Book Review: Star Wars: Victory's Price: An Alphabet Squadron Novel

 

+++Warning, this contains a spoiler from the prior novel in the series, but no major giveaways from this book.+++

Victory's price is the third in the trilogy of "Alphabet Squadron" novels, telling the story of an elite fighter squadron that is tracking and trying to take out an Imperial unit called "Shadow Wing". The book is set one year after the Battle of Endor, and as the New Republic is gearing up for a "final battle" against the remnants of the Empire (in what would become the Battle of Jakku). Some in the New Republic think the war is over and underestimate the threat that the remains of the Empire pose and others know that it is not. The members of Alphabet Squadron are reeling from what they believe is the death of their leader, Yirica Quell. Of course, the readers know that she actually defected to Shadow Wing, although there is a bit more to that part of the story that plays out throughout the book. At the end of the book, we get yet another perspective on the events of the Battle of Jakku, which has been included in a few different novels. 

The big thing that the book (and the trilogy as a whole) lacks for me is any inclusion of the legacy characters. The book does include appearances by Mon Mothma and Admiral Ackbar, but Luke, Leia, and Han are nowhere to be seen (although some are mentioned), and it seems unlikely that they would never cross paths with some of these characters, even if for just a very short time. The book does expand the role of Hera Syndulla, but unless you watched the Rebels series (which most people who are likely to read this book probably have), she is not someone that readers are going to recognize as a major character. I think fans are still really looking forward to a novel set after Return of the Jedi that really shows what the legacy characters were up to, which, at the time the Alphabet Squadron trilogy was written, had not happened. To be fair, there are some novels that have come after this, such as Princess and the Scoundrel which have started to tell those stories, but I think a lot of fans, especially those who really grew up with the original trilogy and the characters of Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie, etc., may find this trilogy of novels a bit hard to get into. The book does have a lot of action, and it does a good job wrapping up the arcs of the main characters, so if you have been a big fan of the prior books in the trilogy this will probably provide a satisfying conclusion to their story.

Ultimately, I think this is a good, but not great novel in the new canon material. But, it is not one that I would classify as a must-read if you are one of those who read some, but not all, of the novels. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 12

For day 12, the Beginner Pilates workout was the hips, buns, and thighs workout, and Lift-4 was a legs-focused HIIT workout. The Pilates workout went a bit better than it did last week, but there were still a couple of points where I had to pause and skip a rep or two. The Lift-4 workout was tough. It was all cardio, no weights. It had three rounds of four exercises, high-knee jog for a minute, the triple hops with your knees 2 inches off the ground for 45 seconds, catchers (squat-to-planks) with a jump for 30 seconds, and jumping lunges for 15 seconds. You get 15 seconds between exercises to rest and 30 seconds between rounds. After you do three rounds of that, you do two additional rounds in which you do each exercise for thirty seconds with no rest between them. Then you alternate between two core moves for thirty seconds each move for three rounds. As with the other workouts, there is a person doing modified moves (toward the end everyone in the video was doing modified moves), but even modified it was hard. I started out doing as much unmodified as I could do, then switched to modified. During the last couple of rounds, I definitely had to stop a couple of times. It was a good, but tough workout.

Book Review: Arduino For Dummies 1st Edition

 

The Arduino is a microcontroller that can be used to do anything from something as simple as causing an LED to illuminate to controlling a robot. However, if you are not all that adept at programming and/or building circuits, it can be somewhat daunting to use. I used one to build a vibration-sensing device for a class in my electrical engineering curriculum, and since I only knew the basics of programming, I got this to help figure out how to program the device. The book has a lot of good information in it and presents the information in an easily understandable way. If you have some experience and programming and know the basics of circuit design the book is easy to understand and use.  The material may go over the head of a total novice, but you can definitely have beginner to intermediate skills/knowledge and easily follow along with the material.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Boy Next Door

 

The Boy Next Door is a psychological thriller from 2015 starring Jennifer Lopez as Claire Peterson, a high school teacher separated from her husband after she catches him cheating. At the same time, the nephew of her next-door neighbor, Noah, played by Ryan Guzman, moves in to help his wheelchair-bound uncle. Of course, the two end up flirting and eventually having sex (before the school year starts), and then things go bad, as Claire regrets their night together and tries to break it off. Noah becomes jealous and starts to make Claire's life miserable, which is much easier as he is still in high school even though he is 19 years old (which the movie makes clear), and now goes to the same school Claire teaches at and at which her own teenage son, Kevin, played by Ian Nicholson, attends. The movie definitely has a similar vibe to movies like Fatal Attraction and Unfaithful, but it is not exactly an erotic thriller as there was only one sex scene, and even then nothing much was shown (aside from a butt shot from Lopez). 

For those who get the blu-ray, the A/V quality is very good, with some great cinematographic visuals and a good lossless audio track. There are only a handful of extras which include a commentary track on the movie by the director Rob Cohen, a short (under 10 minutes) making-of featurette, and a few deleted scenes that total around 10 minutes.

The movie is okay, but not great. It is a smaller-budget movie and definitely does not have an original plot. You can pretty much guess how it is going to play out from the beginning, even though all of the actors did a good job in their roles. The movie does have a good supporting cast including Kristen Chenowith, Hill Harper, and John Corbett. I think it is best described as the kind of movie that you can have on in the background and not miss much of anything if you divert your attention from time-to-time. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 11

Day 11 was Pilates Flow 2 in Beginner Pilates and Shoulders in Lift-4. I think that the Pilates workout went a bit better this time than it did on Tuesday, with again some minor gains made in my flexibility. The shoulder workout from Lift-4 was tough. It is an interval workout, so there are three sets that you do for three rounds each. Each set has two resistance shoulder exercises and then a HIIT exercise. You do everything back-to-back with no rest, and then take a 30-second break between the rounds. Once you get through the three sets, then you do three rounds of core work, alternating between two core-focused moves. So, the workout is very tough and keeps your heart rate up almost until the end. 

Product Review: Parallax 605-00004 Piezo Film

 

I used this to build a vibration sensor for an independent study class when I was working on an electrical engineering degree. It has ends that allow you to mount it to a breadboard or solder it to a printed circuit board. It worked well and was able to pick up vibration. The only issue, however, is that if it is on a breadboard that is somewhat thick, it may not pick up vibration through the breadboard. If you can work around that, it does work as it should.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Arrow: Season 5

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season of Arrow, but no major season 5 spoilers.+++

Season 5 picks up with Oliver still reeling over Laurel's death at the hands of Damien Dhark while still discharging his duties as mayor. He is encouraged by Felicity to work with a new team of vigilantes, including Rene Ramirez/Wild Dog (played by Rick Gonzalez), Evelyn Sharp/Artemis (played by Madison McLaughlin), Rory Regan/Ragman (played by Joe Dinicol), Curtis Holt/Mister Terrific (played by Echo Kellum), and Dinah Drake/Black Canary (played by Juliana Harkavy). There is a bit of a swerve in the identity of the season's big bad, with a reveal that occurs later in the season. The season flashbacks to the fifth (and last) year of Oliver's life before being rescued. That portion of the story heavily involves Oliver in Russia working with Anatoly against Konstantin Kovar, a tyrant played by Dolph Lundgren. The season ends on a major cliffhanger with the fate of many of the team members in limbo.

For those who get the blu-ray set, the A/V quality is pretty much the same as it has been for the prior season releases. The 23 episodes are spread across four discs, and the set includes the crossover episodes for the "Invasion" crossover event which includes episodes from Flash and Legends of Tomorrow and brings in Melissa Benoist's Supergirl character. Arrow's episode of the three-show crossover (which also happens to be Arrow's 100th episode), is the middle chapter of the crossover event and brings back some of the actors such as John Barrowman, Susana Thompson, and Manu Bennett, who have appeared on the show. They also include a clever line about Tommy being a doctor in Chicago as a nod to Colin Donnell being on the show Chicago Med, (even though he does not physically appear in the episode). The other extras include deleted scenes for select episodes, a half-hour portion of the show's 2016 Comic-Con panel, a 5-minute gag reel, and a few making-of featurettes, one devoted to the crossover and a couple devoted to the show's storylines.

Ultimately, if you have liked the prior seasons of Arrow, you will probably like this one. The show continues to develop the main characters, and the addition of the new team brings some new life into the show. Stephen Amell does a very good job playing Oliver, keeping his brooding, moody roots but branching out from that. The season has a good guest cast including pro wrestler Cody Rhodes and the aforementioned Dolph Lundgren. And, of course, characters from the other shows appear throughout the season, not only for the crossover but in small cameos in other episodes. It is definitely worth watching.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 10

The Day 10 workouts were Pilates Flow 1 and for Lift-4, the flexibility and foam rolling workouts. All of them went fine.  I cannot say I had a huge gain in flexibility during any of the workouts, but it was definitely nice to have a lower-impact non-cardio day. I do like Pilates Flow 1 much more than Flow 2, even though it has the leg lifts that I cannot do very well at this point. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Atomic Blonde

 

Atomic Blonde is a spy thriller starring Charlize Theron and James McAvoy. The movie is set in Berlin, in 1989 on the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall, when every spy in the city is at risk of being when an MI6 agent is killed by a KGB agent and a list of every agent operating in the city is stolen. Theron plays Lorraine Broughton, a high-ranking MI6 field agent, and McAvoy plays MI6's Berlin station chief. The plot of the movie is about agents from various spy agencies, including MI6, the CIA, KGB, and the French intelligence service trying to track down the list, but that is mainly filler between the fight scenes. The movie is based on a graphic novel and the violence is definitely very over-the-top as it tends to be in many of the film adaptations of graphic novels.  There is also some sexual content, including a sex scene between Theron and Sofia Boutella. 

For those who get the 4k set, as usual, you get a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc. The A/V quality of the 4k disc is very good, although neither is what real A/V wonks would call reference quality. The only extra on the UHD disc is a commentary track on the movie by the director and the editor. The rest of the bonus content is on the regular blu-ray, and those include deleted and extended scenes totaling about seven minutes, a handful of making-of featurettes that total about twenty-two minutes with the shortest being about four minutes and the longest being just under eight minutes. Then there is a short storyboard sequence for a couple of the action scenes.

The movie is a good action spy thriller. Theron has proven she has the chops for action movies multiple times over the course of her career, but the fact that she can pull off an action lead in her 40s and do as well as she did in her early 30s is impressive. The movie is definitely not appropriate for young kids as it has a lot of violence, swearing, and sexual content. But otherwise, if you are in the mood for a good action movie that you do not have to pay constant attention to in order to follow what is going on, this is a good one.

Product Review: HEPA Roomba Filters Replacement for iRobot Roomba E I & J Series Vacuum Cleaner

 

This is a pack of six filters that fit the i7 series of Roomba vacuums. They are the exact size and shape and look and function exactly like the "official" filters, at a much lower cost. The only difference is that they do not have iRobot printed on the side of it. It also has a brush that allows you to clean out the dust cup and the depression that the filter mounts into. I definitely recommend these.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 6

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from season 5, but no major season six giveaways+++

The sixth season of House picks up with House going through withdrawal in the mental hospital that he checked himself into at the end of Season 5 after hallucinating Amber, Kutner, and sleeping with Cuddy. The season premiere was actually a two-part episode that spanned the three-month period of time that the show normally time jumps. The only two regular cast members that appear in the season premiere are Hugh Laurie (of course) and Robert Sean Leonard. House does get clean and is discharged being able to provisionally go back to practicing medicine, but until his license is restored, Foreman is "the boss" of the team, which starts out as the original team of Foreman, Cameron, and Chase. This season has more cast turnover with one of the series regulars leaving partway through the season, and the fate of another character in limbo at the end of the season. After the first episode(s), the show goes back to the regular case-of-the-week format with the serial arcs mixed in. There are also a couple of episodes in which House and the team are not the focus. One follows Wilson around through a day and the other follows Cuddy around. In each of the episodes House pops in and out as he does, the only difference is that we stay with Wilson and Cuddy so we do not get the full context of what House is doing, which makes the interactions even funnier than normal.

For those who get the blu-ray set, the show looks and sounds good in the HD format. This is, at least in the US, the first season that was available on blu-ray, with the prior seasons only being available on DVD. This season does have one episode with a lot of CGI special effects in which the team takes on the case of a video game creator. The CGI shots of the game (that was made especially for the episode) look great in HD. There are a lot of extras, including commentary tracks on the episode Wilson in which Robert Sean Leonard provides commentary along with David Foster, a commentary track on the Cuddy-centric episode 9-to-5, in which Lisa Edelstein provides commentary with the writer of the episode, a commentary track on the season premiere with the director/writer Katie Jacobs and two of the three co-writers. Then, there is a featurette on the episode Hugh Laurie directed, a featurette on the video-game episode, a featurette on the footage Katic Jacobs shot on location at the hospital in NJ at the end of Season 5, some of which was used in the series premiere, and then a behind-the-scenes featurette that focused on the first episode. So, a lot there if you like going through the bonus content.

The show continues to be very strong in season seven. The writers keep coming up with good storylines and balance the ensemble cast well. This season also has a strong slate of guest and recurring cast members including Michael Weston, Andre Braugher, Cynthia Watros, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James Earl Jones, David Marciano, Jon Seda, Joshua Molina, Ethan Embry, Orlando Jones, Laura Prepon, and Sarah Wayne Callies. The season has a couple of cliffhanger-ish elements that will likely take the show in a bit of a new direction in season seven. So, if you have liked the prior seasons of the show, this it is still worth watching. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 9

For the Pilates workout today it was Pilates flow 2. This one is mostly a seated core-focused workout doing a lot of leg lifts, leg circles, etc., mostly in combination with a crunch. Even though the workout is shorter than Flow 1, it is more challenging, and I found myself having to skip reps during more than one exercise, especially toward the end of the workout.

For Lift-4,  it is back and biceps day again. This is another 50/50 workout with weights first, cardio second, and again finishing with core exercises. For this workout, you again do three circuits, for three rounds. In the first circuit, you do two back exercises. Then in the second circuit, you alternate between a back exercise and a bicep exercise, and in the third circuit, you do two bicep exercises. Again you do ten reps of each exercise with no rest between the two, and you get 30 seconds between the rounds. Then, once you are done with the resistance exercises you do three different cardio exercises for one minute, forty-five seconds, and thirty seconds respectively, and do three rounds of cardio. The workout then ends with two core-focused exercises that you do for two rounds. 

This is a tough workout after the chest and triceps workout. Even though I used lighter weights in that workout, my arms are very sore today, and I suspect they will be again tomorrow. It does go by quickly, at just over 35 minutes, but it is probably the hardest workout of the bunch that I have done to this point.

Food Review: Nut Harvest Sea Salted Whole Cashews

 

This is a 16-pack of whole, salted Cashews. There are about 2.5 servings per package, and if you eat the entire package you are consuming about 350 calories. They are salted enough to give them some kick, but not so much that it seems like you are dumping salt onto your tongue. So, if you are looking for a source of healthy fat, this is a good option. Just be aware, if you are strictly following a Keto or other low-carb nutrition plan, these do have more carbs and less fiber than nuts such as almonds or pistachios. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Personal Shopper

 

Personal Shopper is a smaller-budget independent film from 2016 starring Kristen Stewart, whose best movies seem to be the smaller movies that she does between the large Hollywood blockbusters. In this one, she stars as Maureen, an American living in Paris who works as a personal shopper for a French supermodel. Maureen is also a medium who is waiting for a message from the afterlife from her deceased twin brother. She also has the same genetic heart condition that killed her brother and gets sicker over the course of the movie. The movie is in part a supernatural psychological thriller and in part a crime story. The two storylines interweave with each other throughout the course of the movie and work better at different points than others. And, the movie features one of the few topless scenes that Stewart has done in her career. 

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good. The movie is not laden with special effects, but the location shots around Europe look very good, especially if you are watching on a large screen. The extras include the movie trailer, an almost 20-minute interview with the director, Oliver Assayas, and a 46-minute question and answer session from the Cannes Film Festival. 

Overall, the movie is good, but not great. Stewart definitely plays a different type of character than she has played in her more well-known roles in big-budget movies. Given that she seems to play more understated characters better than she does more charismatic characters, this role definitely suits her. I would not classify it as a must-watch, but if you are a fan of Stewart or indie movies in general, it is a good one to check out. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 8

Day 8 marks the beginning of week two. For the Beginner Pilates workout that means doing Pilates Flow 1. It is a total-body workout that builds on the concepts that were learned in the fundamentals workouts, but with a bit less modifying than those two had. There are definitely some challenging moves in the workout, and I did have to pause a couple of times. I still cannot do the double leg side leg lifts very well (a move in which you lay on your side and lift both legs off the ground without using your arms to help push you up). I did get my legs a little higher when I was laying on my left side today than I did last week, but when I lay on my right side I can barely get my legs off the ground. The reason I love (and hate) Pilates is that it definitely focuses on my weak spots when it comes to flexibility and core strength. I generally think that Pilates is tougher for guys because we tend to be tighter in our hips, low back, and hamstrings, sometimes regardless of overall core strength. There are some moves that I feel like I can barely move my body a centimeter when Lisa is completely folded forward with her head touching her knees. Of course, she has been doing Pilates for years and is in phenomenal shape whereas I have dabbled in Pilates off and on for years, and most certainly am not in phenomenal shape. But, I do what I can and just focus on getting better each workout.

The Lift-4 workout is another chest and triceps workout, but this week you do another two quad circuits (4 exercises, two chest exercises, and two triceps exercises, doing 10 reps of each exercise back-to-back with no rest). You do three rounds of each quad set, with 30 seconds between each round. After you do the two quad sets you do a blowout set, that is three rounds of wide push-ups followed immediately by triceps push-ups. After you finish those, the workout ends with two core-focused exercises. So, while there is no HITT cardio in this workout, your heart rate does get up there, and even lifting light weights, you get tired. It is still a guessing game for the weights for me. This week I mostly had to use lighter weights than last week for some of the same moves because the quad set is harder than doing two exercises back-to-back. The most I used was 20 lbs for the chest presses, and it was a struggle by the third round. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Bull: Season 1

 

Bull is a legal drama that premiered in 2016 starring Michael Weatherly (of NCIS and Dark Angel). Weatherly stars as Dr. Jason Bull, a psychologist who owns a trial analysis company (called Trial Analysis Corp, or TAC) that acts as a jury consultant company and also provides defense counsel to both wealthy defendants and pro-bono clients. The premise of the show is that Bull can select the best jurors to get a verdict for their client, conducts mock trials to figure out how potential jurors will react to the case, and once a jury is seated, uses mirror jurors (people with similar traits to the real jurors) who watch the trial to see how the real jurors are reacting. The show is loosely based on the early career of Dr. Phil (who is a producer on the show) when he did jury consulting work.

The show is basically a case-of-the-week procedural drama, with any serial arcs mostly focused on the personal lives, or lack thereof, of the main characters. The rest of the main cast includes Freddy Rodriguez as Benny Colon, the in-house lawyer for TAC, Geneva Carr as Marissa Morgan, Bull's second-in-command, who is also a psychologist and basically runs the team from TAC while the trial is going on, Christopher Jackson as Chunk Palmer, a fashion stylist who works with the clients to prepare them for court, Jamie Lee Kirchner as Danny James, TAC's lead investigator and a former NYPD detective, and as Cable, TAC's computer expert. The main recurring characters in season 1 are Yara Martinez who plays Isabella Colon, who is Benny's sister and Bull's ex-wife, Jill Flint who plays Diana Lindsay, an adversary and love interest for Bull, and Eliza Dushku, who had a very controversial behind-the-scenes experience on the show.

For those who get the DVD set, there are a handful of extras including a gag reel, deleted and extended scenes, the CBS launch promos that aired before the show premiered, and a behind-the-scenes featurette on season 1. Not a ton of bonus features, but they are there if you want to watch them.

The show is very good and very entertaining. They actually manage to get quite a bit of the law correct, but as in all legal dramas, the courtroom scenes are highly dramatized, and much more entertaining than what happens in real life. Also, the time frame is very compressed, with each case being resolved in a matter of weeks from the time the crime is committed. The big controversy of the season involved Dushku, who asserted that Michael Weatherly sexually harassed her on the set, which ultimately resulted in her leaving the show after her three-episode arc and not being brought back for the second season, which was originally the plan. Weatherly acknowledged he made comments to her that he intended as jokes, but was not aware she was offended until much later, after which he apologized. Whatever the situation was, Dushku's character was a great addition to the show and the fact that her arc abruptly ended when she was clearly being set up for a larger role sucks. That may color whether you want to watch the show, but as far as what was on-screen, it is a good drama that is definitely not a carbon copy of any other legal drama. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Hawaii Five-0: Season 7

 

+++Warning, this contains minor season 6 spoilers, but no major season 7 giveaways+++

The 25-episode seventh season of Hawaii Five-0 aired during the 2016/2017 season. It ended up being a very transitional season for the show, probably moreso than anyone expected.  The season picks up shortly after the events that ended season 6, with Steve and Danny both still in the hospital recovering from the transplant operation. While they are recovering, a vigilante killer starts terrorizing the island, which means that they end up rushing back to work to deal with the situation. The season premiere episode also finds a clever way to incorporate Jack Lord, who played McGarrett in the original series, using CGI technology to have the two Steves talk to each other. From there, the show follows a similar format to the prior seasons, blending procedural case-of-the-week episodes with longer story arcs here and there. One of the longer serial arcs included guest stars Claire Forlani as an ex-FBI profiler and Elisabeth Rohm (from Law and Order and Angel) as a police psychologist in a storyline that involves a serial killer. This season also sees the return of Michelle Borth as Catherine and Christine Lahti as Steve's mother, Doris in episode 150. Other notable episodes include one that is clearly inspired by the movie Die Hard in which Grace's school dance is attacked by terrorists and Danny and Lou have to save the day, a Jerry-centric episode involving a new JFK assassination conspiracy, and a Max-centric episode that would be Masi Oka's last appearance as a series regular. The season ends with a storyline involving a sex-trafficking ring that Kono vows to take down.

The DVD set is a six-disc set with the 25 episodes spread across the 6 discs. The extras are similar to those of the past couple of seasons. They mostly include deleted scenes on select episodes, but there is a short behind-the-scenes featurette on the show's 150th episode. And, of course, the show is now only available on DVD as it was no longer released on blu-ray after the fourth season.

The show continues to be good but is definitely getting a bit old. Alex O'Loughlin had made no secret of the fact by this point that was not sure how much longer his body could hold up playing the role of Steve, and of course, this is the season in which Grace Park's and Daniel Dae Kim's frustrations over their salary came to a head. Even with all of that, the writers did a good job coming up with compelling stories to tell, and the show continued to have a great guest and recurring cast, including Rosalind Chao, Melanie Griffith, Sarah Carter, Lilli Simmons, Chris Vance, Missy Peregrym, and Jimmy Buffett. If you have liked the show up to this point you will probably like this season. If it has not done much for you before this, this season is not likely to change your mind.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Spiderman Homecoming

 

Homecoming is the newest incarnation of Spiderman in the Marvel universe. Of course, the first live-action version of the character was played by Toby McGuire back in 2002 and arguably jumpstarted the superhero movie genre which had been on life support since Batman and Robin flopped in 1999. This version of Peter Parker/Spiderman, played by Tom Holland, was actually introduced during Captain America Civil War, fighting on the Iron Man side. This movie is mostly set after the events of Civil War, with Peter Parker going back to life as a high-school student, still being mentored by Stark (mostly from afar), and being watched over by Happy Hogan (played again by Jon Favreau). The movie also has ties to the first Avengers movie with the Chitauri technology playing a large role in the plot of the movie. Peter becomes more concerned with fighting crime than he is with school, which does not always work out well for him. The movie also sees the return of Michael Keaton to the superhero genre, this time in a much different role. The rest of the cast is very strong and includes Zendeya, Jacob Batalon, Donald Glover, and Marissa Tomei, as Aunt May.

For those who get the 4k-UHD set, there are two discs, the UHD disc, and a regular blu-ray disc. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is great, and the movie looks and sounds wonderful in the format. The UHD disc has one extra, the Spidey Study Guide, that allows the movie to be played with pop-ups that have trivia and facts about the movie. The rest of the extras are on the regular blu-ray disc. Those include a short gag reel, about 16 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, eight different making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes that run about 45 minutes, give or take, all totaled, a photo gallery, the movie trailer, and trailers for other Sony titles.

Overall, the movie is very good. It has a nice blend of action and humor and is a bit more light-hearted than some of the other MCU movies. Of course, Sony actually owns the rights to the Spiderman character (because of some licensing deal made years ago) and they allow the character to appear in the MCU. Holland does a great job as the lead, and you can buy him as a teenager even though he was in his early 20s when the movie was made. Robert Downey Jr. is always entertaining as Tony Stark (especially when he was hitting on Aunt May), and both Batalon (playing Peter's best friend, Ned) and Zendaya (playing Michelle/MJ) were great in the younger roles. For me, however, Keaton really stole the show and seemed to really be enjoying his return to the superhero genre. It is a great movie that is definitely worth checking out.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 7

Day 7 was a total rest day for Beginner Pilates. It is an optional rest day for Lift-4, but I again did the flexibility and then the foam roller routines. Nothing really new to report about either of those two, as my flexibility (or lack thereof), was exactly the same as it was yesterday.  

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Place: Season 1

 

The Good Place is a comedy about the afterlife created by Micahel Schur (who was one of the writers/producers of The Office; and also played Dwight's cousin Mose), that skillfully manages to avoid religion (save for a line in the first episode) despite being about the concepts of Heaven and Hell.

The series stars Kristen Bell as Elanor Shellstrop, a woman in her 30s who lived a trainwreck of a life and was killed in a grocery store parking lot. She has managed to go to "The Good Place" despite being a truly awful person. There she is welcomed by Ted Danson's character, Michael, who is the architect of the neighborhood in The Good Place where Elanor will be living for eternity, along with other residents. Basically, Michael is an immortal being that has the equivalent of a 9-to-5 job, getting his first chance to design a neighborhood. Elanor quickly figures out that another woman with the same name was supposed to be in The Good Place, and she was not. She enlists the help of another new resident of the neighborhood, Chidi, played by William Jackson Harper, who was a philosophy professor in life, to help her become a better person. The neighborhood starts falling apart through a series of ever-increasing disasters as Elanor tries to hide who she is, and change her ways. The rest of the main cast includes Jameela Jamil, who plays Tahani, a wealthy English philanthropist who is totally self-absorbed, Manny Jacinto, who plays Jianyu, a monk who has taken a vow of silence, and D'Arcy Carden, who plays Janet, a programmed guide (think Siri or Alexa) that can take physical form and provide the residents anything they desire.

In the DVD set, the 13 episodes are spread across two discs. The extras include commentary tracks on four episodes with Schur and various members of the cast. There are extended editions of the pilot and the season finale, a gag reel that is hosted by Adam Scott in-character, as Trevor, a featurette on the special effects, and the table read of Episode 12. So, a good amount of material if you like watching the extras.

Overall, the show is very good. As I said above, it really avoids religion of any kind, aside from a line that says each religion gets something right. Kristen Bell is hilarious as Elanor and Jameela Jamil, who is in her first major acting role, does a great job with her character as well. The main cast are all wonderful and the show also has a strong supporting cast, including the aforementioned Adam Scott, Tiya Sircar, Marc Evan Jackson, and more. The show is definitely not appropriate for young kids as it does have a lot of sex jokes, drinking, and disguised swearing (fuck becomes fork, and shit becomes shirt) because there is no swearing in "The Good Place". So, if you are looking for a good, but more adult sitcom, this one is definitely worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: Designated Survivor: Season 1

 

Designated Survivor was a show about a HUD Secretary named Tom Kirkman, played by Kiefer Sutherland, Kirkman is named the Designated Survivor (the one cabinet member that does not attend the State of the Union) and becomes President when a terrorist attack wipes out the entire government (almost) on an attack on the Capitol during the State of the Union address. 

The first season of the show intertwines two storylines. The first was trying to figure out who was behind the attack on the Capitol. The second storyline involved Kirkman figuring out how to be President, and trying to rebuild the government, as well as trying to run the country with the majority of the government gone. The two storylines largely remained parallel to each other, only intersecting at certain times. Maggie Q, arguably the second lead of the series, plays FBI agent Hannah Wells, who was the lead agent trying to figure out the conspiracy. The White House Staff included Adan Canto (playing the Chief of Staff Aaron Shore), Italia Ricci (playing Advisor Emily Rhodes), LaMonica Garret, (who played lead Secret Service Agent Mike Ritter), and Kal Penn (who played Press Secretary Seth Wright). Penn was also a consultant on the show and provided knowledge of his time working in the White House.  The rest of the cast was rounded out by character actors including Natascha McElhone as the first lady, McKenna Grace and Tanner Buchanan as Kirkman's son and daughter, Malik Yoba as FBI Deputy Director Jason Atwood, Reed Diamond as the FBI's version of the head of Internal Affairs, and Virginia Madsen as Congresswoman Virginal Hookstraten, who was the Republican Designated Survivor.

For those who get the DVD set, the 21 episodes are spread across five discs. There are only a handful of extras including the entire first speech Kirkman makes after being sworn in, a set tour hosted by LaMonica Garret, and a making-of featurette that features interviews with the cast and the showrunners.

Overall, the first season is very good, and in some ways was very prophetic in the storyline about the conspiracy to overthrow the government. Fortunately, the dipshits that tried it in real life were not as good at it as those in the series. My only real complaint about the first season is that they revealed too much too soon. Much of the conspiracy storyline is revealed by the end of the season, and I think that could have been saved a bit for season two. Otherwise, though, Sutherland does a great job as the series lead. This is really his first major role since his time as Jack Bauer ended, and it is always hard to see (and hear) him without thinking of Jack Bauer. But, he does a good job not playing the part of Kirkman as Jack Bauer as President. So, if you like political dramas with some action and suspense mixed in, this is definitely worth watching.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 6

For Day 6 in Beginner Pilates, the workout is the Abs and Core workout. This one is short, just over 23 minutes, and focuses on just ab/core exercises. Although a couple of the moves in the workout also work hamstring flexibility and the lower back (which is a part of the core anyway). The moves are challenging, but doable. I did have to skip a couple of reps in some of the moves a couple of times, but for the most part, I could get through everything.

Day 6 in Lift-4 is another recovery day so I again did the flexibility workout and then the Roll and Recover workout. I do wish that they would have made each of those workouts a little longer...maybe 15 minutes each so that they could incorporate a few more moves and stretch a couple of other body parts. But otherwise, I think those are both good workouts.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 5

 Day 5 for Beginner Pilates was the Fundamentals 2 workout. This was supposed to be the workout on Thursday, but I accidentally mixed them up, so I just did this one today and moved on. Shockingly, I am seeing tiny gains in my flexibility even after the first week. On the modified roll-up, when I stretch forward I can get a little (and I stress a little) a bit farther with my reach. Even when I was a kid, and was much more flexible than I am as an adult, I could never do that seated stretch worth a damn. When we had to do that fitness test in school and had to sit with our feet against the box and move the slider at the top, I could barely reach the slider, much less move it. 

The Lift 4 workout was legs, which was a 50/50 lifting and cardio workout. For this one, there are three blocks of two different leg exercises. You do 10 reps of each exercise and then rest, and then repeat for three rounds. Then, after you get through the three blocks of leg exercises you do cardio. There are three cardio exercises you cycle through, high knee jog for 1-minute, a move where you keep your knees two inches off the floor and hop side-to-side for 45 seconds, and then squat jacks for 30 seconds. You do three rounds of the cardio, and then you alternate two different core exercises (a version of a crunch and plank leg lifts). So, it is another brutal workout that will have you gassed by the end of it. 

Product Review: Filtrete 16x25x1 Air Filter, MPR 1200, Allergen Defense Odor Reduction, 2-Pack

 

These filters are good if you have a newer, higher-efficiency furnace. If your furnace is older (manufactured and/or installed around the year 2000), especially a lower-end model, then chances are it will not provide enough airflow through these to make them worth using. But, once you do have a newer furnace, these are a good option. They are a bit more expensive than the very cheap filters, but they also trap a lot more.

Book Review: Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View (A New Hope)

 

From a Certain Point of View is a collection of short stories set during A New Hope, but told from the perspective of characters that were ancillary and/or in the background of the various scenes. For example, the first story is told from the point of view of Raymus Antillies who was the officer on board Princess Leia's ship whom Darth Vader kills after he comes aboard looking for the Death Star plans. There is also a story from the point of view of the droid with the bad motivator that allows R2 to be purchased by Owen and a story from the point of view of one of the Jawas. We also get a story from the point of view of the stormtroopers who got mind-tricked by Obi-Wan, and a couple of stories set inside the cantina. There are also stories that include Qui-Gon (appearing as a force ghost to Obi-Wan) and Palpatine after Vader informs him of Obi-Wan's death.

The book is very entertaining. Some of the stories are better than others, but I would not say that there are any bad stories among the bunch. Of course, none of the stories change the plot of A New Hope but do flesh out the story a bit. It will appeal to most Star Wars fans, but will probably appeal the most to the people in their 40s and 50s who grew up on the original trilogy. The book is almost 500 pages long, and the stories vary in length. On the whole, it is a fairly easy read, although some of the stories are easier to get through than others. I definitely recommend it.