Book Review: Executive Power: (Mitch Rapp Series Book 6 Chronological Order; Book 4 Publication Order)

 

This is a continuation of the spy thriller/political thriller series of novels by the late Vince Flynn set around the character of Mitch Rapp. It is set down the line from the events of the prior novel, Separation of Power, in which Rapp was outed as a CIA asset by President Hayes after the mission in Iraq. Now, Mitch is basically saddled with an office job working for Irene Kennedy at the CIA, but he still manages to get into the thick of things (much to the displeasure of his boss, Irene Kennedy, and his wife, Anna). 

This novel has a couple of different storylines going on. The beginning of the book centers around an operation in the Philippines involving a corrupt general and a family of Americans being held hostage by terrorists. The main storyline in the novel is a plot that involves a Saudi Arabian prince who is working with a Palestinian assassin (who is also working with Ben Friedman, the fictional head of the Mossad, who has been a major character in the prior novels) in a scheme to get the UN to set up a Palestinian state.

In this novel, which is the fourth in the series if you read the books in order of publication, Flynn again blends real life with his fictional world. This was the first novel that was written after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and while Flynn does refer to the attacks, and does a play on names of one of the real 9/11 hijackers in naming one of his fictional terrorists, he does not extensively work the events of 9/11 into the book. Flynn also gives a nod to his Twin Cities roots by naming a character after a local reporter/talk show host. 

Overall, the book is another good action thriller. While I do not think the overall story is as good as the stories in Transfer of Power, The Third Option, and Separation of Power, it has a similar tone to all of those books there were just too many stretches in the book in which Rapp was absent or on the sidelines. That said, it is still worth reading.

DVD/TV Series Review: Animal Kingdom: Season 6

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior seasons, but no major giveaways from season six+++

The sixth season of Animal Kingdom aired during the summer of 2022, and consisted of 13 episodes. This season is all about reveals. It picks up sometime down the line from the discovery of Catherine's body by the police at the end of Season 5. The cops in Oceanside officially consider it a cold case, assuming either Baz or Smurf killed her, and with both of them being dead, were not looking too heavily into the case. That is until a new cop takes up the case and starts looking at Pope. 

The show jumps back and forth between the 1990s, where young Smurf, played by Lelia George, is completely fucking up the teenaged versions of Pope (played by Kevin Csolak, who mirrors Shawn Hatsoy's performance perfectly), Baz (played by Darren Mann), and Julia (played by Jasper Polish), and the present in which J is acting as the de-facto leader of the family. 

In the past, we see the events that led J to hate Smurf and the entire family, and in the present, it is revealed exactly how much he hates them. We also see the events that led to Pope being arrested for bank robbery, which was the crime he had just been released for in the show's first season. I won't say too much about how things play out, but the show does provide some closure, but some things are not tied up in nice bows. For example, we never get a concrete answer as to whether Smurf actually had an incestual relationship with any of the kids, but it is strongly hinted that she did at least with Pope. Of course, that is not something that they ever could have filmed in the flashbacks since the kids were supposed to be in their teens, but Lelia George played Smurf just as creepy and skeevy as Ellen Barkin did.

For those who get the DVD, it is mostly a MOD set with the 13 episodes spread across three discs. It does have one bonus feature, which is an 8-minute-long series retrospective that includes interviews with members of the cast and crew and has some behind-the-scenes footage from the final season. 

Overall, the season is good. I think the material in the flashbacks is a bit better than the material in the present day, but Shawn Hatsoy (who also directs another episode this season) carries every scene he is in. Lelia George really nails young Smurf and does a great job portraying an absolutely horrible character that ruined all of her kids' lives.  I cannot say that everyone will love how the series ends, but if you have been a fan of the show up to this point, it is definitely worth seeing how it plays out. 

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 3

Day 3 ended up being a two-yoga workout day. In the morning, the three-week yoga retreat workout was a balance-focused workout. The hardest pose in that workout was tree, although there were a couple of good variations of it for people whose balance is not very good. Then, in the evening, I did X3 yoga, which is a very scaled-back combination of yoga routines in X1 and X2, yet still very challenging. And, thankfully, is only a half hour as opposed to the 90-minute slog that is X1 yoga and the hour-long routine in X2. Ted, who is one of the cast members in the three-week yoga program is a cast member in the X3 yoga video, as is Traci Morrow, who has been in nearly all of Tony Horton's major programs. She was probably in her late 40s when X3 yoga was filmed and in great shape, especially for having six kids. And, she laughs at all of Tony's corny jokes, so there is that.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 2

Day 2 in Yoga was a flexibility-focused stretch workout, focusing on hamstring, hip, and spine mobility. If you have done any of the P90x versions of yoga you will recognize a lot of the moves, but they are done at a much slower pace in this program and with more variations when alternate modifications are available. 

The X3 workout was Agility-X, a cardio workout incorporating some plyometrics. Specifically, jumping or hopping laterally, from side to side, as well as forward and back. You have to put a couple pieces of tape on the floor parallel to each other with three marks at the ends of each piece and in the middle of each piece. Those act as targets for some of the exercises in which you will be trying to land on a particular target. It starts off pretty easy, but gets very tough by the end. So, even if you are in good shape and do not have to modify any of the moves, you will be tired when you get done with it.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 1

Day 1 of this new round of doubles workouts consisted of Day 1 in the three-week yoga retreat, which was a core-focused 30-minute yoga routine, and then the total synergistics workout in X3. The yoga workout has three people, two doing unmodified versions of the workout and one person (this time Ted, who was a cast member in both the X2 and X3 yoga routines) doing modified moves. The routine is challenging but not so hard that it is impossible for a beginner to do. The workout was actually made for those who are either total beginners at yoga or who have done some yoga in the past, but got away from it and are out of practice, which perfectly describes me. 

For those who have not done X3 before, it is basically a combination of P90X and P90X2, using many of the same exercises as in those workouts, but condensed into a half-hour long routine (actually about 32 minutes with the cool-down). Total synergistics is hard. It has some exercises that use weights, some chin-up exercises, and some cardio moves and yoga moves (sometimes doing cardio and yoga moves with weights). A few exercises have you standing on one foot and lifting weights, which will probably be challenging for most people. For the most part, I used light weights, although there were a couple of different squat exercises in which I used a 20 or 30-pound dumbbell. There is a modifier doing only slightly less intense versions of each move, but honestly you may have to modify the modified moves if you are just starting out.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Days 55 and 56

For the last two days of this doubles workout I just did the two Lift-4 recovery workouts each day. I was a bit burned out on Pilates and just wanted to do short workouts each day. When I get a chance later this week I will give my impressions of each of the two programs. The next doubles program I am going to do is Beachbody's three-week yoga retreat and P90X3. After the three-week yoga retreat, I will figure out if I want to keep doing that or switch to one of the other flexibility-based programs as the second workout since X3 will last 12 weeks.   

Book Review: Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good (Ascendancy Trilogy Volume II)

 

This is the second in the backstory trilogy of the character of Thrawn in the new Star Wars canon material. Specifically, during the time when he was an officer in the Chiss Ascendancy before he joined the Empire. This is set a short time after the events of the first novel, Chaos Rising, and in the Star Wars timeline occurs between Episodes II and II, during the Clone Wars. The basic plot of the book is that the Chiss Ascendancy (which consists of multiple planets in the Unknown Regions) is being attacked by enemies who seek to divide the nine ruling families and start a civil war within the Chiss Ascendancy. Thrawn's ship is one of two that are mopping up the remnants of the Nikardun military (from the first book) only to uncover the larger plot. 

There is definitely less action in this book than in the first and a lot more political maneuvering. Thrawn is also not in the book as much, and the memories chapters really have nothing to do with him, focusing on some of the ancillary characters. There is another big battle at the end in which Thrawn uses his enhanced strategic and observation skills, which is what most people who are reading the books are likely to be interested in. So, while I do not think the book is bad, it is not as good as the first and definitely feels like the middle part of the story. 

Book Review: The Empire Strikes Back Novelization

 

This is the original novelization of The Empire Strikes Back, which was published around the time of the movie's release in 1980. The book was re-released in the 1990s, including a hardcover version, when Lucas was working on the special editions of the original trilogy and getting ready to finish writing and start filming the prequel trilogy. This has an introduction by Lucas in which he talks about the movie and some of the issues that surrounded getting it made after the success of Star Wars. 

This is a pretty straightforward novelization of the movie. It does not change the story at all but does have some dialogue changes here and there. Usually, what ended up in the movie is better than what was in the book, so the dialogue was changed for the better in the movie screenplay. The book is very short, much shorty than the novelizations of the prequel and sequel trilogy movies, and can easily be finished in a day or two. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 8

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season of House, but no major giveaways from the final season+++

House's eighth and final season aired in the 2011-2012 TV season and consisted of the show's final 22 episodes. The show starts out almost a year after House drove his car into Cuddy's living room. He ultimately returned to New Jersey, was arrested, and has been in jail for three months (after representing himself at trial). Foreman is now the director of the hospital (with Lisa Edelstein leaving the show because of a contract dispute after season 7), Wilson hates his guts, and Chase and Taub have moved on (seemingly). The first episode, much like the season House was in the psychiatric hospital, is set in the last few days of House's stint in jail (we learn that Foreman got him early release on the condition that he can only go to the hospital or his apartment), assuming he makes it through the last week without getting killed or having his sentence extended. 

While in jail he meets Dr. Jessica Adams (played by Odette Annable, probably best known for her role in Cloverfield up to that point) who works in the prison infirmary, and who would become a new member of the team along with the character of Dr. Chi Park (played by Charline Yi) who was pawned off on House after she punched her attending. Of course, House gets out of jail, and once he does, the show continues with the case of the week format as well as having a couple of different serial arcs, including a fake marriage to a Ukranian model (played by Karolina Wydra) and a major storyline that ultimately wraps up the series. 

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, there are fewer extras for this release than in prior season releases. There are no commentary tracks or deleted scenes, but there are three making-of/behind-the-scenes featurettes, one about the episode that Hugh Laurie directed, one that serves as a behind-the-scenes/making-of the final episode and has footage of the series wrap party, and one that is basically a series retrospective. Between the three of them, you get over an hour of bonus content. 

Ultimately, season 8 is good, with some great moments, but feels incomplete because there is no real resolution to the House-Cuddy storyline. Basically, the show was brought back for an eighth season on a smaller budget, and the producers asked Lisa Edelstein to take a cut in pay, and she refused. So, Cuddy was written out and she did not appear, even in the final episode in which many of the former cast members (including Kal Penn, Sela Ward, Anne Dudek, Olivia Wilde, Amber Tamblyn, Andre Braugher, and Jennifer Morrison) returned for cameos. That said, I do think that the ending to the series was perfect for House. It gave the viewers closure but still left some things open to imagination. Even with the reduced budget, the show managed to get some good guest and recurring stars (some of whom were not huge stars at that point) including Jaleel White, Michael Masse, Wentworth Miller, Yaya DaCosta, Jeffrey Wright, David Anders, Rena Sofer, and Michael B. Jordan. So, while I do not think it is as good as the prior seasons, it is still very good, and for me, it was better after a second viewing.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 54

Day 54 was Abs and Core in Pilates and it was the last regular day of Lift 4, which was another full-body HIIT workout. This one has three blocks of three exercises, that you again do for three rounds. The first block does the 1-minute, 45 seconds, 30 seconds rotation, in block two you do the three exercises for 45 seconds, 30 seconds, and 15 seconds, respectively, and then in the last block, you do the exercises for 30 seconds and 15 seconds (the jumping lunges, so 15 seconds per leg. Then you do three burnout rounds in which you do all nine exercises, back to back, for 30 seconds each. Then finish with core and stretching. The entire cast, with one exception who was on vacation, does the workout, and Joel joins in and does about 95% of the workout. He does stop and walk around a bit, but for the most part, he is doing the entire thing. It is, again, a very tough workout (even Joel is winded at the end), even if you modify some of the moves, but it goes by quickly (it lasts just over 30 minutes. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 53

Day 53 was the Flow 1 workout in Pilates and the shoulders and arms circuit workout in Lift-4. Again, you do all of the same exercises from last week but do them in a different order, and there is almost no rest in between the sets. It is another quad set workout in which you do three rounds of four exercises, ten reps each alternating one shoulder, one biceps, one shoulder, and one triceps, and then you do three rounds of burnout in which you do one shoulder exercise, one biceps exercise, and one triceps exercise, each for 30 seconds. Then, you finish with core and stretching. It is again a very tough workout, especially if you can up your weight. If you are a P90x alumn, be aware that, even though this workout contains many of the same moves (or very similar moves) as P90X and P90X3 contain, you have a lot less rest between sets, so you will probably have to use much lighter weights for some of the exercises as you used in P90x because you usually get 30-45 seconds between the exercises in P90x, where in this one you get 15 seconds, max (and sometimes not even that much time).

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 52

Day 52 was flow 2 in Pilates and the two recovery workouts in Lift-4. Nothing new to report about any of the workouts, as my flexibility level has stayed constant over the course of the past few weeks. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 51

Day 51 was flow 2 in Pilates and Legs 50/50 in Lift-4. The leg workout was two quad sets, doing three rounds of each set, then three rounds of HIIT. For the HIIT portion, you do just three exercises, each for 30 seconds, with pretty much no rest between them. So, in ways it is a little better than the graduated HIIT in which you do one move for 1:00, one move for :45, one move for :30, etc. But, you legs are so tired from the lifting, that it does not matter all that much. 

Book Review: Peril

 

This is a book that is co-written by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. It is partly a follow-up to Woodward's two other books chronicling the 2017-2021 presidential administration, but mostly a book about the 2020 election, detailing Joe Biden's decision to run, his resurrection during the Democratic primary, how he dealt with the transition, and how he dealt with the first 100 days of his administration, with a large focus on the dealing needed to get the rescue plan passed. The book shifts between detailing what was going on with the Biden camp and with the former administration, and provides a lot of good insight into the shitstorm that t***p and his band of dipshits caused both before and after the January 6th riot, and just how pissed off everyone, including the military and the spineless Republicans like McCarthy and McConnell, were at t***p in private while still either refusing to truly condemn him (like Bitch McConnell) or licking his balls at Mara Largo (like Qevin McCarthy and Lindsay Graham). It really underscores how little respect anyone had for t***p, including some of the people in his inner circle, and that everyone, even the ball lickers, were telling t***p that he lost the election. 

For me, the best part of the book is the last third in which the authors really dispense with talking about t***p (mostly) and focuses on what had to be done to get the 1.9 trillion dollar rescue plan passed, particularly how to get Joe Manchin to go along with it since the Democrats could not afford to lose any votes in the 50/50 senate, as well as making decisions like whether to honor the deal between the former administration and the Taliban to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan. It was interesting to get insight into how Biden learned from his time as Vice President, and the mistakes that the Obama administration made in trying to deal with Republicans who were never going to deal in good faith with him, and Biden basically telling Republicans something along the lines of "I will listen to you, but this is what we are going to do whether you join us or not". This is definitely a must-read if you are into politics and/or current events.

Book Review: Star Wars

 

This is the novelization of the original Star Wars (before it was subtitled A New Hope) based on George Lucas' original screenplay. The story is almost exactly what you see in the movie, however, some of the dialogue is changed from what ended up on the screen (sometimes for the worse, meaning what ended up in the finished movie was better). Therefore, the story still has some of the issues that the original movie had, namely the story being a bit clunky and some of the character dialogue being pretty stupid (prompting the famous line by Harrison Ford to Lucas, "you can write this shit but you can't say it").

The book was re-released as a hardcover novel just before the special editions of the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy were released, and there is a forward written by George Lucas that discusses the original story and gives some hints about where he intended to go with the prequels. The book is short (under 300 pages) and is a quick read. Technically, the novels are not canon, just the movies, but that really is not a big issue in this case. While I would not say the book is a must-read, it is an interesting one, basically because it allows you to see the very early version of the story as compared to how it has been tweaked over the years. It definitely seems that Lucas' claim that he had the entire story mapped out from the beginning was complete bullshit and that he added major elements to the story after the original movie was a hit and he knew he could continue on with it.  

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 50

Day 50 was Flow 1 in Pilates and Chest and Back in Lift 4. In the chest and back workout, you do the same moves as in the week 7 version of the workout, but you do them in a different order. This is another circuit workout doing two blocks of three rounds of four exercises (two chest exercises followed by two back exercises). When you finish the two blocks, then there are three rounds of burnout exercises which are the same as last week--regular push-ups, back extensions, and wide push-ups--then you finish with three rounds of core/ab exercises. It is interesting that the slight variation in the order of the moves makes as much difference as it does, but I really found myself getting tired earlier in the workout. So, it was a good way to start week 8. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 49

Day 49 was a total rest day for Lift-4, but I did the other 20-minute Pilates workout, Express Pilates. I actually like this one better than the other 20-minute workout. I think it flows better (at least for beginners) while still being challenging. Plus, getting it over with in 20 minutes is nice.   

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 48

Day 48 was a rest day in Pilates and the recovery workouts in Lift-4. This week I did not really feel any improvement in my flexibility but did not feel I regressed either. So really there is nothing major to say one way or the other about this one.

Textbook Review: Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics 6th Edition

 

This is a good engineering textbook in terms of explaining the theory. In that aspect, it is clear and concise and provides many good examples in the chapter text to guide you in doing the homework problems. All of the problems sets are long and the problems get more challenging as you get into the later problems, and generally, each problem sets up the next problem meaning the technique that you have to use to solve one problem gives you a guide for how to approach the next one, but the next one will have some twist or wrinkle that makes it a bit harder. And, some of the problems are actually two-part problems in which the solution to the first problem is then used to solve the next problem. The one drawback is that the book (at least the sixth edition) does not provide any answers to problems, even the odd-numbered problems, which makes checking your work very difficult. One of the big plusses that the book provides that I wish more math and engineering textbooks did is a summary at the end of the sections, just before the problem sets, that list out the equations from that section and tells you the kinds of problems each of the equations is used for. So, while the book is not perfect, it is definitely one of the better textbooks that I had to use while getting my electrical engineering degree. 

Blu-Ray/TV-Series Review: Charmed - The Complete Series

 

This is the blu-ray box set of the original Charmed series that aired on the WB network from 1998 to 2006 and starred Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, Shannen Doherty (for the first three seasons), Rose McGowan (for the final four seasons), and in the final season, Kaley Cuoco (after she wrapped on the sitcom 8-Simple Rules and before starring on The Big Bang Theory). The show was set around three sisters in their twenties who also discover that they are witches who have to protect the world (at least San Fransico) from demons, werewolves, and all manner of supernatural beings. It was basically a prime-time soap opera that had a mix of action, drama, and campy comedy. At the beginning of the series, it was mostly a monster-of-the-week kind of show, much like the first season of Buffy was (and given that the two shows aired at the same time, there are a lot of guest stars on Charmed who also appeared on Buffy, and Charmed even did an episode that was a total spoof/homage to Buffy in the later seasons). Then, it began to incorporate larger story arcs that ran throughout the season to become a mix of a serial and procedural show. 

The biggest controversy involving the show was the purported feud between Doherty and Milano. Pretty much everyone involved acknowledged that there was tension between the two. There are rumors that Milano went to the showrunners and basically said "her or me" which Milano has always denied, but it is interesting that Doherty directed the final episode of season three and was gone by season four when Milano became one of the show's producers. In season four, Rose McGowan was brought into the show to essentially replace Doherty's character as a new (conveniently conceived) third sister to keep the "power of three" concept alive. Since the show has gone off the air, Milano and McGowan have feuded with each other on social media, and Combs has made comments that hint at the fact that Milano was more of a problem than either Doherty (who was and still is Combs' best friend) and McGowan (who has become batshit crazy as she has gotten older, if she was not always so) was behind-the-scenes. While the women of the show were the focus, the show had some great male stars as well, including Brian Krause, who played Leo, Piper's love interest throughout the series, Julian McMahon, who played Cole, a demon who became a love interest for Phoebe, and Dorian Gregory, who played inspector Daryl Morris, who was a cop whose cases the girls helped solve and/or cover-up the supernatural elements of the crimes. The show really did the character of Morris dirty, reducing his role so much over the course of time that he was barely in the show in seasons six and seven, and when he was, he rarely had anything productive (with some exceptions) to add. And, because of budget cuts in season 8, his character was written out of the show completely and only mentioned one time. And, while the character of Prue was mentioned after Doherty left the show, she was never brought back for a cameo appearance like other characters who left the series were from time to time.

It should be noted that this set is just a repackaging of the individual season blu-ray releases. They are the same season sets that you can buy individually, just packed in a decorative outer box. So, if you already purchased in the individual season blu-ray releases, you are not getting anything different by getting this set. Some of the descriptions make it seem like there are a bunch of bonus features that were newly included for this release, and that is not the case. Seasons 1-7 have no bonus content at all, and season 8 carries over the bonus content from the season 8 DVD release and one new interview (from 2021) with producer/director James Conway. There are no new cast/crew interviews, commentary tracks, etc., that were made for this set.

Overall, the show is good, but not as good as other shows in its genre like Buffy and Supernatural. It was definitely a more campy show than either of those two shows and never had the kind of special effects budgets that those shows had. It definitely had elements (like the various states of undress that Milano and McGowan were often in, including an entire episode in which Milano was topless with the exception of pasties over her nipples) that would probably not fly these days. And, it could definitely get a bit soap opera-like with the "I need a man" storylines for Paige and Phoebe. But, if you do not take it too seriously and just take it as a fun show that could be a bit silly but had good themes of family relationships and togetherness and a ridiculously good-looking cast, it is enjoyable. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 47

For Day 47 I did abs and core in Pilates and then the last day of the first sculpt week in Lift-4 was a full-body HIIT workout. In that workout, there are three blocks of three rounds of three exercises. Some of them are leg-focuses, like squat jacks, and some are more upper-body focused like in-and-out plyo pushups. Once you are done with the three blocks, you do a burnout round doing all nine moves for thirty seconds with no rest between the moves, and then you finish with core. So, it is a very tough workout and pretty much everyone in the cast was modifying by the end of it. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed - Season 8

 

++++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season, but no major spoilers from season 8++++

The eighth season of Charmed aired during the 2005-2006 TV season. The showrunners actually did not think that the show would be picked up for an eighth season, which is why the season seven finale was written as if it was a series finale, with the girls "dying" and taking up new identities in order to live normal lives. The show was brought back for what would be a final season on a shoestring budget which required a lot of changes to be made to the show. The biggest among those changes is that many of the recurring characters that have appeared throughout the series were written out, and Brian Krause was downgraded from a series regular to a recurring character. And, the show did not get as many of the big guest stars as they have had in years past, or as many musical acts. In fact, the only popular musical act this season was an appearance by Liz Phair. The big addition to the cast was the character of Billie, a witch who basically teaches herself magic (and ninja skills), played by Kaley Cuoco, who had just wrapped up the series 8-Simple Rules. 

This season had a much better serial arc and mostly dispensed with the monster-of-the-week format. The first third of the series was devoted to undoing the events of the season seven finale and figuring out how to have the girls go back to living their lives and not have to use two sets of actresses, as well as coming up with a way to sideline Leo for much of the rest of the season. The second third of the show sets up what would be the final battle, of course throwing some twists in the plotline, and the final third of the season wrapped up the series.

For those who get the blu-ray, like the prior seasons, this one has German and English language options. This is also the first of the blu-ray sets to have any bonus material, and there is a lot. There are commentary tracks on three episodes, and then over three hours of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes that really span the history of the show, not just season 8. Most of them are ported over from the DVD releases and contain interviews with the cast, showrunners, and even fans of the show from around 2006 and 2007. There is one interview with one of the producer/directors of the show from 2021, which was created for the blu-ray release, but that is the only new bonus feature. There are no interviews with the cast members that were created specifically for the blu-ray release.

Overall, the season is good. I think it is better, on the whole, than season seven was, with a better "final battle" storyline, better bad guys, and a bit less campy. Unfortunately, because of the budget cuts, Dorian Gregory did not return (the character of Daryl was done dirty by the show for years, however), and Brian Krause was really only in the show for the first third of the season. And, Shannen Doherty was not brought back or did not come back for the finale. I have seen interviews in which she indicated that a pitch was made to bring her back, but the way in which they would do it made no sense. In the commentary track on the final episode, the showrunners only said that she could not be brought back for a number of reasons. Those reasons may have been money, they may have been because of her feud with Alyssa Milano, or a combination of each. But, the show was able to include some of the former stars here and there throughout the season including Finola Hughes, Scott Jaeck, Wes Ramsey, Drew Fuller, and Jennifer Rhodes. There was also another flashback episode in which we got to see Cole and some of Paige's other boyfriends. 

Ultimately, I think the show did a good job wrapping up the series. I do think the budget cuts hurt the show not only because of the characters that we did not get to see but because the special effects were closer to what they were when the show started in 1998 than what the technology would allow to be done in 2005 and 2006 had the show's budget been larger. And, they ditched the opening theme song that played over the opening credits from seasons 1-7, to the instrumental that played during the closing credits. So, while the season was not perfect, I think fans of the series will be satisfied with how it ended.  

Supplement Review: Centrum Adult Multivitamin

 

This is a standard multivitamin, made by a reputable manufacturer that gets you the daily recommended dose (or in some cases more) of the major vitamins and minerals. The capsules are easy to swallow, meaning they are not too large or too small and do not leave an aftertaste in your mouth.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Rebel Files

 

If you are considering this book, keep in mind it is not a novel. It is more like a combination of scrapbook and field guide that details the history of the rebellion against both the Empire and the First Order. It includes communications from characters like Mon Mothma and Bail Organa, news clippings and headlines from the Holonet, which was featured in the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series, and profiles on the various characters. It also has handwritten annotations from characters like Leia and Admiral Ackbar in the margins. 

Because of the format, and the fact that it is under 200 pages, it is a very quick read and can easily be finished in a day or two. My only complaint is that some of the margin notes can be very hard to read, especially if you are at the point in life where you need reading glasses as the text is very small, and because it is supposed to be handwriting, it is not always very legible. Aside from that, however, it is worth checking out but not something most people are likely to read more than once.

Book Review: Separation of Power: (Mitch Rapp Series Book 5 Chronological Order; Book 3 Publication Order)

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior novel, The Third Option, but does not contain major giveaways from this book+++

Separation of Power is set a few weeks after the events of The Third Option, with Mitch having saved Anna from the hitmen hired by Cameron to take him out, Stanfield having died of cancer, and Irene Kenndy set to be nominated for director of the CIA. Mitch wants out of the spy life, but before he retires he wants to figure out who hired Cameron to kill him, which means a trip to Italy to track down Donatella, the former model turned spy who took Cameron out. Further complicating things is Mitch's plan to propose to Anna in Italy after he handles some business, that he of course cannot tell her about. That storyline heavily involves Senator Clark, the Arizona Republican (who is basically the main antagonist of the book) who is using the Democratic Congressman Rudin (who hates Kennedy and the CIA in general) to derail Kennedy's nomination without getting his own hands dirty.

The other major plotline of the novel is that the US finds out that Iraq is weeks away from developing three functional nuclear weapons hidden in a bunker under a hospital, requiring President Hayes, the CIA, and the Military to make a decision about how to prevent Saddam Hussein from finishing them.  As you would expect, both storylines intertwine toward the end of the book.

Overall, the book is a very good mix of spy action and political intrigue. The tone is very similar to the novels Transfer of Power and The Third Option, which were the first two books featuring Rapp that Vince Flynn wrote back in the late 1990s. The political storyline has a bit of a "House of Cards" feel to it, and the stuff directly involving Rapp has a very "24" feel to it. It also seems that members of George W. Bush's administration were reading this as a non-fiction book because much of the justification they used for invading Iraq a year or so after this was published seemed like it was taken directly from the pages of the book. That said, it is a good work of spy-thriller fiction with a story that flows very well and keeps readers engaged throughout. The book is just over 350 pages but reads pretty quickly, so if you are a relatively fast reader it can easily be finished in a few days. So, if you like spy novels and liked the books Transfer of Power and The Third Option (and American Assassin and Kill Shot if you are reading the books in chronological order), this is definitely worth reading.