lost he reluctantly takes the opportunity even though he has to again deal with the mysterious mobius organization. Sebastian is tasked with entering a virtual world simulation known as “Union” to locate the missing operatives who had been sent in previously as well as something of a personal nature to Sebastian.
Once entering the world, it is clear that something has gone horribly wrong as all manner of nightmare inducing creatures roam the land, killing all they encounter. As if this was not bad enough, there is also a mysterious figure that seems to be leading the chaos and seems to delight in toying with and killing all he encounters.
Sebastian must locate weapons, supplies and other survivors in order to craft what he needs to survive and find his way back home. Along the way he will have to deal with puzzles, limited ammunition and supplies, and a never ending assortment of creatures looking to shred him to pieces whenever they can.
The game not only has amazing visuals and sounds, the story are very compelling and drew me into the scenarios faster than the first game did. I loved the detailed world that Sebastian found himself in and loved exploring locales ranging from churches to garages along the way.
The game did require me to adjust my usual run and gun style of play as supplies are not infinite so discretion is the better part of valor as avoiding a fight is often much wiser than confronting enemies.
Playing on the PS4 Pro, the game ran smoothly and looked amazing and while I did need a bit to get used to the controls and combat system, if you have played the original it will come back to you quickly.
I found myself enjoying the sequel even more than the original as it grabbed me from the start and did not let go. While there are puzzled in the game that have to be solved in order to progress, I did not find them as frustrating as some in the past game such as trying to turn a wheel to raise a gate while waves of enemies attacked my ammunition depleted character.
Not only did I enjoy pretty much everything about the game, I would go so far as to say it was one of my favorite releases of 2017 and is a contender for end of year awards as far as I am concerned. I am really interested to see where Bethesda will go next with the series as this was a highly enjoyable game.
http://sknr.net/2017/11/19/evil-within-2/
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Marvel continues its cinematic dominance with their latest release, “The Avengers: Age of Ultron”. The film once again teams Iron Man (Robert Downey JR.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Window , (Scarlett Johannson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), as the deal with the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. after the events of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”.
The film opens with a visually amazing action sequence where the heroes raid a Hydra base as they attempt to retrieve Loki’s spear from the evil organization that is bent on world domination.
While researching the spoils of their raid, a pair of enhanced siblings, (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olson), have managed to exert their influence on one of the team which in turn leads to a bold experiment to create an ultimate guardian of humanity named Ultron who will protect the Earth from all manner of enemies from beyond.
Things do not go as planned s unbeknownst to the Avengers, the artificial A.I. they recovered from Hydra soon builds an army and declares an all-out war on the Avengers and eventually all of humanity.
Tasked with stopping a clever enemy who can switch his conscious to any number of bodies the world over, Ultron (James Spader) leads the team on a deadly game of cat and mouse with the fate of the human race hanging in the balance.
The film is darker and bolder than many of the previous Marvel films but still maintains plenty of humor to lighten the tension. The supporting cast is very good, especially Samuel L. Jackson who steals the scenes whenever he appears.
There were a few sub plots and romantic themes that seemed a bit muddled and some aspects of the story were not fully developed and came to conclusions fairly abruptly, but the film is a shining triumph despite the issues.
The leads work very well with one another though some characters such as Thor were given storylines that really never developed and the same goes for some of the questions left unanswered since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The visual FX were amazing as seeing it in IMAX 3D really made the action leap off the screen. Director Josh Wheedon paces the film well despite a few instances where things drag along.
The action sequences are the bread and butter of the film and they are frequent and truly spectacular to behold.
Spader does a great job bringing a depth to Ultron which helps him avoid being the stock super villain. He mixes the soul of a poet and scholar with the tantrums of a child which makes him a compelling, captivating, and downright deadly opponent.
The newer characters do well and hopefully we will see them developed more in “Avengers: Infinity War” which is currently in the early stages of development.
For now, Wheedon, Marvel, and the talented cast have created an epic summer action film which is everything you would expect from a super hero movie and more.
http://sknr.net/2015/04/30/avengers-age-of-ultron/
The film opens with a visually amazing action sequence where the heroes raid a Hydra base as they attempt to retrieve Loki’s spear from the evil organization that is bent on world domination.
While researching the spoils of their raid, a pair of enhanced siblings, (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olson), have managed to exert their influence on one of the team which in turn leads to a bold experiment to create an ultimate guardian of humanity named Ultron who will protect the Earth from all manner of enemies from beyond.
Things do not go as planned s unbeknownst to the Avengers, the artificial A.I. they recovered from Hydra soon builds an army and declares an all-out war on the Avengers and eventually all of humanity.
Tasked with stopping a clever enemy who can switch his conscious to any number of bodies the world over, Ultron (James Spader) leads the team on a deadly game of cat and mouse with the fate of the human race hanging in the balance.
The film is darker and bolder than many of the previous Marvel films but still maintains plenty of humor to lighten the tension. The supporting cast is very good, especially Samuel L. Jackson who steals the scenes whenever he appears.
There were a few sub plots and romantic themes that seemed a bit muddled and some aspects of the story were not fully developed and came to conclusions fairly abruptly, but the film is a shining triumph despite the issues.
The leads work very well with one another though some characters such as Thor were given storylines that really never developed and the same goes for some of the questions left unanswered since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The visual FX were amazing as seeing it in IMAX 3D really made the action leap off the screen. Director Josh Wheedon paces the film well despite a few instances where things drag along.
The action sequences are the bread and butter of the film and they are frequent and truly spectacular to behold.
Spader does a great job bringing a depth to Ultron which helps him avoid being the stock super villain. He mixes the soul of a poet and scholar with the tantrums of a child which makes him a compelling, captivating, and downright deadly opponent.
The newer characters do well and hopefully we will see them developed more in “Avengers: Infinity War” which is currently in the early stages of development.
For now, Wheedon, Marvel, and the talented cast have created an epic summer action film which is everything you would expect from a super hero movie and more.
http://sknr.net/2015/04/30/avengers-age-of-ultron/
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Adjustment Bureau (2011) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
The Adjustment Bureau is based on (or it may be more accurate to say, inspired by) the Philip K. Dick short story “Adjustment Team”, and stars Matt Damon as David Norris, a New York politician running for the U.S. Senate and Emily Blunt as Elise Sellas, a professional ballerina.
When David and Elise first meet in the men’s restroom and he doesn’t question her gender I knew this wasn’t going to be the typical boy meets girl story. Just to clarify, I’m not saying she turns out to be a he, I’m just saying it’s good to check out the engine under the hood. But what should have been a once in a restroom… er, lifetime encounter, becomes a second, then a third and… you get the point. Shortly after their second encounter where David finally gets Elise’s name and number written on a business card he walks in on a strange group of well dressed individuals who were what can only be described as “probing” his friends in a conference room. So David does what any sane person would do after witnessing a group probing, he runs (like you wouldn’t? ). After running down a few hallways, he’s captured. Let’s be honest, running down hallways isn’t Oscar material, so I was glad it was short-lived. David learns that these well-dressed individuals work for The Adjustment Bureau.
This secret organization works behind the scenes to ensure the course of destiny, as written by “The Chairman”, goes as planned and they tell him that men’s room ballerinas are not part of the plan for him. At this point I wanted to yell “Screw them, go for the ballerina! They’re bendy!” but before I could, Agent Richardson (played by John Slattery) informs David that if he doesn’t follow the plan they have for him then they will… well, let’s just say they will probe him like nobody’s business. Then before they leave they take the business card with Elise’s name and number on it and before you can say “rooster-block” they throw him to the floor like Chevy Chase impersonating President Ford and disappear.
In time David and Elise are reunited by chance and with some information given to him by his disgruntled Adjustment Bureau ex-caseworker Agent Harry (played by Anthony Mackie), David works hard to overcome the obstacles placed before them by the Adjustment Bureau. But when Agent Thompson (played by Terence Stamp) joins the fray, he tells David what will happen to Elise if he doesn’t leave her.
Does love win in the end, does fate win or are they eaten by the alligators in the New York City sewers? I will tell you, that once again, the alligators did not win. The film does an excellent job of balancing its romance and thriller aspects with just enough humor to compliment the first two aspects, making it a very enjoyable movie for an individual, a couple or a group of friends to see. On a side note, when the film was over I left the movie wanting to buy a suit and I really dislike wearing suits.
When David and Elise first meet in the men’s restroom and he doesn’t question her gender I knew this wasn’t going to be the typical boy meets girl story. Just to clarify, I’m not saying she turns out to be a he, I’m just saying it’s good to check out the engine under the hood. But what should have been a once in a restroom… er, lifetime encounter, becomes a second, then a third and… you get the point. Shortly after their second encounter where David finally gets Elise’s name and number written on a business card he walks in on a strange group of well dressed individuals who were what can only be described as “probing” his friends in a conference room. So David does what any sane person would do after witnessing a group probing, he runs (like you wouldn’t? ). After running down a few hallways, he’s captured. Let’s be honest, running down hallways isn’t Oscar material, so I was glad it was short-lived. David learns that these well-dressed individuals work for The Adjustment Bureau.
This secret organization works behind the scenes to ensure the course of destiny, as written by “The Chairman”, goes as planned and they tell him that men’s room ballerinas are not part of the plan for him. At this point I wanted to yell “Screw them, go for the ballerina! They’re bendy!” but before I could, Agent Richardson (played by John Slattery) informs David that if he doesn’t follow the plan they have for him then they will… well, let’s just say they will probe him like nobody’s business. Then before they leave they take the business card with Elise’s name and number on it and before you can say “rooster-block” they throw him to the floor like Chevy Chase impersonating President Ford and disappear.
In time David and Elise are reunited by chance and with some information given to him by his disgruntled Adjustment Bureau ex-caseworker Agent Harry (played by Anthony Mackie), David works hard to overcome the obstacles placed before them by the Adjustment Bureau. But when Agent Thompson (played by Terence Stamp) joins the fray, he tells David what will happen to Elise if he doesn’t leave her.
Does love win in the end, does fate win or are they eaten by the alligators in the New York City sewers? I will tell you, that once again, the alligators did not win. The film does an excellent job of balancing its romance and thriller aspects with just enough humor to compliment the first two aspects, making it a very enjoyable movie for an individual, a couple or a group of friends to see. On a side note, when the film was over I left the movie wanting to buy a suit and I really dislike wearing suits.
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