Welcome

Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.

I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.  

I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.  As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree. 

Sunday, July 4, 2021

Streaming Review: The Man in the High Castle Season 4

Season four of The Man in the High Castle, was overall, aside from the series finale, very good. And, even much of the series finale was good, but it ended very weirdly and felt much more like a season finale that was setting up a fifth season that would take the show in a new direction. And, it left many of the major character arcs totally open-ended. I am not sure if the showrunners knew before they filmed the season that the fourth season would be the last for the show. If they did, then they ended it horribly. If they did not, then you do have to give the show somewhat of a pass for feeling incomplete. 

As was the case with the other seasons, this season had multiple story arcs going at the same time. In the Pacific states, yet another resistance faction, this one called the Black Communist Revolution (BCR) went up against the Pons. And, of course, the Nazis were still scheming to take over everything, but there were definitely splits in the ranks. In my opinion, the best story arc was that of Helen Smith and the kids and a mix of being awakened and close-minded.  There was again, a lot of cast turnover, with some major characters being written out of the show (or just forgotten) and a handful of new characters (including Rachel Nichols and Frances Turner). 

Overall, even with the less than stellar series finale, the season was very good, with a lot of action and plot twists thrown in. The ending of the series definitely did not tie up everything in a nice little bow. A lot was left to the audience's imagination. That can, at times, be a good thing, but I think more of the main characters deserved a better sendoff than they ultimately got. Still, it is definitely worth watching.


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