Workout Update: Chalean Extreme Day 24

CE Day 24 was the final Burn Circuit 2 for this round. I did manage to hit the 12 rep max for a couple of the exercises, but for most of the exercises, I could still only hit 11 or 12 reps. The push-ups at the end were still tough. I wanted to get 10 triple-threat push-ups on my toes, but I could still only do nine, and had to do the extreme set on my knees.

Product Review: 2 Pack Replacement Pre Filters for Dyson DC58, DC59, V6, V7, V8.

 

The filters on the Dyson handheld vacuums (or really on any vacuum) are critical to maintaining good suction power. You can rinse off the filters but you need to let them dry before using them, so it is good to have at least one spare so that you can basically rotate them when they get dirty. These fit in the handheld vacuums easily, they just slip in and out. Just make sure to check the model number of your vacuum.

Product Review: Dezin Electric Kettle

 

I generally only fill it about 1/3 of the way full, enough to make a cup of tea or some instant oatmeal. Using cool or lukewarm water that amount of water takes about 2 minutes (at most) to boil. You do want to dump any excess water out after you use it because the inside can get scummy and these are not the easiest things to clean.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.: The Complete Series

 

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. was a series that ran on Fox from 1993 to 1994. It ran for 27 episodes. I did watch it when it originally aired, and cannot really remember if it got two partial seasons or one really long season, but that is essentially what the complete series consisted of. The story is centered around the titular Brisco County, Jr. (played by the wonderful Bruce Campbell, who is best known for the Evil Dead series of campy horror movies) as a lawyer turned bounty hunter back in the late 1800s. He is hired by a group of wealthy industrialists to capture a notorious outlaw named John Bly (played by Billy Drago) and works along with the mouthpiece of the group Socrates Poole (played by Christian Clemenson) and often joined by sometimes rival bounty hunter sometimes sidekick Lord Bowler (played by Julius Carey). Brisco is consumed with the advancement of technology and pursuing "The Coming Thing". To that end, a plot device known as "The Orb" was used to that was a futuristic device that Bly was trying to use to rule the world.

The show was a mix of procedural case-of-the-week with a larger story arc involving Bly and the orb that intertwined. The case-of-the-week aspect usually involved Brisco trying to capture one of the members of Bly's gang as he is trying to find Bly. The show also had a strong supporting cast which included Kelly Rutheford as Dixie Cousins, a love-interest for Brisco who was kind of a combination of the characters that Mae West played and Madeline Kahn's character from "Blazing Saddles", and John Austin (from the Addams Family) who played a kookie professor/inventor who would help Brisco from time to time.

For those who get the DVD set, the extras include a commentary track on the pilot episode featuring Campbell and the series creator. There is also a feature called Brisco's Book of Coming Things which referenced the various future ideas/inventions from the show. There is also a documentary that was a look back at the making of the show and the various cast members, a feature on the various gadgets that appeared in the show, a Reading from the Book of Bruce, in which Campbell reads a chapter of his autobiography that mentioned the show, and a feature on the writers of the show. All in all, a very good collection of extras.

Overall, the series was very good and very unique. It was not a carbon copy of anything else that was on at the time which may have both helped and hurt the show. It had a very rabid fanbase, but not enough of one to ever get past the "cult following" category. It had a great mix of drama, action, and comedy and was a perfect blend of western and sci-fi/fantasy. It was very well written and acted, and the writers did a good job not overdoing the supernatural aspect of the show keeping the orb episodes infrequent so that they really advanced the storyline along. Chances are people reading this by now watched the show when it was on and are only looking to pick up the DVD, but if you have never seen the show and are trying to decide whether to watch it, I definitely recommend checking it out. It is a bit unsatisfying since the show never gets a great payoff (although the writers did have enough time from the cancellation announcement to make the season finale into a series finale, so fans did get an idea of what would have become of the characters), but still worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Chuck Season 3

 

+++Warning, this contains a minor season two spoiler, but no major season three giveaways +++

Season three of Chuck picks up with Chuck wanting to be a "real" spy and take down The Ring, but his relationship with Sarah is on the rocks because of his refusal to run off with her and leave the spy life for good. Of course, he ends up back at the Buy More, and things proceed from there. This season sees more guest stars including Brandon Routh, Kristen Kreuk, Angie Harmon, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Fred Willard, Swoosie Kurtz, Tony Sirico, and Louis Lombardi (the last two recognizable from The Sopranos). The season packs a lot into the 13 episodes shortened season. The focus is mainly on Chuck and Sarah's relationship, but the show does a good job incorporating the Buy More characters into the storylines giving all of them good material to work with.

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, the show looks and sounds great in HD. The extras include a 22-minute making-of feature, a mockumentary on "Jeffster", deleted scenes, and a gag reel. What was included was good, but definitely not as much as were included in the earlier season sets.

Overall, the series continued to be strong, despite being on the brink of cancellation from the second season forward. The acting and writing continued to be stellar, with a very good blend of drama and comedy (with a ton of pop culture references thrown in). The show did get a bit into "teen angst" territory with the Chuck and Sarah relationship this year, but, of course, getting the main characters together can be the death knell for a show (especially one already on the brink of cancellation) so they had to throw any kind of wrench into it that they could. I would say that this season has more drama than comedy, but there are still a lot of good funny moments throughout.

If you loved the first couple of seasons, you will likely enjoy this one. If you have not liked the first two seasons, this one is not likely to change your mind. If you have not seen the show yet are wondering whether to watch it, watch season one (you cannot really jump in partway and have it make a ton of sense) and enjoy. It lives up to all the hype that fans give it.