Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 6

Day 6 was the sculpt 1-2 workout again. I was able to max out at 10 reps on a couple of the exercises.  I definitely made some strength gains just within the week as "heavy pants" was much easier, even with 35 lb dumbbells than it was the first day. I was also getting a little bit deeper on the push-ups (although still not as deep as I would like). So, progress is being made.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 5

Day 5 was the sweat 1-2 workout and ab-ripper 100. I made the mistake of doing the workout too close in time after eating so it was definitely not as good as the prior two workouts earlier in the week. I made it through but I definitely had to pause a couple of times and slow things down for fear of puking. I generally try to avoid workout out right after I eat (at least cardio workouts). I thought I had given myself enough time, but apparently not. 

Textbook Review: Karel++: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Object-Oriented Programming

 

This book is essentially a follow-up to the book Karel The Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Programming. Where that book was focused on introducing students to C programming, using a much pared-down programming language, this one introduces students to the concepts used in C++ and other object-oriented programming languages. Like the first book, this is tailored specifically to the Karel world and instructions. The programming language used is more complex here, as you would expect. That said, the information in the book is very basic, and it is really intended to be used in an intro to programming class. So, if you have pretty much any programming experience (and still remember it), you will be way beyond what this book will teach you. That said, if you have only done a little programming and do not remember much of it, this will definitely help refresh you on the basic concepts.

Textbook Review: Karel The Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Programming

 

This is a book that will most likely be used in an introductory programming class. It is really an introduction to the method of problem-solving that programmers face and how to solve those problems without getting bogged down with complicated programming code. Basically, this involves writing simple code to move a robot around a screen, avoid walls, and pick up, or put down beepers, which are something like location beacons. You essentially program the robot to move around the world, avoiding walls, going into rooms, etc., and either placing beepers or picking up beepers. The instructions are written in computer code which tells the robot how to move when to pick up a beeper, and where to put a beeper down.

The book is a very good introduction to programming and computer science as a whole. The material in it is nowhere near as complex as what you will be exposed to if you decide to take classes beyond an intro class, but if you learn this it will give you a good idea of whether you want to continue on learning more complicated material.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 4

Day 4 was the Sculpt 1-2 workout. This time I was able to hit the ten rep max on four of the exercises which will mean an increase in weight next time. I can do more push-ups but still cannot go very deep on them. I have a feeling I will need to drop about another 10 lbs to be able to go as deep when I am doing push-ups on my toes as I can on my knees. 

Product Review: ASICS Men's GEL-260 TR Cross-Training Shoe

 

This is a good, affordable, comfortable pair of workout shoes. They are great for high-impact workouts like HIIT, plyometrics, or interval training, and can also be used in a variety of cross-training workout classes. While they are not running shoes per-se, you could run in them if you wanted to. I do not think they would be great for trail running, but they are certainly running on a track or a treadmill.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 3

Day three of the hybrid workout was the sweat 1-2 workout and ab-ripper 100. This was the second time doing the workout and again, I was able to get through it without stopping or pausing (just modifying the cross hops) and could do all 100 reps of the ab-ripper workout without stopping. So, the workout went well. I do think that I am better at it the second time around than the first round of Power-90 I did. So, even though I am still not in the kind of shape that I want to be in, I am getting better. 

Streaming Series Review: Obi-Wan Kenobi - Episode 3 (Spoilers)

                                 

Episode 3 of Obi-Wan Kenobi sees the first (of what is likely going to be two) confrontations between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader (again voiced by James Earl Jones). The episode starts out with Obi-Wan and Leia on the transport to the planet Mapuzo, having narrowly escaped Reva. When they land and go to the designated meeting point they find no one there and Leia flags down a miner named Freck (voiced by Zach Braff) who is making his way back to town and agrees to give the two a ride. Being a good member of the Empire, Freck also picks up a group of Stormtroopers who begin to question Obi-Wan and Leia. When he slips up and calls her by her real name, the most touching moment in the episode happens when Obi-Wan says he sees her mother when he looks at her. Of course, Leia figures out that Ben knew her mother and asks if he is her real father. Both Ewan McGregor and Vivien Lyra Blair do a great acting job during those sequences. 

The group is stopped at a checkpoint where everything unravels until Obi-Wan and Leia are saved by Tala, played by Indira Varma posing as an Imperial officer, who was the person they were sent to meet. She basically runs a Jedi underground railroad helping Jedi and force-sensitives disappear to prevent them from being captured by the Inquisitors. The real meat of the episode happens when Vader arrives on Mapuzo. Vader and Obi-Wan sense each other and Vader starts randomly torturing and killing the locals to draw Obi-Wan out. Obi-Wan tells Tala to get Leia to safety while he draws the Imperials away. Vader follows Obi-Wan who freaks out and runs away when he sees Vader in all his glory. When Vader finally corners Obi-Wan, to say he hands his ass to him would be an understatement. Obi-Wan is no match for Vader, and the only reason Vader does not kill him is that Vader wants him to suffer. During the confrontation, Obi-Wan asks Vader what has he become, to which Vader replies he is what Obi-Wan made him. In the end, Obi-Wan is barely saved by Tala, which of course leads to Leia being in danger at the end of the episode.

Overall, I thought the episode was good but has some glaring plot holes. The good was the name dropping of Quinlan Voss, who is a character you will know if you watched the animated Clone Wars series or read the novels. He could potentially show up to help at some point. I think the confrontation between Vader and Obi-Wan went the way it should. Vader is at the height of his power and Obi-Wan has been cut off from the force for a decade. Granted, I think having Vader have a wall of fire stop him was silly when he put the same fire out a few seconds earlier, but they needed a way to get Obi-Wan away from him. The end with Reva being at the end of the tunnel that she entered long after Leia was just dumb. Even if she use force speed she would have caught Leia in the tunnel, but this implies that she passed her, killed the pilot, and waited for her to catch up, all without Leia seeing her. 

The series is definitely setting up the fact that Vader and Obi-Wan are going to have a real rematch after Obi-Wan opens himself back up to the force, likely with Qui-Gon's help. We also know Leia is going to be fine and Reva is probably not going to make it out alive given that she was not a character in Rebels. Even knowing all that, the show does a good job ratcheting up the tension to make how they are going to get there a mystery.

4KUHD/Movie Review: The Batman

 

The Batman is yet another live-action take on Batman, yet one that is much different than what has come before. This film forgoes doing the origin story that has been done multiple times and jumps into Batman's second year as a vigilante. He is working with Lieutenant Gordon who brings him in to investigate a series of murders involving high-ranking Gotham officials, with the killer leaving riddles for Batman at the scene of each kill. The story is much more of an origin story for the rogue's gallery of villains and is adapted heavily from the year one and year two comics.

The casting of the movie was (as always) controversial with Robert Pattinson playing Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoe Kravits playing Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano playing The Riddler, Collin Farrell playing Penguin, Jeffrey Wright playing Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis playing Alfred, and John Turturro playing Carmine Falcone. Of course, Pattinson's casting was a subject of much debate (as has most every casting choice for Batman since Keaton landed the role in the late 1980s). Pattinson was best known for his roles in the Twilight series (which even he admits were not that good) and as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter. I think most people complaining about his casting either were not aware of his other work, in which he has shown his acting chops or just liked to complain. But, he, and the rest of the cast, did a great job with their characters. Farrell was unrecognizable both in look and voice as Penguin (he was really just a secondary character in the movie) and Dano, who to this point was probably best known as a side character in the movie Girl Next Door and from his role in There Will be Blood, was awesome as The Riddler. And, Barry Keoghan was great in his minute or so at the end clearly playing an early version of The Joker (but credited as being the unseen Arkham inmate).

The movie looks and sounds great in UHD. The 4K set is actually a three-disc set. The UHD disc and one of the regular Blu-Ray discs just has the movie itself, and the second regular Blu-Ray disc has all the special features and extras. The extras include several short behind-the-scenes featurettes that range from a couple of minutes to about 10 minutes in length. The main feature is an almost hour-long making-of documentary which spans pretty much the entire filming process and shows how the covid pandemic really impacted how the film was made. Then there are a couple of deleted scenes that you can watch with or without director commentary.

Overall, the movie is great. I do think it is a bit long and could have been cut down for time. That said, I think most of the scenes that did end up in the final cut of the film worked, so aside from a couple of scenes at the very end of the film, I think it would have been hard to pick what to remove. I like the fact that Batman is not yet fully formed in this movie and he is still trying to figure out how to be Batman, without really caring about being Bruce Wayne. It is also interesting to see him operate out in the daylight while literally carrying the Batsuit around in a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. The movie has a feel that is much more similar to Nolan's trilogy of movies than it does to the Burton or Schumacher movies, without being a carbon copy of what Nolan did with his. The movie has an old-school film noir crime/detective story feel to it and is extremely well-acted. Definitely worth watching and investing in the disc for those who still get the physical discs.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Love & Other Drugs

 

Love and Other Drugs is a romantic comedy about a pharmaceutical salesman played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who is on the verge of getting fired until Viagra comes along and reignites his career. One day while pushing Viagra at a clinic, he meets and falls for Anne Hathaway's character and they start in what is supposed to be an NSA relationship, mainly because she has Parkinson's and does not want to get into a long-term relationship. Of course, feelings develop and the two have to figure out what they want. It has a strong supporting cast including Judy Greer, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, and Josh Gad.

For those who get the blu-ray, the A/V quality is very good, and it has a handful of extras, including deleted scenes, character profiles of Maggie (Hathaway) and Jamie (Gyllenhaal), a feature on Jamie Reidy, the real salesman on whose book the movie is based, the theatrical trailer, and a BD live feature on Gyllenhaal's favorite scene.

Overall, the movie is good, but not without its flaws. The movie does at times seem like a schill for big Phrama, with Pfizer getting a ton of product placement, and just kind of glossing over many issues that the drug companies create (which could easily be more of a theme, because of the character of Maggie and her predicament). There is a lot of sex and nudity in the movie, moreso than in other rom-coms. While it does follow some of the traditional rom-com formulaic notes, it does diverge from that at times. While it is definitely not a family-friendly movie, it is worth watching if you are looking for an adult rom-com.

DVD/TV Movie Review: The Death of The Incredible Hulk

 

This was the third of the disconnected TV movies that aired after the Incredible Hulk series starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno went off the air. The title gives away what happens, so it is not a spoiler (especially after 30+ years) to say that the Hulk dies, but I think how it was done was kind of dumb, especially given what the Hulk's real powers are (as opposed to what is portrayed in the series).

The crux of the story is that David is still trying to find a way of curing himself of the Hulk metamorphosis. He ends up working as a janitor at a top-secret government lab where a doctor, played by Philip Sterling, is working on an experiment that may help cure David. In the meantime, an Eastern European spy played by former Miss America (and alleged Bill Clinton one-night-stand) Elizabeth Gracen is tasked to steal Dr. Pratt's research. I will not spoil the rest of the story from there, but needless to say, the Hulk finally dies in the end, finally bringing a resolution to the storyline that was never finished in the TV show because it was canceled after the fourth season, and only aired a few remaining yet to be aired episodes as a very short fifth season.

The DVD just has the movie itself. I think there are multiple versions running around out there, but the version I got was an import from the UK (the US version seems to be out of print and very hard to track down) So, on this version, there are no extras. Of course, Bixby died a few years after making the movie so having any meaningful commentary track was impossible, but there was no making-of or behind-the-scenes material included either. Overall, the movie is better than the two other movies (The Incredible Hulk Returns and The Trial of the Incredible Hulk), but that is not saying a lot since those were pretty awful. It does give a nod to the super-soldier program that was the basis for the comic book story but does not go too deeply into it. Unfortunately, Jack Colvin either did not come back or was not brought back for this so there was really never a resolution for his character, which is too bad. He was horribly underused in the tv series and was only on screen for a few minutes in The Incredible Hulk returns never to be seen again.

Chances are, most of the people who are going to watch this are those who are fans of the TV series. It is definitely not like the superhero series of today by any means, both in being faithful to the comics, or the special effects. Of course, in this, they were still painting Lou Ferrigno green and using cutaways during the Hulk-outs. The handful of special effects that were used (mostly at the end) was very basic and fake-looking. I cannot say that everyone will love this, but if you like the series it is worth watching to see the full story arc.

DVD/TV Series Review: Burn Notice: Season 6

 

+++Warning, this contains a minor spoiler from season five, but no major season six giveaways.+++

Season six starts out with Michael back working for the CIA having been officially reinstated, and Fiona in jail, confessing to a crime she did not commit in order to protect Michael. At this point, the series has gone far afield from where it started, and what made it as good as it was in the first couple of seasons. Namely, it is not about using his skills to protect "regular" people, but is mainly Michael on a rampage to get Anson, the leader of the organization that burned Michael). Obviously, Fiona does not remain in jail, but I will not spoil how she ends up getting out. There are, again, a lot of twists and turns and characters whose intentions and motivations are sketchy to say the least. The show does not end on as much of a cliffhanger this time, but still does set up the storyline for the final season.

The extras on the DVD set are lighter than in past seasons. There is just one commentary track, a gag reel, and some deleted scenes, as well as a humorous short with the series creator Matt Nix. What was included was fine, but it is definitely not as extensive as in prior DVD releases.

Overall, the show is good, but I think shooting its shot and revealing who burned Michael and then continuing the story long past the reveal hurt the show a bit. Plus, I think Michael and the team as freelance dogooders is what made the show as popular as it was at the start, and getting away from that also has hurt the show. That said, it is still very well acted (Bruce Campbell still steals every scene) and has good episodes.

DVD/TV Series Review: FBI Season Two

 

Season Two of FBI followed pretty much the same format as the first, with a story of the week, that usually involves some crime like a murder or a kidnapping in the first act before the title and main credits roll, and then the team picks up the case and has to solve it by the end of the episodes. The episodes are, for the most part, all stand-alone and there are not really any ongoing story arcs or threads that go throughout the season.

There are a couple of cast changes. At the end of Season 1, Sela Ward's character Dana indicated she was going to retire. She was replaced by Alana De La Garza, playing Isobel Castile, the new head of the division. John Boyd (probably best known for his work on the last couple of seasons of Bones) joins the cast as agent Stuart Scola and Catherine Haena Kim joins as Emily Ryder, who fills in as a field agent. Of course, anyone who is a fan of Law and Order knows that Alana De La Garza's casting creates a big continuity error as she had also played a main role in the later seasons of the original Law and Order series, which is in the same universe with all the other Wolf produced shows. This is further cemented by the fact that Tracy Spiridakos from Chicago PD (which crossed over with Law and Order: SVU multiple times) made a guest-starring appearance as detective Upton at the end of the season when Missy Peregrym went out on maternity leave. The season was also cut short due to the start of the Covid pandemic so it just has 19 episodes instead of the regular 22.

For those who prefer to get the show on DVD, it has only been released on disc in Europe, so you have to buy an imported version (which means you also need a region-2 or a region-free DVD or Blu-Ray player to watch the discs on). They are basically MOD discs, with just the episodes and no extras. Also, depending on what country your particular set was manufactured for, you may have to change the audio settings to hear the English language audio. My set defaults to playing in German. Not a big deal, just something to be aware of. The one thing that did irk me about this set is that even though there is a crossover episode with the spin-off series FBI Most Wanted, only the first half of the crossover is on the disc. Unlike the Chicago-based shows, which include all episodes of the crossovers on the DVD sets for each show, if you want to see the Most Wanted episode that finishes the storyline, you have to either get that DVD set or stream it separately.

Overall, the show continues to be well-acted and well-written. It is kind of odd that even into the second season we do not see more of the personal lives of each character to see how they are outside of work. I think for the action-based series like this one, that is less of a big deal than it is for the legal dramas, but it definitely helps with character development, which will keep the fans invested in the show. I think not showing characters outside the work setting was definitely something that tanked the show Chicago Justice, which was one of the few Wolf-produced shows that failed after one partial season. That said, the format does seem to be working well for FBI, and thankfully the show does not focus on just the two main characters to the exclusion of all others, so it balances the ensemble cast well. It is a good season that is worth watching.

Product Review: Eden Foods Seaweed Wakame

 

I got this to try and make a batch of Miso soup with, only to discover I was not all that fond of Miso or seaweed. It was very salty, and I think it was salty on its own as opposed to getting that from the Miso. So, if you like that, it is worth it, if not you may want to try something else.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 2

 Day 2 of the Power-90/CE hybrid was Power-90's sculpt 1-2 workout. This was a fairly easy workout after having done a modified version of P90x and CE. I decided to keep the reps range in the 8-10 range as opposed to 10-15, but for the push-ups, I did as many reps as I could, all on my toes, except for the wide, close, standard set of 21. I did the 7 wide and 7 close on my toes but had to do the last 7 on my knees. I estimated the weights well for all but a couple of the exercises so, those will have the weight increased on Thursday, but otherwise, the weights will be the same. 

DVD/Movie Review: The Limits of Control

 

The Limits of Control is an indie movie written and directed by Jim Jarmusch starring Isaach De Bankolé as "The Lone Man" a character who says almost nothing the entire movie and receives instructions from a bunch of oddball characters including Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, and the hot, yet seemingly batshit crazy Paz De La Huerta (check out her social media pages) whose character The Nude Woman is, as is pretty obvious, is naked every time she is on the screen. She is, honestly, the best part of the movie. There is a plot in there somewhere, but it is really incomprehensible what is going on until the end. I think the movie tries so hard to be edgy and offbeat that it goes too far and just comes across as weird and boring.

For those who get the DVD, the movie does have great cinematography, and even on DVD that looks great. It is set in different locations around Europe and some of those location shots really do pop, especially if you have a large screen TV. As far as extras, there is an almost hour-long making-of documentary that shows a lot of the filming process but is not all that insightful. Then there is a short feature on some of the cinematography shots which is worth watching.

I can definitely not say that everyone will like this movie. If you are a fan of offbeat indie films it is probably right in your wheelhouse. However, I think it could be a lot better, especially given the acting talent the movie did have available.

Supplement Review: SSG Universal Nutrition Animal Cuts

 

The first couple of days I took this I was feeling kind of jittery, especially about 20 minutes after I took it. After that, really the only noticeable effect it had on me was to make me pee a lot. That definitely may be helpful if you are really in a cutting phase trying to get ready for a competition, but for most people, especially if you do not have a body fat percentage low enough to see your abs where all you really need is to get water off to get a really cut look, this will not be all that helpful for you.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 1

Day 1 of the Power-90/CE Hybrid was the Sweat 1-2 and ab-ripper 100 workout. It had been months since I have done either of these workouts, but I was able to get through everything without stopping, and without pausing (except one time) on the ab-ripper reps. The only thing I had to modify at all was doing the skipping cross hops instead of the jumping version. So, overall, it was a good workout. My body definitely liked the change-up in the workout after doing three months of CE.  Basically, I plan to do the 1-2 workouts for four weeks, using CE's recharge on Sunday as a yoga workout. Then I am going to do the CE Push phase for four weeks, and then I will do the Power-90 3-4 workouts for four weeks. Then decide (depending on what kind of shape I am in) how I want to proceed from there. 

Blu-Ray Set Review: Forever Marilyn Collection

 

I have been a fan of Marilyn Monroe since seeing clips of her in the music video for Elton John's live version of Candle in the Wind. This is far from a complete collection but includes seven of her very well-known movies. The movies included are Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, River of No Return, There's No Business Like Show Business, The Seven Year Itch, Some Like it Hot, and The Misfits. For me, the best movies on the set are The Misfits and Some Like it Hot. The Misfits (and River of No Return) really showed her acting range, and that she could play more than just a ditzy blonde, a gold-digging blonde, or a gold-digging ditzy blonde. Obviously, being a gorgeous blonde in the 1950s and 1960s limited the roles she could get (especially early in her career), but the variety of movies do at least give you some idea of her range as an actress.

As many have noted, the packaging is pretty bad. The collection comes in a very thin cardboard slip case that's only thicker than a standard Blu-ray jewel case. Inside, you'll find two fold-out "books," with the discs. There are four in the first book, and three in the second book. The discs are inserted into scalloped slits in each book. None of my discs slipped out of the slits during shipping, but it is very easy for them to do so. The movies did get very good A/V transfers, and the extras vary from disc to disc. Most of them have trailers for the movie you are watching and some of her other movies. The Seven Year itch has a commentary track on the film by a biographer and a picture-in-picture version of the movie that pops up information and video clips that are basically about how the movie got around the censors of the time. Then there are a few featurettes, an interactive timeline of Marilyn's career, and a stills gallery. Some Like it Hot also has a commentary track, a making-of feature that included interviews with Director Billy Wilder, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis, an interview between Leonard Maltin and Tony Curtis, and a couple of other featurettes. There are no extras specific to this set, however, just what was included with the individual movie releases.

Overall, it is a good set if you are a fan of Marilyn. Some of the films hold up very well even years down the line from their release. Others would definitely not be made today the way they were back in the 50s. The extras on Some Like it Hot and The Seven Year Itch are great, but sparse (to say the least) for the other movies, and the packaging could be a lot better. That said, it is still a great set that is worth picking up.

Book Review: On That Day: The Definitive Timeline of 9/11

 

September 11, 2001, was a day that most people, at least those who were old enough (or still had enough mental faculties) to be aware of what was happening will remember for the rest of their lives. This is one of the many books that have been written about 9/11 around the 20th anniversary. It lays out a very thorough and very detailed timeline of events starting at about 4:45 AM detailing as many of the actions and movements of the hijackers that can be reproduced, to 11:50 PM when President Bush returned to the White House residence after being dragged down to the bunker because of a false alarm of another attack.

The focus of the book is mostly on the government's response to the attacks, and really illustrates just how chaotic and dysfunctional everything was. The author does not spend much time detailing things that were happening in the buildings or on the planes. He does mention some of the phone calls that were made and some of what was going on in the buildings, but the core of the author's attention was on the communications (or lack thereof) between politicians, the FAA, and the military. In the Amazon reviews, one of the reviewers complains that the book is essentially unreadable because he does not even know the correct time Flight 11 hit the north tower. Rest assured, that the author does know that Flight 11 hit the north tower at 8:46 AM. The author uses two em dashes on page 55 in a way that, if you do not read the sentence carefully (or do not understand the function of an em dash), it seems like he is saying that the plane hit the tower at 8:24 AM.

The main thing I took away from reading the book is that almost nobody in a position of power really had a handle on what was going on as events were unfolding or followed the procedures that they should have. For example, the Speaker of the House was the only person in the line of succession that actually went to where he was supposed to. The communication was so bad that day that President Bush could barely get in touch with anyone, which was making him madder as the day went on, especially since the secret service was not allowing him to return to Washington DC. And, there were a ton of false reports of other attacks, whether bombings or other supposedly hijacked planes. There were planes that officials were told were hijacked, then a few minutes later would be told were not hijacked and landed safely, and then a few minutes later would get another report that they were hijacked and crashed. And, officials never really got a good handle on what happened to the planes that were actually involved in the attacks, as there were reports that Flights 11 and 77 were still in the air long after they had crashed into their targets. The author also makes clear (as others have before him) that several members of the administration wanted desperately to tie the attacks to Iraq (although it was clear even by that afternoon who was responsible) and were planning to use the attack as justification to go into Iraq and take out Sadaam Hussein.

The book is very well-sourced, using a ton of footnotes, that not only point to sources but also flesh out the cited text. The author identifies a lot of the false reports that were being circulated that day (and in the days after), which gives you an idea of just how chaotic it was. The one thing I would have liked the author to focus on more is a flight that many believe would have been a fifth hijacked flight, United Airlines flight 23 which was flying from JFK in NY to Los Angeles, had it not been caught up in initial closure and ground stop of air traffic in the NY area. There were reports of several middle eastern men on that plane who became extremely agitated when the plane did not take off who pushed their way off the plane when it returned to the gate, and that box cutters were found in their carry-on bags (which they left on the plane). The author says this turned out to be false, but does not provide any details about what in the reported information was wrong and how it was determined to be incorrect.

Overall, it is a very detailed book with a lot of information. There are some typos that did not get caught, but they really do not affect the readability or cause anything to be misleading. I would not say it is as emotional as some of the other books that have been released over the years, especially those from survivors telling their stories of the day. That said, it is definitely worth reading.

Workout Update: Chalean Extreme Day 83

 Day 83 was the final day of CE. I did the recharge stretching workout again. Overall, I think the program went well. I definitely felt that I got stronger over the course of the three months, but honestly did not lose a lot of weight (or a ton of body fat) mainly because my diet was still not very good. I definitely gained strength and some muscle, but I definitely blame myself for not losing as much fat as I could have. 

TV Series Recap: The Incredible Hulk

 

The Incredible Hulk was a series from the late 1970s (it debuted in 1977) and ran for essentially four seasons. It was created by Kenneth Johnson, who also created series like The Six Million Dollar Man, the original Bionic Woman, V, and more. The show starred Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno (a Mr. Universe winner and a Mr. Olympia runner-up) as The Hulk. The story is heavily modified from the comics. First, the main character's name is changed from Bruce to David (which apparently irked Stan Lee, who got a producer credit on the show) and it dropped the failed super-soldier program storyline in favor of one in which David attempts to tap into the hidden strength that people have when faced with life and death situations. David was unable to save his wife during a car accident and tries to find out why he could not tap into this hidden strength. In the course of his experiments, he hits himself with a massive dose of gamma radiation which causes him to change into the Hulk when he is scared or angry. A reporter named Jack McGee and played by Jack Colvin believes that The Hulk killed David Banner and his lab partner. So, Banner, instead of saying that The Hulk did not kill him, pretends to be dead and wanders the country living off the grid and trying to figure out a way to stop his metamorphosis into The Hulk. 

Another big deviation from the comics is that the Hulk was not fighting the military and supervillains. David traveled from town-to-town and invariably found someone (usually a woman) in distress and in need of help, and would come across the worst, most corrupt person in town that the Hulk would end up having to scare off or stop. The show had very much a feel of the 1970s from the look to the way people talked, but the overall storylines could be made in any era. There are definitely things that the show did that could not be done the same way, like using the term "wetback" in an episode and allowing some stereotypes to be used that would never fly today. That said, the show did deal with topics such as racism, drugs, and the pillaging of Native American lands (in an episode in which the Native Americans were bad guys). It also had a ton of recognizable guest stars including an incredibly young Kim Catrall (who the show tried to pass off as a Native American) and a young Ernie Hudson. The show was never big on continuity, however, using the same actors in different roles quite a bit. For example, Gerald McRaney guest-starred three different times in three different roles. 

Technically, it did air a handful of episodes in a fifth season in 1982, but those episodes were filmed at the end of the fourth season in case an impending writer's strike occurred, so a fifth season could air uninterrupted. However, during the hiatus between seasons four and five, the President of CBS decided to cancel the show (despite the fact that the ratings were still good, although not as high as they once were) because the show had "run its course". So, the final five stand-alone episodes were aired and the show went off the air without any resolution to the storyline or a proper ending.

In the late 1980s, Bixby produced a series of three tv movies (and directed two of them) that finally gave closure to the series. The first two movies, The Incredible Hulk Returns, and the Trial of the Incredible Hulk were horribly bad, and brought the series into the larger Marvel Comic universe, introducing a horrible version of Thor and an okay version of Daredevil (along with an awful version of Kingpin). The third movie, The Death of The Incredible Hulk, was a much better movie and did provide an end to the storyline (and co-starred former Miss America and alleged Bill Clinton hookup Elizabeth Gracen). While it was better than the other two movies, the ending was deeply stupid and probably left a bad taste in the mouths of a lot of fans. 

So, overall, the series was mostly good, but when it was bad, it was pretty bad. Lou Ferrigno managed to stay in great shape, even through the final TV movie, although he looked like he aged (even with the green makeup on) much more than Bixby looked like he aged. The show is much different than the superhero shows of today, both in how it was filmed, the special effects (or lack thereof) that were available back in the 1970s versus now, and in terms of storyline continuity. The one thing that I do not like about the show is that it criminally underused the character of Jack McGee. He was ostensibly a co-lead yet would disappear for long stretches, and in some episodes only appeared for a few seconds. His character deserved to find out the truth about David and The Hulk and get the last scoop. Instead, Colvin was not brought back (or refused to return) after filming The Incredible Hulk Returns and so his character never got a concluding arc.

The series is available on both DVD and Blu-Ray. Some of the DVD sets include the last TV movies, but the Blu-ray set does not. So, if you want the tv movies you have to find the DVDs and you may have to resort to buying imports because the US versions have been out of print and are very hard to find, especially at a reasonable price. After rewatching the show all the way through I can say I enjoyed it more as a kid when it came across as really cool. As an adult, it is kind of hokey. I was not old enough to watch the series when it originally aired, but I did see the re-runs that aired in syndication. I found that I did not remember any of the actual stories from any of the episodes, but I remembered the line "you wouldn't like me when I'm angry", the Hulk outs, and the opening title sequence voiced by Ted Cassidy (who played Lurch in The Addams Family) more than I remembered anything else. Chances are, those will be the most memorable things about the show for most people.

 

DVD Review: Family Guy, Volume Ten

 

Volume 10 of Family Guy has the last half of the season 9 episodes (excluding the final Star Wars spoof episode "It's a Trap" which was released separately on DVD. I will not spend much time reviewing the episodes except to say that I do not think that they were, on the whole, as strong as they had been in prior seasons. The show still used the story of the week format, but there were a lot more of the offbeat episodes in this season (like the Brian and Stewie time travel episode, "The Big Bang Theory", and the episode that starts the whole Evil Santa story arc, "The Road to the North Pole").

The DVD extras include deleted scenes, scene animatics for scenes in different episodes, commentary tracks on selected episodes, and the Adam West Star Ceremony (getting his walk-of-fame star). So, if you like watching the extras, there is a lot there. Plus, you get the episodes uncensored. Overall, I would say that the show still has funny moments, but it as not as consistently funny as it has been in the past. Fox is definitely not putting a ton of effort into the DVD releases, but this is the last DVD set to contain just a partial season.

Product Review: Bragg Liquid Aminos, All Purpose Seasoning

 

This tastes pretty much exactly like soy sauce but provides amino acids, which soy sauce does not. It does taste pretty salty, so if you are used to low-sodium soy sauce it may be a bit strong for your tastes. In general, I would say if you do not use soy sauce on a regular basis, this may not be the best option because it will probably expire before you use it. But, if you do eat a lot of Asian food and do use soy sauce on a consistent basis, this is a good replacement.

Video Game Review: Batman: Arkham City - Game of The Year Edition

 

This is the second in the Arkham trilogy of games. It continues the storyline from the first game and expands the story with a power vacuum left in the wake of Joker's defeat. It is very challenging, even on the easiest difficulty level, and I would say even more challenging to get through than the first game. The graphics and gameplay experience are great, as you would expect, and like the first game, you can find new things and go down new paths every time you play it. It is a very enjoyable game, even if you are someone that does not play a lot of video games.