You should read Dickens. Don't be put off by the fact that he was writing a long time ago, or that you were forced to read him in high school; this is easy, accessible reading, and every bit as entertaining today as when it was written.
We recommend starting with Bleak House, the most autobiographical of Dickens' novels. But there are many great novels by Dickens, such as The Pickwick Papers, Little Dorrit, A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens was a very prolific writer, and once you have discovered how easy he is to read, you will have discovered the source of a lifetime of entertainment.
Bleak House is the story of a lawsuit over an inheritance, and all the people involved in the inheritance; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Among other things, it is a savage indictment of the English legal system of the time - an indictment that is relevant to the American legal system today. But it's also a romance, a family drama, and more, filled with Dicken's usual assortment of fascinating characters.
Be glad that this book is 767 pages long; it's a great book, and you should savor the experience of reading it.
This is our favorite book by Anthony Trollope, one of the great Victorian novelists writing in the time of Dickens, Austen, Gaskell, and Thackeray.
At it's core, this book is about means versus ends; the way you get money matters more than the amount of money you get. The plot puts two very different characters in opposition in a way that is just as relevant today as it was when the book was written. One is a rich and very sleazy financier; the Victorian version of Madoff. The other is a young man who wants to work and create value; in this case, building a railroad in the American West, which was all the rage at the time.
The book is much more than this, of course, including romance, but The Way We Live Now refers to living in a time when wealth and appearances are all that matter, and substance and the means used to acquire wealth are ignored; as true today as in Trollope's time.
A very engaging novel, and might even have scored higher, except that it doesn't have any coherent philosophy, but to say that philosophy is not effective; people act the way they do according to passions, etc. The bondage probably refers to the hero's passion for Mildred, a worthless girl who is not even physically his type, has no character, class or intelligence.
Very well written, with a great blending of introspection and action.
A well done story of Goodyear's incredible and classic story to make rubbber impervious to hot and cold by the vulcanization process. Goodyear endured incredible suffering, including the death of 7 of his 12 children. However, he did have 2 excellent wives, the second one 20 years old when he was 54. A great deal of material about the various patent fights. He spent a lot of time in debtors prison, even after he was famous, due to his very sloppy money management skills. This was a man who was obsessed by the uses of rubber, but never focused on utilizing any one use enough to make money from it. Also, some classic evil guys in the form of Charles Day, who infringed the patent and generally tortured Goodyear. Good parts about this patent case being the last case for the famous lawyer, Webster.
Richard Gere/Jennifer Lopez/Bette Midler/Stanley Tucci
This is a sweet movie, but not in a saccharine sense. We enjoy a lot of Richard Gere movies, and we also find J Lo weirdly endearing. Gere plays an estate lawyer who needs something to break out of his routine work and family life; turns out that something is ballroom dance. This is the kind of movie you could watch with your kids or parents, and not be embarrassed by any of it – but also not be bored. And old fashioned romance, with fine casting.
30-something bachelor, on the cusp of being unhappy with his singleness, begins to examine his lifestyle and goals with the unrequested aid of a fatherless, taunted, mature-beyond-years boy.
Comments: Interesting movie, very good. Hugh Grant stands out as complacent but redeemable Will. The child actor who played mature, sweet, introspective Marcus got it dead on. Also liked self-assured Ellie character. Nice to see female teen portrayed as smart AND nice (not witchy).
Moral: I don't know, really. Of course there's a lot to be said for goodness and treating others with respect, but this movie goes beyond that -- the Will character examines his life and does what few people do: is unhappy with it and actually makes changes. So, I guess, it's about reaching out, even to the most unlikely people, and following through, even though the path may be hidden.
Quotes: "When I hear you sing it's like sunshine." Marcus' mom to Marcus
Plot: Two men are involved in a morning car accident; uninjured, but frustrated and angry - they begin a feud that reveals their worst qualities. The movie doesn't end there, though, and the men force themselves to examine their lives and the way they live them.
Comments: One of the best movies I've seen. Intelligent, daring - brings to mind that "the unexamined life is not worth living". The characters are richly portrayed - they're realistic and stay true to themselves. There are no false notes in this movie.
Moral: I like the fact that the men don't play by life's rules -- that they bend and stretch them at the END without compromising their inherently good principles. They went to the edge of themselves, so to speak -- the most flawed parts of themselves -- and found the strength to return to their cores of goodness and justice. They didn't blindly accept their fates or others' perceptions of them.
Plot: Two loser brothers, one a aspiring actor and the other an accountant, about their respective love lives, mixed in with an old black guy, who brings the accountant back together with the Italian babe. Happy endings all around.
Comments: Written and starred in by two brothers, the plot is good, semi-realistic, and affirming. And the italian woman is gorgeous
The CIA takes the fight against terrorism to the world. One of the best TV dramas ever, and a rare case of killing off the first star (Damian Lewis playing Nicholas Brody) and continuing just as strong as ever, now staring (Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison). Much like The Wire, it shows the wild mix of motivations that is present in real life – a genuine desire to do good, greed, ambition, ideology – and how often it's pointless to try to engineer certain outcome given the unpredictability of the world.
There is no redeeming purpose to this show. You will not be a better person after watching it. But if your brain needs a rest, this half hour comedy about a ruthless female, Vice President of the United States, will serve two purposes:
1) It will be entertaining in a cynical low brow sort of way
2) If you think that problems can be solved through the national political process, it will shed some light on that process. As a former resident of DC, I can say that the show represents a pretty fair, if exaggerated, picture of the political process in DC.
This is based on one of our favorite characters in Breaking Bad, the sleazy lawyer Saul Goodman, played by Jonathan Banks. Saul embodied all that you hope to find in your local junkyard dog lawyer; sleazy TV ads, crowded waiting rooms of “sore neck” personal injury hopefuls, unregistered cash transactions, and very shady connections. But somewhere, deep down, we think that even Saul, like Omar, has a code.
Benched late in last Sunday’s 28-23 loss to Dallas, Washington Redskins second year safety Reed Doughty remained upbeat on the sideline. Doughty encouraged teammates,
Benched late in last Sunday’s 28-23 loss to Dallas, Washington Redskins second year safety Reed Doughty remained upbeat on the sideline. Doughty encouraged teammates,
