This Is How "Numb" Was During The Achtung Baby Sessions.  An Industrial Rock Hymn.  While The Song

My Workout For Thursday January 16

I earned 723 points for my workout on Fitocracy!

Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row +86 pts

25 lb x 12 reps (+42 pts)

30 lb x 12 reps (+44 pts)

Side Plank +17 pts

25 sec (+17 pts)

Dumbbell Bicep Curl +104 pts

15 lb x 12 reps (+26 pts)

20 lb x 12 reps (+27 pts)

20 lb x 10 reps (+26 pts)

20 lb x 8 reps (+25 pts)

Plank +7 pts

20 sec (+7 pts)

Reverse Crunch +68 pts

15 reps (+19 pts)

15 reps (+19 pts)

12 reps (+15 pts)

12 reps (+15 pts)

Dumbbell Shrug +73 pts

15 lb x 12 reps (+17 pts)

20 lb x 12 reps (+18 pts)

25 lb x 12 reps (+19 pts)

30 lb x 10 reps (+19 pts)

Upright Barbell Row +93 pts

55 lb x 12 reps (+23 pts)

65 lb x 10 reps (+24 pts)

65 lb x 8 reps (+23 pts)

65 lb x 8 reps (+23 pts)

Cycling (stationary) +19 pts

0:05:00 || 1.1 mi (+19 pts)

Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadlift +190 pts

45 lb x 12 reps (+43 pts)

55 lb x 12 reps (+46 pts)

65 lb x 12 reps (+49 pts)

75 lb x 10 reps (+52 pts)

Bent Over Barbell Row +56 pts

65 lb x 12 reps (+28 pts)

75 lb x 8 reps (+28 pts)

Stretching +2 pts

0:10:00 (+2 pts)

Pull-Up +8 pts

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

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

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

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

Think you can beat me, or want to comment?

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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?

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

Now available for free on both iPhone and Android!

My Workout For Thursday January 30

I earned 794 points for my workout on Fitocracy!

Stretching +2 pts

0:10:00 (+2 pts)

Barbell Deadlift +210 pts

65 lb x 12 reps (+49 pts)

85 lb x 10 reps (+55 pts)

85 lb x 8 reps (+53 pts)

85 lb x 8 reps (+53 pts)

Dips - Triceps Version +10 pts

1 reps (+2 pts)

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

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

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

4 reps || assisted || 100 lb (+2 pts)

Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press +175 pts

15 lb x 12 reps (+44 pts)

20 lb x 12 reps (+47 pts)

25 lb x 7 reps (+46 pts)

25 lb x 4 reps (+38 pts)

Standing Calf Raises +18 pts

12 reps || weighted || 65 lb (+4 pts)

12 reps || weighted || 85 lb (+5 pts)

12 reps || weighted || 95 lb (+5 pts)

10 reps || weighted || 105 lb (+4 pts)

Dumbbell Bench Press +155 pts

30 lb x 12 reps (+49 pts)

40 lb x 12 reps (+56 pts)

45 lb x 5 reps (+50 pts)

Tried to do a fourth set, but my body couldn't push through. Next time...

Barbell Squat +224 pts

65 lb x 12 reps (+49 pts)

85 lb x 12 reps (+57 pts)

95 lb x 10 reps (+59 pts)

95 lb x 10 reps (+59 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!

Now available for free on both iPhone and Android!

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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My Workout For Thursday January 09

I earned 711 points for my workout on Fitocracy!

Dumbbell Bench Press +196 pts

25 lb x 12 reps (+46 pts)

30 lb x 12 reps (+49 pts)

35 lb x 12 reps (+52 pts)

40 lb x 6 reps (+49 pts)

Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row +163 pts

15 lb x 12 reps (+40 pts)

20 lb x 12 reps (+41 pts)

25 lb x 10 reps (+41 pts)

25 lb x 10 reps (+41 pts)

Standing Dumbbell Upright Row +103 pts

15 lb x 12 reps (+26 pts)

20 lb x 10 reps (+26 pts)

20 lb x 10 reps (+26 pts)

20 lb x 8 reps (+25 pts)

Dumbbell Bicep Curl +102 pts

15 lb x 12 reps (+26 pts)

20 lb x 10 reps (+26 pts)

20 lb x 8 reps (+25 pts)

20 lb x 7 reps (+25 pts)

Dumbbell Shrug +71 pts

15 lb x 12 reps (+17 pts)

20 lb x 12 reps (+18 pts)

25 lb x 10 reps (+18 pts)

25 lb x 10 reps (+18 pts)

Reverse Crunch +52 pts

10 reps (+13 pts)

10 reps (+13 pts)

10 reps (+13 pts)

10 reps (+13 pts)

Cycling (stationary) +14 pts

0:05:30 || 1.0 mi || 5 % (+14 pts)

Dips - Triceps Version +8 pts

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

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

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

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

Stretching +2 pts

0:10:00 (+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!

Now available for free on both iPhone and Android!

Farewell, 20s...Hello 30s!!!

My Workout For Sunday January 12

I earned 877 points for my workout on Fitocracy!

Cycling (stationary) +70 pts

0:10:00 || 2.7 mi || 7 % (+70 pts)

Dips - Triceps Version +8 pts

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

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

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

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

Chin-Up +8 pts

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

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

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

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

Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row +169 pts

20 lb x 12 reps (+41 pts)

25 lb x 12 reps (+42 pts)

30 lb x 10 reps (+43 pts)

30 lb x 10 reps (+43 pts)

Dumbbell Bench Press +199 pts

30 lb x 12 reps (+49 pts)

35 lb x 12 reps (+52 pts)

35 lb x 9 reps (+50 pts)

35 lb x 7 reps (+48 pts)

Barbell Squat +185 pts

45 lb x 12 reps (+43 pts)

55 lb x 12 reps (+46 pts)

65 lb x 10 reps (+48 pts)

65 lb x 10 reps (+48 pts)

Romanian Deadlift +149 pts

45 lb x 12 reps (+34 pts)

55 lb x 12 reps (+36 pts)

65 lb x 12 reps (+39 pts)

75 lb x 10 reps (+40 pts)

Stretching +2 pts

0:10:00 (+2 pts)

Upright Barbell Row +87 pts

45 lb x 12 reps (+21 pts)

45 lb x 12 reps (+21 pts)

55 lb x 12 reps (+23 pts)

55 lb x 10 reps (+22 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!

Now available for free on both iPhone and Android!

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith Review

    It was the most unexpected of situations.  George Lucas returned to the Star Wars universe by telling the backstory of the famed villain Darth Vader, born Anakin Skywalker, as a new trilogy.  The first film of this new series, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, had an unprecedented wave of hype surrounding it.  After its release, it was as if someone let the air out of the room.  While a significant financial success, the overall result was a tarnishing to the saga loved worldwide.  Its follow-up, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, tarnished the saga further.  What should have been a triumphant moment for American cinema became a textbook example of screwing with mythology.  Suddenly, everyone was wondering how the man who built a story that has become ingrained in many cultures could be the same man who made Episode I and Episode II.      As the inevitable conclusion to the trilogy approached, the anticipation was more muted.  Audiences wanted to see the next installment but not in the way Lucas intended - people expected the film to pale in comparison to the Original Trilogy, so now they were wondering if it was going to be the trainwreck in mediocrity its two predecessors were.     On May 19, 2005, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith was released, and while the audiences were right in expecting it to pale to the Original Trilogy, they were surprised that the film was good - in some moments, very good.     Set three years after the end of Episode II, Episode III begins with the final battle of the Clone Wars - the Battle of Coruscant.  Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the leader of the Galactic Republic, has been kidnapped by the Trade Federation, now under military leadership by General Grevious and Count Dooku.  Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker are sent to rescue Palpatine in the midst of the massive space battle.  After the rescue, Anakin is given the honor of being a part of the Jedi Council but without the title of Master.  Furthering his seeds of discontent, he has recurring nightmares that his wife, Padme Amidala, will die in childbirth, pushing him to find power over the Force that the Jedi perceivably lack.  As Kenobi, Anakin's mentor and friend, is sent after Grevious alone, Anakin begins his descent to the Dark Side of the Force, eventually becoming Darth Vader and turning on the people he once considered allies.     Episode III paralells Return of the Jedi less in its structure and more in its nature - it has dual personality of being light-hearted and fun in some moments and dark and heavy in others.  Its duality is both a strength and a weakness, but the overall result is much better than its predecessors.     The acting is more natural than in Episode I and Episode II.  There are still moments of stiff line-reading, but they are not as prevalent as before.  Ewan McGregor continues to be a highlight, fully emulating what made Sir Alec Guinness iconic as Obi-Wan Kenobi while adding enough of his own vigor to make a mark fully on the character.  Natalie Portman finally gives Padme Amidala the personality she needed all this time, and while she still could have done a bit more with her, she at least seems like she's enjoying being in a Star Wars film.  Hayden Christensen still has no chemistry with Portman - just see the apartment balcony scene toward the end of the first act, the worst scene in the film, as an example.  However, he bounces off McGregor very well, showing the tight bond master and apprentice have and how tragic the breaking of the bond is after the turn to the Dark Side.  Christensen may never be physically imposing as Vader was in the Original Trilogy, but he knows how to be deadly and threatening when it counts.     The best role in the film, though, goes to Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine, the once and future Emperor.  He is what the prequels lacked - a thoroughly engaging and imposing villain.  He hams it up once his nature is exposed, but he allows Palpatine to be felt even when he is not on screen.  Ian McDiarmid breathes life into the prequels, showing what they could have been.     Everything in the film is more inspired.  The music by John Williams is alive again, mixing themes and motifs from all of the films to emphasize the emotional journey.  The cinematography by David Tattersall is more fluid, showcasing the action in all of its glory.  The technology has finally caught up with the vision, allowing the visual effects to shine in obvious ways such as the opening battle but also in subtle ways, namely the details in the wonderfully constructed features of the computer-generated Yoda.     Of the whole prequel trilogy storyline, Anakin's downfall and rebirth as Darth Vader is the most interesting and exciting plot point due to its nature.  There's no more meandering around to get to this point in the story.  We've had two films of build-up, most of it unnecessary.  This is when all of the action happens.  This is when all of the tragedy strikes.  This is when the audience cares.  This alone would make it a better film than Episode I and Episode II.     What makes it much better, and what is the biggest surprise, is that George Lucas fully flexes his screenwriting and directing muscles.     First is the surprising focus prevalent throughout the film.  The focus begins at the introduction with Anakin and Obi-Wan flying into the Battle of Coruscant.  Once their ships appear on-screen, the camera follows them into the battle, showing the scope of the battle without focusing on other random individuals for too long.  This focus also allows us to see how brotherly Obi-Wan and Anakin have become.  The audience has a connection.  Their banter becomes hokey, sometimes too hokey, but we are having fun with them.      In fact, about the first half of the film is mostly fun with a little foreboding menace.  About the second half is all menace.  Both halves work very well on their own, with one half not taking itself too seriously and allowing us to enjoy the ride while the other half becoming the depths of the Dark Side it needs to be and allowing us to feel for these characters.     Emphasizing the dark foreboding is Lucas borrowing the cross-cutting technique his close friend Francis Ford Coppola mastered.  Palpatine's formation of the Galactic Empire is cross-cut with Anakin's assassination of the leaders of the Trade Federation.  The birth of Luke and Leia is cross-cut with the birth of Darth Vader.  Both are done well, and both show the director Lucas was and still can be.     However, while the overall results are good to very good, its the details that hold the film back from greatness.     The lightsaber duels are well executed, but some moments devolve into pure visual splendor instead of maintaining emotional resonance.  This happens early on in the Anakin/Obi-Wan duel and is prevalent in the Palpatine/Yoda duel.  The music saves the latter duel, and the former has several intense moments that help keep it grounded overall.     The duality of the film becomes a struggle in the second act.  Everything involving Obi-Wan is fun and exciting, while everything involving Anakin is increasingly dark.  At times, the feeling is schizophrenic, throwing the audience in too many emotional directions to make sense.     The moment of Anakin's turn to the Dark Side could never reach the legend fans made it to be, but the moment becomes almost unintentionally funny due to stiff line-readings and poorly placed sound effects.  This is the most important moment in the entire saga to date, yet it doesn't resonate the way it should.  If the third act wasn't as strong as it is, this scene could have ruined the entire film.     The scene involving the birth of the Darth Vader we all know is well done until the end.  In a moment now immortalized as "FrankenVader," Lucas decided to pay homage to Frankenstein at the worst possible moment, ruining another resonating moment with something unintentionally funny, capping it off with a misguided scream from Vader.     Lucas also tries too hard to bridge the Original Trilogy and the prequels together with this film, either relying heavily on fan service without really getting into a better understanding of things or only providing half-explanations due to bridging the films being more important than making the ideas work on their own.     The maximum enjoyment factor in Episode III is found when watching with context provided from the Original Trilogy, but unlike Episode I and Episode II, there's a story worth telling within its runtime, and it tells it well.  It doesn't reach the quality of the Original Trilogy, but Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith is everything audiences wanted the entire prequel trilogy to be - good sci-fi fantasy. Blu-Ray Observations With technology catching up to how Lucas wanted to present his films, the Blu-Ray for Episode III is near-reference quality.  The visuals are balanced very well, and the colors are vivid.  Because of the digital nature of the production, the sterility of the computer-generated atmospheres Lucas inadvertently created come in full force, emphasizing how far away the film is visually from the Original Trilogy.  The audio, again, is superb, this time represented by how the hum and clashes of the lightsabers are crisp, clear, and impactful.  Overall, a great presentation. Movie Rating: 7.5/10 One-half light-hearted action and one-half journey into darkness, the two halves don't gel perfectly together but result in an exciting story. Film Rating: 7/10 What should be the key moments don't resonate, but the music emphasizes the heart of the matter, and what surrounds those missed opportunities carries surprising depth and craft. Star Wars Film Rating: 7/10 This is the prequel audiences wanted the other two to be.  It's not on par with the Original Trilogy, but unlike the other two prequels, this one is worth seeing at least once. Blu-Ray Rating: 8.5/10 Finally, the technology catches up with Lucas' vision, and the Blu-Ray presents it in full splendor.  However, it also shows how flawed that vision was with how sterile some of the environments are.

A Schaumburg February.