Ewen's Newsletter - September 4, 2024
Ewen's Newsletter - September 4, 2024
Hi All
Here’s this week’s newsletter.
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Film: Yi Yi (2000)
Synopsis: Each member of a middle-class Taipei family seeks to reconcile past and present relationships within their daily lives.
Book: The Double
About: While his literary reputation rests mainly on such celebrated novels as Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, and The Idiot, Dostoyevsky also wrote much superb short fiction. The Double is one of the finest of his shorter works. It appeared in 1846 (his second published work) and is by far the most significant of his early stories, not least for its successful, straight-faced treatment of a hallucinatory theme.
In The Double, the protagonist, Golyadkin senior, is persecuted by his double, Golyadkin junior, who resembles him closely in almost every detail. The latter abuses the former with mounting scorn and brutality as the tale proceeds toward its frightening denouement. Characteristic Dostoyevskyan themes of helplessness, victimization, and scandal are beautifully handled here with an artistry that qualifies the story as a small masterpiece.
Students of literature, admirers of Dostoyevsky, and general readers will all be delighted to have this classic work available in this inexpensive but high-quality edition.
Music: Save Me
Artist: Dj Vianu
Reflections
"Problems are only opportunities with thorns on them." - Hugh Miller
"I prefer the folly of enthusiasm to the indifference of wisdom." - Anatole France
"We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same." - Anne Frank
"Wisdom alone is the science of other sciences." - Plato
"Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands." - Anne Frank
Project Update
I’ve decided to publish both my books in paperback form and are now both available to purchase. You can buy the paperback versions of my books via the following links:
Grateful For
This week, I’m most grateful for: My Dad. He had a rough week last week, as he had to go into hospital for a number of days, and had surgery yesterday. I love him. And I’m grateful for having such an amazing father.
What are you grateful for this week? (You’re welcome to share with me. But I encourage you to share your gratitude with those close to you)
Book Giveaways
Video
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The Philosophy of Focus
When I was younger, I used to have a very set way of looking at the world. Like most growing up, I used to have an unwavering set of beliefs that were almost stuck on me. But as I’ve gotten older, all those beliefs have gradually fallen away to the point where I can’t even remember most of what I used to believe in. And now I don’t hold any beliefs. None whatsoever. And I am aware that this is quite antithetical to what most tell us. People say “You have to believe in something”, “You have to believe in yourself”, etc., etc. But I don’t believe in anything anymore.
What has brought this on has been my widened perspective. As I’ve come to new realisations of life, I’ve realised more ways in which I could disprove my beliefs. And quite naturally, my beliefs have eased. It’s not that I don’t have thoughts anymore. It’s just that I don’t believe any of my thoughts are true. They’re just words that float through my mind.
But what does all this have to do with focus?
Film
Buy the digital download for my film Śūnyatā by clicking the banner:
Books
Buy the paperback versions of my books The Flow of All Things and The Shadow Stalker by clicking the covers:
Thanks for checking out this week’s newsletter. If you have any feedback or would just like to say “Hi”, you can simply reply to this newsletter. I do my best to respond to every email.
Have a great rest of your week.
Cheers,
Ewen
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