blog of matt siu

The movie was a solid B+. It successfully blended in old characters like the beloved Han Solo. It also nicely weaved the storyline from the "old" films to set itself up for a new chapter. Okay, that was the good. What I thought was lacking was Heart. It didn't strike a chord to me emotionally as did in Return of the Sith. During the final fight of Anikin and Obi Wan fought to their death ( link ), it literally brought tears to my eyes. Why you ask? It was the devastating pain which stem from a master's disappointment when a student is lost. I didn't quite get the reaction from the Force Awakens. Was it worth the $18 after-tax money and 3 hours of my time? Absolutely. It was Hollywood entertainment at its best. Because of all the hype and nothing less than a cultural phenomenon, you should see it. That was my synopsis, here's some of my sentiments and some deranged thoughts about this experience. It is exhilarating to watch a STAR WARS film on the s...

I read recently that everyone should have some disruption in their lives (Selling is Human - thanks  +Felix Wong   for the book) once in a while. A small disruption may be visiting a friend at work. Larger disruption may be to visit a foreign country. The idea is to get a jolt of the unfamiliar. It's a good way to get our of our rut. My wife and I just came back from a wonderful trip to France. Aside from being just plain fun, this trip developed some pretty darn insightful perspectives. Allow me to share these insights with y'all and maybe, just maybe, you will start to think just a little differently. That's my goal. Canal St. Martin - where local Parisians relax with friends and a bottle of wine  Why is the Canadian/ American culture generally more fast-paced and French is much more laid-back? It's no secret that the Canadian culture (especially in larger cities) is more fast-pace then places such as France. On this trip, I wanted to learn a bit about the Fr...

In today's world filled with hi-tech devices and a "Go-Go-Go!" mentality, we are as stressful as ever. When stressed, our ability to control and overcome fear is marginalized considerably. Fear is really quite the controversial emotion. We need this emotion to prevent us from doing potentially harmful things like putting our head in an alligator's mouth. Yet too much fear prevents us from doing anything meaningful at all. Susan Jeffers's Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway is a gem. This self-help classic offers pragmatic ways to deal with the topic of fear. Allow me to share with you a few of my favorite lessons. 1) What do you supposed is the biggest fear of all? Susan declares that the biggest fear that each of us faces is ... wait for it (imagine Barney from How i met your mother)... the fear that we can't handle whatever life brings . "What? That's it", you may ask, "What about heavy stuff like death, cancer, terrorist attack" Give i...