CD/Music Review: Anastacia: Not That Kind

 

Not That Kind is Anastacia's 2000 debut album, released after she gained notoriety on the late-1990s MTV talent show, The Cut. The album contains 13 tracks in all, including four singles: "I'm Outta Love" (the most successful and popular song on the album), the title track "Not That Kind," "Cowboys & Kisses," and "Made for Lovin' You." The songs on the album are quite eclectic in terms of sound. Some very much sound like late '90s/early '00s dance pop tracks (although slightly different from what younger stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were doing), Cowboys & Kisses is a mix of pop and country, and some are slower ballads. She has described her style as a mix of soul, pop, and rock, and that definitely describes the mix of genres on the album. 

The CD liner contains pictures of Anastacia, a listing of all the tracks with production notes (but no lyrics), and the requisite thank-yous. While Anastacia never broke out into superstardom, she has a very good voice and was one of the better lesser-known pop acts of that time. The album is absolutely worth listening to and has several songs worth of inclusion on one or more playlists.

Workout Update: P90X Day 21

Day 21 was the rest day, so I just did ab-ripper (which I skipped on Legs and Back day), again doing 15 reps of all the exercises except Mason Twists, which I did all 50 reps of. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 20

Day 20 was yoga, which I did up to the point of doing the ab exercises (so basically, I skipped the final 17 minutes). I did all of the moving asanas, but in the last block, where they do Warrior 3, Standing Splits, and Half Moon, I just held (or attempted to) Warrior 3 the entire time. I felt it was better to work on my balance than try to get into poses that I could not do all that well years ago, and definitely do not have the stamina or balance to pull off yet. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 19

Day 19 was the final legs and back workout for Phase 1. I used the same weight as I did last week for the weighted exercises, but I will be able to bump a couple of them up for the first workout in Phase 2. I was also able to get a couple of more pull-ups in on some of the pull-up variations. I am saving ab-ripper for the rest day. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 18

On day 18, I again swapped out Yoga for Kenpo, mainly because I did not feel like doing an hour plus of Yoga. There was nothing huge to report from this one. I was still not feeling great, but better than I did a few days ago, so it was kind of a middle-of-the-road effort.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Frasier: Season 3

 

The 24-episode third season of Frasier aired during the 1995/1996 TV season. All of the primary cast members returned for season 3, and there was a new recurring character introduced in the season premiere: Mercedes Ruehl playing Kate Costas, the new station manager who immediately has tension with Frasier. There were several notable guest appearances this season, including Tony Shalhoub, Harris Yulin, and Jane Kaczmarek. Harriet Sansom Harris returned in her recurring role as Frasier's agent, Bebe, and Shelly Long made her second appearance in the series as Diane Chambers. This season, instead of a one-second, blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo like Long had in season 2, this time she actually has a storyline that makes another hilarious nod to Cheers and provides closure to Diane's and Frasier's relationship. And, of course, there is the usual cavalcade of celebrity voices playing characters who call into Frasier's show. This season, they include Matthew Broderick, Carrie Fisher, Terri Garr, Blair Brown, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Billy Crystal, Ed Harris, Laura Dern, Ray Liotta, Jodie Foster, Randy Travis, Katarina Witt, Mrs. Fields, and David Duchovny. The series continues to primarily be a story-of-the-week procedural, with serial storylines intertwined. This season, the main storyline spanning the majority of the season involves Niles' relationship with the still-unseen Maris. David Hyde Pierce really stole the show this season, playing Niles. John Mahoney,  Jane Leeves, and Peri Gilpin also had several wonderful moments throughout the season.

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set that is, as of this writing, still only available in the complete series release. The individual seasons are only still available on DVD (which is a four-disc set). All the bonus content that was included on the DVD release is carried over. Those include interview segments with Grammer and Pierce discussing the brothers' storylines this season, an interview with the series' art director, a list of some of the celebrity voices, and another featurette on the mystery of Maris. All of the bonus features are included on the third disc, while on the DVDs, they are spread across the four discs. The A/V quality of the blu-rays is good and a significant upgrade over the DVDs. However, in some episodes, I did notice that the audio and/or video were not as good as in others. 

Ultimately, the third season was strong, especially once the Maris-Niles storyline (and the resulting consequences) took off. The two best episodes of the season were episodes 13 ("Moon Dance") and 14 ("The Show Where Diane Comes Back"). The spoof of Cheers characters in episode 14 was hilarious, and the chemistry between Leeves and Pierce in Moon Dance was wonderful. So, if you liked the first two seasons, this one is worth watching.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Boogie Nights

 

Boogie Nights is a 1997 film about the golden era of porn and is very loosely based on and inspired by events in the life of John Holmes. It was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starred Mack Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Heather Graham, and John C. Reilly in the main roles, and Don Cheadle, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Luis Guzman, Nicole Ari Parker, Nina Hartley, Thomas Jane, Melora Walters, Robert Ridgely, Alfred Molina, Phillip Baker Hall, and Ricky Jay in supporting roles. The story begins in 1977, when Wahlberg's character, Eddie Adams, is discovered by Reynolds' character, adult film director Jack Horner, while working as a busboy at a Hollywood nightclub. Adams, who it is hinted is very well-endowed (and we find out at the end of the movie just how much so via a prosthetic penis), takes on the stage name Dirk Diggler and becomes the biggest name in porn as the story progresses into the mid-1980s. The first half of the film shows the glamorous side of the life of porn stars in that era, specifically the money, sex, and partying. The second half shows the dark side of that lifestyle and how the lives of some performers were ruined by the rampant drug use, the struggle (and sometimes inability) to get out, and how slimy some of the power brokers could be. Many of the events in the film are based on things that happened to real porn actors over the years.

The 4k release is a single-disc edition released in 2025 after the film was remastered. It carries over most of the bonus content from the original DVD release, but not all. The director's commentary track, deleted scenes, and music video are carried over, but the character profiles are not, nor is the ability to jump to specific musical numbers in the film from the disc menu. It also includes additional bonus material for this release, including more deleted and extended scenes focused on John C. Reilly's character, a two-part Q&A session, the first part featuring Anderson and Reilly, and the second featuring just Anderson, filmed in 2025. There is also a second commentary track featuring Anderson and many of the actors, spliced together from several conversations. It was not a situation in which the entire group was in a room watching the film and recording commentary as it played. Instead, it was created from several conversations, such as Anderson discussing the movie with some actors separately, and others where a couple of the actors were in the same place discussing the movie. In all, Wahlberg, Moore, Graham, Reilly, Cheadle, Macy, Guzman, and Walters all appear at various points in the second commentary track. Of the two, Anderson's solo commentary provides the most interesting details on the process of making the film. The A/V quality of the 4k restoration is excellent. The film looks and sounds great in the UHD format and is a very significant upgrade from the original DVD release.

The movie is well-written and very-well acted. While it does have a lot of nudity and sexual content (as well as fake drug use) it was not gratuitous and fit within the story being told. That said, it is definitely not family-friendly. It was the film that helped launch or further the careers of many of the cast members who would go on to become A or B-list stars, and revived Reynolds' career (even though he reportedly hated filming it and went on record as saying he never watched it). Ultimately, if you are a fan of good dramas, especially period pieces, this is absolutely worth watching.

Workout Update: P90X Day 17

Day 17 was the last Shoulders and Arms workout of Phase I. I was able to bump the amount of weight up for a couple of the exercises, but I mostly used the same weight as I did last week. I will probably be able to bump up the weight for some of the exercises that are included in the Phase II workouts after the recovery week, because there were some that I easily hit 10 reps on.  

CD/Music Review: Marc Anthony Self Titled Album

 

Marc Anthony's self-titled album was released in 1999. It was his fourth studio album and his second English-language album. It contains 15 tracks; most are ballads or Latin-dance tracks. Most of the songs are in English, but the last few are in Spanish. The most popular song on the album is probably "I Need to Know," which peaked at number 10 on the US Top 100 chart. The best song on the album, in my opinion, is the first track, which is the ballad "When I Dream at Night." The CD liner contains pictures, the track listings (which include lyrics and production notes), and the traditional thank-yous at the end. Ultimately, this is a wonderful album with a good mix of songs. While many pop acts back in the late 1990s sounded very similar, Anthony's album was not a cookie-cutter carbon copy of what was popular at the time. It is absolutely worth listening to with multiple tracks worthy of inclusion on one or more playlists. 

CD/Music Review: All Saints: Self-Titled Album

 

All Saints was a 1990s "girl group" from England. Their debut self-titled album was released in 1997. It contained 12 tracks, mainly ballads and R&B dance numbers, along with a couple of covers. The biggest hit on the album (and the best overall song) was the ballad Never Ever, which reached number one in several countries and peaked at number 4 on the Top 100 in the US. The CD liner includes pictures of the group members, track listings with production notes (but no lyrics), and separate "thank you" messages from each member. 

Of course, in the late 1990s, the Spice Girls were the dominant girl group, eclipsing all others, and All Saints did not gain much traction. Ultimately, the album is okay, but not great. The covers of Lady Marmalade and Under the Bridge were okay, but did not achieve the success of Never Ever, and the other tracks just sound like cookie-cutter '90s pop songs. While I would not call it a must-listen, if you were a fan of the group in the '90s or just a fan of '90s pop, it is worth checking out. 

 

Workout Update: P90X Day 16

Day 16 was Plyometrics. I felt pretty shitty during the workout, so I modified a lot, even modifying some of the modifications in the video. But I got through it, even if it was not the greatest workout I have ever had. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 15

Day 15 was the final chest and back workout for Phase I. My numbers did not increase substantially from last week, but I was able to increase the amount of weight I used for the standing rows (what are called heavy pants) in the workout up to 35 lbs.  For ab-ripper, I continued to do 15 reps on most exercises, except for the twists at the end. I did 50 reps of that one.

Music/CD Review: The All-American Rejects: Move Along

 

Move Along is the 2005 studio album by the rock band The All-American Rejects. It is the band's second (and most successful) studio album. It consists of 12 tracks, including three singles that reached the top 15 on the Top 100 chart: Dirty Little Secret, Move Along, and It Ends Tonight. Move Along is (in my opinion) the best track on the album, but all of the songs are good; they have a nice mix of sound and are not carbon copies of each other. The album definitely sounds like an early-2000s rock-oriented pop album and will definitely bring you back to that era if you lived through it. The CD liner features production notes and pictures of the band members. It does not have a "traditional" track listing and lyrics. Instead, it has pictures of handwritten notes for each track, containing some of the lyrics for each song. Ultimately, the album very much feels stuck in its era. If you are a fan of early-2000s pop, especially the non-boy-band rock portion of the genre, you will probably like this. If so, it is worth listening to and includes several tracks worthy of inclusion on one or more playlists.

Workout Update: P90X Day 14

On Day 14, I just took a rest day. It was very much needed, and I feel like I have recovered well from the prior week's workouts.

Magazine Review: Playboy: May 1982

 

The May 1982 edition of Playboy is a fascinating look into the past when read today. That month's interview, which, aside from the pictorials, was always the highlight of any particular month's release, featured Billy Joel, who was probably not quite at the height of his fame, but getting there. It was a wide-ranging interview that discussed his life growing up in the NY suburbs and how he broke into the music business, and the criticism he received from many sides. He was in his early 30s at the time, and still had the brash, tough-guy persona that he would mostly shed by the 1990s when he was in his 40s. The other interesting articles included one on Bobby Inman, who was the deputy director of the CIA at the time, one on the process of getting the movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas made, specifically what it took to get Burt Reynolds, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson on board with the film, an article about a study of the differences between men and women, and one about personal computers (which were in their infancy at the time). The article about men versus women is not quite what you might expect from Playboy; it discusses the differences between genders in how they handle stress, mathematical aptitude, how male and female bodies are formed in the womb, predisposition to different diseases, and how our brains process information. The article about computers is very interesting, given how they are used today versus how they were used back then. The 20 Questions interview featured the cast of SCTV, including John Candy, Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy, and Catherine O'Hara.

There are three pictorials this month. A celebrity pictorial featuring actress Rae Dawn Chong, the Playmate of the Month pictorial featuring Kym Malin, and one featuring an Ohio policewoman named Barb Schantz. Malin was definitely not one of the more notable playmates, but she did parlay her appearance into an '80s B-movie career, and Schantz's appearance in the magazine would get her temporarily suspended from her job and loosely inspire a TV movie the following year. 

Probably the most interesting thing about reading the magazine almost 44 years after its printing is the differences and similarities of things being discussed/argued about back then (for example, in the reader comments) versus things that are argued about today. Readers were submitting comments on topics such as drug use, gun control, and the political climate (which was not nearly as divided back then as it is now). The advertisements are quite something as well. There are a ton of car ads, and the cars that were supposed to be the top-of-the-line/futuristic vehicles were hilariously awful-looking (but inexpensive compared to today's mid-tier vehicles), and there were a ton of cigarette ads. Some of the jokes in the cartoons throughout were funny, and some made no sense (and probably required a knowledge of early 80s pop culture or news). Playboy was always controversial and never really shied away from controversy. There are definitely things throughout the issue that do not hold up well today, including a comment by Billy Joel in the interview that would cause major backlash if he said it today. Of course, opinions on Playboy have been divided for as long as it has been in existence, with some saying it exploited women (as certainly some of that criticism has validity, especially in light of recent documentary series about some of the behind-the-scenes stuff) and others saying it was a cultural phenomenon. Ultimately, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. If you do bother to do more than just look at the pictures in this issue, you will find it has content that makes for interesting reading, even years later. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 13

Day 13 was yoga. It was not as bad as last week, but I am still not attempting moves like the shoulder stand and crane. The first 50 minutes or so was not as hard (at least until the half-moon sequence at the end) as it was last week, but was still not what I would call easy.

Workout Update: P90X Day 12

Day 12 was the legs and back workout, followed by the ab-ripper routine. The pull-ups (which, to me, besides yoga, is the best measure of progress in P90X) were not as hard today as they were in week one. I again did 15 reps in ab-ripper, which were a bit easier today than on Monday.

Workout Update: P90X Day 11

On Day 11, I switched the order of the workouts and did Kenpo. That was in large part because I was going out to dinner and did not have time to do the 90 minutes of Yoga. I also shortened the workout by skipping the beginning because I have always hated that he goes right into cold static stretching (which he says in another video not to do). Essentially, P90X was when extended warmups and cooldowns were a big deal. So I just used the twist-and-pivot and punching sequence to warm up. 

Book Review: The Republic

 

The Republic is a book originally published around 401, based on the writings of Plato and the teachings of Socrates (whom Plato studied under earlier in his life). In it, Plato presents Socrates' idea of what makes for a perfect state/civilization/ republic, and the ideal traits of its people, especially its leaders. It is written as a long conversation and debate between Plato (writing as Socrates) and different philosophers. It is divided into ten different books/chapters, each exploring a different topic. I have the leather-bound Easton Press edition. This version was translated from Greek by Benjamin Jowett and first published in the 1980s. 

The book is just over 620 pages long. Before each book/chapter, there is a summary and analysis of the upcoming book that distills the content of that chapter, and after Book 10, there is a summary and conclusion that attempts to tie everything together. Unfortunately, those are not much easier to read than the chapters themselves; aside from the end-of-the-book summary, they do not really put the concepts into plain, modern-day English. However, in the margins of the text of the "books," there are annotations that explain some of the things being said by the characters. 

The book is a bit of a slog to get through. Of course, the text is translated from ancient Greek, which does not make it an easy read to begin with. Making it harder is that, while before each conversation (or shift in conversation), the speakers are identified, at least in my version, it is not always clear who is speaking at any given time. Generally, each new line or paragraph is spoken by a different person, but it would have been more helpful if it had been written like the script for a play, so you can easily identify when speakers change. The book is an interesting read (some of the discussion of tyrants and oligarchs remains very relevant), but it can be easy to drift off and lose focus while reading. Ultimately, it is not a book I would re-read many times, but if you are interested in philosophy and debate, it is worth checking out. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 10

Day 10 was the shoulders and arms workout (and ab-ripper). I was able to increase the amount of weight I used for some exercises from last week, and I was able to get to 11 reps on a couple more this week. So, I am making progress. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 9

Day 9 was plyometrics. It was pretty much the same as last week. As hard and tiring. In fact, on a couple of the exercises, I had to back off more than I did last week. So, I definitely feel the first week of the program. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 8

Day 8 was the second round of Chest and Back during Phase I. I improved slightly on some of the push-up and pull-up exercises over week 1, but those where mostly the same. I was able to hit 10 reps on a couple of the weighted exercises, so I will be increasing those next week. I also increased the number of reps in ab-ripper to 15, and that was a bigger change than I expected. 10 reps were easy, but 15 of all reps were very challenging, especially on the last few moves. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bewitched: Season 4

 

The 33-episode fourth season of Bewitched aired during the 1967/1968 TV season. All of the primary cast members (Montgomery, Moorehead, York, and White) returned for the fourth season, although Darren appeared in fewer episodes to give York a reprieve from filming due to his back injury that was causing him more problems as the series went along. Marion Lorne, Bernard Fox, and Paul Lynde also appeared in their recurring roles as Aunt Clara, Dr. Bombay, and Uncle Arthur, respectively. This would be the final season for Lorne, as she would pass away after the fourth season ended. Erin Murphy's role as Tabitha was expanded as she began to be given more lines as she got older, and the roles of both Abner and Gladys Kravitz were increased this season, with both George Tobias and Sandra Gould getting more screen time.

As of this writing, the individual seasons are still only available on DVD. The blu-ray release is only available in the complete series release. In that one, the fourth season episodes are on three discs. The episodes can be played in a play-all mode and with English captions. There are commentary tracks on two of the episodes featuring Herbie Pilato, who has written books about the series and a couple of biographies of Elizabeth Montgomery. The A/V quality is excellent; however, the upgraded video reveals the limitations of 1960s practical effects, as you can clearly see the strings used to make things fly and the makeup used for a missing tooth, which would not have been as noticeable in standard-definition.

In the fourth season, the show remained primarily a story-of-the-week procedural, although some storylines were referenced across multiple episodes. The show was not always great at continuity, however, as the writers would ignore events from a few episodes earlier (although some episodes were not aired in the order in which they were filmed, which could account for some of that). Also, since the series aired in the 1960s, there were jokes and story elements that would certainly not be included if it were made today. Even so, the writers used storyline elements as metaphors for the real-world political climate of the late 1960s and often slipped in metaphors for the civil rights and women's rights movements of the time. The highlights of the season were the Thanksgiving episode in which the characters were transported back to the first Thanksgiving and the episodes in which Montgomery appeared as Samantha's identical cousin, Serena.  Ultimately, the series was still good, but it was definitely getting repetitive by the fourth season. That said, it is still worth watching if you liked the first few seasons.

Workout Update: P90X Day 7

I mostly used day 7 as a rest day, however, I did do ab-ripper, since I had not done the third ab-ripper workout after either Legs and Back or Kenpo. I stuck with the 10 reps, and will bump up the number of reps to 15 next week. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 6

Day 6 was the Kenpo routine. It had been a while since I had done this one. It is probably the P90X routine closest to what was done in Power 90, as a good portion of the Cardio workouts in Power 90 included moves from this routine. For the first workout, I did not focus on following the number of reps the cast were doing, I just stuck with the time. If I could do more reps, I did. If I could not do as many reps as they did, I didn't. During the breaks, I skipped the x-jumps and just drank water during the last 30 seconds. I did not end up doing ab-ripper after the workout as I intended, so I will do it tomorrow.