Ashley BOOLELL
Stories (21/0)
Lessons From Talleyrand | A New Perspective (2024)
This is my first article of the year. After releasing Shotgun Insights, my latest book, I switched off the writing engine for a while before getting back to business. What is this present business about? Talleyrand, an iconic figure of French history who served as Napoleon's Foreign Minister and whose prowess in international affairs remains fascinating nearly 200 years after his death. The man was as powerful as he was controversial. He won big when others lost bigger, survived when rivals fell, betrayed as he saw fit and could have added a few chapters to Machiavelli's Prince regarding the art of power.
By Ashley BOOLELL3 months ago in History
Lessons From Ryu, The Greatest Street Fighter Warrior.
The decision to produce this article resulted from my own observations on what has already been written on Ryu. There are dozens of articles available on the web regarding this iconic character's profile and fighting skills. If you type "What is the fighting philosophy of Ryu?" on ChatGPT, you will come across the following sentence: "He seeks to constantly improve himself not only in terms of his fighting abilities but also in his personal growth and understanding of the world." This sentence alone is enough to explain why Ryu is so revered among many martial artists especially those who grew up playing the Street Fighter video game series.
By Ashley BOOLELL10 months ago in Lifehack
New Business Lessons From American Gangster.
American Gangster is a biographical crime film directed and produced by Ridley Scott. The movie is based on the life of Frank Lucas, a drug dealer who made a name for himself in the 1970s with his daring, and highly unorthodox, tactics in the New York heroin trade. Since its release in 2007, American Gangster has become a classic in its genre even though it has been accepted that it does not truly reflect the life of Frank Lucas. The performances of Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas and Russell Crowe as Detective Richie Roberts received critical acclaim with their confrontation on screen considered as one of the best ever in terms of gangster movies.
By Ashley BOOLELL11 months ago in Lifehack
Lessons From The Crow, Brandon Lee's Greatest Movie.
Had Brandon Lee been still alive, he would be 58 years old at the time that this article is being written. This is a young age by today's standards and it gives even more weight to the loss the world faced when Brandon Lee was shot dead while filming The Crow. His death was deemed accidental, but the element of fate is still being discussed to this day. This is due to the circumstances under which his father Bruce Lee, one of the most iconic martial artists of all time, died. Although the reasons for their deaths were different, there are enough similarities to wonder how decisive fate can be in linking the destinies of two exceptional individuals bound by blood.
By Ashley BOOLELL11 months ago in Lifehack
Waking up everyday at 4.30 am. How to develop the discipline and how to keep it.
Before you read any further, please note that the content below might not provide the best solutions if you are looking to become an early bird. What works for me might not work for you and I would rather get this out of the way right from the beginning. Over the years, I read so many articles on how to wake up early that I realised that a generalist approach to achieving this is a hit or miss exercise with more misses than hits. Sleep is a very personal activity and it is up to you to determine the methods that best correspond to your aim of changing your sleep pattern.
By Ashley BOOLELLabout a year ago in Lifehack
Three Lessons From THE DAY OF THE JACKAL.
The Day of The Jackal is a political thriller written by English author Frederick Forsyth and published in 1971. This novel was recommended to me by an English friend. In his own words: “As a Frenchman, you will certainly enjoy this. The movie adaptation is fantastic but the novel is exceptional. I suggest you start with the book.” I was sceptical at first since I had just finished reading another novel called The Sicilian which was written by Mario Puzo. Having spent weeks in the mafia universe of The Sicilian, I wondered if diving into a political thriller was the proper transition. However, the plot of The Day of The Jackal was very intriguing and I was assured that the book is a great classic among highly suspenseful novels that are built around political assassinations. This assessment was right: the novel is absolutely brilliant and easily holds its ground against more contemporary books in the same category.
By Ashley BOOLELLabout a year ago in Lifehack
Alien: Out of the Shadows
When it comes to enduring science fiction franchises, Alien is hard to beat. Ever since the iconic 1979 movie was released, Alien has produced a cult following that has renewed itself across at least three generations of sci-fi enthusiasts. Its success is a combination of outstanding storylines, a great collection of talents and an antagonist, the xenomorph, whose design makes it the near perfect embodiment of a futuristic killing machine. Few fictional characters have succeeded in reducing humans to mere prey as efficiently as the xenomorph. As a species, it is invasive, very powerful, highly resilient, and utterly ruthless.
By Ashley BOOLELL2 years ago in Geeks
Michael Jackson's Dangerous Album | 31 Years Later
It is now more than ten years since Michael Jackson passed away. His music remains popular, but the man is as controversial as ever. When it comes to expressing opinions on this icon, people generally take sides by either viewing him as a lasting musical genius or a monster whose life became such a mess in the final years of his existence that he will forever be categorised as a statistical oddity who happened to be exceptionally talented. There seems to be a perpetual obsession to find the "truth" about Michael Jackson whatever that means in 2022 and beyond.
By Ashley BOOLELL2 years ago in FYI
Book Review | The Sicilian.
The Sicilian is a novel written by Mario Puzo and published in 1984. Who is Mario Puzo? Very simple: he is the author of The Godfather. This distinction is enough to make Puzo instantly recognisable. After all, The Godfather is easily one of the most influential crime novels of all time. When people are asked to list works inspired by the Italian mafia, this book will often come first. Considering The Godfather's status, it should come as no surprise that The Sicilian has a hard time competing even though it is considered as the sequel to The Godfather. Two things can explain this: the different eras in which the novels were published (the sixties for The Godfather, the eighties for The Sicilian) and the lesser impact of the movie adaptation of The Sicilian compared to that of The Godfather.
By Ashley BOOLELL2 years ago in Education
Lessons From The Boys, The Amazon Original Series
The Boys is an American Superhero Amazon Original series whose first season started in July 2019. With its dark, highly cynical, over the top and often outright crazy storylines, The Boys, which is based on a comics book of the same name, offers a novel portrayal of corruption through characters that are supposedly "heroes". For the sake of clarity, and to apply the proper context to this article, "corruption" in The Boys means the following: "The sadistic abuse of power for one's personal gains with no fear of repercussions". This lack of fear regarding consequences is an important feature when it comes to the primary antagonists of the series. Only extraordinary circumstances threaten, and eventually eliminate, what they assume to be a permanent benefit linked to their status.
By Ashley BOOLELL2 years ago in Lifehack
Lessons From Reacher, The Amazon Original Series.
Jack Reacher is a character created by British author Lee Child. He first appeared in the novel called "Killing Floor" which was published in 1997. The book's success was the foundation for an ongoing crime thriller franchise that has since been adapted into movies starring Tom Cruise, and, more recently, an Amazon series starring Alan Ritchson. The Amazon series has received positive reviews from Jack Reacher fans. Many consider Alan Ritchson to be better suited than Tom Cruise when it comes to portraying Jack Reacher. I agree with this assessment. While Cruise certainly did a good job in the action-packed movies, there was only so much he could do in terms of representing the character that die-hard Reacher admirers expect to see on a screen. Simply put, Tom Cruise does not fit the physical description of Jack Reacher. Lee Child himself explained this in an interview but rightfully gave credit to Cruise for his performance. All things considered, Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher turned out to be a successful experiment which eventually led to Alan Ritchson.
By Ashley BOOLELL2 years ago in Motivation