RECCE ROOM

This is a review of the series, Cobra Kai, available from YouTube Red. *** Spoiler alert *** The premise of the series is simple: the life of Daniel Larusso and Johnny Lawrence in 2018. Naturally, they are not the students so much as they are the instructors. Pros: Great acting. Good choreography. Good story line. Good writing.  Just plain fun.  Cons: The Rifleman must admit, it is hard to find fault with the series.  The only complaint might be how quickly all the students make "black belt." However, given that this was also true of Daniel in the first film, and this series has many throwbacks, it is almost understandable.  Notes This is basically a 5 hour movie, chopped up into 30-minute episodes. There are a lot of acknowledgments of the original films. All three of them. There may be acknowledgments of The Next Karate Kid and Jackie Chan's reboot, but I haven't viewed those enough to know.  The Rifleman enjoyed how the writers tackled teaching m...

Recently I read the book SJWs Always Lie:  Taking Down the Thought Police , by Vox Day. This book has many hidden and not so hidden treasures in it, and came highly recommended. Abstract I've read Vox Day's blog posts for years. Generally I skip over his penchant for detailing his clashes with folks over matters of gaming or science fiction writing, as I'm not overly fond of either topic. To be sure, this book has plenty of gaming and sci-fi; but it is quite forgivable, as it helps Day give solid advice for dealing with Social Justice Warriors (SJWs) everywhere.  Review Day describes in detail his dealings with SJWs in the gaming and sci-fi arenas. In so doing, he draws several broad conclusions that are true of SJWs everywhere. He summarizes the three laws of SJW, eight stages of SJW attack sequence, what to do when SJWs attacking, strategic principles (for dealing with SJWs), and winning the Social Justice War in the West. There are also many other related tidbits o...

It has taken me a while to do this review proper. Mostly because I needed to wait on the right size jacket on the gi . That will be addressed in the review. Note: I bought this uniform myself, and am not being paid for this review. Ripstop Gi from   jitsugi.com  - Price On the surface, they seem to be some of the more reasonably priced companies. While that is surely the case, also look deeper... this is one of the few places where you can order separate sizes, as their pants and jackets are sold separately. I got pants for $22.95 + S&H and the jacket for 34.95 + S&H. Durability It's ripstop, need I say more? As advertised? Lightweight - very  much so. Barely weighs more than a lightweight karate gi. Most of the excess weight is in the collar area. Size I wear an A4 is Brazilian sizes. I can take a Fuji off the rack and it fits perfectly. However, the Jitsugi.com jacket runs small and the pants run a bit big. I should have ordered an A3 pants and an A5 ...

Some time back, I purchased Rafael Lovato Jr.'s DVD, Kimura Secrets . I've watched it a couple of times and here is my review on the video. First, I bought this video on my own. It was on sale from BJJ Super Deals, though I cannot recall the price. If you do not follow BJJ Super Deals on Facebook, I highly recommend it. They put up some deals that really save money. The only drawback is that they know price points well, and you might be tempted (a lot) to buy when they run a special. On to the video itself... Production quality is about on part with many instructional videos. Sound is fine, as are the camera angles. And that's a misnomer - there are no "camera angles," per se.  There is only one camera and all shots are taken from one stationary spot. Mr. Lovato and his demo partner simply rotate to give you different angles. Content is where this one shines. If you are looking to learn 87 new techniques, this is not the video for you. This video only dea...

Yes, the one with Russell Crowe. Yes, the one so heavily criticized. Yes, the one that took "artistic license" with the Biblical story. To be fair, my readers must know that I consider Genesis chapters 1-12 to be largely parable in nature. For example: I believe God created the world, but it wasn't in six literal days. I will not argue the Biblical inaccuracies of the film - there were plenty. To my taste, it didn't distract from the story. In the film, Noah did not speak to God directly. Therefore, by default, Noah had to speculate as to God's will on some of the finer points. This was strictly for more drama and intense scenes in the end, not for anything else. It did not detract from the core story that mankind's wickedness will be punished. For me and others like me, the fact that the story of Noah is a parable to begin with is enough for us to accept the creative licenses taken with a [small] grain of salt and still enjoy a slightly-better-than-a...

Just before Christmas, I cashed in a cash-back offer on a credit card I use for business expenses. With a portion of the money, I purchased a uniform from Fuji Sports . I have heard much about them, seen the BJJ uniforms offered as prizes at BJJ competitions, and even read some reviews. A couple of friends who train BJJ have bought them, and they had good things to say about Fuji. Now, it's my turn. I purchased the "BJJ All Around" uniform in white. I do not train BJJ, but this uniform is largely devoid of the excessive patches present on most BJJ uniforms. Looks It has a very crisp and handsome looking logo embroidered on the left shoulder and the nape of the neck. It came with BJJ patches unattached. I will not be affixing them on my uniform (anybody want some good looking patches?). It is a good bleached white color. Not bright, but not matte, either. Fit The fit was superb. I ordered a size "A-4" which is analogous to the traditional martial arts s...

Just finished reading the book Winning On The Ground by Dr. Anna Maria DeMars and Jimmy Pedro Sr. Being the first martial arts related book I've purchased in a couple of years, it was a refreshing read. DeMars contributed the lion's share of the text, and Pedro seemed to play the role of contributor / editor / spoiler / technical consultant. Among the most notable persons posing for the photos in Winning On The Ground were: Ronda Rousey - current UFC women's bantamweight champion and Judo Olympic medalist. Kayla Harrison - Judo Gold Medalist in 2012 women's 78 kg. Travis McLaughlin - MMA fighter The theme of the book was simple - how to win on the ground. Not surprisingly, the methodology had a distinct Judo flair. The main difference between Judo groundwork and Jiu-Jitsu (most notably, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, or "BJJ") groundwork is that Judo groundwork is more explosive, whereas BJJ groundwork is more laborious in the sense that it is really stretched...

I recently finished watching all of the episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on Netflix. Here are some thoughts: This series is certainly a dichotomy. Almost could be called the schizophrenic series of the Star Trek universe. The first three seasons were very "blah" - certainly the worst three seasons of the Star Trek universe. The fourth season showed promise. The final three seasons were the best three seasons of  all Star Trek. Captain Sisko was the best Captain of them all, except maybe Captain Archer. He was not afraid of a fight, was not overly stuffy, and certainly had his flaws. I wasn't a huge fan of the Kira Nyrese character, but she made sense in the series. The addition of Worf was timely and an excellent choice overall. Jadzia Dax was a great character. Ezri Dax was totally different, but also worthy. Quark was good comedic side relief. Odo was a great security officer. O'Brien is endearing when he is not made to suffer. Bashir was a g...

OK, I have given a brief review of Lake Winnepesaukah before. Here it is . This year, on their Facebook page, I noticed they were open in October - something they had never done when I was a child. The owners and management redecorate for the Halloween season and "rename" it: Lake WinnepeSPOOKah My son decided he wanted to go there for his birthday. Incidentally, his birthday is today (Oct. 29), but since the last day it would be open was last Saturday, October 27, that day would just have to do. And it did! First, they change the park hours to 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm. We had the kids take a nap, and dressed warmly with the weather in the low 50's and breezy. I ordered tickets online - they were $20 each. Show me another amusement park where a family of four can get in for under $100. They encouraged customers to dress up in Halloween costumes. We didn't, but about 1/3 of the attendees did. Almost all of the employees did, too. A few rides were changed, to b...

I am a long-time fan of the Blackberry platform. I seek functionality in my working phone over glitz and glamor, and Blackberry provides just that. At the heart of the matter is my texting (3000+ per month) and emailing (20+ per day) needs. Having buttons to type on is of the greatest advantage. For years, I had a Blackberry Curve, but this past summer, I obtained a Blackberry Torch. It has several upgrades over the Curve, most notably was internet browsing ability and a touch screen (taking a page out of the Droid and iPhone playbooks). The Torch is not too big - no bigger than a Curve, except maybe a bit thicker. It is heavier, but that is to be expected with a slide-open design. The larger screen is worth the trade. It makes doing things like Twitter and Facebook much easier. Speaking of Facebook, the number 1 complaint I had of the Curve was that as you scrolled through Facebook posts, you could not stop mid-post on longer pictures and entries. You had to look at the first pa...

Shirts courtesy of Fight 2 Night . Here is their Facebook page . Sarah (front, left) is sponsored by them. The shirts are totally awesome! They feature a saying on the reverse side, as well as the grappling with a lion picture on the front. F2N is a really stand-up company and you should go there and get some original MMA apparel instead of all the retreaded "Tapout" stuff. Note: Nothing wrong with Tapout... but why be like everybody else. .

A few weeks ago, I saw the movie Prometheus . Being a fan of the Alien franchise, it seemed a good fit. Before I saw it, I read many reviews, some spoilers, and other information on the movie. Generally speaking, the folks that didn't like it or were confused by it were the same people that couldn't take the plot points at face value. Overall, I really enjoyed it. It had plenty of action, was not at all about the alien Xenomorphs, save a small clip at the end, and it also filled in with enough back-story to keep interesting. For those out there that disliked the Alien vs Predator line of movies, all I can say is: keep dreaming. This did not at all cap that idea off. Instead, I'd like to know if the Predators actually hunt the Engineers? Makes sense, as the Engineers would be larger, very intelligent, and on par with Predators as far as technology is concerned. The movie had a few cons to it, a all do. I could have done without the blatant anti-Christian undertones ...

Several times, on trips to visit family in Chattanooga, my family has stopped at Emma's Family Restaurant in Manchester, TN. They are located right across the street from a Cracker Barrel. Both times we've visited, there have been a lot of diners in the restaurant, and a nearly full parking lot. That bodes well for a "mean-n-3" place that is in walking distance from a Cracker Barrel. This is no anomaly. The food is great and the service is at least as good as you'd get at Cracker Barrel. Prices are comparable, and there is something to be said for patronizing a local business when possible. .

Some time back, a friend invited me to a Dagorhir practice. For those too lazy to click the link, it is basically an association that gets together and practices Dark-Age European style warfare with padded safety weapons. My friend was aware that I practice martial arts. She said: "throw all martial arts out the window" when on the "battlefield." Her point was that I would enjoy the training, but that my prior training would be useless. For the record, I have minimal training in Iaido, which includes little free sparring. Other than that, I have no training in weaponry other than firearms and defenses against things like knives and clubs. That said, it was quite fun to engage in mock swordplay with safety weapons under a reasonable rule set. Of the participants, there was a single individual who could actually score blows on me from time to time. Most of the rest of them couldn't land a single strike, and made for easy sword cutting practice. I was led ...

So this weekend, I took the kids to see The Avengers in 3D. This was the second time we have seen the movie. The first time we saw it, the movie was shown in regular two-dimension aspect (not 3D). I understand that The Avengers tied the record for quickest to $1 Billion. I can see why: it is a really fun movie. The Avengers themselves who appear in the movie include Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk (aka Incredible Hulk), Black Widow, and Hawkeye. Hero vs. Hero When I was a boy, we would talk about which super hero would beat which other super hero. My son talks about the same now. This movie gives you a bit of that, but no definitive answer (except that maybe the Hulk cannot be stopped by any of them). You also find out what happens when Thor uses his hammer, Mjolnir , against Captain America's shield. Basically, neither instrument is damaged, but it levels the entire scene around them. Iron Man vs. Thor is a draw. Thor blasts Iron Man with a lightning charge, a...

Another one that is 14 years late. But I just got this one a few weeks ago, so I'll still review it. Garage, Inc . - Metallica This album has two discs: the first one has some songs recorded in 1998. The second is songs recorded throughout the 1980's and 1990's. Each song is a cover of a song originally performed by another band.  The album cost $14.99 from Best Buy. Disc 1: This disc has the more commonly known songs. Generally, a group covers a song because they like it. Perhaps it inspires them. I think this was true for Metallica. However, they blew this one out of the water. Every song was better than the original. Usually, a cover is done to pay homage, or to give a band's personalized interpretation. That is true here, but the songs were simply performed at a higher level. I know that many who read this will disagree about the covers being better than the originals, but it is the simple truth. And what's more - I do not think Metallica set out to ...

I recently read the Book of Mormon . Link to differences in the Bible and the Book of Mormon . Some things The book says that do not match up with the Bible: - Jesus telling people they must be baptized to be saved. Not in the Bible. - Jesus telling the Nephites that they were the "other sheep" mentioned in John 16:10 . Common doctrine has these "other sheep" as being Gentiles in general. - Concept of God's elect being white, while those from iniquity are dark skinned. Some things that just struck me as a bit off: - Jesus appointing of disciples and His ministry was very brief, and not filled with the personal connections like in the New Testament. - Use of  King James English was not quite right. As if written by a rank amateur. - Certain phrases didn't jive: "stiff-necked" was used once in the Bible and was used over and over in the Book of Mormon. Other phrases, common to 16th - 19th century writing were used. Book of Mormon is s...

I've been sitting on this one for a while. I purchased some time ago the old Metallica album "S&M" and have listened to it several times through. I'd heard several of these songs through the years, but never the entire concert as released. In fact, when the album was released, my brother in law obtained it, and kept raving about it. Now I understand why that was. Sure, rock bands have played with orchestras before. Maybe even choirs. Music is cool, and like certain foods, some combinations pair up well. But nobody prior had paired up heavy metal with symphonic music. Before I get into the meat of my review, I'd like to point out that it was not Metallica knocking down the doors of some poor symphony to get this done. Instead, it was Maestro Michael Kamen , a fan of Metallica's music, who sought out the pairing. Kamen had collaborated with Metallica on their release Nothing Else Matters . Metallica was a good choice, as original bassist, Cliff Burt...