Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 31

Day 31 was the Sculpt and Define phase leg workout in Dig Deeper. It has a similar format to yesterday's workout. This one has three "regular" blocks of work that alternate a quad-focused exercise with a hamstring-focused exercise. You again lift with the 1-3 tempo, going one count up and three counts down. Then, the burnout exercise is squats around the bench for 45 seconds, repeated for 3 sets. In the first set, you use the heaviest weight you used in blocks 1-3; in the second set, you drop down (I used 30 lbs in the first set and dropped to 20 in the second); and in the third set, you just use your bodyweight. It is another tough workout and definitely works your legs well.

DVD/Movie Review: Fair Game

 

Fair Game is an extremely cheesy 1995 action-romance film starring Cindy Crawford and William Baldwin. The supporting cast includes Salma Hayek and several recognizable character actors, including Christopher McDonald, Jenette Goldstein, Miguel Sandoval, Steven Berkoff, Marc MaCaulay, and Dan Hedaya (in an uncredited role). In it, Crawford plays a civil attorney in Miami named Kate McQuean who threatens to have a ship sized to pay for alimony. Unknown to her, the ship is actually owned by a criminal who is in league with ex-KGB members who then target and attempt to kill Kate. Baldwin plays Max Kirkpatrick, a Miami detective assigned to a case in which Kate was hit by a stray bullet during a drive-by shooting, and interrupts the attempt on her life when he goes to her house to follow up on that case. From there, the movie becomes a cat-and-mouse chase in which Kate and Max have to try to avoid the Russians.

The DVD is very bare bones. The movie plays as soon as the disc loads. There are no bonus features on the disc. It does not even have a menu screen, but the movie does play with English captions whether you want them on or not.

The movie was not particularly well-written or acted. It was a low-budget action film that served as a vehicle to help Crawford parlay her extremely successful modeling career into an acting career. She was not a horrible actress, but she was not really given great material to work with. This was also one of Hayek's first roles in a Hollywood film, but her part was very small; she was in just a couple of scenes. You pretty much know what the film is going into it; an action film with two good-looking leads, that plays on the fact that Crawford was one of the biggest (if not the biggest) supermodels in the world at the time. It is hard to expect much when one of the leads is very pretty but with no acting experience, and the other is one of the "other" Baldwins, not named Alec. As I said above, it is very cheesy, and almost nothing in it is realistic or makes a lot of sense. It is basically a movie in which you turn your brain off and just go with it. There is a lot of violence and some sexual content and brief nudity (Crawford is topless a couple of times and you see "notalec" Baldwin's ass), so it earns an R-rating. Ultimately, it is absolutely not a must-see film, but if you want to watch an action movie, you can accept it for what it is, and do not expect it to be something it's not, it is worth checking out. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 30

Day 30 was the second workout of the Sculpt and Define phase, which was Chest and Back. It features 4 main blocks, each with a chest-focused exercise followed by a back-focused exercise. You are again lifting with the 1-3 tempo, lowering the weights for a count of three, and lifting them for a count of one. Some of the exercises are the same as those in the Phase One workouts, and others are new or variations of exercises previously done. The burnout exercise at the end, which is its own block, is push-up rows. You do three sets that each last 45 seconds, doing as many reps in each set as you can in the allotted time. It is a tough workout, but I definitely felt like I had gained strength during Phase One. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Excalibur

 

Excalibur is a 1981 film telling a variation of the legend of King Arthur, co-written, co-produced, and directed by John Boorman. It stars Nigel Terry, Nicol Williamson, Helen Mirren, Liam Neeson (in his first film role), Patrick Stewart (in one of his early film roles), Cherie Lunghi, Robert Addie, and Nicholas Clay. The supporting cast includes, Gabriel Byrne, Boorman's children, Katrine and Charles, and Clive Swift. Over the years, there have been many variations of the Arthurian legend. This is definitely one of the darker ones. Merlin (played by Williamson) was not the noble, wise wizard that he is in other variations, and this version of Arthur (played by Terry) grew up as a commoner only to discover who he was when he pulled Excalibur from the stone. It is very violent and there is some sexual content and nudity in the film. 

The blu-ray release is very substandard. It did not receive a good HD transfer at all, and as a result, the A/V quality is quite bad. The video quality is barely better than a DVD, and the audio is out of sync at times. Also, the menu pages are very hard to navigate and barely respond when you push buttons on the remote. I initially thought the batteries in my remote were dying, but I confirmed they were fine, and the issue was with the disc itself. As a result, depending on what blu-ray player you have, it may be hard to turn on captions or change the audio setting. The only bonus feature is a director's commentary by Boorman. It is also hard to access, given the issue with the menu pages, but once you do, Boorman provides a lot of good information about the film and behind-the-scenes information. 

The movie is okay, but not great. It is actually better to watch it while listening to Boorman's commentary track, because you get a better idea of what he was going for. Without that context, it just seems like the movie never really figures out how it wants to tell the story and does not present a cohesive one. There are time jumps in the movie that make it hard to follow at times. But they had to be used because Boorman wanted to tell the entire story of Arthur's life in a two-hour-and-twenty-minute film. The dialogue was not particularly well written, so despite featuring many great actors, they did not have much good material to work with. It is interesting to see Liam Neeson in his first film, Patrick Stewart early in his film career, and Helen Mirren relatively early in hers. However, there are many other versions of the story that are much better than this one out there. Ultimately, you are not missing much if you skip this, but if you are a big fan of any of the actors or are really into the story of King Arthur, then it is worth checking out.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 29

Day 29 was the start of Week 5 in Dig Deeper, which meant the transition to Phase 2 of the program, the Sculpt and Define Phase. In this phase the workout splits are different, and the number of reps you do in each set is different. It also incorporates some new exercises into the mix, but also uses some of the exercises from Phase 1. The first workout of the week is a Total Body Workout. It has four total blocks, each with three exercises. Most of the exercises in this workout use a 1-3 tempo to create time-under-tension, so you do 1 second in the lifting portion of the exercise and 3 seconds in the lowering or negative portion of the exercise, performing 12 reps for each exercise. The third block is a burnout block that repeats three of the exercises from the workout (incline chest press, reverse lunges, and hammer curls), which you do back-to-back performing each exercise for 45 seconds instead of doing 12 reps. I started the workout trying to use the same weights that I used for the exercises in last week's upper body 2 and lower body 2. I could use the same for some of them, but went up or down for sets 2 and 3 as needed.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Days 27 and 28

Days 27 and 28 were the weekend off days. I just rested and relaxed on Saturday, and did the P90X stretching routine on Sunday. I could tell that my flexibility and range of motion have improved, despite not doing yoga or stretching for a couple of months. So, I am definitely going to work that into the rotation. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 26

Day 26 was Lower-Body 2, and the last workout of Phase 1. It was a good way to end the week and the first phase. I definitely know that I am getting stronger, and since I have been walking daily, including a two-mile outdoor workout to start every day, my stamina is getting better despite not doing high-intensity cardio. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 25

Day 25 was Upper-Body 2, and the second-to-last Phase 1 workout. I was again able to increase my weights for some of the exercises, but had to keep some of them the same as last week. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 24

Day 24 was the final total body workout of Phase 1. It went well again, and I was able to increase the amount of weight I used for some exercises. And, like every time I do this workout, I was sweating like crazy at the end of it.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 23

Day 23 was Lower Body 1 in the final week of the Dynamic Circuits phase of Dig Deeper. I was able to increase the amount of weight that I used for every exercise in the workout, and my range of motion continued to improve even with the heavier weights. So, while still very challenging, it was a good workout.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Acolyte: The Crystal Crown

 

The Crystal Crown is a young-adult novel set at the end of the High Republic era of the Star Wars universe, written by Tessa Graton. It is centered on the characters Yord and Jecki (played by Charlie Barnett and Dafne Keen in the live-action Acolyte series) when they were both padawans. It is the second (as of this writing) prequel novel to the Actolyte series (which was canceled after the usual bitching and whining by the Star Wars "fanbase"), set an unspecified amount of time before the events in the TV series. In it, Jecki and Yord accompany their masters to a planet called Siline, whose inhabitants emphasize honor and duels to clean up a political mess caused by another Jedi who refused to duel during negotiations to bring the planet into the Republic. Jecki and Yord do not particularly like each other, but are forced to work together when they are enlisted to participate in a coming-of-age series of competitions that draw easy comparisons to the Hunger Games series. 

The hardcover version of the book is just under 440 pages. It reads fairly quickly and has a good mix of action and non-action material. The only other character from the series who appears in the book is Master Sol, although Osha and Vernestra are also mentioned in passing. It does not really hint at the Sith threat (which, at that point, was still unknown) and is very much a self-contained story. Ultimately, the story is okay but not great. It is not one of the novels that I would call a must-read, but if you liked the series and want more stories from that time frame, it is worth checking out. However, you are not missing anything critical if you do not read it. Hopefully, down the line, they will continue the story that the show would have told if it had not been canceled, as that would be much more interesting and critical to the overall universe of stories than this one.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bates Motel: Season 2

 

The 10-episode second season of Bates Motel aired during the spring of 2014. Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, and Nestor Carbonell all returned as series regulars. Nicola Peltz did appear in the first few episodes but was absent thereafter. The recurring cast in the second season included Michael O'Neill, Michael Eklund, Paloma Kwiatkowski, Michael Vartan, Kenny Johnson, and Kathleen Robertson. 

The season begins with the fallout of Blaire Watson's murder, and ambiguity over whether Norman committed it or not. We also learn more about Norma's backstory when her brother (played by Kenny Johnson) shows up. We also learn more about the drug operation that is the backbone of the town's economy, which has reverberations throughout the season. And, of course, Norman gets ever closer to the character from the movies. 

The blu-ray set is a two-disc set. The A/V quality continues to be outstanding. There are extras on both discs, including deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes material, and the "Bates Motel After Hours" episodes that aired on A&E after the season premiere and finale, featuring interviews with cast members and the showrunners. 

The show continues to be well written and very well acted. While it stays true to the overall story established in the original movie, it is very much its own show, and only Norman and Norma's fates are known, so it can still be suspenseful and surprising. All of the cast members do a wonderful job in their respective roles, and the writers balance the ensemble cast well. Ultimately, if you liked the first season, this one is absolutely worth watching.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 22

Day 22 was the start of the last week of the dynamic circuit portion of Dig Deeper. Today was Upper Body 1. I mostly stuck with the same weight I used last week; however, I was able to increase the weight for the J-rows and the lat raises a bit. The workout does get easier each week (relative to week 1), but even in week 4, it is still challenging and never gets easy. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Days 20 and 21

Days 20 and 21 were rest days. I still haven't done the optional steady-state cardio, mostly because I have been walking a couple of miles each day to get my cardio in and supplement the lifting workouts.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 19

Day 19 marked the end of week 3, and was the second lower-body workout of the week. It went well, and I was able to bump up the amount of weight I was using for some of the exercises from last week. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 18

Day 18 was the second upper body circuit of the week. I definitely like it better than Monday's workout, but it is still very challenging, even just doing 12 reps. I was again able to increase the amount of weight I used for some of the exercises from what I used last week, and was definitely feeling it by the last few reps, especially in the third set of each exercise.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 17

Day 17 was the total body circuit workout. I like making it to Wednesday, since the number of reps you do in each set is lower than in Monday and Tuesday's workouts. Even so, there are 16 reps in each set in this workout, so you are still doing high volume. Even after doing so many reps, I was able to increase the weight I used for some exercises and can definitely feel myself getting stronger and my range of motion for the various exercises getting better. 

4K-UHD/Movie Review: Everything Everywhere All At Once

 

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a 2022 film written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. It stars Michelle Yeo, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis. The supporting cast includes James Hong and Jenny Slate. It is a very strange film that wraps a family drama into a sci-fi multiverse, comedy (both absurdist and raunchy), and an old Hong Kong Kung Fu action movie. Almost nothing about the movie makes sense, yet by the end, you kind of get it. Honestly, I could describe every scene from the film in detail, and I still could not spoil it for anyone watching the movie for the first time. In it, Yeoh's character, Evelyn Wang, a Chinese immigrant living in California who runs a laundromat with her husband, Waymond (played by Quan). She has a contentious relationship with her daughter, Joy (played by Hsu), and is being audited by a hard-nosed auditor, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. That is where all normalcy in the movie stops. Evelyn discovers a multiverse and that people can use technology to jump into versions of themselves in other universes, accessing the knowledge and abilities of their other selves. Evelyn also discovers that the multiverse is being threatened by a being named Jobu, who can experience all the different universes at once and manipulate matter (and people) at will, and that she is the only one who can stop Jobu.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard blu-ray disc. The content is identical on each disc. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding. It looks and sounds excellent, especially on a large screen with an Atmos surround sound setup. The bonus content includes a making-of documentary that runs about 40 minutes, some behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, outtakes, the theatrical trailer, and previews for other films released by A24 Studios. There is also a commentary track on the film by the two directors. It also comes with a digital code. 

The movie is good, but it is definitely odd. Once the film gets started, characters jump from universe to universe, and it can be hard to follow the first time you see it. You absolutely have to suspend your disbelief, just go with it, and enjoy the wackiness. There is a fight scene where the primary weapon is a fanny pack, another where a Pomeranian is used as a weapon, and a fight scene with sex toys. There are multiple pairs of googly eyes, a black hole in the shape of a bagel, a raccoon as a play on the rat in the movie Ratatouille, and hot dog fingers. The movie also has not-so-subtle nods to The Matrix, Kill Bill, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It is a very unique and chaotic movie. It is extremely well-acted, and you can tell that all of the actors were having a lot of fun in their roles and just going with the absurdity. It definitely earns an R-rating as there is a lot of violence, some sexual humor (but no nudity), and a lot of swearing. Ultimately, I cannot say that everyone will enjoy the movie, but if you do not mind offbeat, multi-genre films, this is worth checking out.

Book Review: Marilyn Monroe: Metamorphosis: A Comprehensive Photographic Journey and Visual Biography of a Hollywood Icon

 

Metamorphosis is primarily a picture book containing pictures from throughout Marilyn Monroe's adult life, spanning from before she began modeling to shortly before her death. It contains many of her well-known and famous pictures, along with some that had not been published before the book was released. There is a mix of color and black-and-white photographs, some of which, even if you are someone who gets a calendar featuring her every year, you probably have not seen. The book has some text. The longest is at the beginning, an introduction that gives a short biography of her life, and at the end, which reprints an interview she gave toward the end of her life. Throughout the book, there are quotes from people who knew and worked with her (and a few from Marilyn herself) that give some insight into her life and who she was behind the scenes. To the extent that you can draw conclusions about her from those, she was a very shy and self-conscious person, and was very much a perfectionist, which often made her difficult to work with because if she did not think she was not doing something right, she would stop, regardless of what the director said. You also get the impression that Marilyn was a character that she slipped into. Many people said that she absolutely lit up in front of the camera (especially when she was getting her picture taken), and that when she was not performing, she was almost unrecognizable.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 300 pages, but since it is mostly pictures, you can easily read the text in a short amount of time. If you want to display it as a coffee-table book, be aware that it includes one of the topless photos from the photoshoot she did before she became ultra-famous. Ultimately, this is one of the best books out there for anyone who is a fan of Marilyn Monroe and is absolutely worth the pickup.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 16

Day 16 was Lower Body Circuit 1 for week 3. I can definitely tell I am getting stronger and the workouts are not as much of a bear as they were in week 1. I was able to increase the weight I used for almost every exercise in the workout, and my range of motion is getting better. I will be glad to be done with the 20 rep sets, however, as those can get to be a bit much, depending on what exercise I am doing.

Book Review: Take Me to Your Leader: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter

 

Take Me To Your Leader is a book by Neil DeGrasse Tyson published in 2026. It is a book about the possibility of alien life and provides humorous takes on what an actual alien encounter (which Tyson makes clear he does not believe has ever happened) might entail. Like most of Tyson's books, this one mixes humor and science to make the concepts clear and easy to understand. 

The hardcover version of the book has just under 200 pages of substantive content. Then, there are a few pages of notes and an index. The book is well-written, funny, and easy to follow. If you listen to Tyson's podcast or watch or read some of his interviews, you'll find some of the content very familiar. You absolutely do not need a science or engineering background to understand the science content (which is probably lighter in this book than in Tyson's other books). Ultimately, if you are a fan of Tyson or just science (especially Astronomy) in general, this is absolutely worth reading.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Everly

 

Everly is a 2014 genre-mixing film that combines action, drama, horror, and suspense.  It was directed by Joe Lynch and adapted from a story that Lynch wrote with the screenwriter, Yale Hannon. It stars Salma Hayek, Akie Kotabe, Laura Cepeda, Jennifer Blanc, Hiroyuki Wanatabe, Togo Igawa, Gabriella Wright, Masashi Fujimoto, and Aisha Ayamah. In it, Hayek's character, Everly, who has been forced into working as a prostitute for a Yakuza overlord named Taiko (played by Wanatabe), is attacked in the high-end apartment where she is kept prisoner in a building owned by Taiko, when Taiko discovers that she has been working with the police to take him down. Everly manages to kill her attackers with a gun she had hidden, and resolves to try to get to her mother and daughter to get them the money she has stolen from Taiko so they can disappear. She discovers she is trapped in the building as more people come to try to collect a bounty on her head.

The blu-ray is a single-disc release. The movie looks and sounds good in HD, but since it was a low-budget film, it did not get an extremely high-quality transfer. The bonus content includes two commentary tracks. The first is a feature commentary by Lynch, producer Brett Hedblom, and editor Evan Schiff. The second is a technical commentary featuring Lynch and the cinematographer, Steve Gainer. Also included is a music video for the version of Silent Night by Raya Yarborough and Bear McCreary featured in the film. 

The first thing to note is that the film is extremely violent (in a very over-the-top way), with a lot of blood and guts. So if that is not your thing, you should absolutely skip it. There is also a lot of swearing and very brief nudity.  There are easy comparisons to films like Kill Bill and Die Hard, but it is not nearly as good as either of those movies. Hayek does a good job in the role. She is the only person in the movie with any real name recognition, and she absolutely carries it. If you listen to the commentary, you will discover that Kate Hudson originally signed on to play Everly but eventually had to drop out and was replaced by Hayek. It would have been interesting to see what she would have done with the role, as her performance would probably have been quite different from Hayek's. 

Ultimately, it is not a film that will appeal to everyone. The movie is a bit unique in that it is an action film set almost exclusively in a single location, Everly's apartment. Nothing in the film is remotely realistic, so you definitely have to suspend your disbelief and just go with it. If you can do that, it is worth watching, but it is not a must-see.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 15

Day 15 was the beginning of week 3, which meant doing the first upper-body circuit workout again. It went well,l and I was able to increase the amount of weight I used for most of the exercises. I kept the weight the same for a couple of the exercises as I used last week. I was also able to get deeper into tricep dips, but I still had to bend my knees, especially in the first set, because 20 reps after you have already done 48 reps of overhead extensions is a lot. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Days 13 & 14

Days 13 and 14 were rest days (with optional steady-state cardio). I did not work out either day, but I did walk a couple of miles around my neighborhood each day to get in some non-impact exercise.  

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Eurotrip

 

Eurotrip is a 2004 teen comedy written by Jeff Schaffer (who also directed), Alec Berg, and David Mandel, starring Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jessica Boehrs, and Travis Webster. The supporting cast includes Vinnie Jones and Nial Iskhakov. The film also features cameo appearances by Lucy Lawless, Fred Armisen, Kristen Kreuk, Jeffrey Tambor, Diedrich Bader, and Matt Damon. All of the actors making cameos were great, but Lawless and Damon's cameos were particularly notable. 

The basic story is that a guy named Scott (played by Mechlowicz) gets dumped at his high school graduation by his girlfriend (played by Kreuk), and finds out she has been cheating on him constantly. He confides in his German pen pal, Mike (Mieke; played by Boehrs), whom he believes to be a guy. When Mieke suggests that she come visit him, Scott writes an angry email and gets blocked, only to hilariously find out Mieke is a hot girl. He is then convinced by his friend, Cooper (played by Pitts), to go to Berlin to find Mieke. In Europe, they meet up with their friends, twins Jenny and Jamie (played by Trachtenberg and Webster). While there, typical teen comedy hijinks ensue.

The blu-ray is a single-disc release containing the unrated version of the film. It does not include the theatrical version. The A/V quality is good, but it did not get what I would describe as a reference-quality HD transfer. But for an early-2000s comedy, it looks and sounds perfectly fine. There are several extras, including deleted scenes, a hilarious bit about who would get the directing credit since Schaffer, Berg, and Mendel could not share directing credit, a featurette on the nude beach scene, and outtakes. There are two different commentary tracks on the film, each featuring Schaffer, Berg, and Mendel. In the first, they provide a pretty typical director commentary talking about the casting process, the shooting locations, etc. In the second, they basically drink through the entire film, drinking whenever anyone swears, there is nudity, or there is underage drinking shown (and take shots when someone screams). 

The movie is a pretty typical early-2000s raunchy teen comedy. There is a lot of nudity and sex, several drug references, and swearing. There are definitely parts that some people will find offensive, so it is definitely not family-friendly or for those who are easily offended. Ultimately, I would say this is a middle-of-the-road early 2000s comedy. It was not the best of the comedies released at the time, but it was not the worst. It is a movie better known for its cameo appearances than its main storyline, but the main story was still enjoyable. If you are a fan of raunchy comedy, this is worth watching.