Becoming Wise

It is easy to become wise. All we have to do is ask questions. The question will bring about answers. Answers are knowledge. Once we embrace, then use knowledge properly, we will become wise. There are many kinds of questions. One type of question is one that warns a person not to take a certain course of action. God does this to Cain at the beginning. “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? Another type of question is one that tests a person’s character. “Where is your brother Abel?” Another type of question is one that exposes a person’s struggle with their own conscious. These questions answer themselves. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” I hope that all who want to become wise will understand that it is the easiest task on earth and cost nothing. Just ask the questions, they will lead the way.

Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now is not a film to be taken lightly. It is not to be watched if you are looking for a vehicle to escape reality. Apocalypse Now will take you on a long journey through the last war that the people of the United States did not want against a people that wanted sovereignty. The film will also take you to the root of our humanity where we are always left with two fundamental choices, do good or do evil. If you have the courage, you will see one of the finest films ever made. You will see great acting by Martin Sheen, a teenage Laurence Fishburn, and an ensemble cast. By the end of Apocalypse Now you will understand why the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are a mess. You will understand why the poppy growers are flourishing. You will understand why our veterans are the way that they are. Invest the time to experience Apocalypse Now, if you dare!

Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis

Franz Kafka is known as one of the darker authors as far as material is concerned. However, the fact of the matter is that he is a brilliant portrayer of reality. The Metamorphosis is Kafka’s most well known work in the United States. This may be because the overwhelming majority of the citizens in the U. S. are middle class citizens that labor simply to sustain themselves or maintain their life styles. At least we are still middle classed on paper. Kafka uses Gregor Samsa to portray the life of a western style worker that is disintegrating. Kafka was trying to warn us all to be aware of what we work toward, less we become worse than the vermin of the earth. For even vermin have natural routines. As we spiral away from humanity we are not even recognizable to each other.

Italo Calvino’s Invisible City

We are living in a time of crisis. It is during these times that transformation can take place. American cities have been in need of a makeover for decades. Some political interest always gets in the way during normal times, but now when everyone is suffering, we can make our cities great again. Only one small thing gets in the way, those in power have no imagination. However we the people can easily fix that by reading Italo Calvino’s Invisible City and sparking our creative visions. Invisible City portrays all kinds of cities. Some of them are wildly fantastic, but others are well within our reach. We can have cities that are completely underground. We in New York City already know that the subway system is such a city. The only thing missing down there are residential units. How about cities in the sky? Alright maybe I am going too far. When I first read Invisible City I thought, why can’t we have large buildings five blocks long and five blocks wide including medical centers, retail establishments and an airport on the roof. Read Invisible City and stretch you urban self.

Economy and Education

Let us bring to light some solutions! We often complain about, well, everything. No one may complain more than New Yorkers. Here is one New Yorker that does love to point out the wrongs, but also loves to offer solutions to problems. The economy is rubble on the ground and needs to be picked up and rebuilt. One thing that the federal government should do is make food assistance available to all citizens no matter what their income. Food is a major bill in all households, taking it off of our hands would keep more cash in our pockets. The retailers that accept food assistant credits should receive tax credits per the units they accept. I hear that China is building a high speed rail system from every place in China to every place else in China. It sounds good to me. We need high speed rail as an alternative to the ridiculous airline industry. The United States needs a public works project that links us together at this point in our history when the empire is coming apart. Education is a problem that is so simple to solve. The federal government should create schools that are run and funded by them. The federal schools can compete with local public schools as well as private schools.

Yeshua on Growth

The story is that Yeshua went into the desert in order to move into the next stage of development (Matthew 4: 1-11). Growth comes with struggle, especially a growth toward enlightenment. Yeshua says that we should value the intangible over the tangible. What we perform with the energy that we get from the food we eat is more important than the food itself. The energy of the God Force is the best food. Yeshua says that as we grow we do not have to test the power of the God Force because enlightened people know God’s power so we flow with God and not against it. Finally Yeshua tells us to be loyal to the God Force alone because it is the only Force that can sustain an enlightened person. No government or worldly institution can give any value to an enlightened person, but enlightened people can give value to the institutions of a society. However, most worldly institutions almost always reject enlightened messages.

Robert Lindner's The Fifty Minute Hour

If you are afraid of the world of psychology, The Fifty Minute Hour will ease your fears. You will receive a backstage pass to psychoanalysis. The Fifty Minute hour presents real cases of patients that are struggling with major mental illnesses. You will be fascinated . The only treat more interesting than viewing the human brain at work is seeing the human brain that does not work to the benefit of its holder. The Fifty Minute Hour may give you a new respect for psychoanalysis if you do not have it already. Seeing these real cases right in front of you brings to mind a simple but important question. How come we visit doctors for the health of every other muscle in our bodies except for the most crucial one, the brain?

Timothy Conerson's Tales from Tim

“This books is special to me because I actually know the author. The book has 11 short stories of varied interest. In the first story, which can be read for free on amazon.com, called "Our nana" is about a matriarch of a community that draws a young woman into the sisterhood of the community. The book has stories that are as short as one page and as long as eleven pages. The thing that I love is that the stories are simple on the surface, but become richer as you dig deeper. If there is one thing that does tie the stories together it is that they are urban. From "Our Nana" to "The People's Republic" which shows a population creating a nation after America falls to China.”

Tavis Smiley’s The Covenant

We all need to know the statistics for numerous issues. The African-American, the ethnic group with the most negative statistics, needs to know statistics more than most. However, statistical books can be boring labyrinths of charts, graphs, and numbers. Tavis Smiley gives the reader a description of problems, provided by various writers and scholars. You will get to know why the problems in our society are the way that they are and why. The writing is amazingly accessible to the average reader. You need not be a scholar yourself in order to read The Covenant. Smiley does something else that many books of this type do not, he provides solutions. Yes, you get multiple instructions in terms of dealing with our complex issues. The solutions are easy to understand. It is obvious that we are on our own and the cavalry will not come for us in troubled times you must read The Covenant in order to find out what your plan of action should be.

Theodore Isaac Rubin’s The Angry Book

We are all angry about something. Anger can be liberating if we recognize the anger and channel it properly. The Angry Book has all that we will need in order to manage our anger. What type of anger we suffer from is in the book. The roots of our anger are in the book. Most importantly how to dissolve our anger before it cripples or destroys us is in the book. The Angry Book should be on every shelf because unresolved anger has the power to debilitate us. This book may save you a few trips to the doctor’s office, the emergency room, or the penal system. In this society, where almost nothing makes sense, we rarely seek mental health. Well, whether you cannot afford mental health or you are just embarrassed, The Angry Book can benefit you.