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. 

Friday, December 23, 2022

Book Review: Star Wars - Phasma: Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi

 


Phasma is a novel that was written between the movie releases of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi that, while not exactly centered around, is highly focused on, the character of Captain Phasma (played by Gwendolyn Christie in the sequel trilogy movies). The core characters in the novel are Resistance spy Vi Moradi and a stormtrooper who wears red armor named Cardinal, who was one of the troopers who were kidnapped into what would become The First Order after the Battle of Jaaku. Cardinal and Phasma are adversaries in the First Order, and Cardinal wants to get information from Moradi about Phasma to use against Phasma. 

The novel essentially alternates between the present and the past (about a decade prior) which provides the origin story for Phasma. We learn that Phasma grew up in a barren world called Parnassos, in which nomadic clans fought for the scares resources of the planet. We learn how Phasma met General Hux's father, Brendol, and was brought into the remnants of the Empire, and then about her rise through the First Order. The novel is not told from Phasma's perspective. In the present, the novel shifts between Cardinal's interrogation of Vi, and his planning to take down, and ultimate confrontation with, Phasma. 

The novel is very good and provides a good backstory for a character that was vastly underused in the movies. The book also sets up a subsequent novel set shortly after the events of this one. If you are one of the people who only read some, but not all, of the canon Star Wars novels, I do think that this one is worth the read. It is just under 400 pages and is a pretty quick reading book with a story that flows well. I definitely recommend it.

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