📚 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
Sunday, January 19, 2025
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 more towards cultivating sympathy rather than empathy. Empathy, sharing another person's feelings at an emotional level, often leads to overwhelming responses. Empathy is stronger towards known or visible people but weakens with anonymity.
Babygirl, 2024 - ★★★½
Saturday, January 18, 2025
"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 barely there and the intern is poorly developed, making it difficult to invest in the story. Instead of a deep exploration of their relationship, viewers are left with two confused individuals navigating a sub-dom dynamic that feels awkward, uncomfortable and at times, surprisingly dull.
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
Monday, January 13, 2025
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 dislike but are not in our power, and transferring it to things that we can completely control. The true challenge is taking actions on something we can be guaranteed to achieve, instead of desiring something that is outside our control.
Memoir of a Snail, 2024 - ★★★★½
Friday, January 10, 2025
“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. Then the film’s progression to the final arc solidified the notion that life must be lived forward. It was a profound film that helped me grasp the meaning of life a bit better.
My Stoic Journal: Week 1 – Starting a Stoic Journal in 2025
Sunday, January 5, 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 day, allowing me to reflect on my life before diving into daily activities.
Tetris, 2023 - ★★★½
Sunday, January 5, 2025
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 entertaining. The characters are engaging, and the stakes feel (ridiculously) high, which keeps you invested the whole time. I wish I could have watched it on the big screen!
Kraven the Hunter, 2024 - ★★★
Sunday, January 5, 2025
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 play, but it gets overshadowed by the bland execution of the plot and poor dialogue. I seriously doubt how they believed they succeeded in portraying Kraven as the villain of the story.
📝 Making Life Matter—Awesome and Extraordinary Life Starts With Now
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
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 timeline of history. So, why do we even care? Well, we care because, despite being just one among countless others, we are still one nonetheless.
📝 Weathering the Storms of Life
Sunday, December 22, 2024
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 identify all the factors causing sudden changes. There are simply too many variables. This unpredictability often surprises us, but while we can’t prevent these surprises, we can prepare for them.
⚒️ Default Apps for 2024
Saturday, December 21, 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 Support in Apps For over ten years, I have enthusiastically tried thousands of apps. Throughout this time, I have learned that the best apps are the ones that withstand the test of time, receive frequent updates to support new operating system features, and, if necessary, offer excellent options for sharing and exporting.
📝 A New Path to Self-Trust
Friday, December 20, 2024
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 if I make the wrong move, so I end up not moving at all. Honestly, I feel like Chidi from The Good Place—always second-guessing myself!
Mufasa: The Lion King, 2024 - ★★★½
Friday, December 20, 2024
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 narrative, and I hope there will be another installment focusing on this character. Visually, the film is spectacular, showcasing the advancements in technology within the film industry.
The Wallpaper 00004-Say Thanks to Your Past Self
Friday, December 13, 2024
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 lettering. It serves as a way to express my gratitude for myself this year, a reminder to acknowledge the experiences that have shaped me, and to bid a fond farewell to the past.
Fly Me to the Moon, 2024 - ★★★
Tuesday, December 10, 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.
Hunger, 2023 - ★★★½
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
“Is it expensive because it’s special, or is it special because it’s expensive?” This movie certainly drew inspiration from popular films, which I don’t mind as long as it’s well-executed and not blatantly copying the sources. Fortunately, this movie avoids that pitfall in my eyes. Apart from the rushed last act, I think they successfully created the atmosphere and vibe they intended. The last act felt rushed in every aspect, from character development to storyline, editing, and tension-building through sound and cinematography.
My Hero Academia: You're Next, 2024 - ★★★½
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
"My Hero Academia: You’re Next" When you ran out of ideas, you resorted to using the GOAT—Fullmetal Alchemist—as a source of inspiration! And wow, was that a quiz scene where you had to list as many USA states as possible? LOL On a more serious note though, I liked this one better than the previous one, as the pacing was better here. The new characters, Anne and Giulio, were fantastic and added a lot of emotion and depth to the story.
Wicked, 2024 - ★★★★
Saturday, November 30, 2024
I finished watching *Wicked*, and it was an absolute blast! I felt like I was defying gravity and soaring through the air when it ended! I was only familiar with a couple of songs from the movie, like ‘Popular’ and ‘Defying Gravity,’ so I wasn’t expecting the whole experience to be so immersive. But it was! The storyline and the music were super captivating, and I now totally understand why people are such big fans of Wicked so much that they consider it a classic.
The Joy of Eating: A Reflection
Thursday, November 28, 2024
Why do we enjoy eating so much? I think it’s because it’s one of the few pleasures derived from engaging our senses in a way that requires intention. It’s the sensory that needs to be sought after. While we see, hear, smell, and touch things involuntarily throughout the day, tasting is an experience that demands our conscious effort. We must actively choose to put something in our mouths to truly savor its flavor.