Update

Good Afternoon,

It is Wednesday, April 21, 2010.

I am now four books into my quest to read all 1001, with many more to come soon. With the movies, however, I have a problem. I have acquired a copy of 1001 Movies to See Before You Die, and it appears that many of the movies will be rather difficult to find on a regular basis. Therefore, I am changing my goals for movies. I will continue to read all 1001 books, but I will simply watch all of the best movies that I can get a hold of. I will still post reviews of both on this blog. While the title may now be slightly inaccurate, I hope that you will continue to read and enjoy.

Jeffrey

The Little Prince

The Little Prince

In 1943, Antoine De Saint-Exupery published The Little Prince.
Appearing to be a short story at first glance, after a closer look a
deeper message appears. The narrator has crashed his airplane in the
middle of the Sahara desert, only to find a young boy sitting there,
watching intently. Over the next eight days, the little prince tells
his story of how he left his home planet, Asteroid-B 619 and traveled
to Earth. On the way, he visited four planets, each inhabited by an
increasingly foolish man, while on the fifth lives one of the wisest
of all. He then lands on Earth and meets the narrator, teaching him a
valuable lesson that we should all take into consideration. "Eyes are
blind. You have to look with the heart."

I, Robot.

The first time we were told of the three laws of robotics.

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Now these have become a easily-recognized part of science fiction society.

This collection of nine short stories tells of a future where robots have become a central part of the world, stemming from the company U.S. Robots. While at first glance, the stories have nothing in common with each other, other than the fact that they tell the history of robotics, pieces of dialogue in between the stories says otherwise. One person, however, connects all of the recollections. Susan Calvin is a woman who, at the end of her life has seen every step of the journey towards robots becoming more powerful that they ever could have been without her help. While it is a very short book, I, Robot sets the groundwork for not only other Isaac Asimov classics, but for science fiction in general. Anyone who has even a slight interest in science fiction or even real life robotics should read this, as they will be entertained through every story.

Pink Floyd: The Wall

This film was based on a story told though music. The British rock band Pink Floyd released their album The Wall on November 30, 1979. Both the music and the film tell the story of a rock star named Pink, who has built a psychological wall around himself. Told through his painful memories and beautiful animated sequences, we see that all the people who have interacted with him on a significant level have changed his life in a negative way. I would recommend this film to any fans of Pink Floyd music or to anyone who has ever wondered how their treatment of others actually effects them.

Day 0: The Challenge

Hello.

My name is Jeffrey, your every-day high school nerd who has a passion for both books and movies. I recently came across the lists of recommended films and pieces of literature that supposedly everyone should read before they die. I wanted to take this one step further. My goal is to read all 1001 of the books and watch all 1056 of the movies before I turn twenty-one. This will be in approximately 1863 days. While to some, this could seem like an impossible task, I feel that I am up to the challenge. Tomorrow is the first day, and then it will begin.

Jeffrey