Frege: A Philosophical Biography
Book
Gottlob Frege (1848-1925) is one of the founding figures of analytic philosophy, whose contributions...
The Italians
Book
'Hooper has written a fascinating, affectionate and well-researched study that delivers the...
What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do The Opposite
Book
This book reveals a remarkable paradox: what your brain wants is frequently not what your brain...
Dropping Ashes on the Buddha
Book
“Somebody comes into the Zen center with a lighted cigarette, walks up to the Buddha statue, blows...
OK Talk - Legend Tripping on the Paranormal and Mysterious Tales, Cryptids like Bigfoot, Conspiracies and Haunted Travel
Podcast
Thought Leaders of the Media discuss topics often overlooked and under reported. Paranormal...
Greenland and the International Politics of a Changing Arctic: Postcolonial Paradiplomacy Between High and Low Politics
Book
Greenland and the International Politics of a Changing Arctic examines the international politics of...
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) in Movies
Mar 19, 2018
Confusion abounds as the film rushes through itself. Throughout its entirety, I sat there wondering, "Is this how it feels to be born?" I was angry. Confused. Lost. Not a decent combination of feelings when you're trying to have a good time. The most frustrating part was being able to see the holes that could have been plugged to make the film better. This is what happens when potential suffers from a lack of follow-through.
I wanted to like it, but it just wouldn't give me the chance. The sheer lack of explanation throughout is just plain maddening. You think it's coming, then director Julius Onah hits you with a "Are we good here? Yeah, we're good here, let's move on. Next scene!"
Meanwhile, the characters are running around as if the crazy things that are happening are just another walk in the park. I've never seen a calmer reaction in film to a guy suddenly losing his arm. Why aren't your eyes wide with terror? Why aren't you screaming? There are some things that happen on the ship (no more spoilers) that are ridiculously insane, but everyone seems to be as cool as a cucumber for the most part. Sure, there may be an initial shock reaction, but the reaction wears off in no time. A part of instilling panic in the audience is seeing the characters panic. Unsuccessful.
To make matters worse, The Cloverfield Paradox never really feels like a complete tie-in to the other two films. It's about a space crew trying to harness new forms of energy out in space to save a dying Earth. Frustrating at best, it's absolutely a skip for me. I give it a 43.
David McK (3425 KP) rated The Silent Guides in Books
May 26, 2019
I'm calling it that because I read (listened to?) the audiobook version.
Recently, I decided to give audible (or, more accurately, it's free month) a try, and this came up as one of the 'recommended first listens'. I'd heard, anecdotally, of the Chimp Paradox, even though I'd never read it so thought I would give this a listen, especially since I'd been having a hard time of late and had been feeling rather a bit of stress/was unable to 'switch off' from work.
I don't really know what I was expecting, but what wasn't clear - at least, not to me - was that most of this (say, roughly 80% worth) is actually more about raising kids and how to be a role-model to them. I don't have any.
(I do have nieces and nephews, though)
With that said, there were still some aspects that I could probably put to use in my personal life ...
Articulating the World: Conceptual Understanding and the Scientific Image
Book
Naturalism as a guiding philosophy for modern science both disavows any appeal to the supernatural...