Andrew Chandran

This is one of the best reads I've had in recent years. I saw Peter Hook & The Light play a few years ago in Perth and it was magic. This book is very well written. Despite reading about Peter's jaw-dropping accounts of drug use and alcoholism, I'm utterly stunned that he could manage to write such an engaging, humorous, and coherent account of his time with New Order. This is a book for fans and touring musicians. It is as much a guide for how not to live life as it is about living with purpose. Looking forward to seeing you again, Pete. Keep well!

Gladiator 1 is one of my favourite movies of all time. It's a masterpiece, despite Lucius being in it. 10/10. Gladiator 2 is a horrible hack of a movie that leaves a bitter after-taste. They rehashed everything good about Gladiator 1 and made it all about the single worst character from it and then doubled-down to a point that I didn't care from the opening scene to the end scene. At least some characters died, so hopefully they stay dead and there won't be a Gladiator 3. 6/10.

Worth reading but ironically, it goes in circles, repeating itself endlessly. I feel it could have been more succinct. Here some key quotes from the book: "Form is emptiness and emptiness is form." "Zen practice is the direct expression of our true nature." "When you give up, when you no longer want something, or when you do not try to do anything special, then you do something." "When we express our true nature, we are human beings. When we do not, we do not know what we are." "Because all of us are doing the same thing, making the same mistake, we do not realise it. So without realising it, we are making many mistakes." "Zen activity is activity that is completely burned out, with nothing remaining but ashes." "If you are ready to accept things as they are, you will receive them as old friends, even though you appreciate them with new feeling." "You have difficulty because you have feeling." "Our life and death are the same thing. When we realise this fact we have no fear of death anymore, and we have no actual difficulty in life." "When you study Buddhism, you should have a general house cleaning of your mind. You must take everything out of your room and clean it thoroughly. If it is necessary, you may bring everything back in again. You may want many things, so one by one you can bring them back. But if they are not necessary, there is no need to keep them." "If we are prepared for thinking, there is no need to make an effort. This is called mindfulness. Mindfulness is, at the same time, wisdom." "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."

Not what I expected at all. This book is less an examination of what defines Bushido but instead a comparison of the tenements of Bushido with Western chivalric sensibilities. It is well-written but the language is far too "flowery" to belong to such a serious matter and its intended audience are not students of war but western academics theoreticising about what constitutes the Way of the Warrior. Far better to study the thoughts and learnings of renown martial artists.

It is bad. All my criticism of the Witcher S01 are amplified in this. Abysmal character development and writing. You really couldn't care whether they live or die. It only highlights how valuable Henry Cavill was to the franchise and now that's been lost. In the books, Sapkowski had a marvellous way of teaching us that there is no good or evil; right or wrong; just various degrees of both. This translated perfectly into the video games, which were true to the books' themes and allowed you to get immersed into the World of the Witcher. Watch this if you really have nothing better to watch or do with your time.

Overall rating 6.5/10. Some stellar performances from the actors playing Geralt, Calanthe, Jaskier and Tissaia, but they're surrounded by amateurs, whose performances are largely "wooden" and detract from both the story and the audience developing any sense of connection to them. I was particularly disappointed in the casting of Yennefer. She should have an aloof nature, supremely confident and seductive. There is also a motherly side to her, which may come across in the next season, but the main issue is there's absolutely no chemistry between her and Geralt, which is essential. I was a bit skeptical of Cavill cast as Geralt, having read all the books and played all the games. Interestingly, he has attempted to imitate the character from the video games. I don't blame him. In the books, Geralt is taciturn and you only really get to know him through the eyes of those around him. Cavill does carry the show, as expected. Storytelling was quite poor. It's not compelling. I wouldn't watch it a second time.