Reviews, Health, and Other Stuff
Here you will find things about fitness and nutrition, mainly (but not exclusively) in relation to the Beachbody programs like P90x and Insanity. And, I will start adding reviews for Books, DVDs and Blu-Rays, and other products. All views and opinions on this blog are my own.
Welcome
Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.
I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.
I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time. As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree.
Saturday, August 16, 2025
CD/Music Review: Paula Abdul: Shut Up and Dance
Friday, August 15, 2025
CD/Music Review: Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 6
Along with Alley, Tom Skerritt was brought in for a significant recurring role. Jay Tomas returned as Carla's husband, Bebe Neuwirth's role as Lilith was expanded (although she was still a recurring character), and Harry Anderson made a cameo appearance, reprising his role as Harry the Hat in one of the cold opens (despite starring in Night Court by that time). Robert Urich and Wade Boggs made special guest appearances.
The season picks up months down the line from the events that ended the fifth season. We discover that Sam has gone sailing around the world, selling the bar to a large corporation run by Skerritt's character, Evan Drake. Alley plays Rebecca Howe, who runs the day-to-day operations at the bar, and is totally in love with Drake, who barely notices her. When Sam's boat sinks, he returns to Cheers looking to be the boss again, but is only able to be hired on as a bartender, with Rebecca as his boss. The show continues the format that it used in prior seasons, blending procedural one-off storylines with serial arcs. The writers attempted to replicate the Sam and Diane "will-they-won't-they" storyline with Sam and Rebecca, but it mostly involved Sam hitting on Rebecca and her turning him down (or messing with him). The writers did a good job balancing the storylines for the large ensemble cast, giving all the characters good material to work with. There were more good Lilith and Frasier moments, with Bebe Neuwirth stealing pretty much every scene she was in.
The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. Like those for seasons four and five, this one does not have any bonus features, but the episodes can be played with English captions. As of this writing, the only way to get the blu-ray versions is to purchase the complete series set. The individual single-season sets are only available on DVD. The A/V quality of the episodes on blu-ray is very good, and the episodes look and sound great in the HD format, especially given the age of the show.
The season is good, and the introduction of the new characters gave the show a fresh boost. Whatever you think of Alley in real life, especially her politics toward the end of her life, she was hilarious in the show, and even though the writers tried to give her character a similar dynamic with Sam that Shelly Long's character had, she did not copy what Long did with the character of Diane. The comedy is still a lot different than today's sitcoms. In some ways, it is tamer (even though there is sexual banter and innuendo, nothing beyond kissing is shown). On the other hand, some of the jokes would definitely not fly in today's PC climate, especially the character of Sam sexually harassing the character of Rebecca every episode. Ultimately, if you liked the style and tone of the prior seasons (unless you only liked the character of Diane), you will probably like this season as well.
Thursday, August 14, 2025
Book Review: Tales of Dune
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Book Review: 100 Things to See in the Night Sky, Expanded Edition: Your Illustrated Guide to the Planets, Satellites, Constellations, and More
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
CD/Music Review: 3LW: A Girl Can Mack
Monday, August 11, 2025
Book Review: Chapterhouse Dune (Dune #21 Chronological Order, #6 Publication Order)
Sunday, August 10, 2025
4k-UHD/Movie Review: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
CD/Music Review: 3 Doors Down: Seventeen Days
Saturday, August 9, 2025
CD/Music Review: 3 Doors Down: Another 700 Miles
Friday, August 8, 2025
CD/Music Review: 3 Doors Down: Away From the Sun
Thursday, August 7, 2025
CD/Music Review: 3 Doors Down: The Better Life
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 5
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Book Review: Backlash (Scot Harvath Series #18)
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory Season 10
The blu-ray set is a two-disc set, and the show looks and sounds great in the HD format. The extras include the Comic-Con writer's panel, a featurette in which the cast responding to Twitter questions, a short feature on the new family members introduced this season (Leonard's father, and Penny's mother and brother), a feature on Howard's and Bernadette's baby, highlights from the cast Comic-Con panel, and a gag reel. The episodes can be played with English captions, but they cannot be played in a "play all" mode that allows you to pick up where you left off. If you stop watching before completing every episode on the disc, you'll need to find where you left off.
Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Cloverfield Paradox
Monday, July 28, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 4
The season picks up shortly after the events that ended season three, revealing whether Sam was successful in stopping Diane's marriage to Frasier. From there, the show continues to be a blend of a story-of-the-week procedural and serial story arcs. The show remains primarily a comedy, but occasionally mixes in some dramatic moments. Some of the comedy is very much dated, and some of it absolutely would not be done the same way if the series were made today. Some of the jokes are very funny, but others are a bit cringeworthy.
The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. As with the first three seasons, the A/V quality of the episodes is very good. As of this writing, the individual seasons have only been released on DVD, and the blu-rays are only available as a complete series set. There is no bonus material for the fourth season, just the episodes, which can be played in a "play all" mode that allows you to pick up where you leave off, and can be played with or without English captions.
The series continues to be funny, but the "will they or won't they" storyline between Sam and Diane does get a bit old this season. The writers provide all the characters with good material to work with, and each of them receives at least a storyline for an episode or two. They continue to expand Frasier's role, and he is much funnier this season than he was in Season Two. Woody Harrelson does a very good job being the new cast member and playing a character with similar qualities to Coach, without being a carbon copy. Ultimately, if you liked the series up to this point, you will probably like the fourth season. While I cannot say that everyone will like the series, especially younger people who may not like some of the humor, if you liked Seasons 1-3, this one is worth watching.
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Light
Monday, July 21, 2025
4k-UHD/Movie Review: 10 Cloverfield Lane
The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard blu-ray disc. The UHD disc has the movie, and the regular blu-ray disc has the movie and the bonus content. The bonus content includes several featurettes that can be played simultaneously or individually. The total run time for the bonus content is just under 35 minutes, and the featurettes include interviews with the cast and crew members, touching on topics such as the movie's production, score, and special effects.
The movie is a good entry in the Cloverfield universe. Again, it is not a direct sequel to the first movie. It is set in Louisiana and only tangentially references an attack on the East Coast. It is never made clear if that is the same attack that we saw in the original film. This one is primarily a psychological thriller and does not have as much action as the first movie does, although it does have some action. Goodman plays a character who is somewhat unusual and may or may not be mentally unstable and possibly evil. It is a very different role for Goodman, who is mainly known for his comedic roles. Winstead and Gallagher are also wonderful in their respective roles, but Goodman really carries the film. The fact that most of the movie is set in a very confined space actually adds to the suspense. The ending was somewhat controversial when the movie was released, but it was actually foreshadowed throughout the film. While I cannot say that everyone who liked the original movie will like or love this one, if you are a fan of the horror and/or thriller genres, you will probably enjoy this one. It is well-written and very well-acted, and is absolutely worth the time to watch.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Book Review: Merlin's Tour of the Universe: A Traveler's Guide to Blue Moons and Black Holes, Mars, Stars, and Everything Far
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 3
The blu-ray set is a three-disc set and reproduces the content of the original DVD releases. Again, the individual seasons are not available on blu-ray; you can (at least as of this writing) only get the blu-rays in a complete series set. The A/V quality of the blu-ray release is very good. The extras are all included on the final disc. Those include clips of Norm talking about his wife Vera (who never appear on screen), clips of Carla making fun of Cliff, clips of Fraiser's key moments in the season, a virtual tour of the bar, and a tribute to Nicholas Colasanto (which features interviews with Ted Danson, George Wendt, and Rhea Perlman talking about Colasanto and what he brought to the show and the character of Coach.
The series really found its footing by the third season. The show continued to be a mix of procedural weekly storylines and longer serial arcs. While the show's focus remained on Sam and Diane's relationship, the writers continued to expand the storylines for the supporting characters, particularly Cliff and Norm. Each of the supporting characters received at least one show devoted to him or her. As was the case in the first two seasons, there are definitely jokes that would probably not be used if the show were made today, and there are quite a few adult jokes, so while the series is mostly good-natured and wholesome, it is not entirely family-friendly. Ultimately, if you liked the first couple of seasons, this one is worth watching.
Sunday, June 1, 2025
Book Review: Heretics of Dune (Dune #20 Chronological Order, #5 Publication Order)
Friday, May 30, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 9
The relationships of the characters continue to be the centerpiece of the show. All the couples on the show go through a period of transition in their relationship, and even Raj does a complete 180 from his days of not being able to talk to women unless drunk, with pretty humorous results. Overall, I think if you have found the show enjoyable in the past few seasons and have not felt it getting stale, then you will also enjoy this season. If it has been getting stale for you, then you may not.
The blu-ray set is a two-disc set. The extras include the comic con panel, a few short behind-the-scenes features, including one devoted to the 200th episode, and a gag reel. Definitely good for what is there. Unlike one of the other reviewers, I had no problems with episode 12 not playing or missing in my set, so it is not a problem that affects the entire lot of blu-ray sets out there.
Thursday, May 29, 2025
4K-UHD/Movie Review: Cloverfield
Monday, May 26, 2025
Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 70
Day 70 was a rest day. I did do the Lift 4 stretch workout, but did not foam roll. It was nice to have a day off from workout out since I have been pretty gassed this week.