NingNarrative

The Apprentice, 2024 - ★★★½

The Apprentice movie offers a unique perspective on Donald Trump, highlighting the influence of Roy Cohn. The movie’s release timing is interesting, providing a glimpse into how Trump became the person he is today. What stands out in The Apprentice is the remarkable acting. While many might focus on …

📝 My Stoic Journal Week 4: Take Another’s Perspective—Nobody Wants to Do Wrong on Purpose

Last week, I have practiced taking an outside view of my own struggles, as guided by “A Handbook for New Stoics.” This week, the practice shifts its focus to taking an inside view of other people’s actions. By doing so, we aim to gain perspective, cultivate compassion and understanding within …

A Real Pain, 2024 - ★★★★

Pain takes on many forms, and we can grieve over various things, expressing our emotions in many ways. Yet, we can sense the pain of those around us if we are willing to see it. Because pain and suffering are inherently rooted in every being—a part of life itself—making pain a shared experience for …

This Readwise update is incredible! Similar Highlights and Chat With Your Highlights features are like having a citation on steroids. After years of collecting thousands of quotes within the service, the payoff is finally here.

Companion, 2025 - ★★★★

I can’t say much about the story without giving away spoilers. If you’re interested in watching this film, I recommend going in blind—avoid trailers or any other information about it. What I truly appreciate is the metaphorical exploration of relationship dynamic and modern technology presented in …

🎥 My Own Oscar Awards 2024 (Movies from 2023)

Welcome to my personal analysis of my favorite movies from 2023, which I like to call My Own Oscar Awards. After watching most of the nominations and beyond, I couldn’t help but compare these films to each other. My personal picks focused not on the names, prestige, or past work of the filmmakers, …

Flight Risk, 2025 - ★★★

I appreciated the cinematography and sound in this movie; they effectively set an atmosphere of suspense within a confined space with no way to escape. The premise also laid the groundwork for a compelling thriller. The performances of each cast member were good, given the script they had to work …

Sing Sing, 2023 - ★★★★

The story revolves around the notion that art has the power to heal the soul. Art is fundamentally human; it expresses the essence of our humanity and brings out the best in us. It also beautifully illustrates the process of grappling with our traumas, mistakes, hopes, and dreams for the future. …

I’m still trying to wrap my head around what’s happening in the micro.blog and omg.lol communities. One thing I know for sure, though, is that people need to stop judging others, particularly when their actions don’t affect you directly and when your understanding of them is …

📚 Just started reading the Mistborn series and I’m hooked! The way the characters come together is brilliant. Can’t wait to see where the story takes them! #Mistborn

📝 My Stoic Journal Week 3: Take an Outside View—Self-Sympathy Over Self-Empathy

This week's exercise from a handbook for new Stoics focuses on comforting ourselves by achieving equanimity through a shift in perspective regarding our own troubles. At the core of this practice is the distinction between sympathy and empathy. The Stoics put forward the idea that we should lean …

Babygirl, 2024 - ★★★½

"Babygirl" presents an intriguing premise, featuring a high-powered CEO engaging in a controversial sub-dom romance with her younger intern. However, the film struggles to deliver a cohesive and engaging narrative, as the power dynamics between the characters are ambiguously portrayed. The story is …

RIFT Notes is one of the best recent discovery apps I’ve come across. It has the potential to replace Drafts (which is not file-based markdown) as my daily logging once it is released. You can join the beta right now.

📝 My Stoic Journal: Week 2 Focus on What Is Completely in Your Control

This week, the exercise focuses on the concept of aversion, which can be seen as a type of desire, as in the desire to avoid misfortune. People have very different reactions to similar misfortunes, and the reason is that some people are better at redirecting the aversion away from things that they …

Memoir of a Snail, 2024 - ★★★★½

“Life can only be understood backwards, but we have to live it forwards.” Memoir of a Snail is a beautiful way to honor Søren Kierkegaard’s philosophy. Particularly in the opening scene where we wouldn’t understand the significance of things on the floor until we later learned about their history. …

My Stoic Journal: Week 1 – Starting a Stoic Journal in 2025

I purchased A Handbook for New Stoics by Massimo Pigliucci about four years ago, alongside The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday. Start my day with The Daily Stoic, then end my day with A Handbook for New Stoics For the past four years, I have read The Daily Stoic every morning. It has grounded me each …

Tetris, 2023 - ★★★½

Who would have thought that a game as simple as Tetris could have such a wild and complicated origin story involving business deals and politics? I do think it could’ve leaned into the gaming elements a bit more—maybe with some visuals or nods to the actual gameplay—but it was still super …

Kraven the Hunter, 2024 - ★★★

The film is visually appealing, but it misses the mark by failing to capitalize on the atmosphere of intense hunting, instead relying on generic chase scenes. It’s also puzzling how they cut scenes to avoid gruesome content, despite being an R-rated movie. There’s an interesting moral dilemma at …

📝 Making Life Matter—Awesome and Extraordinary Life Starts With Now

We want our lives to matter, but when we are among billions of billions of people, it’s challenging to feel like our existence truly matters. I mean, whatever we think, do, or say would be just a speck of dust in the grand scheme of the universe, and even just an unrecognizable blip in the entire …

📝 Weathering the Storms of Life

Weather is something we can never be absolutely certain about until we actually experience it. We can guess, predict, and forecast, but weather always moves to its own rhythm, whether we like it or not. Even our most accurate forecasts can't always pinpoint how the weather will unfold or …

⚒️ Default Apps for 2024

I’ve been wanting to write about my most used apps for so long but didn’t have enough motivation to do so, until I came across this directory of apps people commonly use. Inspired by this, I’ve decided to compile a list of my default apps. Prioritize Native Apps, then Fantastic Updates for New OS …

📝 A New Path to Self-Trust

I’ve realized that I never fully trust myself. It’s a feeling I’ve carried since childhood. I often find myself uncertain and indecisive, thinking too much and doubting my choices even more. As a result, I tend to hold back and take very little action. I constantly worry that I’ll mess everything up …

Mufasa: The Lion King, 2024 - ★★★½

I appreciate how this prequel reveals the depth of its characters, particularly the relationship between Mufasa and Taka. This adds complexity to the overall story and allows for greater empathy towards each character. While Mufasa is portrayed as a great leader, I found myself more drawn to Taka’s …

The Wallpaper 00004-Say Thanks to Your Past Self

As the year draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to conclude the year with a positive and meaningful reflection on all the experiences we’ve had and the person we’ve evolved throughout the year. Embracing this moment of gratitude, I’ve coined the phrase “Say Thanks to Your Past Self” for my …

Fly Me to the Moon, 2024 - ★★★

The movie was light, fun, and cute. The cast carried the movie with their charms, making it a heartwarming and entertaining experience, even with its thin plot.