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I loved this book, but then again I am a dork when it comes it useless trivia. Let me tell you this book is FULL of it!
It is not a book you would typically sit down & read cover to cover (unless you're a trivia buff like me of course!) It is designed similar to an encyclopedia. The countries of the world are listed in alphabetical order & there are strange facts about each country. The listing for each country also lists how to say hello & good-bye in the native language, World Heritage Sites, etc. There is a map at the back too which shows you where the countries are located.
All in all it was an enjoyable, fascinating read, though I doubt it would be something everyone could really sink their teeth into.
It is not a book you would typically sit down & read cover to cover (unless you're a trivia buff like me of course!) It is designed similar to an encyclopedia. The countries of the world are listed in alphabetical order & there are strange facts about each country. The listing for each country also lists how to say hello & good-bye in the native language, World Heritage Sites, etc. There is a map at the back too which shows you where the countries are located.
All in all it was an enjoyable, fascinating read, though I doubt it would be something everyone could really sink their teeth into.
David McK (3248 KP) rated Warlord's Gold (Civil War Chronicles, #5) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Book #5 in Michael Arnold's 'Civil War Chronicles', this picks up not long after then end of the previous ([b:Assassin's Reign|16281347|Assassin's Reign (Civil War Chronicles #4)|Michael Arnold|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1373968716s/16281347.jpg|22383365]), with Stryker and his men off to retrieve a treasure from the Scilly Islands for the cause of King and Country.
Of course, agents of Parliament are also after the same treasure.
Meanwhile, Stryker's friend Capt Lancelot Forester is also sent deep into Parliamenterian held country in order to shore up the will of an outpost that is still holding out for the king ...
Surviving shipwreck, imprisonment and torture, the two distinct plot strands (Stryker and the treasure/Forester' mission) eventually mesh at the defense of Basing House, in another enjoyable entry in the series.
Of course, agents of Parliament are also after the same treasure.
Meanwhile, Stryker's friend Capt Lancelot Forester is also sent deep into Parliamenterian held country in order to shore up the will of an outpost that is still holding out for the king ...
Surviving shipwreck, imprisonment and torture, the two distinct plot strands (Stryker and the treasure/Forester' mission) eventually mesh at the defense of Basing House, in another enjoyable entry in the series.
ClareR (5603 KP) rated The Complete Persepolis in Books
Sep 24, 2019
This was so good. Persepolis tells the story of the authors childhood in Iran, the troubles that the country went through, the war, violence, religious extremism, and political upheavals. It tells of what it was like to grow up amidst all of these things, and what it was like to be sent away on your own, as a young teenager, to be educated in a ‘free’ country (in this case, Austria). It’s not over-dramatised, it’s more of a ‘this is how it was’. The pictures add so much to the story as well. What started out as a book that my son was asked to read for school, turned into a book that I read when he wasn’t reading it - and I think I enjoyed it far more 🤷🏼♀️
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Only The Brave (2017) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
Based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, Only The Brave is the heroic story of one unit of local firefighters that through hope, determination, sacrifice, and the drive to protect families, communities, and our country become one of the most elite firefighting teams in the country.
My normal selection of films doesn't generally include "based on a true story" tales, but this year has really seen to that. I probably wouldn't have seen this one if it hadn't been for the fact it coincided with the next Unlimited Screening. So thank god for that.
I really wish I'd read up about the background story before I went... I was not ready for that ending. It was all I could do to not sob out loud in my seat. Heartbreaking
My normal selection of films doesn't generally include "based on a true story" tales, but this year has really seen to that. I probably wouldn't have seen this one if it hadn't been for the fact it coincided with the next Unlimited Screening. So thank god for that.
I really wish I'd read up about the background story before I went... I was not ready for that ending. It was all I could do to not sob out loud in my seat. Heartbreaking
Ross (3282 KP) rated Down Every Road by Merle Haggard in Music
May 4, 2020
Rolling Stone's 477th greatest "album" of all time
First off, since when was a 4-disc anthology considered an album?!
If there was a country version of the old "infinite monkeys with typewriters would eventually write Shakespeare" then I think I just listened to it. So many slightly different combinations of guitar and fiddle melodies, yet they never managed to recreate Jonny Cash.
Country really isn't my bag at all and I should never have listened to this.
Prior to this, my only knowledge of Merle Haggard was the Bloodhound Gang lyric "I was lonelier than Kunta Kinte at a Merle Haggard concert that night I strolled on into Uncle Limpy's Hump Palace lookin' for love", which I didn't understand until now. I wish it had stayed that way.
If there was a country version of the old "infinite monkeys with typewriters would eventually write Shakespeare" then I think I just listened to it. So many slightly different combinations of guitar and fiddle melodies, yet they never managed to recreate Jonny Cash.
Country really isn't my bag at all and I should never have listened to this.
Prior to this, my only knowledge of Merle Haggard was the Bloodhound Gang lyric "I was lonelier than Kunta Kinte at a Merle Haggard concert that night I strolled on into Uncle Limpy's Hump Palace lookin' for love", which I didn't understand until now. I wish it had stayed that way.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Godzilla (1954) in Movies
Mar 24, 2018 (Updated Mar 24, 2018)
The very first Godzilla movie is essentially an unlicensed remake of Eugene Lourie's The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, with a prehistoric monster roused by atomic testing and going on the rampage - but being a bit worried about atom bombs is clearly not the same thing as actually having them used on your country, for this movie has a dark, traumatised quality to it completely absent from American monster movies.
The sequences with the human characters have that slightly melodramatic, soap-opera-ish feel to them common to many B-movies, but the actual monster attacks are astonishingly bleak and explicit about the massive body-count left in Godzilla's wake. You get a strong sense of a country left reeling, struggling to come to terms with why this catastrophe has been visited on them (the movie reflects the widespread Japanese belief that the country was a victim of the second world war, not an aggressor).
It's quite hard to compare this to most of the subsequent films, for this is obviously a much more serious parable. Some of the melodramatic plotting lets it down a bit, and the climax is rather disappointing given the strength of the earlier set pieces. But it's clear why people are still making movies about Godzilla nearly sixty-five years later.
The sequences with the human characters have that slightly melodramatic, soap-opera-ish feel to them common to many B-movies, but the actual monster attacks are astonishingly bleak and explicit about the massive body-count left in Godzilla's wake. You get a strong sense of a country left reeling, struggling to come to terms with why this catastrophe has been visited on them (the movie reflects the widespread Japanese belief that the country was a victim of the second world war, not an aggressor).
It's quite hard to compare this to most of the subsequent films, for this is obviously a much more serious parable. Some of the melodramatic plotting lets it down a bit, and the climax is rather disappointing given the strength of the earlier set pieces. But it's clear why people are still making movies about Godzilla nearly sixty-five years later.
ClareR (5603 KP) rated Perestroika in Books
Mar 10, 2024
Perestroika by João Cerqueira is the story of a fictional country’s turn away from Communism.
We start off in Slavia in 1978 before any of the massive changes that will eventually take place, and we meet the inhabitants of the country: from the corrupt politicians to the men incarcerated in concentration camps. We see how people live on next to nothing and lies from the government that tell them all of their woes are because of the wicked Capitalist West.
The tables are turned on these corrupt Communists with the advent of Perestroika, and instead of Communists governing the country, an all-out crime boss finds himself in charge. But make no mistake: this was engineered by Ivan Fiorov (the crime boss) and his lackeys.
This is a story that is as relevant today as it always has been - especially with what is going on in the Ukraine at the moment. Some of the story arcs in this are horrific, and not just those that take place in the concentration camps. There’s child abuse, sexual coercion, drug abuse, neo-Nazis, violence. The people in this country experience a lot of change in a short period of time. But at the same time, everything stays the same.
Well worth a read.
We start off in Slavia in 1978 before any of the massive changes that will eventually take place, and we meet the inhabitants of the country: from the corrupt politicians to the men incarcerated in concentration camps. We see how people live on next to nothing and lies from the government that tell them all of their woes are because of the wicked Capitalist West.
The tables are turned on these corrupt Communists with the advent of Perestroika, and instead of Communists governing the country, an all-out crime boss finds himself in charge. But make no mistake: this was engineered by Ivan Fiorov (the crime boss) and his lackeys.
This is a story that is as relevant today as it always has been - especially with what is going on in the Ukraine at the moment. Some of the story arcs in this are horrific, and not just those that take place in the concentration camps. There’s child abuse, sexual coercion, drug abuse, neo-Nazis, violence. The people in this country experience a lot of change in a short period of time. But at the same time, everything stays the same.
Well worth a read.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Profit Over People: Neoliberalism & Global Order in Books
Jul 29, 2017
Depressing, important but unstructured
As a general Chomsky fan, his arguments are always important and well rounded. However, this book felt very unstructured and more like a long rant. He switched from one country to another making it difficult to follow his original message and it ends up being a jumble of disputes. I've definitely read better of his works.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) in Movies
Aug 9, 2017
A historically beautiful film
This film should be seen in its historical context, how Che Guevara became the man that he was. A young Guevara decided to travel across the country in his bike, after becoming a doctor, and understanding the problems that locals in the rural areas faced. It's subtle, poignant and rather beautiful. Gael Garcia Bernal is wonderful.
