Monday, March 9, 2015

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

I never read fan-fiction and I have hated almost all fan fiction that has recently become popular (e.g. 50 Shades of Grey).  However a few years ago one of my children recommended I look at http://hpmor.com/ and I became an instant fan.  Shortly after I caught up to the last entry he posted, the author became busy in his day job and took a short hiatus from writing. So I stopped following the updates for about a year. 

kcsongneverends:My little piece of fan art for the amazing fan fiction Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.It has the family motto of the Peverells/Potters, the spell which has the power to vanquish death, and the Deathly Hallows themselves, all against
 a background of the stars.I have little art/design skill, so I just made a nice looking wallpaper. Full size.

Recently, the author started releasing updates and finished writing the final arc of the story.  He is posting the updates now and will complete the final update on or around March 15.  Fans are scheduling “wrap parties,” presumably because the first draft of the book is “a wrap” (completed).  I hope it gets published by a mainstream publisher and the author profits for his work.

In the mean time, if you start reading the book now, it will probably be complete before you finish; so you can read the final chapters as they post to http://hpmor.com  (as I am now doing).

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I do not enjoy reading on a computer and do not use a tablet.  I do read e-books on my phone.  So I simply download the epub version of the entire book from the author’s web site here.  Anyway it’s a fantastic book in its current draft **** / ***** (4 out of 5 stars) and I highly recommend it.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

What we did on our holiday

We saw a funny, uplifting movie tonight.
Great quirky unpredictable plot.  *** out of *****

Friday, March 6, 2015

Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea

Plagues and pleasures poster.jpg
Two out of five ** / *****
This quirky documentary is very interesting but does not do justice to the interesting topic of the largest lake in California, its history, ecology, politics, and locals who live there.

El Alemein


We enjoyed this film.  *** / *****

All Joy and No Fun

I just finished reading All Joy and No Fun.  I really loved the book and highly recommend it to all parents.  It is a Gladwell-like odyssey of the effect children have on their parents from birth to adulthood and beyond.  It includes a dense, insightful historical perspectives on the shift in societal values in the USA as well as philosophy, popular sociological studies, and, of course, some amazing psychological studies and insights.  Her background materials are spot-on and even the case studies, deep-dives, anecdotes are interesting.

The author herself reads the audio version of the book and she is a great voice actress.

If you read only 5 books this year, make sure this one is high on your list.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Inherent Vice

"Inherent Vice" is terrible! Miss this one. *
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Boring, surreal, stupid, awful.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Mr Turner

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We saw "Mr Turner" yesterday and today. It has very many amazing visual "painting" moments.   But it is missing some context. So I am torn between *** (worth watching) and ** (miss it).  So: if you like visual "painting" movies like Sophia Capolla or you enjoy 18th century art then you will like it.  Otherwise, punt.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Low Down

We watched "Low Down" tonight. It is very depressing and sad. Miss it. 

* out of *****
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Safe Snow

Avalanche Safety


avalanche

#SafeSnow

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Ida

Tonight we watched “Ida,” a Polish movie about a nun who discovers her parents were Jewish.  Her mother superior sends her to an aunt who takes her on an odyssey through her own past, the death by holocaust murder of her parents, and hedonistic sensations (jazz music, tobacco, vodka . . .). Gab liked the story.  I thought it was formulaic and meh.  ** out of *****.  Miss this one.
Ida
At Rotten Tomatoes the critics and viewers liked it a lot
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. . . which is why we watched the video.