Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bewitched Season 7

 

The penultimate 7th season of Bewitched aired during the 1970/1971 TV season.  This season was shorter than past seasons, having just 28 episodes. All the main cast members (Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, Agnes Moorehead, and David White) returned, as did several of the major recurring and supporting cast members, including Erin Murphy, George Tobias, Sandra Gould, Alice Ghostley, Mabel Albertson, Paul Lynde, and Bernard Fox. Guest stars this season included Cesar Romero and Parley Baer. The show mostly retained the story-of-the-week procedural format, but the first 8 episodes were set in modern-day and 17th-century Salem (and filmed partially on location in Salem, Massachusetts). The most notable episode of the season was the Christmas episode titled Sisters at Heart, which was created from a story written by students at a Los Angeles high school, and was the first episode to directly tackle the subjects of racism and prejudice (although the series had always used the marriage of Samantha and Darrin as a metaphor to comment on those subjects). 

As of this writing, the individual seasons are only available on DVD, and the blu-ray set is only available as a complete series release. In that set, the seventh season episodes are on discs 19 and 20. The A/V quality is very good, but in a couple of episodes, the video quality is significantly lower for part of the episode (most likely due to the condition of the original film). There are two commentary tracks on the Christmas episode and one on episode 24, each including Herbie Pilato. Notably missing on the Blu-Ray is the introduction to, and season's greetings message at the end of, the Christmas episode filmed by Montgomery, which are included on the DVD release. 

The series was definitely getting a bit stale by this point in its run. This season would mark the final appearances by Lynde, Tobias, and Gould, and the writers were using recycled storylines in some episodes. That said, there are several good episodes and funny moments during the season. Ultimately, it is not the best season of the series, but it is still worth checking out. 

Book Review: Dragonlance Lost Histories Vol II: The Irda

 

The Irda, published in 1995, is the second volume in the Dragonlance Lost Histories series. The series tells the origins of the various races on Krynn, the mythical world established in the Chronicles novels back in the mid-1980s. This one tells the story of the Irda, a race of Ogres who were not corrupted by evil into the creatures described in the Chronicles and Legends novels. The Irda are a group of Ogres who left the clan system the species had lived in, which had become corrupted by greed and lust for power. 

The book was only published as a mass-market paperback. The book is 312 pages long. The first 301 pages comprise the Irda story, and the rest contain the first chapter of the novel Dragons of the Summer Flame, which continued the storylines from the Chronicles and Legends trilogies. The book has a good mix of action and dramatic elements. There are also some romantic elements, but those are not really at the forefront of the story. I would describe the story as okay, but if it had included more of what was spelled out on the back cover, specifically the corruption of the Ogres by Takhisis, it would have been better. Ultimately, the story is okay, but it is not one of the novels in the Dragonlance universe that I would categorize as a must-read.  

Book Review: Star Wars: The Acolyte: Wayseeker

 

Wayseeker, published in 2025, is a novel by Justina Ireland set approximately 160 years before the Battle of Yavin between the end of Phase 3 of the High Republic (after the Nihil were defeated) and the short-lived but underrated series The Acolyte. The novel is centered around the characters Vernestra Rwoh and Indara (the Jedi played by Carrie-Anne Moss in the series). In it, Vernestra is an older Jedi master and Wayseeker (a Jedi who operates independently of the Jedi Council) who has been exploring the Outer Rim. She is called back to Coruscant for a mission that a Republic Senator has personally requested her to participate in. After Vernestra ignores the order to return, the council sends Indara, who is a young Jedi knight who has been working in the archives after a traumatic experience during a mission, to track Vernestra down and bring her back to Coruscant. Vernestra and Indara then set out to uncover ties between the Senator and a gang smuggling weapons that have not been seen in the Republic for years, while trying to overcome their personality clashes. 

The hardcover version of the book is 284 pages long. It reads fairly quickly, especially if you have read the novels set during the High Republic. Ireland does a good job explaining Vernestra's personality shift from when she was a young Jedi during the Nihil conflict and when she appeared in The Acolyte. She mostly appeared in the young-adult and junior novels set during the High Republic, but was one of the most intriguing characters, and almost the polar opposite of how she was portrayed in the TV series. While the book does not entirely fill in that gap of time, it does help explain why she was so different as she got older. Ultimately, while it is not one of my must-reads in the new canon, it is a good novel worth checking out.   

Product Review: EZYA Heavy Duty Carabiner Clips

 

This is a good pair of inexpensive carabiner clips that can be used for hanging things, attaching to a keychain, or the like. Personally, I used them to hang a couple of solar-powered lamps from hooks on my front porch. Because the solar collector is on top of the lamps and the hanging strap doesn't lower them all that low, I used these to increase clearance between the top of the lamps and the porch overhang, so the solar collectors get more sunlight. They work well for that, and really anything else you would need a sturdy carabiner clip for. Ultimately, if you are looking for a good set of clips but do not need a lot of them, this is a good option.  

Book Review: World Book Encyclopedia of Science: Space

 

This is one of the nine volumes of the World Book Encyclopedia of Science, first published in 2014 and updated in 2019. I have the 2019 version of the set. The volume on space is just under 250 pages. The entries include things such as the history of some famous constellations and stars, the more famous deep-sky objects, and all the planets. It also includes biographies of famous scientists who contributed to the advancement of Astronomy and Astrophysics, as well as some of the most famous Astronauts throughout history. Everything is in alphabetical order, with some entries getting 1-2 paragraphs of write-up, and others receiving multiple pages. 

If you are a fan of Astronomy and have read many books on the subject, you will probably know a lot of the information contained in this volume. It does, however, include information on some of the more recent NASA missions, such as the New Horizons mission to Pluto, which some people may not be as familiar with. And, while it is not overly technical, it does contain some technical information and includes information that you may not know, even if you have read several space-related books. It also includes a couple of how-to projects, such as how to make a mobile of the solar system, how to make a home-made planetarium that you can project using a flashlight, etc. It is written in a way that kids about 10 years old and up can understand it, but it can still be informative for adults. The set is out of print now, but if you can find a copy, it is worth reading. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 90

 Day 90, which is actually the second-to-last day of the program, so I did the second core synergistics workout. Normally, this would be on Tuesday and Friday, but I mixed the workouts up this week, so I had to do the two routines I hate the most three days in a row. Oh, well. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 89

 Day 89 was yoga. Still hated it, but I got through it. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 88

On day 88, I did core synergistics. This, behind the yoga routine, is my least favorite workout in the program. Unlike what Tony Horton tries to say in the video intro, it is not anything that is remotely fundamental to the program. It is just a bunch of weird push-up variations, mixed with different cardio exercises, and some high-volume weight exercises, all of which require you to keep your core tight. But, if you are lifting with proper form, you would be doing that anyway. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 87

On day 87, I did x-stretch. It went well, and unlike the yoga routine, I love this one. It felt good to get it in. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 86

Day 86 was the start of the final week, which is the recovery week. I did the Kenpo routine today, mainly because I had just done yoga a couple of days ago, and did not want to do that again so soon.

Workout Update: P90X Day 85

Day 85 was a rest day going into the final recovery week of the program. I did the 645 cardio routine in the evening, again to get some movement in, but that was it. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 84

Day 84 was yoga. I feel like my flexibility and mobility have plateaued a bit, as my range of motion has not really improved since last week. But, it is kind of hard for me to tell during the yoga routine because it has never been easy for me to do.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 83

 Day 83 was the final Legs and Back workout. I was again able to get in a couple more assisted pull-up reps, but kept the weight for the weighted portions the same.

Workout Update: P90X Day 82

 Day 82 was Kenpo. It was fine. Nothing to really write home about. The workouts are definitely getting super repetitive and boring at this point, so it is a slog to get through them. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 81

Day 81 was the final back and biceps workout. This is still probably my favorite lifting workout in the program (aside from the corn-cob pull-ups), but I was even able to get a couple more assisted reps with those. So, overall, a decent workout.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 80

Day 80 was the final plyometrics workout of the routine. I must admit by this point, I am pretty much slacking in the program, so I did not go balls to the wall during this. But I got through it. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 79

Day 79 was the final Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout of the program. There was no big change from the last time I did the workout to speak of.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 78

 Day 78 was a rest day, but I did the 645 cardio routine in the evening just to get some activity in. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 77

Day 77 was Yoga. I still cannot stand the routine, but I can tell that my flexibility is improving incrementally.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 76

Day 76 was Legs and Back. I again was able to get a couple more reps on some of the pull-up exercises, but the amount of weight I used for the weighted exercises stayed the same.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 75

Day 75 was the Kenpo workout again. It went okay, but I did it later in the evening than I intended, so I did not get a ton of sleep during the night because I was still kind of wired from the workout.

Workout Update: P90X Day 74

Day 74 was the last Shoulders and Arms workout of the program. No big changes or advancements from the last time I did the workout.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 73

Day 73 was plyometrics. I was a bit tired during the workout so I did not go all out, but I made it through.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 72

Day 72 was the last Chest and Back workout. It went very well, as I was able to increase the number of assisted pull-ups for almost every pull-up variation, and added a rep or 2 to my push-up total. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 71

Day 71 was the rest day. I did do the 645 cardio routine in the evening just so I could get some movement in during the day, and since we had nice weather, I did go on a couple of longer walks.