"It's a good day to be indigenous!" might be the most iconic line from this film. Thank you Sherman Alexie for making our hearts and the hearts of our ancestors sing. All I can say is that this movie is a classic and modern in a way that is relevent to modernity in a way that blows Dances with Wolves out of the water. Please take time to listen to this story. Portrayal of adult themes including painful childhood memories, fires, alchoholism, absent fathers and teenage year wanderlust. This movie presents some of the more serious issues which are stereotypical portrayals of life on a reservation. Any Native American who is not affiliated with a tribe but who grew up in the country can connect with these characters and anyone not native who had childhood difficulties will enjoy it as well. 

Max Giorgio Choa Minghella kills it in this great spin off on what torturous undertaking a Bachelor of Fine Arts in PDS (that's painting, drawing, and sculpture) entails. While the cliche plot could be deeper and have more twists in it, as a whole it stands up as a legit never to be out-done satire of the dynamic pull between wanting to be a classical artist, a hit,...while invoking all the other deviant personality qualities that make artists infamous/legendary. Will Tommy stay in school? Will he be selected for a special show? Will his advances towards the beautiful model go un-noticed in the trashbin of un-requited freshman love? Watch and find out.

I didn't see an inconvenient truth, so I cannot compare to the first film. However an inconvenient sequel has excellent footage, data, and testimony of the melting ice caps, flooding in Florida that is getting ignored, and documents the timing of the supposed 'random' terrorist attacks in Paris which interrupted Gores' broadcast. Basically this series could be re-shot every single year as a sort of documentary on global warming and how things are escalating worldwide. 

Borderline: The Arcadia Project 

I picked this book due to the title because I was interested in psychology and BPD seems to be one of the lesser discussed, harder to pinpoint, mythologically misunderstood diagnosis out there. This book was interesting because the author was able to give a tangibly real view of L.A.P.D. but also describe nuanced behavior of someone disabled. The main character in this book has a partial metal leg because she jumped off the roof of one of her college buildings. Which represents the stereotype of 'self-harm' as one of the eight diagnostic criteria for BPD. The heroine is both bored and fearless, brave and intimidatingly savy despite of her skewed thinking allowing her to be at the forefront of an attack from another world. While I would have prefered a less fictionalized story this was a good read and I felt compassion for all the interesting characters.

For decades I suffered in agony unable to discuss Pulp Fiction because I had not seen it; Pulp Fiction came up at work, on the street, in Art School, even in church. Now that I've watched it, the foot-massage scene debate, the blood spattered car clean-up, finally make sense. The supreme macho duo of John Travolta and Bruce Willis combine in a tantalizingly pleasing sorta 'modern day chase with a twist' unfolding in ABA format. This is truly Director Tarantino's seminal work. A cult classic. Comedic and Rated R dark it is what every director dreams of replicating. It's a masterpiece being broken apart in film schools worldwide. Put yourself out of misery and check it out. 

Whether you are an amateur or a professional at coding here is a basic Arduino book to make use of. If you already know what Arduino is capable of creating then you will have no trouble while putting this guide to use. You may be interested in Arduino for a variety of reasons including at-home automation, robotics, wearable technology, 3D mapping or 3D printing, Educational Teaching, Internet of Things, Data logging, Automated Gardening, Smart City Projects, or Drones.

Here is a great memoir by Daymond John where he lets you in on who was inspirational during his childhood, what made him stand out, and an accurate illustration of how sometimes in life you have to create your own breaks.

What I love about this book is how candid he is about his mother, his parenting, his struggle with dyslexia, and facts about how people can overcome that to start businesses. He also is honest about the time, energy, and work he put in, and how at one point he and his roommates had a designer clothing operation going on in their apartment where they would sew extra stitching on fancy apparel to customize it. I love his donut quote, and the cover image art. This book is going to save someone's life who is going through it who needs a role model. Enjoy! 

Bill Nye the Science guy was a staple of my high school education twenty years ago and ever relevant today in a bustling world where people are much less likely to break down even the most finite simplistic of scientific principles on camera. This book will convict you not just about your role as a participator or contributor to science, as well as to being creative about how to practice living for justice and exploration in this world. Too busy to read all 365 pages? Here is an index of all the Organizations or taggable catch prase topics mentioned so that you can simply take a screen shot. In no particular order topics I found to be most relevant were:

The big bang theory, STEM, Phi, Pickett model N3-ES slide rule, EPA, Perry Mason, Boeing, The Planetary Society, Bill Nye Saves The World Netflix show, the origins of "Gung ho" , Steve Martin, Almost Live!, Carl Sagan, Chicxulub Crater, Lightsail 1 and 2, the greenhouse effect, Library of Congress, rubidium, TED X, vasoconstriction, neuroscientists, quantum mechanics, neuro-plasticity, freelance engineer, geo-engineer, Washington Post, 1963 Chevrolet Bel-Air station wagon, Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation, Earth Day, Bacillus thuringiensis, GMO crops, Elon Musk, Tesla motors, International Astronautical Congress, Guadalajara Mexico, SpaceX, Walter Alvarez-geologist, National Archives, Isaac Newtons Birthday, Doctors without Borders, Charity Watch.org, Solutions Project, Union of Concerned Scientists, Global Citizen, OSIRIS-REX, NASA, Space Exploration Initiative, ETC

Again, I hope the diversity of these topics has piqued your interest in reading or purchasing this epic science book. It really is Everything All at Once and taking the time to read it might be the push you need to jumpstart your future science career.

Questlove is back! Let him take you on a tour of his life, the life of music greats, and more. The best part of this book is that it sounds like him speaking directly to you boldly from the heart. Full of a pleasant amount of the intricate details of studio production, and about how the music scene at his house on St. Albans' Street in Philadelphia used to be before everyone had achieved 'Madonna single name level stardom', this book will transform your desire to make Art or consider Art's current presence in your life. Creative Quest does not emphasize on spirituality and dogma or God concepts but will get you to think about your own life as a creative artist. I enjoyed the personal anecdotes, but also the Meta-realization that at a certain point in life, he will be gone, as will we all, and this book is a stand-out attempt to cross that spiritual void so that his life's work not be forgotten and humankind will not lose sight of how to build things from scratch. Thus all the food metaphors. 

Amazing! Comedic literacy at its best!

This book seems to have accrued some criticism for Judith's 'baring of her soul and telling of her sons' most appalling secrets' on the interwebs. However; in her defense, only the truly necessary has been divulged. Therefore in life, given the opportunity to discuss with Mrs. Newman her son's proclivity to discuss say: "turtles" as described therein, I must assume that "turtles" is just an example category and the point is that autistics like to discuss details of things and focus on particular subject areas extensively on occasion. If I do get to meet Mrs. Newman in person I will ask her if she has plans to write more about her life as a synesthete because that interests me most. What this book provides best is a melange of wit, at once a mother's semi-autobiographical experience of raising autistics in New York (with help), and a sort of 'action catalog' of possible behaviors that 'might' occur for someone within the spectrum or close to it. Judith is that rare journalist who can provide movement, nonfiction factoids, as well as parental coping strategies all wrapped up in one neat package. Read it before you judge.

The idea of beginning counting from zero not one might be un-intuitive for non-programmers or non-mathematically inclined types, however, different cultures counted age in-utero, Mayan culture represented numbers using facial masks, and a wide variety of the history of pre-western calendrical systems are discussed, and explained by Seife. Quite possibly the first book of this genre in the history of publication, Seife deserves much more lauding than he's getting. This book will not sit well with non-scientists (possibly Catholics or any religious extremists) who can't comprehend the historical inaccuracy of the Roman (as well as other non-lunar calendar systems), or those who can't stretch their minds enough to realize B.C. and A.D. are just arbitrary labels. For the non-math genius, there is a pleasantness that comes from having pictures of spatial mathematics graphed out. Seife's book is easy to understand for all ages and would be great summer reading for Pre-college, Pre-high school or anyone who wants to stretch the left side of their brain.

Equal parts academic historian and psychological researcher, Ann Hulbert immerses us slowly but thoroughly into the waters of prodigy-ism as it has been documented. The biographical detail of the lives covered is fascinating. I particularly enjoyed reading about Nathalia Crane, poet and likely synesthete, and Bobby Fischer chess champion' early years, and precious photos. The book begins with chapters covering two prodigies at a time allowing a certain comparison between the tangent lives. Then midway through the book Hulbert style changes by forcing an examination of programmers which then triggers a sort of Pandoras' box question: "What is the difference between genius, autistic prowess, and Savant Syndrome?" When have these categories overlapped? Clearly, there are many more cases to be examined. This book is well suited to parents as the parental dynamic involved in the raising and shaping of each over-achiever is documented. Extensive Bibliography included; this book is everything we would have expected from a Harvard graduate.

I had such high hopes for this book, but they were dashed again and again.  The story opens in Brittany and soon moves to Cornwall, settings that should have been a compelling part of the story.  

A Secret History of Witches chronicles the story of a family, the Orchires, as they pass on knowledge of their religion from mother to daughter.  I had a difficult time finding a character I actually liked and I made it up until the last 100 or so pages.  When one character's mother is murdered due to her betrayal, instead of using this as a way to connect to the emotional life of the character, the story just skips a few decades and moves on.  There is a lot of antagonism between the mothers and daughters in this book.  Rarely is love expressed.  Cruelty seems to be the norm.  This could have been a rich and interesting story.  Instead it was boring and a waste of time.

The Winter People ties together a mysterious death in 1908 with the current disappearance of Alice Washburne.  Alice's teenage daughter, Ruthie, must try to unravel the mystery of what happened to her mother.  Ruthie's little sister, Fawn, discovers secret hiding spots in the house where she finds all manner of mysterious items.  Part mystery and part horror story, this book keeps the reader's interest until the end.  I was surprised not to like it more than I did, however.  

Told in a series of letters to an anonymous reader, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, chronicles Charlie's first year in high school.  Charlie is sensitive and analyzes everything, but he also sees things that other often miss.  I chose this book because it was listed in an introvert-INFJ forum and I can certainly see why.  Charlie is often overwhelmed by his emotions and what he sees going on around him.  He feels the pain of the world and can't let it go.  But along the way he does makes some really good friends and manages to come out on the other side of his troubles stronger and more confident.

Speaks the Nightbird tells the story of a settlement in Colonial North Carolina where, when murder and other terrible crimes occur, a woman is accused of witchcraft.  When a magistrate sent to investigate the claims disappears without a trace Magistrate Isaac Woodward and his assistant, Matthew Corbett, are sent to Fount Royal to discover what is going on.  An encounter at an inn along the way from Charles Town to Fount Royal almost costs them their lives, but through luck and quick thinking they make it to Fount Royal, naked, but alive.  

Magistrate Woodward takes ill and is close to death leaving Matthew to investigate.  It is obvious that Fount Royal's founder, Robert Bidwell, wants the matter resolved with the hanging of Rachel Howarth, guilty or not.  And, he expects it to be done quickly.  Matthew has doubts from the beginning about Rachel's guilt.  Uncertain of his own beliefs in the validity of witchcraft, he must try to find both the answers he seeks as well as a way to hold the angry townspeople at bay until the truth is uncovered.  As he delves deeper and deeper in the lives of the town's residents he learns some of them are not who they seem and others want to hide things from their past at all costs.

I was thoroughly engaged in this book from the beginning.  It is well researched and tells a compelling and interesting story.  Plot twists and surprises keep the reader wanting more.  The reason I couldn't give it a full five stars is that the ending comes rather abruptly and doesn't feel entirely believable.  While the bulk of the book's 726 pages takes place in just a few days with almost every detail along the way being detailed, the resolution to the mystery at the center of the book is handled in several "behind the scenes" events that don't fit in with the detailed account that comes before.  Given the personalities of several of the characters the "happily ever after" ending seems contrived.  

Age of Ambition by Kranos is ambitious from start to finish. Hellbent on giving a complete, accurate, modern account of
what China has experienced throughout the past 50years Kranos is the ideal auteur d'exellence to leave no stone uncovered. Tracing a wide panoply of individuals who lived radical lives; from Taiwanese defectors turned intellectuals, to 
the artist Ai Wei Wei, Deng Xiao Ping and current President Xi Jing Ping, we are left with a masterful portrait of all 
the complex issues arrising in a market economy when power can be bought and dissent can be squashed. Nonobstant, Krasnos offers a thrillingly objectivist glimpse of communist biographical vignettes. These jarring protagonists are juxtaposed as astoundingly good products inter-acting within the current system despite the under-current of party politics which have turned sour and how modern media plays an important role in sequestering the power of the mighty. This book is likely 'nearly banned' on the mainland as it exposes widespread corruption. I advise readers to read a hard-copy in USA, do not bring it to the Mainland when you fly. For the curious non-asian enthusiast the names will be hard to keep track of as they all sound similar but please persevere nevertheless in the name of universal freedom.

In Order To Live by Naomi Park is a fast read and completely spell-binding. This book will either paint an accurate
detailed account of life in the far northern territory annexed from China which is North Korea for the unfamiliar, or bring
back sensitive memories for anyone who has ever been to the Gobi desert whether tourist or refugee. This book is a historical
novel and real life is stranger than fiction in a tangled economy where people can be sold, reunited, smuggled, saved and
rescued for generations systemically. This is the cutting edge best-seller on the taboo topic of human-trafficing women
have been waiting for. This book is in a category to itself; Ms. Park's riveting life bypasses even Sheryl WuDunn's 'Women
Hold Up Half The Sky' (exact title: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide) which is perhaps the only recommended similar reading which can hold a candle to this biography. 

A classic and things are classic for a reason. Bradbury is a storyteller and not a poet and I love poets more, but, I think about this book frequently. I am reminded of the 3D entertainment projections every time I turn on my "smart" TV. I think about the personal surveillance when I see crime and traffic cameras. Recently, as there have been calls to punish Americans for criticizing public officials I shudder and think of Fahrenheit 451.