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, February 25, 2026

CD/Music Review: Anastacia: Freak of Nature

 


Freak of Nature, released in 2001, is the second studio album by Anastacia. Like her first album, this one blends sounds from different genres, blending funk, soul, pop, and R&B. The album consists of 13 tracks totaling just over 50 minutes. Most of the tracks are upbeat dance numbers, but on this album, she also includes more ballads. It was a good follow-up to her debut album, but it was not the same jump in quality that, for example, Adele had from her debut album, 19, to her second album, 21. 

The CD liner contains pictures, track listings (with production notes but no lyrics), and a thank-you message at the end. Ultimately, I would describe the album as good, but not great. I think part of the issue that Anastacia faced was that she came along at a time when the pop charts were dominated by people in their early 20s (Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera), and she (despite looking much younger than her age) was in her mid-30s so putting out songs trying to compete with the "pop princesses" just did not work. I think the album would have been a bigger success if she had stuck with material geared toward the age group beyond the clubbing scene. That said, it is still worth checking out if you liked her first album.

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