Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 7

Day 7 was a rest day in X3. In Yoga, you have the option to do one or more of three different 10-minute workouts, an AM workout, an ab/core workout, and a PM workout. The AM workout is a short version of a flow workout, doing a couple of sun salutations and some breath work. The PM workout is meant to be done just before bed to help you relax and basically focuses on breathing and flexibility. I did not do the abs workout, but I plan to do it on Friday after the 20-minute flow workout.

Book Review: Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service

 

Zero Fail is a book detailing major events in the history of the Secret Service, focusing mainly on the years from 1961 to 2020. The book lays out the good, the bad, and the ugly (sometimes very ugly) of the Secret Service over the years, and how the protection of the Presidents changed over the years, mostly in response to the JFK assassination and the attempted assassination of Ford, Regan, and Presidential candidate George Wallace. And, the book sheds a lot of light (and provides a lot of behind-the-scenes detail) on events like "Hookergate" and the intrusions into the White House complex by fence jumpers that occurred in more recent years.

Leonnig, a Washington Post reporter, does briefly discuss the origins of the Secret Service but the book mainly focuses on events like the JFK assassination, the attempted assassination of Regan, dealing with JFK and Bill Clinton's womanizing, how Nixon wanted to use agents to spy on his rivals, and how it basically became a frat with agents boozing and fucking anything that moved during their later years, and how the culture within the Secret Service caused embarrassment (at the very least) or put the lives to their protectees in danger. Some of the more interesting details involved how the different Presidents and First Ladies reacted to the agents, and as a result who the agents liked (Regan and the Bushes) and who they disliked or hated (Hillary Clinton).

The book is just under 400 pages but is actually a very fast read. If you read fairly quickly, you can easily get through the book in a week or less. The chapters are all relatively short (20 pages or less) so it is something that is easy to read just before bed and still finish a chapter before you get too tired. It is a book that is part expose, part history lesson, and part political reporting. If you are a fan of history and/or politics it is definitely worth checking out. 

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 6

Day 6 in Yoga was the 25-minute relax workout, this time led by Faith, who was the only cast member in this workout. The workout is much less intense than the flow workouts, focusing mostly on breathing and stretching, although you do a couple of half sun salutations. Those are as intense as the workout gets. This one does have a bit more of the woo-woo stuff that turns some people off to yoga, but she does not go overboard with it. 

Then the X3 workout, is my least favorite workout in all of X3, The Warrior. It is basically an MMX-inspired cardio workout that is extremely hard. Even the modified version is very hard. It is the workout that is going to challenge the vast majority of people the most of any of the X3 workouts. I am sure as I get fitter it will not bother me as much, but I remember when I first did X3 years ago, when I was in better shape, I was not a huge fan of the workout then either. But, I got it done.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 5

The yoga workout for Day 5 is a shorter version of the flow workout. Just 20 minutes instead of 30, but has pretty much all of the same moves that were in the longer flow workout in a different order and not doing as many repetitions of the sun salutations.

In X3, the workout was CVX, which is basically a cardio workout that has you holding light weights for all but one of the moves. I used a 3lb dumbell for all of the moves and I was still very tired by the end. Tony was using a 12.5 lb dumbell and the modifier was using a basketball. You basically do a few moves with little to no rest, then you get a short break, enough to towel  off and get a sip of water, do a few more moves then get another break, etc.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House M.D., The Complete Collection

 

This is a region-free import of the complete series of House M.D. on blu-ray. As most fans of the show are aware (at least those who are also fans of physical media), in the United States, the first five seasons of House were released on DVD and the final three seasons were released on blu-ray. But, the older seasons of the show were never released on blu-ray and there was never a complete US series release on blu-ray. To my knowledge, this is the easiest and most cost-effective way to get the entire series on blu-ray. While it is an import from Japan, the discs do play in region 1 (US region) blu-ray players and it does have captions in English on the episodes, but not on the special features.

House was a hit medical drama that aired from 2004 through 2012 starring Hugh Laurie as Gregory House, a brilliant, acerbic diagnostician at a fictional hospital in New Jersey who was addicted to Vicodin, hated seeing patients, insulted them (and his team of doctors) mercilessly when he had to interact with them, and thought everyone is a lying idiot. His team (in the early seasons) included doctors Cameron (played by Jennifer Morrison), Chase (played by Jesse Spencer), and Foreman (played by Omar Epps). In Later seasons Olivia Wilde, Peter Jacobson, Kal Penn, Odette Annabele, and Charline Yi would also play members of House's diagnostics team. House's only friend is an oncologist named James Wilson (played by Robert Sean Leonard), and the hospital administrator, Lisa Cuddy, who is always butting heads with House is played by Lisa Edelstein. 

The show was mostly a case-of-the-week procedural drama in which the team was presented with a patient with some weird medical issue that no one else could diagnose. Intertwined within the weekly cases were serial arcs that sometimes involved House pissing off the wrong person, the lives of one or more of the team members, or the like. The first seven seasons of the show were great. Season 8 is not as good because a pot point from season seven never truly gets resolved in a satisfying way. That said, the series has a nearly perfect ending.

The blu ray set has 39 discs, all of which are in huge keep cases. They are, unfortunately, the kinds of cases that require two discs to be stacked on top of each other, and the discs can on some tabs come loose and fall off and on others be damn near impossible to get off. The blu-ray set does have all of the same special features, including interviews, commentary tracks, gag reels, deleted scenes, etc., that were released on the US DVD and blu-ray releases. The A/V transfer of the early seasons is okay, but not great. The final three seasons which got original blu-ray releases have a much better A/V quality. The blu-ray menus are very bare bones and are hard to navigate at first, and the titles of the episodes are not listed on the menus. The only change to the episodes themselves is that the theme that plays over the opening credits is different than the one that played in the US (it is the European version).

Overall, the show is great. It is probably the best medical drama after ER (which is the medical drama by which I compare all others) that I have seen. It was well-written and very well-acted. It could be suspenseful, sad, and funny, all within the same episode. The show also got a lot of great guest and recurring stars throughout its run, some of whom were very well-known (e.g., James Earl Jones, Candice Bergen, and Sela Ward), and some for whom the show was one of their big breaks (e.g., Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Amanda Seyfried, Michael B. Jordan, Elle Fanning, Jeremy Renner, etc.). If you are a fan of the show, this is definitely worth the pickup.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 4

Day 4 of the three-week yoga was a 30-minute flow workout. Basically, putting together all of the concepts from the prior workouts but having you move more, including doing the sun salutations so you are getting a bit more of a workout.

The day 4 X3 workout is The Challenge. In that workout, you set a goal for the number of push-ups and pull-ups that you want to do throughout the entire workout. The actual workout has you doing a pull-up move, followed by a push-up move, then preparing the same pull-up and push-up move again, before giving you a one-minute break. Then you do a different pull-up move followed by a different push-up move, do two rounds, and get another break. So, basically, you do four blocks, with each block having two rounds. It is an extremely tough workout, especially if you are not great at pull-ups and/or push-ups. So, I recommend setting your numbers for each low (I did 10 and 10) for the first workout and then increase or decrease reps once you know how that goes. 

4k-UHD Review- Batman Begins

 

Batman Begins was the 2005 reboot of the live-action Batman franchise which had mostly been killed off by the hot garbage of a movie that was Batman and Robin. This movie was co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan who, at the time, was best known for movies like Memento and Insomnia. It starred Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon (who was a Sergent at the time), and Morgan Freeman as Lucious Fox. It included a supporting cast of Katie Holmes, Liam Neeson, Rutger Hauer, Tom Wilkinson, and two who would become Nolan regulars, Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy.

The movie was another origin story for the character of Batman, but unlike other adaptations in which the murder of Bruce's parents is shown and then there is a time jump to him being established as Batman, this movie shows the process of Bruce becoming Batman, and what he had to do to get to that point, including training with the League of Shadows, a society of assassins who practice ninjutsu and want to restore law and order to the world. Then the movie shows Bruce returning to Gotham to take on the criminal underworld (mainly Tom Wilkinson's Carmine Falcone) that has taken over the city.

The 4k-UHD set is a three-disc set. There is the UHD disc that just has the movie, a regular blu-ray disc that also just has the movie on it, and then a second blu-ray disc that has all of the special features. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is very good, near reference quality, and definitely an upgrade from the original 1080p release. There are well over two hours worth of bonus content on the third disc, including several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, which detail nearly every part of the filmmaking process from the creation of the new Batmobile to the stunt training. The first six-minute opening sequence of the second movie in the trilogy, The Dark Knight is also included, as is the theatrical trailer for Batman Begins.

Overall, the movie is great. It is much better than the Joel Schumacher-helmed movies, and very much on par quality-wise with, but much different than Tim Burton's movies. Nolan grounds the movie in reality as much as he can, making Gotham look like a real city and using as few CGI effects as he possibly can. Bale, as much as he can be a jackass in real-life at times and seems to take himself way too seriously, does a great job both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman. He absolutely threw himself into the role (as he does for all his movies), and was really the first actor that I think nailed both roles in live-action. Katie Holmes was very good as Rachel Dawes, Bruce's childhood friend turned assistant District Attorney who was one of the few officials in Gotham who was not corrupt, and Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were great in their respective roles. So, if you are a fan of Batman it is a must-see movie, and the 4k disc is definitely worth the upgrade. 

Book Review: Executive Power: (Mitch Rapp Series Book 6 Chronological Order; Book 4 Publication Order)

 

This is a continuation of the spy thriller/political thriller series of novels by the late Vince Flynn set around the character of Mitch Rapp. It is set down the line from the events of the prior novel, Separation of Power, in which Rapp was outed as a CIA asset by President Hayes after the mission in Iraq. Now, Mitch is basically saddled with an office job working for Irene Kennedy at the CIA, but he still manages to get into the thick of things (much to the displeasure of his boss, Irene Kennedy, and his wife, Anna). 

This novel has a couple of different storylines going on. The beginning of the book centers around an operation in the Philippines involving a corrupt general and a family of Americans being held hostage by terrorists. The main storyline in the novel is a plot that involves a Saudi Arabian prince who is working with a Palestinian assassin (who is also working with Ben Friedman, the fictional head of the Mossad, who has been a major character in the prior novels) in a scheme to get the UN to set up a Palestinian state.

In this novel, which is the fourth in the series if you read the books in order of publication, Flynn again blends real life with his fictional world. This was the first novel that was written after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and while Flynn does refer to the attacks, and does a play on names of one of the real 9/11 hijackers in naming one of his fictional terrorists, he does not extensively work the events of 9/11 into the book. Flynn also gives a nod to his Twin Cities roots by naming a character after a local reporter/talk show host. 

Overall, the book is another good action thriller. While I do not think the overall story is as good as the stories in Transfer of Power, The Third Option, and Separation of Power, it has a similar tone to all of those books there were just too many stretches in the book in which Rapp was absent or on the sidelines. That said, it is still worth reading.

DVD/TV Series Review: Animal Kingdom: Season 6

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior seasons, but no major giveaways from season six+++

The sixth season of Animal Kingdom aired during the summer of 2022, and consisted of 13 episodes. This season is all about reveals. It picks up sometime down the line from the discovery of Catherine's body by the police at the end of Season 5. The cops in Oceanside officially consider it a cold case, assuming either Baz or Smurf killed her, and with both of them being dead, were not looking too heavily into the case. That is until a new cop takes up the case and starts looking at Pope. 

The show jumps back and forth between the 1990s, where young Smurf, played by Lelia George, is completely fucking up the teenaged versions of Pope (played by Kevin Csolak, who mirrors Shawn Hatsoy's performance perfectly), Baz (played by Darren Mann), and Julia (played by Jasper Polish), and the present in which J is acting as the de-facto leader of the family. 

In the past, we see the events that led J to hate Smurf and the entire family, and in the present, it is revealed exactly how much he hates them. We also see the events that led to Pope being arrested for bank robbery, which was the crime he had just been released for in the show's first season. I won't say too much about how things play out, but the show does provide some closure, but some things are not tied up in nice bows. For example, we never get a concrete answer as to whether Smurf actually had an incestual relationship with any of the kids, but it is strongly hinted that she did at least with Pope. Of course, that is not something that they ever could have filmed in the flashbacks since the kids were supposed to be in their teens, but Lelia George played Smurf just as creepy and skeevy as Ellen Barkin did.

For those who get the DVD, it is mostly a MOD set with the 13 episodes spread across three discs. It does have one bonus feature, which is an 8-minute-long series retrospective that includes interviews with members of the cast and crew and has some behind-the-scenes footage from the final season. 

Overall, the season is good. I think the material in the flashbacks is a bit better than the material in the present day, but Shawn Hatsoy (who also directs another episode this season) carries every scene he is in. Lelia George really nails young Smurf and does a great job portraying an absolutely horrible character that ruined all of her kids' lives.  I cannot say that everyone will love how the series ends, but if you have been a fan of the show up to this point, it is definitely worth seeing how it plays out. 

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 3

Day 3 ended up being a two-yoga workout day. In the morning, the three-week yoga retreat workout was a balance-focused workout. The hardest pose in that workout was tree, although there were a couple of good variations of it for people whose balance is not very good. Then, in the evening, I did X3 yoga, which is a very scaled-back combination of yoga routines in X1 and X2, yet still very challenging. And, thankfully, is only a half hour as opposed to the 90-minute slog that is X1 yoga and the hour-long routine in X2. Ted, who is one of the cast members in the three-week yoga program is a cast member in the X3 yoga video, as is Traci Morrow, who has been in nearly all of Tony Horton's major programs. She was probably in her late 40s when X3 yoga was filmed and in great shape, especially for having six kids. And, she laughs at all of Tony's corny jokes, so there is that.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 2

Day 2 in Yoga was a flexibility-focused stretch workout, focusing on hamstring, hip, and spine mobility. If you have done any of the P90x versions of yoga you will recognize a lot of the moves, but they are done at a much slower pace in this program and with more variations when alternate modifications are available. 

The X3 workout was Agility-X, a cardio workout incorporating some plyometrics. Specifically, jumping or hopping laterally, from side to side, as well as forward and back. You have to put a couple pieces of tape on the floor parallel to each other with three marks at the ends of each piece and in the middle of each piece. Those act as targets for some of the exercises in which you will be trying to land on a particular target. It starts off pretty easy, but gets very tough by the end. So, even if you are in good shape and do not have to modify any of the moves, you will be tired when you get done with it.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 1

Day 1 of this new round of doubles workouts consisted of Day 1 in the three-week yoga retreat, which was a core-focused 30-minute yoga routine, and then the total synergistics workout in X3. The yoga workout has three people, two doing unmodified versions of the workout and one person (this time Ted, who was a cast member in both the X2 and X3 yoga routines) doing modified moves. The routine is challenging but not so hard that it is impossible for a beginner to do. The workout was actually made for those who are either total beginners at yoga or who have done some yoga in the past, but got away from it and are out of practice, which perfectly describes me. 

For those who have not done X3 before, it is basically a combination of P90X and P90X2, using many of the same exercises as in those workouts, but condensed into a half-hour long routine (actually about 32 minutes with the cool-down). Total synergistics is hard. It has some exercises that use weights, some chin-up exercises, and some cardio moves and yoga moves (sometimes doing cardio and yoga moves with weights). A few exercises have you standing on one foot and lifting weights, which will probably be challenging for most people. For the most part, I used light weights, although there were a couple of different squat exercises in which I used a 20 or 30-pound dumbbell. There is a modifier doing only slightly less intense versions of each move, but honestly you may have to modify the modified moves if you are just starting out.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Days 55 and 56

For the last two days of this doubles workout I just did the two Lift-4 recovery workouts each day. I was a bit burned out on Pilates and just wanted to do short workouts each day. When I get a chance later this week I will give my impressions of each of the two programs. The next doubles program I am going to do is Beachbody's three-week yoga retreat and P90X3. After the three-week yoga retreat, I will figure out if I want to keep doing that or switch to one of the other flexibility-based programs as the second workout since X3 will last 12 weeks.   

Book Review: Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good (Ascendancy Trilogy Volume II)

 

This is the second in the backstory trilogy of the character of Thrawn in the new Star Wars canon material. Specifically, during the time when he was an officer in the Chiss Ascendancy before he joined the Empire. This is set a short time after the events of the first novel, Chaos Rising, and in the Star Wars timeline occurs between Episodes II and II, during the Clone Wars. The basic plot of the book is that the Chiss Ascendancy (which consists of multiple planets in the Unknown Regions) is being attacked by enemies who seek to divide the nine ruling families and start a civil war within the Chiss Ascendancy. Thrawn's ship is one of two that are mopping up the remnants of the Nikardun military (from the first book) only to uncover the larger plot. 

There is definitely less action in this book than in the first and a lot more political maneuvering. Thrawn is also not in the book as much, and the memories chapters really have nothing to do with him, focusing on some of the ancillary characters. There is another big battle at the end in which Thrawn uses his enhanced strategic and observation skills, which is what most people who are reading the books are likely to be interested in. So, while I do not think the book is bad, it is not as good as the first and definitely feels like the middle part of the story. 

Book Review: The Empire Strikes Back Novelization

 

This is the original novelization of The Empire Strikes Back, which was published around the time of the movie's release in 1980. The book was re-released in the 1990s, including a hardcover version, when Lucas was working on the special editions of the original trilogy and getting ready to finish writing and start filming the prequel trilogy. This has an introduction by Lucas in which he talks about the movie and some of the issues that surrounded getting it made after the success of Star Wars. 

This is a pretty straightforward novelization of the movie. It does not change the story at all but does have some dialogue changes here and there. Usually, what ended up in the movie is better than what was in the book, so the dialogue was changed for the better in the movie screenplay. The book is very short, much shorty than the novelizations of the prequel and sequel trilogy movies, and can easily be finished in a day or two. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 8

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season of House, but no major giveaways from the final season+++

House's eighth and final season aired in the 2011-2012 TV season and consisted of the show's final 22 episodes. The show starts out almost a year after House drove his car into Cuddy's living room. He ultimately returned to New Jersey, was arrested, and has been in jail for three months (after representing himself at trial). Foreman is now the director of the hospital (with Lisa Edelstein leaving the show because of a contract dispute after season 7), Wilson hates his guts, and Chase and Taub have moved on (seemingly). The first episode, much like the season House was in the psychiatric hospital, is set in the last few days of House's stint in jail (we learn that Foreman got him early release on the condition that he can only go to the hospital or his apartment), assuming he makes it through the last week without getting killed or having his sentence extended. 

While in jail he meets Dr. Jessica Adams (played by Odette Annable, probably best known for her role in Cloverfield up to that point) who works in the prison infirmary, and who would become a new member of the team along with the character of Dr. Chi Park (played by Charline Yi) who was pawned off on House after she punched her attending. Of course, House gets out of jail, and once he does, the show continues with the case of the week format as well as having a couple of different serial arcs, including a fake marriage to a Ukranian model (played by Karolina Wydra) and a major storyline that ultimately wraps up the series. 

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, there are fewer extras for this release than in prior season releases. There are no commentary tracks or deleted scenes, but there are three making-of/behind-the-scenes featurettes, one about the episode that Hugh Laurie directed, one that serves as a behind-the-scenes/making-of the final episode and has footage of the series wrap party, and one that is basically a series retrospective. Between the three of them, you get over an hour of bonus content. 

Ultimately, season 8 is good, with some great moments, but feels incomplete because there is no real resolution to the House-Cuddy storyline. Basically, the show was brought back for an eighth season on a smaller budget, and the producers asked Lisa Edelstein to take a cut in pay, and she refused. So, Cuddy was written out and she did not appear, even in the final episode in which many of the former cast members (including Kal Penn, Sela Ward, Anne Dudek, Olivia Wilde, Amber Tamblyn, Andre Braugher, and Jennifer Morrison) returned for cameos. That said, I do think that the ending to the series was perfect for House. It gave the viewers closure but still left some things open to imagination. Even with the reduced budget, the show managed to get some good guest and recurring stars (some of whom were not huge stars at that point) including Jaleel White, Michael Masse, Wentworth Miller, Yaya DaCosta, Jeffrey Wright, David Anders, Rena Sofer, and Michael B. Jordan. So, while I do not think it is as good as the prior seasons, it is still very good, and for me, it was better after a second viewing.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 54

Day 54 was Abs and Core in Pilates and it was the last regular day of Lift 4, which was another full-body HIIT workout. This one has three blocks of three exercises, that you again do for three rounds. The first block does the 1-minute, 45 seconds, 30 seconds rotation, in block two you do the three exercises for 45 seconds, 30 seconds, and 15 seconds, respectively, and then in the last block, you do the exercises for 30 seconds and 15 seconds (the jumping lunges, so 15 seconds per leg. Then you do three burnout rounds in which you do all nine exercises, back to back, for 30 seconds each. Then finish with core and stretching. The entire cast, with one exception who was on vacation, does the workout, and Joel joins in and does about 95% of the workout. He does stop and walk around a bit, but for the most part, he is doing the entire thing. It is, again, a very tough workout (even Joel is winded at the end), even if you modify some of the moves, but it goes by quickly (it lasts just over 30 minutes. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 53

Day 53 was the Flow 1 workout in Pilates and the shoulders and arms circuit workout in Lift-4. Again, you do all of the same exercises from last week but do them in a different order, and there is almost no rest in between the sets. It is another quad set workout in which you do three rounds of four exercises, ten reps each alternating one shoulder, one biceps, one shoulder, and one triceps, and then you do three rounds of burnout in which you do one shoulder exercise, one biceps exercise, and one triceps exercise, each for 30 seconds. Then, you finish with core and stretching. It is again a very tough workout, especially if you can up your weight. If you are a P90x alumn, be aware that, even though this workout contains many of the same moves (or very similar moves) as P90X and P90X3 contain, you have a lot less rest between sets, so you will probably have to use much lighter weights for some of the exercises as you used in P90x because you usually get 30-45 seconds between the exercises in P90x, where in this one you get 15 seconds, max (and sometimes not even that much time).

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 52

Day 52 was flow 2 in Pilates and the two recovery workouts in Lift-4. Nothing new to report about any of the workouts, as my flexibility level has stayed constant over the course of the past few weeks. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 51

Day 51 was flow 2 in Pilates and Legs 50/50 in Lift-4. The leg workout was two quad sets, doing three rounds of each set, then three rounds of HIIT. For the HIIT portion, you do just three exercises, each for 30 seconds, with pretty much no rest between them. So, in ways it is a little better than the graduated HIIT in which you do one move for 1:00, one move for :45, one move for :30, etc. But, you legs are so tired from the lifting, that it does not matter all that much. 

Book Review: Peril

 

This is a book that is co-written by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. It is partly a follow-up to Woodward's two other books chronicling the 2017-2021 presidential administration, but mostly a book about the 2020 election, detailing Joe Biden's decision to run, his resurrection during the Democratic primary, how he dealt with the transition, and how he dealt with the first 100 days of his administration, with a large focus on the dealing needed to get the rescue plan passed. The book shifts between detailing what was going on with the Biden camp and with the former administration, and provides a lot of good insight into the shitstorm that t***p and his band of dipshits caused both before and after the January 6th riot, and just how pissed off everyone, including the military and the spineless Republicans like McCarthy and McConnell, were at t***p in private while still either refusing to truly condemn him (like Bitch McConnell) or licking his balls at Mara Largo (like Qevin McCarthy and Lindsay Graham). It really underscores how little respect anyone had for t***p, including some of the people in his inner circle, and that everyone, even the ball lickers, were telling t***p that he lost the election. 

For me, the best part of the book is the last third in which the authors really dispense with talking about t***p (mostly) and focuses on what had to be done to get the 1.9 trillion dollar rescue plan passed, particularly how to get Joe Manchin to go along with it since the Democrats could not afford to lose any votes in the 50/50 senate, as well as making decisions like whether to honor the deal between the former administration and the Taliban to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan. It was interesting to get insight into how Biden learned from his time as Vice President, and the mistakes that the Obama administration made in trying to deal with Republicans who were never going to deal in good faith with him, and Biden basically telling Republicans something along the lines of "I will listen to you, but this is what we are going to do whether you join us or not". This is definitely a must-read if you are into politics and/or current events.

Book Review: Star Wars

 

This is the novelization of the original Star Wars (before it was subtitled A New Hope) based on George Lucas' original screenplay. The story is almost exactly what you see in the movie, however, some of the dialogue is changed from what ended up on the screen (sometimes for the worse, meaning what ended up in the finished movie was better). Therefore, the story still has some of the issues that the original movie had, namely the story being a bit clunky and some of the character dialogue being pretty stupid (prompting the famous line by Harrison Ford to Lucas, "you can write this shit but you can't say it").

The book was re-released as a hardcover novel just before the special editions of the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy were released, and there is a forward written by George Lucas that discusses the original story and gives some hints about where he intended to go with the prequels. The book is short (under 300 pages) and is a quick read. Technically, the novels are not canon, just the movies, but that really is not a big issue in this case. While I would not say the book is a must-read, it is an interesting one, basically because it allows you to see the very early version of the story as compared to how it has been tweaked over the years. It definitely seems that Lucas' claim that he had the entire story mapped out from the beginning was complete bullshit and that he added major elements to the story after the original movie was a hit and he knew he could continue on with it.  

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 50

Day 50 was Flow 1 in Pilates and Chest and Back in Lift 4. In the chest and back workout, you do the same moves as in the week 7 version of the workout, but you do them in a different order. This is another circuit workout doing two blocks of three rounds of four exercises (two chest exercises followed by two back exercises). When you finish the two blocks, then there are three rounds of burnout exercises which are the same as last week--regular push-ups, back extensions, and wide push-ups--then you finish with three rounds of core/ab exercises. It is interesting that the slight variation in the order of the moves makes as much difference as it does, but I really found myself getting tired earlier in the workout. So, it was a good way to start week 8. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 49

Day 49 was a total rest day for Lift-4, but I did the other 20-minute Pilates workout, Express Pilates. I actually like this one better than the other 20-minute workout. I think it flows better (at least for beginners) while still being challenging. Plus, getting it over with in 20 minutes is nice.   

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 48

Day 48 was a rest day in Pilates and the recovery workouts in Lift-4. This week I did not really feel any improvement in my flexibility but did not feel I regressed either. So really there is nothing major to say one way or the other about this one.

Textbook Review: Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics 6th Edition

 

This is a good engineering textbook in terms of explaining the theory. In that aspect, it is clear and concise and provides many good examples in the chapter text to guide you in doing the homework problems. All of the problems sets are long and the problems get more challenging as you get into the later problems, and generally, each problem sets up the next problem meaning the technique that you have to use to solve one problem gives you a guide for how to approach the next one, but the next one will have some twist or wrinkle that makes it a bit harder. And, some of the problems are actually two-part problems in which the solution to the first problem is then used to solve the next problem. The one drawback is that the book (at least the sixth edition) does not provide any answers to problems, even the odd-numbered problems, which makes checking your work very difficult. One of the big plusses that the book provides that I wish more math and engineering textbooks did is a summary at the end of the sections, just before the problem sets, that list out the equations from that section and tells you the kinds of problems each of the equations is used for. So, while the book is not perfect, it is definitely one of the better textbooks that I had to use while getting my electrical engineering degree. 

Blu-Ray/TV-Series Review: Charmed - The Complete Series

 

This is the blu-ray box set of the original Charmed series that aired on the WB network from 1998 to 2006 and starred Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, Shannen Doherty (for the first three seasons), Rose McGowan (for the final four seasons), and in the final season, Kaley Cuoco (after she wrapped on the sitcom 8-Simple Rules and before starring on The Big Bang Theory). The show was set around three sisters in their twenties who also discover that they are witches who have to protect the world (at least San Fransico) from demons, werewolves, and all manner of supernatural beings. It was basically a prime-time soap opera that had a mix of action, drama, and campy comedy. At the beginning of the series, it was mostly a monster-of-the-week kind of show, much like the first season of Buffy was (and given that the two shows aired at the same time, there are a lot of guest stars on Charmed who also appeared on Buffy, and Charmed even did an episode that was a total spoof/homage to Buffy in the later seasons). Then, it began to incorporate larger story arcs that ran throughout the season to become a mix of a serial and procedural show. 

The biggest controversy involving the show was the purported feud between Doherty and Milano. Pretty much everyone involved acknowledged that there was tension between the two. There are rumors that Milano went to the showrunners and basically said "her or me" which Milano has always denied, but it is interesting that Doherty directed the final episode of season three and was gone by season four when Milano became one of the show's producers. In season four, Rose McGowan was brought into the show to essentially replace Doherty's character as a new (conveniently conceived) third sister to keep the "power of three" concept alive. Since the show has gone off the air, Milano and McGowan have feuded with each other on social media, and Combs has made comments that hint at the fact that Milano was more of a problem than either Doherty (who was and still is Combs' best friend) and McGowan (who has become batshit crazy as she has gotten older, if she was not always so) was behind-the-scenes. While the women of the show were the focus, the show had some great male stars as well, including Brian Krause, who played Leo, Piper's love interest throughout the series, Julian McMahon, who played Cole, a demon who became a love interest for Phoebe, and Dorian Gregory, who played inspector Daryl Morris, who was a cop whose cases the girls helped solve and/or cover-up the supernatural elements of the crimes. The show really did the character of Morris dirty, reducing his role so much over the course of time that he was barely in the show in seasons six and seven, and when he was, he rarely had anything productive (with some exceptions) to add. And, because of budget cuts in season 8, his character was written out of the show completely and only mentioned one time. And, while the character of Prue was mentioned after Doherty left the show, she was never brought back for a cameo appearance like other characters who left the series were from time to time.

It should be noted that this set is just a repackaging of the individual season blu-ray releases. They are the same season sets that you can buy individually, just packed in a decorative outer box. So, if you already purchased in the individual season blu-ray releases, you are not getting anything different by getting this set. Some of the descriptions make it seem like there are a bunch of bonus features that were newly included for this release, and that is not the case. Seasons 1-7 have no bonus content at all, and season 8 carries over the bonus content from the season 8 DVD release and one new interview (from 2021) with producer/director James Conway. There are no new cast/crew interviews, commentary tracks, etc., that were made for this set.

Overall, the show is good, but not as good as other shows in its genre like Buffy and Supernatural. It was definitely a more campy show than either of those two shows and never had the kind of special effects budgets that those shows had. It definitely had elements (like the various states of undress that Milano and McGowan were often in, including an entire episode in which Milano was topless with the exception of pasties over her nipples) that would probably not fly these days. And, it could definitely get a bit soap opera-like with the "I need a man" storylines for Paige and Phoebe. But, if you do not take it too seriously and just take it as a fun show that could be a bit silly but had good themes of family relationships and togetherness and a ridiculously good-looking cast, it is enjoyable. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 47

For Day 47 I did abs and core in Pilates and then the last day of the first sculpt week in Lift-4 was a full-body HIIT workout. In that workout, there are three blocks of three rounds of three exercises. Some of them are leg-focuses, like squat jacks, and some are more upper-body focused like in-and-out plyo pushups. Once you are done with the three blocks, you do a burnout round doing all nine moves for thirty seconds with no rest between the moves, and then you finish with core. So, it is a very tough workout and pretty much everyone in the cast was modifying by the end of it. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed - Season 8

 

++++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season, but no major spoilers from season 8++++

The eighth season of Charmed aired during the 2005-2006 TV season. The showrunners actually did not think that the show would be picked up for an eighth season, which is why the season seven finale was written as if it was a series finale, with the girls "dying" and taking up new identities in order to live normal lives. The show was brought back for what would be a final season on a shoestring budget which required a lot of changes to be made to the show. The biggest among those changes is that many of the recurring characters that have appeared throughout the series were written out, and Brian Krause was downgraded from a series regular to a recurring character. And, the show did not get as many of the big guest stars as they have had in years past, or as many musical acts. In fact, the only popular musical act this season was an appearance by Liz Phair. The big addition to the cast was the character of Billie, a witch who basically teaches herself magic (and ninja skills), played by Kaley Cuoco, who had just wrapped up the series 8-Simple Rules. 

This season had a much better serial arc and mostly dispensed with the monster-of-the-week format. The first third of the series was devoted to undoing the events of the season seven finale and figuring out how to have the girls go back to living their lives and not have to use two sets of actresses, as well as coming up with a way to sideline Leo for much of the rest of the season. The second third of the show sets up what would be the final battle, of course throwing some twists in the plotline, and the final third of the season wrapped up the series.

For those who get the blu-ray, like the prior seasons, this one has German and English language options. This is also the first of the blu-ray sets to have any bonus material, and there is a lot. There are commentary tracks on three episodes, and then over three hours of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes that really span the history of the show, not just season 8. Most of them are ported over from the DVD releases and contain interviews with the cast, showrunners, and even fans of the show from around 2006 and 2007. There is one interview with one of the producer/directors of the show from 2021, which was created for the blu-ray release, but that is the only new bonus feature. There are no interviews with the cast members that were created specifically for the blu-ray release.

Overall, the season is good. I think it is better, on the whole, than season seven was, with a better "final battle" storyline, better bad guys, and a bit less campy. Unfortunately, because of the budget cuts, Dorian Gregory did not return (the character of Daryl was done dirty by the show for years, however), and Brian Krause was really only in the show for the first third of the season. And, Shannen Doherty was not brought back or did not come back for the finale. I have seen interviews in which she indicated that a pitch was made to bring her back, but the way in which they would do it made no sense. In the commentary track on the final episode, the showrunners only said that she could not be brought back for a number of reasons. Those reasons may have been money, they may have been because of her feud with Alyssa Milano, or a combination of each. But, the show was able to include some of the former stars here and there throughout the season including Finola Hughes, Scott Jaeck, Wes Ramsey, Drew Fuller, and Jennifer Rhodes. There was also another flashback episode in which we got to see Cole and some of Paige's other boyfriends. 

Ultimately, I think the show did a good job wrapping up the series. I do think the budget cuts hurt the show not only because of the characters that we did not get to see but because the special effects were closer to what they were when the show started in 1998 than what the technology would allow to be done in 2005 and 2006 had the show's budget been larger. And, they ditched the opening theme song that played over the opening credits from seasons 1-7, to the instrumental that played during the closing credits. So, while the season was not perfect, I think fans of the series will be satisfied with how it ended.  

Supplement Review: Centrum Adult Multivitamin

 

This is a standard multivitamin, made by a reputable manufacturer that gets you the daily recommended dose (or in some cases more) of the major vitamins and minerals. The capsules are easy to swallow, meaning they are not too large or too small and do not leave an aftertaste in your mouth.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Rebel Files

 

If you are considering this book, keep in mind it is not a novel. It is more like a combination of scrapbook and field guide that details the history of the rebellion against both the Empire and the First Order. It includes communications from characters like Mon Mothma and Bail Organa, news clippings and headlines from the Holonet, which was featured in the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series, and profiles on the various characters. It also has handwritten annotations from characters like Leia and Admiral Ackbar in the margins. 

Because of the format, and the fact that it is under 200 pages, it is a very quick read and can easily be finished in a day or two. My only complaint is that some of the margin notes can be very hard to read, especially if you are at the point in life where you need reading glasses as the text is very small, and because it is supposed to be handwriting, it is not always very legible. Aside from that, however, it is worth checking out but not something most people are likely to read more than once.

Book Review: Separation of Power: (Mitch Rapp Series Book 5 Chronological Order; Book 3 Publication Order)

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior novel, The Third Option, but does not contain major giveaways from this book+++

Separation of Power is set a few weeks after the events of The Third Option, with Mitch having saved Anna from the hitmen hired by Cameron to take him out, Stanfield having died of cancer, and Irene Kenndy set to be nominated for director of the CIA. Mitch wants out of the spy life, but before he retires he wants to figure out who hired Cameron to kill him, which means a trip to Italy to track down Donatella, the former model turned spy who took Cameron out. Further complicating things is Mitch's plan to propose to Anna in Italy after he handles some business, that he of course cannot tell her about. That storyline heavily involves Senator Clark, the Arizona Republican (who is basically the main antagonist of the book) who is using the Democratic Congressman Rudin (who hates Kennedy and the CIA in general) to derail Kennedy's nomination without getting his own hands dirty.

The other major plotline of the novel is that the US finds out that Iraq is weeks away from developing three functional nuclear weapons hidden in a bunker under a hospital, requiring President Hayes, the CIA, and the Military to make a decision about how to prevent Saddam Hussein from finishing them.  As you would expect, both storylines intertwine toward the end of the book.

Overall, the book is a very good mix of spy action and political intrigue. The tone is very similar to the novels Transfer of Power and The Third Option, which were the first two books featuring Rapp that Vince Flynn wrote back in the late 1990s. The political storyline has a bit of a "House of Cards" feel to it, and the stuff directly involving Rapp has a very "24" feel to it. It also seems that members of George W. Bush's administration were reading this as a non-fiction book because much of the justification they used for invading Iraq a year or so after this was published seemed like it was taken directly from the pages of the book. That said, it is a good work of spy-thriller fiction with a story that flows very well and keeps readers engaged throughout. The book is just over 350 pages but reads pretty quickly, so if you are a relatively fast reader it can easily be finished in a few days. So, if you like spy novels and liked the books Transfer of Power and The Third Option (and American Assassin and Kill Shot if you are reading the books in chronological order), this is definitely worth reading.

Book Review: My 9/11-Through inflight Eyes

 

This short book (just under 100 pages) was written about the author's experience on 9/11/01 and how the terrorist attacks affected her in the days, months, and years after the attacks. The author was a member of the ground staff for United Airlines operating out of Newark New Jersey on 9/11. She coordinated the flight staff and helped the flight attendants to get checked in and ready for their flights. As a result, she was one of the last people to see the crew of United 93 before the flight took off.

The book is largely a collection of what look to be journal entries written over the course of about 8-9 years in which the author writes about her experiences. She does not focus much on 9/11 itself, although she does talk about seeing the flight crew as they checked in, and some of the calls she took from family members as well as discussing the calls that flight attendants made from the plane during the hijacking to report what was going on. Most of the book deals with the aftermath, and the author's struggles with PTSD, depression, and substance abuse, and the effect it had on her ability to work, her family, etc. 

As I said, the book is short and is a very quick read. I would not call it something that is easy to read, but it definitely details and exemplifies the toll that the events of 9/11 had on people who were not on the planes or in the buildings yet were deeply affected nevertheless. I would not say that the book is worth the price of the hardcover or paperback versions, but if you subscribe to audible or kindle unlimited (or something comparable in which the book is available) it is worth reading or listening to.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 46

Day 46 was Flow 2 in Pilates and a shoulders and arms circuit workout in Lift-4. In the circuit workout (again meaning no HIIT cardio) there are three blocks of three rounds of four exercises, alternating between a shoulder exercise, a biceps exercise, and a triceps exercise.  After you do the third block, you do three burnout rounds doing a shoulder exercise (swimmers), a biceps exercise (full curls), and a triceps exercise (triceps push-ups), each for 30 seconds with no rest between the exercise sets. Then you finish off with three rounds of alternating core-focused exercises. It is another very tough workout, and because you are going so fast from set to set, it does not take much weight at all in order to get you to failure. I had to reduce the amount of weight I was using on the last set or two for a few of the exercises, and I definitely felt like I could not do another rep by the time the third round was over for each exercise. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bones: Season 5

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from prior seasons but does not contain any spoilers from season 5+++

The 22-episode fifth season of Bones aired during the 2009/2010 TV season and followed the same format that has made the show successful. That is, primarily being a case-of-the-week procedural crime-drama, but it also includes some larger storylines that play out throughout the season or get carried over from the prior season. In this season, one of the later examples is a continuation of the "gravedigger" storyline with the trial of Heather Taffet (played by Deirdre Lovejoy) and the team having to find concrete evidence to convict her. The season picks up with Booth returning to the FBI, trying to figure out if his feelings for Brennan are real or an after-effect of his brain injury at the end of season four. The show continues the tease of how Booth and Brennan will get together, with the writers doing everything they can to keep them apart. This includes a season finale in which a more significant time jump going into season six is teased. This season also has the milestone 100th episode (which David Boreanez directed) that looks back on the history of the team members and allows for a way to incorporate Eric Millegan into the season. 

The Blu-Ray set is a four-disc set. The show looks and sounds very good in HD. It received a nice (but not spectacular) blu-ray transfer. The 22 episodes and the various bonus features are spread across the four discs. Those include commentary tracks on two episodes, a featurette on the 100th episode, two behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and extended versions of two episodes.

Overall, the series continues to be strong. By this season, it found the formula that works and does not deviate much from that while still making the shows exciting and fresh. This season includes many good guest stars and recurring stars, including Cyndi Lauper, Ryan O'Neal, Emily's sister Zooey Deschanel, who plays Brennan's cousin in an episode, and Billy Gibbons, who again plays Angela's father. The roles of the various interns are also expanded this season, with the show continuing to rotate the characters of Clark, Daisy, Wendell, Arastoo, Colin, and Vincent throughout the season. If you have liked the show (especially from season two forward), you will also like this season.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 45

Day 45 was flow 1 in Pilates and the recovery workouts for Lift-4. I definitely needed the foam rolling workout to work some of the soreness out of my legs today. As far as Pilates goes, I did not feel as flexible this time as I did earlier in the week, but that is the nature of my flexibility level. I take a couple of steps forward, then regress a little, etc. I do think that the Pilates program would have been better to do two weeks of fundamentals, two weeks of flow, and two weeks of burn. The next time I do Lift-4, that is how I am going to set it up. Since I am getting toward the end of Lift-4, I think I am going to do another doubles workout, but this time doing one of the OpenFit yoga programs for the low-intensity, flexibility workout and P90X 3 for the "regular" workout. That will mean one day a week I will be doing yoga twice, and of course, X3 has a Pilates routine too so I will not be dropping that completely. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 44

Day 44 was back to flow 2 in Pilates and was a Legs 50/50 day in Lift-4. In the legs workout, there are three rounds of three exercises, with no rest between the exercise sets, and 30 seconds of rest between the rounds. Then, you do three rounds of HIIT, but this time you alternate three exercises all of which are done for 30 seconds. Again, there is no rest between exercises and just 15 seconds of rest between the rounds. So, the workout moves quickly, and then you finish it off with three rounds of core exercises.  I think this is probably the toughest of the 50/50 workouts in the program, and my legs were definitely spent by the time I was finished. 

DVD/TV Series Review: The Gifted Season 1

 

The Gifted is a series that is set in the X-Men universe, but in a timeline (or just at a time) in which the X-Men have disappeared and those with mutant powers are shunned by society and are required to be registered (much like the plot of the original X-Men movies), and those who are not being hunted by an anti-mutant Sentinal Services agency (which is obviously based on the concept of the Nazi SS). The first season consisted of 13 episodes that aired during the 2017-2018 TV season and was set around the Strucker family, played by Stephen Moyer (from True Blood) who plays Reed Strucker, Angel alumn Amy Acker who plays Caitlin Strucker, and their children Lauren (played by Natalie Alyn Lind) and Andy (played by Percy Hynes White). Reed is a district attorney who prosecutes mutant cases and is forced to go on the run when Lauren and Andy both manifest mutant abilities. They are eventually helped (reluctantly) by a group of mutants who avoid Sentinal Services, and the lead agent Jace Turner (played by Burn Notice's Colby Bell) and Garrett Dallahunt's character Roderick Campbell, who wants to weaponize the Strucker Children's powers. The rest of the main cast includes Jamie Chung, Blair Redford, Emma Dumont, and Sean Teale. 

The DVD set is just a standard MOD set that just has the 13 episodes spread across three discs. There are no extras or bonus features. So, unless you really prefer physical media over streaming, you don't get anything extra by getting the DVDs.

Overall, the show is very good. It definitely has ties to the X-Men movies, some subtle and some not. Of course, Bryan Singer who directed many of the movies is a producer on the show and directed the pilot, so that is not surprising. It is not entirely clear, however, if this is set in a different universe from the movies where events played out differently, or is set after the bulk of the movies but before the events of the movie Logan. In a way that is good because it means that it can tell its own story while still having some tie-ins with the overall franchise. 

The acting and writing are both very good and the cast has a good mix of recognizable, established actors and relative newcomers. The show has a serial arc that plays out throughout the season, so you cannot really just jump in partway and get everything that is going on. The season ends on a pretty major cliffhanger that leaves the fate of several characters up in the air going into season two. So, if you are a fan of the X-Men movies, then this is definitely worth checking out.

 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 43

Day 43 was flow 1 in Pilates and the first workout of the two "sculpt" weeks of Lift-4. That means switching up the workout order a bit, so the first workout was a chest and back circuit workout. It follows the same three rounds of four exercises, doing 10 reps of each exercise. In each round you do a chest exercise, then a back exercise, then another chest exercise, and a final back exercise, with no rest between the sets and 30 seconds of rest between rounds. After you do the three rounds, then you have three rounds of burnout in which you do regular push-ups, lying back extensions, and then wide push-ups, back-to-back without stopping, with again 30 seconds between each round. Then you finish with three rounds of alternating two core exercises.

This is a tough workout, number one because your body will be used to the chest-triceps, and back-biceps workouts from the first six weeks, so even though it seems like a small tweak, it is not. Plus, Joel is again encouraging people to up their weights, especially for the first round, from the prior week. I would have liked them to do a different workout sheet for the last two weeks because it is harder to keep track of what of things when the chest and triceps and the back and biceps exercises are all bunched together. When I do my workout wrap-up at the end I will explain in more detail. But, overall, it was a good workout.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 42

 Day 42 was a rest day from the Lift-4 workouts and then the hips, buns, and thighs workout in Pilates. I actually felt that one went a little better than it did the last time. I had a bit more range of motion in the exercises and in some of the moves in which I had to pause or skip a couple of reps, I could do more of. So, again, I am making progress.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 41

For Day 41 I took a rest day from Pilates and did the two Lift-4 recovery workouts. There is nothing really new to say about the recovery workouts. They went the same as they have the past few weeks.

Product Review: Smart RGB Floor Lamp

 

This is a smart lamp that has multiple color and brightness options. It is a tall floor lamp (it stands about six feet tall, give or take) and can be controlled using the provided remote control, via the magic home app, or using a voice assistant like Amazon Alexa. In the app, you can set it up to turn on and off at certain times, including using a sunrise and sunset feature which allows it to light up or dim over the course of time (up to an hour). So, for example, you can set it to turn on at 7AM on the lowest brightness setting and get brighter over the course of five minutes, twenty minutes, etc. It does not have a replaceable bulb. The top is a transparent material and the LED lights shine through it. 

It is a bit of a pain to assemble. Everything screws together and according to the instructions you start at the top and then screw the base on last. The base, however, is the hardest part to get on if you do not have help because the top sections can come apart as you are screwing the base onto the pole, and it is hard to get the base to line up correctly. Once it is assembled, it is pretty much ready to go. If you have used the magic home light bulbs before, which required you to go from the magic home app to the phone settings and back, this is much easier to set up. It is recognized right away in the app, and you can tell it what Wi-Fi network to connect to from the magic home app without having to go into your phone settings (at least when you are using an iPhone). It would be nice if they made a table lamp version of this, but if you are in the market for a smart lamp, this is a good option.

Book Review: Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendency - Chaos Rising

 

Chaos Rising is the first book in a new trilogy of novels (called the Ascendency Trilogy) based on the character of Thrawn, who is probably the most popular character outside of the legacy characters like Luke, Han, and Leia with people who have been reading the Star Wars novels for years. Thrawn was introduced back in the 1990s in a now non-canon or Legends trilogy of novels (widely called the Thrawn Trilogy) written by the same author Timothy Zahn. After Disney's takeover of Lucasfilm, the character of Thrawn was brought into the canon through a new trilogy of books and in the animated series, Rebels.

This book is set at the time of The Clone Wars but the story is mostly constrained to the unknown regions beyond the Outer Rim, where the Chiss Ascendancy rules on the Chiss homeworld. This book jumps in time between the present, in which Thrawn is a commander of a Chiss ship, and his time as a cadet, and establishes his role as a tactical and strategical genius (when it comes to battle and war tactics). He is investigating a threat to the Ascendancy by a race called the Nikardun. The novel basically serves as a backstory and origin story for Thrawn as well as the Chiss as a race. One of the interesting aspects of the story is that the Chiss travel through hyperspace (what they call the Chaos) using child navigators who are force sensitive (what the Chiss call the Third Sight) to get their ships safely through hyperspace. Much like Jedi younglings, the navigators, called sky-walkers, are taken from their families when they are young and act as navigators being raised by caretakers, until they are teenagers when they lose the Third Sight, at which point they are adopted into one of the ruling families of The Ascendency. 

The book has a good blend of action and suspense along with building the characters who will be the main characters in the trilogy. The author does a good job portraying Thrawn as a version of who he becomes when he is a Grand Admiral in the Empire, with traits that he shows later on, but not yet the fully developed character. We also get to see the lead-up to Thrawn's meeting with Anakin Skywalker in the story that was told in the second novel of the first canon Thrawn Trilogy, Thrawn: Alliances in which Thrawn helps Anakin find Padme when she is abducted. Basically, we get to see what Thrawn was doing when Anakin's ship showed up as he was looking for Padme.

Overall, the book tells a good story and does a good job of fleshing out Thrawn's backstory and establishing the new characters. While I am still partial to the original, Legends, Thrawn trilogy, I think this is the first of the new Thrawn novels that really showed that version of the character. It is definitely one of the must-read canon novels.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: I, Tonya

 

I, Tonya is a 2017 movie that is a blend of drama and dark comedy that is a mockumentary-style biography of former Olympic figure skater, Tonya Harding's (played by Margot Robbie as well as McKenna Grace and Maizie Smith playing her as a child) career. The focus of the movie is the events that surrounded the lead-up to the 1994 Winter Olympics in which Harding's main competition, Nancy Kerrigan (played by Caitlin Carver) was attacked in a plan that was hatched by her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly (played by Sebastian Stan), and executed ineptly by his friend, Shawn Eckhart (played by Paul Walter Hauser). The movie is basically from the point of view of Harding, who has always maintained that she had nothing to do with the plan (but the movie definitely leaves that up to the viewer to decide) and that she was a victim in the whole thing too. Allison Janney plays (wonderfully) Harding's batshit crazy and abusive mother, and pretty much steals every scene she is in. While the events of 1993-1994 were the main focus of the movie, the movie is semi-biographical and details Harding's life from the time she was a kid up to the point at which she retired from skating, and the movie does jump around in time a bit as the story is told.

For those who get the blu-ray, the A/V quality is good, about what you would expect of a non-special-effects-laden or CGI-heavy movie. For extras, there is a commentary track on the movie by the director, almost 20 minutes of deleted scenes, trailers, and 15 minutes of behind-the-scenes material that features clips of the real people involved being interviewed intertwined with cast and crew interviews. What was included was good, but you definitely do not get a ton of bonus features.

The movie is very good and captures the craziness of Harding's life and the absurdity of the attack on Kerrigan perfectly. Janney, Robbie, and Stan are all great with Janney basically owning the movie any time she is on screen. Even if you were not around for the real-life events the movie is based on, it is still a very entertaining movie that is worth watching, but it is definitely better if you know some of the backstory.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 40

For Day 40, I did the abs and core workout in Pilates and the Legs workout in Lift-4, which was another pure HIIT workout, meaning three rounds of four exercises that last 1 minute, 45 seconds, 30 seconds, and 15 seconds. Then, you do two burnout rounds in which you do all of the exercises for 30 seconds with no rest between the moves and then finish with three rounds of side planks for the core exercises. It was tough, but thankfully was very short. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 7

 

+++Warning this contains spoilers from the end of season six and a minor spoiler of the season seven plotline, but has no major season seven giveaways+++

The seventh season of House aired during the 2011/2012 television season. It would end up being the second to last season of the show and, in my opinion, the last very good to great season of the show. This season is all about the House/Cuddy romantic relationship that was teased (yet again) at the end of season six when Cuddy showed up to stop House from taking drugs. The big serial story arc that runs throughout the season is their relationship, its function, and dysfunction, whether House can be as good of a doctor when he is happy, and whether he will end up sabotaging the relationship. Then, the show also does the case-of-the-week procedural storylines that have been the backbone of the show for the first six seasons. The series undergoes more cast turnover with Olivia Wilde taking a leave of absence from the show to go shoot movies, which allowed the show to bring in former soap opera actress Amber Tamblyn for a multi-episode arc. And of course, Jennifer Morrison had completely left the show after season six. Wilde makes a very short appearance in the season premiere and then returns about 3/4 of the way into the season in what is one of the season's best episodes (and for me, one of the top five episodes of the entire series). The season ends with a relatively big moment that will have a major impact on season 8.

For those who get the blu-ray set, the 23 episodes are spread across five discs. The show looks good, but not great in the HD format. Of course, it does not have a ton of special effects or CGI (although what is in the show does look good), and while the A/V quality is a step up from the DVDs, it is not huge. The extras include commentary tracks on three episodes, features on the characters of Thirteen, Cuddy, and Martha Masters (Tamblyn's character), and featurettes on the episodes Bombshells and The Dig, all of which are carried over from the DVD release. There are also some BD-live and U-Control extras that are specific to the blu-ray set.

Overall, the season is very good. It has a good blend of action, drama, and comedy, the latter mostly at Taub's expense. The storylines are well-written and the medical cases continue to be entertaining and interesting, and the acting is still top-notch. The show also continues to get a good slate of guest stars which this season include Candice Bergen, Cynthia Watros, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Jack Coleman, Jennifer Gray, Donal Louge, and Matthew Lillard. If you have liked the show up to this point, this season is definitely worth watching. In some ways, it is really the payoff to seasons 1-6 much more than season eight is. I definitely recommend it. 

Product Review: PILOT FriXion Gel Ink Refills for Erasable Pens, Fine Point, Black/Blue/Red Inks, 3-Pack

 

This is a pack of refill ink for the Pilot Frixion erasable gel pens, one red, one blue, and one black. The pens write great, and it is very helpful that they erase, but the ink runs out much quicker than the ink in a "regular" gel pen, especially if you are using them to do something like take notes for school in which you are writing with them multiple times per day, almost every day of the week. The refills run out quickly too, but they are much less expensive than getting a new package of pens all the time (which I was doing when I ran out of ink initially). 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Below Her Mouth

 

Below Her Mouth is an erotic drama from 2016 about a woman named Jasmine (played by Natalie Krill) who cheats on her fiance with another woman named Dallas (played by Erika Linder) while her fiance (played by Sebastian Pigott) is away on business. Jasmine and Dallas originally meet at a lesbian bar when Jasmine agrees to go out with her friend Claire, to be her wing-woman for the night. Dallas and Jasmine make out, much to Jasmine's initial shock and horror and then discover that Dallas (who is a roofer) is working on the house next door to Jasmine, and the two begin a sexual relationship. Of course, the drama comes when Jasmine's fiance returns from his trip.

The movie is basically about a torrid affair and a woman figuring out she is bisexual. If it were made with a male-female affair it would probably not have gotten as much notoriety as it did, but because it was about a woman cheating on her male fiance with another woman, it got more buzz than an indie film would normally get. That said, I do think that, even though the plot is fairly cookie-cutter, the acting is good and the movie does not drag on. The movie looks fine on blu-ray, but because it is low-budget and does not have any special effects, the transfer is not outstanding and would be just fine on DVD. And, there are no extras, just the movie itself.

Certainly, the movie is not going to appeal to everyone. There is a lot of nudity and sex, and of course, because it involves lesbians, some people who would otherwise not care about the nudity and sex will be turned off by that aspect of it. If that does not bother you, it is an okay movie that will help kill an hour and a half, but it is not a must-see movie by any means.