The Esteemed Critic Reviews No Hard Feelings; Bob Dylan live; The Wheel of Time Season 2

 

No Hard Feelings is a comedy featuring Jennifer Lawrence as a broke and desperate thirty-something who enters into a sketchy plot to break a teenage shut-in out of his shell by pretending to be his girlfriend. High-jinks ensue, with the movie resolving with the typical Hollywood ending. Is No Hard Feelings a great movie? No, but it is a comedy with a ridiculous premise like The Forty Year-Old Virgin or Step-Brothers, and while it's not as funny as those two classics, it does have some memorable gags, which include a misconstrued kidnapping that ends in a macing as well as a naked wrestling match at a beach. Lawrence is pretty good here, showing excellent physical comedic chops, and while the movie bombed at the box office, it will assuredly have a second life on Netflix, which was where I watched it. Definitely worth a watch, especially for the novelty factor of a major Hollywood actress showing ass (both literally and figuratively).

The Critic had the privilege of seeing the great Bob Dylan live last Friday and was pleasantly surprised. Dylan has always been famous more for his innovative songwriting rather than his musical ability, and while his voice has never been pleasant, he seemed to be in good form last weekend. Performing a set derived mostly from his last album (which the Critic hasn't listened to) Mr. Dylan maintained my interest with his inscrutable lyrics and his ragged piano playing, which always threatened to leave the band behind. Not many 82 year-olds are still touring! Keep being the artist of all artists, Mr. Bob.

The Wheel of Time is a classic fantasy series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, and while the second season of Amazon's adaptation gets a lot of things right (the casting is mostly on point), they bungle the exciting plotline of the second book in the series in favor of rewriting Moiraine and Lan's relationship in a way that will disappoint book fans. Principal author Jordan's series has a lot of faults (certain books seem to go on forever without any substantial action), but his character arcs are excellent, and it's a shame that Amazon seems intent on changing what doesn't need to be changed. Rosamund Pike is a great actress, and she's a series highlight, but Moiraine was not as important a character in the books as she is in the television series. Still, it's a competently-written show most of the time, and for those looking for a Game of Thrones replacement, The Wheel of Time will satisfy more so than Netflix's Witcher series.

Weightlifting: Bench Press 205 for 16

 

What are the merits of having a 16 rep max? Better endurance with heavier weights contributes to more weight lifted at lower reps. Plus, you just can't go for that five rep max every week. Increasing your bench press max is really a pyramid where every piece has to be laid in order for the summit to grow higher. Also, lifting lighter weights is good for recovery purposes.

	1RM	2RM	3RM	4RM	5RM	6RM	7RM	8RM	9RM	10RM	12RM	13RM	14RM	15RM	16RM
Low Bar Squat	415	380	365	350	360		340	320		315
High Bar Squat	390	365	350	345	340		315	320		300		275
High Bar Squat (Paused)	365		315
High Bar Squat (No Belt)	365	335	325	325	330			285		250
Front Squat	315	300	300	275	270	255	245	225	215	225
Bench Press	315	290	280	275	270	260	255	245	245	235	225	225		205	205
Bench Press (Paused)	300	275	265	255	245	240	235	230	225	225
Overhead Press	195	185	175	170	170	160	155	150	140	145
Deadlift	510	470	455	425	410	415	410	390	365	360				315
Deadlift (No Belt)	460		435			400	405		365	340
Sumo Deadlift	455	435	405	405	410					315

New Music: Horror Stories

 

This is an oldie, probably dating back to around 2010 or so. I wish I could find the original demo of this song, but like a lot of things, it is lost to time, although it might be lurking on an ancient hard drive up in my attic. I don't think I wrote it as a punk-pop song, but that's how we played it live in Theme Park Mistress. I didn't feel like doing that version again; a poor quality but serviceable take is still up on my Soundcloud page here. So I went for an acoustic version, forsaking drums for the simplicity of vocals, guitar, and bass. I like this song! I don't like every song I write. Horror Stories, however, will always be a tune that I'll remember how to play. 

Weightlifting: Bench Press 270 for 5

 

Since June when I started my PR every week challenge, I've put 10 lbs on almost all of my touch and go bench press PRs. That's pretty good progress for being 38 years old with a manual labor job, not to mention keep my weight just under 200 lbs the whole time. This approach works, at least for the deadlift and bench press.

	1RM	2RM	3RM	4RM	5RM	6RM	7RM	8RM	9RM	10RM
Low Bar Squat	415	380	365	350	360		340	320		315
High Bar Squat	390	365	350	345	340		315	320		300
High Bar Squat (Paused)	365		315
High Bar Squat (No Belt)	365	335	325	325	330			285		250
Front Squat	315	300	300	275	270	255	245	225	215	225
Bench Press	315	290	280	275	270	260	255	245	245	235
Bench Press (Paused)	300	275	265	255	245	240	235	230	225	225
Overhead Press	195	185	175	170	170	160	155	150	140	145
Deadlift	510	470	455	425	410	415	410	390	365	360
Deadlift (No Belt)	460		435			400	405		365	340
Sumo Deadlift	455	435	405	405	410					315
Clean	235	225	220	195
Push Press	230	205	205	195	185
Incline Press (low angle)	255	245		225	235	225	215	210		205
Close Grip	295	275	270	265	255	250	240	235	230	230

Conan Brothers Q&A

 

PoliticalMonkey asks "Will Republicans get it together after ousting Kevin McCarthy from the Speaker of the House position?

Dave: I'm sure their contempt for the American people will eventually surpass their urge to cause chaos and dysfunction.

Arnold: I'm not so sure. You've got at least eight or so House members who literally want to burn the place down. Mat Gaetz is a performance artist, a professional shit-slinger, not a legislator. Their only real goal is to establish Trump as a dictator.

Dave: Jim fucking Jordan as Speaker would undoubtedly be worse than Kevin.

Arnold: McCarthy barely had the votes, does Jordan? Whoever eventually obtains the position is more or less king of the idiots. In the land of the blind, a one-eyed man is king.

Dave: It's hard to see with shit in your eye.

Arnold: If there were any real moderates in the Republican Party, then they'd work with Democrats to nominate Hakim Jeffries so that legislation could actually pass through the House. But we all know that the worst thing a Republican can do is work with Democrats.

Dave: It would be helpful if the media pointed out Republican hypocrisy more often.

Arnold: They made a lot of money when Trump was president. Politics as entertainment is more profitable than boring old Biden.

Dave: Are you talking about the liberal media, Arnold?

Arnold: There really is no such thing.

...

BigGym asks "Is PRing every day really feasible?"

Dave: Not every day, but maybe every week, if you use variations.

Arnold: We've been PRing weekly on the Bench Press and Deadlift for about four months using about three variations per exercise. We keep track of our rep maxes all the way up to fifteen.

Dave: Squat is a different story.

Arnold: I hate the squat so much right now that I'm doing bottom position low bar squats without a belt, along with front squats. Because what doesn't kill you just might make you stronger.

Dave: Frequency combined with a moderate amount of volume is the answer to long term progress when you're nearing middle age.

Arnold: I can't kill myself like I could when I was younger. But I can bench press three times a week.

Dave: Do your main variation, go for a PR, then fill the rest of the session with bodybuilding work.

Arnold: Sounds like a good plan.

...

 

GamingLarry asks "Is Baldur's Gate 3 the RPG of the decade?"

Dave: How the fuck would I know? It's only 2023.

Arnold: It's certainly the best RPG I've played in a long time.

Dave: Divinity: Original Sin 2 was a damn-good game that I didn't finish, but Larian was perfecting their approach with that title, and now Baldur's Gate 3 is their masterpiece.

Arnold: It helps that 5e is so popular now, and Baldur's Gate 3 is basically a 5e DnD simulator.

Dave: Having your dice rolls appear onscreen along with your modifiers really helps sell the illusion that you're playing tabletop.

Arnold: Not to mention the campaign is top-notch, with interesting environments (The Underdark; the Shadowlands) and cool characters (Karlach, Astarion, Shadowheart).

Dave: It really makes me feel like I'm playing a Bioware title from the golden era.

Arnold: RIP, Bioware. At least your legacy is alive.

Weightlifting: 455 lbs Sumo Deadlift

 

My Sumo Deadlift form is a pretty narrow stance, similar to how the GOAT Ed Coan deadlifted. I ain't know Ed Coan, though, hah. Getting more comfortable with Sumo and we'll see how far I can push it. The PR every week strategy is inherently conservative, however, so there's no reason to take big jumps.

	1RM	2RM	3RM	4RM	5RM	6RM	7RM	8RM	9RM	10RM
Low Bar Squat	415	380	365	350	360		340	320		315
High Bar Squat	390	365	350	345	340		315	320		300
High Bar Squat (Paused)	365		315
High Bar Squat (No Belt)	365	335	325	325	330			285		250
Front Squat	315	300	300	275	270	255	245	225	215	225
Bench Press	315	290	280	275	265	260	255	245	240	235
Bench Press (Paused)	300	275	265	255	245	240	235	230	225	225
Overhead Press	195	185	175	170	170	160	155	150	140	145
Deadlift	510	470	455	425	410	415	410	390	365	360
Deadlift (No Belt)	460		435			400			365	340
Sumo Deadlift	455	435	405	405	410					315