Ataraxia

  A Life Like Other People’s by Alan Bennett my note on his marvelous The History Boys is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/06/history-boys-by-alan-bennett-really.html along with thousands of other reviews   8 out of 10   Alan Bennett is one of my favorite authors, and not just that, I admire what I think is his character, he appears to be a gentle, kind, douce man, in contrast with so many ordinary people that are so bombastic, without any skills, talents to justify any such self-regard, as always, my favorite example is Orange Jesus   They nicknamed him like that, within his own cult, though he is raving mad, and we can see evidence of that every single day: he has had a debate, a couple of days ago, which he lost, but as is his way, he keeps saying he won (as for the last elections) and furthermore, he will not have another face off, coward that he is The History Boys is a spectacular work, which has quite a few memorable lines, one of which is “History is a commen

  Dr. Strangelove aka Red Alert by Peter George – my previous note on Dr. Strangelove is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2020/01/dr-strangelove-or-how-i-learned-to-stop.html along with a few thousand other reviews   10 out of 10   This was made into a comedy, although it is no laughing matter to envisage an atomic apocalypse, or wait, I am wrong, it is the only way, if one is to keep sane, in a world where this is a clear possibility, now that we have the Orange Felon so close to the red button, he is still the favorite, even if he lost the debate the other day…   We have to consider this ‘Happiness Activity No 2: Cultivating Optimism - you can keep a journal where you write about the best possible scenario for you coming into being’ you find this in the phenomenal The How of Happiness https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-how-of-happiness-by-sonja.html?q=lyubomirsky Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky details much more in her oeuvre, and we have to be positive, laugh at the

  Momente si Schite by Ion Luca Caragiale – my previous note on a work by this Magister Ludi is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/04/vizita-aka-visit-by-ion-luca-caragiale.html where I have many other reviews   10 out of 10   I could see some new adaptations of the work of Ion Luca Caragiale, just the other day, and it is so relevant for the world we live in, what is exhilarating for this reader is that it is no longer so much about my own country – though we have a long way to go – but with Orange Jesus as exhibit number one, we have the world to laugh at   Ion Luca Caragiale is celebrated as the greatest writer we had – as always, there are detractors, different views, but let us move on – and for a long time, it was about the corruption, falsehoods peddled by various local politicians, let me mention the police man Pristanda and his infamous flags, and compare them with other fake statements In O Scrisoare Pierduta aka The Lost Letter, Pristanda is asked about the

  Islam for Dummies by Malcolm Clark – reading A Short History of Myth by Fabulous Karen Armstrong also helps understand this and other religions – my note on it is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-short-history-of-myth-by-karen.html along with other reviews   8 out of 10   The under signed is not religious, hence his skepticism towards Islam and almost any other faith, except perhaps Buddhism, which seems more palatable, and then stoicism would be a favorite, over there we have a philosophy, but we could see that dogma as close to some of the Christian precepts, indeed, it was popular with Christians   Islam has strong connections with Judaism and Christianism, it has been inspired by them, and there is this view that it is in fact a deviation from the former, Jesus, moses are prophets for the Muslims, Virgin Mary is also a saint there (I think I remember that, but I may be wrong, she could be something else, have another status) Another fantastic read on

  21 Lessons for The 21 st Century by Yuval Harari – my previous note on this is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2022/07/21-lessons-for-21st-century-by-yuval.html where I have thousands of other reviews   10 out of 10   Yuval Harari is one of the luminaries of our age, he is the author of the mesmerizing Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind https://realini.blogspot.com/2021/02/sapiens-brief-history-of-humankind-by.html a great work, if proved a bit overoptimistic perhaps, with hindsight, but that is just petty criticism and not worth much   In Sapiens, Yuval Harari comments on the fantastic period of peace which humans have enjoyed in the last part of the twentieth century, and now that there is a war in Ukraine – invaded by Russia, let me be clear on my stand, it was not the Americans pushing anything, it was Putin – and another in Gaza, well, what about peace? This would be a lamentable take on such a sophisticated volume, for yes, the thinker is right, people have

  The Crucible by Arthur Miller – my other note on this is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-crucible-by-arthur-miller.html where I have posted thousands of other reviews, not that it makes sense to get there   8 out of 10   The Crucible was aired again, last night, in a version adapted by the author, majestic Arthur Miller, for the big screen, with a spectacular cast, the only male thespian with three Academy Awards, all for leading roles, Daniel Day Lewis as John Proctor, Wynona Ryder as Abigail Williams, Paul Scofield aka Thomas Danforth…   Joan Allen was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Elizabeth Proctor, wife of John, Arthur Miller has also been listed as the 1997 Nominee for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published, this being indeed a memorable film, which has messages for the present After almost four hundred and fifty years, America seems about to elect an Orange Felon who keeps whining abou

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell – author of Mary Barton, my note on this is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2023/11/mary-barton-by-elizabeth-gaskell-author.html along with hundreds of other reviews   8 out of 10   Elizabeth Gaskell has four books on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list, Cranford, Mary Barton, Ruth (which I will have to read some time soon, or maybe in the distant future) and the one I most enjoyed so far, North and South https://realini.blogspot.com/2019/11/north-and-south-by-elizabeth-gaskell.html   What brings joy to the reader is the feeling that he/she/they can identify with the characters, specifically the most important ones, feel they have shared experiences, values, they long for the same things, and then we can admire what Aristotle gave as his recipe, the magic formula if you will which was verified by Unforgiven… The master work I have seen again the other day – a new note on it is coming today or tomorrow – wherein you have the protag

  Gandhi – Screenplay by John Briley – Winner of the 1983 Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, also Best Motion Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Director…a total of eight Academy Awards, and many other trophies   10 out of 10   Mahatma Gandhi was one of the greatest men of the last century, and indeed, of all time, someone we need to celebrate, especially seeing that the world has some ghouls in leading positions, and nobody comes even close to the stature of a leader that was short physically, but grandiose metaphorically, even if not perfect   India itself does not have a prime minister that could hold a candle to the majestic Gandhi, Narendra Modi is popular, admittedly, he packs stadiums when he visits, but the man has such a dark history, what with that demolishing of a mosque, his ultra nationalism, he is not someone to admire, if you ask me, which you shouldn’t Do not get me started on Orange Jesus already, that should come

  Unforgiven by David Webb Peoples – my previous note on this is at https://notesaboutfilms.blogspot.com/2020/07/one-of-realini-top-20-best-movies-ever.html along with thousands of other reviews   10 out of 10   This is a magnum opus, and no doubt about it; I have seen it again yesterday, with my daughter, Hannah, and thought that maybe I will not stay till the end, the point of watching a movie, reading a book is to reach Flow https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/10/flow-by-mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-this-is.html this is a classic   The conditions for getting into The Zone are: it has to be an autotelic experience, you must be in control, nothing else matters, there are clear goals, time is relative – there is a fabulous Einstein quote with the stove and a beautiful girl on that – feedback is constant and immediate, skills meet challenges and furthermore… You are on the line between boredom and burnout, and Unforgiven will keep you there, ecstatic, fearing for the protagonis

  The Death of Stalin by Fabien Nury – my other note on this is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-death-of-stalin-based-on-comic-book.html along with thousands of other reviews   8 out of 10   This type of narrative brings back memories, and a spoiler alert is already needed, for it will be an instance wherein I just abandon the alleged topic of these lines and venture into what The Death of Stalin brought back, and thoughts, such as how close was Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin to Orange Jesus, the present-day monster   Going off on that tangent, evidently, Orange Felon has not killed tens of millions – he was responsible for the death of a few morons, who took his advice in the pandemic and used disinfectant to cure Covid, but not more than say some hundred there, nonetheless, he has many more on his conscience in Ukraine, regardless of his lack of character The man does not have a sense of responsibility, ethics, moral compass, ergo, he does not feel he has any