My Workout For Tuesday January 14

A Review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

A Review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The first two paragraphs of the opening scroll of Star Wars is as follows: “It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.”…

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My Workout For Friday February 07

I earned 783 points for my workout on Fitocracy!

Upright Barbell Row +92 pts

45 lb x 12 reps (+21 pts)

65 lb x 11 reps (+24 pts)

65 lb x 11 reps (+24 pts)

65 lb x 8 reps (+23 pts)

Dumbbell Shrug +80 pts

30 lb x 12 reps (+19 pts)

40 lb x 10 reps (+20 pts)

40 lb x 10 reps (+20 pts)

45 lb x 10 reps (+21 pts)

Reverse Crunch +90 pts

20 reps (+26 pts)

18 reps (+23 pts)

17 reps (+22 pts)

15 reps (+19 pts)

Plank +22 pts

35 sec (+12 pts)

30 sec (+10 pts)

Dumbbell Bicep Curl +102 pts

15 lb x 12 reps (+26 pts)

25 lb x 10 reps (+27 pts)

25 lb x 7 reps (+26 pts)

25 lb x 5 reps (+23 pts)

Side Plank +38 pts

30 sec (+21 pts)

25 sec (+17 pts)

Pull-Up +26 pts

1 reps (+13 pts)

1 reps (+13 pts)

Not one complete one, but 8 of them getting my chin just at the bottom of the bar. I am getting closer...

Stretching +2 pts

0:10:00 (+2 pts)

Bent Over Barbell Row +125 pts

65 lb x 12 reps (+28 pts)

85 lb x 12 reps (+32 pts)

95 lb x 10 reps (+33 pts)

95 lb x 8 reps (+32 pts)

Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadlift +206 pts

55 lb x 12 reps (+46 pts)

75 lb x 12 reps (+53 pts)

85 lb x 9 reps (+54 pts)

85 lb x 8 reps (+53 pts)

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My Thoughts on the How I Met Your Mother Finale

http://wp.me/p2eq91-9 Spoiler alert: I give away all of the twists in the ending, so if you haven't seen it yet, be prepared for major spoilers. I hope you enjoy my thoughts!

My Workout For Sunday February 02

I earned 731 points for my workout on Fitocracy!

Plank +18 pts

30 sec (+10 pts)

25 sec (+8 pts)

Dumbbell Shrug +80 pts

25 lb x 12 reps (+19 pts)

35 lb x 12 reps (+20 pts)

40 lb x 12 reps (+21 pts)

40 lb x 10 reps (+20 pts)

Dumbbell Bicep Curl +104 pts

15 lb x 12 reps (+26 pts)

25 lb x 8 reps (+26 pts)

25 lb x 7 reps (+26 pts)

25 lb x 8 reps (+26 pts)

Reverse Crunch +83 pts

18 reps (+23 pts)

17 reps (+22 pts)

15 reps (+19 pts)

15 reps (+19 pts)

Upright Barbell Row +93 pts

45 lb x 12 reps (+21 pts)

65 lb x 10 reps (+24 pts)

65 lb x 10 reps (+24 pts)

65 lb x 10 reps (+24 pts)

Bent Over Barbell Row +124 pts

65 lb x 12 reps (+28 pts)

85 lb x 12 reps (+32 pts)

95 lb x 8 reps (+32 pts)

95 lb x 8 reps (+32 pts)

Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadlift +202 pts

55 lb x 12 reps (+46 pts)

75 lb x 10 reps (+52 pts)

75 lb x 10 reps (+52 pts)

75 lb x 10 reps (+52 pts)

Stretching +2 pts

0:10:00 (+2 pts)

Pull-Up +8 pts

12 reps || assisted || 145 lb (+2 pts)

8 reps || assisted || 130 lb (+2 pts)

7 reps || assisted || 130 lb (+2 pts)

3 reps || assisted || 115 lb (+2 pts)

Side Plank +17 pts

25 sec (+17 pts)

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My Workout For Saturday January 04

I earned 173 points for my workout on Fitocracy!

Running (treadmill) +88 pts

0:20:00 || 1.4 mi || 1 % (+88 pts)

Chin-Up +2 pts

6 reps || assisted || 130 lb (+2 pts)

Reverse Crunch +44 pts

13 reps (+16 pts)

11 reps (+14 pts)

11 reps (+14 pts)

Plank +17 pts

30 sec (+10 pts)

20 sec (+7 pts)

Side Plank Lifts +20 pts

5 reps (+10 pts)

5 reps (+10 pts)

Stretching +2 pts

0:10:00 (+2 pts)

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A Focus on the Basics

A new year has begun.  It is a time for reflection, a time for nostalgia, and a time for motivation.

2013 was the craziest year of my life so far.  It was an emotional and visceral roller-coaster from which I learned a lot about myself, about what I want and need.  As I look back, I realize the one thing that I need to start doing in my life if I want to succeed as a professional, as a husband, and as me --- focus on the basics.

In 2012, I was scared that I was stagnating professionally, worried that I was going to be stuck in autopilot and become the unambitious, listless worker everyone fears to be for the rest of his or her life.  I went to graduate school to gain a deeper understanding of my engineering interests, and it was frittering away.  It affected my personal life as well --- I became less productive at home and started to believe that I wasn't living up to the husband I wanted to be.  By the end of 2012, I took a risk and left my job for another with the promise of a real challenge.  There was a lot of thought and deliberation for that decision, and I can honestly say it was a great decision.

However, my stagnation concerns returned, and inward crept the fears again.  My job took more and more of my time, and I felt like I was neglecting my personal life.  I wrote film critiques and played guitar less and less, I struggled keeping in touch with friends and family, and I rarely stopped to look and appreciate where my life had taken me.  My fitness level dropped like a stone in water, and every time I tried to restart working out, something would come up that would take me out of it.

On the professional side, it wasn't a fear that I was wasting my knowledge away, but a fear that I would never be an equal to my co-workers and respected by my superiors.  For every step forward that I took, I felt that there was something that would happen that would knock me two steps backward.  Every time that happened, I looked at myself and wondered whether I should have become an engineer.  I thought I was growing at a snail's pace while everyone else was significantly further along.  The challenge was winning. 

As 2014 begins, I realize that perceived lack of growth is just that --- perceived.  I have grown significantly throughout 2013, and thankfully only a small percentage of that is my weight.  I still have a long way to go, but the hindrance is me.  I'm so focused on gaining advanced knowledge and skills that I've neglected basic principles.  I want to play hard guitar songs without practicing my scales and learning my modes.  I want to be five years down the road personally and professionally so badly that I forget to learn how to live and work now.

So, starting in 2014, I will strive harder to find the work-life balance.  I will improve my fitness to be as good as, if not better than, it was my first year of marriage.  I will focus on learning and memorizing the engineering basics so that I have a foundation of knowledge that won't be on mental sand.  I will learn to understand that I will fail several times before I succeed.  I will play my scales and modes so that my fingers stay nimble enough for playing along with my songs.  I will find a little bit of time to read leisurely, regardless of how long it takes me to finish a book.  I will write more film critiques and complete the cycle of Star Wars critiques I began a couple of years ago.  I will stop and take stock in the life that I have so that I have a solid foundation for the life I will have.  For all who read this, please hold me accountable.  I know I can't do this alone, but I know that I can do this.

My Workout For Sunday January 05

I earned 706 points for my workout on Fitocracy!

Running (treadmill) +88 pts

0:20:00 || 1.5 mi || 1 % (+88 pts)

Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row +83 pts

20 lb x 12 reps (+41 pts)

25 lb x 12 reps (+42 pts)

Bent Over Barbell Row +49 pts

55 lb x 10 reps (+25 pts)

55 lb x 8 reps (+24 pts)

Barbell Squat +177 pts

45 lb x 12 reps (+43 pts)

55 lb x 12 reps (+46 pts)

55 lb x 10 reps (+45 pts)

55 lb x 8 reps (+43 pts)

Dumbbell Bench Press +195 pts

25 lb x 12 reps (+46 pts)

35 lb x 10 reps (+51 pts)

35 lb x 8 reps (+49 pts)

35 lb x 8 reps (+49 pts)

Upright Barbell Row +43 pts

45 lb x 12 reps (+21 pts)

55 lb x 10 reps (+22 pts)

Romanian Deadlift +69 pts

45 lb x 12 reps (+34 pts)

55 lb x 10 reps (+35 pts)

Stretching +2 pts

0:10:00 (+2 pts)

Think you can beat me, or want to comment?

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Skyfall Review

    History has a way of defining a person, place, or thing.  There are two extremes to dealing with history - embracing it or burning it down.  The history of the James Bond film series is no exception, and the 50th anniversary of the release of Dr. No serves as a milestone for reflection on the series' history.     Two films define the series' dichotomous directions - From Russia With Love and Goldfinger.  From Russia With Love is the quintessential spy film - James Bond as a soldier for Great Britain, while Goldfinger is the quintessential spy movie - James Bond as a hero for the people.  Both present the series at its finest, and every subsequent film contain elements of both with varying results.  The rest of the best of the series - On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Spy Who Loved Me, Goldeneye, and Casino Royale - were near-perfect balances of Russia and Goldfinger.     With Casino Royale, the history of the film series was scuttled and refreshed successfully, telling the story of Bond as a neophyte coming to terms with the cost of being the soldier and hero.  Quantum of Solace followed, and while parts of the film were well done, the overall result lacked the spark expected from a Bond film.     Skyfall, the 23rd entry in the James Bond film series, brings back the fun of the series while keeping the depth that Casino Royale brought, resulting in another near-perfect balance.     James Bond, after a failed mission that starts the film briskly, goes into self-imposed retirement, dealing with his failings as an agent and the failings of his superiors.  An attack at MI6 headquarters pushes him to return to the fold.  However, the star agent struggles to reintegrate into the spy life - his talents have worn down, and his emotions are unstable.  The impending world threat, a former MI6 agent named Silva, allows Bond slowly to gain his abilities and self-confidence.  Along the way, he sees the toll the threat has on his boss, M, who is dealing with an internal investigation on her from her superiors.  As the threat grows, Bond and M have no choice but to escape to Bond's family estate, Skyfall, and Bond has to face his past and his possible future.     That's a lot of plot points and thematic elements for a Bond film, but Skyfall never loses its focus, and all of the pieces come together in an impressive and fashion.     The script by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan is superb.  Constructed as a traditional Bond film, it has a deep respect for the history of the film series, yet it continues the deep emotional strides made with Casino Royale.  As traditional of a Bond film as the structure is, the writers made sure to defy expectations, peppering the structure with shocks and surprises, and the shocks never come at expected moments.  Even better is that the writers weren't afraid to pursue dark and challenging moments, be it the opening chase sequence, Silva's attack during M's hearing, and the final assault at Skyfall.  Purvis, Wade, and Logan found the perfect balance of the classic and the modern with their script.     The actors reinforce the emotional depth with excellent performances, never squandering any moments.     As the expected "Bond Girl" of the film, Bérénice Marlohe is a wonderful blend of sexiness and fragility.  Her character is removed from the equation just as she is getting interesting, the only real flaw of the film, but her moments with Bond are electrifying, filled with chemistry.  If Marlohe had been given more on-screen time, she would have been just as memorable as the rest of the cast, but she provides the audience with a good Bond girl.     Naomie Harris infuses Eve, a fellow agent of Bond's, with strength and independence.  Eve has a sexiness about her, not just in her beauty but in her wit and reliability as an agent.  Her moments with Bond are fun and saucy, and Harris will be able to build off of this great role since it is hinted that she will be a recurring character.     In a small but vital role, Albert Finney provides a strong foundation in the final act of the film as Kincade, the gamekeeper of Skyfall.  He gives Kincade a lived-in quality, someone who has seen the fall of the Bond family and is determined to keep the Bond history alive, however small of a life it may be.  He is a window to Bond's past, and Finney is an excellent mix of tragedy and levity.     Ben Whishaw is a delight as Q, the quartermaster of MI6 and Bond's armorer.  He is as mentally active in the mission as Bond is physically, and his dry, quick wit cuts through Bond without hesitation.  The chemistry between Bond and Q is undeniable, and with some of the dark turns the film takes, Whishaw is a welcome relief and fits perfectly into the Bond universe.     Ralph Fiennes is authoritative as Gareth Mallory, M's boss as the Chairman of Intelligence and Security Committee.  He's introduced as the governmental figure who rebels like Bond and M frustrate, but as the film progresses, his shades of grey are developed, becoming someone who fully understands M's struggle between fulfilling governmental duty while being an independent thinker.  Fiennes is another wonderful addition to the cast, and with his role being hinted at as recurring, he will be able to grow into the universe.     The Bond villain is a role that is known to attract fine actors, but sometimes the role doesn't live up to the actor who plays it.  This is not the case with Javier Bardem as Silva.  He's already played an iconic cinematic villain as Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men, and his Silva is destined to become  an iconic Bond villain.  Theatrical but infused with terror, Silva is never underestimated.  His approach to torture is more psychological, and he brings the audience to the brink with how successful he is with his plot.  This may be the first Bond villain in a long time who makes the audience feel like he could win, or at least force Bond into a pyrrhic victory.  As commanding and deadly as Red Grant and Rosa Klebb in From Russia With Love and as theatrical as Auric Goldfinger in Goldfinger, Silva stands among the finest Bond villains, and Bardem should take almost all of the credit for it.     Judi Dench has been M since Goldeneye, but this film may be her shining moment as Bond's boss and the head of MI6.  She has a personal connection to Silva, and she has a close relationship to Bond.  The terror and disappointment in her eyes when sharing scenes with Silva is amazing - she shows so much history with the villain without ever digging into the backstory, and it takes a lot of skill to be able to show that history without telling it.  Even more impressive is that she never takes over a scene when she isn't required, and her scenes at Skyfall are just tremendous.  M is trying to come to terms with her failings as a leader throughout, but Dench not only allows M to deal with these failings but also reinforce why she was the only leader who could have shaped Bond into who he is and trust him unconditionally.     In his third outing as James Bond, Daniel Craig has fully ingrained himself into the legendary spy.  He was a blunt instrument in Casino Royale and a vengeful warrior in Quantum of Solace, but in Skyfall, the spy life has taken its toll on him.  Craig has only been Bond in three films, but he carries a sense of torrid history not seen in any of the previous Bond actors.  He doubts himself and his superiors, but he knows that the mission is most important and strives to overcome his doubts.  What he sees in Silva is his own possible future, while a reference to Skyfall and his eventual return to his family's estate hints at his tortured past.  Bond is a man who is coming to terms with the loss his past contains while learning to appreciate the future M gave him, all the while containing the wit and class the character has had for the past 50 years.  His delivery of the one-liners still needs a little work, but that's a minor quibble compared to how fantastic Craig is as Bond, reinforcing his place as the second-best Bond, and arguably giving Connery competition as the best Bond ever.     The music has always been important in a Bond film, and Thomas Newman's score is a perfect blend of classicism and progressivism.  The James Bond Theme is prevalent as it should be, but some of the more progressive touches are welcome.  There are moments when the music becomes a cousin to the works of Brian Eno, focusing on ambient overtones from electronic instruments.  The balance between past and future is expertly captured by Newman's score, but the microcosm is at its finest with the theme song sung by Adele.  It's as if Shirley Bassey has been properly updated for the 21st century, which may be the highest compliment any Bond theme song could receive, and it stays in the head and gets into your soul.     A special note must be made about the cinematography by Roger Deakins.  His work in Skyfall elevates the film into a visual work of art.  He's worked consistently with the Coen Brothers, and he loves to play with colors.  Just look at the vivid yellows of Turkey, the blues of Shanghai, the reds and browns of Macau, and the greys and stone-like tones of the United Kingdom.  It is a master class in color-focused cinematography, and the framing is a perfect mix of grand and personal.  Deakins' work on Skyfall is nothing short of legendary.     Sam Mendes was the biggest wild card in the film as the director.  Winning an Academy Award for his directorial debut, American Beauty, Mendes is known as a dramatic director with no experience with action scenes, and some of his works have been considered pretentious.  However, Skyfall has no pretentions - Mendes makes sure it is the event film it is meant to be.  He structures the film as a traditional Bond film - a three-act work with a prologue and epilogue - and the film is the second-longest film in the series, but it is wonderfully paced, never overstaying its welcome nor having an overabundance of action or drama.  Everything feels necessary, allowing the audience to become fully invested in the film.  He knows how to work with the actors, and he understands what will make the biggest impacts.  The series has had classy directors before, but no one as unique as Mendes, and his artful eye does wonders for the film and the series.     Skyfall is a traditional Bond film with significant depth, heart, and soul.  It has the expert tension of From Russia With Love, the fun of Goldfinger and The Spy Who Loved Me, and the emotional consequences of On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Casino Royale.  It pays homage to the series' history while looking and moving forward, and it presents a story about the importance of history and the understanding that one may be defined by his or her past but is not controlled by it.  Skyfall is the closest a Bond film has ever come to being an art film, and it sits alongside the best in the series and the best in the genre. Movie Rating: 9.5/10 A somewhat underutilized Bond girl is a minor gripe to what may be one of the most thrilling action films since the turn of the century. Film Rating: 9/10 A Bond film that acts as a successful commentary on the effects of individual history with superb music and visuals that match the themes. Bond Film Rating: 10/10 Another classic that stands alongside From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Spy Who Loved Me, Goldeneye, and Casino Royale.

Bond Rating: 9.5/10 Although the delivery of some of the one-liners still needs a little work, Daniel Craig not only reinforces how effective he is as Bond, but he also arguably matches Connery's status as the greatest Bond.

My Workout For Saturday January 11

I earned 111 points for my workout on Fitocracy!

Running (treadmill) +16 pts

0:05:00 || 0.3 mi || 1 % (+16 pts)

Cycling (stationary) +79 pts

0:07:30 || 2 mi || 7 % (+49 pts)

0:06:20 || 1.5 mi || 5 % (+30 pts)

Chin-Up +8 pts

12 reps || assisted || 145 lb (+2 pts)

8 reps || assisted || 130 lb (+2 pts)

7 reps || assisted || 130 lb (+2 pts)

4 reps || assisted || 115 lb (+2 pts)

Dips - Triceps Version +8 pts

12 reps || assisted || 145 lb (+2 pts)

12 reps || assisted || 130 lb (+2 pts)

4 reps || assisted || 115 lb (+2 pts)

5 reps || assisted || 115 lb (+2 pts)

Think you can beat me, or want to comment?

Fitocracy is the social fitness community that has helped hundreds of thousands level up their fitness. Start your fitness transformation today!

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La La Land Review

La La Land Review

Automobiles are jammed in traffic on an exit ramp in Los Angeles in a sunny winter. Everyone is restless and impatient. One person breaks out in song, then another, and one by one most of those stuck in traffic sing and dance, showing off vivid pigments of blue, red, green, and yellow. As the song goes it’s “Another Day of Sun.” Cue titles. This is the beginning of La La Land, an homage to 1940s…

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