Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 3

On day 3, I did 645 cardio in the morning, and the MBF upper-body burn workout in the evening. Again, my weight selection was better this time in the MBF workout. I mostly used 10-15 lbs throughout the workout, which, because you are doing so many reps, quickly, with no rest between sets, is plenty. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 2

On Day 2, I did the 645 cardio routine in the morning and the core circuit workout in the evening. The core circuit workout was challenging, although easier than the first time I did it.  I was able to do 5 rounds of the AMRAP circuit at the end of the workout, which was better than Day 2 the first time I did MBF.

DVD/TV Series Review: Modern Family: Season 7

 

The 22-episode seventh season of Modern Family aired during the 2015/2016 TV season. I will not go into too much detail on the season itself. Anyone who has stuck with the show this long really knows the formula it follows. This season pretty much sticks with the same story/stories of the week, with tiebacks to previous plot lines/jokes every so often. That said, the show is still developing the characters (mainly the kids, but the adults, too, to a lesser extent), the acting is still great, and I think the writers are coming up with funny, enjoyable stories. I think an argument can be made that it is getting a bit "long in the tooth" as a show, but I think most fans will still find it enjoyable.

The DVD set is a three-disc set and is pretty on par with what they have been since the show stopped being released on blu-ray. It has adequate A/V quality but nothing to write home about. There are a handful of extras, including deleted scenes, a gag reel, a feature on the kids growing up on the show, focused on Rico, Ariel, and Nolan, and then a featurette on a charity Ty Burell is involved with called Kids in the Spotlight. Okay, for what is there, but not a ton. Really, I think the only reason to get the DVDs over just streaming the episodes is if you have the prior seasons and want to have the full collection. Otherwise, unless you really want the handful of bonus features, the A/V quality will probably be better (or at least as good) steaming them.

Book Review: The Looming Tower

 

The Looming Tower is a book that was written by Lawrence Wright and initially published in 2006. The book serves as the source material for the series on Hulu of the same name. If you have seen the Hulu series you know that its focus was on the FBI and CIA infighting, lack of information sharing, and was largely set around John O'Neil and Ali Soufan. The book, on the other hand, focuses mainly on the rise of radical Islam and tells the story of how the various splintered groups eventually came together to form what would be Al-Qaeda. The first 200 pages or so are devoted solely to the history of the major events and players in that world and laid out how Osama bin Laden came to power and basically lost his fortune (he was nowhere near as wealthy as he was made out to be), and then managed to cobble together the force that would eventually attack the United States. Later in the book, much of what the focus of the Hulu series plays out, including a lot of detail about what the CIA and FBI did and did not know, how if they actually worked together instead of against each other, the 9-11 attacks could have very likely been averted.

The main part of the softcover version of the book is just over 400 pages. Then there is a glossary giving the backgrounds and current status of the major people mentioned throughout the book and endnotes that flesh out the details in the book. The only picky point on the notes is that they are not actually referenced in the book's text, so there is no way to easily match up the note with the part of the text it is referencing (for the handful of people who would care to do so). As was the case with the series, the book does not focus much on the events of 9-11 itself. While the book includes some detail about what was happening in and around the towers, that was relegated to just a part of the last chapter. The book finishes with the interrogation of Abu Jandal by Ali Soufan, which is pretty much the climax of the series. Overall, the book gives a good description of the backstory of what led up to the attacks and the reasoning and justifications the terrorists used for launching suicide attacks against innocent civilians. It also does a very good job of detailing some of the dysfunction of the government agencies that failed to put together pieces and tied threads that could have stopped the attacks from happening. It is definitely worth the read.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Legion: Season 1

 

Legion is a crazy, mind-bending show created by Noah Hawley, the creator of the Fargo TV series on FX. It is a story about mutants set in the X-Men universe centered around David/Legion (played by Dan Stevens), who is one of, if not the most powerful mutant in the X-Men universe, having very strong psychic powers (among others). The cast is rounded out by Fargo season two alums Rachel Keller and Jean Smart, Parks and Rec alum Aubrey Plaza, Katie Aselton (from The League), Bill Irwin, and Amber Midthunder. There are also a bunch of great character actors that round out the cast. The 8-episode first season aired during the winter and spring of 2017.

If you follow the comics, you know who Legion's father is and why he is so powerful. His parentage is hinted at in the first season but never outright given away. The season is mostly centered around fixing what David has always assumed to be a mental illness (paranoid schizophrenia, to be exact). Still, as we find out throughout the season, it is a combination of his powers manifesting and something else. It is a trippy show that is hard to follow (especially on the first viewing), jumps around a lot in the story, and just gets weird at times. That said, it is very well written and acted, and it makes sense after a while. Plaza steals every scene, and she takes advantage of the opportunity to ham it up when called for (which seems to suit her personality). Stevens and Keller are great in their roles as lovers who cannot touch each other (because she switches bodies with whomever she touches). Jean Smart is great in a Professor-X-like role as the mentor for the group. There is also the requisite shadowy government organization trying to hunt the mutants down, playing one of the antagonist roles.

The Blu-Ray set is a two-disc set, and the show (which has a lot of special effects) looks and sounds great in HD. It is a very visual show, so the high-definition format really pops. The extras include deleted scenes (about a half-hour's worth) and several behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes. Good for what is there, but not too extensive. The show packs a lot into the 8-episode first season and sets up the recently aired second season well. If you are a fan of the X-Men comics or movies, it is definitely worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Black Lightning: Season 1

 

The 13-episode first season of Black Lightning aired during the winter and spring of 2018. The show starred Cress Williams (who was probably best known for his role in the series Hart of Dixie), Nafessa Williams, China Anne McLain, Jordan Calloway, Krondon, Christine Adams, Damon Gupton, and James Remar (who was probably best known for his role in the series Dexter). The show is set in the fictional city of Freeland, centered around the character of Jefferson Pierce (played by Cress Williams), a metahuman with the power to control electricity who had been the superhero known as Black Lightning. Pierce was retired from the superhero (and Principal at the local high school) gig at the beginning of the series and only to get sucked back in when his daughters were in danger from the local gang. There is also a shadowy government organization in the background hunting down metahumans and putting Black Lightning and his family in danger.

When the show premiered, it was the newest in the slate of superhero shows airing on the CW. During the first couple of seasons, aside from a somewhat throwaway Supergirl reference early in the season, it was not clear whether it was actually tied into the Arrowverse shows. It is also unclear if the show was set on Earth 38 (meaning the version of Supergirl being referenced is the same as on the show) or some other Earth where she exists. 

The show is definitely written with the modern-day political and racial climate in mind. There are references to Black Lives Matter, the orange genital wart's brand of politics, events like the Charlottesville riot, etc. Unlike some of the one-star reviewers on Amazon, I do not think the message of the series is all white people are bad or, as one suggested, that all black youth carry guns. The point was to show part of the modern-day experience centered around a successful and respected black family trying to improve things in their city. It should be noted that one of the good guys in the show is a cop trying to ferret out corruption in the police department, and Black Lightning is assisted by a white character. So, to say any race in the show is all of one thing or the other is overly simplistic and generalizing.

The Blu-Ray set is a two-disc set. The A/V quality is very good, and the show looks and sounds good in the high-definition format. The extras include two features with the crew about shooting the show in Atlanta (which are included on the first disc), a feature on the scene from the pilot when Jefferson is pulled over, which was a take-off on a real-life incident experienced by the show's executive producer, a gag reel, about 30 min of deleted scenes, and about 20 minutes of the comic-con panel discussion. Just to warn anyone who watches the bonus material first, the comic-con panel does spoil a lot, so if you want to avoid spoilers, do not watch it before you watch the episodes.

Overall, it is a show that is still finding its legs. Much of the first season (as you would expect) is developing the characters and the environment they live in. It definitely has a take on political, racial, and social issues, so if you are easily offended by or uncomfortable with shows that do that, whether you agree with the takes or not, this is definitely not the show for you. That said, I think it was a good first season, sets up what is likely to be an even better second season, and hopefully will get worked into the larger universe of shows down the line. The cast comprises mostly character actors and relative unknowns, which I think works for the ensemble nature of the show. Cress Williams definitely pulls off the conflicted superhero who does not want to get back into the fight or create waves with the police very well. I think the show is well-written and acted, and the first season packs a lot into the 13 episodes. Some of the storylines get resolved to set up what is likely to be the main conflict in season two. It is definitely worth the time to watch.

DVD/TV Series Review: ALF: Season 2

 

The 26-episode second season of ALF aired during the 1987/1988 TV season. The main cast members returned, including Paul Fusco, Max Wright, Anne Schedeen, Andrea Elson, and Benji Gregory. The roles of the Ochmoneks were also increased this season, with John LaMotta and Liz Sheridan getting more screen time and Josh Blake recurring throughout the season.

The DVD set is a four-disc set. It only contains the episodes and does not have any bonus features. The episodes can be played with English captions. Ultimately, the show continues to be a good sitcom. Most episodes have self-contained storylines that are resolved by the end of the episode, but the season includes some two-part episodes. The show is family-friendly, with mostly innocent jokes, although a few more adult-oriented jokes will probably go over most kids' heads. If you watched the show when it was originally on the air, it is a nice blast from the past (especially if you were a kid back in the 1980s). Regardless, if you are looking for a nice, family-friendly sitcom, this is worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: iZombie: Season 3

 

+++Warning, this will contain spoilers from the prior seasons, but no major giveaways from season 3 ++++

The 13-episode third season of iZombie aired during the spring and summer of 2017. The season picks up right after the end of the second season finale, when the soldiers enter to clean up the mess of the Max Rager party turned zombie fest. In the first episode, we learn that they are part of a Zombie-led organization called Fillmore-Graves, which is preparing for the day when humans en masse learn of the existence of zombies.

For the main characters, the season is about the fallout from past events, especially now that the entire group knows the truth. Major deals with the fallout from the revelation that he is the "chaos killer." Blaine has to deal with being human again and attempting to start over, and Ravi is working toward perfecting the cure. For Liv (and all the other characters) the season is about taking a side in the humans vs zombies confrontation. As is the case with the prior seasons, the show is mainly a case-of-the-week procedural, with larger serial story arcs that play throughout. The big one is the humans becoming more and more aware of the existence of zombies, told through a group of conspiracy wingnuts. As is also the norm, Liv takes on a range of personalities (again brilliantly done by Rose McIver), and the show alternates between funny, sad, and dramatic, all on a dime. The writing and acting are all top-notch, and the show packs a lot into a limited number of episodes.

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc set and is one of the Warner Archives' made-on-demand (MOD) releases. Unlike many other MOD sets, they include closed captions and some extras. Those consist of deleted scenes for select episodes and about 30 minutes of the comic-con panel discussion with some of the cast and writers. There are not a ton of extras, but they are good for what is there.

This is also the last season of the show to get an official release. There are two additional seasons, but because of a licensing issue with season 4, it will not be released at all. So Warner just decided not to release the fourth season, the fifth season, or a complete series set. Whether that will change in the future, who knows. But to see the final seasons, you either have to stream them or try to find bootlegs.

DVD/TV Series Review: MacGyver (2016) Season 1

 

The 21-episode first season of MacGyver aired during the 2016/2017 TV season. It starred Lucas Till, George Eads, Sandrine Holt, Tristin Mays, Justin Hires, and (later in the season) Meredith Eaton. Tracy Spiridakos played a major recurring character, and the season saw guest appearances by some of the stars of the Hawaii Five-) reboot, specifically Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, and Taylor Willy. The show itself is a fun reboot of the 1980s show of the same name. I never really watched the original show, so I am not sure how true to the feel of the old show this one keeps or does not. This version is set with MacGyver (Till) working for a "think tank" that is a cover for a secret off-the-books government organization. As was the case with the original show, they keep the gag about him being able to build a bomb out of paper clips and duct tape. More accurately, building whatever he needs to solve a particular problem with whatever happens to be handy.

He partners with Jack Dalton (Eads), who is the muscle to his brains, Riley Davis (Mays), who is a hacker who the team springs from prison, and Mac's best friend Bozer Hires), who is clueless about what he really does. The show is mostly a procedural case-of-the-week drama, much like CBS's other shows, but it does have a couple storylines that keep popping up throughout the season. It also exists in the Hawaii Five-0 universe (both shows have the same showrunners) and had a subtle shout-out to one of that show's season 7 storylines and then a crossover episode a bit later in the season.

The DVD set is a five-disc set. They are nothing more than a MOD release (even though I do not think they are burned on DVD-R). There are no extras of any kind, no subtitles. Just the episodes. The episode titles are not printed on the discs or the case, but they are on the DVD main menu screen when each disc loads. So, there is no reason to have to watch the episodes out of order unless you want to. There is no play-all option, but once the current episode stops playing, you can easily get to the next episode.

Overall, the show is fun and entertaining, much like the Hawaii Five-0 reboot, but the DVD release is lackluster to lousy. If you have a CBS all-access (now Paramount+) subscription, you can stream all the episodes and get better video quality, and you will miss absolutely nothing this DVD release offers. That said, whether you get the DVDs or stream it, the show is very entertaining and worth watching.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 1

This is my second time doing doubles with the 645 cardio workout and the MBF workout. I did the cardio workout in the morning and then the MBF week 1 lower-body burn workout. This time through the workout, I had a much better idea of what weights to use since the workout basically has no breaks once it gets going and has a lot of reps. The weight I used ranged from 10 lbs to 20 lbs, which is plenty given that you do volumetric training (very fast and a large number of reps). 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Homeland: Season 6

 

+++Warning, this will contain the spoiler for the cliffhanger at the end of season 5, but no major giveaways from season 6+++++

The 12-episode 6th season of Homeland aired in winter and spring of 2017. This season brings the show back to the United States. It is specifically set in New York and has a few different intertwined storylines, the main one being an attempt at taking down the President-elect. It is heavily influenced by the political climate and events of the past few years. The stories are well done, the acting is top-notch, and I do not think the show is overly preachy with the political elements as some shows can be. It did incorporate an Infowars-like radio show and a social media troll farm into the story and definitely used the real-world political divisiveness and hatred that exists to tell part of the story.

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc set. The A/V quality is very good, and the discs have a season-play mode that allows you to stop during any episode and pick up where you left off. For extras, there are a couple of behind-the-scenes featurettes (each only a couple minutes long) and then an almost hour-long roundtable discussion with some of the cast and showrunners.

Ultimately, the season is very good. Rupert Friend as Quinn is really the standout this season. We learn in the first episode that Carrie did not end up pulling the plug on him, and when he comes back, he is a shell of his former self, dealing with, among other things, PTSD. He has to go through a range of emotions with the character and does it very well. While he is (in my opinion) the show's "backbone" this season, all the main and supporting actors did a great job with their material. Homeland is definitely a show that has had its ups and downs. I do think they struggled to end the Brody storyline, but now, being a few seasons removed from it, I think the show has recovered quite well. It could have easily gone in the tank after the first two seasons when all was revealed (and there are definitely some out there who think it did). But if you gave up on it during season 3 or 4, I think it has recovered nicely the past couple of seasons and is well worth taking a look at again.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 54

 Day 54 was the final workout in Lift 4, the full-body HIIT workout. And, of course, I did the 645 cardio workout in the evening. The HIIT workout was still very challenging, but not as hard as the first couple of times I did it. In the evening workout I did an "easier" version of the workout selected low-impact exercises as I do on the HIIT days. For the next few weeks, I will do another round of MBF and then decide if I want to do another round of Lift 4 or a round of Chalean Extreme. 

Book Review: Star Wars: Most Wanted

 

Most Wanted, published in 2018, is one of the main storylines adjacent young-adult Star Wars novels. The book was written by Rae Carson and is a prequel to Solo: A Star Wars Story. The story is set on Corellia, which is basically a run-down, backwater planet whose main industry is building ships. The story centers around Han and Qi’ra becoming friends. They are working for Lady Proxima (the wormlike creature at the beginning of the Solo movie), basically doing the dirty work for her crime syndicate. It hints at not only the characters they would become in the Solo movie but who Han would become in the original trilogy, at least when it comes to the Falcon, and why he allowed it to look like such a piece of junk. In the book, he is actually a more honorable character than we see during much of A New Hope. The book explains why he ended up as the selfish smuggler that we first meet in A New Hope, and this book (and the Solo movie) sets up the possibility that something involving Qi’ra will turn him into the guy who is only out for a big payday.

The hardcover version of the book is a little under 400 pages, so it is long enough that it could have been included as one of the main-storyline adult novels.  The story in the book is very enjoyable and good enough that it does not feel like a typical young-adult novel. I am one who did not necessarily need a background for Han to be fleshed out. I am personally more interested in the events between Return of The Jedi and The Force Awakens being explained. So, while I do not think either this book, the Solo movie, or the sequels to either that may end up being released down the line are all that necessary, That said, I think Carson tells an enjoyable, sometimes emotional, sometimes funny story, that provides a good supporting story for the characters. So, it is absolutely worth the time to read.

Book Review: Star Wars: Last Shot: A Han and Lando Novel

 

Last Shot is one of the canon Star Wars novels published in 2018. It was written by Daniel Jose Older and focuses mainly on Han and Lando. The book is set in three different time periods. The "present" is in the time after Return of the Jedi, between the Aftermath series of novels and the Bloodlines novel, when Han and Leia are new parents, and the Empire has been defeated, but before the threat of the First Order is known. Then it jumps back 10 years before that between the events of the Solo movie and A New Hope, and then 5 years before that. The story essentially involves a gangster from Han and Lando's past who threatens their present with a scheme he has been working on for decades.

Overall, the book is okay but not great. The best part for me was learning about Han's fear of being a father (and, to some extent, a husband). While we do not get a ton in this book about his relationship with Ben (who is still just a toddler in the novel), it hints at what possibly went wrong in their relationship and will hopefully be fleshed out in subsequent novels. It also gives some insight into Han and Lando's post-Return of the Jedi relationship and how Lando's betrayal of Han during the events of The Empire Strikes Back affected it.

The main story of the novel is okay but nothing spectacular. Outside of what I mentioned above, the best part of everything else in the novel was the Ewok slicer and the Anti-Jar Jar Binks Gungan, who had a great line that was something along the lines of "stop with that Meesa stuff." Otherwise, the plot is really about uncovering and attempting to stop a threat to the galaxy that did not involve the Empire or its remnants in any way. Chances are, if you collect the canon novels, you will have purchased this regardless of any positive or negative reviews. I think it is middle of the pack regarding the canon novels. It's as good as anything in the Aftermath series, but not as good as Dark Disciple, A New Dawn, Battlefront II, or even the main storyline adjacent novels, such as Leia, Ahsoka, or Lost Stars (in my opinion). That is totally subjective, however.

The Hardcover version of the book is about 370 pages. While it is not really a novel I would read multiple times, it is decent enough to do so at least once. It reads fairly quickly and somewhat bridges the gap between the original and sequel trilogies.

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

 

The 12-episode 5th season of Homeland aired in the fall and winter of 2015. This season, most of the show is set in Germany and finds Carrie out of the CIA, working for a private company. Saul and Carrie are barely talking, and Quinn is taking out terrorist targets for Saul while falling apart more and more. I will not go into any more detail than that to avoid giving anything away, but the season involves Russian infiltration into the CIA, a major terrorist threat, chemical weapons with a Syria tie-in, and an Edward Snowden-like hacking angle.

I think the show is holding its own well now that it is a couple seasons removed from getting itself out of the Brody storyline (although there is a good easter egg-like reference to Brody, which happens in an episode that flashes back to Carrie's time in Iraq). The writers packed a lot into the season and had a lot of thought-provoking and almost clairvoyant angles (given what has been going on in the US political scene in recent years. The acting was again top-notch notch, with Rupert Friend, Claire Daines, and Mady Patinkin all standing out at different points. Miranda Otto is a good addition to the cast this year as a character who has ties to almost every character and plays a large role in the season.

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc set, and as with the prior season releases, the show looks and sounds great on blu-ray. Thankfully, there is still a season-play mode for the discs, so you can stop and catch back up where you left off, even in the middle of an episode. There are only a couple extras. A feature on the evolution of Carrie as a character and a behind-the-scenes feature on using Berlin as the setting for the season. They each run for about 10 min. For die-hard fans of the series, it is a must-get. I think even the people who got sick of the Brody story arc in season 3 will find this one enjoyable.

Book Review: The Physics of Superheroes

 

The Physics of Superheros is a book by James Kakalios, who is a physics and astronomy professor at the University of Minnesota. The book presents physics concepts without getting bogged down in the weeds like a regular textbook can. While the book does include some of the equations, it does not have the presentation you get in a textbook with all the formulas being derived and examples of worked-out problems. It reads more like a novel than a textbook, with the author explaining the concepts as he goes along but not really showing the work. In fact, I think doing some of that (giving a problem statement and working out the math) would have made the book a bit better. That said, he was not going for a rigorous academic presentation of the material, so it is understandable that he took the approach he did. Each chapter is devoted to a physics concept and then tied to a particular superhero (Aquaman with fluid mechanics, The Flash with friction, etc). In some chapters, the author will give an equation or two; in others, he just explains things without any equations.

The book is moderately long, at about 400 pages, but it is pretty easy and fun to read. For a student, it is actually the perfect kind of book to read before you take a class in physics because it is rigorous enough that you will actually learn the material but is presented in a fun enough way that the concepts are more likely to stick with you. It is not a book that I would say will ever help you pass a physics exam or assist in solving homework problems, but it will give you the all-important base of knowledge and understanding of the concepts you need when you do get to the point where the math, and working out the problems is critical.

Book Review: Star Wars: Before the Awakening

 

Before the Awakening, written by Greg Rucka and published in 2015 in the lead-up to the release of The Force Awakens, is a collection of three short stories, one for each of the three new characters (Rey, Finn, and Poe) introduced in The Force Awakens. Each story leads directly into the movie, where the characters are first encountered. Finn's story is told first. It basically goes through his training and fleshes out a bit of the background between Finn and Phasma. It sets up a story of Phasma being suspicious of Finn's actions in the lead-up to the Jakku mission, which the troops are heading out for at the end of the story. It creates a continuity error in the movie when Phasma tells Hux that Finn's freeing Poe was his first transgression.

The second story is about Rey, showing her life as a scavenger on Jakku. It hints at but does not directly delve into her force sensitivity and establishes that she is waiting for her parents to return for her. It is set around a story of her repairing a ship that she plans to sell to Unkar Plutt for thousands of portions and generally gives an overall glimpse into what life on the planet is like.

The third story centers on Poe. It tells of how he meets Leia and joins the Resistance. It also shows how the New Republic has essentially ignored the threat posed by the First Order and leads directly to the events of Poe's mission to Jakku to get the map to Luke from Lor San-Tekka. His story also serves as a continuation of the comic series, which was centered around Poe and his parents, who were members of the Rebel Alliance.

The hardcover version of the book is short at a little under 250 pages. Each of the stories reads quickly so if you are a fairly fast reader, you can get through it in a day or so. There are no major giveaways to the questions about Rey's past that (as of when this was originally written) were left open after The Force Awakens and have (potentially) been answered in The Last Jedi or may ultimately be tweaked in Episode 9. Of course, now that all three movies have come out and the book Shadow of the Sith has been released, Rey's backstory has been revealed, but in this book, we just know that she is a scavenger on a desert planet waiting for her parents to return to her. The book does a good job of introducing the new characters and giving them a bit more backstory that could not be done in The Force Awakens. Even though it is a young-reader novel, it is enjoyable enough for adults and is worth the time to read.

DVD/ Movie Review: Lie With Me

 

Lie With Me is a 2005 movie starring Lauren Lee Smith and Eric Balfour.  The plot is not overly complicated. A sexually adventurous woman (Smith) meets an emotionally complicated guy (Balfour), and the two try to have a relationship, to varying degrees of success. 

The US version of the film is almost impossible to find at a reasonable price since the DVD is now out of print. If you look around, you can get international versions (I got the UK version), but you must ensure you have a region-free DVD or Blu-ray player to play the disc.  The UK release just has the movie itself but no bonus features. 

The movie is okay, but not great. The writing is very weak, and as a result, the acting is not much better. The visuals are pretty good (for a low-budget indie film), and while it is slow in parts, it does not seem much longer than the hour-and-a-half running time. There is a lot of sex in the movie, and it borders on being graphically explicit. There is full frontal nudity, both male and female, so if that is a dealbreaker for you, this is not for you at all.

Book Review: Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror

 

Against All Enemies, first published in 2004, is a book written by the former US head of counterterrorism, Richard Clarke. Clarke held several government positions for 30+ years through several administrations, but it is his position as the head of counterterrorism for both the Clinton and Bush administrations that he is best known for. The book is not focused primarily on the events of September 11, 2001, itself. The very beginning of the book is devoted to that day and a few days afterward. The focus of the book is the lead-up to 9-11 and how the country's view of terrorism changed from the Regan administration up to George W. Bush's administration, and then what Clarke describes as the major screw-up by the Bush Administration following 9-11. Specifically, the invasion of Iraq.

One of the things that struck me the most about the book is how ill-prepared the intelligence agencies were for Al-Qaeda. For a long time, even when they were actively attacking US interests many in the FBI had no idea they existed or that there were sleeper cells in the United States. One very telling point was when Clarke asked the FBI to research whether there were websites hosted on US servers that were recruiting terrorists, and he was told there were none, and then asked a reporter to look into it who found dozens of them. Just the fact that there were very few within the FBI, CIA, and other agencies who realized the kind of threat they posed, combined with the agencies' unwillingness to share information with each other, and the Clinton and Bush administration very different lack of responses (Bush's downplaying the threat and brushing it aside, and Clinton's overanalyzing combined with his lack of action due to "Wag the Dog" like comparisons to deflect from his personal scandals) left the country open to attack.

Clarke's harshest criticism is saved for the Bush Administration's obsession with going into Iraq. He claims that from almost day one of that administration they were itching to find a reason to go invade Iraq to "finish the job" from the first Iraq war, and that even a couple days after 9-11 they were trying to find any connection between Iraq and Al-Quaeda despite it being clear that there was no connection between the two. He also argued that by invading Iraq the United States gave Bin Laden exactly what he wanted, the US occupying a Muslim country, which could be used as a terrorist recruiting tool. In the final chapter of the book Clarke lays out what he thought the proper response to 9-11 should have been, vs what was actually done.

The softcover version of the book is about 330 pages long. For me, it read fairly quickly, but I was already aware of a lot of the information discussed by Clarke. Overall, the book is a very interesting read. It does not come across as partisan in that Clarke criticizes and praises things that were done right and wrong by Republicans and Democrats, as well as the career professionals in the various intelligence agencies. While not likely an exhaustive history, it lays out how the United States viewed, and responded to, terrorism, including how the US learned of Bin Laden and his group's existence and motives over a long period of time. Given the age of the book, if you are into the subject at all and have watched any of the documentaries that are out there, read any of the other books, or even have seen the series The Looming Tower, which is currently playing on Hulu, you may know a lot of what is in this book. But it gives a very good and insightful look at what was going on from an insider's perspective. It is definitely worth reading.

Book Review: Hidden Order (Scot Harvath Series #12)

 

Hidden Order, published in 2013, is the 12th book in Brad Thor's action-thriller series centered around Scot Harvath. This book takes a bit of a turn from the prior novels in that candidates to take over the head of the Federal Reserve are being kidnapped and killed. Harvath is one of many people trying to track down the killer and free any remaining hostages.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 400 pages and reads much like the prior novels in the series. It has a good blend of action and suspense, and the full extent of the plot is not revealed until the last few chapters. The end of the book is a bit of a reset of Scot's storyline that will allow future novels to go in almost any direction. If you liked the prior novels in the series (or are a fan of the action thriller or spy novel genres), you will probably like this one. While most of the story in the book is self-contained, it does help to know who the returning characters are, which does require reading the other novels in the series. However, if you are not someone who needs a ton of character development, it is not impossible to follow the storyline in the book if you have not read the prior novels. Ultimately, it is a good story that is worth the time to read.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 53

Day 53 was the shoulders and arms circuit workout in Lift 4 and the final resistance workout of the program. It contains all of the same exercises as the week 7 version of the shoulders and arms workout, but in a slightly different order. Then, I did the 645 cardio workout including moves that generally tire me out the most. But, I found that they are getting easier over the course of time. 

Book Review: Star Wars: Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure

 

Movie Target is one of three short young-reader novels published in 2015 before the release of the movie The Force Awakens, that centers on the main characters from the original trilogy. This, of course, is the Leia-centric novel. The prologue and epilogue are set sometime before the events of The Force Awakens and have tie-ins to that movie (we find out Leia is a general in the Resistance, fighting the First Order). The book starts with Leia dictating her memoirs and then flashes back to a mission she took part in, set between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. She is torn between wanting to help Han and being patient while Luke gets intel on what Jabba has done with Han and continuing to help the Rebels. Luke makes what amounts to a cameo appearance in the story and we get some insight into how his and Leia's relationship was changing after the events of Empire.

The hardcover version of the book is just over 200 pages long. I will not give away the main story of the novel, but it basically is set around the intel the Rebels received about the second Death Star being built around Endor and Leia's participation in the plan to keep the Empire occupied while the Rebels planned the assault on the station. Even though it falls into the young reader's category of novels, it is good enough that adults can easily enjoy it. I definitely recommend it.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 52

 Day 52 was the rest day in Lift 4, so I did the two recovery workouts in the morning and 645 cardio in the evening. The cardio workout was probably my best one of this round. I was able to jump for the entire 30 seconds of jump knee switches (from P90X) as opposed to just switching my feet, and I could do all 30 seconds of squat jacks (although I did have to slow down a bit on that one) without stopping. 

Book Review: Star Wars: Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure

 

This is one of the Star Wars young-reader novels written by Jason Fry and published in 2015 before The Force Awakens was released.  The story is set in between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. While on a mission for the Rebellion, Luke ends up on a planet called Devaron, at the remains of a Jedi temple. Similar to the other young reader novels put out at the time, it has a prologue and epilogue, this time with C3P0 telling the story of Luke's adventure on the planet to a resistance pilot (hence the tie-in to The Force Awakens hinted at on the back cover) in the time shortly before the events of the new movie. 

The hardcover version of the book is just 184 pages, and it reads very quickly. It can easily be read from cover to cover in a couple of hours. The book's main theme is Luke trying to figure out how he is going to become a Jedi without anyone to train him since Obi-Wan died. I will not say more than that so as to not spoil the book for anyone who has not read it, but it is definitely written well enough for adults to enjoy. While many of us are still waiting for more novels that lay out Luke's post-Return of the Jedi stories, this is still an enjoyable short story.

Book Review: Star Wars: Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo Adventure

 

Smuggler's Run is one of the young-adult canon novels published in 2015 before the release of The Force Awakens. As many know, there is a mess with the Star Wars novels regarding what is and is not canon material since Disney's takeover of Lucasfilm. Every novel that was put out before Disney acquired the rights to Lucasfilm is relegated to Legends/Expanded Universe non-canon material (aside from the novel Tarkin, which was grandfathered into the new canon storyline). Per the introduction to the novel A New Dawn, anything put out after the Disney acquisition, regardless of format (novel, TV series, movie, comic, video games, etc), is considered canon. However, the young adult and junior novels are canon material but are tangential and filler to the main "adult" novels.

This is a very short story set (mostly) after the events of Episode IV and the destruction of the first Death Star. Han and Chewie agree to go on a mission to extract another rebel from the planet Cyrkon. As expected, things do not go smoothly, with Han being tracked by bounty hunters and his ship being sought by the Empire. The prologue and epilogue are set sometime before The Force Awakens, with Han telling the story of the extraction in a cantina somewhere. It has one tie-in with The Force Awakens. At the very end of the book the name Ducain is mentioned. Ducain, if you remember the quick exchange between Rey and Han in the movie when Han and Chewie track down The Falcon, is the one who stole the ship from Han. There are no clues about or tie-ins with the movie besides that, just that one reference.

The hardcover version of the book is short, just under 200 pages. It tells a good story that reads quickly. Even though it is a young reader's novel, it is enjoyable enough for adults. While it is probably not a book that most people will read over and over again, anyone who is a fan of the characters will likely enjoy the book.