what Dave thinks about movies, books and everything
{5/5} “And then it hit me.” How to Train Your Dragon Homecoming, released in 2019 It’s been 10 years since humans and dragons parted ways. Hiccup and Astrid decide to put on a pageant — to show their kids what it was like to live with dragons, and to show them what their grandfather Stoick […]
{4.5/5} “We jump at the chance to judge strangers. We would never do that to ourselves, of course. We are nuanced and complex and enigmatic. But the stranger is easy.” Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell, published in 2019 This book starts out with the […]
{4.5/5} “She was desperately eager to relive with this stranger her time in the Nest. To speak with him of Queen-love and Egg-plan and Nest-strength and all those other things that she had barely had a chance to experience in her too-brief captivity: things which had shaped her soul.” The New Springtime by Robert Silverberg, […]
{3.5/5} “There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute. Even life itself is an exercise in exceptions.” Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, aired in 1987-88 Captain Picard and the Enterprise-D are put on trial by Q for humanity’s barbarity — meanwhile, they must figure out how the Bandi have built […]
{4.5/5} “I was raised to be a champion. My goal was to win. At what and against whom — those were just details.” Molly’s Game, released in 2017 Molly Bloom was a professional skier until she had an accident. Then she stumbled into the world of big-money poker played by the rich and famous. After […]
{4.5/5} “But in that moment it seemed to Hresh that he himself was a citizen of the Great World. He was in the midst of all its surge and vigor. He saw himself striding down the throbbing streets of Vengiboneeza, moving through the turmoil and frenzy of a marketplace where members of the Six Peoples […]
{5/5} “You had me at ‘Hello.’” Jerry Maguire, released in 1996 Jerry Maguire is a sports agent who writes a revolutionary mission statement at 2:00 am and prints out a copy for everyone in his organization. He gets fired, and is left with only one client — and one accountant named Dorothy. Jerry breaks up […]
{4.5/5} “Ask yourself this, my lady: you play now to crown a king in Venice, and this is, I think, your very first game. Imagine the stakes that more experienced players must work for. Imagine the scale of their ambition.” The Gameshouse by Claire North, originally published in 3 parts in 2015 In the 17th […]
I attended the DaCapo Chamber Choir’s concert “The Sun’s Birthday.” The title is from a poem by e. e. cummings. Here’s the program: Hymn of the Cherubim — Leonard Enns Cathedrals in the Sand (from Castles in the Sand) — Kevin Lau* Khorurd Metz — Vahram Sarkissian O nata lux — Morton Lauridsen Cantique de […]
I attended the KW Symphony’s concert “Czech Hits.” Here’s the program: Bedrich Smetana Ma vlast (My homeland) The Moldau Sarka Bob Becker Music On The Moon* Dinuk Wijeratne Invisible Cities* Valdrada Ersilia Antonin Dvorak Symphony No. 8 in G major, op. 88 The only piece I knew was the Smetana, and it was glorious — […]