Chaosplay – Hobby of Hobbies

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  • Raising Mentally Strong Kids

    Raising Mentally Strong Kids (affiliate link) is one of better parenting books that I read recently. Highly recommended , 5/5.

    A lot of parenting books have same concepts but it is good to re-read same ideas with different perspectives from various authors. It helps reinforce those ideas.

    The main ideas are:

    1. Focus on yourself first. Fix your issues, get good sleep, handle stress, do hard things, be a good example.
    2. Physical activity is very important for brain development.
    3. Fight Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANT).
    4. Give kids chores, give them hard things to do, let them fail when stakes are low.
    5. Choose authoritative parenting style. But don’t nag, let kids learn from their mistakes and be there for them when they fail.

  • Circle of Life

    Nants ingonyama bagithi baba
    Sithi uhm ingonyama
    Nants ingonyama bagithi baba
    Sithi uhhmm ingonyama
    Ingonyama
    Siyo Nqoba
    Ingonyama
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (se-to-kwa!)
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (asana)
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (se-to-kwa!)
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (se-to-kwa!)
    From the day we arrive on the planet
    And, blinking, step into the sun
    There’s more to see than can ever be seen
    More to do than can ever be done
    There’s far too much to take in here
    More to find than can ever be found
    But the sun rolling high
    Through the sapphire sky
    Keeps great and small on the endless round
    It’s the circle of life
    And it moves us all
    Through despair and hope
    Through faith and love
    ‘Til we find our place
    On the path unwinding
    In the circle
    The circle of life
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (se-to-kwa!)
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (se-to-kwa!)
    Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (se-to-kwa!)

  • The Whale

    This was a hard movie to watch. Initially, it was hard to find sympathy for Charlie, the main character. He is slob and you feel a bit of disgust.

    But as you learn more about him, you will love him and root for him.

    Recommended. 3/5 stars.

  • Watcher (2022 film)

    This was good movie. Many review online said that this was pretty basic and standard plot but I still enjoyed it. Maika Monroe’s acting was amazing. Kept wondering if she is just being paranoid or there is a real danger.

    3/5.

  • Maniac

    This was really good show. 4/5

  • Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

    Leaving Las Vegas

    Depressing and real.

    It is a good movie, Nicolas Cage was very convincing alcoholic. There are some disturbing scenes.

    Soundtrack is great too.

    4/5

  • Maid (Netflix)

    https://www.netflix.com/title/81166770

    Maid on Netflix is gut wrenching, emotional show about a woman escaping abusive relationship with her kids. She has very little money and no social support. As a parent, it was really hard to watch. You will cry at times.

    Highly recommended. 5/5

  • Mo (Netflix show)

    The first episode of Mo was so annoying that it took several months to finish it. But eventually the show gets interesting.

    Mo is really annoying that is very hard to love him initially. There were moments when he got in trouble for his immaturity that instead of feeling bad for him, I felt relieved. I hate shows in which there are no consequences for stupid actions. Here, at least, he had to deal with the consequences of his stupidity.

    But as an immigrant, I felt connected to him as well. The immigration process is hard. So is the process of adopting to the culture of your new home while maintaining connection to your motherland.

    Show also portrays a lot of typical stereotypes of immigrants like cheapskate lawyer working out of incense shop. I have seen all these stereotypes and felt they were right on spot.

    In season 2, show gets a bit more serious. It talks a lot more about injustices and horrible situation that Palestinian people are dealing with for last 75 years. Mo also grows up the end of season 2 and you start to feel empathy for him.

    Overall, I recommend watching it.

  • Hunger (2023)

    I saw this movie on the Netflix. It started off strong but turns into a disappointment at the end.

    The movie is about a street food cook who is invited to join a team of top chef.

    SPOILERS WARNING:

    The girl wanted to be the best and she even end up opening her own restaurant. But in the end she just wanted to go back to being a street food cook.

    I felt disappointment because the message seemed that the pressure of being the best is not for everyone. Her family instead supporting her, guilt her and wanted her to quit, a weird cooking competition at a party, and then the message of the movie seemed to be that don’t be your best.

    Other than beautiful cooking scenes, there was not much else going on for this movie.

  • The Courage to Be Disliked

    Just finished listening to The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi.

    The book is in the form of dialogue between philosopher and a youth. It discusses Adlerian philosophy.

    The book seems to be written from a Japanese perspective. It talks about “shut-ins”, NEET, and other terms for young people who prefer to isolate themselves. I had never heard of these terms, after some research I learned that it is a huge problem in the Asian countries.

    Another interesting thing was that the “youth” in the book had bad relationship with his father and it seemed he was greatly troubled by it. I understood this part as I grew up in a culture where we also treat parents like gods. But I know many people who grew up in the west and they are totally okay with not having a good relationship with their parents.

    It felt like a lot of wisdom in the book is common sense, at least, in the western cultural context. So I am a little surprised to see how this book is so popular here. I do want to re-read it, perhaps, I am missing something.

    Overall, my rating is 3/5 for now.