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. 

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Book Review: Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire

 



The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire is a 2024 cannon novel written by Chris Kempshall and published in 2024. It is written from the point of view of a historian with the Resistance after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, chronicling the rise, fall, revival, and second defeat of Emperor Palpatine. The book is basically a summary of all the canon material from The Phantom Menace through The Rise of Skywalker. It is written more like a history book than a novel, and highlights major events and individuals in the Empire, the Rebel Alliance, the First Order, and the Resistance. It even includes footnotes to different sources. 

The hardcover version of the book is 375 pages long (excluding the index). If you have watched the various movies, live-action and animated series, and read some of the novels, you will know most of the information included in this book. Even so, there is some new material that has not been detailed, including more detail on some of the ancillary characters who didn't get much screen time in the movies. Ultimately, while I would not call this one a must-read, if you are more than just a casual Star Wars fan, it is worth your time to read. 

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