Dreams From My Father - Barack Obama

This book chronicles Barack Obama's life up until just before he enters Harvard Law School.  The book is divided into three sections - his early life growing up in Hawaii and Indonesia, his short stints at Occidental and Columbia and his later work as an organizer in Chicago, and his visit to Kenya to discover his roots.  The theme of the book as he goes through these different places is race, and the legacy of his father.

Though I had a hard time following the various family tree relatives in Kenya, it was a great read that described how he formed his opinions on race, social justice and civil rights.

Early 90s New York thrash

I "discovered" this >30 year old band watching a documentary on YouTube.  I had never heard of them until this past week, and decided to check them out.  I wish I had heard them back when this album came out in 1991.  It's stylistically very similar to the thrash I'm listening to these days from that same era - Sepultura's "Beneath the Remains" and "Alive", and Slayer's "Reign In Blood".  This is a great album that I'm sure will influence my songwriting.

Checking out the Wikipedia page for Demolition Hammer - it appears that two of their members left to form Deviate.  I went to iTunes and found this album, though I don't know if it's the same Deviate.  The time period would be appropriate, as this album came out in 1998, and their sound seems to be very NYC hardcore.  Regardless, this is a great album.

Homo Deus

Harari's "Homo Deus" theorizes mankind's endeavors in the 21st century, not so much as a manifesto but as a prediction of what we need to think about in order to change the direction we head into.

He first talks about the impediments to mankind's progress - war, famine and disease.  Next, he talks about conquering those problems, and what mankind will turn our attention to - specifically divinity, immortality and bliss.

He then turns to evolution and the existence of God, and describes the concepts as being mutually exclusive.  Then he talks about consciousness, the soul, and whether or not animals have either.

The following chapter discusses the artificial constructs that allow mankind to co-exist - money, religion and nationalism, which is repeated from Harari's last book "Sapiens".

Next, he discusses global warming, economy vs. the environment, and how the rich suffer less than the poor when either the economy of the environment suffer.

In the following chapter he talks about Humanism in it's different sects.

He talks about liberalism, socialism and evolutionary Humanism...  where the latter is described in terms of Nazi-ism, which I find a little strange that the Israeli author finds some agreement with.

The latter part of the book discusses dataism vs. humanism, and how homo sapiens will be taken over by dataism, and how mankind will transform.  He says this not as a premonition, but as a warning about where homo sapiens will evolve given our current direction and reliance on technology and social media.

It was interesting and food for thought.

Romeo and Juliet

After reading "Shakespeare Saved My Life", I think I'll try reading Romeo and Juliet, which is supposedly one of the works that is easier to understand.

The Power of Kindness

This is a great book that helps one to find peace through the power of kindness.  The author breaks the book down into different sections, each describing a different kind act.  He often references stories that teach a lesson applicable to each section.  The sections are:

Honesty
Harmlessness
Warmth
Forgiveness
Contact
Sense of Belonging
Trust
Mindfulness
Empathy
Humility
Patience
Generosity
Respect
Flexibility
Memory
Loyalty
Gratitude
Service
Joy

I really love this book and its teachings.

Shakespeare Saved My Life

This was a really cool book!!  It's about the author's experience teaching Shakespeare in the solitary confinement ward of a maximum security prison, and highlights her experience with one particularly enthusiastic and brilliant prisoner.

I loved this book and it was so easy to read.  And I'm thinking if Shakespeare could be read and analyzed by criminals, maybe reading Shakespeare isn't as daunting as I think it is!

Star Wars: Rogue One

I watched this movie on DVD this weekend.  I saw it in the theater when it originally came out, and really enjoyed it then.  I enjoyed it even more this second time.

I thought it was one of the best Star Wars movies made so far.  Part of that was the connections to the very first movie (Episode 4), and the frequent use of the word "hope" was a prelude to "A New Hope".  I enjoyed the few monologues about rallying the rebellion, as they portrayed the spirit of the rebellion in a way that the original didn't capitalize on.  Scenes like those definitely set a context for the rebellion.

The scenes alternating between the aerial dogfights and the hand fighting on land were really great war scenes.

Spoiler alert.....

The concept of hope and the transition of that from this movie to episode 4 made the death of the all of the characters that much more significant.

The Universe In A Single Atom - The Dalai Lama

My studies into the teachings of the Dalai Lama continue through this book.  It is very interesting, though difficult at times to understand.

I was surprised at the Dalai Lama's level of understanding of science.  Some of the comparisons of Buddhism to scientific inquiry resonated in me, whereas others left questions in my mind.  I appreciated the comparison and contrast of scientific thinking with philosophical questions, while recognizing that science has philosophical components of ethics and morals.

This is another book that I'm having difficulty comprehending, so I think I'll need to listen to it again.

A Profound Mind - The Dalai Lama

In "A Profound Mind", the Dalai Lama teaches the cultivation of wisdom and peace through Buddhist practices.

Unlike "The Art of Happiness", "A Profound Mind" focuses on Buddhist spiritual teachings and concepts in achieving inner peace and reducing suffering.

I found the concept of emptiness of self to be difficult to understand, so I think I'll need to read this again.  Typically when I don't understand something in a book, I'll continue reading in order to grasp the other key concepts.  Fortunately, one need not understand this concept completely in order to continue his teachings.  Still, I think to grasp the concept would probably reinforce the rest of the book.

Buddhism is interesting to me.  It touches upon facets of religion but is more a philosophy.  It's more inward facing and teaches compassion towards the world around us.  And though I don't know much about Christianity or Islam, it appears much more inclusive in the sense that Buddhism doesn't talk about "sins", doesn't talk about repenting, or doesn't weigh heavy with guilt.... rather, it advocates for the reduction of internal suffering.

I'm not sure about the concepts of lack of self or reincarnation, but I definitely incorporate facets of Buddhism into my life now.

As I said before, I will read this again.

Qingming

Qingming is an annual Chinese tradition of honoring our ancestors.  This past weekend, we went to the graveyard to honor my Chinese grandmother.  It's a very ritualistic experience that starts with the presentation of food, symbolically.  We offer our prayers, pour tea and/or whiskey near the grave, then offer more prayers.  Next, we burn simulated money, which we call "hell notes".  The significance, or so I'm told, is to give our ancestors money to keep them out of hell.  Next, we pop fireworks, presumably to ward off the bad spirits.

It's a fun tradition, gives us an opportunity to get together with family and reminisce about grandma, and keeps our culture alive.

On the thought of keeping our culture alive, I watched a video of "The Oldest Dim Sum in San Francisco", and laughed when the host talked about making potstickers on New Years and wearing bread on their faces with holes cut out while cutting onions to prevent crying.  Then I thought about how Qingming, Moon Festival and Chinese New Year are the three cultural practices we enjoy, and how I don't know enough about the meaning behind them, nor do we have fun traditions like that.

For Chinese New Year next year, I think we'll make potstickers with bread masks.  I also think it would be fun to pound mochi on New Year's Eve to keep our Japanese culture alive.

Culture and traditions are very important in establishing your identity, and I think I need to cultivate this more in my kids.

Vices & Virtues - Panic! At The Disco

My daughter is slowly converting me over to all of the albums she loves, with Twenty One Pilots and My Chemical Romance already in heavy rotation on Apple Music.

Vices & Virtues is an amazing album.  As with all Panic songs, the songwriting is super catchy, and sung and performed with so much energy.  There's something a little more serious about this album compared to their other albums, and I think that's what has drawn me to it.

There are lots of string arrangements, synths, and cool little parts.  The album starts with "The Ballad of Mona Lisa", a catchy song that's more a romping anthemic pop song than a ballad.  Catchy songs follow, maybe not concise and simple enough to play on pop radio, but definitely easy to listen to. 7 songs in is "Always", a soft acoustic number that is one of my favorite songs on the album.

I believe the album was partially produced by Butch Walker, who is, IMO, a genius producer and musician.


I've heard of people dismissing Panic as emo, or saying their music is background mindless music.  I feel that if Brendan Urie (who basically at this point IS Panic) continues putting out such diverse and incredible albums, they have the potential to achieve the same kind of legacy as the Beatles or Queen.

The Law of Attractioon, Plain and Simple

I heard about the Law of Attraction recently.  I thought it sounded interesting, so I looked it up on the internet, and found a lot of skeptics.

I fancy myself as a critical thinker, so I wanted to find out for myself what this was all about.

LOA uses a lot of the techniques that the books by The Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu teach, namely forgiveness, letting go of the past, harnessing positive energy, etc.  In some respects, it's also very similar to Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.

However, the fundamental premise is getting all that you desire, rather than finding inner peace.

That general premise seems to be contradictory to me.  Finding inner peace implies being satisfied with what you have, but getting all that you desire almost suggests dissatisfaction with your current situation.

I believe in moving forward, and I do believe that the positive energy that LOA suggests is a great way to move forward.  I just think there's a fine line between moving forward and getting more and more.  The Dalai Lama teaches you to be happy with what you have and not to place your happiness on material things, on money, on the perfect spouse, because with the disappearance of those things, you will lose your happiness.  On the other hand, if you find peace and happiness, and can eliminate suffering through the compassion that you share with people, then you will always have inner peace.

I will take the message that this book presents with proper context.  But the whole premise is a bit counter intuitive to me, in terms of finding peace and happiness in your core.

I still feel like I can learn from anything.  And in this case, the LOA and the seeming lack of calm and inner peace associated with wanting more, reinforces the teachings of the Dalai Lama.