Product Review: PB-JIFE! The Ultimate PB knife

 

The PB-Jife is a long, non-serrated knife made for peanut butter or jelly jars (especially the larger jars). It has an end that allows it to scrape the various nooks and crannies of the jars and is long enough that your hand never has to go into the jar as you scrape the bottom. I tried using this on a nearly empty jar of natural peanut butter, which I had gotten everything out with a regular butter knife that I could. Using this, I got another tablespoon and a half of peanut butter out of the jar, enough to cover a rice cake or spread on a piece of bread. So, it definitely works a lot better than a regular butter knife. While, contrary to their rather cheesy but memorable tagline, it may not change your life, if you eat a lot of peanut butter, especially if you get the large jars, this will definitely be useful.

Product Review: AUOON Silicon Clip On Strainer

This is a strainer that you can use on a pot to strain pasta, boiled vegetables, potatoes, or the like. It is made of silicon (mostly) so it is heat resistant. The only non-silicon parts are metal that attaches the clips to the body of the strainer. You can put the strainer on the pot before it heats up or after the food is done (although you have to be much more careful so as to not touch the side of the hot pan). It provides enough room on all but the smallest of pots to add food to the pot after the strainer is on. For something that you put in the water before it comes to a boil (like eggs, potatoes, or the like), you can certainly put the food in the pot first, then clip the strainer on, and then start the burner under the pot. 

I have used this to strain rotini in a medium-sized saucepan and in that situation it worked perfectly. It allowed the water to strain without any of the rotini falling out. The holes of the strainer are big enough that water can get through them quickly, but not so big that food can get through. The only thing that I think could possibly get through the holes is angel-hair pasta, but even that would have to hit one of the holes at just the correct angle. Also, you could run into a problem if you are boiling a bunch of potatoes in a large stockpot. In that situation, I could see potatoes potentially falling through the open side of the pan. But, for boiling and draining a serving or two of pasta, it works great. 

Product Review: The Advanced Calculus 2 Tutor, 14 hour video course

I found the Math Tutor DVD sets when I was in the process of returning to school about a decade ago to get an electrical engineering degree. I had to start over in math, a subject that I was horrible at when I was in college the first time around and was looking for study aids to help me get through the classes. Calculus II is very hard and very involved, especially if you get a very difficult teacher. Jason does a great job at breaking down the problems and walking you through, step-by-step, how to solve them. There is some overlap between what is on this DVD and what is in Jasons Calc I and II tutor. That is mostly the very basic material, however. Also, some of the integration techniques you will need to know if you take a Calculus II class in college is on that DVD set. Different schools will present the "first-year" calculus curriculum in a different order. In my calc I class we got to anti-differentiation/integration at the very end, then in Calc II picked up with applications of integration like area and volume (which is on this set) and then went into techniques of integration (like u-substitution, partial fractions, trig substitution, trig integration, etc), some of which is on this set and some on the previous DVD. So you really want to get both of those to catch everything.

This DVD set is a complement to, not a substitute for going to class and doing homework. For two reasons. First, as Jason states upfront, he does not cover everything you will be exposed to in class. He hits the areas that he feels are the most important. Second, Jason is not picking test and homework problems, and the only way to get an idea of what your instructor is going to focus heavily on is to go. For example, when Jason teaches improper integrals, he takes what I would describe as a less formal approach which will give you the correct answer, but omits some steps that the book (and possibly your teacher) will show. The technical way to do the problems however is the convert the problem to a limit introducing another variable like t and plugging that in as one of the limits of integration. If your teacher is a stickler for the "formal" approach you may get points taken off for omitting that step. An example of something you will spend some time on in class that Jason does not cover here is approximate integration which involves different rules for getting a decimal approximation. In my class, we also spent a chapter on differential equations, getting an introduction to them and how to approach solving some of the more basic types of differential equations.

If you learn all the material on this DVD set well, you will have about 75-85% of what you will need for the final exam. These are great to look over before you start class to get an idea of what you will be doing in class and during the semester if you don't fully understand a concept from the lecture or how the book explains it. They are also great to use as a final review (if you have time) when studying for a final exam. Jason selects problems as examples that range in difficulty level but are usually not as difficult as the hardest problems in the book (usually the even-numbered problems from the end of the problem sets). The examples you get here are most likely the types of problems you will see on a quiz or exam because they generally do not take a lot of time to solve, whereas some of the homework problems you may come across could be the one and only exam problem (if your teacher really wanted to be mean) because it would take the entire time to solve it. Therefore, if your learning style is conducive to learning from taking notes off a DVD presentation, this will be a great investment.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The Chamber of Secrets is the second book in the Harry Potter series of novels written by J.K. Rowling. It was published in 1998. It is set in the kids' second year at Hogwarts. This novel introduces some new characters, including the fan-favorite Dobby the house-elf, and the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Guildory Lockhart. It also expands Ginny Weasley's role as she is now a first-year at Hogwarts. And, of course, the novel moves the Harry vs. Voldemort storyline along, providing more of Voldemort's back story, including some of his early life. The crux of the story is that there is something connected to a Chamber of Secrets, which has been opened after 50 years, attacking students at Hogwarts.  The attacks threaten to close the school, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione try to solve the mystery.

The book is a bit darker than the first novel, but given that it is only the second book in a series intended to mature as the children who would read it aged, it is definitely not as dark as the later books become. Basically, Rowling intended that kids who read the book would be about the same age as the characters as the series went along, so about 11 when reading the first novel and 17-18 by the time they read the final book. So, while kids must be old enough to handle the characters being hurt and understand the concept of death, the subject matter is not too dark for most kids around 10-13 years old. And, of course, the book series is written well enough that an adult can easily enjoy it.

The hardcover version of the book is about 340 pages long, making it slightly longer than the first novel, but not much. It is a fairly quick read for anyone who reads a lot and has good reading comprehension skills. For those who have only seen the movies, this, along with The Sorcerer's Stone, is the book with the least amount of material cut out in the movie adaptations. As the subsequent books got longer, entire plotlines had to be removed. In this novel, while some things were pared down a bit in the movies, the vast majority of the story made it in. 

Overall, the book is very good, and is definitely not "just a kid's book". Like many good coming-of-age stories from the fantasy genre, it uses fantasy elements as metaphors for the experience of growing up and ties the difficulties of growing up into a world of magic. And, it is a story that holds up well even twenty-some years after it was written, and will probably continue to do so years from now. 

DVD Review: Chicago Fire Season 3

Season three of Chicago Fire sees the first major cast turnover in the show, with two series regulars departing. One of the departures is a carryover from the season two cliffhanger with a death that shakes up the firehouse at the outset of the season and continues to have major ramifications throughout the season, including in one of the crossover episodes with Chicago PD. The other departure comes toward the end of the season. I will not say who the characters are or which one died so as not to spoil anything for people who may not have seen the season episodes yet, but if you are a fan of another, now recently concluded series, you will know who one of the characters that left the show is, and why the actor left.

As far as season three goes, it is much in the same vein as the first two seasons with story arcs of various sizes and importance, that play out between emergencies. Some of those this season include Chief Borden, becoming a dad, Casey getting in deep with shady people through his construction gig, Severide's spiraling personal life, and more. Throughout the season, there are a couple of crossover events that include Fire, PD, and Law and Order SVU, including calling back to a case from SVU 10 years prior. Season three again ends on a big cliffhanger, but much different than the one in the season two finale. This season also includes an introduction to the new show, Chicago Med, as well as an episode that is basically a backdoor pilot for Med, which would premiere the next year. This is much the same as what was done to launch Chicago PD. Some of the series regular cast members from Med made at least one appearance on Fire, and of course characters from Chicago PD appeared regularly on Fire in small cameo drop-ins throughout the season. 

For those who get the DVD, the bonus material includes behind-the-scenes featurettes for each episode and the episodes from Chicago PD and Law and Order SVU that were a part of the crossover events. Overall, the show continues to be well-written and well-acted. It is a bit soap-opera-ish because of the fact that there is, for the most part, not a case of the week but accidents that are mainly resolved within a few minutes of screen time. That said, the show does a good job balancing out the soap opera-like elements with the job-related elements to keep the show from getting too cheesy and keeping it interesting. If you were a fan of the first couple of seasons of the show it is definitely worth sticking with for the third season.

Book Review: Too Much and Never Enough

The book can be summed up like this: It. Explains. A. Lot. It is a book that everyone should have read when it was initially released, but not nearly enough did.

Mary Trump is the niece of the 45th and 47th "president" (whom she just refers to as donald, both throughout the book and in interviews). It is a book that really explains a lot about why he is the way he is, shedding light on the fact that his father, Mary's grandfather, was very much like donald (with a bit better business acumen and at least somewhat smarter). It details how Fred t***p basically saw donald as the heir apparent to his real-estate empire, yet constantly had to keep bailing donald out of one bad financial deal after another because, frankly, donald was too damn stupid to run a successful business on his own. And, this, basically, instilled in donald that he would always fail upward as long as he could blame his failures on anyone else and take credit for any success. She details a lot of information about how the family members interact with (or don't interact with) each other and that nearly all the relationships are transactional-based and not based on a loving, tight-knit family unit. 

The book is not long at all, just over a couple of hundred pages, and is a fairly easy read. Mary portrays donald as a guy who is deeply stupid yet thinks he knows more about any subject than anyone else walking the face of the earth and lies like a rug constantly. The impression she gives is that he sometimes knows he is lying and does it on purpose, and sometimes believes what he is actually saying and just spouts off and riffs and does not know what is the truth and what is a lie. This definitely comports to how he was as a Presidential candidate and President, when, if you really listen to what he says, he contradicts himself, sometimes in the same sentence. 

Overall, if you are a trump cult member or Q-nutjob, nothing she says in this book will ever change your mind about your orange messiah. For anyone else who has ever listened to it ramble on nonsensically and wonders what the hell made it the way it is, this provides a lot of insight. It is definitely worth the read.

DVD Review: Chicago PD Season 1

Chicago PD is the first of a few different shows spun off from Chicago Fire, setting up a Chicago-based series of shows from the massive production factory of Dick Wolf (who also produces the many shows of the Law and Order franchise). As fans of Chicago Fire will know, many of the characters, including the series lead Hank Voight, played by Jason Beghe, Jay Halstead, played by Jesse Lee Soffer,  and Antonio Dawson, played by Jon Seda, were introduced in season one of Chicago Fire. There, Voight was an antagonist for the crew of Station 51, so there is definitely some rehabilitating of his character, while still keeping him rough around the edges, being done. Mostly through a story arc that involves Voight helping a teenaged gang member get out and free of the gang. Voight is now leading the intelligence unit at Chicago PD which is kind of a rag-tag group that takes on all kinds of cases. Rounding out the intelligence unit is Erin Lindsay, played by Sophia Bush, Olinski, played by Elias Koteas, and Ruzek, played by Patrick Flueger. The main cast also includes Amy Morton as the gruff desk Seargent Trudy Platt, and beat cops Atwater (played by Laroyce Hawkins) and Burgess (played by Marina Sqerciati). 

The show pretty much follows the case-of-the-week procedural format that shows like Hawaii Five-0, Castle, and the like have followed. Because it premiered at midseason and had a shortened run, there are not a ton of story arcs beyond Voight being pressured to work with Internal Affairs or risk going back to prison. The rest of the season is really spent on very slow character development. It is more character introduction with some hints as to their backstories, but not giving away too much too soon. The show had an official crossover episode with Chicago Fire, that involved a story that was kind of a cross between the Boston Marathon bombing and the Oklahoma City bombing events. It also continued a storyline from Law and Order SVU with some characters from that show appearing on an episode of PD. It was a good use of established shows to help out PD, yet the show was still able to stand on its own with its own characters. 

Unlike the Chicago Fire DVD sets, this one does not have any behind-the-scenes material. The crossover episode with Chicago Fire and the Chicago Fire season one episode that introduced the character of Hank Voight are the only extras included. 

Overall, the series is well-written and acted. It is definitely a gritty police drama and is not something that is extremely family-friendly. It has about as much violence as you would expect for this kind of show, and some sexual content, although very toned-down for network television. And they really don't push the bounds of what they could get away with on network TV with the sex. I would say they do push the bounds of network tv censors with the violence though. If you are a fan of Chicago Fire, and I would say even a fan of the Law and Order franchise, I think this is definitely worth checking out. 

Movie/Blu-Ray Review: Superman The Motion Picture Anthology

Review of the 8 Disc Superman Motion Picture Anthology (8 Disc Set) on Blu-Ray

This is the blu-ray set that has all the original four Christopher Reeve-Margot Kidder (as Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane) led movies, and the 2006 Superman Returns starring Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth in the same roles. It also includes the Richard Donner Cut of Superman II, which shows that movie as Donner, who was the director of Superman I and the original director of Superman II envisioned the movie. The set has eight discs, which include a ton of special features, including behind-the-scenes material from each of the movies as they were filmed, as well as the great  "Look, up in the Sky" documentary that was produced by Bryan Singer, the director of Superman Returns. This is a must-have for any fan of Superman from throughout the years.

Superman: The Movie (1978)

Disc 1 contains the theatrical release of Superman, as it was released in 1978. This was really the movie that launched the modern-day superhero movies and was, for its day, the innovator of practical effects (mainly to make Superman fly and make it look realistic) like The Matrix was the innovator of digital effects about 20 years later. Of course, computer-generated effects did not exist back in 1978, so the kinds of effects that are used now were not available to filmmakers back then. Interestingly, Marlon Brando received top billing, followed by Gene Hackman and then Christopher Reeve. This was, in large part, because Reeve was a total unknown when he was hired, and Brando (and then Hackman) committing to the movie was really what got the movie made. And, Brando was still a huge star, although his career was starting to wind down at that point.

The movie is set in three acts, the first on Krypton (which is where the majority of Brando's scenes are set. It also sets up Superman II, which was initially being filmed at the same time as the first movie, with Zod, Non, and Ursa being exiled to The Phantom Zone. The second act is set in Smallville, with Clark being found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, and then a few minutes of footage with a teenaged Clark. Then, the Fortress of Solitude is the bridge between Smallville and Metropolis (set in NY City) which is the third act, and where Christopher Reeve shows up as the 30-year old Clark/Superman.

The writing, acting, and direction of the film were all very good. I think the fact that the film took itself seriously and did not go the campy route of the 1966 Batman TV series and some of the prior Superman serials, made it work. Reeve did a great job as both Clark and Superman, and Margo Kidder was very good as Lois Lane. I personally think Hackman and Ned Beatty stole all the scenes as Luthor and Otis, the bumbling lackey.

The extras include a commentary track on the movie with the producers Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spangler. They detailed how the film was made and provided a counterpoint to the commentary by Donner and the screenwriter/creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz on the extended cut of the film (on disc two). For those who don't know, Donner was supposed to direct both Superman and Superman II. The two movies were initially being filmed at the same time and Donner completed about 70% of Superman II, but because of budget overruns and timing the decision was made to complete Superman I and hope it was a hit, then finish filming Superman II. Even though Superman I was a massive hit, Donner, depending on whose account you believe,  was either fired after Superman I was released and not allowed to (or refused to) come back to complete Superman II. 

As a result, there is a lot of hard feelings between Donner and the surviving producers. Although they all tried to stay civil when talking about each other on their respective commentary tracks, a lot of the bad blood and hard feelings managed to come through. The rest of the extras include a making-of feature that was made for television back around the time the movie was released, the very cheesy Superman and the Mole Men movie from back in 1951 starring George Reeves, some Looney Tunes parodies of Superman, and original trailers and TV spots.

Superman: The Movie (extended cut):

Disc 2 contains the extended cut of the original movie, adding about 15 minutes worth of additional footage, sometimes extending scenes that were in the movie (such as the post-trial scene on Krypton), or adding new scenes (such as a new fortress of solitude scene between Superman and Jor-El after Superman reveals himself in Metropolis). There is also an additional scene where young Lois sees Clark running alongside the train in Smallville. In that scene, Noel Neill, who played Lois in the 1940s and 1950s, and Kirk Alyn who played Superman in some of the Movie Serials before George Reeves took over the role, played Lois's parents.

The extras on disc two include the commentary track with Richard Donner and his creative consultant/screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz then updated behind-the-scenes and making-of documentaries that were made sometime around 2000 (when the extended cut was put together) which were hosted by Marc McClure (who played Jimmy Olsen).

Overall, the extended cut was very good but did make the film drag on a bit too long, and it is understandable why the scenes that got cut from the movie were cut out. The most interesting extra was the commentary by Donner and Mankiewicz that discussed the process of figuring out how to make the film the way they wanted to and going into some of the behind-the-scenes drama that went on between Donner and Salkind/Spangler. 

Superman II (Theatrical Cut 1980)

Disc three has the theatrical release of Superman II. As die-hard fans of the movies likely know, and is discussed above Richard Donner was originally hired to direct both Superman I and II, but was either fired or essentially refused to return to finish the filming of the second movie after the first movie was released. According to Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spangler, they invited Donner to return and he issued an ultimatum that he wanted total control over the rest of the filming and wanted Pierre Spangler off the movie, and only hired Richard Lester after Donner's ultimatum. Donner basically says he was straight-up fired by telegram, and never invited to be brought back. As a result, Superman II was released with some of the footage that was filmed concurrently with the first movie (basically anything with Gene Hackman in it), and a lot of new material(including the Paris footage, the scene where Lois discovers Clark is Superman, and some of the footage of the villains).

For extras, the disc includes a commentary track on the movie with Salkind and Spangler, where they give their side of the Donner controversy, and why the decisions that were made regarding changes to the story were made. Then, there is nearly an hour-long making-of documentary that was released sometime back in the 1980s. Then there are nine episodes of the 1941 Max Fleischer serial cartoons that were played before movies. The nine episodes are about half of those that were made. There is also a short feature on the animated versions of Superman by the creators of the Batman and Superman animated series that played in the 1990s.

Superman II (Richard Donner Cut 2006)

Disc 4 includes the "Donner Cut" which was the early 2000's version of "The Snyder Cut". From what I remember from back then was some clamoring on internet message boards to have Donner finish his version of the movie as he originally conceived it. Nothing like the social media campaign for The Snyder Cut, but enough that the studio cooperated in a restoration of the film using the footage that had been in storage for years. There are, obviously, a lot of differences between this cut and the theatrical version that was completed by Richard Lester. The film totally changes the beginning and the ending of the movie, and some of what appears in the middle of the film. Some of the footage shot by Lester had to be used to complete the movie (much to Donner's chagrin because he hated the theatrical version), and there were some scenes where screen test footage had to be used because 

Donner was not able to actually film them for the movie before they stopped filming for Superman II while Superman I was being shot. So, you will see both Christopher Reeve and Margo Kidder looking totally different within the same scene as footage from two different screen tests was used. The other big change was re-inserting the footage of Brando that was shot to be used for Superman II but got replaced with Susannah York in the theatrical version to save money. 

Overall, I think this cut of the movie did some things better and some worse. For example, what is probably the second most iconic line from the movie after "kneel before Zod" when Superman asks Zod to step outside is not included in this cut. Also, Hackman's great line from the theatrical version about the dummies not learning how to use a doorknob is not in this version. I do think the reveal to Lois is better in this version, and the NY fight is a bit better. But, the climax in the fortress is a lot better in the theatrical cut. So, I personally think that the best version of Superman II would be a combination of what Lester and Donner envisioned. 

For extras, there is a commentary track from Donner and Mankiewicz, where you can tell there is still a lot of hard feelings from Donner that he was not allowed to finish his version of the movie and keep directing additional movies (which may have meant he would never direct Lethal Weapon, which ultimately became his franchise of movies). There is also a short feature on how this cut of the film was made and restored and the rest of the episodes from the 1941-1942 cartoon series.

Superman III (1983)

Disc 5 contains Superman III is where the franchise dips its toe into the hot-garbage category. The movie was still decent, and in parts very funny, but it definitely shifted from the feel of the first two movies and had some very stupid elements to it (like a killer computer that was not Brainiac). The main villain of the movie, since Gene Hackman refused to return in large part because of Richard Donner's firing from Superman II, was played by Robert Vaughn. He played a mogul named Ross Webster who wants to take over the coffee and oil industries. Richard Pryor, who famously got the role because of a segment on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show where he acted out Superman I and said he wanted to be in a Superman Film, plays Gus Gorman who goes from being unemployed to being a computer genius in a matter of days. His role was famous for inspiring the "fractions of pennies" embezzlement from Office Space. Rounding out the main cast was Annette O'Toole playing Lana Lang. Of course, she would go on to play Martha Kent in the series Smallville about 18 years later. Pamela Stephenson was brought in to play a Miss Tessmacher like role, and Annie Ross played Vera Webster, the other villain of the movie.

Like I said earlier, the film has some good points, but a lot of bad stuff as well, including the cheesy Rube Goldberg like opening credit sequence, having Margo Kidder in for what was basically a cameo appearance, Lana's whole existence revolving around needing a man, and the killer computer. The good, however, was pretty much any scene with Pryor, the Clark vs. evil Superman fight, and Christopher Reeve's ability to play a bad, almost Bizzaro version of Superman.

The extras include a commentary track on the film by Ilya Salkind and Pierre Salinger. As you can imagine, they mostly stick up for the movie, but Salkind does mention some aspects he would change. He also vehemently denied that Margo Kidder's role was downgraded in the movie because of the fact that she was very vocal about Richard Donner's firing from Superman II, but given how tiny a role she had, it is not surprising that rumor got going.  And, in later bonus materials, Kidder basically said she was cut out of most of the movie for sticking up for Donner. The rest of the bonus material includes a 50+ minute making-of documentary, deleted scenes, and the theatrical trailer. 

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Disc 6 has the movie that pretty much ended the live-action Superman Movies for about a decade. If Superman III dipped its proverbial toe into the hot garbage category, Superman IV jumped into it headfirst. The main problem that the movie encountered is that the Salkinds sold the production rights to the Cannon/Golan-Golbus group, which were mainly known for making extremely low-budget B movies like Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, Ninja III: Domination, etc. Basically, movies that could be filmed in a few weeks on a shoestring budget. They tried to branch out into major motion pictures and failed miserably. Therefore, the Superman IV budget was cut both in pre-production and in post-production so what was supposed to be a slightly longer than two-hour-long movie ended up being an hour-and-a-half. That said, the script was not all that great either.

The movie was made as the cold war was nearing an end, and Christopher Reeve wanted to do a plot that revolved around the nuclear arms crisis. It was an issue that he was passionate about, so much that he helped write the screenplay. While the plot is pretty cheesy 30+ years down the line, for its day it made sense, the main issue was that the execution of the story was horrible because of the budget issues. That is evident from the opening credits which were a very poor man's version of the opening credit sequences from the first three movies. Basically a dollar store version of what the first movie did with the opening credits. The only good thing about the movie is that they were able to get Gene Hackman and Margo Kidder to return (which was a requirement of Christopher Reeve). Hackman outright refused to do Superman III and Kidder basically had a cameo in that movie. The basic story is that Lex breaks out of prison with the help of his nephew Lenny (played by Jon Cryer, who now plays a great Lex Luthor on the Supergirl TV series), steals a lock of Supermans's hair, and manages to "clone" a nuclear man using Superman's DNA. It would have worked 1000 percent better had they used Reeve in a dual role by introducing Bizzaro, but alas they found a guy named Mark Pillow to play nuclear man, who basically just growled and had long fingernails. The other main addition to the cast was Mariel Hemmingway, who was brought in to play a love interest for Clark and do a love rectangle with Lois and Superman. 

The Extras include a commentary track on the movie by the screenwriter (who basically slams the final outcome repeatedly, and notes how Cannon was way in over its head producing the movie), a Superman 50th anniversary special from 1989 that was part SNL skit (including being hosted by Dana Carvey) and part retrospective on the character. The parts that were like an SNL skit were cringe-worthy bad, but the historical parts were interesting. Then there were deleted scenes that showed just how much worse the movie could have been (the first version of Nuclear Man was even worse than the one we get in the film), and the theatrical trailer. 

Ironically, this was supposed to be a Superman Returns kind of movie, to reintroduce the characters and reinvigorate the franchise. Instead, it was the Batman and Robin of its day and ended the movie franchise until Bryan Singer resurrected it with the actual Superman Returns movie about a decade later. It seems that almost all the comic franchise movies that go beyond a trilogy have a horrible entry (see X-men, the original Batman Franchise, and the DC Cinematic Universe movies). This was definitely a horrible movie that could not even be saved with Reeve and Hackman giving strong performances and Kidder returning in a major role. The special effects were horrendous, and there was not a ton of thought in some elements, such as having Superman and Nuclear Man fly around in space carrying humans who would be dead instantly. It is worth watching once just to see the trainwreck, but it is not one that needs repeated viewings at all.

Superman Returns (2006):

Disc 7 contains Superman Returns which is essentially a direct sequel to Superman I and II, of course, made almost 20 years after Superman IV was filmed with an entirely new cast. Although in the Arrowverse Crisis on infinite Earths event, in which Brandon Routh reprised his role also referenced part of Superman III. The basic story was that Astronomers believed that they found Krypton and Superman leaves Earth to try and find it. How exactly he did so is not exactly clear (did he just fly off, did he have a ship or build a ship, etc.). Then, after five years he returns to earth (in a ship, which may or may not be how he left). Lois (played by Kate Bosworth) is in a relationship (but not married) to Perry White's (played by Frank Langella, who was actually up for the bad guy role in Superman III) nephew Richard (played by James Marsden). Superman tries to readjust to his new life both as Clark and as Superman, and his feelings for Lois. Rounding out the cast is Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, Parker Posey as Kitty Kowalski who is Lex's girlfriend (maybe), Sam Huntington as Jimmy Olson, and Tristan Leabu as Jason, Lois' son.

The movie was not as huge a hit, despite being very good, as the studio wanted, and as a result the multiple sequels that were hoped for by everyone never materialized. Honestly, all the actors did a great job with their characters, which was especially hard given that they were playing the same characters as Margo Kidder, Christopher Reeve, etc. This is easier to accept now given the multiverse concept that the DC television universe introduced, but at the time, a lot of the criticism was around replacing Christopher Reeve, who had recently passed away. Now you can just handwave it away and say that this version was on a different Earth than Reeve's version, although they shared some commonalities (like having Marlon Brando as a father). But, when the movie was released, it was acknowledged that Routh was taking over Reeve's version of Superman. Even with that pressure, Routh did an awesome job, nailing both Clark and Superman very well. Bosworth was great as Lois, and personally my favorite version behind Teri Hatcher's and Erica Durance's versions of Lois in live-action. Sam Huntington was hands down, in my opinion anyway,  the best version of Jimmy Olson. Granted, he had a lot better material than Marc McClure ever had to work with. Spacey played a much more constantly sadistic version of Lex than Hackman (basically if you take Hackman's version and removed the one-liners and jokes, you get Spacey's version). The movie was definitely setting up for at least one sequel, but as I said that never materialized. Routh was able to get closure for the character with his arc in Crisis where he basically stole all the scenes he appeared as Superman. The movie also was able to get Noel Neill and Jack Larson, who played Lois and Jimmy in the 1950s series (and Neill also played Lois in some of the Superman Serials that aired before the TV series) for small cameo roles. I believe those were the last cameos either of them made in a Superman-related movie or series before they passed away. 

The movie does not have a commentary track, but there is a massive making-of documentary as the main extra. It is about an hour and twenty minutes longer than the movie itself. There are also about an hour and twenty minutes of video journal entries from Singer, deleted scenes (which make some of the plot holes make more sense), a feature on resurrecting Marlon Brando (his role was a mix of the live-action material he had filmed for the first movie and CGI effects) and the theatrical trailers. So, there are a ton of extras for those who like watching the bonus material.

Bonus Disc:

Disc 8, the final disc of the set is just bonus material. This includes the wonderful "Look, up in the Sky" documentary that was produced by Singer, which detailed basically the entire history of Superman from the comics to all the live-action versions (up to 2006, give or take) so there was no discussion of the Arrowverse version. The documentary was light years beyond the 50th-anniversary special included on the other disc.  There is also the You Will Believe documentary which is basically a giant making-of documentary on Superman I through Superman IV and gave a lot more detail on the Donner vs. Salkind controversy. Then there is a documentary on the science of Superman, a featurette about Christopher Reeve, and the horrid Superpup pilot which was filmed after George Reeves's death and was going to potentially replace The Adventures of Superman. Thankfully, it never went beyond the pilot stage, but it makes Superman IV look like a masterpiece it is so bad. 

Overall, this is a dream set for Superman fans. It basically has everything as far as the movies go that you could possibly ever want, and hours and hours of bonus material. If you are not one who likes to watch the bonus materials then this set is probably a bit overkill for you, but if you like watching all the extras, you definitely get your money's worth and then some. I highly recommend it.

Book Review: A Very Stable Genius

A must-read book covering the former administration from the beginning up through the events that led to the first impeachment. It is a book that everyone should have read, but ultimately not enough did. 

This book covers t***p's presidency up to the point of the first impeachment. It starts pretty much on day 1, talking about Spicer's rant about inauguration size, and covers some things from before t***p was sworn in (basically his fawning over Putin and wanting a meeting between the two set up ASAP). The end of the book details the infamous call with the President of Ukraine and its fallout, with reactions from people who listened to the call or those who talked to those people. All the major events that occurred between those events during the administration are covered in the book, with a heavy focus on the Mueller investigation and report. 

The authors mostly stick to a "facts only" presentation of material, relating first or second-hand accounts of how various meetings, conversations, and the like played out. There was not a lot of commentary on t***p himself by the authors (although there was some). Every so often, the authors interject their personal feelings, but for the most part, they quote others. The sum total of the material in the book portrayed t***p to be a stupid, lazy, arrogant, self-centered brat. Basically, a toddler in a 73-year-old's body who never wanted to do the job of President just to have the title. Some of the things that make me say it is a bit scary are the details of how the national security team had to dumb down the briefing material for the Orange Shitgibbon because he was too lazy to read it and too stupid to understand anything when they were written as a report like every other President had received them. He basically needed flashcards and was too lazy to even look at those. Also, he thought he knew everything about every topic better than any expert, which resulted in Tillerson calling him a "fucking moron." You get the impression that pretty much everyone hated working for him but felt things would be worse if they resigned (which is why Mattis held on as long as he did). 

The last third of the book delves into the Mueller investigation and report and the fallout from Mueller not making a prosecution recommendation. Apparently, it was Mueller's call to present just the facts and leave it to others to decide what should be done going forward. According to their reporting, even Barr was amazed that Mueller punted on the issue of obstruction of justice, and Barr then sauntered through that wide-open door to mischaracterize the report's conclusions, which ticked off Mueller, so much so that he wrote a letter to Barr (and then a follow-up phone call) complaining about his summary. It is clear that the authors had someone from the Mueller team providing them information since they detailed the in-fighting between members of the team who thought that they should spell out that t***p obstructed justice and recommend prosecution and those that wanted to just present a factual narrative and not take a position one way or the other. 

Overall, the book is well-written and sourced. Of course, many of the sources did not want their names used, although, with some hindsight and reading between the lines, it is easy to figure out who some of them could be. Many of t***p's cult members decry the use of unnamed sources despite the fact that t***p himself has been an unnamed source when he wants to put out information that is good (the book includes at least one example of this), not to mention his multiple rants that start "many people are saying" followed by a stream of made-up nonsense. So, the book will not be something that the MAGAT cult members and Q nuts will be interested in reading, but for anyone else, it shows just how ill-prepared, ill-equipped, and out of his depth the Orange Genital Wart was, and that he should not have ever been, nor should he ever again be, near the office of the Presidency.

Updated P90x2 weight history

Here is the graph showing my daily weight progress from the start of the program on March 17th.

Start of Phase 2, P90X2

Hey everyone.  I just started phase 2 of X2.  Chest back and balance was today.  For those who have done the original P90x, it works much the same way where you are alternating push ups and pull ups.  But all the push up moves are on medicine balls and/or a stability ball.  You can really tell that is what phase 1 is preparing you for.  Without that 4 week work up, getting used to being on the balls and unstable surfaces you have no shot at doing this one.  Even with phase one in the books I had to do some of the push up moves on my knees to keep from falling off the medicine balls.  Like they say, modify, modify modify.  Trust me you do not want to go flying off when you are doing a push up with medicine balls. 

Here are my 30 day vs day 1 numbers.

Weight  ---179.2   to 174.8 (- 4.4 lbs)
Waist   ----38.8"   to 37.2" (- 1.6")
Hips    -----39"     to  38.4" (-.6")
Chest   -----42.5"  to  40" (-2.5")
Thighs ------ ~23"  to ~22"  (-1")
Arms  ------- ~12"  to ~12" (no change)
Bodyfat ------ ~22% to ~20% (- ~ 2%)

I am posting a pic on my beachbody message board thread.  I posted the link in one of my early posts on X2 so those of you so inclined can head over there and check it out.  Thanks for reading.  Have a good weekend.  Have to give a shout out to my readers from Russia.  I think that is pretty cool. 

P90X2 weight progress

As you can see my weight has fluctuated throughout the program so far, but it has ultimately trended down even though the are stretches where it stays exactly the same, then spikes up then goes back down.  I am still however losing inches every week and my performance in the exercises is getting better each time.   I will update this every so often

X2 weekly update, recovery week number 1

Hey everyone. Today was the first day of recovery week 1 for me. I did the recovery and mobility workout for the first time, and I love it. I can't wait until I can start doing it twice a week regularly. I am a total cheerleader for foam rolling now. I has a foam roller for a while even before getting X2, but I had never really learned how to use it. If you have read through these posts you know before I started X2 I was having lower back and hip pain. Just from the 2-3 min of foam rolling in the regular workouts that has all but gone away. The 20 min sequence in the recovery and mobility DVD is golden. It is probably a beginning type of sequence, but the great thing is he basically says here we are going to do 20 min of foam rolling do what you need to do. I urge you if you are doing X2 without a foam roller or thinking of doing X2, invest in one. You just cannot get the same results from stretching.

Here are my updated stats:

Weight 175.8
Waist 37.8"
Hips 38.5"
Chest 40.5"
Thighs 22"
Arms 12"

As always, my body is holing on to my abdominal fat for dear life. I am still losing quite a bit in my hips and my chest though. I had set a goal to be down to 175 my mid May, and I should hit that mark. I am sure my weight will go back up a little. I am going to post a pic of a chart of how my weight as fluctuated from diet power.   I weigh myself every day so the program can track my metabolism.  I am honestly not sure what my overall scale weight is going to end up after X2. The lowest I have been in my adult life has been about 167 or so.I really do not care as long as I end up looking the way I want.  Anyway, thanks for reading and I will check in with an update next week,

Thinking of getting P90x2? Invest in a foam roller!

Hey everyone.  I just wanted to do a short post on foam rolling and P90x2.  If you go into the team Beachbody store, you will see there are various packages for X2.  The base package includes just the DVDs workout guide and nutrition plan.  Then there are two different packages that include foam rolls, extra workouts, a stability ball, and medicine balls.  While there are good modifications for the exercises where you do not need the stability ball and medicine balls, there is no substitute for foam rolling. 

Basically, a foam roller is just what it sounds like, a roll of Styrofoam (think a big solid paper towel roll-shaped thing) that you use to massage your muscles.  It looks like this:
 

The recovery and mobility workout has over 20min of foam rolling in it, but each "regular" workout has about 3 min of time in the warm-up devoted to it.  You use the roller to work the "hot spots" out.  For example, you put it under your leg on your hamstring and move around until you feel it hit a knot in your muscle.  Then you just sit there and let it work the knot out.  It does not feel good while you are doing it, but it feels soo good when you are done.  Some rollers have "spikes" or raised protrusions that allow them to provide more pressure on the muscle and work the knots deeper and get a better release. But, you have to work up to those as they hurt a lot when you first start using them. Those look something like this:

During my workout yesterday my hip flexor was extremely sore.  In just the 3 min sequence in the warm-up to the core DVD, I worked all the soreness out and had a great range of motion throughout the workout.  Even if you do not want to get the Deluxe or Ultimate packages for X2, I encourage you to invest in a foam roller.  You can buy them separately through the Beachbody store (and if you are a paid member of Team Beachbody you get a 10% discount, and if you are a coach you can get a 25% discount) or they can be found pretty easily online.  Make the investment in one and it will do you a world of good.  Thanks for reading.

Win $500 just to log your P90x or Insanity workouts

Did you know that Beachbody gives away $500 every day just to log your workouts in their online Gym?  If you sign up for a free team beachbody account (you can do that here) under the "get fit" tab there is a selection for SuperGym.  That will allow you to log any beach body workout (as well as any other general workout). There is a $500 (some days it is as much as $1000) winner selected each day.  There is also a team beachbody challenge where you enter your transformation story and pics which puts you in the running for up to $100,000.  Aside from the chance at the cash prizes you will be joining a community of people that will help you get fit whether you need advice or just motivation.  If you join through the link in this post or off on the left you will get me as your coach, and I will be there to support you every step of the way.

Week 4 of P90x2

Hey everyone, today is the beginning of week 4 of P90x2.  I had a pretty good week.  I did take some liberties with my diet this week.  There were a couple days where I was super hungry, so instead of eating total junk, I increased the portions of the healthy food, so I took in more calories on a couple days than I normally would have, but they were clean.  Here are the updated stats.
Weight 177.2
Waist   37.8"
Hips    39"
Chest   41.5"
Right and left thighs 22"
Right and left arm about 12"

Supplements?

There is always a debate out there about whether or not to take supplements when working out. Some people swear by them, others subscribe to the theory that you can get everything your body needs through food. I fall somewhere in the middle. First and foremost I will only take supplements from sources I trust, like Beachbody. The supplement industry is not regulated by the federal government and as a result, a supplement does not have to do what it claims or contain what it claims to have in it. Think of how many times you have seen a commercial or infomercial with some powder or pill that claims to do whatever, only to disappear never to be heard from a few months later. The reality is there is no pill, powder, or shake that can block fat, block carbs, or give you ripped abs all by itself. The only role a supplement should have is to do what it says, supplement, not replace what you are getting through food.

The only supplements that I take on a regular basis are a multivitamin, a joint support, and an immune system booster. All from Beachbody. I do not take the recovery drink. After a workout, you need to consume simple carbs and protein, both of which you can get in a glass of chocolate milk. Which is far cheaper than any of the post-workout drinks and powders in the market. I also take shakeology as a meal replacement because it is the one thing you can do to get all the fruits and vegetables you need (and foods that you would have almost no shot at finding at a grocery store).  If you want more information about it click the link on the left. I have never found things like creatine to be all that helpful to me. I know other people who have really been able to put muscle on with it. The bottom line is, do your research, and once you find a source that you consider reputable, decide wisely. Supplements can get very expensive, but if they work for you the cost will be worth it, but if not using them can amount to throwing money away.

Start of Week 3 and updated stats

I started week 3 of P90x2 today. I did the X2 core workout again. Really nothing new to report on that one. I am still making progress with the moves. I am far from perfect on some of them, but getting better on all of them. Here are my weekly stats.

Weight 177,
Waist 38" (down another .8",
Hips 39", chest 41.5",
Right thigh 22",
Left thigh 23",
Right and left arms about 12".

I definitely have a lot less aches and pains because of the core moves and foam rolling. Considering I have not done the recovery and mobility DVD because of my class, that is pretty good. After the semester ends in May, when I switch from phase 2 to phase 3 I am going to work that into the rotation. I am also going to do it during the recovery week between phases 1 and 2. The low-back issues I was having before X2 have almost all gone away. I think it is a combination of all the core work in phase 1 of X2 and my new bed. Anyway, I have posted a weekly progress pic on the team beachbody message board of you are so inclined to go look. I will put my before and after pics on the blog when I am all done with the program in June. Thanks for reading, and feel free to ask questions or leave (non-spam) comments. If you want to be able to e-mail me just click the link on the left to have me coach you for free, then I will see your messages faster.

Knee or leg pain during plyometrics? It is probably the shoes

Hey everyone, I just wanted to do a quick post because I see all the time on the team beachbody message boards about people doing Insanity and experiencing a lot of knee and leg pain. If it goes beyond just muscle soreness in your legs, one of the main causes or contributors may be your shoes. A lot of people use running shoes for plyo because by nature they absorb impact, but they are actually not good. You need a shoe with good ankle and arch support, that also provides a lot of stability. It should also be able to absorb some shock. Running shoes generally do not have the support needed for the jumping and landing. A good pair of cross trainers is preferred. Depending on your situation you may also need to talk to your doctor about the possibility of orthotics. A good pair of shoes will make a world of difference.

week 2 of X2 done

Just finished my last workout of week 2, Balance and Power. I got better at most of the exercises. Some of the stability ball ones were still quite a challenge. You really have to work to keep the ball from rolling around on you too much. That part is a workout in and of itself. You can get a great workout doing the modified moves without all the equipment, but I really think you get the most out of the workout with a stability ball even though it will cause quite a lot of frustration until you get used to the moves.

You can really tell that the first phase of X2 is all about laying the foundations for the next 2 phases. Which if you may remember from one of my previous posts is the best way to get into a workout program. If you are interested in ordering X2 (or any of the other programs) you can do so through my team beachbody link off to the left. There is an icon right on that page for P90x2 which will allow you to order it. If you do so I strongly encourage you to join team beachbody. It is free, you get me as your coach, and if you log your workouts in the Supergym you have the opportunity to earn $500 every day. You can join here Thanks for reading. I will update my stats tomorrow!

Second attempt at yoga x2

Hey everyone. I am getting toward the end of my second week with P90x2. I just did the yoga workout for the second time, and I still maintain my love for it. It is far better than the P90x version. It flows a lot better than the other one does. There is no attempt to do yoga then do part of the x-stretch DVD like the original yoga workout. And, while you do a few abdominal moves, you spend about 3 minutes total as opposed to the 10 it took to get through "yoga belly 7" in P90x yoga. There are modifications for all the moves depending on how flexible you are, so it is definitely a program that you cannot outgrow. I can see myself doing it for a long time before it ever comes close to being easy. I know people skipped yoga-x a lot in P90x. There is really no reason to do so with this one. It is the perfect length (just over an hour) and you will feel so much better when you are done. Thank you for reading. Feel free to post any questions or (non spam) comments and I will reply as soon as I can.

Week 2 day 4 of X2

Hey everyone, I did the total body workout for the second time today. I am getting better at the moves, but still have to modify some of them. I still cannot do the triceps kickbacks on the stability ball with all the weight on one arm. I have to lower one knee to the ground and even then it still rolls around quite a bit. I managed to get my heart rate up enough between that an ab-ripper to burn about 500 calories. I am definitely not one who will complain about the lack of traditional cardio. I have to keep this a short one, but if you have any questions or comments you can leave them and I will reply when I get the chance. Thanks for reading!

P90x2, plyocide round 2

Hey everyone, I just finished my second go around with plyocide. Like the core workout I felt overall I got a little better having done the workout again. There are still moves I struggle with, like the super skater kicks, but my stamina is increasing and I can do more than last time. I love the foam rolling at the beginning of the workout and the PNF stretching at the end. I really feel good after I am done with it. Also wanted to mention that today I managed to get a Queen Size mattress and box spring up the very narrow staircase in my townhouse on my own. If not for p90x and a lot of determination there is no way I would have been able to do that. So, it carries over into real life too. Thanks for reading and stay fit!

Week 1 of P90x2 is in the books

Hey everyone. I just started on week 2 of P90x. I did X2 core for the second time today. I am getting better at the moves and am definitely able to do more and better reps. I managed to burn around 400 calories today, which is great considering how slow and controlled most of the moves in that workout are. Here are my stats after 1 week. waist 38.8" (loss of .7") Hips 39" (loss of 1") chest 42.5" (loss of .5")weight 178.4 (loss of .4 lbs). Remember what I said about scale weight? If not, go read my post from earlier this month. I ate cleanly from Sun to Friday. I did have a couple cheat meals last Saturday. 

P90x2, balance and power...week one done

I just finished the Balance and Power workout. Like most of the others in Phase one, there is not a lot of explosive movements, but what are are doing is made very hard by the fact that you are doing it on a stability ball or medicine ball. Most of the moves in this workout are done on a stability ball. The hardest ones for me are moves where you have to put nearly all your weight on the ball (like the sphinx to plank) moves, because it really wants to roll around on you. It is a fun workout but will provide quite a challenge unless you have done a lot of balance and stability workouts before. I found myself using very light weights for the moves that required weights. I pretty much stuck to the 10-12 pound range. I think that is important the first time around because until you learn the moves well it will be really easy to hurt yourself if you try to be a hero and go too heavy. I'll be posting a progress pic tomorrow on the message board thread I set up on team beachbody. It is linked from one of my other p90x2 posts. If you feel so inclined you can jump over there and check it out. Thanks for reading!