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. 

Monday, June 3, 2024

Book Review: Star Wars: Most Wanted

 


Most Wanted, published in 2018, is one of the main storylines adjacent young-adult Star Wars novels. The book was written by Rae Carson and is a prequel to Solo: A Star Wars Story. The story is set on Corellia, which is basically a run-down, backwater planet whose main industry is building ships. The story centers around Han and Qi’ra becoming friends. They are working for Lady Proxima (the wormlike creature at the beginning of the Solo movie), basically doing the dirty work for her crime syndicate. It hints at not only the characters they would become in the Solo movie but who Han would become in the original trilogy, at least when it comes to the Falcon, and why he allowed it to look like such a piece of junk. In the book, he is actually a more honorable character than we see during much of A New Hope. The book explains why he ended up as the selfish smuggler that we first meet in A New Hope, and this book (and the Solo movie) sets up the possibility that something involving Qi’ra will turn him into the guy who is only out for a big payday.

The hardcover version of the book is a little under 400 pages, so it is long enough that it could have been included as one of the main-storyline adult novels.  The story in the book is very enjoyable and good enough that it does not feel like a typical young-adult novel. I am one who did not necessarily need a background for Han to be fleshed out. I am personally more interested in the events between Return of The Jedi and The Force Awakens being explained. So, while I do not think either this book, the Solo movie, or the sequels to either that may end up being released down the line are all that necessary, That said, I think Carson tells an enjoyable, sometimes emotional, sometimes funny story, that provides a good supporting story for the characters. So, it is absolutely worth the time to read.

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