Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 20

Day 20 was the relax workout in yoga (and also the last regular workout of that program) and The Warrior in X3. I am still not a fan of The Warrior, but it is getting a little easier to do (at least some of the moves).  That is definitely a workout for which you need to be in very good cardio shape to be able to do well, even the modified version (which is barely modified). And, at least for guys, if you still have the spare tire gut, you really have to get rid of that before you have a hope of being able to do this workout well.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 19

Day 19 was the 20-minute flow workout in yoga and  CVX in X3. Again, the flow workout was challenging but since it was a bit shorter it was not too bad. CVX was still very hard and a 3lb weight is perfectly fine for beginners. You will still get a challenging workout. There are even points with using the 3lb weight I have to modify because I am still getting very tired out (usually in the jumping-jack moves). 

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 18

Day 18 was the 30-minute flow workout in the three-week yoga program and The Challenge in X3. The flow workout was hard, probably the hardest routine of the bunch, which makes sense given how the program is laid out. The Challenge was still difficult, but a bit less so than the first couple of weeks, and I was able to bump my number of reps up for both the push-ups and the pull-ups.

Book Review: Memorial Day: (Mitch Rapp Series Book 7 Chronological Order; Book 5 Publication Order)

 

At the time it was written, this was the fifth novel in the Mitch Rapp series of spy/assassin novels by Vince Flynn. It is the seventh book if you read the series chronologically, and the second book in the series written after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. While the prior novel, Executive Power, did mention the 9/11 attacks, this was the first novel in which Flynn built the storyline around the fallout from the attacks. The plot of this book is that what was left of Al Qaeda planned another attack using a cell located in the United States to launch another attack on the country, this time using a nuclear bomb. Rapp discovers the plot when he is helping clear out a stronghold in Pakistan and then has to return to the US to attempt to foil the plot. 

The book is fairly fast-paced with an engaging story. Flynn does introduce a couple of new characters in this novel, the most prominent of which is Peggy Stealey, who is a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in charge of Counterterrorism, who, of course, butts heads with Rapp, and her boss, the Attorney General, Martin Stokes, who is angling to replace the Vice President on the ticket. Mitch's wife, Anna, is mostly absent during the events of this book, essentially written out as visiting her family in Wisconsin for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.  

In my opinion, this was the best book in the series (up to that point), and I think told a much more realistic story than Flynn's prior novels did (in which Iraq was made out to be a much larger threat than it really was). Of course, the plot and the characters were made up (he even refrained from using the names of the real Al Qaeda leadership), but Flynn again blended elements of real life into his story, including the controversy over whether torture (or the threat of it) should be used to interrogate terrorists at a time when the "enhanced interrogation techniques" used in real life were coming to light. Flynn does, despite the fact that he himself was a conservative, remain mostly apolitical in the storytelling and includes characters from both sides of the political spectrum, writing Rapp to pretty much despise all politicians and especially their hangers-on.  The story in the book is mostly self-contained, but there are definitely elements in the book that could be brought into the plots of the subsequent books. I started reading the books in chronological order, so this is the farthest in the timeline I have gotten, so I am not sure how much from this book will carry over into the other books, but it definitely seems like Flynn was setting some things up in this book that will pay off down the line. It is definitely worth reading if you liked the prior novels in the series. 

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 17

Day 17 was another double yoga day. The three-week yoga workout was another 30-minute balance workout, that actually did not have any super challenging balance moves in it. The tree pose was probably the hardest one, but there were a lot of crescent poses throughout. Then, it was X3 yoga again, which, like the other X3 workouts does get progressively easier as you do them, but I am definitely not anywhere near being able to do the advanced poses. 

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 16

Day 16 was the 30-minute stretch workout in the three-week yoga program and Agility X in X3. The yoga workout did not really have any new moves, just new combinations and slight variations on what they have shown in the prior workouts. The agility workout in X3 was again a little easier, with my endurance getting a little better, but I still have to modify the workout a bit.

Book Review: Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil (Ascendancy Trilogy Volume III)

 

This is the third book in what is now the third overall (and second in official Star Wars canon) Thrawn Trilogy. This book concludes the events of the attack on the Chiss Ascendancy (the group of worlds in the unknown regions controlled by the Chiss and their ruling families) with the intent of starting a civil war between the ruling families. Probably more important to Star Wars fans is that it details the lead-up to how Thrawn ultimately became a member of the Empire after being exiled from the Ascendancy (which was hinted at in the first canon trilogy).  In this book, we find out that there is more to that story, and we get a hint of where Thrawn's actual loyalties lie. The book ends just after the events of the Revenge of the Sith and the fall of the Republic and the corresponding rise of the Empire.

I think the book was a good end to the storyline and is definitely better than the second book in the trilogy (Greater Good). Although this one does suffer from a couple of long stretches in which Thrawn is totally absent so if you are not really invested in the ancillary characters, the book may drag a bit. That said, there are some good action sequences, one of which is the final battle at the end of the book, that really displays Thrawn's ability at battle strategy, which is mostly what made the character so popular in the original Thrawn trilogy of novels that were written in the 1990s. While I still think that trilogy was the best one, this book is definitely worth reading for fans of the character to get his entire backstory.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 15

Day 15 is the start of week three, of the three-week yoga retreat. This time, Ted, who you will recognize if you have done P90x2 and/or P90x3 leads the routines, with other cast members joining in to enhance or modify the moves. This routine is again a core-focused routine so it utilizes boat, downward dog crunches, etc. Then, in X3 it is back to the Total Synergistics workout. Again, my endurance is definitely challenged, but the workout is a little easier than it was last week (not by much though), so it is a matter of just plugging away and getting through it. 

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 14

Day 14 was the three yoga workout day. I did the "AM" workout in the early afternoon and then did the abs workout immediately after it. Then, just before bed, I did the PM workout. I could not tell if the AM workout was the same one from last week, but the abs and PM workouts definitely are the same as the week 1 versions. Day 7 is definitely a much less intense day than any of the others, with just a couple of flowing movements, but pretty much everything else is seated. The abs workout is definitely the most challenging of all of the workouts.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 13

Day 13 was the 25-minute relax workout in Yoga, and The Warrior in X3. I still very much dislike (and borderline hate) the Warrior workout, but it was a little bit easier (just a little) the second time through it. It is possible to modify some of the moves, even though the "modifier" in the workout hardly modifies it at all, but even modified it is a very tough workout.

Product Review: Mavogel Cotton Sleep Eye Mask

 

This is a great sleep mask. It is very soft and blocks out all light (when it is positioned correctly). I have a floor lamp that dims on a timer, but I do sometimes get tired before it turns all the way off. I tried putting the mask on before the lamp was set to shut itself off, and I could not see any light through or around the edges of the mask. I also have blackout curtains that do a good job of keeping light from the outside to a minimum, but the electronics I use in my room always have some light that keeps the room from being completely dark, which I definitely need at night in order to sleep well, and this blocks out all of that light which would otherwise keep me awake.

It does take a couple of nights to get used to wearing this. It is a lot heavier than other masks I have tried and it has a tighter strap, both of which are ultimately good, but may be a bit uncomfortable the first night that you use it. The strap is adjustable, however, so you can loosen it up if it is too tight. While it does not always help me fall asleep faster, I definitely sleep deeper once I get to sleep when using this. So, if you are a person that needs absolute darkness to sleep, this is a good pickup.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 12

For Day 12, I did the 20-minute flow workout and last week's 10-minute ab workout (which was one of the optional day 7 workouts that I skipped). Then, in X3, I did the challenge, which was actually supposed to be the workout on Thursday, but misread the days and did CVX instead. At any rate, I added 1 pull-up to each round and one push-up to each round. I did all the push-ups on my toes, except during the burnout when I switched to doing them on my knees to finish the entire 2.5 minutes.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 11

Day 11 was the 30-minute flow workout in yoga and CVX in X3. The flow workout was very good, incorporating nearly all of the moves (except some of the balance moves) that were in the prior workouts this week. It was pretty much non-stop until the end of the workout when they finish with some final stretches.

CVX was again hard, but a bit easier than it was last week. I again just used a 3lb dumbbell, and that was plenty, especially in the second rounds when you are going much faster and hence doing more reps.  

Book Review: Front Row at the T***p Show

 

Jonathan Karl has a unique perspective on the former administration having interviewed the orange genital wart early in his career when t***p was just a bullshit con artist real estate developer, and then a few times leading up to his announcement that he was running for president in 2016. Then, when t***p was in the White House, Karl was the White House Correspondent for ABC news. He also had known Sean Spicer for years before Spicer became the press secretary.

The book basically details the administration right up to the point just before the first impeachment. The final chapter of the book actually ends with t***p meeting Kim Jong Un at the DMZ on the border of North and South Korea and how he was pining for Kim to accept his invitation to meet. Then, in the Epilogue, Karl briefly touches on the first impeachment but does not go into a ton of detail about that because the book at basically been written and ready to publish just as all that was starting. So, at that point, Karl is mostly wrapping up his observations. 

A couple of interesting nuggets from the book are that t***p always thought of his whole brand as an entertainment act (hence the title of the book, which is also probably being used as a euphemism for "shit show" since it is fairly obvious that is how Karl saw that whole operation) and years ago admitted that he lied to get ahead, and just what a thin-skinned little prick Sean Spicer is and how he would get upset over even innocuous questions.

The book is just under 400 pages but reads fairly quickly. I would not say it contains a ton of material that was not widely reported, but it does contain some fine details that were not widely reported. Definitely a good read.

Book Review: Dumpty: The Age of Trump in Verse

 

This is a collection of poems by the actor John Lithgow that are basically a social commentary on the 2017-2021 presidential administration.

Lithgow basically excoriates the orange genital wart and people who were around him (the various cabinet members, etc.) and promoted his narrative (mostly FOX "News"). It is not really a collection of funny poems, but he does take some funny shots at t***p and those around him. But, they are mostly meant to be a serious commentary on the policies and craziness of that administration. I do think if there were more just totally humorous poems in the book it would have been better, but if you despised t***p and his band of dipshits, it is worth reading and can easily be finished in a couple of hours.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 10

Day 10 was another double yoga day, with the balance workout in 3-week Yoga, and then the X3 yoga routine. The best thing about the balance workout is a great variation on tree pose that makes it a LOT easier for people who do not have great balance yet. And, it eases you into Warrior III much more than any of the P90X yoga routines do.

The X3 yoga workout is still challenging, but easier since doing the first Yoga workout in the morning. And, I have started incorporating the 3-week yoga modifications into the X3 routine when I need to, and they help immensely. 

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 9

Day 9 was the 30-minute stretch workout, and much like last week's workout, this one focuses the most on hip and hamstring flexibility. It does have some core work and some flow work (via slower and less intense versions of the sun salutations). 

In X3, the workout was again Agility-x. It was a little easier than last week, but still very challenging and hard to keep up with, especially at the end when Tony keeps reversing direction in some of the moves. It is definitely a workout that will be very hard if you still have a significant amount of weight to lose but should get progressively easier over time. 

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 8

Day 8 was the 30 min core yoga workout, expanding on the concepts from week one. This week, Elise is the head instructor, and the other cast members kind of rotate through the different workouts. While this one is core-focused, it includes a few balance moves and the sun salutation flows.  

In X3 the workout was Total Synergistics again. It is still not a workout I would say that I love, but it is better than The Warrior. There are some moves in the workout that I like and some that I cannot do very well, but I keep pushing forward with it, and hopefully by the end of the month it will be easier.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 7

Day 7 was a rest day in X3. In Yoga, you have the option to do one or more of three different 10-minute workouts, an AM workout, an ab/core workout, and a PM workout. The AM workout is a short version of a flow workout, doing a couple of sun salutations and some breath work. The PM workout is meant to be done just before bed to help you relax and basically focuses on breathing and flexibility. I did not do the abs workout, but I plan to do it on Friday after the 20-minute flow workout.

Book Review: Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service

 

Zero Fail is a book detailing major events in the history of the Secret Service, focusing mainly on the years from 1961 to 2020. The book lays out the good, the bad, and the ugly (sometimes very ugly) of the Secret Service over the years, and how the protection of the Presidents changed over the years, mostly in response to the JFK assassination and the attempted assassination of Ford, Regan, and Presidential candidate George Wallace. And, the book sheds a lot of light (and provides a lot of behind-the-scenes detail) on events like "Hookergate" and the intrusions into the White House complex by fence jumpers that occurred in more recent years.

Leonnig, a Washington Post reporter, does briefly discuss the origins of the Secret Service but the book mainly focuses on events like the JFK assassination, the attempted assassination of Regan, dealing with JFK and Bill Clinton's womanizing, how Nixon wanted to use agents to spy on his rivals, and how it basically became a frat with agents boozing and fucking anything that moved during their later years, and how the culture within the Secret Service caused embarrassment (at the very least) or put the lives to their protectees in danger. Some of the more interesting details involved how the different Presidents and First Ladies reacted to the agents, and as a result who the agents liked (Regan and the Bushes) and who they disliked or hated (Hillary Clinton).

The book is just under 400 pages but is actually a very fast read. If you read fairly quickly, you can easily get through the book in a week or less. The chapters are all relatively short (20 pages or less) so it is something that is easy to read just before bed and still finish a chapter before you get too tired. It is a book that is part expose, part history lesson, and part political reporting. If you are a fan of history and/or politics it is definitely worth checking out. 

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 6

Day 6 in Yoga was the 25-minute relax workout, this time led by Faith, who was the only cast member in this workout. The workout is much less intense than the flow workouts, focusing mostly on breathing and stretching, although you do a couple of half sun salutations. Those are as intense as the workout gets. This one does have a bit more of the woo-woo stuff that turns some people off to yoga, but she does not go overboard with it. 

Then the X3 workout, is my least favorite workout in all of X3, The Warrior. It is basically an MMX-inspired cardio workout that is extremely hard. Even the modified version is very hard. It is the workout that is going to challenge the vast majority of people the most of any of the X3 workouts. I am sure as I get fitter it will not bother me as much, but I remember when I first did X3 years ago, when I was in better shape, I was not a huge fan of the workout then either. But, I got it done.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 5

The yoga workout for Day 5 is a shorter version of the flow workout. Just 20 minutes instead of 30, but has pretty much all of the same moves that were in the longer flow workout in a different order and not doing as many repetitions of the sun salutations.

In X3, the workout was CVX, which is basically a cardio workout that has you holding light weights for all but one of the moves. I used a 3lb dumbell for all of the moves and I was still very tired by the end. Tony was using a 12.5 lb dumbell and the modifier was using a basketball. You basically do a few moves with little to no rest, then you get a short break, enough to towel  off and get a sip of water, do a few more moves then get another break, etc.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House M.D., The Complete Collection

 

This is a region-free import of the complete series of House M.D. on blu-ray. As most fans of the show are aware (at least those who are also fans of physical media), in the United States, the first five seasons of House were released on DVD and the final three seasons were released on blu-ray. But, the older seasons of the show were never released on blu-ray and there was never a complete US series release on blu-ray. To my knowledge, this is the easiest and most cost-effective way to get the entire series on blu-ray. While it is an import from Japan, the discs do play in region 1 (US region) blu-ray players and it does have captions in English on the episodes, but not on the special features.

House was a hit medical drama that aired from 2004 through 2012 starring Hugh Laurie as Gregory House, a brilliant, acerbic diagnostician at a fictional hospital in New Jersey who was addicted to Vicodin, hated seeing patients, insulted them (and his team of doctors) mercilessly when he had to interact with them, and thought everyone is a lying idiot. His team (in the early seasons) included doctors Cameron (played by Jennifer Morrison), Chase (played by Jesse Spencer), and Foreman (played by Omar Epps). In Later seasons Olivia Wilde, Peter Jacobson, Kal Penn, Odette Annabele, and Charline Yi would also play members of House's diagnostics team. House's only friend is an oncologist named James Wilson (played by Robert Sean Leonard), and the hospital administrator, Lisa Cuddy, who is always butting heads with House is played by Lisa Edelstein. 

The show was mostly a case-of-the-week procedural drama in which the team was presented with a patient with some weird medical issue that no one else could diagnose. Intertwined within the weekly cases were serial arcs that sometimes involved House pissing off the wrong person, the lives of one or more of the team members, or the like. The first seven seasons of the show were great. Season 8 is not as good because a pot point from season seven never truly gets resolved in a satisfying way. That said, the series has a nearly perfect ending.

The blu ray set has 39 discs, all of which are in huge keep cases. They are, unfortunately, the kinds of cases that require two discs to be stacked on top of each other, and the discs can on some tabs come loose and fall off and on others be damn near impossible to get off. The blu-ray set does have all of the same special features, including interviews, commentary tracks, gag reels, deleted scenes, etc., that were released on the US DVD and blu-ray releases. The A/V transfer of the early seasons is okay, but not great. The final three seasons which got original blu-ray releases have a much better A/V quality. The blu-ray menus are very bare bones and are hard to navigate at first, and the titles of the episodes are not listed on the menus. The only change to the episodes themselves is that the theme that plays over the opening credits is different than the one that played in the US (it is the European version).

Overall, the show is great. It is probably the best medical drama after ER (which is the medical drama by which I compare all others) that I have seen. It was well-written and very well-acted. It could be suspenseful, sad, and funny, all within the same episode. The show also got a lot of great guest and recurring stars throughout its run, some of whom were very well-known (e.g., James Earl Jones, Candice Bergen, and Sela Ward), and some for whom the show was one of their big breaks (e.g., Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Amanda Seyfried, Michael B. Jordan, Elle Fanning, Jeremy Renner, etc.). If you are a fan of the show, this is definitely worth the pickup.

Workout Update: 3-week Yoga/P90X 3 Day 4

Day 4 of the three-week yoga was a 30-minute flow workout. Basically, putting together all of the concepts from the prior workouts but having you move more, including doing the sun salutations so you are getting a bit more of a workout.

The day 4 X3 workout is The Challenge. In that workout, you set a goal for the number of push-ups and pull-ups that you want to do throughout the entire workout. The actual workout has you doing a pull-up move, followed by a push-up move, then preparing the same pull-up and push-up move again, before giving you a one-minute break. Then you do a different pull-up move followed by a different push-up move, do two rounds, and get another break. So, basically, you do four blocks, with each block having two rounds. It is an extremely tough workout, especially if you are not great at pull-ups and/or push-ups. So, I recommend setting your numbers for each low (I did 10 and 10) for the first workout and then increase or decrease reps once you know how that goes. 

4k-UHD Review- Batman Begins

 

Batman Begins was the 2005 reboot of the live-action Batman franchise which had mostly been killed off by the hot garbage of a movie that was Batman and Robin. This movie was co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan who, at the time, was best known for movies like Memento and Insomnia. It starred Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon (who was a Sergent at the time), and Morgan Freeman as Lucious Fox. It included a supporting cast of Katie Holmes, Liam Neeson, Rutger Hauer, Tom Wilkinson, and two who would become Nolan regulars, Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy.

The movie was another origin story for the character of Batman, but unlike other adaptations in which the murder of Bruce's parents is shown and then there is a time jump to him being established as Batman, this movie shows the process of Bruce becoming Batman, and what he had to do to get to that point, including training with the League of Shadows, a society of assassins who practice ninjutsu and want to restore law and order to the world. Then the movie shows Bruce returning to Gotham to take on the criminal underworld (mainly Tom Wilkinson's Carmine Falcone) that has taken over the city.

The 4k-UHD set is a three-disc set. There is the UHD disc that just has the movie, a regular blu-ray disc that also just has the movie on it, and then a second blu-ray disc that has all of the special features. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is very good, near reference quality, and definitely an upgrade from the original 1080p release. There are well over two hours worth of bonus content on the third disc, including several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, which detail nearly every part of the filmmaking process from the creation of the new Batmobile to the stunt training. The first six-minute opening sequence of the second movie in the trilogy, The Dark Knight is also included, as is the theatrical trailer for Batman Begins.

Overall, the movie is great. It is much better than the Joel Schumacher-helmed movies, and very much on par quality-wise with, but much different than Tim Burton's movies. Nolan grounds the movie in reality as much as he can, making Gotham look like a real city and using as few CGI effects as he possibly can. Bale, as much as he can be a jackass in real-life at times and seems to take himself way too seriously, does a great job both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman. He absolutely threw himself into the role (as he does for all his movies), and was really the first actor that I think nailed both roles in live-action. Katie Holmes was very good as Rachel Dawes, Bruce's childhood friend turned assistant District Attorney who was one of the few officials in Gotham who was not corrupt, and Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were great in their respective roles. So, if you are a fan of Batman it is a must-see movie, and the 4k disc is definitely worth the upgrade.