DVD Review: Chicago Fire Season 6

 

The sixth season of Chicago Fire picks up right at the point where Season 5 ended, with many of the squad and truck members trapped (again) in an out-of-control fire, and Mouch, of course suffering a heart attack in the middle of it. Chances are fans of the show know the outcome, but I will not spoil it for anyone going in cold, (although the cover of the DVD gives hints as to what cast members returned to the show).

There are several overarching story arcs that progress throughout the season. Among them being Severide and Kidd's sexual tension, Gabby and Matt's strained relationship, Borden's potential for a promotion (a storyline that brings in Gary Cole about 2/3 of the way through the season as a rival for Boden), and a great story arc involving Otis (finally). The show does a good job giving most of the characters substantial material and balancing the action of the rescue scenes with the more soap-opera-like elements of the character's personal lives. And, there is a pretty good dig at the Chicago Justice cancelation in the first episode.

For those who get the DVD set, they are now full MOD DVDs with nothing to speak of for extras. The only extra is the Chicago PD episode from the season's two-show crossover. There was no crossover episode from Chicago Med this season, although characters from Med did appear on the show every so often. So, the only real reason to get the DVD if you are one that only gets physical media when there are a lot of bonus features is to complete an existing collection. Otherwise, you are not missing anything if you just stream it.

Overall, the show is still solid. Of course, Dick Wolff's production company pretty much specializes in producing long-running drama series (Chicago Justice not included), so it really feels like a show that can go on for as long as the network keeps renewing it or the bulk of the main cast returns. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 39

 Day 39 was the sculpt 1-2 workout again. I will have two more of this one before moving on to the 3-4 workouts. I was able to hit the 15 rep max on two more exercises, so I will be increasing the amount of weight for those in Monday's workout. Aside from that, most of my rep counts are in the 12-13 range. I can definitely tell I am getting stronger though so I should be in a good position to increase the weight to a point where I max out at 10 reps when I move on to P90x in a couple of months. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 38

 Day 38 was cardio and abs again. I was able to get through the workout without much of an issue and was able to do at least some of the moves a bit faster than the pace set in the video. I still have a ways to go to get back in shape, but I am progressing. 

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

 

This is the fifth book in the original series of seven novels in the Harry Potter world. Of course, more have been added over the years and the universe of Harry Potter has expanded beyond the original set of books. It is set in the fifth year of Ron, Harry, and Hermoine at Hogwarts. Harry and Dumbledore are being discredited by the Ministry Of Magic for saying Voldemort has returned, and as a result, the Ministry tries to take over Hogwarts by installing one of the worst characters (meaning one of the best "bad guy" characters) from the series, Deloris Umbridge, at Hogwarts. She is first installed as the new defense against the dark arts teacher, then accumulates more power. 

This is again another very long book (840 pages) and because it was not (unlike Deathly Hallows) split into two movies, there is a lot in the book that the movie cut out or changed heavily to fit the time constraints. There is a lot more at the beginning of the book than there was in the movie, there was a lot more to the Order and what they were up to, and there was a lot more of the Harry-Voldemort mind connection. And, of course, there was a whole storyline with Hermoine and SPEW that had been removed from The Goblet of Fire movie adaptation, so the continuation in this novel was totally left out of the movie.  The book is also darker (yet again) than the prior book and since the idea is that kids would be reading it when they were around 14-15 years old, they would be able to handle more violence and death than when they were 9 or 10 (about the ages that first novel was appropriate for). 

The style of the book is much like the others. It takes longer to read than the first three novels only because it is over twice as long as those books were. But in terms of readability and how easy it is to follow, it is on par with the shorter novels. And, as I have said about the other novels, even though they are technically kids' books, adults can easily enjoy them as well. That is true whether you read them as a kid and are now an adult, or read them for the first time as an adult.  The stories hold up very well over time, and are definitely worth coming back to.

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 37

 Day 37 marked a week from the transition from the 1-2 workouts to the 3-4 workouts, which are mostly just longer versions of the 1-2 workouts. Most of the actual exercises in the workouts are the same, they just go longer or they get added on to. For example, in the cardio workout, instead of two rounds of three moves, there are 4 rounds of the three moves (except for the kicking portion, which stays the same as in the 1-2 workouts). And the ab-ripper 200 workout is the same 10 exercises, just doing 20 reps of each exercise instead of 10. In the sculpt workout, there is an additional "block" of moves and some of the exercises in the original three blocks get modified a bit. For example, instead of the set of 7 wide, 7 tri, and 7 standard width push-ups, that move gets changed to 7 wide, 7 tri, and as many standard width push-ups as you can do. It is aptly named wide-tri-die. So, as I said in a prior post, there is a ton of repetition in Power-90, but given that it is really meant to prepare you for the harder workouts of p90x and provide you with a solid base to work from, that is not necessarily a bad thing. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 36

 Day 36 was cardio and abs. It went about the same as the past couple of times has. The one move I still struggle with in the main part of the workout is the cross hops. And, there are a couple of the ab exercises that I still have to modify the form on. But otherwise, I am ready to move to the 3-4 version of the workout.

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 35

 Day 35 was the sculpt workout again and marked the start of the last 10 days of the 1-2 workouts. I was able to hit 15 reps on 1 exercise today (the shoulder flys), and got close (13-14 reps) on a couple others. I can also do 22 bent knee triceps chair dips, so in the 3-4 workouts I will be doing the straight leg dips. Hopefully, once I get to p90x I will be able to do the version where I alternate the leg lifts. I will be back tomorrow with another update.

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 34

 Day 34 was a rest day again. It was also my "free day" when it comes to food. I have found that, after a couple of months of carb cycling, that even on my free days, in which I tend to eat more junk food, I cannot really overeat anymore on the free days. On my "regular" days I tend to be in the 2200 calorie range, give or take, and on the free days I tend to be in the 2500 calorie range (occasionally I can go higher than that, but not much higher). But I definitely cannot house 5000 to 10,000 calories in junk food on free days like I could when I was in my early 20s doing free days on my first round of Body For Life. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 33

 Day 33 was cardio and abs. It was a bit slower a workout today for me as I did not have a lot of energy, and waited until later in the evening to do it. That said, I was still able to make it through and burned only slightly fewer calories than I normally do. 

Workout Update: Power- 90 Day 32

 Day 32 was the sculpt 1-2 workout again. I was again able to hit the max 15 reps on a couple more of the exercises so I will be bumping up weight again on Monday for those. For the weights that I bumped up for this workout, my rep count went to about 10-11 before I was maxing out. I am also able to do more push-ups and get a better range of motion on them. So, overall, things are progressing well. I will update again tomorrow.

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 31

 Day 31 was cardio and abs again. I was a bit tired during the cardio portion, but on the plus side, this was probably the best I did on the Yoga warm-up since starting. I definitely have a love-hate relationship with Yoga. I like to do it but even when I am in shape am not very flexible, so it is difficult. I love that this workout has a very basic intro to Yoga as opposed to a separate workout like p90x, x-2 and x-3 do, because it is a way to gradually get used to it (or back into it, as the case may be). Anyway, I will be back tomorrow with another update.

4kUHD/Movie Review: Almost Famous

 

Almost Famous was the semi-autobiographical movie by writer/director Cameron Crowe (who also wrote the screenplay for the great coming of age movie Fast Times as Ridgemont High and directed Jerry McGuire) of his time in the early 1970s as a writer for Rolling Stone. Specifically about his time on the road with the Allman Brothers Band in 1973. In the movie, William Miller, played by Patrick Fugit ends up on the road with a fictional band called Stillwater. The main band members were played by Jason Lee (who up to that point was mainly known as playing smartass characters in Kevin Smith's movies) as lead singer Jeff Bebe and Billy Crudup as lead guitarist Russell Hammond. Miller ends up joining the band on tour (basically dropping out of his senior year of high school at age 15) and has unparalleled access to the band despite being the "Enemy" as a journalist. The band is also followed around by Band-Aids (who are basically glorified groupies) led by Penny Lane (played by Kate Hudson in her first major role), Anna Paquin, and Fairuza Balk. 

The movie sports an A-list supporting cast including Francis McDormand as William's overbearing mother, Zooey Deschanel as Willian's sister, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Lester Bangs. There are also appearances by actors who would later become recognizable if not A-Listers themselves such as Eric Stonestreet (best known for his role on Modern Family) and Jay Baruchel. And, Jimmy Fallon appeared in what amounted to a great, extended cameo role. 

The movie basically gives an insider's look at the rock scene at the time and does not sugarcoat the sex and drugs that went along with it. The movie boasts an awesome soundtrack that anyone who is a fan of 1970s music will appreciate. The acting and writing are both top-notch, and despite being a now 20-year-old movie that is essentially a period piece set almost 30 years before the movie was made, it holds up well. Hudson was great as Penny Lane making her both mysterious and vulnerable at the same time, and Fugit does a great job despite being very young. 

The 4kUHD remaster looks and sounds great. There are two 4KUHD discs, one with the theatrical version of the movie and the extras, and one with the Bootleg cut of the movie (that adds over half an hour of extra footage). The first disc includes both the original extras included in the DVD release and new material made during 2019 basically in Cameron Crowe's yard during the pandemic where he shares his view of the movie now 20+ years later. All in all, there is about two hours' worth of extras, the longest feature being the original making-of featurette that clocked in at about 25 minutes.  

Overall, the movie is wonderful and this set is a must for anyone who is a fan, especially if you love bonus features. Some people like the bootleg cut more than the theatrical version. While I do think the scenes in the bootleg cut added somewhat to the overall story, I would not say that it was significantly better than the theatrical cut. They are both outstanding. It is definitely worth the pickup. 

Product Review: Cirkul Water Bottle and Flavored Sips

Cirkul is an innovative water bottle that can replace flavored water and things like Crystal Light or Kool-Aid on the go packets. It is a water bottle that has a lid essentially with a hole in it. A flavored "sip", which is a cylindrical cartridge that screws into the hole in the lid, and when assembled forms the cap. The cap is a "straw-like" structure that you drink through. You have to tip the bottle like a regular water bottle and at the same time suck through the cap to get the flavor in the sip to mix with the water. Here is a picture of the bottle with a sip inserted into the cap.

There are a few advantages over something like Crystal Light on the go packs. First, you do not have to use disposable plastic bottles, so it cuts way down on waste. Second, the flavoring from the sip does not go into the water bottle. At least not in large amounts, You suck the water through the cap to get the flavor out, so the bottle does not get slimy and scuzzy. And, anyone who has ever used the crystal light on the go packs in a permanent water bottle knows you have to clean them after almost every use to keep them clean. And, probably the biggest advantage is that you can use the dial on the sip to control how much flavoring you get. If you want straight water and no flavoring you turn it to what is essentially zero, and if you want the max flavor you turn it to 9. I have so far only tried the peach-mango flavored sip, and using a setting of three for the amount of flavor is perfect for me. And, I find that setting makes the water taste pretty comparable to the crystal light peach mango packets. Depending on what setting you have it on, you get approximately 132 ounces of water (or six fill-ups of the bottle) per sip. 

Cirkul has various options for trying its products. You can build your own bundle with a bottle, the cap, and however many sips you want. You can also subscribe to a monthly program that allows you to have whatever sips you want to be sent to you monthly. I made my own bundle choosing about 10 sips (they have over 40 flavors) and a chill sleeve (a sleeve that you can put on the bottle to keep it from "sweating" as much if you put ice in the bottle and keep it cold longer). It cost about $65 for the bundle. As you purchase more you save more (up to 25% off your order). You can also order extras like a lid without the bottle (the lids can fit on most regular water bottles) a sip keeper that will allow you to remove a sip and keep it fresh (otherwise you have to put it back in the package the sip comes in, which cannot really be resealed). The regular price for the sips is about $3.50, which is pretty comparable to the cost of a pack of 10 on-the-go packets of crystal light (a bit more expensive than the generic offshoots). You will get about 6 bottles of water per sip (give-or-take), so you definitely get more per serving from crystal light, but each of the crystal light packets has about 15 empty calories and if you drink 2-3 per day (or more) that can add up. Whereas the sip flavoring has no calories so you are basically drinking straight water. Plus, if you use the lower setting for the flavor, you will probably get more like 7 or 8 bottles. 

I plan to get another bundle so I can get a second lid and the sip keeper and then will very likely subscribe to the monthly plan once I figure out which sips I really like. So, if you want to get yourself off of soda, and/or still want to have flavored water without wasting plastic bottles, this is a very good option. I definitely recommend it. You can purchase the bottle and sips at the following site: https://drinkcirkul.com/

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 30

 Day 30 was the sculpt 1-2 workout again. I was able to increase the weight from the last workout on Monday for a few exercises and I definitely felt the effect of doing so. On a couple of them, I could only get to 10 reps before maxing out. My push-ups are getting better, but are still my weak point. But, I am doing them all on my toes, none on my knees. I have 15 more days of 1-2 workouts and then start the 3-4 workouts. I will post another update tomorrow and then will have another product review posted in the next couple of days.

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 30

 Day 30 was cardio and abs. This one was much better than the last time I did this workout this past Saturday when I had no energy at all. I have 15 more days of the 1-2 workouts and then will start the 3-4 workouts. Those will go for 45 days and then I will do the Power 90 masters series workouts for 8 weeks before I start p90x. I will either do p90x with the band modifications for the pull-ups or use my pull-up assist to try and do as many reps as I can. That will depend, in large part, on how much more weight I can drop by the time I start p90x. If I can get down below 210 (which means losing about 11 more pounds) I will probably use the pull-up assist, but if I am above that I will at least start phase one of p90x using the bands doing the pull-downs. But, we will see what happens when the time comes.

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 29

 Day 29 was the sculpt workout again. I was able to hit the 15 rep max on three exercises today, so I will be increasing the weight on those on Wednesday. Overall, this was a much better workout than I had on Saturday. I had a lot more energy and got through it without an issue. We will see if that continues with the cardio workout tonight. I will be back with another update tomorrow.

Workout Update: Power 90- Day 28

 Day 28 was my rest day, so there was nothing new to report. Hopefully, I will have more energy for tonight's workout than I did for my workout on Saturday, but we will see how that goes. I will post another update tomorrow.

DVD Review: Chicago Justice Season One

 

Chicago Justice is the answer to how many Chicago-based dramas were too many before fans lost interest? The answer being four. It was, back in 2017, a part of the massive Dick Wolff (of Law and Order, and Chicago Fire, PD, and Med fame) productions. It basically was set in court (most of the time) and tackled a lot of heavy issues during its run (such as gun control, racism, gang violence, etc.). Of course, this could really be titled Chicago Justice The Complete Series because it only lasted one partial season, never making it past the initial run of thirteen episodes (13.5 if you count the backdoor pilot that it got in the third season of Chicago PD).

The series starred Phillip Winchester as Illinois assistant State's Attorney Phillip Stone, Carl Weathers as his boss, Monaca Barbaro as the junior assistant State's Attorney Anna Valdez, Joelle Carter (best known for her role in the series Justified) as Laura Nagel, who, along with Jon Seda's character Antonio Dawson who came over from Chicago PD, were investigators for the State's Attorney's office.

As I said, the show dealt with a lot of heavy topics, and actually got a lot of the law and some of the courtroom stuff right. Of course, legal dramas have to take a lot of liberty with courtroom scenes because the way things play out (for the most part) in real-life courtrooms are pretty boring and would not make for good television. I think what hurt the series was twofold. First, there was never anything more than superficial glimpses into the characters' lives outside of work. The audience never really got to know what the characters did in their "regular" lives, so it was hard to care about them. And, the show did not lean enough on the other Chicago-based series. The series premiere started out as the third part of a crossover with Fire and PD, but really after that, characters from the other shows just made cameo appearances. I think the show would have benefitted from having more of the PD storylines bleed into Justice, kind of as a setup to the courtroom dramas. Instead, you had everything wrapped up in a bow by the end of the episode from the initial investigation to the jury verdict. Certainly, that did not have to be the case with every show, but I think using the more established Chicago PD to help this one get its footing until it could stand completely on its own would have been a good idea. And, since it had already ended its season before the next season pickups were announced, it was never given a proper series finale. 

Overall, the series was good and should have had more rope than it was given. The acting was very good, and the writing, while it was not as good as it could have been, was better than it got credit for. There are no DVD extras beyond the Fire and PD episodes that make up the "One Chicago" crossover event to start the series off. So, really the only reason to get the DVD over streaming is if you have the sets for the other shows and want this one to make a complete collection.

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 27

 Day 27 was cardio and abs. Yesterday was definitely a struggle for me. I did not have a lot of energy and was not all that motivated to work out. But, I struggled through it, definitely having to slow down a bit more than usual, and managed to finish it. It was definitely not my best workout, and probably my worst since starting Power-90, but I did the best I could and finished the entire workout and ab-ripper 100. 

Book Review: Star Wars - The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark

 

The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark is a collection of short stories from several authors who have written Star Wars novels over the years. Each story retells at least a portion of one of the Clone Wars animated series episodes from a point of view of one of the characters (not necessarily one of the main characters) in the episode. Sometimes that is from a "good guy's" point of view and sometimes from one of the "bad guy's" point of view. So, if you have not seen the Clone Wars animated series, and plan on watching it, do not read this first as it will spoil some of the episodes, including major plot lines or events that occurred in the series. 

The book is one of the novels that fall into the young adult category, but it is written well enough that adults can easily enjoy it. It does a good job fleshing out some of the story arcs and the characters and continues to bolster the quality of the Clone Wars era of canon material, which, in my opinion, made the prequels better when seen through the lens of the Clone Wars stories. It is fairly short, about 265 pages, and is a quick read. It can easily be read in a day if you have time to devote to it, or over the course of a few days. Depending, of course, on how quickly you read. It is a must for hardcore fans of the animated series, and something that is nice to read for everyone else. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 26

 Day 26 was the resistance workout again. I was able to increase weights on a couple of the exercises hit the 15 rep max on a couple more that will allow me to increase their weight for Monday's workout. All in all, I am progressing well and even though the workouts are repetitive, they are not too easy at this point. I'll be back tomorrow with another update.

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 25

 Yesterday was the cardio and abs workout again. I thought I had the strongest workout to date and was pretty much able to keep up with them on everything except for cross hops. Although I am getting better at those. And, my form is getting better on the few ab-ripper moves that I still struggle with. So, overall a good day. I will post another update tomorrow and may get another product review up over the weekend. 

Book Review: I Alone Can Fix It

 

This book is the follow-up to the book A Very Stable Genius by the same authors which detailed the first couple of years of t***p's presidency. Like that book, this one adds details to widely reported stories and fleshes out (mainly through accounts of people who were "in the room" as things happened) behind-the-scenes details. It picks up right after the first impeachment and goes through to January 20th, focusing a lot on the Covid response and events leading up to, including, and then following the 2020 election. The authors generally keep their personal feelings and opinions out of the book, just presenting what they were told, and leaving readers to make up their own minds about the people involved.

Really this could be titled "The Shit Show" part 2. If the first book detailed how stupid and unqualified t***p was to do anything, this one really hammers that point home. It details just how "shit for brains" (t***povid (he asked multiple people "they do?" when told masks actually do work). The book also details how it (t***p) always wanted to go back to relitigate the 2020 election and basically ignore Covid. And by relitigate, it really means bitch about the election to anyone in earshot instead of focusing on Covid. The book also details how t***p would be told one thing during meetings and then go out in front of cameras and say the exact opposite. 

Then, of course, there was all the crap that surrounded the election, and how t***p was lying about how the election would be fraudulent months before when he was told by almost everyone around him (aside from a few of the lickspittle toadies) that he was going to lose. There were some that were insisting, even to the bitter end, that t***p was going to win in a landslide despite what the polling showed, which of course t***p maintains happened even to this day, but most people around t***p knew he was going to lose, mainly because of his inept response to Covid.

Overall, the book provides a very detailed look at just how inept, stupid, uncaring, and unqualified t***p and the people around him were. There were a few, such as General Milley, who would stand up to him and say no to him and who hung in there to the bitter end to keep him from doing even more crazy shit than he did. The fact that a lot of people from the administration were willing to tell the truth about, and even badmouth t***p, mostly, anonymously, shows that there were not a lot of profiles in courage in that administration. It really does show that the country dodged a bullet, barely, by getting rid of his ass, and underscores how t***p should never be allowed anywhere near the office of the Presidency again.

4kUHD/Movie Review: Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition (Spoilers)

 

WARNING: This review will contain spoilers from the movie. For a spoiler-free review please read my review for the original blu-ray set.

This is the remastered 4k disc of the Ultimate Edition of Batman v. Superman which was made about the same time Zach Snyder was restoring his cut of Justice League. It should be noted that this just has the movie itself and a commentary track that Snyder made just for this restoration as the only extra. In his commentary, he does spoil his version of Justice League (identifying Martian Manhunter, for example) and generally discusses his vision for where the movies would have gone had he stayed on.

The ultimate edition of the movie adds about 30 additional minutes to the theatrical version, and aside from a couple of throwaway scenes that could have been omitted, really helped flesh out the fact that Lex Luthor, having figured out the secret identities of Batman and Superman, was really pulling the strings behind everything. And, added details like the fact that the guy who blew up the capital during the hearing had no idea the chair was a bomb. 

I think the movie gets an undeserved bad rap. While it could have been set up better with a stand-alone Batman movie first, to really establish his distrust of Superman and show a bit more of Lex pulling strings, you can get all that if you pay attention to the movie. I think Affleck did a great job as an older, more jaded Batman, and a stand-alone movie would have helped establish why he has no qualms against killing criminals as he did at times in this movie. 

Overall, the movie looks and sounds great (especially the restored IMAX scenes) in 4k UHD, and is worth the double-dip. The only thing is that it does not carry over any of the original blu-ray extras, so if you purchased that two-disc set, you will need to keep that one if you like watching the bonus material. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Day 24

 Day 24 was the sculpt 1-2 workout again. I was able to max out 15 reps on quite a few exercises, so on Friday, I will be increasing the amount of weight. As I stated in one of the earlier posts, I am keeping the weights low during Power-90, so they are between 12 pounds (for shoulder flys) and 22.5 pounds (on Heavy Pants). I use a combination of free weights and the Bowflex Select-Tech dumbells. Overall things are progressing well, and I think I am making good progress to be on track for switching to the 3-4 workouts in about 20 days.