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GPS. This is the biggest takeaway for me from this book. GPS. Not GPS in the 21st-century technological sense, but G=GLP-1 medication (which I’m taking), P=protein (which I’m consuming), and S=strength training (...). For the last couple of months, while on Zepbound, I concentrated on the first two, not the third. Is two out of three still good? Well, according to Rocio Salas-Whaken, M.D., the author, it is not. All three or nothing. For the best results, anyway. It looks lik

I am currently reading Weightless: A Doctor's Guide to GLP-1 Medications , Sustainable Weight Loss, and the Health You Deserve, by Rocio Salas-Whalen, MD. I hope to learn a trick or two when I am finished reading this. I don’t usually read books about weight loss, and I’m burned out from all of the trends that I’ve encountered throughout my life. I’ve always struggled with my weight. I started taking GLP-1 medications about five years ago, running the gamut from oral to injec

This book took me quite some time to read. This is usually a bad sign for my enjoyment of a book, but I wound up appreciating it—not really liking it, per se—when I was through. Katabasis is many things. Mostly, it’s a hero’s journey into Hell, the Underworld, with the hero, Alice Law, seeking redemption for an act she holds herself accountable for. Set somewhere in the 1980s, Alice is a graduate student in Cambridge, under the iron-fisted tutelage of Professor Jacob Grimes,

I approached viewing this film expecting something polarizing, something political, something disturbing. What I got after watching it was something unexpected: humanity. Don’t get me wrong, Civil War (2024) is a polarizing, political, and disturbing film, indeed. It reimagines our country in a civil war: the Western Alliance (Texas, and—if you could believe it, California) joins forces to secede from the United States. And the United States is losing. The story follows jour

As the third installment of what is now the Knives Out franchise, the film Wake Up Dead Man is darker, longer, more crowded, and—believe me when I tell you—more graceful, despite the film’s inherent darkness. It’s still an enjoyable film, though. Filmmaker Rian Johnson ( Brick ) returns to the writing table and director’s chair for this film. And with the same skill and wit, he breathes life into this mystery; although this did not feel as fun as the two previous installments

Another murder, another mystery, another location. But what is the real crime? And who is the real murderer? Filmmaker Rian Johnson (Knives Out) brings us another episode in the Mysteries of Benoit Blanc, Eccentric Southern Dandy Master Detective. This time, the setting is a private Greek Island (just as closed off), the suspects are not related (but still entitled, deceitful jerks), and the first murder (at least for these purposes), takes place outside the “locked-room,” be

I read mystery novels and watch selfsame films for the characters, the plots, and the plot twists. It’s all inspirational for me. I especially enjoy it when I encounter a good example. Knives Out (2019) is just such an exemplar. It takes all the tropes of a locked-room mystery: the impossible crime, the isolated setting, the “howdunit” instead of “whodunit,” the über-logical detective, and the deceptive setup. Writer/director Rian Johnson (Brick) obviously loves this genre, b

I’m not sure what to say about this film. It’s not that I am at a loss for words—trust me, I have plenty to say—it’s just that I’m not sure whether I liked it or I hated it. There’s one thing I can say, and I don’t think this is too much of a spoiler: the film starts with bees and ends with bees. It’s one of those films where the reveal—or the twist—at the film’s end is not a twist at all; the hints were dropped all throughout it. But me, as the viewer, who was under such sus

I have one word for this film: phenomenal. It’s the kind of film where you are so rapt that you don’t notice the almost three-hour running time pass by. It’s the kind of film where you see the plot developments coming, but don’t care—you are awestruck at what’s unfolding in front of you. It's the kind of film where the emotional payloads punch, where you feel sympathy for all characters (bad and good), where the resolution gives you that unmistakable high that runners get aft

I started viewing Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein with high expectations and was not disappointed. Aside from updating the 19th Century decade from 1818, when the novel was first published, to 1857, the story remained faithful to the original text. The narrative's flash-forward of nearly forty years was effective, mainly due to the technology available at the time. The story of Frankenstein is still chilling, still affecting, still raises those existential questions that ca

For a man’s honest efforts and attempts to maintain his integrity, he gets shot in the face. Frank Serpico was an NYPD officer who refused to take kickbacks. For this refusal, others in the NYPD labeled him a troublemaker, not to be trusted. When he started with the police, Frank was already a holier-than-thou stickler, wanting to play by the rules and adhere to the laws he enforced. When a nondescript envelope was handed to him by another officer—an envelope that was filled

Upon the recommendation of my good friend, Francine Roche Kay, and since it appears to be a good follow-up to A Short Stay In Hell , I am currently reading Katabasis by R. F. Kuang. Like ASSIH , it’s about Hell, mostly about a hero’s descent into it. As per my norm, I’ll share my thoughts when I’m done.

Hands down, this is, by far, one of the best novellas I’ve ever read. The worldbuilding, the character arcs, the questions it raises…all phenomenal. ASSIH is what it endeavors to be: a story about a man’s stay in Hell. And what a Hell it is. Imagine a massive library with no Dewey Decimal System. Imagine a massive pit in the center of it all. Imagine a fruitless search. Imagine a soul whose questions are never answered. This is just a taste of what this story truly is. Read i

I am currently reading A Short Stay In Hell by Steven L. Peck. The title is self-explanatory. I look forward to how the author builds the world of Hell, and what the main character’s arc would be in such a setting. I’ll let you know what I think when I‘m done.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the buildup to the end. On the way, I was up and down about how I felt about it. Not that it dragged—it definitely did not—but at these times I wondered what the author was up to. And I had some prejudices that came into play as well. Before I proceed, allow me to mention that I’ve learned a few things about Earth, space exploration, and the possible habitation of humans on other planets in the galaxy. I found out that because of the dis

It always strikes me how an artist can take something horrible, or someone horrible—or a committee of horrible people—and poke so much fun at the subject that audience members laugh—and cringe—despite themselves. Filmmaker Armando Iannucci (Veep) is just such an artist, and his film, The Death of Stalin , is just such an example. Even the film’s tagline, “A Comedy of Terrors,” says much of what the auteur accomplished here. The film centers around the titular event and the ch

I am currently reading Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinnaman of the Dungeon Crawler Carl fame. It involves a colonist on a planet that is threatened by gamers from Earth. Gamers from Earth. Gamers who—Would these gamers be considered aliens?—through an interface offered by a money-grubbing corporation, are offered to play war games on this particular planet. I’m looking forward to a fun read.

This book was good. It wasn’t great, it wasn’t fantastic, it was good. That being said, I enjoyed the dual timeline and the mystery surrounding it. A man was mysteriously murdered and left in a ditch in Ireland in the 1890s. This man was a thoroughbred horse trainer, a gambler, and a terrible husband. In the present time, the heroine, or the detective, recently split from a terrible husband and a gambler. The parallels, the parallels, the parallels. The plots moved along in f

I have a couple of things to say about Walking Tall (1973). First of all, it’s bullshit. Not the film itself—although the execution thereof leaves much to be desired—but the premise behind the film, that Buford T. Pusser was an upstanding, forthright, morally driven hero, is absolute bullshit. The film claims to be fictitious; that true events “inspired” this film. Well, some of this may have been accurate, but it’s mostly bullshit, as well. Pusser, portrayed with gravitas by

It is always satisfying when a formulaic, by-the-numbers, trope-filled action movie is done well. And The Wrecking Crew (2026) is such an example. The movie stars Dave Bautista ( Guardians of the Galaxy ) and Jason Momoa ( Aquaman ), Summa Cum Laude graduates of the Superhero School of Acting. Each play estranged half-brothers, James and Jonny Hale (pronounced hah-lay), who are reunited by the mysterious death of their father. They meet up in Hawaii, their homeland, to find