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Molly’s Game was a really interesting, though somewhat quietly splashed movie. One might attribute it’s quiet success to the fact it was a real-life crime drama released Christmas 2017 and only saw expanded releases in early 2018. Conspiracy folks might think it was kept sedate since it involves a number of very famous Hollywood actors, Wall Street figures, and politicians (that are never officially named).

The movie does an excellent job telling the dramatic and real-life events of a high stakes poker game run for several years by Molly Bloom. The most interesting facts were that very famous and powerful Hollywood actors, professional poker players, politicians, and Wall Street execs attended the games this former olympic athlete stole away from a rather unsavory Hollywood star. Told through Molly’s eyes, it shows how she uses her smarts, insight, and decisiveness to keep the game going, the toll it took, and how it ultimately ended.

While the movie itself is excellent on its own, this follow-up interview with Molly Bloom, in my opinion, is even more interesting. Give the whole interview a read for sure – because it’s something I think everyone should read about the promises of power, money, and fame.

I particularly appreciated this set of quotes:

I was absolutely addicted to the lifestyle and to the role that I played in it – being the owner, operator and bank. 

I had come to the realisation, at some point in my career, that what I was doing wasn’t exactly good and that I was using creativity and intelligence to lure people into these gambling events in which a high percentage of them were gambling addicts. It started to weigh heavy on my heart but I didn’t know how to leave because I was really consumed by the money I was making and the power that I had. So I stayed, even until I saw that it wasn’t aligned with my moral code. Ultimately, that made me really spiritually sick.

Now I think that true power is being solid no matter what and not having to rely on some ‘thing’ to make you somebody.

My two brothers are extremely successful human beings. Jordan is a Harvard-educated, cardiothoracic surgeon and Jeremy is a two-time Olympian who played in the NFL and now is a CEO of a very successful tech company. It’s exciting to allocate my time and resources and skills to something that makes the world a better place. I think you can build empires doing good in the world once you’re willing to make the purpose outweigh the financial return.

Also, the sound track for the movie was really good. Here’s on of my favorites by Daniel Pemberton that plays at the end as she pleads guilty and finally turns the corner. Give it a listen when you feel like you need to start again…

David Mamet films are not for everyone, but they have an unmistakable style. I remember renting The Spanish Prisoner and being fascinated by it’s styling and story. As someone that has worked at a Fortune 50 company and been privy to many a secret project or two over the years, it was a great story about working on secret projects and the shadowy possibilities of espionage and double-dealing.

While it’s not the best movie (it has some odd holes and a good dose of deus ex machina), I remember the sound track fondly as setting the mysterious mood. It’s by Carter Burwell – so give it a listen and imagine yourself in a world where you never know who is really on your side…

“Prisencolinensinainciusol” is a song composed by the Italian singer Adriano Celentano, released as a single in 1972.

The song is intended to sound to its Italian audience as if it is sung in English – English with a “Bob Dylan-esque” American accent. The lyrics, however, are deliberately unintelligible gibberish with the exception of the words “all right”. Celentano’s intention with the song was not to create a humorous novelty song but to explore communication barriers. “Ever since I started singing, I was very influenced by American music and everything Americans did. So at a certain point, because I like American slang—which, for a singer, is much easier to sing than Italian—I thought that I would write a song which would only have as its theme the inability to communicate. And to do this, I had to write a song where the lyrics didn’t mean anything.”

Here’s 2 more examples of what American English sounds like to foreigners.

The Concert is a 1956 ballet by Jerome Robbins. It’s a spoof of the orchestral performance experience.

The ballet includes this piece titled “Mistake Waltz” in which some of the dancers are a bit out of sync. The above video shows a performance by the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Every error is completely intentional.

Who knew there was a McDonald’s themed band that covered Black Sabbath songs (with appropriately re-worked fast food lyrics).

Israel Kamakawiwo’ole sadly died at the age of 38 due to problems stemming from his extreme obesity, but he created some beautiful music. Here he sings his famous rendition of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’

If you find him haunting, I recommend Geoffry Gurrumul Yunupingu that I wrote about earlier.