Knock Down the House

Before Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, there was a group of activists called Justice Democrats who were looking for promising candidates that could primary Democratic incumbents in Congress.  They are looking for change.

The film crew recorded many of the scenes prior to the 2018 elections including interviews with the candidates and their opinions.  By showcasing the candidates, Netflix’s Knock Down the House is one of the most interesting behind the scenes political documentary.  I think the best quote from the documentary was “after 2016, nothing is for certain.”

This documentary really shines a light on the Ocasio-Cortez as a “rising star” and her opinions and activities going into the primary.  It’s fascinating.

 

 

 

The Office

Have you heard of a small NBC show called The Office? It’s a comedy show disguised as a documentary series.  It’s also one of those highly acclaimed shows that people talk about all the time.

Well… I finally finished this on Netflix six years after it’s season finale.  I found the earlier seasons to be funnier with the pranks between Jim and Dwight.  The hilarity in later seasons weren’t as good.  However there was one particular gem of a prank in later seasons: “Asian Jim.”  I think Asian Jim was the best one ever in that it exploited the cognitive dissonance in Dwight.

 

 

A Netflix “dating” show?

This new Netflix show Dating Around looks like an interesting show…

Ken Jeong’s Netflix Special!

Ken Jeong of Crazy Rich Asians fame and The Hangover fame has his own Netflix special now!!  It’s hilariously amazing.

Fyre Festival

This Netflix documentary on Fyre Festival failure makes me think of how easily people get sold on a dream, of how potentially white privilege allowed this fraud to really get so far, and of how charisma can sell just about anything.

Marie Kondo

Marie Kondo is a Japanese organization consultant who’s extremely famous for devising her “KonMari” method.  In short, the method describes a way to organize items, determine if the item sparks joy and subsequently appreciate/thank the items that have accumulated over the years.  Items that spark joy with the owner are kept while those that no longer do should be discarded.  My interpretation is that the KonMari method is a mindfulness and introspection technique applied not only personally but also to the items that surround us.

Netflix has this new show that stars Kondo helping different families organize their lives.  Kondo is absolutely bubbly in each of the episodes.  This show is an absolute pleasure to watch.  Her happiness and exuberance in helping the families also makes me happy as well.

 

Go, the board game

Netflix has had this documentary called “The Surrounding Game” which discusses Go.  Go is perhaps one of the most complex board games to exist today.  It is an imported game from Asia most originating in China spreading to Japan and Korea.  Today there are professional leagues in Japan, China and Korea where all the top players will go to in order to train to be better.

I personally find Go the most fascinating board game of all.  The simplicity of the game is what attracted me to the game but the complexity of the game is what keeps me entranced in it.  When I got my first Android phone, the first purchase I made was for AI Factory’s Go Game App.  I had downloaded the free trial and played the game once and immediately bought it because I was thrilled that I could play this game on the phone.

A couple of comments from this documentary that I found interesting:

  • The documentary stated a wish that Go would be more popular in US.  But since Go is an intellectual game, Go and other intellectual games like chess will continue to take a backseat to games that require physical prowess.  Furthermore, until the “nerd” status is elevated from a derogatory to an adulatory term, the idea of an intellectual game that is popular will never happen.
  • A Korean pro mentioned that it’s very difficult for there to be US pros starting at an early age because kids don’t study.  In Asia, kids study for 10 hours. But in US, they can’t even study for 5. lulz
  • Apparently there are American Go pros since 2012.  It’s when this documentary was created.

Donate!

It’s that time of year again… Not Christmas.  Not New Year’s fireworks.  It’s the year end scramble to donate to a non-profit in order to take potential tax deductions.

This is my 2nd year donating to NPR.  Their Politics podcast and Planet Money podcast are two of the best podcasts to listen to.  I also listen to the Ted Radio Hour, How I Built This, and Hidden Brain.  Aside from podcasts, I also listen to their news via Google Home.  That’s six NPR shows.

Donate!  https://www.npr.org/localized/donations/

 

Dual Political Monopoly

Readers of this blog probably know Freakonomics is one of the podcasts that I listen to.  They recently released a new podcast that touches on politics… specifically, the duopoly (dual monopoly) in politics between the Republicans and Democrats.  Everyone should have an interest in politics since the government can directly influence the daily lives of each citizen both positively as well as negatively.

This podcast makes the case of why this duopoly needs to be broken up.  From collusion  to keep other 3rd party candidates out of elections to partisan legislation through Congress and the White House, I hope all the readers of this blog seriously listens to this Freakonomics podcast.

http://freakonomics.com/podcast/politics-industry/

A New Trevor Noah Stand Up

Readers of this blog are probably aware that I’m a big fan of Trevor Noah. He’s a master at embedding relevant social commentary into his jokes.  His “immigrant experience” routines are hilarious and accurate in his observations.  His past Netflix specials (You Laugh But It’s True, Afraid of the Dark) and his continued presence as The Daily Show host show how he views many social and political issues through a different viewpoints.  His commentary makes me think about the actual issue even if I don’t have a particular position to the issue.

Netflix recently released a new stand up “Son of Patricia” shortly before Thanksgiving.  Watch it. It’s great.

In other news, The Daily Show has had a podcast since the start of the year.  Since I watch his show on Youtube, this podcast is actually pretty awesome.  It summarizes the 30 minute TV episode into shorter 20 minutes segments.  It’s great for listening on short drives.