Tracks
A young woman goes on a 1,700 mile trek across the deserts of West Australia
with her four camels and faithful dog.
---
Samurai X
Samurai X
In the early Meiji era, after participating in the Bakumatsu war as the assassin "Hitokiri Battōsai",
Himura Kenshin wanders the countryside of Japan offering protection and aid to those in need
as atonement for the murders he once committed.
When arriving in Tokyo in the 11th year of Meiji (1878),
he meets a young woman named Kamiya Kaoru, who is in the middle of a fight with a murderer
- who claims to be the Hitokiri Battōsai
- tarnishing the name of the swordsmanship school that she teaches.
Kenshin decides to help her and defeats the fake Battōsai.
After discovering that Kenshin is the real infamous assassin, Kaoru offers him a place to stay
at her dojo noting that he is peace-loving and not cold-hearted, as his reputation implies.
Kenshin accepts and begins to establish lifelong relationships
with many people such as Sagara Sanosuke, a former Sekihō Army member;
Myōjin Yahiko, an orphan from a samurai family;
and a doctor named Takani Megumi, caught in the opium trade.
He also deals with his fair share of enemies, including the former leader of the Oniwabanshū,
Shinomori Aoshi and a rival from the Bakumatsu, Saitō Hajime.
After several months of living in the dojo, Kenshin discovers that his successor
as assassin of the shadows, Shishio Makoto, plans to conquer Japan
by destroying the Meiji Government, starting with Kyoto.
Feeling that his friends may be attacked by Shishio's faction,
Kenshin goes to meet Shishio alone in order to defeat him.
However, many of his friends, including a young Oniwabanshū named Makimachi Misao,
decide to help him in his fight.
After his first meeting with him, Kenshin realizes he needs to get stronger to defeat Shishio
without becoming the cold assassin he was in the past and returns to the man who taught him kenjutsu,
Hiko Seijūrō, in order to learn the school's final technique.
He finally accepts his friends' help and defeats Shishio in a close fight;
Shishio dies being engulfed in flames due to the rise in his body temperature
caused by his severe burns.
When Kenshin and his friends return to Tokyo, Kenshin finds Yukishiro Enishi,
who plans to take revenge by killing his friends.
At this point it is revealed that, during the Bakumatsu,
Kenshin had been married to a woman named Yukishiro Tomoe.
She had initially wanted to avenge the death of her fiancé whom Kenshin had killed,
but instead they both fell in love and got married.
It is then discovered that Tomoe was part of a group of assassins that wanted to kill Kenshin,
and Tomoe is betrayed by them and captured to use as bait.
Kenshin rushes to rescue her, killing both his assailant and accidentally Tomoe,
who jumps in at the last minute to save Kenshin from a fatal attack.
Wanting to take revenge for the death of his sister, Enishi kidnaps Kaoru
and leaves behind a tortured figure bearing a stunning resemblance of Kaoru
for Kenshin to find and momentarily grieve over.
Once discovering that Kaoru is alive, Kenshin and his friends set out to rescue her.
A battle between Kenshin and Enishi follows and when Kenshin wins,
he and Kaoru return home.
Five years later, Kenshin has married Kaoru and has a son named Himura Kenji.
---
As The Light Goes Out
As The Light Goes Out
Whereas three old friends work together in a fire station in Hong Kong,
a fire breaks out in a rundown residential block on Christmas’ Eve,
threatening to plunge the whole city into darkness
if it spreads to a to a nearby power plant supplying natural gas.
Politics, competition and distrust between the firemen
of the Pillar Point Division are to be expected.
---
Dragon Ball Z Kai
Dragon Ball Z Kai
Dragon Ball Z details the continuing adventure of Goku
as a young adult and father to his son Gohan.
After learning he is a Saiyan, Goku dies and is revived after training under the god North Kaiō.
Goku defends Earth from the Saiyans under Vegeta,
and leaves Earth to ultimately defeat them again
and the galactic tyrant Frieza.
Three years later an evil life form called Cell holds a fighting tournament to decide the fate of the Earth.
Goku sacrifices his own life and Gohan avenges his father by defeating Cell.
Seven years later, Goku is revived and quickly drawn into a fight
against a magical being named Majin Buu.
After numerous battles, destruction and recreation of the Earth, Goku destroys Buu
with the energy of everyone on Earth making a very powerful attack called "Spirit Bomb".
---
House of Last Things
House of Last Things
A mind-bending thriller set in Portland, Oregon about an unspoken tragedy
and its effects on a house, its temporary caretakers and the owners,
a classical music critic and his wife on a recuperative trip to Italy.
Link 1
Link 2
---
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Richard Hendriks is a shy, reclusive programmer for Hooli living in a house in Palo Alto.
He lives there under an "incubation" program run by Erlich Bachman.
Bachman, despite the possessing the confidence that Hendriks lacks, seeks parties
and drug use rather than offering sound guidance for his startups after he sold his application "Aviato".
He resides along with other co-habitants including Nelson "Big Head" Bighetti,
Bertram Gilfoyle, and Dinesh Chugtai.
While working at Hooli, Hendriks shares a project of his called Pied Piper with the employees:
an app that compares music against copyrighted works to avoid infringement.
Initially the app was dismissed as a lark by his coworkers.
He tries pitching it to Peter Gregory, an eccentric venture capitalist who awkwardly dismisses him.
Hendriks ends up pitching the app to Monica instead.
Hooli CEO Gavin Belson is informed about the project by Donald "Jared" Dunn.
The app is found to be powered by an algorithm designed by Hendriks that has more value
than the program: it offers higher compression ratios than MP3 yet remains lossless.
If it was able to be successfully applied as a video codec,
it could potentially become a billion-dollar business.
Belson invites Hendriks to his office when a phone call
from Peter Gregory kicks off an inadvertent bidding war.
Belson is offering highball prices to own Pied Piper, offering $10 million at one point.
Gregory on the phone heard Belson's offers
and promises $200,000 for only 5% ownership of the company.
After leaving both Belson and Gregory unanswered,
Hendriks suffers a panic attack and leaves to head to a clinic.
He finds Monica outside who informs him that Belson is essentially buying the rights
to own the algorithm and dissolve Pied Piper after the sale.
Under Gregory, Hendriks could grow Pied Piper into the business he wants it to be
while remaining in control of its future.
Hendriks resolves to leave Hooli and accept Gregory's offer over Belson.
When asked to assemble a business plan before receiving his payment,
Hendriks is tasked with building his initial staff.
He hires Dunn as a business consultant along with the entire house
save for one employee.
Big Head, who knows nothing about the algorithm
and offers little to aid in Pied Piper's advancement is easily seen as dead weight by the entire staff.
After being let go by Hendriks, Big Head instead takes a three-year contract offer
from Hooli to help reverse-engineer Hendrik's algorithm.
He goes to work for them knowing that he had nothing to offer at all
and becomes an unassigned employee of the company.
He ends up spending his days drinking at work while earning $600,000 a year
to wait out the end of his contract and vest his stock options.
This is in stark contrast to Hendriks, who is struggling with the unexpected labor
needed to manage his startup payout, handling his new staff and their personal issues,
and staying in business long enough to release his company's product in five months
before Hooli can beat them to market.
Unfortunately, it is learned that Hendriks applied to present at TechCrunch Disrupt
before he received seed capital from Gregory.
Before he can cancel his application,
Hooli chooses that event to unveil their version of the algorithm,
which means that Pied Piper has to be ready to show
in less than eight weeks instead of five months.
Episode 02
Episode 03
Episode 04
Episode 05
Episode 07
Episode 08
---
Bad Teacher
Bad Teacher (TV Series - 2014)
Meredith Davis is divorced from her husband,
who leaves her with nothing due to a prenuptial agreement that she clearly did not read.
She is forced to move in with her friend's family, whose step-daughter Lily inspires her to come up
with a plan - get hired as a teacher at Lily's school, Richard Nixon Middle School,
meet and marry a rich single father, and get back to the extravagant lifestyle
to which she was accustomed.
Using a fake résumé and her feminine charm, she gets Principal Carl Gaines to hire her.
The faculty includes Joel, a former high school classmate who is now a gym teacher;
Irene, a shy fellow teacher who becomes excited to have a new friend;
and Ginny, faculty president who resents Meredith and is suspicious of her.
Although a horrible teacher, Meredith imparts life lessons to Lily and her friends.
who leaves her with nothing due to a prenuptial agreement that she clearly did not read.
She is forced to move in with her friend's family, whose step-daughter Lily inspires her to come up
with a plan - get hired as a teacher at Lily's school, Richard Nixon Middle School,
meet and marry a rich single father, and get back to the extravagant lifestyle
to which she was accustomed.
Using a fake résumé and her feminine charm, she gets Principal Carl Gaines to hire her.
The faculty includes Joel, a former high school classmate who is now a gym teacher;
Irene, a shy fellow teacher who becomes excited to have a new friend;
and Ginny, faculty president who resents Meredith and is suspicious of her.
Although a horrible teacher, Meredith imparts life lessons to Lily and her friends.
---
The Frankenstein Theory
The Frankenstein Theory
Professor Jonathan Venkenheim reveals that Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
is a fictionalized account of his ancestor Johann's scientific and medical accomplishments.
Interviewed separately, Venkenheim's girlfriend Anne reveals that he's been suspended
and scoffs at his theory.
This view is shared by the film crew, though Vicky, the director, stands up for her friend.
In their next interview with Venkenheim, he discusses how the Illuminati were trying to discover
the secret of life when Johann secretly founded genetics.
However, because Johann destroyed his notes, Venkenheim has no proof.
Venkenheim and the film crew leave for Canada,
stopping along the way to meet Clarence,
who survived an encounter with the monster.
Clarence identifies his attacker using a sketch
of what Venkenheim claims is a 19th century murderer.
Clarence, a meth dealer, reacts erratically to this claim.
Shaken and scared, the crew quickly leaves
and berates Venkenheim while picking up their guide, Karl.
Citing his obsession, Anne breaks up with Venkenheim,
but he remains undeterred despite Karl's reluctance.
Along the way, Venkenheim reveals the monster is an experiment in longevity
and argues that the monster can unlock many scientific mysteries.
The group eventually abandons their car in favor of snowmobiles.
Eric, the producer, shoots footage of a mysterious figure,
while Venkenheim claims to feel the monster's presence.
The group hears wolves howling, though Karl mocks their concerns.
At their destination, they find an old yurt and some bones,
seemingly validating Venkenheim's theories.
Luke, the camera man, briefly sees something moving in the distance.
Venkenheim produces a map, theorizing the monster follows a large herd of caribou
and kills in self-defense when he approaches civilization.
The crew reacts with fear and anger,
and Brian almost gets into a fight with Venkenheim; Vicky defuses the situation.
Karl disputes the existence of a monster and instead suggests a bear,
telling them a story about a friend who was terrorized by a polar bear.
Karl concludes by warning them not to mess with the forces of nature.
At night, they hear wolves howling again, but a monstrous growling cuts them off.
Venkenheim thinks it's the monster, but Brian disagrees.
In the morning, they find a snowmobile vandalized and another stolen.
Karl leaves to hunt down the vandal, despite Venkenheim's protests.
Brian and Eric eventually discover Karl's body and freak out,
insisting that they all leave immediately.
Venkenheim refuses and argues that the creature killed Karl because he felt threatened.
Luke leaves on the remaining snowmobile, seeking help.
A day later, Vicky reports that Luke has not returned,
a storm has arrived, and no help will come.
They discuss the possibility that the monster is responsible for Luke's disappearance;
Venkenheim suggests they appeal to the monster's humanity,
as the monster is intelligent and seeking companionship, which Vicky doubts.
At night, they hear the monster growling again,
which Venkenheim interprets as a warning to leave – something they can't do.
In the morning, the group sets out on foot, following Luke's tracks,
and finally spots his abandoned snowmobile.
They split up, looking for Luke, but, when Brian discovers Luke's body,
the monster attacks and kills him.
Venkenheim insists that they go back to the yurt and wait for help,
but the monster is in the yurt, enraged.
Despite Venkenheim's warning not to run, Eric panics and is killed by the monster.
Attempting to reason with the monster, Venkenheim pushes his luck by touching it.
Venkenheim is ripped apart off-camera as Vicky cowers in the yurt.
The monster breaks down the door, throws her around, and stomps off with her body.
---
Hunter x Hunter (2011) - Chimera Ants Arc
Chimera Ants Arc
Alongside Kite, Gon and Killua briefly work as biological researchers in the country of Kakin.
As they investigate a giant insect limb found on the country's shores,
the group discover it came from a man-sized Chimera Ant queen,
an insect that devours other creatures and then gives birth to progeny
that inherit the characteristics of the different species it has eaten.
The queen washes up onto an island nation called the Neo-Green Life (N.G.L.)
Autonomous Region, inhabited by a neo-luddite culture.
She quickly develops a taste for humans and builds a colony
in order to conceive both an army of offspring and a Chimera Ant king named Meryem.
The Chimera Ants proceed to wipe most of the population out before Gon, Killua, and Kite arrive.
The queen dies during labor, and the king and his Royal Guards flee the N.G.L.,
secretly overthrowing the government of the nearby Republic of East Gorteau soon thereafter.
Meanwhile, having left the N.G.L. for two months following an attack
by the Chimera Ant Royal Guardsman Neferpitou,
Gon learns that Kite is being manipulated by the ant and becomes enraged.
Under the guise of the former king of the Republic,
Meryem initiates the process of forcibly awakening Nen in the civilians
of East Gorteau in order to select soldiers to join his own personal army to conquer the world,
and convert the remaining inhabitants to foodstock.
As Ants formerly under the queen's rule rejoin the king,
the Hunter Association mobilizes quickly to stop the oncoming genocide
by sending in an extermination team of Hunters to East Gorteau.
Looking for a way to restore Kite to his normal state,
Gon and Killua join the extermination team in order to find Neferpitou.
The confrontation reaches its peak during a battle between the Chimera Ant King and Netero,
the chairman of the Hunters Association, and a second meeting between Neferpitou and Gon.
Episode 135
Episode 136
Episode 137
Episode 138
Episode 139
Episode 140
Episode 141
Episode 142
Episode 143
Episode 144
Episode 145
Episode 146
Episode 147
Episode 136
Episode 137
Episode 138
Episode 139
Episode 140
Episode 141
Episode 142
Episode 143
Episode 144
Episode 145
Episode 146
Episode 147
---
Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary's Baby (Miniseries - 2014)
Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse leave New York City for Paris,
hoping to put their painful past behind them.
Unfortunate events occur, and they are offered an apartment
at the most prestigious address in the city.
Skeptical of their good fortune, they take comfort among new friends and neighbors, the Castevets.
This older affluent couple welcome the Woodhouses and become very involved in their lives.
Rosemary becomes pregnant and Guy's career flourishes.
His lively co-worker Julie spends quality time with Rosemary in the city,
during which she worries over Rosemary's health, cautioning both that something isn't right.
Other signs soon arise to cause Rosemary to be careful.
Guy begins to spend a lot of time with Roman Castevet and less with Rosemary.
Roman's wife Margaux assures her that herbs and holistic medicine will help with the pregnancy.
The inquisitive Rosemary begins to investigate the building and its previous residents.
She uncovers a dark past and realizes who Roman truly is,
as well as her husband's possible pact regarding the baby and his career.
Episode 1Episode 2
Password: marklestermiranda.com
---
50 Self-Help Books That Changed Lives (Part 1 of 8)
1. Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline
Myss
Encoded
within your body, teaches Dr. Myss, is an energy
system
linking you directly to the world's great spiritual
traditions.
Through it you have direct access to the divine
energy
that seamlessly connects all life.
In Anatomy of the Spirit,
Dr. Myss offers a stunning picture of the human
body's
hidden energetic structures, while revealing its
precise
spiritual code and relationship to the sacred energy
of
creation. Our most revered wisdom traditions, including
Judaism,
Christianity, and Hinduism, hold in common
essential
teachings about seven specific levels of spiritual
development,
the stages of power in life.
These
seven great truths also grace the human body
as an energetic
system, a spiritual compass
pointing the way to the
divine.
By honoring this inborn code,
you can learn to see the symbolic blocks
within your energy centers
and their correlations with your health, relationships,
and spiritual
development.
Richly interwoven
with research, examples,
and self-diagnostic guidelines,
Anatomy of the Spirit will take you to the heart
Anatomy of the Spirit will take you to the heart
of
the spiritual life and beyond.
2. As a Man Thinketh by
James Allen
This
little book, filled with much wisdom,
can be summed up in this one
sentence:
"All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve
is the
direct result of his own thoughts."
Overall,
this book is about taking responsibility for your lot in life
- the good
and the bad - as it can all be traced to the thoughts
you entertain day
in and day out.
It also shows how our thoughts directly impact
our character
- we are what we think - How true!!!
I
would recommend this book to everyone
interested in changing some
aspect of their life.
It is less than 70 pages and can be read
in less than an hour,
but
its effects could last a lifetime.
3. Ask and It Is Given by
Esther and Jerry Hicks
I'll
be honest -- I don't know what to think of the claim
that Esther Hicks
is channelling non-physical entities.
I initially resisted buying this
book,
because I am cautious around such claims
of supernatural inspiration.
But I respect Wayne Dyer and other great thinkers
who praised
this book, so I decided to give it a try.
I'm glad that I did.
This
is one of the most powerful books
on manifesting your dreams that
I've ever read.
Every paragraph contains deep truths
that just feel
intuitively right.
This book is especially effective in showing
how our emotions are the key to understanding
how our emotions are the key to understanding
whether we are on the road
to success or failure
in manifesting our desires.
The exercises are
both fun and deeply practical.
I particularly like the exercises involving
the "Magical Creation Box"
and "The Prosperity Game."
They
make you feel young again -- your imagination is activated
and everything
suddenly feels possible.
I
don't know whether the origin of this book is supernatural, nor do I care.
The message is true and the exercises work.
The message is true and the exercises work.
Try it for yourself. It will change your life.
4. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn
Rand
Published
in 1957, Atlas Shrugged
was Ayn Rand's greatest achievement and last work of fiction.
In this novel she dramatizes her unique
philosophy
through an intellectual mystery story
that integrates
ethics, metaphysics, epistemology,
politics, economics, and sex.
Set in a near-future U.S.A. whose economy
is collapsing as a result of
the mysterious disappearance
of leading innovators and industrialists,
this novel presents an astounding panorama of human life
- from
the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy,
to the
great steel industrialist who does not know
that he is working for his
own destruction,
to the philosopher who becomes a pirate,
to the woman
who runs a transcontinental railroad,
to the lowest track worker
in her train tunnels.
Peopled by larger-than-life heroes and villains,
charged with towering questions of good and evil,
Atlas Shrugged is a philosophical revolution
Atlas Shrugged is a philosophical revolution
told in the form of an action thriller.
5. Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins
I
first saw Tony Robbins on the Joan Rivers show back in 1993.
I was
very impressed by his charisma and energy,
but like many others,
felt that Tony Robbins was just a salesman
trying to dupe the
naive into buying his books
and then all of the other products, seminars, etc.
I ran into a friend who was radiant (unusual for
her)
and unusually bubbly.
She told me some of the changes in her
life
that were taking place had begun when she read the book:
Awaken
the Giant Within.
What really impressed me were the changes
that
started taking place in the days and weeks that followed.
She started
to lose weight, was participating more in meetings at work,
and
then got promoted. I was impressed.
So I decided that this must work.
I went out and bought Awaken the Giant
and began to use the techniques
such as "the swish pattern" and "scrambling technique".
Awaken
the Giant Within is a huge book, but I read it in one week.
My job performance
improved immediately as did my tennis game.
I got immediate and
dramatic results.
This is not just a "feel good book", the techniques
really work.
6.
"Beyond Survival" by Gerald
Coffee
Retired
U.S. Navy captain Coffee was a prisoner of war
in North Vietnam
from 1966 to 1973,
most of the time in Hanoi and in a cell by
himself.
How he endured and what he learned from the experience
are the subjects of this inspiring book.
By calling on his inner
resources, such as his faith in God,
his conviction that the United
States was right to be in Vietnam,
his love for his wife and children,
and his respect for his fellow prisoners,
he was able to overcome
loneliness and the pain of occasional torture.
Each chapter
is headed by a paragraph of invincible principles
that Coffee
discovered for himself during his ordeal:
"The only real security
we have is the certainty
that we're equipped to handle whatever
happens to us. "
"Humor is integral to our peace of mind
and ability to go
beyond survival."
7.
"Blink" by Malcolm
Gladwell
Blink
is about the first two seconds of looking
-- the decisive glance that
knows in an instant.
Gladwell, the best-selling author of The Tipping
Point,
campaigns for snap judgments and mind reading
with
a gift for translating research into splendid storytelling.
Building
his case with scenes from a marriage, heart attack triage,
speed
dating, choking on the golf course, selling cars,
and military maneuvers,
he persuades readers to think small
and focus on the meaning
of "thin slices" of behavior.
The key is to rely on our "adaptive
unconscious"
-- a 24/7 mental valet -- that provides us
with
instant and sophisticated information
to warn of danger, read a stranger, or
react to a new idea.
Part 2 of 8
---
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
