Recommendations
About five years ago I begun writing reviews of some of the books I read, movies I watch, and occasionally, games I play. What I immediately noticed is that adopting this habit led to a fundamental change: I started thinking about books, movies and games more critically. The effect of this was that it made these activities less passive and more rewarding. Below are links to those posts and others which I consider the most useful.
Books
- Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
- The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels by Alex Epstein
- The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
- Fluent Forever by Gabriel Wyner
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Professor in the Cage by Jonathan Gottschall
- Islam & the Future of Tolerance by Sam Harris & Maajid Nawaz
- You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney
- Unmade in China by Jeremy Haft
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
- Cocaine Cowgirl by Jennie Erin Smith
- Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
- Make Your Mark by Jocelyn Glei
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
- Before Ebola by Peter Apps
- The Heart Never Dies by Steven P.R.
- Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
- The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
- Zero to One by Peter Thiel
- The Proteus Paradox by Nick Yee
- Creativity, Inc. by Edwin Catmull
- No Exit: Struggling to Survive a Modern Goldrush by Gideon Lewis-Kraus
- A Pocket Full of Needles by Steven P.R.
- The Turning by Steven P.R.
- One World Schoolhouse by Salman Khan
- Engineering the Alpha by Adam Bornstein and John Romaniello
- Guns by Stephen King
- The Zen of Steve Jobs by Caleb Melby
- More Guns, Less Crime by John Lott
- Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
- Why School? by Will Richardson
- Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson
- The Analects of Confucius translated by James Legge
- McAfee’s Last Stand by Joshua Davis
- Sperm Wars by Robin Baker
View book highlights
Life in China
- 996 and Overtime in China perspective on the institutionalization of office overtime for China’s white collar workers
- Social Betterment Through Billboards expressions of traditional and modern Chinese values through public billboards
- Chengdu Underground Vibes an independent documentary on Chengdu’s underground music culture
- How to Learn Chinese Infographic made with info contributed by China bloggers
- Chengdu: Laid Back Tech Capital of China what separates Chengdu from China’s other major cities
Productivity Tools
A list of my favorite Productivity Tools and Apps to share with friends and family. Since then I’ve updated it, adding new apps and removing deprecated ones. Things like to-do list and calendar apps, information processing, and password management.
Downloads
- High Resolution Australia Wallpapers Sydney Opera House and more
- High Resolution Kunming Wallpapers urban and natural landscapes
- Palindrome Poetry Poster: “Xuanjitu” print-ready poster for Mandarin learners
- DJ Krush in Chengdu print-ready event poster
Games
Here’s a long list worth checking out, which has been frequently updated: The Best Mobile Games.
- Resident Evil 7 VR by Capcom
- Playstation VR by Sony
- Reddit’s Favorite Short Games Survey
- Superhot VR by Superhot Team
- Shovel Knight by Yacht Club
- Reddit’s Favorite Games Survey
- Grand Theft Auto V by Rockstar Games
- Hotline: Miami by Dennaton Games
- Card Wars – Adventure Time by Cartoon Network
- Disco Zoo by NimbleBit
- Destiny by Bungie
- Shadow of Mordor by Monolith Studios
- Bitcoin Billionaire by Noodlecake Studios
- Gone Home by Fullbright
- Papers, Please by Lucas Pope
- Towerfall by Matt Makes Games
- Undertale by Toby Fox
In December of 2015, I published a post outlining the year in mobile games, with links to 85 games. Many of these games are still some of the best in the App Store and Google Play.
Movies
- Flight directed by Robert Zemeckis
- Beasts of the Southern Wild directed by Benh Zeitlin
- Seven Psychopaths directed by Martin McDonagh
- Skyfall directed by Sam Mendes
- Sound City directed by Dave Grohl
- Wreck-It Ralph directed by Rich Moore
- Killing Them Softly directed by Andrew Dominik
- Zero Dark Thirty directed by Katheryn Bigelow
- Downhill Racer directed by Michael Ritchie
- Olympus Has Fallen & White House Down
- Hunger Games: Catching Fire directed by Francis Lawrence
- Vertigo directed by Alfred Hitchcock
- The Butler directed by Lee Daniels
- Dallas Buyers Club directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
- Blue Ruin directed by Jeremy Saulnier
- Wild at Heart directed by David Lynch
- Firewall directed by Richard Loncraine
- Flight Plan directed by Robert Schwentke
- Proof directed by John Madden
- Domino directed by Tony Scott
Music
- Song of the Day a playlist made over the course of a year where I selected a different song each day, then compiled them into a massive playlist. Like a year-long mixtape.
- DJ mixes about a dozen DJ mixes, recorded live and in the studio, over the course of 15 years.
Guides
- Stage Two Napping How to nap without messing up your sleep schedule.
- Language Learning with Cloze Sentences study with sentences, not words.
- Reduce Clutter and Distractions 25 quick tips for a clear headspace.
- Perfect Morning Coffee in 90 Seconds A rapid-fire guide to use the Aeropress.
- Strategically Lazy Morning Routine Emphasis on speed and efficiency.