Workout Update: P90X Day 25

 Day 25 was x-stretch, which is done once as a part of the regular schedule in the recovery week and then once optionally (on day 7 if you want to do it). As I have said before, I really like this "workout" and try not to skip it if at all possible. I can definitely tell that I am getting more flexible in my hamstrings, although my back and hips are still very tight. But, in all of the moves that focus on the hamstrings, I am getting better. I have a few more days of the recovery week and then it is on to phase two. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 24

 Day 24 was Kenpo-x. It, and yoga, are the two main workouts that are repeated during the recovery week. Overall, it went fine. I had to do it a bit later in the day than I had planned, but I got it done and felt good afterward. I again skipped that 11 minutes of cold stretching that they do at the beginning, which drops it down to about 46 minutes.

Book Review: Star Wars The High Republic: A Test of Courage

 

A test of courage is a short story about a newly promoted Jedi Knight named Venestra Rwoh, who is given her first assignment to supervise a young inventor on a luxury starliner that is traveling to a space station called Starlight Beacon, which was opened after the hyperspace disasters. She is unique in that she was promoted to a full Jedi knight at the age of fifteen., so she is powerful, but still has teenage insecurities, which I think makes her a more interesting character. The ship is sabotaged by the Nihil, who have been the main antagonists of the High Republic novels, and Venestra becomes stranded on a moon with a Jedi Padawan whose master was killed in the first encounter with the Nihil, a couple of civilians, and a droid. The group has to survive not only the dangers of the moon itself but the threat posed by the Nihil.

As most probably know, the junior novels and young-adult novels are really telling ancillary stories to the main adult novels. They generally introduce some different characters or involve a side-mission that is tied into the main story, in this case, the conflict with the Nihil but is not as involved as the adult novels get. To that end, this is a good, but not great story. It is definitely more of a kid's book, but that does not mean adults cannot enjoy it. There is a bit less violence in it than the "main" canon novels have but there is still a lot of action in it (relative to how long the book is). The author also finds a way to incorporate the dark side of the force without it being in the Jedi vs. Sith context that has been in most of the novels, tv series, and movies. The Nihil make for good bad guys that present a challenge to the Jedi without being force users themselves. The book is relatively short, just over 200 pages, so it makes for a fairly quick read. While I do not think it is a book that most are likely to read over and over, it is a good short story ancillary to the main storyline.

Workout Update: P90X Day 23

 Day 23 was the first Core Synergistics workout. It is the workout that is done during the recovery weeks. It is honestly one of the workouts that I do not like all that much. Mainly because it has a couple of moves I really hate doing like the Dreya rolls. Mainly because I have never been able to do them all that well. There are some moves that use weight, but you are doing so many reps you really only need very light weights. For most of them, 3 lb weights were enough for me. There was only one move, the lunge, kickback, curl, press that 3 lbs weights were way too light for. Most of the moves do not require using any weight and are core-focused like bow, banana, and boat. Then there are a lot of push-up and plank-based moves in it. I definitely struggled with this workout but made it through. 

4k UHD Blu-Ray Review: No Time to Die

 

Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris, Michael G. Wilson, Lashana Lynch, Jeffrey Wright, Neal Purvis, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Ben Whishaw, Robert Wade, Daniel Craig, Barbara Broccoli

No Time to Die is the 25th overall Bond film and the final film in which Daniel Craig will be in the title role. As has been the case for all of Craig's films, this one is tied in with all the others and is a direct sequel to Spectre. While Christoph Waltz does return as Blofeld, the main villain of the movie is Safin, played by Rami Malek, who has a direct tie to Madeline Swann (again played by Lea Seydoux). In fact, the opening sequence of this movie does not involve Bond at all but shows the death of Madaline's mother when Madeline was a little girl. Then the movie jumps to the present where at Madaline's urging Bond visits Vesper's tomb in an attempt to get closure. He is ambushed by Spectre agents which sets off the big opening action scene. Of course, he survives and the movie does a five-year time jump at which point everything else plays out. 

The main plot involves the use of nanobots which can be used to kill specific people or even millions of people, which is what Safin intends to use them for. Bond has to take down Safin, but like everything comes with a price. All of the main cast returns for this installment, Including Jeffrey Wright. Ralph Fiennes, and Naomi Harris. Lashana Lynch is introduced as the newest 00, even taking up the 007 designation when Bond is retired. Ana De Armas is introduced as Poloma, a CIA agent operating in Cuba. She definitely fits the "Bond Girl" model, including the dress they had her fighting in. She was not in the movie for long, but the time she was in it was definitely memorable. I will not spoil anything, but as you can imagine not every character makes it out unscathed, but it is made clear that Bond will return in some form down the line. 

For those who get the 4k set, the movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format. And, all of the bonus features are included on the UHD disc and start playing immediately after the credits if you let the credits roll all the way to the end. The longest of the bonus features is a 45 minute or so retrospective on Craig's Bond from the controversy regarding the announcement that he got the role to his last day on set during No Time to Die. Then there are a few shorter featurettes on the making of the movie. Not a ton of bonus material, but what was included was good.

Overall, I really liked the movie. I think it was a fitting end to this era of the Bond franchise, and leaves open the possibility of a hard reboot of the franchise or continuing with at least some of the characters that were introduced in the last few movies. It is definitely worth watching even if you are a casual Bond fan, or just want to watch a good action movie.

Workout Update: P90X Day 22

 Day 22 was the first day of the recovery week, which meant doing Yoga-X again. For this one, I went up to the Yoga belly 7 exercises and then bailed out of it. But, I did do all of the moving asanas, even warrior three and the half-moon series, but I used a chair to keep my balance since I could not get to the floor with my hands. I don't think I will ever like this workout, but I can tell that I am getting better at it, little by little. Years ago when I was in better shape I could do most of the moves (pretty much everything but shoulder stand into plow and wheel). I could even do crane for about 30 seconds. But, I am basically starting at square one again. I really wish the Power-90 Master's Series would have had a full beginner yoga workout that would have been a transition to this workout. That is the one thing that the Master's Series lacked. At the beginning of the cardio 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6 workouts there were some sun salutations that were done as a warm-up, but they lasted a total of about four minutes, which is not nearly enough preparation for this workout. Going from essentially no yoga in power-90 to a very long program with some very advanced moves in p90x was the one thing I think the two workouts series did wrong. 

4k UHD Blu-Ray Review: Spectre

 

Spectre is the 24th James Bond movie and the fourth with Daniel Craig in the role of Bond. It begins in Mexico City where Bond, acting on a posthumous message from M (Judi Dench's version of the character), is trying to take down a terrorist plot. He discovers that the plot involves an organization called Spectre, led by Ernst Blofeld (played by Christoph Waltz), who has been responsible for many of the tragedies in Bond's life. I will not go too much more into the plot, but the movie has ties to the other Craig installments but mostly stands on its own. 

For those who get the 4K disc, the movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format. There are two discs, the UHD disc that just has the movie itself, and the regular Blu-Ray that has the extras. Those include a featurette on the opening sequence (which is the longest of the extras at 20 min) and then a series of video blogs, a photo gallery, and trailers for the movie. Not a ton, but what was included is good. 

Overall, the movie is good, but not great. I know Bond aficionados found it underwhelming, given that Blofeld was the "big bad" that ties all of the movies together, and found his reveal to be less than menacing. I am very much a casual fan of Bond, so the fact that Craig's movies departed from the way the other movies were set up was not a big deal to me, and thus the big reveal of the villain was not a let down for me. I would say that if you are generally a fan of the Craig films you will probably like this movie. If you have been lukewarm to them in general, then this movie is probably not going to convert you into a fan. 

Book Review: The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

 

The Only Plane in the Sky is a book by Jared Graff that details the events of 9/11 using quotes from different people that were involved in the events of that day. The author has used quotes from survivors, people who talked to people on the planes before they crashed, government officials, and even just people who lived through the day. The book is divided into chapters, and then in each chapter, there are quotes from people discussing the topic of the chapter. So, it does not quite read like a traditional book. Each quote identifies the person giving it and where they were (if they were in the buildings). If you have watched any of the documentaries on 9/11 you will know that some of the quotes the author uses are lifted from interviews that people have previously given about 9/11, but the author also conducted quite a few first-hand interviews. Because the book was written in 2019 some of the material he included was from a modern-day perspective on how a person's life had changed since that day.

Overall, the book is very good. It is very emotional in parts and does include some material that I had never heard about despite watching many of the 9/11 documentaries and reading a lot of books about 9/11. It can be very jarring getting a first-hand account of what happened by the people who lived it, and you get a sense of just how lucky some people got where literally being able to turn a corner was the difference between living and dying. I highly recommend this for people who experienced 9/11 or are just into history, current events, etc. 

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I and II

 

This is mostly a good story, but it introduces a huge continuity problem with the original novels and movies. I cannot say what it is without spoiling it, but if they were ever to make this into a movie, there would definitely have to be some kind of explanation given to make the reveal at the end make sense. The story is set 19-23 years after the events of the Deathly Hallows. The first "scene" is actually a version of what we see at the very end of Deathly Hallows Part II where Harry and Albus discuss what happens if Albus is sorted into Slytherin. Then, the next few years pass by within a handful of pages and the main portion of the story plays out from there. I will not give too much away, but it involves Albus and Draco Malfoy's son messing with time and then trying to undo the mess they make. 

To be clear, the book is not a novel. It is the script of the play. So, it definitely does not read like any of the other books, It does not have chapters, but does have the act and scene breaks, which makes it a bit easier to read sometimes at least when it comes to the length of the breaks. If you are a person like me who will always try to get to the end of the chapter before stopping reading, when you have very long chapters, it can be a bear to get to the end of the chapter (especially at night). Here, the scenes tend to be shorter (sometimes a page or two) so if you are getting tired, you get a lot more potential stopping points.

Overall, I think the story is a good one (aside from the continuity issue) that mixes the original characters with the newer characters very well. All of the main characters (Hermoine, Harry, and Ron) are in the book and even some of the more ancillary characters (like Neville) do show up even if for a very short time. I like that it gives some closure to Harry and Draco's relationship (more than we ever got at the end of Deathly Hallows), which for me, was one of the best things about the book. It is certainly not what I would call a perfect story, but with a few tweaks, it could be made better and easily adapted into a new movie (if the cast were up for doing another one). 

Workout Update: P90X Day 21

 Day 21 was the last day of phase 1, the x-stretch workout. Unlike the yoga workout, I really like this one. It flows much better and ends just when it gets to the point where it starts to feel too long. Personally, I like doing it back-to-back with yoga because I feel like I make better progress stretching two days in a row than I do separating them. This upcoming week is recovery week which means yoga twice and core synergistics (my second least favorite workout) twice. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 20

 Day 20 was yoga. I still hate it, mostly because it is way too long and has moves that I think can easily be eliminated from it and still keep it very challenging. I did skip the very end of the moving asana portion (the last series with warrior three, standing splits, half-moon, and twisting half-moon) but did do "yoga belly seven" since I skipped ab-ripper on Friday when I did legs and back. I will never like this yoga workout as much as the one in P90x 2 or P90x 3, and I do not feel bad about cutting it short when I feel I need to. Some people may disagree with that approach, but I think as long as you do some yoga as a part of the program, you will get the benefits of it.

Workout Update: P90x Day 19

 Day 19 was the last legs and back workout of the first phase. I again used 95lbs of band resistance for the pull-down moves and was getting anywhere from 6-10 reps, so I am going to stick with that until I can hit 12 reps on all the pull-down moves in one of the pull-up heavy workouts (in phase 2 is it the back and biceps workout and the legs and back workout). Aside from that, all the leg-focused exercises went okay except the single-leg wall squats. I almost made the full minute but had to stop with about 8 seconds left. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 18

 Day 18 was the Kenpo workout. I again skipped the cold stretch open and just used the twist and pivots and punching as the warm-up. This, plus that active rest period gives you more than enough time to get warm before you start to kick, which is really where you would be liable to pull something if it was going to happen. The workout went pretty well. I am still a bit slower than they are on some of the moves, but I am faster than them on others. Overall, I think it went well.

Workout Update: P90X Day 17

 Day 17 was the shoulders and arms workout. It is my second favorite resistance workout behind "back and biceps". I was able to increase the weights on a couple of the moves for this workout and hit max reps on other moves so the next time I do the workout, I will be able to increase those. This week is the last week of the first round before the recovery week. So, the next time I do this workout will be in round three. I also did ab ripper as the warm-up. I am still doing 20 reps for all the moves (aside from the mason twist), but during the first week of round two, I am going to try and hit 25 reps for each one. 

Book Review: Star Wars The High Republic: Into the Dark

 

Into the Dark is a young adult novel set during the High Republic Era, which occurs a couple of hundred years before the Battle of Yavin/The Original Trilogy. The events in the book run concurrently with those in the "regular" canon novel, Light of the Jedi, overlapping with the hyperspace disasters that are occurring in that novel. It is mostly set on a space station in the outer rim, which has a lot of dark side energy surrounding it and sets a group of Jedi against the Nihil and a new threat. It also jumps between the "present-day" and events that occur twenty-five years earlier, so it is not super easy to follow at all times, especially since all of the characters in the book are new.

The good thing about the High Republic era is that it is not just a rehash of the Jedi vs. Sith conflict, and introduces a lot of new characters. The downside is that it is harder to be invested in characters that will, for the most part, be dead by the time the prequel trilogy even starts. This novel did a fairly good job introducing the group of characters and giving them enough of a backstory that the readers can try to get invested in them. Obviously, the Skywalkers are not even a thought at this point, and whatever the two Sith who are out there (assuming this is post-Darth Bane and the rule of two) are doing, they are not a part of the story at this point (if they ever will be in the high republic novels). Certainly, there is room for the characters to be developed in subsequent novels. The Nihil is definitely set up as a threat to the Jedi and the Republic overall, and the book just really scratches the surface of their group. 

Even though this is a young-adult novel, so it is considered ancillary to the main canon storyline, it is written well enough that adults can easily enjoy it. It is a fairly easy read, but I personally find the novels that have the characters from the movies to be the easiest read because I do not have to remind myself who the characters are when I pick the book up after a few days away from it. Overall, it is not what I would call one of the must-read novels, but it is something that most people who collect the novels will enjoy reading once. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 16

 Day 16 was plyometrics again. It is probably the workout I like the best of any of the non-resistance workouts. It does run a little bit long for my taste, but you can always make it shorter by skipping the "sports bonus" at the end. But, by the time I get to that I always just figure what is three more minutes? I can definitely tell that my stamina is better and I do not have to modify as many of the moves. 

Blu Ray Review: The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone

 

The Godfather Coda is a remastered and re-edited version of The Godfather Part III. To be clear, the plot of the movie is exactly the same. The movie was really just re-edited a bit to change the beginning of the movie and the very end of the movie. The movie actually starts out with the storyline of Michael working with the Catholic Church to buy the company and then transitions to the party that originally started off the movie. So, it basically rearranges some of the scenes and incorporates some of the originally deleted scenes. I think this was done to put the main plot of the movie up front, and then remove the shot of the Twin Towers that was originally used in the movie's opening sequence. 

While I am not one who totally despises Part III, it is certainly not anywhere near the same league as Parts I and II, and many of the same problems with the movie (e.g., Sofia Coppola's horrible acting and non-existent chemistry with Andy Garcia) are still there, and present the same problems as the original version. That said, I do think the overall "redemption" story for Michael that Puzo and Coppola were trying to go for was a good one. I have always thought his attempt to go totally legitimate while dealing with the consequences of the past was a great plot for the movie, and Pachino does a great job in that role.

The only extra included was a very short introduction to the movie by Francis Ford Coppola, which details what he was going for with this revision. There is no director commentary or any featurettes explaining what was re-arranged or why particular edits were chosen, which would have been nice. You really have to either watch the original version first or remember every scene from the original version to tell what is different. 

As I said above, the movie is nowhere near as good as Parts I and II, which were all-time classics. That said, I think it is still a good conclusion to Michael's story, even though I do like the original ending to the movie better. I don't think there was ever going to be a way to make this movie be what the first two installments were, nor do I think this needed to be a separate release. It is inevitable that the movies are going to get a 4k UHD release, and are very likely going to be released as a set, and this could have easily just been included with that as an alternate cut. That said, it is worth watching at some point for die-hard fans of the Godfather movies.

Book Review: Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith

 

Secrets of the Sith is not really a novel. It is a cross between a journal/handbook written from the perspective of Palpatine after the events of The Last Jedi, but before the events of The Rise of Skywalker, and a picture book. In it, Palpatine basically lays out the history of the Sith, referencing Darth Bane, and his master Darth Plageius. He describes how he corrupted Anakin and turned him to Vader, and his plans for Rey. He also made it clear that his "son" who eventually became Rey's father was more a son in the Bobba Fett to Jango Fett sense than a real son.

The book is a very quick read. Even if you read slowly you can get through it in an hour or two (at the most). It has a lot of pictures, including the first canon look at Darth Plageius (although you really don't see much of him aside from his glowing eyes behind a hood). Of course, the Darth Plageius novel, which was really more about Palpatine's rise to power than it was about Darth Plageius was relegated (mostly) to legends status when Disney took over. I say mostly because the Tarkin novel by the same author, which was grandfathered into the canon novel set referred to events that occurred in the Darth Plageius novel, which bootstrapped some of that material into the canon.

Overall, I would not call this a must-have book. It is almost more of a coffee table or display book than it is something you would ever read more than once. It does have a pull-out poster, so if you are an ultra die-hard Star Wars fan, it will give you something to hang on the wall. But, it does not go much beyond what you learn from the movies, aside from clarifying or fleshing out a couple of points that you may have missed watching the movies.

Workout Update: P90X Day 15

 Day 15 was chest and back with the ab-ripper warm up. The workout was very good. I was able to get another couple of reps on all of the push-up moves in, except the dive bombers at the very end of the workout. I was toast by then and could barely eke out 5 reps. I stuck with the 95lbs of band weight to do the pull-downs, and that was still very difficult. I was able to do between 6-10 reps on the various pull-down moves. If I can hit 12 reps in all of the pull-downs in the legs and back workout on Friday then I will up the band resistance again, otherwise, I will stick with the 95lbs.

Workout Update: P90x Day 14

 Day 14 was yoga, again. It is the bane of the P90x workouts. It is about 45 minutes too long, and even the first 50 minutes (which is the most difficult part of the workout) seem to go on forever.  I decided I will stick with it up to the point where they get to the "yoga belly 7" moves. I don't think there is really a reason to work abs in the yoga workout, especially if you do the workout on day 4 when it will be sandwiched in between two ab-ripper workouts in which Tony explicitly says do not work abs every day. And really, the first hour is the traditional yoga and after that, it is more stretching work which is repeated in the x-stretch workout, but I like the stretching because it really focuses on hamstrings which are my big weak point when it comes to flexibility. I know some people who do p90x stick with yoga until the moving asanas are over, but I think it is helpful to do the balance moves and the stretching which is why I made the decision to go farther into it. 

DVD Review: Family Guy Season 14

 

Season 14 of Family Guy continues to follow the pattern the show has followed for years. A story of the week, with pop culture and/or political jokes thrown in throughout the episodes. It is really the formula that has worked for the show for years, and they seem to be content with it. By now, the show has been around long enough that people know whether they like it or not. I personally still find it entertaining, although I do not think it is as good as it was during its original run on FOX before it was canceled and brought back. The DVDs do have the advantage of being uncensored, so the jokes can be a bit edgier and they do swear a lot, including dropping more than a few f-bombs throughout the season. The big "special" episode of the season was the season finale where Brian and Stewie travel to India to meet a call center worker that Brian falls in love with over the phone. There are some Bollywood references and a spoof of Slumdog Millionaire. 

For those who get the DVDs, the extras include commentary tracks on select episodes and deleted scenes for every episode. The deleted scenes are accessible from the extras menu on the main screen for each disc, but if you want to listen to the commentary tracks, you have to go into the menu for each individual episode menus, then go into the extras menu for the specific episode. So, it is not extremely convenient. The commentary tracks do not include any of the cast members, usually the writer and director of the episode and one of the producers (not Seth McFarlane). They are good, but not a must listen to. There is also a full animatic/storyboard sequence for one of the episodes.

Overall, the show is still good, even if it is getting a bit long in the tooth now. If you are a fan you will probably like this season, even if you do not love it as much as you have in the past. If you have never liked the show there is nothing about this season that is likely to change your mind. 

Workout Update: P90x Day 13

 Day 13 was x-stretch again. I again flipped yoga and x-stretch because of the timing of the workout on Saturday. I had to do it later in the day and did not want to do over an hour of yoga. I am definitely getting more flexible. Slowly but surely. I am not anywhere near as flexible as anyone in the video, but I do the best I can on everything. I can definitely tell I can go further down on the split leg and two-leg hamstring stretches and am getter better at some of the others. There are some like the move where you sit in a pretzel position and twist back that I plain just have to lose more weight before I will be able to do it well again because my gut is still too big. But, my hamstrings and lower back have always been tight, even when I was in better shape, so I know it is going to take a while to get where I want to be.

Workout Update: P90x Day 12

 Day 12 was legs and back again. Nothing too notable about this workout other than I upped the total band resistance for the pull-downs to 95 lbs. I could only hit 8 reps on pretty much all of those moves at that weight so I am going to stick with that at least for this next week's chest and back workout, then I may bump it up again for the legs and back workout on Christmas eve. I again used ab-ripper for the warmup and was able to hit 20 reps on all the moves, having to pause a couple of times. Honestly, my nutrition has not been all that great this past week, and may not be for this next week, but I am just going to keep going with the workouts and try to keep the junk food to a minimum.

Workout Update: P90X Day 11

 Day 11 was the Kenpo-x workout. I again totally skipped the "warm-up" and just used the twist and pivot and punches to warm myself up. Since the kicking exercises do not start until after the first active break (where you do jogging in place, jumping jacks, and x-jacks) you will be sufficiently warm by the time the kicking starts that you should not be in any danger of pulling something (unless you really slack on the other exercises). This is another workout where I really like the pace. It does not ever seem to be going on too long (especially if you skip the 11 minutes of stretching at the beginning) and is over before it starts to get boring. It is definitely not the same as taking an actual martial arts class (at least a taekwondo class) and they really do modify the moves to keep you from pivoting during kicks, which, if done incorrectly can lead to injury. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 10

 Day 10 was shoulders and arms again. I was able to increase the weights on a couple of the exercises in this workout, and max out on a couple more (hit 11 reps) so I will be increasing the weight on those next week. This is actually one of my favorite P90X workouts. The pace is great, and it gives a great pump on all of the "glamour muscles" that Tony talks about at the beginning. I also did ab-ripper as the warm-up, and was able to increase the reps to 20 for each exercise (modifying a few of them still). 

Workout Update: P90X Day 9

 Day 9 was my second go-around with Plyo-X. I was a bit tired when I did the workout and had less energy the first time around. So, I found myself having to pause more and do a bit more modification of the moves, but I made it through to the end, including the "sports bonus" Overall, I like the pace of the workout and most of the moves are doable for someone at an intermediate level. 

Workout Update: P909X Day 8

 Day 8 was the second time doing the Chest and Back workout and using ab-ripper-x as the warmup. Overall, I thought the workout went well. I was able to get a couple more reps in on each of the push-up moves, and 1-2 more reps on all the pull-up moves, even increasing the band resistance up to 90lbs. I am doing all the push-ups on my toes even though it means I am sacrificing depth right now. I figure that will come as I get stronger. For ab-ripper I did 15 reps of all the moves (aside from mason twist). I am almost to the point where 15 reps are easy, so I think on Friday I am going to increase that to 20 reps. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 7

 Day 7 was the dreaded Yoga-X, which at some point is the bane of the people doing P90X. It is an hour and a half long, and the first 50 minutes or so, is very tough. Basically, you do moving asanas for the first 50 minutes, which get progressively more difficult, especially if you are not super flexible and/or have the greatest balance. I do think the "yoga belly 7" moves are pretty unnecessary especially if you do it on Thursday (or whatever your day 4 would be) like the regular schedule would have you doing since it would be sandwiched between two days of doing ab-ripper-x.  Overall though, aside from being a bit long, it is a good, challenging, yoga workout. I do think it would be a lot better pared down to 60 minutes, but it is a yoga program that beginners can modify to their performance level and "grow" into.

4kUHD/Movie Review: Gladiator

 

Gladiator was a massive success of a movie, winning Oscars for, among other things, Best Picture and Best Actor at the 2000 academy awards. It starred Russell Crowe as a general in the Roman Army named Maximus, who, at the beginning of the film, is leading the army against the last expansion of the Roman Empire under Emporer Marcus Aurelius (played by Richard Harris) in Germania (which is now Germany and the surrounding countries). Marcus Aurelius is dying and trying to convince Maximus to become the leader of the Empire, having made the decision that his powers will not transfer to his immoral son Commodus (played by Joquin Phonix). Needless to say, things go sideways and Maximus ends up becoming a slave and forced to fight as a Gladiator in the servitude of Proximo, a former Gladiator played by the noted English actor Oliver Reed. The main cast is rounded out by Connie Nielsen who played Lucilla, daughter of Marcus Aurelius, and Djimon Hounsou, who plays Juba, another slave in servitude to Proximo. 

The 4k Blu-ray set is actually a three-disc set. The UHD disc has both the theatrical version of the movie and the extended edition (which adds about 20 minutes to the total run time). The 4k transfer was done very well, and the movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format. On the UHD disc, the only extras are the commentary tracks. The commentary track on the extended edition of the movie includes Ridley Scott and Rusell Crowe, and on the theatrical version, the commentary track includes Scott, the editor, and the cinematographer. All the rest of the extras are on the "regular" Blu-Ray discs. On each version of the movie, there is an option to watch an in-movie experience in which facts about the movie pop up at the bottom of the screen. On the left side, there are video clips that are made available as the movie goes along that gives topical information and/or behind the scenes clips, and on the right side, there is a list of topics that you can select to be played when the second disc (with just special features on it) is played. 

The second disc, as I said above has just special features on it. And there is a shit-ton of features. The topic portal will play the behind-the-scenes and making-of clips from the topics you chose while watching the in-movie experience (or you can select them on that screen). If you play them all, it is about six hours in length. Although some of the same clips and soundbites are used for multiple topics so it does get a bit repetitive. Then, there is a three hour and twenty minutes long series of making-of features, with some material repeated from the topic portal clips, but some of its own material as well. Then there is a journal that Spencer Treat Clark (who played Lucilla's son) made during the production of the movie. It is not a video journal though, so you have to actually read it on the screen and flip through multiple pages. It is just a massive amount of bonus material if you like going through it. My favorite features were the ones detailing how they finished the role of Proximo when Oliver Reed died with about three weeks left in production, the pains that arose during production of the movie, and the stand-up comedy/Gladiator Q&A set that Russell Crowe did a few years after the movie come out.

Overall, the movie has been around long enough now that most people will know if they like it or not. For most people, the decision is really going to be whether to invest in the 4k UHD upgrade (especially for those who, like me, already double-dipped for the original Blu-Ray release). Personally, I think the A/V upgrade made the triple-dip worth it for me. The movie looks and sounds great on UHD, and is a noticeable upgrade from the blu-ray transfer. It is a great movie, with a great story, and, if you love bonus features, this has about as much as any movie has put out. I highly recommend the movie and the 4k UHD upgrade. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 6

 Day 6 was the stretch workout. I was going to do Yoga, but the day kind of got away from me and by the time I had time to workout, I did not want to spend an hour and a half doing it. So, I swapped and did x-stretch on Saturday and did Yoga today (Sunday). I really like x-stretch because it has all the good parts of the Yoga video without (mostly) the hard parts. The one real advanced move it has is shoulder stand into plough, which, even when I have been in my best shape and most flexible, I have never come close to doing. So, when that comes up I just use my yoga strap and try to extend my legs up and keep them totally straight, which gives me a really good hamstring stretch. Plus, I like the fact that the workout is under an hour, which, for a p90x workout is saying something.

Workout Update: P90X Day 5

 Day 5 was my first go around with the Legs and Back workout, which essentially alternates leg exercises with pull ups. The leg exercises are mostly repeats or variations of the moves that were used in the Master's Series workouts, so there was really nothing very new (aside from the chair lunges at the very beginning). Then, the pull ups were the same (with some omissions) as in the chest and back workout. 

I again used ab-ripper x as the warmup as opposed to doing it at the very end, and again got through 15 reps for each of the moves (and 50 mason twists). And, on the pull ups I added the 5lb band so I was doing a total of 85lbs of resistance. Overall, the workout went well. The big thing about the p90x workouts is that they are all very long. You will be devoting at least 45 minutes each workout, with the longest being the Yoga workout (which clocks in at an hour and a half). That is really the one big drawback, the other being it gets a bit repetitive in the last few weeks. But, it is a good workout series that has a good track record of getting people results.

Workout Update: P90X Day 4

 Day 4, for me, was the Kenpo-X workout. If you follow the schedule, day 4 would normally be Yoga, but since that one is the longest workout, at 90 minutes, and is probably the hardest workout (at least for those of us who are not very flexible), I moved it to Saturday so I could do it whenever instead of being stuck doing it after work as I generally am on the weekdays. 

Kenpo is a decent workout, especially the few times you do it. As you get in better shape, it becomes one of the easier workouts, but for the first go-around, I was definitely having a hard time keeping up with them. A couple of times I just had to cut the number of reps off at 20 because they were done way ahead of me. The only thing I am not a big fan of from that workout is the warmup. In other videos, Tony goes on talking about how you do not want to stretch a cold body, and Kenpo dives right into stretching without any kind of warm-up. So, I usually just start the workout right away and use the punching exercises as the warm-up. 

Last night I had a cheat meal at Olive Garden, but otherwise ate according to the Portion Fix nutrition plan. So, overall, the day went well. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 3

 Day 3 was the shoulders and arms workout. That workout is basically 5 blocks of three exercises. You do the three exercises, repeat them, then take a break and move to the next block. Each block has a shoulder-focused exercise, a bicep-focused exercise, and a tricep-focused exercise. The workout goes by pretty quickly, so you get a nice calorie burn and I was feeling pretty tired at the end. I again did ab-ripper x as the warmup as opposed to waiting until after the main workout to do it. I did 15 reps of all the moves (except the mason twist at the end, I did a modified version (kept my heels on the floor) and did all fifty reps). 

Overall, I felt good today during the workouts. I was a bit sore from days 1 and 2, but that pretty much went away after I was warmed up. I followed the portion fix plan very well yesterday. I am going to have a cheat meal tonight for dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday, but I already got my workout in, so I am all good there. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 2

 Day 2 was the plyometrics workout. I actually felt very prepared since many of the moves in this workout were in the Master's Series workout. The only move I cannot do is the rock star hops (they tweak my back) so during those, I just jogged in place. I did have to modify some of the moves and was pretty tired at the end of the workout, but I made it through. I definitely think I will be able to keep up with everyone without having to modify (aside from the rock star hops) by the time I am into phase three. Overall, it is a great cardio workout. I do have some residual soreness from Monday's workout which, I hope will be gone after today's shoulders and arms workout (or at least new parts of my body will be sore). 

Workout Update: P90X Day 1

Yesterday was Day 1 of P90X. So, it was the chest and back workout and ab-ripper x. I actually did ab ripper before the main workout instead of after and used it to enhance the warmup that comes before the chest and back workout. Ab ripper is substantially harder than ab-ripper 100 and 200 in Power 90. I definitely could not do 25 reps for every move. Some of them I could, and some I could only do 10-12 reps. 

In the main chest and back workout, for the push-ups I did them all on my toes, none off of the knees. My reps ranged from about 10-15 reps depending on the type and whether it was in round 1 or 2. This workout only has three moves that use weight, the heavy pants (which I used 30 pounds for and got 9 reps in), Lawnmowers (which I used 35 pounds for and got 8 reps), and back flys (which I used 25 pounds for and got 8 reps). For the pull-up moves, I used bands. I have bands that have a weight correlation, so I used 80lbs. All of the moves were very challenging with that amount. I am going to try adding the 5lb resistance band when I do the legs and back workout on Friday. The hope is that each week I can add another 10 lbs onto the band resistance. I think I can get it up to about 150lbs of resistance if I stack all the bands together, so by the time I get done with the 12 weeks I hope to be there so that when I do a second round of P90x I can start doing regular pull-ups. 

For nutrition, I am going to try to follow the portion fix system as much as possible. I am on Plan D, which will have me eating between 2100 calories and 2299 calories per day. It uses the colored container system, so you just have to fill the containers and don't have to count calories down to the exact number.  I am still going to allow myself a few cheat meals per week (or one cheat day) depending on what is going on. For example, my mom's birthday is on Thursday so I plan to have a cheat meal for dinner that day, then we are doing a small get-together on Saturday to have a pizza party, which will be another cheat meal. But, aside from that, I am going to stick to the plan. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 55

 Day 55 was the last day of the Master's Series. It was actually a rest day, so I just did x-stretch from P90x. Today will actually be day 1 of P90X, and I will be doing chest and back and abs. I plan to do the ab workout first as a warm-up and then skip most of the P90x warm-up. Overall, I liked the Master's Series workouts, but they are definitely not my favorite workouts of those I have done. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 54

 Day 54 of the master's series workouts was the core cardio workout. It is definitely not my favorite of the group (mostly because of the Dreya Roll push-ups, which are a harder version of the Dreya Rolls in P90X, which I have never been able to do well). But, it is a very challenging workout, that could have easily replaced the core synergistics workout in P90x. I plan on doing the x-stretch routine today, and then tomorrow starting in with P90x chest and back. 

DVD Review: Family Guy Season 13

 

The big "event" of Season 13 of Family Guy was the crossover with The Simpsons in which the Griffons find themselves in Springfield. All of the major Simpsons characters appeared, and there were inside jokes and callbacks to things from the past of both shows. From there, the season pretty much played out as it always has, basically having a storyline or two of the week in a given episode, but not really any kind of story arc extending through the season.

For those who get the DVD, the episodes are uncensored (they drop f-bombs quite frequently) and, because the show is still popular, you do get some extras. These include a making-of feature on The Simpsons episode, deleted scenes, an animatic version of the episode where Brian and Stewie take Chris through time to teach him history, and commentary tracks on select episodes. My only complaint is that the commentary tracks are not accessible through the extras menu. You have to go into the menu for each individual episode to see if there is one available for that particular episode. So, if you use the "play all" feature to watch the episodes, then go into the extras menu, you have no way of knowing which episodes have commentary tracks and which do not. Aside from that, you get a good amount of material if you like going through the bonus features.

By now, anyone who is considering getting this knows what the show is and what it is not. The jokes can be very offensive and almost no topic is off-limits. While I still think that the original run of episodes from before FOX canceled it after the second or third season was the best, it is still a strong series (if you like adult (sometimes very adult) humor). If however, you have never been a big fan of the show, nothing about season 13 is likely to change your mind. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 53

 Day 53 was the last cardio 5-6 and ab-ripper 200. I was a bit tired during the workout, but still got it done, and managed to get a good calorie burn. Also, I discovered that yes, the original Power 90 workouts, including the Master's Series workouts, are on Beachbody On Demand. It is definitely not clear if you try to search for them before you sign up. The only indication is that the newer P90 workouts are on the streaming platform. However, once you sign up, if you browse the programs, you will see them in there. It is considered one of their "classic" programs (which, as far as I can tell, includes pretty much every program pre-P90X), but it is there. 

If you have not heard, Beachbody has created a streaming platform that has most, of the workouts that they have ever produced. As far as I can tell, the only workout that was available on DVD that is not on the online platform is the Les Mills Combat workout. I think that was a temporary arrangement between Beachbody and Less Mills, which is likely why those workouts are not on BOD.  And, I believe that at least some of their newer workouts are only released on the streaming platform, and not on DVD. 

There are essentially two different subscriptions you can get. One for just Beachbody on demand which has the workouts like PIYO, Insanity, P90X, etc. You can also subscribe to their BODI service that has live workouts and includes their nutrition platforms Portion Fix and 2B mindset. The best price is if you get an annual subscription. The fee for an annual BOD subscription is $99, and if you add BODI, it jumps up to $299, so it will be about $320 with tax (depending on where you live). You would still need to purchase some program-specific equipment (like the wall/door mount for the 9-week Control Freak program that is used for some of the exercises), although as I was browsing the videos for that program it looks like there is an "off the wall" version that does not use the wall mount. But otherwise, for about $25 per month (or less) you get access to 100s of workouts, and as long as you have something like an Amazon Fire Stick or a Roku you can watch them on a TV. Plus, if you travel a lot you can download the BOD app on your phone or tablet and do them wherever you happen to be without having to lug DVDs around like the old days. 

Anyway, tonight is my last regular workout for the Master's Series, then I will be starting P90x on Monday. I have really not lost much weight over the 8 weeks, mostly because I have not been following a strict nutrition regimen since my mom has been in and out of the hospital this past month.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 52

 Day 52 was the UML workout again. Now having done the workout a handful of times, overall I like it. It is very challenging. A lot of push-ups and a lot of difficult ab moves, some of them are more difficult than any of the moves in the ab-ripper workouts, including ab-ripper-x. It is a relatively short workout, about a half-hour after the 5-minute warm-up and stretch. And, almost all of the moves can be modified to your current fitness level, which is great. The only drawback is that it is on DVD only, so if you want to get a Beachbody on-demand subscription (which is how all the new workouts are being released), you cannot do this one. There is, however, a similar workout from the P90 series which basically replaced the original Power-90 and Master's Series workouts.

4KUHD Blu-Ray review: F9

 

F9 is the latest installment in the Fast and Furious movie saga. As anyone who has followed the progression of the movies knows, it has deviated a lot from the first handful of movies and has become just kind of a tongue-in-cheek action franchise with over-the-top stunts, plots that get more and more stupid over time, and the theme of family. If you watch the Honest Trailer for the movie, it pretty much knocks it out of the park in terms of a review. Basically, the movies are now almost breaking the fourth wall telling the audience, yes we know this is crazy and makes no sense (mainly through Ludacris' and Tyreese's dialogue), but just go with it. 

This version centers around Dom's long-lost and never mentioned brother Jacob, played by the combination of John Cena and Finn Cole (from the great show Animal Kingdom playing young Jacob). The film does (via flashbacks) explain why he was never mentioned, so there is at least that. Of course, he ended up becoming a super spy, working with Mr. Nobody before going rogue and then ends up going against Dom and the crew. Mostly all of the main cast returns (aside from The Rock, who had a very public falling out with Vin Diesel)  as well as some of the old cast. Jordanna Brewster reprises her role as Mia, and as the movie trailer and the box cover to the Blu-Ray spoils, they came up with a way to resurrect Han, with Sung Kang returning to the franchise. Helen Miren has a small role and Jason Statham has a very brief cameo appearance. The film continues to keep Brian alive offscreen and finds ways to keep from having to show him, as the role will never be recast after Paul Walker's death. 

For those who get the UHD set, there are two discs, one UHD and one "regular" Blu-Ray disc. The content on each is identical (including the bonus features). There are two versions of the movie, the theatrical version, and the director's cut, which has a few additional minutes of footage at the beginning of the movie. There is about an hour's worth of bonus features including several behind-the-scenes and making-of features that run anywhere from about three minutes to thirteen minutes, and a short gag reel. So, there is a lot of material for those who like the bonus features.

Overall, the movie is what it is. It makes little to no sense plot-wise and no human could survive the action sequences if they were real. But, as long as you are one that can suspend your disbelief and just enjoy a movie with lots of explosions, car chases, and fights, you can enjoy this. The acting is so-so. You can tell the actors have fun with it and do take the work seriously, even if they know the absurdity of the plot and the stunts. At this point, there have been enough movies that you know what they are and what they are not. So, if you have been a fan, you will probably like this one. If not, there is nothing about this one that is likely to change your mind.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 51

 Day 51 was a rest/stretch day so I did the T25 stretch. I also did ab-ripper 200. Both of those went fine. I can almost actually do all 200 reps without pausing. I did have to pause for a few seconds on the last move after 10 reps. But aside from that, I did not have to stop or pause at all. So, overall, I think the Master's Series workouts went well. I do plan on getting a membership to Beachbody on Demand to do the other workouts. I was going to wait until I finished with Power 90 since the original Power 90 workouts are not on BOD. Just the P90 workouts that were made after P90X3, and are a bit better lead-in to that program than into the original P90X workouts. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 50

 Day 50 was cardio 5-6 again. The workout went pretty well. About the same as it did the last few times. I am going to wait to do ab-ripper with tonight's stretch (most likely T25 stretch) routine. Just a few more days of the Master's Series and I will be starting P90x on Monday.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 49

 Day 49 was the core cardio workout again. I am not a huge fan of this workout, but thankfully it is just in the recovery week(s). It does remind me of core synergistics from the p90x workout, which I am also not a huge fan of.  I did manage to push through and get a good workout in. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 48

 Day 48 was the rest day so I did the T25 stretch. Unfortunately, I have still been dealing with a family medical issue, so my schedule for everything has been hectic. So, I did not get a chance to work out until later in the evening, so I picked the shorter stretch workout. It went fine, I was a bit tired, but I got through it.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 47

 Day 47 was the sculpt 5-6 workout again, and using ab-ripper 200 as the warmup. Both ab-ripper and the regular workout went well. I was able to hit max reps on a couple more exercises, and on the tricep dips, I hit a new personal best at 18 reps with legs extended. And, I could tell I am getting a better range of motion on the push-ups. So, overall, a good workout. I have one more week of the Master's Series, then will start in with p90x.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 46

 Day 46 was the cardio 5-6 workout again. As a transition to p90x, I am going to do ab-ripper on the strength training days as a warm-up to the sculpt workout, which is how I plan to use ab-ripper when I do p90x. Overall, this workout was very good. Thankfully, all of the covid booster shot side effects have gone away so I was not feeling chills or super tired like I had been during the last couple of workouts. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Explorers

 

Explorers was a mid-1980s movie starring a very young Ethan Hawke (in his first movie role) and a very young River Phoenix (both were around 13 years old at the time the movie was shot). The premise of the movie is that Hawke's character, Ben, who is huge into space, aliens, and science fiction, dreams of what is essentially a circuit that can create a force sphere that can allow for space flight. Phoenix plays Wolfgang, a science nerd who builds the circuit, and Jason Presson plays Darren, a kid that is kind of a loner but gets caught up in the experiment and helps to build a ship. Of course, they end up going into space and meeting actual aliens, but there is a bit of a twist to that part of the story. 

The supporting cast is made up of many recognizable actors including Meshach Taylor, Dick Miller, James Cromwell, and Amanda Peterson, who was another recognizable child actor for those of us who grew up in the 1980s. Robert Picardo played several roles in the movie. He is, of course, probably best known for his role on Star Trek Voyager, but he is almost unrecognizable in each of the roles, including that of the "main" alien. 

For those who get the Blu-Ray, there are two discs, one with the theatrical version of the movie and one with the home video version of the movie. Surprisingly, the theatrical version is a few minutes longer than the home video release. Each disc has the same bonus features, the main ones being an hour-long making-of feature, deleted scenes (that can be played with or without commentary by the director) interviews with a couple different crew members, and the theatrical trailer. A good amount of material for those who like watching the extras.

Overall, the movie, while certainly dated, is still very enjoyable. It has a pretty timeless theme that helps distract from the fact that it feels like a mid-80s movie. Interestingly, if you watch the making-of feature you will find out that the movie was really incomplete, but had to be finished to meet the summer release deadline. So elements had to be taken out, and the edit that was released to theaters was not what the director, Joe Dante, wanted to release. Even so, the movie was pretty well written and well-acted, even though the main actors were kids, and still very green. For many people, this is probably more of a nostalgia movie they remember from their childhood, but if you have not seen it, it is definitely worth checking out.

DVD Review: Dracula Season One

 

Dracula was a show that aired on NBC (which ultimately led to its downfall) in 2013 and starred Johnathan Rhys Meyers as Dracula. The premise is that Dracula comes to London posing as an American Industrialist named Alexander Grayson to bring wireless electricity to the world. In reality, he is trying to bring down a group called The Order of the Dragon that cursed him with immortality and killed his wife. He is aided by Abraham Van Helsing whose family was also killed by the Order. While in London, Grayson falls in love with a woman named Mina Murry (played by Jessica De. Gouw whom most people will probably recognize from her appearances on the series Arrow), who also looks like his late wife. She is betrothed to Jonathan Harker, who is a journalist that Dracula employs to aid in his scheme to bring down the Order.  

The show only got a limited run of 13 episodes. It was hardly enough time to set everything up and really get people invested in the show. It is one of those shows that would have been a lot better off on the CW network and could have easily had a 5+ season run had it not had to pull major network level ratings. Much like the show Constantine, which was on NBC right around the same time, the dark nature of the show (as well as the sex) probably turned a lot of people off, and hence, the show did not get great ratings and was canceled midway through the first season. 

For those who get the DVD set, there are some extras, including deleted scenes, a couple of making-of and behind-the-scenes features, an animated series that shows some of what led up to what airs in the series, and Van Helsing's lost tapes which shows him conducting experiments on vampires. 

Overall, the show is very good, and most definitely deserved a longer run. The end of the season left a lot on the table (it does seem like the final episode was reworked a bit so the showrunners may have known ahead of time that the show was canceled) and had set the show to go in a potentially different direction. And, for fans of hers, it seems that Katie McGrath's character would have been expanded had the show continued. So, even if you like the show, it will leave you feeling incomplete because not everything is resolved by the end of the season. I do, however, think it is worth watching even if you will feel a bit cheated by not seeing a clear end to the storylines. 

DVD Review: Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

 

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, is a comedy from the early 1990s starring Christina Applegate, who was at the height of her fame on the series Married With Children. The movie has a pretty simple premise, the "mom" played by Concetta Tomei took a trip for the summer, hiring an old battle-ax of a babysitter to take care of her kids while she was gone. The babysitter dies, and the kids having no money have to figure out a way to eat, pay the bills, etc, over the summer. Applegate, who plays the 17-year-old daughter, Sue Ellen, applies for a job as a receptionist using a resume she copied out of a guide on writing resumes and ends up with an Executive Assistant position at an apparel company. And from there, of course, hilarity ensues. 

The movie definitely had the feel of a late 80s early 90's movie. Some of the comedy is pretty dated now, and there are some things, like showing Applegate's underage character smoking, would never fly. The movie did have a strong supporting cast including a young Josh Charles, Danielle Harris (who played the little girl in Halloween 4 and 5), David Duchovney, Joanna Cassidy, and several other recognizable character actors. 

For those who get the DVD, the extras are fairly bare-bones (some previews, the trailer, and cast biographies), but it does have closed captions. Overall, it is a dark comedy that has some good moments, but it is not as good as other "coming of age" comedies that came before it like Fast Times, Porky's, or the like, nor as good as some of the comedies that would follow it in a handful of years like American Pie. It definitely feels dated watching it now, but even with those caveats, it is still a decent comedy and worth checking out.  

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 45

 Day 46 was a rest day and happened to be Thanksgiving day here in the US. Nevertheless, I still managed to do the T25 stretch video. I actually felt like this was a bit harder than the past couple of times I have done it. Maybe because I have not felt well the past couple of days. But, I made it through.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 44

 Day 44 was Sculpt 5-6 again. I felt a lot better after the effects of my Covid booster wore off, so I was able to get through the workout okay. It did take a bit longer than normal because I had to take more rest breaks, but I made it through. I also used ab-ripper 200 as a warm-up since I had skipped it the day before. That worked pretty well. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 43

 Day 43 was cardio intervals. I felt very crappy because of the side effects of my covid booster, so I did just one round of cardio intervals (totally skipped round two) and modified a lot. Also, I did not do ab-ripper and saved that as my warmup for the next workout. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 42

 Day 42 was the UML workout again. This one was tough to get through. I received my covid booster the day before so I was hit with a slight fever and chills yesterday afternoon. I had debated skipping the workout altogether, but I managed to push through. I did have to modify everything and could not hit all the rep counts for some of the moves, but I pushed play and did it.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 41

 Day 41 was another rest/stretch day. I opted to do x-stretch from p90x, which I really like. It is one of my favorite flexibility workouts because it really hits all of the areas (neck, shoulders, and hamstrings) that I (and most people) tend to be very tight and stiff in. There are definitely a couple of moves I have to modify or skip (mostly shoulder stand into plow and bow). And, unlike yoga-x, it never feels like it is going on too long.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 40

 Day 40 was the sculpt 5-6 workout again. I did not have a ton of energy to do this workout because my mom ended up having to go back into the hospital the day before. But, I still managed to get it in, and it was a nice outlet to take my mind off of things. I was able to max out at 11 reps on a couple more exercises, so those will be bumped up next time.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 39

 Day 39 was the sweat 5-6 workout again (along with ab-ripper 200). Nothing really new to report about the workout. It went about the same as it has. I do think I am getting faster, not as fast as Tracy and Tony (who are the ones who do little to no modification), but I can keep up with Larry (who mostly does the modified/slower versions of the move).  I was able to get through all 200 reps of ab ripper, with a couple of pauses. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 38

 Day 38 was the optional rest or stretch day, so I opted to do T25 stretch again. I again modified it to focus more on hamstring and groin stretches (basically swapping out the downward dog calf stretches for hurdler stretches and then adding dual straight leg stretches and butterfly stretches. As I have said in the last few posts for the stretching workouts I can tell my flexibility is getting better, but it is still a work in progress.

Blu-Ray Review: Superman the Complete Animated Series

 

Superman, the animated series aired in the mid-1990s. It was created and produced by the same team that created the very popular Batman: The Animated Series, and then expanded out into Batman Beyond and Justice League (after this series aired). It aired for three seasons with a total of 54 episodes and starred Tim Daily as the voice of Superman, Dana Delaney as the voice of Lois Lane, and Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor. It also sported a very strong supporting cast including Malcolm McDowell, Joely Fisher, Lisa Edelstein, and Brad Garrett (among others). And, Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Arleen Sorkin reprised their roles as Batman, Joker, and Harley Quinn from the Batman series.

The show was, by design, a lot different both in terms of feel and look from the Batman series. The look of the series was inspired both by the Jack Kirby comics and the Max Fleischer animated series from the 1960s. The creators made the choice to have a vulnerable version of Superman that could be hurt, even by things that did not hurt him in other incarnations of the character. This put him on more of a level playing field with the villains. While some episodes referred back to prior episodes and there were some two and even three-part episodes during the run of the series, the episodes were mostly stand-alone so that you did not necessarily have to remember what was going on in a first season episode to get what was going on during a third season episode. Not that it is a big issue when you can watch every episode back to back.

As most hardcore fans are aware, this set was released on DVD years ago. This is the first time it has been on Blu-Ray. The big upgrade you get from the DVD set is that this one does not have the double-sided discs that the DVD set had. In the DVD set, each season had three discs. The first disc for each season was normal, but for some reason discs, 2 and 3 of each season were double-sided, which of course leads to the possibility of discs getting scratched up. Thankfully, this set corrects that. The 54 episodes are spread out over six discs. They did not break the discs up by seasons at all, just had them numbered 1-54. The one downside to the Blu-Ray set is that while most of the bonus material carried over from the DVD set, not all of the commentary tracks were put on the Blu-Ray set. On the DVD and the Blu-Ray, there are commentary tracks for selected episodes. However, there are a few commentary tracks that were included on the DVD set that are not on the Blu-Ray set. So, if you are a fan of the bonus features you may want to hold on to your DVD set. Otherwise, all the making-of and behind-the-scenes features that were included in the DVD set did carry over.

As far as the A/V quality goes, it was cleaned up, but I would not say the transfer was as quality as some older movies have gotten. The WB intro just before the episodes start did not get scaled up so when each episode starts it looks like it will be in standard definition, but from the opening credits on, you can definitely tell the video has been upgraded. 

Overall, the show is very good. It is definitely not just a "kids show" and at times does get very dark (especially toward the end). The series ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Not so much a cliffhanger in terms of character danger, but would have taken the show in somewhat of a new direction had the series not been canceled. If you are a fan of Superman or specifically this series, it is definitely worth picking up.

Workout Update: Popwer-90 Master's Series Day 37

 Day 37 was the sculpt 5-6 workout again. This was actually one of my best workouts of the master's series workouts. I was able to hit the 11 rep max on four different exercises, one of which already had the weight increase from the last workout because I hit 11 reps last time. I will still be glad to be finished with the Power-90 lifting workouts since, as I have said before, I am not a huge fan of total body workouts. I prefer to split which body parts I am doing resistance workouts on because I personally feel I get a better overall workout. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 36

 Day 36 was the cardio intervals workout and ab-ripper 200. Cardio intervals is a difficult workout. It could easily be a replacement for one of the other cardio workouts in P90x. It does get a bit easier over the course of time, especially if you do it a couple times a week. The schedule I am following just has it once a week in the second 4-week phase, so it continues to be challenging. Ab ripper 200 went about the same as it has been. I can get through all 200 moves pretty much without stopping or pausing now, but I do have to modify some of the moves. 

Book Review: Siege: T**** Under Fire

 

Siege is the follow up to Michael Wolff's first book about the t**** administration, Fire and Fury, which chronicled the first year of t****'s "presidency". This book is based on interviews with (and has direct quotes from) people in his inner circle (mostly Steve Bannon) about events that occurred during the second year of the administration up to the release of the Mueller Report.

Since Wolff is not a journalist, he does not really feel the need to stick to the journalistic norms of presenting the facts and not interjecting his personal opinion into things. Wolff makes it clear that he thinks t****p is batshit crazy and deeply stupid, and that most of the people around him feel that way too. And, he has no qualms about putting gossip in the book (such as that t***p allegedly said that Nikki Hailey gave him a blowjob) that no mainstream media outlet or traditional journalist would touch with a ten-foot pole.  He does give what he claims are exact quotes from his sources, although most (aside from Bannon) are unnamed. It does seem that Wolff got a lot more information from people than others who wrote books about t***p during its time in office because it is not just a rehash of news stories with a few details filled in that some of the other books out there give you. 

The book is what I would call an intermediate length, about 315 pages, and a fairly quick read. If you are a fast reader and have a lot of time to read it, then you can easily finish it in a day or two. If you are someone, who like me, tends to read for a bit before bed, then it can be finished in about 10-15 days (again depending on how fast you read and/or how much time you devote to reading each night). T***p cult members and Q nutjobs (which are basically a circle on a Venn Diagram) will hate it and call it fake news, but anyone with a brain who saw t***p for what it was, will probably enjoy it immensely.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 35

 Day 35 was the UML (upper-middle-lower) workout again. Overall, I like the workout. It is relatively short and it has some unique moves that you do not see in p90x. Pretty much every move can be modified to your current skill level, and some of them are very challenging, especially some of the "middle"/core exercises.

DVD Review: Cosmos: Possible Worlds

 

"Possible Worlds" is a great end to the Cosmos trilogy of documentaries which started with the original series, hosted by Carl Sagan in 1980, then brought back by Seth McFarlane (the creator of Family Guy) and Sagan's widow, Ann Druyan, and hosted by Niel DeGrasse Tyson. This is a follow-up (really a season two) to the rebooted series "Cosmos: A Spacetime Oddesy" which aired on Fox in 2014. This series aired in 2020, first on The National Geographic Channel, and then on Fox. The release got delayed when Tyson was hit with a bunch of sexual harassment allegations on the heels of the "me too" movement. 

The series kept the same style and tone as the first season, using animations to tell most of the story in the particular episode. Each episode had its own theme/topic, and then various scientists from throughout history would be highlighted or spotlighted in the episodes. The topics were very wide-ranging, from evolution to the Cassini spacecraft that was crashed into Saturn, to climate change. This time, there was not a climate change "specific" episode, it was discussed within the larger topic of human-caused extinction events (or things we have done that have threatened life on Earth). It also touched on the possibility of life on other planets, how humans may one day travel to other solar systems, and the like. 

One thing I like is that in this season, the cosmic calendar was explained a lot better than it was in the first season. I still think in episode 1 they could have done a bit better giving the entire scale. Meaning the entire year is about 14.5 billion years, one month is about 1.2 billion years, 1 week is about 300 million years, 1 day is about 40 million years, 1 hour is about 2 million years, and 1 second is about 440 years. Then repeat that at least once an episode. If you watch every episode and pay attention, the entire scale is given, but not all at one time. I know when season 1 aired people were confused when Tyson would say that something happened on September 15th at 10 PM, or something like that, that he literally meant that an event occurred on September 15th instead of it meaning that it happened about 120 million years ago.

If you want to get the series on DVD, it has only been released internationally. I can only find it as a region 4 (Australia) release. It definitely has not been released in the US, and it does not look like it was released in the UK either. So, if you want the DVD, you will have to hunt for it a bit (I got a copy on eBay for a decent price, and it does look like it is available on Amazon from time to time), and probably pay a bit more because of the fact that it has to be sent from Australia or New Zealand. And, you need a region-free DVD or Blu-Ray player to watch it. There are no extras on the DVD, just the episodes spread across three discs, and there are no captions. 

Overall, the series is very good. While in the very politically charged environment we live in, people will probably see the show as having a political agenda, but it certainly does not. It merely presents scientific facts as we know them today, and makes clear that those facts may change as we learn more. Also, while the science discussed is heavily slanted toward astronomy and physics, it also touches on the other sciences like chemistry, biology, geology, and the like, and explains how they are all interconnected. Plus, there are a couple of very nice tributes/nods to Carl Sagan and his life. It is definitely worth watching even for people with a casual interest in science, and for someone who is a fan of astronomy and/or physics, I would call it a must-watch. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 34

 Day 34 was sculpt 5-6. This workout went really well. I was able to hit 11 reps on a few moves (so the weight will go up for the next workout) and I generally felt stronger during this one than I have the past couple of times I did the workout. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 33

 Day 33 was cardio 5-6 and ab-ripper 200. This workout went very well. I am getting to the point where I can get through the workout without modifying any moves (almost). I still do have to go a bit slower than the people in the video, but I am getting better. Ab-ripper 200 is getting easier for me, although it is not easy. I am definitely glad that I stuck with it (even though I generally hate ab routines) so when I do get to p90x in a few weeks, I can keep up better with the ab-ripper x routine.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 32

 Day 32 was the modified T25 stretch workout again. I can tell that my flexibility is continuing to improve, slowly but surely. My balance is still shaky on the moves where you cradle your leg and then do the cross-legged one-legged squat move. Those are really the two hardest moves for me to do. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 31

 Day 31 was the first sculpt 5-6 workout after the recovery week. It was nice to be back to lifting weights and finding that I had not lost any strength with the week off. I managed to hit either the same rep count as I was hitting the last workout, or go up a couple of reps for some exercises. I still would say that I do not like this workout better than any of the P90X resistance workouts, but, if you are looking for a decent total-body workout, it is a good option.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 30

 Day 30 was the cardio intervals and ab-ripper 200. Even though the cardio intervals workout is a bit longer, I mostly like it as a cardio workout. It is easily adaptable to your fitness level and Tony encourages modification as you need it. I was able to do all 200 reps in ab-ripper pausing a couple of times, but that was it. Overall, a good workout.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 29

 Day 29 was the upper-middle-lower workout again. The second time through was a bit easier than the first time I did the workout. Some of the pushup moves are challenging but nothing horrible difficult. The workout does flow very well and does not seem "too long" at all. 

DVD Review: Designated Survivor The Complete Series

 

Designated Survivor was a show about a HUD Secretary named Tom Kirkman, played by Kiefer Sutherland in his first major role since leaving Jack Bauer behind and deciding not to continue returning to 24. He is named the Designated Survivor (the one cabinet member that does not attend the State of the Union) and becomes President when a terrorist attack wipes out the entire government (almost) on an attack on the Capitol during the State of the Union address. It aired for two seasons on ABC before it was canceled and picked up by Netflix for a third and ultimately, final season.

The first season of the show was great, intertwining two storylines. The first was trying to figure out who was behind the attack on the Capitol. The second storyline involved Kirkman figuring out how to be President, and trying to rebuild the government, and figuring out how to run the country with the majority of the government gone. The two storylines largely remained parallel to each other, only intersecting at certain times. Maggie Q, arguably the second lead of the series, played FBI agent Hannah Wells, who was the lead agent trying to figure out the conspiracy. The White House Staff included Adan Canto (playing the Chief of Staff Aaron Shore), Italia Ricci (playing Advisor Emily Rhodes), LaMonica Garret, (who played lead Secret Service Agent Mike Ritter), and Kal Penn (who played Press Secretary Seth Wright). Penn was also a consultant on the show and provided knowledge of his time working in the White House during the Obama Administration.  The rest of the cast was rounded out by character actors including Natascha McElhone as the first lady, McKenna Grace and Tanner Buchanan as Kirkman's son and daughter, Malik Yoba as FBI Deputy Director Jason Atwood, Reed Diamond as the FBI's version of the head of Internal Affairs, and Virginia Madsen as Congresswoman Virginal Hookstraten, who was the Republican Designated Survivor.

Season two jumped ahead in time one year and focused more on Kirkman trying to govern. The conspiracy from season one was wrapped up very early into season two (which I think was a mistake) and the show tried to shoehorn another conspiracy into the show that I do not think the fans were nearly as invested in. There was some cast turnover in season two (mainly additions to the cast). Paul Costanzo was brought in to play Lyor Boone, a political strategist, Zoe McLellan was added to play White House Counsel Kendra Daynes, and Breckin Meyer was added to play Tom's Brother, Trey.  Michael J. Fox also had a recurring role toward the end of the season, and Kiefer's fellow 24 alumn Kim Raver had a recurring role throughout the season. 

The third season involved another time jump. The focus of this season was the campaign and Kirkman trying to get re-elected. He is also dealing with the fallout of one of the major storylines from season two. There was a lot of cast turnover in this season both with characters leaving and the additions of Anthony Edwards (in his first major role since ER) as Chief of Staff Mars Harper and Julie White as Lorraine Zimmer, the Campaign Manager for Kirkman's election campaign. They also came up with yet another major conspiracy which somewhat bordered on the ridiculous, and was in some ways a bit prophetic given the covid outbreak. And, they definitely made good use of the ability to swear on Netflix as there were a lot of f-bombs dropped. 

For those who get the complete series DVD set, there are 15 discs overall. 6 for seasons one and two and 3 for season three. The packaging is horrible. Instead of giving each disc its own holder, you have to stack discs on top of each other, and they definitely come loose during shipping.  So, you may end up with some scratched discs so you definitely want to play them before the return window closes from wherever you buy them. As some may know, season one got a US DVD release and season two got an international DVD release. Season three had bootleg releases, but no official release until this one. Season one had all the same extras (behind-the-scenes material) as the US release. In the version of season two I had, only had an interview with Paul Constanzo which was not included in this set, but there were some other behind-the-scenes features that were not included on the set I already owned. For season three, there are no extras, just the episodes. There are English and French captions for each season, and the DVD menus are in English and French. 

Overall, I would say the series was good. Season 1 was outstanding, but the show went down in quality each successive season. I think the show would have been much better served to drag out the season one conspiracy longer (at least until the end of season two) instead of revealing it all by the end of season one. I think that made the show suffer from what a lot of shows that were tied up in a mystery faced when the mystery is solved. Namely, where to go from there. The writers definitely used events from the current political climate in the series (although there was no direct mention of t***p, you can tell that the show was in part a commentary on the state of the country under his "leadership"). I think the show was mostly well-written, and always well-acted. While it could not maintain season one's quality throughout, I think it is still worth checking out.