A History of the Jews

 

Wow!  This book was very long and extremely depressing.  It is a thick, dense collection of facts, the history of Jewish civilization, Jewish leadership (political, secular, theological, thought) and the relationship of Jews to their ancestral home land, other nation states and other religions.  The epilogue and analysis at the end is very good and makes the book worth reading.  But the unbearable hardships of constant oppression, repeated genocides over 3 millenia, and the suffering they have borne is much much too heartbreaking.  3 out of 5 stars.

Better perception of Reality is disadvantageous

We perceive an attenuated reality.  If our consciousness were more isomorphic with objective reality we would not survive.

Better reality perception is deadly.

gifyoutube.com

Create an animated gif from any youtube video!

http://gifyoutube.com/

Wonder Boys

Watched this one again on the plane to Iceland. Amazing cast, great dialog, strong story, awesome drama. Don't miss it if you have not seen it.

Stay Close

This one is a little too complicated but very thrilling.  Very engrossing, a page turner. 4 of 5 stars.

The Peripheral

Pretty good story.  Compelling characters, bad deus ex machina ending.

3 out of 5 stars.  Worth reading but barely.

Girl on the Train

Weak murder mystery chick thriller, 1 out of 5 stars.  Skip this one, yuck.

A long time until now

Fantastic story, well-researched, fun, fascinating, realistic, compelling characters (a little too good).  5 out of 5 stars.

Chappie

Better than expected; worth watching

3 out of 5 stars

Mad Max Fury Road

A little better than I expected.  Amazing post production and special effects. A little too long for the story. 3 of 5 stars.